Kellie's Diary: Death of Innocence

Welcome

Kellie's Diary is the story of a young girl who has found herself alone after her world is turned upside down and taken over by the dead. She confides in her diary, revealing what she goes through, how she feels and what she learns. We have spent the last couple of years watching her grow up, experiencing a myriad of situations involving the living and undead alike.

We began this story in late 2012, and has since grown a mind of its own. What began as a video read-along series quickly evolved into an e-book series, which is still being worked on and planned. Decay of Innocence, the first collection, contained Parts 1-3; this collection contains Parts 4-6.

We sincerely hope you enjoy this story – there is much more to come in the future. Please let us know what you think by leaving a review or by contacting us directly via email, our website, Facebook or Twitter. Your feedback is very valuable to the creation of these stories.

Thank you!

-Thomas Jenner & Angeline Perkins

Dedications and Thanks:

Special Thanks to George Wier, best-selling mystery author: You taught us everything we know. You've been the greatest mentor and friend one could ask for, and your help and guidance are priceless. Kellie's Diary probably would not exist without you.

And Special Thanks to You, The Reader. We're so fortunate to be able to share this story with you. Without you, Kellie's Diary would not have continued as far as it has, or will.

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Dedicated to the memory of Butch Jackson – your friendship has meant so much to us, and we're grateful for knowing you. We will carry with us your kind spirit and love for life in everything we do.

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Part 4

Chapter 1 – April 6, 1999

Well this sucks. We’re stuck up here in the attic of this huge house. I went to go check out the basement, and a whole ton of zombies came out. There were so many at once that Jonathan had to pull me up into the attic with him and Sarah to get away from them. A few minutes ago, Sarah called on the radio for the salvagers to come get us out so now we're having to wait.

And Sarah is just making things worse. She keeps saying how I should have been more careful, or asked someone to check the basement, blah blah blah… I’m getting so tired of her crap. How was I supposed to know that there were zombies down there!? It’s not like the zombies are on a map that we can just avoid.

What kind of freak keeps zombies locked up in their basement, anyway? There had to be at least 20 when I opened the door! It surprised me at first, but now I’m just irritated that I’m stuck here. We’ve wasted a lot of time sitting here waiting for the team to come get us.

...Oh god, Sarah won’t shut up about it. If I didn’t open the basement, either she or Jonathan would have, and we’d still probably get stuck up here. So I don’t know why she’s blaming me for this. She acts all surprised that we found zombies hiding in a house. Seriously, how long has it been now, Barb? This is nothing new for us, and she’s making way too big of a deal about it.

Honestly I want to get out of here just to get away from her. I can get away from zombies easily, but I know that if I try to get out now, I'd be leaving them behind.

The only cool thing I found in this house was an old Nintendo. I think I remember Dad having one of those things. Whoever was in this room had a big stack of games sitting next to their TV.

I showed Sarah, but she didn’t even seem to care, she just looked at it and walked back downstairs. I don’t know what the hell her problem is. I know we can’t use it, but that doesn’t mean she has to be a bitch about it. Jonathan saw it and said that it was awesome, that he used to have one too. At least he gets it and he's not being a jerk about it.

It’s weird, seeing that Nintendo started making me think of my dad… then the others. I haven’t thought much about my old family lately. I try to remember things before everything went to hell, but it’s only in pieces. It’s getting hard to remember everything. The only people that are left from that life are you and Lydia.

I have a hard time remembering Jennifer sometimes, but she was just a baby, and I didn’t play with her very much, since Mom was the one dealing with her. I remember Mom okay, just nothing really special. I used to wonder if any of them ever made it, but I’ve gotten used to it being just the three of us. I guess I can’t help thinking about stuff like that once I get started. It’s like once you think about it, it doesn’t go away, as much as you try to forget.

I wish the stupid zombies would shut up, it’s making it hard to think. All their groaning and stomping around is so annoying right now. We're just trying to do our job. Sarah’s mumbling something into the radio, and that’s just making me more irritated. I’d rather be in bed talking to you, not stuck up here in this dumb attic.

Oh wait, maybe we won’t be here much longer. Sarah just said that the salvage team is here. We need to go.

Chapter 2 - April 9, 1999

I am so damn tired of hearing Sarah and Dan complaining about Mark. I know, I’ve been saying that for a long time, but today it was so bad that I was about to start yelling back at them too.

I couldn't tell exactly what Sarah and Dan were talking about, but I heard a little bit when they went outside. She looked pissed when she got back from talking with Mark, so Dan started asking her about it to figure it out. You know I don’t like hearing them complaining about stuff, but I figured I’d listen in this time.

I wasn’t able to understand a lot of it because of the train moving, but I swear I heard them say they wanted to get a new leader for the train and relieve Mark of his command! All Sarah’s been talking about lately is how she thinks Mark is a bad leader, and that she wishes the old town was still standing. I also heard her talking about what happened when we were stuck in the attic, saying that it wouldn’t have happened if I weren’t on the team! She still blames me for what happened! I don’t believe it!!

She said she thinks it’s a bad idea to have the kids working, that it’s too dangerous for me to be out there, and Dan agreed with her! I don’t get it, what’s wrong with having a job?? Lydia's been doing great in the garden, you know that as much as I do! Besides, working with the food is important, she gets to make sure the plants are growing enough to feed us. I get to go help find things for the train that we can use! We’re actually being useful instead of sitting back and hiding.

Why the hell did Sarah teach me to shoot anyway, if she didn’t want me doing anything to begin with? I’m almost wondering if she’s thinking about taking my gun from me. Not like I’d ever give it to her.

I wish I understood what their problem with Mark is. Ever since we got here, Sarah and Dan haven’t trusted Mark, but they don’t ever say why, and he’s never done anything wrong! Even after all this time being on the train, and all the crap we've seen together, he's the bad guy somehow. If they hate this train so much, they should have left a long time ago. I think they're being really stupid.

Seriously Barb, I can’t think of anything Mark has done in all this time that would be bad. He might be a real hard-ass, but we’re all still alive, and he gets things done, and almost everybody on the train gets along with him. Nobody’s died in any accidents, or from starvation, or anything like that! Mark gave us all a place to stay, and he didn’t have to… he could have left us behind when we first found the train. We might be dead if it weren't for him. Why don’t they see that?

They’re just treating him like crap because they're still pissed about losing the old town. That was YEARS ago. They need to get the hell over it. Lots of towns have been destroyed, and God-knows how many people have died. It's like they won't face reality.

I’m having a hard time making out everything they’re saying, the train is really loud right now and my bad ear isn’t helping. Dan just said something about how much he missed our old town, and Sarah agreed with him, saying that it made more sense. Are they kidding!? Every single day Dan and Michael were arguing about something stupid! How the hell does that make sense? I swear they’re going insane.

I don’t think Dan has any idea how awkward everyone felt when he was yelling at Michael. Sure, okay, Michael was kind of weird sometimes, and he didn’t always have the best ideas on how to do things, but Dan never did anything about it, all he did was complain.

That’s all they’re doing right now is complaining. I keep hearing something about the rules not being fair... honestly, I can’t tell if I’m pissed off at them right now or I’m just bored of their argument. Maybe it’s both. They could have left a long time ago if they didn't like it here. It's better than getting all whiny. I can handle myself, and I can take care of Lydia. I don't need them.

I don’t care what Sarah or Dan says. I’m not going to stop being a scouter, and if Lydia’s happy doing what she’s doing, then she shouldn’t have to stop either.

Chapter 3 - April 10, 1999

Okay, I’m getting really sick of Lydia. She just… UGHH. Never leaves me the hell alone! She’s been bugging me constantly to see what she’s doing. I ALREADY KNOW, she’s gardening! She acts like picking food is something new, but she’s wasting her time and mine running back and forth showing me her stupid stuff. I’m getting really bored with it. Unless she shows me that she’s got a plant that grows brownies, I’m not interested. Amy's right there in the garden with her, why doesn't she show off to her?

I told her to leave me alone, and she did her dumb stomping off act. She’s such a drama queen, and she's still acting like a little kid. She's almost 10, she's not that much of a kid anymore. She needs to stop acting like her life sucks so much. ALL of our lives suck, it’s not all about her!

She’s never been this much of a brat before. I’m going to go crazy if she doesn’t stop it.

Oh my god, I had to finally yell at her to leave me alone! She’s such a pain in the ass. I wouldn’t be so mean to her if she’d just listen to me sometimes. Like anyone really cares that she picked a stupid tomato.

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She tattled on me!? What the hell!! Sarah came in and cussed me out because I’m being mean, or whatever she said. I almost want to go out on my own again just to get some quiet time! I'm happier getting chased by the zombies, at least I know what to expect from them.

I’m so ready to tell off Sarah, you have no idea. She wants to get mad at me because I argue with Lydia? I don’t think Sarah ever had sisters, so she doesn’t get it. Sarah tried to get me to say sorry. Right, like that's going to happen. Now Lydia’s all whiny because of it, like she’s going to make me feel guilty.

Lydia is a brat and acts like the rest of the world should feel bad for her. After all this crap over the last few years, she acts like the world is still what it used to be. She acts like getting yelled at is the worst thing ever, but she doesn't go out there every day like I do. She's got no clue what life is like out there.

She’s so ungrateful… all I do is try to protect her, and she acts like I’m the bad guy. I only lost part of my hearing trying to find her in the forest when she made us all think she ran away. And she didn’t even get in trouble for making us all run around like idiots. Yeah, HER life is SOOO rough.

I’m going to bed. I can’t do this right now.

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Barb, I just woke up. No idea how long I was asleep. I can't explain it, but I feel sort of... empty. Maybe I just slept too much, I always feel out of it if I sleep too much. Not like I'm looking forward to sleep. Yeah, I'm still having the dream, I'm just ignoring it now. I stopped worrying about it a while ago, it's a waste of time letting it bother me. It's not like anything has really changed. It still feels new, but it's getting... easier? I don't know if that's the right word, because it really isn't easier, I just sort of tolerate it.

Lydia left me a note next to my pillow. It says I'm sorry for bothering you. Wow. What the hell am I supposed to say to that? It's okay Lydia, I'll just ignore your annoying crap and forget this ever happened. What a waste of time. Yeah, there's really nothing else to say to that.

I'm going to go talk to Mark, find out when our next stop is. Maybe I'll just leave her somewhere whenever we stop, then maybe she'll appreciate all the crap I do for her.

Chapter 4 - April 11, 1999

Just got back from church. It was good to talk to everyone tonight, and it made me feel better about what happened a few days ago.

Pastor Paul agreed with me when I told him about Sarah overreacting in the attic. He says it's not her fault she freaked out, she hasn't come to grips with it yet, and I can't expect her to. There are probably lots of people out there that haven't gotten used to the way things are. She's still believing all the things she used to, and doesn't see things the way we do with the zombies.

That basement door needed to be opened anyway. Having the zombies stuck down there isn't doing anyone any good, they need to be out in the open and easily seen.

I keep thinking about all the times I've seen people getting bit or eaten, and it really would have been much easier if they'd have not fought against it so hard. They may not have had such painful deaths, at least. They know it's the end, so why fight it?

You know, sometimes I think back on the old times too... I used to think that it was an easier life, but we were all just spoiled and lazy. Almost nobody grew food, or worked, or did anything worth anything. I guess I was right to hate school back then, it's all useless these days. I can do some math, read and write, and that's about all that really needs to be known anymore.

Think about it, Barb: everyone's running from the zombies, but they're doing the same things we are... we're doing what we have to do to survive.

I'm glad that Paul got us on the right track and understanding what's really going on. God already knows we're suffering, but this is the price we have to pay for the world going to hell. Out of the dozen or so of us, I'm still the newest, but it's really feeling like I have a family again. They said I could bring Lydia next time if I wanted, and I think she may like it – there's Wendy here too, and she's not too much older than Lydia, maybe they can hang out. Right, as long as Lydia's not being a brat, anyway.

The big bible that Paul has is actually kind of nice. I never paid much attention to it before, but i got a good look