2nd October

Just like yesterday its been raining all day and I'm soaked wet through but I did it. I got to the Potteries in Hanley.

But I'm wishing I didn't.

For starters this city is a ghost town. The only way I know to walk to Hanley is by following the bus route, which I did. It's not the quickest way but at least I had a good field of vision. I saw loads of those zombies. They are starting to look worse. I think They might be eating each other, as they were all horribly wounded. Several times I felt myself about to throw up just by looking at them, especially the odd way that these wounds didn't seem to bother them. They are moving differently as well. Several of them were all jerky, as though they couldn't get they were having a fit. And the ones I got a close look at had sunken faces, dark eyes and gaunt jaws. Maybe they were dead after all, and this was them decomposing, but it seemed different to that, like they were starved. I hadn't seen too many of them, considering how far I walked. Somehow I managed to avoid them spotting me. I'm so clumsy that I have no idea how! I was very aware of the noise I was making, but maybe the rain was drowning me out, or their ears aren't that good after all, who knows?

I got to the Potteries and walked around, looking for a way in, or even better, someone inside to help me. All I found instead was one of the back doors left open. I entered and shut it behind me. I was in one of the service corridors that ran behind all the shops, where the deliveries arrived. I was familiar with the layout of a few of them, after using my summer job at Sportsworld as an excuse to explore them. I was worried about the fact the door was open. Had some of the survivors escaped? Were there zombies inside? I looked at the door and noticed blood on it. Bloody handprints, but from the outside. I found a bar of metal racking further down the hall and picked it up. It looked really weak, but having it in my hands, feeling the weight, did wonders for my confidence. It was a piece of racking from a clothes store, a hollow stand for one of those 'islands' that people crowded round. I had nervously explored, finding my way onto the main upper floor.

I did my best to keep as quiet as possible, still unsure of what had happened. There were more signs of something amiss, including plenty of bloody footprints. I followed them back to their source inside a small ladies clothes shop which someone had obviously tired to make romantic, and found a headless corpse. I just about managed to hold the vomit, until I saw the milky eyes of the head looking at me from across the room.. I quickly ran out, vomiting over the rail to the ground floor. After I caught my breath I turned around, to see a zombie coming at me from across the balcony. I obviously hadn't heard him over my noise, as well as the rain hammering on the roof. I didn't think anymore, I just ran and hit him with the racking. It did nothing but bend around his head. I didn't stop though and kept hitting him.

Looking back now I realise that I couldn't stop. I had had enough! It had been two whole weeks since this began, and I hadn't let out everything that was building up inside of me. I was uncontrollable, something that has happened before and got me into plenty of trouble, and might have gotten me killed, except it saved my life. Don't ask me how, but somehow I managed to throw the zombie over the railing. The sound as he hit the floor was sickening, as was the smell I realised. Not from him. He didn't smell. The other corpse did though, and the whole area stank of stale blood. The analogy disgusts me but I've cleaned them up from public toilets before so I know what they smell like - it was like a million used tampons. That exact same stale smell mixed with lots of blood.

Something had obviously happened to the survivors here, and judging by the fact that the blood on the floor was still fresh it had happened as recently as yesterday, perhaps even this morning. But these survivors had obviously prepared before whatever happened. Debenhams, the store that held most of the stuff I needed, has all but one its entrances locked. Each floor was locked off from the others. Fortunately the second floor was the open one, the one that had what I needed. I had gone inside, shutting the security grate behind me. They had obviously been staying here, using the display furniture as a living area. I discarded the bent and useless racking and seized several knives from the kitchen area, along with a sharpening rod which I slipped through my belt. Using the wind-up torch from the army I made sure the floor was clear, which it was.

I texted Judi that I was safe and that I was getting supplies. She replied that the family that owned the B'n'b were also there and that they were following the advice on the news to prepare. I'm staying at the Potteries tonight. I've looked around as much as I can, and sealed the whole building as well as I can. The only area I haven't really explored is the loading bay downstairs. It can wait until tomorrow.

I have to go, my battery is nearly dead.