Blatant LOPE ripoff (Where is Everybody?) third

The twenty seventh has been a productive day. I'm not sure which thing was the greatest. I set my alarm clock for six AM. I want to make sure everybody is up and at 'em by dawn. So far, everyone has been very compliant. Only the other guy who was in the crosswalk (Will) showed any discontent with getting up early, but he did not object. I'm starting to get curious about this, (as if to imply I wasn't already) at the cause of this. But first things first, assume the worst and prepare for the long haul, never presume we'll find anyone else. I haven't even seen another animal for the past three days. Yet I found a toppled tin garbage can half full of rubbish, and the plastic bag shredded. Half the rubbish I presume was in there is gone, but the rest is still there. I took anything I thought might be of use, namely anything my magnetic pick up tool would catch. I also thought I could use the compost of the trash. To hell with it, the entire bin is mine! No one is here to stop me! I could punch holes in the base and use it for fires. Incinerate any waste we generate. There's only nine of us here; We cannot very well be expected to generate a substantial portion of waste.

I came back to the mall, which had been unfortunately locked. Had this disaster happened an hour later maybe the door would be unlocked. Or so I thought. It turns out somebody knows how to pick a lock. Good thing I came prepared with earplugs, or many of us would be deaf from the now useless alarms. The dude Anthony is good company. We stuck together as we toured the place for anything we might think was useful, and he had the right mind frame for the circumstance. It also helped that we both had this energy detector on our heads, and could sense the power that surrounds us everywhere. There seems to be loads of it in some places, yet sparse amounts elsewhere. But no place is ever void of it. It seems to specifically inhabit live beings, like us and the plants. It's present in the atmosphere, as we hold and utilize energy inanimate things are passive to. We hoard it. The others can't sense it, but they seem to take our word for it. I wonder if they think we're mad, or they really believe us. We discovered golf carts the security and custodians use, and decided they won't be needing them anytime soon. While the others are out doing their thing, the two of us are sticking together and not leaving one another's sight. It'd be disastrous if any of us should get into an accident or lost and be unaccounted for considering no one else has turned up to be number ten in our party. The book store in particular was my point of interest. This was where I had worked before I got my week and a half off. I sold books, but organizing the bookcases was my main intent. Any reading materials for purposes other than warding off boredom will suffice. Not to say I won't read for fun, of course. Anthony has suggested we stock up on kerosene, as it will be in finite supply, yet has long shelf life and no one else to take it. Gasoline, not so much. All in all, I can't say I would be eager to return to the mall when people were still here, but it's been surprisingly rewarding having this big, free smorgasbord around. I know it won't last, and there won't be any new books, papers of magazines to read unless this thing reverses itself suddenly as it began. He found a little portable radio to receive any broadcasts somep- somebody may send, including Monica. It's only one way, but it will keep us connected. I got several packs of AA batteries, with plans to find a crank-charged one. He congratulated me on this idea, saying he wouldn't have thought of it. I know I'm biased, but we came out of that mall with style, the only people there, plus the other guy Will. He only got fabrics and alcohol.

When we got back in the afternoon, most of the gang was here. Only the Hadley bros were absent. I'd tell them to relay info to us when out on their excursions after they got back for future reference. I think they will. Speaking of which, Will went out unannounced soon after the Hadleys came back and he did not say a word. No one saw him leave and thought it happened again. It wasn't until the evening he turned up. I don't even need to say how we reacted to him, what we said when we heard the humming of the electric motor. After that exchange we asked what was in the garbage bags. He then opened them up to reveal corpses. Guess which type? Human cadavers to be specific. When we asked how he got them, he said he went grave robbing. That's spectacular. We have ourselves a graverobber and a ghoul. However, his eccentricity did us some good, though: We discovered the bodies were recently embalmed and recently deceased. What happened was he dissected the bodies and revealed the interiors. Aside from having formaldehyde, they were in perfect condition, and nothing was there to indicate how they had died. Until he took a ball peen hammer to their skulls, then he pointed out that they had been cooked from the inside out. The whole thing was blackened and crisp. He then escorted us to the cart where he revealed that the two he dug up weren't the only ones. The corpses in the yard were both from the cemetery. The other three he had were from the mortuary. More fresh, we could actually smell the char inside their skulls once busted open, and we all had to hold our noses except the gryphon. I wonder how this could have happened. What caused this? Why isn't anything else cooked? What went on inside their heads? We may speculate, but we may never know. I now know that Will is apathetic, and has not the least bit of squeamishness. I think we should all be on our guards when he's around, and be worried when he isn't.

On a lighter note, the lizard lady (Vinnie) told me she had rounded up all the bottles of liquor she could get her hands on, and she took some beans, peas, corn, and spinach all canned for the sides. She also decided to take some ale and beer for good measure. She's a real lifesaver, a sweetheart to us all. I swear, I will pay her back for this, somehow. And not just by letting her stay here.

Till tomorrow, Alex Chance Torrez is turning in.