The following transmission is the first in a series of survivor stories compiled by the Trumbull County Librarian, Jamie McCraren. Her chronicles include audio and written files – letters from other survivors and her own personal experiences.
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Testing, testing.
pause
Good! Still working. Glad the drugstore had that stash of AA batteries.
throat clearing
This is Jamie McCraren, Life After Zombies recording three. It is now day 27 since the power went out. If you’re listening to this, well, good! The world didn’t completely end after all.
I’m holed up in the Non-Circulating Books section, as usual. It’s high up, and this window looks out onto Main Street. Just zombies out there, but hey, there’s nothing good on TV anyway.
Wait. The one in that awful teal shirt has a book. A book! It’s not like, reading it, don’t get me wrong. Hang on – it’s Mrs. Thomas! Head of the Trumbull Valley Ladies’ Book Club. How did Mrs. Thomas end up dead with a paperback still in the pocket of her mom jeans? I can’t see the title…
faint giggling
…of course. It’s that Stephen King novel that the book club read last month. Hell, that’s probably one of our copies. I could go down to check, but the Adult Fiction room has those picture windows…
No. Not today. I’ll check when I go out tomorrow for food.
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whispered There’s another one – this one’s big. One of those gassy ones, I think. It’s about to bust out of that toolbelt. Wait, is that Jim Benchley? I thought he was out of town this month – something about a hunting trip. He was supposed to fix that goddamn drip! That lazy–
faint sobbing
deep breath
Ok. Sorry about that. I just… I didn’t… I mean, these are people. My people, my patrons. I should… I need to…
Dammit, I need to document this! I’m an archivist, goddammit. I got a Master’s Degree and it wasn’t in handing out book-club favorites to bored housewives. If there’s any civilization left when all this blows over, they’re going to know who we were.
That’s it. It’s research time.
I’m going out.
Jamie McCraren, signing off, Day 27. Stand by for further recordings.
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Stay tuned for further interviews and musings from Jamie as she chronicles Life after Zombies…