Entry 49

I slept amazing last night! Sifting through supplies and hauling them back to the apartments must have been even more tiring than I thought. The only bad part is my arms, back, and legs are all a bit sore today. It is to be expected though considering how much I carried back and had to push up to the second floor.

I used the morning to sift through the supplies I brought back and get them organized. I also tried on the boots to see which ones fit. Most of my shoes were getting old and worn out and there will not be any easy place to buy new shoes from here forward. So stocking up is probably a good idea. In fact, there was quite a bit I still needed to get from the shop. A few sleeping bags would be good to have just in case, same for a tent. Some fishing gear might be a good idea although I have never fished. Even the clothes they had could be useful since they were a bit more rugged and designed for utility. The fire did not seem any closer today but it did not mean it was not burning its way to me. Ignoring how sore I was I got ready for another trip to the store.

Once I was dressed, including a new pair of boots, I stuffed the bags into the backpack and headed out towards the store. I tried to keep myself focused on watching for zombies but I found myself looking up at the clouds floating by. I had no idea if there would be rain coming soon without being able to look up the weather. Just like so many travelers years ago all I have is my intuition as to what the weather will do. I made it to the store without any incident and noticed that the alarm pad had gone silent. The lack of beeping made my shopping experience much more pleasant.

This time instead of just going for a few items I walked throughout the whole store picking up anything which could be useful. The best discoveries were some displays which faced the front. I found a few sets of binoculars and a night vision scope. Another display had stoves and lamps for both kerosene and propane. I grabbed a few lanterns and a couple small stoves. I grabbed all the spare parts they had for them as well as the fuel. I ended up with what must have been 100 pounds of kerosene and propane. I was able to spread it among all three bags to help even out the weight but it limited what else I could bring back. Since my bags were already heavy I went for the lighter items and planned to come right back for another load.

I figured clothes would be bulky and light so I began to grab all the useful looking clothes in my size. I happened to glance at a full length mirror and was rather stunned at what I saw. Since this all happened I had only seen myself from the shoulders up in the bathroom mirror. I was not surprised by my beard and longer hair, but I was speechless when I realized just how much weight I had lost. I knew I was thinner based on how much tighter my belts were and how much looser clothes had gotten but I had never stopped and compared. After a few moments of coming to terms with how I now looked I also gathered up clothes that were a size smaller. Even with the fuels my bags they were not as heavy as yesterday so I used some of the small rope they had to tie on a couple of sleeping bags and few more pair of boots to the backpack. Once I was fully loaded I hustled back to the apartment.

This time I unloaded everything in the laundry room then turned right back around and headed back to the store. Not even a minute after I was inside it started to rain outside. I was tempted to walk outside and enjoy the rain. In a way it felt almost cleansing like it would somehow wash away all the bad stuff. I kept myself on task and loaded up the rest of the supplies which I thought could be useful. I ended up making quite a dent in what the store had. The basketball/football/baseball/tennis section had almost nothing valuable, nor did the running shoe wall or ping-pong sections. For the most part the camping section had come home with me. My last stop before leaving was the locked cases near the cash register. They had a few of the more expensive multi-tools, watches, and sunglasses. I could not find the keys for the cabinet so I used one of the baseball bats to let myself into the case. Most of the watches had all been set and still had plenty of battery so I grabbed a few of the nicer digital ones and all three of the most expensive windup watches I could find. With a few pairs of the nice 300 dollar sunglasses I had never been able to afford I had everything I could think of from the store which could be useful. I donned one of my newly acquired raincoats and backpack and headed home.

Even though I was quite tired, the walk back to the apartments was enjoyable. The fresh smell of rain seemed to have washed away the subtle smell of death and decay which I had grown used to. Once inside, I left all my bags in the laundry room to unpack later and climbed up. I ate a late lunch/early dinner sitting near the open door of my apartment enjoying the sound of the rain.

Later on when the rain had let up I finally moved the supplies up to the second floor. It was the rest of my day to get them sorted and organized in a way that made sense to me. I set up a stove in the kitchen and lantern in my room. The lantern I want to save for emergencies, but the camp stove I can use to boil water for some of the dried foods I have. It is still not much, but I have so much more than I had to start. Even though I know every month that lay ahead of me will be a struggle to survive, I cannot help but feel optimistic after the last couple of days. On top of that the rain hopefully will have slowed down or stopped the fire. It has been a very long time since it last happened, but tonight I find myself smiling.