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Assistant: Title: Knox County Born and Raised
        Author: ScaryDrPepper ScaryDrPepper 
        Chapter: 1/5 
        Summary: Knox County, the site of where it had all gone wrong for mankind on that fateful July of 1993. Over a year had passed since with 1994 preceding over a much different Earth. Despite everything humanity was barely beginning to pick itself up and what few federal eyes were left turned towards that same old county in Kentucky.Those powers that be decided to send someone in looking for answers, answers that weren’t hidden by the pre-outbreak government that is. Knowledgeable yet expendable this supposed scientist would soon be coming face to face with something quite unlike the shambling corpses within the exclusion zone.
        Contents: Chapter 1: Welcome to Knox County
    

    


      
        
          
          (See the end of the chapter for  notes.)
          
      
  

  
  
    
    
   August 2nd, 1994 
 The city of Louisville stood disheveled and a husk of its former glory along the Ohio River. Its population since turned into shambling things that the living had scantily the time to bother clearing, favoring easier pickings. After a harsh winter and little over a year since its population had gone ravenous Knox County however had but a few stragglers, none within that dead city however. Scattered between the once affluent Riverside, the military town of Muldraugh, small town USA West Point, and the farmlands surrounding Echo Creek a handful of survivors had taken residence since it'd all gone down. Almost none were native to the direct area, as the region had been evacuated during the initial days of anyone unknowingly immune to the airborne strain. Evacuees from Louisville choosing to head inward during the fall of the city and wanderers from nearby counties made up the bulk of those alive within the fenced in borders. And despite the ravenous hordes towards the east in Louisville the rest of the county was much more peaceful than it had been; no thanks to the aforementioned survivors.  But a newcomer would be arriving soon enough…   Along I-71 to the northeast a deluge of abandoned vehicles choked the roadway going away from the city… but not in. Heading southwest towards Louisville a lone vehicle had taken approach along the much less packed incoming lane to the city. The emerald green Franklin All-Terrain ambled its way along the deserted stretches only occasionally dodging left behind cars and the increasingly common undead. Its sole occupant was but a 33 yr old man who quite frankly was rather out of place.Joel Strayer, biochemist from Cleveland, Ohio. A man shanghaied into helping fix this mess. If some armed men claiming to be from what remained of the US government hadn’t come knocking a month prior he’d be ‘safe’ back home with his group. But no, Dr. Strayer happened to be one of the few faces with even a related background that they could find to have survived the whole mess. With only a little strong arming they’d gotten him to agree to accompany them back to Virginia. There he was brought up to speed on the situation. Now here he was having driven over six hundred miles, over three days, alone, to ‘investigate ground zero’ as they’d called it.   Joel wasn’t a happy camper about this whole thing, not one bit. Somehow he’d not gotten shot at or swarmed by the undead during the trip over and the remnants had given him a clear and decisive hypothetical path that'd get him through the event line. Actively swearing on his life he hoped the instructions they’d given him held true, as a few hundred thousand shamblers were not something he could contend with. All this plan took was meandering his way along the outskirts of Louisville, finding an old army checkpoint setup along one of the more desolate stretches, and using the bolt cutters they’d kindly given him to get through the gates. But as the first step of this plan began growing closer he couldn't help but feel a pit forming in his stomach… 
    August 3rd, 1994 
 Joel had actually managed to do it, much to his own shock. Even more shocking were the conditions within the old event boundary. Of the deathtraps he’d seen of other cities, the rest of Knox County was unnervingly quiet. Best of all though? He wasn’t alone either. There were signs of recent living activity in the region, something he'd not been briefed on about the possibility of.Having been given no direction once inside Joel had no choice but to wander while being mindful of his gas, even if they’d rapidly taught him how to siphon fuel. His first stop was West Point, seeing as that was the closest city to where he’d broken in. There he’d seen first hand how much quieter it was as the streets of West Point while weathered and cracked, had few if any undead about. Not much of a drinker even when he was younger Joel had decided to see about diverting from his path momentarily to a nearby bar. That bar being 'Twiggy’s' as it was advertised on the local map he’d picked up, nestled right by a gun shop as was the American way. Low and behold Twiggy’s was occupied, as was the gun store and nearby Gigamart, all of which barricaded and walled off from the rest of the city. With the bustles of civilization gone the denizens of the compound heard him before he’d even approached and were ready for him. At first seeing five people pop out with guns (although not aimed) while he was ogling the walls made him think it was the end, a rather pitiful one at that. Perhaps it was his out of place look or evident lack of threat but once he was asked out of the car did a meeting occur. Face to face he was able to get a better visual of the group seeing as he wasn't sh@t scared. A young teen, three adults, and an older gentleman, if he didn’t know better he’d wager they were related. They’d of course asked what he was doing here as supposedly everyone in the county knew one another.  He’d begun explaining his mission and was more than happy to voice how involuntary the whole thing was. Hearing he was sort of from the government made them wary which was understandable, but then he’d explained  which government  he was from... Once hauled off to Virginia he was made aware of what had transpired between July 1993 and then. A coup had occurred once rumors of the government in hiding being complicit in the apocalypse began coming to light. Dozens of surviving military, scientific, and political components who’d had ties to what had occurred were dealt with in varying ways. Those immune to the airborne strain were either executed or were locked away with the key more or less tossed. The unlucky ones who weren’t immune, surviving solely by never coming near any of the infected, were ousted from the compound without so much a gas mask. Then and only then did reconciliation begin to take place, figuring out what to do given how much had been lost. Problem being though once the writing was on the wall the smarter of the conspirators got rid of as much evidence as possible, which is why he was here. After explaining, the group was much more trusting and slightly happy, according to them knowing General John McGrew was more than likely dead… which he hadn’t considered (and silently agreed with). Regardless he’d asked and probed for information that could be useful. The family, despite having been in the area since January, hadn't ventured to the farther reaches of the county. Pressing further he’d asked if they knew anybody that could help which was when they got  cagey. It was quite obvious they knew something or someone given the sudden demeanor shift. But after hushed whispers amongst them he was directed to the West Maple Country Club just outside Riverside.  Biding that group farewell and with a parting gift of a room temp beer bottle he was glad to have had a mostly pleasant encounter. Opting to drive through downtown West Point he was also pleased to see it clear enough to drive. It was however slightly depressing however seeing the city slowly being devoured by nature as a town like this he’d have loved to live in. But alas the scenic drive through West Point ended and he began driving west with the Ohio river to his right. As he drove Joel came to note that for the most part the roads within the zone were nearly clear of wrecks and old vehicles. The ones that did happen to be present were pushed to the shoulder making navigating pleasant. Survivors doing civic duties, now that was a new one. By the time the sun began to set though he’d finally come upon the winding road to the country club. The gatehouse leading in had its traffic gate raised skyward allowing him to enter unabated. Approaching the main structure it was seen, at least from the front, that is wasn’t as hastily barricaded as the base back in West Point had been. A large metal fence ran around the majority of the outside while outward facing windows were barricaded, alongside a rather beefy looking front door. Also unlike last time a man was standing there, gun on his hip, seemingly waiting. Slowly pulling to a stop in front of the building the man waved as he exited, a far cry from the guns drawn introduction earlier in the day. To his shock as Joel rounded the vehicle to approach the man he was greeted by him instead in a slightly southern drawl “Joel is it? Glad you rolled in here in one piece; been keepin' a lookout for ya.”. Tilting his head like a dog would when confused Joel bumbled a response “Y-yes that’s me… uh how do you know my name?” The stranger chuckled a bit before shaking his head a little, “Collin radioed someone was headin' our way.”. Josh didn’t actually know who Collin was seeing as the West Point group hadn't introduced one another but he should’ve figured they had radios; anyone who didn’t was behind the times nowadays as it were. Now before the man, Joel brought his hand up to shake, which the stranger reciprocated. “Well Joel, names Tony by the way. You're a bit of a 'scientist' or somethin', right?”. Hearing the emphasis Tony had put on the scientist word made Joel frown a bit, but after the past year many didn't appreciate those that fell under that blanket term.   From there on the steps he explained his little government mandated mission as Tony listened intently, nodding along as he did. By the time he’d finished Tony could only confirm it’d tracked with what the West Point group had relayed. During Joel's spiel it’d become properly dusk, the once prestigious club now shrouded in reds and oranges. Looking about Tony began to speak, offering “Say… from the look of things you're not  really in a rush, worlds already screwed as is. 'Less you’re fixin’ to catch some Z’s in your car we’ve got a lounge you can crash in for the night.”.  Looking back to his car and supplies Joel weighed his options before Tony tacked on “Oh, don’t worry about anyone takin’ anything, we ran the hostile sorts out back in March.”. Once again there it was, another tidbit about how people in here had fared, painting an ever broadening picture. Regardless, it was good enough assurance for him. Following Tony inside Joel inquired more about the group here at the club. As it turns out there were eight of them in total and Tony had drawn the short straw to wait for Joel. The rest however were either asleep or someone else in the building.  Tony led Joel into a lounge not too far from the lobby. Despite a year and then some having passed since the usual ritzy sort came through here Joel could definitely smell what was. Even with the bar counter cleared out the faint odor of liquor and tobacco permeated the entire space. Bookshelves in the one corner of the room were however stocked with his ‘accommodations’ being in front of the fireplace in the middle of the room. Two couches and two love seats would be his bedroom it seemed, which given his arrangements since leaving Virginia wasn’t too bad.  Not wasting anytime Joel made his way over with one of his backpacks in tow. Seeing the scientist beeline for the couches Tony decided to lay some things out. “Hmph alright… lets see. For the both of our good, don’t be strollin' 'round like you own the place, ‘cause nobody here’s got a clue who you are. I’ll be in the lobby keepin' watch most of the night, so if you need me that’s where I’ll be. Oh and I’ll be ponderin’ over them questions of yours too, so don't worry.”. Wheeling around Tony began to leave only stating he’d wake Joel sometime in the morning. With the door shutting behind the man Joel began to settle onto one of the couches. The upholstery retained that narcotic smell which seeing as rotting corpses walked about meant it beat out a bunch of other smells. Staring up into the darkening ceiling Joel pondered about how his first day had gone... absolutely no answers to speak of yet, nothing even worthy to write down or record, and he'd had guns drawn on him too. Tomorrow though he’d hopefully have an answer or two, if not perhaps a lead.  
   August 4th, 1994 
 Driving south now Joel had been left with as he predicted no answers and another lead. Tony had woken him up earlier that morning as he said he would having thought things over. Unsurprisingly nobody at the club had the answers to the apocalypse, a shocker through and through. A finger was pointed though southward as a military base was present somewhere near the edge of the old event boundary. This had sparked his interest though but also fear. Unless the base had been raided there was a high likelihood it would be utterly filled with undead.Joel was not a fighter; though he was no pacifist either. He’d become a decent enough shot to manage even if that wasn’t viable in most scenarios. As for close range, despite having once dealt with the human body frequently, he was still squeamish to such things. Blunt was a no-go for him as bashing in a thrashing bodies head wasn’t something he’d gotten over. Blades however was his go to for melee, as long as the gore didn’t splatter over him that was.  Since last July he’d dealt with perhaps only a hundred or so of the dead since, so the potential of hundreds if not more at the military base was a  bad prospect.  Around him the forests of Kentucky had morphed into disused farmland as he passed through the region's bread basket. Seeing the abandoned and overgrown fields caused some lamenting in Joel as he drove. It’d been a long time since he’d had a fruit or vegetable that wasn’t from a can and the rations the gov had given him while different were hit or miss at best. With the farmlands less obtuse and visibility good he decided on a little reprieve. Reaching over to the passenger seat Joel began to dig into a bag he’d brought from Cleveland. Eyes half on the road his hand eventually encountered the cassette stash he’d treasured like gold (even if that saying fell short nowadays). Letting fate choose, he withdrew a single cassette. And Fate chose  The Smiths. Popping it into the Franklin’s cassette player the machine sucked in the cassette. And the starter for the cassette was “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now ”, a classic… at least to Joel. As the mildly melancholic lyrics of different times began to play he couldn’t help but admit something. He was relaxed, despite everything. Knox County had few infected, mostly friendly people, and clear roads. All of those facets now prime things for the average 1994 human.  As time and peripheral slipped from his view, that dreaded highway hypnosis began to creep in. It wasn’t a deer or shambling corpse however that would jar him from this stupor however…A car horn would be the thing to jolt him ‘awake’ as another vehicle in the opposite lane, a truck, blew past. Checking his rear view the vehicle slowed and then did a disgustingly efficient u-turn for the space given. Before he knew it they were following him. Aside from gaining on him and visibly seeing a single occupant Joel began to panic. He hadn’t a clue who this was or why they were following. Fighting the urge for evasive driving as another Smith song blurred in the background the truck crept into the opposite looking to drive next to him.  Speeding up next to him he was a bit shocked to see the driver. An older woman was at the steering wheel, old enough to grey but not fully. Her passenger window drew downward and her hand came up. With no weapon or anything of ill intent she motioned for him to put his down. Reluctantly complying, Joel held the button down to let his own window fall. Seeing her cue the woman shouted over to him “Hey pull over! I just want to talk.”. Joel was to be one hundred percent honest with himself, a bit bewildered. Here he was being flagged down by some middle aged woman; the potentiality for some older woman doing him and not the dead was definitely present...  Slowing and coming to a stop the woman did the same, not even bothering to pull behind or in front of his Franklin. Genuinely peeved Joel got out of his car first. Seeing him get out the woman chose to not get out allowing him to take the scant few steps it took to approach her passenger window. Taking a deep breath before he shouted at an old woman Joel calmly asked “what do you want!? ” just about gritting his teeth as he did. To hammer home how absurd the situation was the woman shut her car off and leaned over, “Could you repeat that?”.  Clenching his hands out of sight Joel repeated albeit marginally more composed this time around. Seemingly reading the room the old woman straightened up and put up a placating hand stating “Oh, I’m sorry sir just haven’t seen your face or car here before. Are you new to the area as old Knox County here could always use new folks. Have you met with Baxter and her group in West Point… oh it looks like your coming from Riverside, I was just heading there. Did you see the lads over there at all? They're at that old club with the golf course and horse stables, my father-in-law used to love going to that place.”. Joel blinked a few times, a bit stunned from the ramble. Steam thoroughly drained from him he leaned a bit into the window and explained to her: Yes he is new but not staying, yes he’d met the West Point group (even if again he hadn’t a clue who Baxter was), and yes he’d met the country club people. Hearing he wasn’t staying of course got her to ask why… which he figured was a good enough time as any to give his mission spiel to her.  Leaning on the center console in a thinker pose the old woman listened intently as he spoke. As with Tony he’d decided to add the exact background regarding the coup from the get-go. By the time he’d finished she’d leaned back into the truck seat which was a little too big for her, deep in thought. Head bobbling to and fro as if she was having a conversation with herself she’d eventually relent and lean back over. “And you’d said you met with Baxter and them?”, He nodded.“And Tony and all ‘em?”, again he nodded.“And you were heading towards that Army base over yonder?”, he didn’t know what she was confirming so as before he nodded…  Grumbling under her breath she sighed “Seeing as none of ‘em drove you off and seeing its just you…I think there may be  someone  who can assist you. First hand experience and all that”. Joel’s eyes widened as thus far he’d been given nothing but indirect stuff at best… this however could be something.Getting serious abruptly she jabbed a finger towards him declaring “But so help me God if we hear you so much as touched a hair on  her  body you’ll find out how we keep this area so peaceful.”, at the threat she popped open the center console. Inside was a .44 revolver befitting of Dirty Harry himself. The threat was a bit blunted solely due to who was issuing it (and the mental image of her using it) but Joel hadn’t planned on anything nefarious to begin with so he agreed “No Ma’am, not looking for trouble.”.  Hearing that the older woman closed the console looking rather pleased with the ‘threat’. Looking around she quickly came up empty for whatever it was she’d been looking for. Turning to Joel she asked for a pen and paper as she’d need to give directions. Invigorated by the promise of answers, he'd quickly found both within the backseat of his car before handing it to her. With a scrunched face she began transcribing directions and as it looked a crude map as well. Partway through the map she slapped her forehead and requested an actual map if he had one. As he’d been using one he forked that over too, this one requiring just a quick scan and a circle.  Seemingly unsure once more of what she was doing she had to practically force the items back over to him. Only briefly glancing at the map he turned his attention back to her as he stepped back “Thank you so much, are you certain uh… she’ll be able to help me?”.Beginning to roll up the window she stated “Certainly.” There was a mere sliver left before she stopped and called out through it “Tell her Nancy sent you. Oh and shut that garbage off before the dead hear it.”.  With that the window shut, she  peeled away, and popped another flawless u-turn. Nancy gave a parting wave as she passed by, Joel giving a half-hearted one in return as she drove off towards Riverside. Only a bit less bewildered than when the encounter began he numbly got back into his car realizing the ‘garbage’ was another Smiths song as he’d left it playing as they spoke. Critic or not Joel suddenly stiffened as he hastily opened the map he’d let Nancy draw on. Searching he quickly found the location she’d circled, just above Muldraugh. A small township was located there called “Lake Ivy”, as befitting the name it was situated around several small lakes. On the largest of said lakes, on an outcropping of land into it, laid a residence… the location Nancy had circled.  Joel ran his hands through his rough beard contemplating. The location didn’t seem large from the map but the peninsula it was on certainly made it a nice locale, even before the apocalypse. From his current position it’d be about an hour or two drive, at least if the roads were equally as clear. Putting the car in drive again he turned the cassette player off, he needed to think. ‘First hand experience’ Nancy had said, something that vexed Joel. Given the coup had taken out what was certainly the first hand experience types he couldn’t help but wonder who the hell this mystery woman would be as to qualify. A scientist sent in during the initial quarantine perhaps? Though the potential for them being someone culpable for the Knox infection certainly made him nervous. Maybe she was what had been making the West Point people so cagey, hiding someone like that.Regardless though it was a solid lead, one that didn’t send him to battle the undead too. In a few hours, God willing, he’d have actual tangible stuff to write down and record. But until then Joel sat in silence watching as Knox Counties abandoned lands passed by. Perhaps this mission would yield fruit after all…
  
  

    
      
        
        
          Another fandom I've beset furry stuff upon...So let me just state these end notes are my rambles on stuff.Alright so the anthro stuff begins next chapter, had this in my drafts FOR A WHILE... rewrote it quite a bit and expanded the beginning as to have the world building laid out.Author you may say... why send one person and not a whole team? Well my friends this is the government we are talking about... canonically and irl not the most goal oriented of folks.'
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