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[sims-inmymouth]

Happy Easter Weekend!

The gang had a fun little Easter party!

[sims-inmymouth]

Easter-Themed Cottage! Available in the Gallery (my username is gabagool2609 lmaooo)

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep 16

[transcript]

[An old camera cracks into life. A woman, Theodora Saavedra, adjusts the frame. She is standing at her artisan's table outside, the rest of camp visible behind her.]

Theodora: I think it's working! To all who might listen to this tape one day, my name is Theodora Anna Saavedra. The date is February 9th, 20.. 20.... I can't remember the year. I am twenty-one years old, and I am one of the first documented survivors of zombie infection. That's right! I was bitten by a zombie and did not turn into one of them.

I want to start documenting these sorts of things, kinda keep a record of how I'm doing. And, well, right now I'm doing pretty good! I found this old camera down in the Newcrest Ruins--that place is like a massive garbage dump--and decided to do recordings! My one roommate, Ruth, does a diary, but if I'm honest, I really don't like writing. Video is more my style! Besides, I got to fix the camera! That was fun!

Okay, I guess I'll tell the story from the beginning. I'm assuming that you, the listener of this recording, are doing so fifty plus years in the future. Maybe the zombies are all dead, or maybe, they're just common annoyances like mosquitos! Actually, no, mosquitoes can do some damage. They can, like, kill a person... well, you get the point!

My girlfriend Hossannah and I were looking for survivors in the river settlement of Henford-on-Bagley. We saw a smoke signal coming from a home. Inside, there were four zombies and two survivors. All roommates. Hossannah and I decided to rescue the two survivors. Now, here's the part of the story where I would embellish and mention, like, having massive muscles and wooing all the people I saved. But I got bitten almost straight away, so really, there was nothing to be impressed over.

The survivors told me the name of the zombie who bit me was Lebanah Akres. No harm no foul, I'm sure she was a lovely person. I probably wouldn't feel the same way if I was dead, but eh, what can ya do.

I became sick almost immediately. I started to feel weak and nauseous. The bite mark hurt like hell, and it was all red and--you get the point. I suppose you'd like to see, huh?

[Theodora unwraps a bandage on her neck, revealing a healing bite wound].

Theodora: Not pretty. By the time I returned back to base camp, well, my roommate's farm, I had developed a high fever. I honestly don't remember too much.

[Another figure walks across the screen. The woman, Tamah Rosales, looks straight ahead, not acknowledging the camera. She is carrying a basket of artichokes from the farm].

Tamah: 104.2. You were delirious.

Theodora: Yeaaa. I should definitely be dead now. [Her voice breaks]. But, I mean, hey, I'm still here! That's gotta count for something, right?

The next morning, I woke up completely fine, as if nothing had happened. My body was able to fight off the infection, thus keeping me alive, thus keeping me from becoming a zombie. I don't know what this means or how this will impact my body and health from now on. I've never been the sickly type, and the most notable health issues I've had were, shit, an infected dog bite and a nasty case of pneumonia that one time.

I'm going to look for a doctor or a scientist or anyone, really, who can help me piece together my immunity. I don't know why I was given the chance to survive, but

[The video and audio cuts off abruptly, the camera breaking.]

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep 15

February 2nd, 20XX

Theodora is immune. She should be dead now, but she isn't. Last night Hossannah dragged her back home, she had a fever. She was dying. We all saw it. When Tamah went to see her the next morning--to shoot her after she died but before she turned--she was alive and well. She fought her fever overnight! Getting bitten by a zombie, to her, was like having a cold!

We were all relieved to see that she was okay. I was scared out of my mind, and even Tamah looked shaken. She held her gun when she was coming down the bunker and she was shaking. But Hossannah. Poor Hossannah. She was crying all night. I knew they were close friends, but I didn't know exactly how close until they started kissing.

Tamah wants to hold a coming out party once things calm down. That's for another time, though, because THEO IS ALIVE?? I still don't get it? How did she survive? Can we all survive? It's not possible because I've watched people become zombies right in front of me. It's not possible!

We're pretty certain that Theodora won't turn. Infected people are dead right now, and in order to turn, you need to be dead. But she's fine. I don't understand. I feel, well, a lot of things right now. I'm relieved and happy and hopeful, but I'm also still really scared. What made Theo able to survive? Is she doing okay, on the inside? It makes my stomach hurt.

We're going to reach out to Rebekah and Mareshah to find out what to do. With Mareshah's exploring and Rebekah's work in radio, they've got to know the survivors around here. They can help us find a doctor or something. Until then, Theodora is feeling good and, well, alive, so she's allowed to come out from the bunker.

In other news, those two survivors that came along with Theo and Hossannah. Their names are Jehoiakim and Abihail. I think they're worried about seeming like burdens, because when we woke up this morning, they were taking care of the cows for us. Tamah was so confused!

Abihail took a nap in the afternoon, and when she woke up, she was panicking. She had a nightmare about dying and becoming one of them. Theo was there and calmed her down. Funny, you think it'd be the other way around! The almost-zombie should be the one panicking out of everyone!

She told her that things are scary, but there's always an end in sight. I think almost dying made Theo wise or something. She was able to actually calm her down. I think having her roommates turn must've traumatized her. And hey, reasonably so.

Sometime next week, we're going back to Abihail and Jehoiakim's house to clean up and get them back started. Their four roommates turned into zombies and tried to kill them, so we want to ease them back into living there easy. Theo and Tamah are going to build some new furniture for them, while Hossannah and I plan an anti-zom defense system for their house. This will take a while, so they'll be our guests for a little while more.

Things lately have been, well, scary. I don't understand what's happening or why. I trust the adults, but I hope they're not hiding things from me.

Yours,

Ruth Givens

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep. 14

Trigger Warnings: Violence (against zombies; pictured and described), zombie bites (against a person; pictured and described), implied character death. General angst.

February 1

Dad,

How’s San Myshuno? I keep track of whatever news comes from the settlements there–the Spice District seems to be doing well. Is it? Is our old home still standing? I know I start off all these letters the same, but so much can change every day. I don’t know if you even get these letters. I drop off everything I write in a mailbox, but I don’t think services are running anymore. I hope you’re doing okay, Dad. Tell Mom I said I love her. 

I saved two lives today. I was out looking for more survivors with my good friend at the farm, Theodora. We were out looking for survivors in Henford-on-Bagley. You remember those old colonial riverside places? We went vacationing there once when I was six. Yes, I still remember everything. There should be pictures somewhere in the house.

We saw smoke coming from a house in Henford. It wasn't on fire because there wasn't any real warmth coming from it. We could hear people screaming inside. The place was overrun with four zombies. It doesn't sound like much, but for a little house like that. There were lots of wild foxes--still alive, not zombified. They were fighting with each other and everything.

The worst thing happened today, in that house full of zombies. Theodora was bitten. One of the zombie girls grabbed onto her, and before I could shoot, it bit her in the neck. I took my rifle, the one you gave me, and shot all the zombies in that house until they were damn dead. I wasn't fast enough to do that before Theo was bitten.

We were able to get her home safe, but she's already got a fever and she's not doing well. Dad, I'm really really scared. I don't want her to die. I wish you were here. I don't kno. I'm not sure what to do.

I'll never forget how Theodora looked after she was bitten. A huge gash in her neck. She was so pale. I could tell It seemed to be painful. I never want to see that ever again.

Once the zombies were dead, we cleared the rest of the house. Inside the bedroom were two girls. Still alive girls, about my age. They must've thought we were zombies, because when we broke down the door, they looked horrified.

Their names are Jehoiakim James and Abihail Stuckey. It was a bit hard to tell them apart--Abihail was smaller and wore a pink sweater with cows on it. We reassured them that they were safe, and that we wanted to help them come to safety.

The girls barricaded themselves in their bedroom after their four other roommates--the zombies--turned. The room was connected to their bathroom, so they had whatever water they could scrounge up there. They had no food. They were in there for weeks.

They could hear Theo screaming as she was bitten.

We coaxed them out of their bedroom and told them that they were safe to come out. When they saw their roommates, they cried. I'm not good with feelings, Dad. I didn't know what to do. I just watched them.

We told the girls they could live with us, for now. They're here on the farm, in tents outside by the garden.

When we got home, Theo was already failing. She had a fever, she was feeling really weak. It breaks my fucking heart, Dad. Tamah was horrified. She called Ruth and told her to come back home (she was away helping out a neighbor). She ordered Theodora to go into our bunker and wait for the infection to turn her. I've never seen Tamah look so defeated and sad.

Dad, what I did next was... something you may not have expected. I was so overcome with grief for this girl who I've spent so much time with, who I've loved so much. I grabbed her and, well,

She seemed to be, well, receptive, to say the least.

I don't know what this makes us. I guess it doesn't matter, since Theodora is going to die, and Tamah is going to shoot her before she turns.

The four women who lived with these survivors are named Lebanah Akres, Sachia Browning, Bilhal Norwood, and Bethel Honeycutt. They are all dead and zombified. I’m going to talk to some folks who work in radio and see if they know these girls. We’re going to try to contact their next-of-kin. If I’m honest, Dad, I don’t know if it’ll work. We just met these radio folks a few days ago, and their new radio tower is only a few days repaired. If we can get in contact with their families, I’m going to try to find you and Mom. I need to be with you again right now. I feel sick, Dad. I can't be alone right now.

If you’re alive, I’ll come home and stay with you in the Spice District. Or even better, you can come live on the farm. We’ve got food, shelter, even some plumbing! That has to be a luxury, right? 

No matter where you go, I want to be there with you. I hope I can find you again.

With love,

Hossannah

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep Thirteen

There is no episode thirteen that's bad luck

[sims-inmymouth]

Updated Schedule -- The EApocalypse

Y'all know the newest update for the Sims4? It completely messed up my game. I use mods to make the story work, and currently, the zombie mod I use is down. (To no fault of the mod makers, this is an EA problem). Currently, my zombie characters aren't zombies. They won't turn, won't bite people. That's, uh, very bad for the story.

Anyone know how to fix this weird update mess up? I should be able to do the next three updates with just poses, but I would like to get this fixed.

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep Twelve

February 1, 20XX

Transcript: Radio New Willow Creek

[faint static can be heard before the audio gets clearer]

Rebekah: Good morning New Willow Creek! My name is Rebekah Venegas, and if you’re listening to this message, well, you're alive. Hey, that's always a good thing! Congrats on another day!

I'm swamped with work here, and my leg's all busted up, so I have a little friend helping me around the house. Thanks, Ruth! Later, at the 9:00 PM hour I'll be broadcasting Hamlet for her.

We have the current forecast--weather and zombies. Weather first, that's much more pleasant. And, uh, the weather really does reflect that! It's pleasant out!

Rebekah, to herself: God, I really fumbled that, huh?

Rebekah: Anyways, the weather is unseasonably mild. It's currently around 41 degrees, with the high peak this afternoon capping at 45 degrees. Ahh, global warming is fun, huh? It- it's not.... Let's go to the zombie watch!

I'm hearing from Mareshah that there are massive swarms in HOB and the western border of New Willow Creek. They're all in that area like a hive or something, while the remainder of New Willow Creek is relatively safe. And by safe, we're talking medium activity. Bring a gun and your wits, and you'll be fine.

[muttering, another voice, can be heard in the background]

Rebekah, aside: Huh? O-oh! Yes! Thank you Ruth!

Rebekah: I've just gotten great news from my buddy Ruth, our comms tower has been fixed, I repeat, our comms tower has been fixed! Now we have a direct line of contact with survivors in Oasis Springs, Newcrest Ruins, and San Myshuno. This is excellent! Survivors, tune your radios in to 19-TZOM for daily weather, entertainment, and zombie forecasts! I repeat, we have access to survivors in Oasis Springs, Newcrest Ruins, and San Myshuno!

[end of transmission]

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep Eleven

February 1, 20XX

Happy February! Today was a great day! I got to visit Mareshah and Rebekah again! Mareshah was out on the field zombie-hunting, and Rebekah had an accident with the goats (something about a headbutt to the shins) and was having trouble walking much. So, they needed someone sprightly and able to help them around the house. That's where I came in! They radioed Tamah and asked her to send someone, and I was the lucky winner (Tamah is tending to the garlic crop and the cows, Theodora is fixing some frozen plumbing, Hossannah is off hunting frogs in HOB. She really hated being assigned that..)

I took my radio and found my way back to their house. I saw some zombies in the far-off distance, but none came near me, and I didn't see any other survivors.

Mareshah was getting ready to leave while Rebekah gave me my assignments. She wanted me to feed and clean for the goats, and then she wanted me to try my hand at working the comms tower. It went down in that big winter storm, so the reception of the radio has been tricky. Of course, I would be getting paid. Simoleons for the farm, and a nice warm dinner for me. We don't really need Simoleons, what with their being no shops anymore, but Theodora is convinced she can get good use from them. If she melts them, I swear.

Being in the radio room gave me a much better view of the computers and electronics R and M have. They've got tons of computers and routers and a mini comms signal. They use these to record and manage the radio show. Sometimes, Rebekah will prerecord shows for the radio (NEVER zombie reports, just entertainment things like the plays and music. Turns out Rebekah is an amateur actress!). It's all very complex and a touch hard to understand. Very hard to understand..

I started off by feeding the goats and cleaning out their pens. Can I tell you a secret? Goats smell like SHIT. Wayyyy worse than the cows. At least they're cute, and my farming experience allowed me to finish that relatively quickly. Sorry, goats!

Next up, the comms tower. This is where I really had to channel my Theodora energy and remember all the things she taught me. I needed upgrade parts I didn't have. I came back inside to see Rebekah (she was on air), and she gave me what I needed. I spent HOURS working on that tower. Don't tell anyone, but I was probably the WORST person to ask to do this job. Tamah is stubborn enough to figure it out, Theodora is Theodora, and Hossannah is clever and could rig something up. I'm fourteen years old and slapping shit together, hoping that something will stick. I must've done something right, because I could hear Rebekah celebrating inside.

By the time I was done, it was time for dinner. Rebekah slapped on a prerecorded audio of herself reading Hamlet and ate with me. She thanked me for fixing the comms tower. Now we can talk with more survivors farther away, like Oasis Springs and the Newcrest Ruins. She was very thankful to me, and she said she owed us. Us being me and Tamah and my friends, of course.

For dinner, Rebekah made fish and vegetables. She also brought out a chocolate pie she made. It was actual chocolate, not that dried powder shit I've gotten used to. It. was. amazing. We spent the dinner talking--me about my life on the farm, Rebekah about her wife and the stories from the radio. She told us about their pet squirrel they rescued from a horde, and she told me some fun secrets about Mareshah (she's afraid of cats!) She also shared some, just mundane things. Like, Mareshah is diabetic. I.. she could've told me that herself? I get the idea that Rebekah hates silence.

During the dinner, I got a transmission on my radio from Tamah. Theodora and Hossannah sent Tamah a message from HOB, and something went terribly wrong. I had to hurry home and leave right then and there, before we could even finish eating. I'm back at the farm now, waiting for them to come back. This is all so sudden, Tamah won't tell me what's going on. I'm scared.

Best,

Ruth Givens

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep Ten

Jan 27, 20XX

You'll probably notice that the formatting is different. That's right, I'm using a TYPEWRITER! We found some paper that wasn't from my diary! More importantly, WE FOUND THREE OTHER SURVIVORS!

Hossannah and Theodora decided to hold down the fort while Tamah and I went exploring. We've never actually left the farm empty since the apocalypse started, and the thought of doing so makes Tamah antsy. Hossannah gathered the food for us and washed us some grapes for breakfast, while Theodora got to work shoveling the snow.

Our first survivor was a little girl. We met her a couple miles away from the farm. She said her name was Puah. She was foraging for food, so we gave her some of the grapes we had. We asked if she was okay, because what kind of monsters would make a little kid survive all alone out here? She said she lives with her mom, older sister, and the sister's baby. So, I guess that makes Puah an auntie? Weird. She's, like, seven. God that math makes my head spin. Tamah pointed out that Puah is the first child she's met since the zombies came along, besides me of course. She said we could arrange a playdate together. God, no... just no...

Okay, I'll stop with the suspense. We found the people who do the radio show! Their names are Rebekah and Mareshah. They're two wives who work together on the project, Mareshah on the field, and Rebekah reporting from her home base. Their home is on a pretty nice piece of land, and it's relatively secure with a barbed fence. They have a massive comms tower, a few plants, and two goats. Rebekah told me they actually built the house themselves and chose the place because a comms tower was there!

The inside of their house was modest. A small kitchen covered in boxes, the living room was also the bedroom, beer crates on the couch. In its own little room was the radio equipment, where Mareshah was editing something for Rebekah. Some sort of audio file, I'm not sure. We waved outside of the property until one of them let us in. We didn't even have to confirm that we weren't raiders or zombies or something! We think they just trusted us from the get go.

We gathered in the radio room and introduced ourselves. Mareshah didn't talk much, and Rebekah kinda overcompensated for that. She was very talkative, I mean. Tamah seemed a little nervous, but calmed down quickly.

The two radio wives were very glad to meet other survivors and meet new friends. Allies. They knew other people and communicate over the radio, but never once in person. Rebekah knew a lot of stories and.. gossip.. she's heard from other people over the radios. Like in Henford-on-Bagley, a troupe of six survivors got turned, and only two survived. I know, hard gossip, am I right?

We stayed at their place for a while, mostly just talking, before heading back. Pretty uneventful for meeting survivors, since we both have established shelters and good amounts of food. That's right--we offered them the food we made and they didn't even need it! They told us to keep in touch and visit again soon. I hope we can, too. They seem friendly!

Mareshah gave us some paper once I told her about our typewriter, so that's what I'm doing now! I'm back at the farm, and my God, this typewriter is AWESOME! But not as nice as my markers, I say. Those are special since Hossannah gave them to me. It's late, but Hossannah and Theodora went out anyways to look for survivors in HOB. I hope they're okay.

Yours,

Ruth Givens

[sims-inmymouth]

Desert Apocalypse Camp

Also, apologies for the hiatus! School has been very busy lately.. Three new episodes will be up tomorrow!!

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep. Nine

Jan 26, 20XX

Things have felt a lot more normal lately. My life has been like a roller coaster, constant ups followed by downs followed by ups again with no real time to catch my breath. The big snowstorm has ended as of two days ago. Now it's sunny, and the snow has started to form a thin layer of ice on top. Most excitingly, Tamah is all better now! She was still bedridden for a few days after we found her some medicine, but lately she's regained most of her strength, and she hasn't had a fever today. She's still coughing every now and then, but she hasn't been contagious since her first round of medicine. We're forcing her to rest while we cover her house chores for her. It made her a little pissy, but it's for her own good. That didn't stop her from going outside and saying hello to the cows after almost a week in bed!

Theodora had a really good idea today. Since the storm has ended, and we have a surplus of food from the farm, she thought it would be a clever idea to make some food, give it to our neighbors, and offer to shovel for them. That is, if we can actually find any neighbors. Or if they're even close enough to be considered neighbors. You see, this operation doubles as making allies and actually finding which people still live near us. Tamah said she's lived on the farm since before the apocalypse, but ever since then, most of the people have left. She's not really sure who's gone where and who's settled nearby.

Since it was Theo's idea, she led the mission with me in tow. Hossannah gathered fruits from the kitchen and milk from the cows, while Tamah home pasteurized everything and made some cream. We wanted to go out and capture some frogs from the icy ponds so we could make hot frog soup. We packed an extra set of clothes, our radios, our guns, and set off.

Firstly, let me just say that I am VERY happy to announce that there were no zombies today. There were growls and moans in the distance, but that's just standard zombie fare. I heard gunshots at one point, and it made me feel... unusually uneasy. Theodora kept me safe, though. I felt comfortable standing with her.

We first ended up in this foresty area. For the first time in such a while, I've actually seen wild birds! Theo knows a little bit about birding, and she told me about the black-capped chickadee. He was hiding in a log and staring at me. Little cutie.

I've never seen this part of New Willow Creek before. It was too much wild forest and a lot less farmland. When we got back, Tamah told us that we had entered the Henford-on-Bagley county lines. She had hoped that we found other survivors there, and she was sad to learn that the only other living things we saw were little birds.

Once Theo and I decided to stop looking at birds and get back on track, we started down on this little stone path. Now, this makes Tamah really think some survivors are nearby. Tomorrow, she and I are going to check New Willow Creek, while Theo and Hossannah will go back to HOB and look for survivors.

There are a lot of broken shells of buildings in Henford-on-Bagley. The Bagley River itself is dirty and green-tinged from scum. There were parts of the town that were just... empty. It looked as if people could've been there, but the whole thing was just a ghost town. Theo held her gun tightly. I felt uneasy until we had actually reached a pond on the offshoot of the Bagley.

Now, the thing about frogs is that frogs are dicks. It took us TWO HOURS to get enough frogs to cook with. Theo and I changed into shorts and t-shirts so we wouldn't get bogged down by our heavy jackets. It. was. FREEZING! The only thing that kept us from getting hypothermia was our precious, precious breaks. Once we finally got those terrible frogs, we went home and practically worshipped the fireplace.

That's a drawing of me and Theo fighting over the frogs!

Now, at this point in the day Tamah and Hossannah had finished most of the food besides the frogs. It was all spread out on the table: sweet figs and pears, cream, milk, mushroom stew, shepard's pie, regular pie, and some strange mixture in a baking dish that I still can't really make heads or tails of. Hossannah prepared the frogs, and we all helped her with the cooking. It was mostly Hossannah cooking while us three watched and cheered her on.

We had a little bit of soup left, so we gathered around and ate the scraps. It was, surprisingly, really really good! I'll have to steal the recipe from Hossannah sometime.

Now, here's the best part of everything. All this talk of food got me thinking. I went inside the bunker for the very first time (The bunker is a round-ish building right next to the farmhouse. Inside, there's a bed for all of us, storage, food, and weaponry. It's also dark and cold as hell. Off topic). In there, they had a small pot and some plantain seeds. I took them back to the farmhouse and planted the plantains. Dear Abana, I'm sorry you had to die like this how you did. Everytime someone eats from this tree, may they think of you. May your name never be forgotten.

Yours,

Ruth Givens

[sims-inmymouth]

Welcome to New Willow Creek!

Meet Ruth Givens! At fourteen years old, she's a farmer's apprentice, a strict diarist, and a zombie hunter. Sometimes learning about life is best taught in its absence. Or rather, it's newly grotesque reanimated form. Join Ruth and her found family as they navigate slice-of-life living among the living dead in Delilah Five.

Series Notes:

This story is about zombies, so be wary of upsetting content. All trigger warnings will be listed at the beginning of each episode in red letters. However, given the subject matter of this story, expect a level of violence, blood, and weaponry throughout. These are both described through writing and shown via in-game screenshots. Characters will also swear. I consider Delilah Five to be for ages 14+.

There are LGBTQIA+ characters in this story. If you don't like that, please leave. This story isn't for you. I am openly queer, and I reflect that in my writing.

Updates are generally posted sporadically on weekends. I balance college classes, homework, two jobs, and a bunch of extracurriculars, so my schedule is a bit messy. I can write episodes fairly quickly, so I usually end up publishing 2-3 installments at a time.

I write professionally and publish short stories as a living (alongside some other work in the library field, but that's besides the point). I love everything I write, but I struggle with perfectionism and sitting down to write something that's just fun. Delilah Five is an exercise in this. I base my episodes on gameplay and add a story to what happens, so with every new storyline, I'm losing a little bit of control over what happens. And that's okay.

Welcome to the farm, newcomer!

-Hal, creator of Delilah Five

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep. Eight

Trigger Warnings: Severe illness (described), violence (against zombies, pictured, described), blood (pictured, described).

January 22, 20XX

Tamah is sick. Like, really sick. She can’t stop coughing (I can hear it from the kitchen!) and her fever got really high. We checked her over for bites again—absolutely none. We don’t have to worry about evil zombie Tamah, just really-sick-with-what-Hossannah-thinks-is-pneumonia-Tamah. Hossannah has tried all manner of home cures and practically tore up the house looking for medicines stronger than ibuprofen. We don’t have any. When we went to check on her earlier, she was curled up in bed and mumbling to herself. She's been sick since, shoot, I think the nineteenth? She's had a fever that whole time, but it was REALLY bad this morning. Hossannah told me that if hospitals were still operational, we'd be rushing Tamah there.

I had to go out with Hossannah to look for medicines. Specifically antibiotics. Theodora decided to stay home and look after Tamah, since she was pretty delirious when we left. She seems to be doing a little better now, but her fever spiked again. Besides, Theo is still recovering after her burns. Hossannah was worried about Theodora while we scavenged for medicine. (I think they were friends before this whole thing, because they seem really close.)

Hossannah knew of an abandoned clinic that used to have a pharmacy, so we started there. We left not even like ten minutes after we realized just how sick Tamah was. Is.

There weren't any zombies on the way to the clinic. I had my fixed up radio to listen to the storm trackers and zom alerts. The lady on the radio, she said her name was Rebekah, said that there really weren't many zombies nearby. Not to mention the massive snowstorm that was pounding New Willow Creek. The weather was only going to get worse from here, she said.

The clinic was surrounded by wild chickens and feral dogs. They looked cold, scared. I had some crackers in my pocket, so I fed them what I had. I hope they’re doing okay. If the circumstances weren’t so dire (and I knew how to spot rabies) I would’ve tried to haul some back to base.

The clinic itself was old and peeling. There were holes in the walls. The bottom-most floor, which used to have glass walls apparently, was completely blown out and supported by nothing but beams. Once we were in, we could see the outside. It was really weird.

This meant that we could see the zombies. TONS of them. Doctor zombies, nurse zombies, patient zombies. It was... hard to look at to say the least. I don't even think these people came to the hospital because they had the zombie virus. One of the zombies looked heavily pregnant (how that works, shoot, don't ask me). Another one had its leg in a cast. Another one had an arm bent all out of shape, whether that happened before or after infection is beyond me.

I didn't want to go in. My heart was racing and I thought I would throw up. Hossannah didn't look so happy either. She had a gun, a gift from her father she told me once. She shot the first zombie, a doctor, point blank in the stomach. It was the first time I've actually ever seen her shoot a zombie. Or anything, for that matter. Tamah obviously kills lots of zombies, and I've seen Theodora shoot zombies and wild birds with a single bullet. But never Hossannah. She didn't say anything while she did it. It was just how it is.

It was easier killing zombies that I haven't seen as a human first, I guess. I shot a doctor and the zombie with the mangled arm. I don't really remember much of it, honestly. I just pulled the trigger and I wasn't in danger anymore.

We had finally cleared the way to get to the pharmacy. The stairs to the second and third floors were broken and looked.. unsafe to be honest. We got really lucky that the pharmacy was on the first floor. It was surprisingly untouched! Hossannah told me on the way home that because of the high zombie concentration, most people went to raid other pharmacies instead. Safer pharmacies. Some of the medicines were expired. We grabbed whatever antibiotics we could find (little orange bottles, a green beaker lookin thing, small jars of medicine). Then, we filled our bags with any other medicine we could carry. I just ran my hand along the shelf and swiped everything into my bag. Hossannah was happy to find some burn cream for Theodora.

The way home was largely uneventful. It was really cold, and it was hard to see. The winds got really bad, and the snowstorm had turned into a blizzard. Rebekah on the radio talked about hypothermia care, which felt equally useful and insulting.

When we got home, Tamah was asleep. We took her temperature, and it was really high. Like, 103 high. We forced her to take the medicine we found. An hour later, her temperature went down by a lot. She's still coughing and weak, but Hossannah thinks she's going to be okay. I hope she's okay.

Now that things have calmed down, and I'm writing all this out, I can't really stop thinking about the zombies again. I wonder what their lives were like when they were alive. If they had stayed that way, maybe. The doctors could've cured the virus, maybe. Eh, probably not. But they'd go home and be with their families. The pregnant-lookin zombie would have her baby, the injured zombies would heal.

I wish things could've been different.

I'm going to go milk the cows. If I don't think, I can feel better.

Signed,

Ruth Givens.

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep. Seven

Note: This episode discusses treatment for winter weather related conditions such as hypothermia and frostbite. Do not take anything written below as medical advice.

January 22, 20XX

Transcript: Radio New Willow Creek

[static and the faint sounds of wind can be heard in the background]

Rebekah: Good morning New Willow Creek! My name is Rebekah Venegas, and if you’re listening to this message, well, you’re probably just as cold as I am. Well, not cold in the shambling undead way, but physically, living-ly cold. 

Rebekah, muttering to herself: Living-ly isn’t a word…

Rebekah: Anyways, we’re in the midst of a massive blizzard, which you likely already knew if you had access to windows. Or skin. Y’know, to feel how cold it is. God damn it, I made it weird. Uhm, it’s advisable that you stay indoors during this weather. I’m going to cover current conditions and zom monitoring, but if you stick around, I have some tips for staying safe in this weather. 

[papers can be heard rustling]

Rebekah: Alright… whiteout conditions right now for the whole New Willow Creek area. Out in the Henford-on-Bagley countryside, things are just as bad and blustery. I’ve got a jerry-rigged radar here, so if I’m mistaken, listeners from H.O.B. should phone in and let me know how things are. Send a stress signal through your radio or something. Actually, no don’t. That’s a horrible idea. 

Mareshah is currently in the ruins of Newcrest Township. Again, complete whiteout conditions. You can’t see more than a few feet ahead of you, and the snow is just - it keeps coming down. Temperatures are currently well below freezing at a chilly 11 fahrenheit. We’re currently in the waning crescent moon part of the lunar cycle. The temperatures will rise to 26 F by midday and 28 F by three. The storm will continue into the overnight hours. I’ll be on air until the snow stops, reporting live from the heart of New Willow Creek.

[the faint sound of gunshots and zombie moans can be heard in the background]

Rebekah: I’m getting word from Mareshah on the zom monitoring. If - if you’re hearing zombies and gunfire, that would be from her. Don’t panic. Uh, alright, alright. As always, Newcrest Ruins are completely full of zombies. Steer clear from there at all costs; you don’t want to have to fight zombies in a storm like this. And honey, please be safe. Please.

Mareshah scoped out New Willow Creek at around 6:00 this morning. There aren’t many zombies in the area, thanks to the 80-member horde moving up towards H.O.B, but do be wary of buildings. It's also advisable to keep track of the snow piles you step on, in case there are zombies buried underneath. In about two hours, I’ll have live reports from Henford-on-Bagley. I wonder if the Bagley River actually froze. Nah, it couldn’t. Definitely not.

[the sound of moaning and gunfire stops. Mareshah can be heard catching her breath before her walkie goes quiet]

Rebekah: Alright. If you’re still listening, I did say I had some winter weather tips. Alright, firstly, you’ll want to know the signs of hypothermia. Confusion, shivering, difficulty talking, exhaustion and sleepiness, stiffness of the body. Once hypothermia gets severe, the shivering will stop and the other symptoms I mentioned will just get worse. If you notice yourself starting to feel sick and cold, get inside a warm shelter immediately. Remove wet clothing, bundle yourself in dry cloth, and sip warm, sweet drinks. If you’ve reached the severe stages… well, you’d need a hospital. And last I checked, the hospitals were peeling away and flooded with patient zombies. I - I uh, if you’ve reached that stage, I’m sorry. There isn’t much that can be done, unless you have an IV or something. 

You’ll want to, no, need to dress warmly. Three layers of long sleeved shirts, including an insulating layer. Two pairs of pants. Outerwear, like a jacket. Boots, gloves, mask or scarf, hat. Everything. Frostbite is something to worry about. Keep your skin covered, people. Look for redness, and numb, waxy, white skin. It’ll hurt too. A lot of the treatment kinda overlaps with hypothermia. Cuddle with a person or animal for the body heat, warm drinks, extra layers. You’re not supposed to use fire or a heater to warm up, but I mean really, what other options are there? You might burn yourself, but a burn is easier to fix than a black and frostbitten hand, I guess. Again, if your skin goes blue or gray… I’m sorry.

Keep yourself warm in whatever shelter you’ve found. Layer up in warm clothing, close off blinds and rooms, put blankets over cracks in the doors. Be careful with generators and fires, please. If you need a place to stay, I’ve heard that there are small shelters operating in New Willow Creek. Go there to wait out the storm, oh, but bring whatever supplies you can share. Extra food, blankets, metal parts. The works. 

Alright, Mareshah, baby, how are things going?

[garbled static can be heard]

Rebekah: Okay, if you’re in Newcrest Ruins, you’re in luck, because my wife just killed twenty-six zombies over the course of a few hours. She’s making her way to Henford-on-Bagley, where’ll I’ll report to you with new weather updates. For those of you who just joined us, uh, well, good morning New Willow Creek. My name is Rebekah Venegas, and you’re with Radio New Willow Creek. It’s absolutely freezing outside, and the …

[transcript continues for a continued 156 pages]

[total time elapsed over air: 17 hours, 36 minutes]

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep. Six

Jan 19, 20XX

It’s snowing! The first snowfall since last December! Tamah came back two days ago with the supplies she found (a bunch of lumber and wooden parts. The most unique thing she found was a typewriter, but it's broken and we don’t have any paper. Well, besides my diary, but that’s off limits). She came back with a massive grin, and when we looked outside, the whole farm was covered in snow!

I love snow! Winter’s my favorite season, because Christmas comes around, and everything gets all cozy. I’m already excited for Christmas, and it hasn’t even been a month since Santa came around! The storm was intense that morning, so we stayed in and huddled by my new radio, listening to the forecasts. A big storm was expected to come through, but just some snow showers until then. Hossannah made mushroom soup for lunch, and when that was over, the snow had finally stopped enough to where we could go outside!

We had the most INTENSE snowball fight. Turns out that Tamah knows her stuff! She loves snow just as much as I do, and she’s COMPETITIVE with it. During the snowball fight, she accidentally nailed Hossannah right in the face! She had to go in after that, and we decided to follow to keep her company.

Now, this part is just as unexpected as it was when it actually happened. We were all warming up by the fire, and Theodora stoked up the flames a bit. And then the carpet caught fire. And then Theo's pant leg. Theo was on fire.

That was incredibly hard to watch. She was okay - she extinguished herself - but she was shaken up. She spent a few hours by herself. Eventually, she said she just wanted to forget about it and go out in the snow again. Hossannah comforted her and hugged her. It was awkward, a really long hug, but they seemed to like it.

Closer to dinner time, we all went back in the snow! Hossannah and Theodora made a snowman together! I made a snowlady with an orange slice and three raspberries. I, of course, made snow angels. Tamah fed the cows. Hey, someone's still gotta work.

We were out there all evening. Once Tamah had finished the chores, she hid herself in a little corner and made a massive pile of snowballs. Oh, yes. The war had actually begun. It was Tamah and Theodora on one team, the other Hossannah and I. Tamah and Theodora cheated because they used WATER BALLOONS. I mean seriously, who does that??

We got some good shots in, but it was all in vain. No, this time Tamah nailed ME in the face! I fell right over!

That hurt a lot, but nature exacted revenge on Tamah. She woke up this morning with a cold, probably from running around in the snow for 8, 9 hours? She woke up coughing and shivering, but that didn’t stop her from milking the cows and finishing the rest of her farmhand farmer duties. Even though she plays dirty, I hope she feels better soon. It’s midday now, and now that she’s finished all her work, she’s taking a nap on the couch. Hossannah checked her forehead, and she thinks it's a fever. We checked what we could see of her for bites, and there were none to be seen. At least she's not a zombie.

Oh yea. Zombies. You know, with all the fun yesterday, I didn't really think about Abana. I haven't gotten the chance to plant a fruit tree for her, ya know, with all the snow, but I will as soon as the weather gets warmer. Only a few more months until springtime. We could have something growing by the summer.

I felt a lot better yesterday. I think if I keep myself busy, I won't have to think about the zombies and everything. That should work, right? If I stay moving, what I did can't come back to me. It has to work.

Here's a drawing I did of Tamah smacking me in the face with a snowball. Theodora caught me drawing it, and she was a little bit pissed.

Yours,

Ruth Givens

[sims-inmymouth]

Delilah Five - Ep. Five

Jan 16, 20XX

My friends were able to cheer me up, but only a bit. It’s natural, I think. These things take time—that’s what Hossannah told me. When I first woke up, I went downstairs and went to eat breakfast. Hossannah was downstairs and led me outside to talk.

I told Hossannah what happened. She sat and she listened to everything I’ve had to say. She’s killed zombies before, but never before when they were a person first. I worded that poorly. When she SAW they were a person first. She seemed a bit twitchy, I hope I didn’t upset her with my story…

I needed to milk the cows and clean out their pens. Hosannah offered to do it for me, but I said I wanted to do it on my own. A mistake if you ask me--Gilead spooked and knocked the milk EVERYWHERE. I was soaking and smelled like sour milk. I gave the bottles I could scrounge up (six) to Hossannah to pasteurize while I showered.

I spent most of the afternoon tucked away in the fruit trees. Theodora told me a while ago that snow was bound to come soon, and the fruit would die with it. I thought of picking fruit but decided against it. I grabbed a few apples for myself, ate in the branches, and that was it.

I still don't know how to feel about the zombie situation. It makes me sick to think about, but it was either them or me. I wonder how Tamah feels about killing zombies. She's still away scavenging supplies as I write this. I hope she's safe.

Hossannah made roast chicken for dinner. We don't have chickens anymore, so I didn't know where the meat came from. I guess she must've gone off farm grounds and killed a wild one. She also baked cookies. As we ate, I started to notice that Theodora hadn't been here in a while. All day, in fact. She really likes cookies (REALLY likes cookies. Once, she fought Tamah over the last one, and it ended in minor bloodshed), so I was surprised to see her gone. It was another hour before she had shown up. She looked really smiley, and so did Hossannah.

They gave me gifts. Gifts! The first presents I've gotten since the whole apocalypse started. (Well, besides the home and shelter and food. You know what I mean). Hossannah gave me a set of markers! I didn't even know they still made those! Well, that's misleading, they aren't new at all. Hossannah told me they were hers and she used them to mark up her Bible, but she didn't need it anymore since the book was all marked up. I never took her for religious, but I guess the apocalypse does things to people. I've got a whole bunch of new colors, lemme try. We've got PINK and RED and BLUE and a couple nice GREENS. All I use to write these entries is a shitty black crayon. These entries are about to get a lot nicer!

Theodora gave me a small blue radio and an explanation for her absence; she spent all day fixing up the radio for me. It's got the weather/zombie station, a few radio stations from way far away, and best of all. There's a troupe of performers and actors super far away from here, and they record their performances and put them through the radio. The lines are crackly and give out a lot, but just being able to listen to something like that feels amazing. I tuned in and they were playing A Streetcar Named Desire. Never heard of it before, but I liked it!

I ended the evening stargazing with Theo and Hossannah by my side. I think that was my favorite part of the day. I felt a lot better with them by my side. Things will get better, I think. I hope.

I drew myself with the new markers! I think it looks great, doesn't it?

Yours,

Ruth Givens