Entry 27

Quite a bit of last night was spent analyzing the next step. I had the materials and tools needed for any immediate project. All it came down to is in what order, and how would I do it? I know I wanted to clear the second and third floors and remove the ground level set of stairs. I also wanted to go through the bottom apartments for materials before I abandoned them. With so much wood and heavier materials already upstairs I do not think I need any from below. The flood of zombies on the streets poses a much greater threat then those already upstairs. The obvious choice was to bring down the stairs if possible. The gun made it an easier choice since it gave me a fighting chance if they did notice me.

The closest stairs were at the corner adjacent to the utility room. The apartment next to it had the closest door so I planned to go out that door and then leave it open so I could run inside quickly. I double checked the wood across the window to ensure it was sturdy. I also prepared a few boards with extra long nails so I could board up the door. I hoped if they were pursuing me I could shut and lock the door, put the removable brace into place, and then board it up. This way I could secure it quickly but then fortify it for an extended onslaught.

I checked out the windows across all of the apartments and the utility room to see if any zombies were nearby. I could have spent hours watching but in the end there was no way to predict if they would come. The best I could do was make sure none were close and then get to work before any showed up.

I took a few long deep breaths and quietly opened the door. I decided to try and stay low as I moved to the staircase to try and avoid any notice. I checked down the first walkway and saw it was clear. I quietly hurried to the stairs. As I approached the corner I carefully peaked around to see none on that side of the building. Then I moved to the stairs and got on to my stomach and began to examine how the stairs were attached. Very quickly I could see eight nuts and bolts holding the stairway to the walk. There were another four which held the first floor section of stairs to the second floor section. Lastly, I could see two bolts sticking out of the concrete which the stairs bolted to. The stairs looked quite heavy; I suspected if I could remove the top bolts it would likely collapse under its own weight. I would just have to hope it did not stick up far enough so that they could still reach the floor. I have no idea if they could climb up if they could reach the edge of the walkway.

After I tried to estimate the size of the nut on the bolts I looked around carefully to see if any had noticed me. There was only one in sight and it was at the far end of the parking lot. It was simply standing, facing across the street, and had paid me no attention. I headed inside to the utility room and grabbed a few wrenches which I thought might fit. As I headed back out another look around showed only the one zombie, still staring in another direction.

I tried removing the nuts which attached the sections of stairs first. At first I wondered if I had any chance of breaking the stubborn nuts loose. If I was not afraid of noise I would have tried hitting them with a hammer. I finally returned to the utility room to find something better. I found a socket wrench with a long two foot handle. It did not ratchet either, so I hoped it would make less noise.

The longer handle finally gave me the force I needed to break them loose. They were still a fight to remove thanks to the rust. As I wiggled out the second bolt the stairway shifted an eighth of an inch. Not much, but it gave me hope the weight would be enough to bring it down. As I moved to the bolts which held the stairs to the walkway I realized why the stairs had always rattled so much when people walked by. None of the bolts were actually tight; since they were loose I was able to use two of the short wrenches to quickly remove all the nuts. I pulled out six of the bolts and found the last two were stuck from the weight of the staircase.

On first of the two I was able to use its own threads to back it out of the hole, basically unscrewing it. I was about to do the same to the second when the staircase made a loud metallic pop and shifted away from the walkway an inch. Luckily, I instinctively jerked my hand back as last bolt bent under the weight and the staircase came free.

I watched in awe as the staircase collapsed to the ground. The weight had been so much that the staircase had simply ripped out the bolts which held it to the concrete. When it hit the ground the noise it made was ear-shattering. As the first sound subsided the empty city echoed the crash again and again, fading into silence. It took me a few moments to regain any sort of thought. As the ringing in my ears started to subside I heard a noise from the parking lot which brought me back to the moment.

The zombie whom had been idly standing about was running towards me. I bolted to my feet and ran for the door. After I had the door secured with the brace I looked out the window to see how bad it was. To my amazement there were none on the walkway. I held off putting up the extra boards. They might have not known where the noise came from; the hammering might be enough for them to find me.

The rest of my day I spent peeking through the windows. One stairway was down. Soon I might just be able to walk outside without being afraid.