Below is a page from the personal diary of the Trumbull County Librarian Jamie McCraren.
Cecily Gunderson (No relation to the park ranger, I checked) and Aaron Hampton are leaving the Valley.
They’re young, “in love”, and more importantly, Cecily thinks that they’ll be able to find a thriving human civilization outside of the Valley, if they just go far enough. Thankfully, she’s not naive enough to believe that Danforth is the answer. We’ve gotten those reports and they aren’t pretty. So, that’s the good news. The bad news is that it means they’re going too far to make it easy for them to come home.
This has had a sobering effect on the residents here. We’ve had deaths, of course. We’ve even had survivors pass through on their way to somewhere else. But we haven’t had any of the locals try to leave since the beginning of the end.
If losing our own wasn’t enough, Aaron went to Veterinary school. He’s a large animal specialist, and the closest thing to a doctor we have besides Doc Hansen. I don’t know if he would have left on his own and we certainly can’t afford to lose anyone with medical training. How could Aaron let Cecily convince him to go? Doesn’t he realize his importance?
On a personal note, this – let’s call it a desertion – has thrown me into a funk. I haven’t felt this angsty since my goth phase in high school. Next thing you know, I’ll be busting out Bauhaus, a pack of clove cigarettes, the purple lipstick, and black hair dye. Hah! Okay, maybe I won’t slide that far into the pit of despair.
Damn, now I’m wondering where I put my old vinyl.
The zombie apocalypse sucks!
There are only about a thousand of us left here. That sounds like a lot, but before the crash, we had ten times as many people. One tenth of that population is over the age of 55. Half of who’s left are between 35 and 55. As indelicate as it sounds, if we don’t do something, we’re going to start dying out. We just can’t afford to lose any more people!
Oh, lord. That sounds ridiculous now that I’ve written it down. I’m worrying about repopulating the Valley when we’re fighting every day just to survive against the monsters that never seem to stop showing up. The situation is fucking bleak and I’m thinking about babies. Who in their right mind would want to bring a child into this insanity?
Cecily and Aaron are my age. Have I made the right decision in staying? Supporting this community is important. But now I have to ask myself did I stay because I was afraid or because I wanted to help this community? I don’t like the introspection happening here. It’s easier to examine the motivations of others.
Maybe it’s time for me to start thinking about going, too?
Who am I kidding. Cecily and Aaron have each other. All I have is this dying town.