Things have started to come together. Having found a spot on the edge of a mostly deserted town, I have now upgraded the ramshackle shed I used as a base, to a fully fledged platform, with outbuildings, dew collectors for water and even a barbecue for cooking that tasty wolf meat.
Thankfully the local bear has kept his distance but the Dead continue to approach in droves, usually attracted by the sounds of me felling trees or the smoke from the Grill. I'm getting quite proficient with the bow. From the comfort of my raised platform, I can take them out with a shot to the head fairly easily and the endless supply of wooden sticks growing around my camp makes for great ammunition. These sticks can also be fashioned into spike traps, which I've spread liberally around the steps leading up and now a pair of barbed wire fences protect the entrance.
Today was a metal run, many of the cars are abandoned so scrap metal is plenty, and having fashioned a makeshift forge, I can melt this down and make sheets of metal that fortify my base. Today, however, I had a mishap that almost cost my life.
I set out at dawn. Visibility was low but I had seen a number of areas of cars and wanted to get round them all by nightfall, as well as a trip to the local river, my supply running low. As I reached the valley, I was suddenly in a bank of fog. I ran into a couple of the Dead and in the panic, lost my bearings. I spent most of the day walking, trying to find my camp or at least a landmark but the fog wasn't helping.
Soon enough, I hit the river, and though I didn't recognise the stretch I was on, following it seemed like a good idea. As I did, I found a load of survivor camps, though no sign of life. Several hours later, after dodging a bear and countless walking corpses, I saw something I recognised..a water tower that sits about a mile from my base. Making a beeline for it, I saw more familiar scenes, and soon hit the edge of town. The sun was going down, so I ran straight through, scavenging more cars on the way and soon enough found my home, to some relief.
Tomorrow I must get more rabbit traps up to keep me in food and maybe get more metal to fix up more walls. Life is lonely here, but I'm surviving.
