Free Every House Is Haunted by Ian Rogers

God only knows what kind of germs they carry. I’m hoping to find a pair of gloves in one of the abandoned cars on the bridge.
    If this ends up being my last entry, then I want to say . . .
    Wow, I really can’t think of anything. How pathetic is that?
    I guess I should pray.
    Hail Mary full of grace, help me win this rambler race.
    If I should die before I’m found, then I wish this warehouse burned to the ground.
    (later)
    Back.
    No sign of the remaining ramblers (maybe I scared them off, ha-ha). No tentacles, no giant spiders, no dinosaurs trampling along the interstate. It was, all things considered, a fairly quiet day.
    I made it to the bridge and spent the next few hours searching cars like a raccoon digging through garbage cans. One thing I noiced that bothered me: I didn’t see a single dead body. It was like everyone simply got out of their cars and strolled away into the Twilight Zone. I guess that’s a mystery for another day.
    My haul from the cars included: canned food (beans, mostly), instant coffee, waffles, powdered milk, powered eggs, and those instant potatoes that taste like instant crap. Candles, matches, and gloves (yes!). I also found a case of bottled water, but I couldn’t carry it with the rest of the stuff. I’ll have to go back for it. No big deal. Tomorrow is anutha day!
    December 21
    Went back for the water this morning. Should last me another month, as long as I ration it. I’ll need to make another trip for supplies before the snow really starts coming down. It could be any day now.
    Found something else when I went back to the bridge, in a station wagon packed full of camping gear. It was in a long, battered cardboard box that had seen some long years of use. I knew there was a Christmas tree inside even before I opened it. Not a real one, of course, but beggars can’t be choosers (that’s become my motto these days). I also found a box with ornaments, tinsel, and lights—no juice to power them, but they’ll still look nice on the tree. I set it up in the backyard, and it looks great!
    Spent the rest of the day in the hammock, whistling Christmas carols with the Garand across my lap.
    Three ramblers rambling! Ha-ha!
    December 24
    It’s a good thing I got my shopping done early. No milk or cookies for Santa, but I left out a can of Spam and a bottle of water. Maybe he’ll bring me that AK-47 I asked for.
    December 25
    No assault rifle under the tree today. But there were a couple of ramblers trying to climb the fence. I think if I had gone outside two minutes later, the backyard would have become a killing pen.
    One of them had managed to pull himself to the top of the fence. I shot him in the chest and he fell into the enclosure. He landed on the patio table, flipping it over and snapping the umbrella off. That made me angry. The other rambler had dropped back to the ground on the other side of the fence. I snapped a shot at him, but he disappeared around the corner of the warehouse.
    There was no sign of the third.
    Dec 26
    I discovered something new today. Remember the animal I heard howling in the night? The one I couldn’t decide if it was a dog or a wolf? Looks like I was wrong on both counts. Sort of.
    Turns out it was a dog—or at least, it was at one time. Not quite a hound from hell or
Night of the Living Dog
, but something in between.
    It was chowing down on the dead rambler, the one that broke my umbrella table. I’d tossed the carcass over the fence the other day, with the intention of moving it later on. Now this thing that looked like a dog was tearing off hunks of its putrid flesh with a horrible canvas-ripping sound. The dog thing looked up at me and seemed to hesitate before hightailing it around the corner. It’ll be back, I have no doubt. And when it does, it’s dogmeat. Ha-ha!
    Dec 27
    Laid a trap for
el poocho
today. Instead of disposing of the dead rambler, I dragged it closer to the fence. Then I climbed into the hammock with my Garand, covered myself