Things are much worse than I could have ever believed. I saw things today that I am sure will haunt my dreams for years to come. I don't know what to think or do anymore.
Everything started out peaceful enough this morning. Clear blue skies and sunshine almost made me forget what I had been through the last few days. I found a couple of gas cans in the service bay and used a hose to siphon off the tanks of the cars on the lot. None of them had very much, but I was able to fill the tank on the Subaru and have another four gallons in reserve.
By the time I had done that it was almost noon and my stomach was rumbling. I drove around town for a bit, but there were no signs of life anywhere. I finally found a grocery store and decided to try my luck.
Almost every shelf was bare, but there was still enough canned goods to fill a shopping cart. After I had dumped them in the back of the car, I decided to go back and see what kind of first aid kit I could put together. A box of Band-Aids and some Tylenol would be better than what I had. If I had known what I was about to see, I would have been behind the wheel and leaving.
When I got to the health and beauty aisle, I saw two girls, about 17 or 18 years old. It looked like one was trying to do CPR on the other, but the dim light provided from the sunlight coming in through the front windows it was hard to see.
"Hey, what happened?" I asked.
And that's when I saw one of them for the first time. The girl who I thought had been doing CPR spun around to look at me, giving me a better view of the girl on the floor. She was dead; her torso a bloody open wound. Before I had a chance to try to make sense of the situation, the other girl screamed a cry like I had never heard come from a human being. It was a shriek of anger and pain that took me totally by surprise.
When she leaped to her feet and began to chase me I was already running for the door. On my way out I paused long enough to knock over some shopping carts in an effort to slow down the deranged girl closing in behind me. I was in a flat-out sprint when she finally made it through the door.
I fumbled a bit with the ignition, but I was in drive and rolling before she reached me. With her face right beside my window, I got a horrifying view of her in broad daylight.
Her skin was ashy and pale and her lips and gums were purplish black. But the most disturbing thing was her eyes. They looked bloodshot, but worse. The veins in eyes were lumpy and there streaks of rusty brown running through them.
She ran beside be for at least 30 yards, until I was able to get out onto the street and up to speed. She had to be running at least 20 miles per hour. She was still chasing after me when I lost of sight of her in my rear view mirror.
I left Atlantic without stopping and headed generally west by northwest. I haven't got a map of anything other than Missouri, so I'm not even sure exactly where I'm going. Guess I should have paid more attention in geography class.
After what I saw this morning, I have decided to avoid towns if at all possible. I've got enough food to last at least a few days. All I have to do is find some cars to siphon fuel from and I'll be good.
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