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1The entirety of what I've written for Dianne Caldwell so far. This will be updated whenever I get the chance, so stay tuned!
2
3Background: In the first week of the apocalypse, survivors from the town of Riverside successfully escape the city and hide out in a barricaded farmhouse. One of the group finds a walkie talkie and transmits a message in an attempt to reach survivors in the Knox county area.
4
5Note: I plan on adding more to this frequency later on. I want to develop this character for a longer period of time than the first week. Call this Part one, if you like.
6
7(First broadcast, day two. Introductions.)
8
9(pink text)
10???: Hello? Is anyone out there?
11???: If anyone can hear this, you need to know that you’re not alone out there.
12???: The fever missed us. Somehow, we were able to get out of Riverside in one piece.
13???: I guess I should introduce myself. I’m Dianne Caldwell. For those of you Riverside locals, odds are you’ve frequented my clothing store at least once or twice.
14Dianne: Not like I’m going anywhere near that place anytime soon. Bet you anything those things broke in by now.
15Dianne: I’m holed up in a farmhouse just outside the city with my husband, Paul, and three others who I’ve not gotten fully acquainted with yet.
16Dianne: In my defense, it was fight or flight back in Riverside. No time for introductions, you know?
17Dianne: Christ, how did this happen so quickly? So many people turned in such a short time.
18Dianne: We were able to scrape together enough food to last us little over a week. Would’ve been able to get more from the supermarket, but… those things are everywhere.
19Dianne: It’s relatively safe here. We had to kill a couple of them that strolled up to the house, but it’s nothing compared to the city.
20Dianne: For those of you listening, odds are you’ve had to kill one by now as well.
21Dianne: I mean, I have, at least. Not like I had much of a choice, you know? I mean, you hit one of these things in the head and it barely seems to faze them.
22Dianne: Sure, it’ll stun them for a moment, but, unless you cave their skulls in they’ll just keep coming.
23Dianne: Anyway, we’re going out to scavenge the nearby farmhouses for supplies tomorrow morning. Odds are though, the farmers that own them got the fever, unlike the one that so graciously took us in.
24Dianne: Catch you tomorrow, same frequency.
25
26(Second broadcast, day three. Dianne reports on their findings from the scavenging party, and talks about a rumored survivor camp.)
27
28Dianne: Dianne here. Just got back from scavenging the farmhouses nearby.
29Dianne: Scored a couple dozen cans of food and a pump-action shotgun. Five boxes of shells as well.
30Dianne: Given that everyone in the group besides me had a gun up until this point, they handed it off to me.
31Dianne: Never shot one before, but it’s a shotgun. Pretty hard to miss if I nail one of them at medium range, right?
32Dianne: Just as I figured, the farmers in the neighboring houses had turned. There’s almost nowhere left that’s going to be safe unless you clear it out.
33Dianne: Well, there’s an exception to that, actually. There’s this group of survivors that sent out a broadcast from Rosewood.
34Dianne: It's a wide area to search, I know. Word is there's eight of them there and they need more people. They're planning on building some sort of self-sustainable survivalist compound.
35Dianne: We don’t have a vehicle yet, so heading there’s not an option at the moment.
36Dianne: Once we get one large enough to fit everyone, we’re heading straight there.
37Dianne: That unfortunately means going back into the city though. Think if we get desperate enough we’ll start drawing straws.
38Dianne: Hope it doesn’t come to that.
39Dianne: Talk to you tomorrow everyone.
40
41(Third broadcast, day four. Dianne talks about an incident where a zed gets through their barricades.)
42
43Dianne: Think we’ll be going into town looking for that vehicle sooner than planned.
44Dianne: Don’t know how it happened, but one of those things got inside the house last night. None of us heard it breaking in.
45Dianne: Paul spotted it first. Tried stabbing at it with a kitchen knife. Came downstairs and saw him struggling to push it off him.
46Dianne: Smashed its skull with a frying pan. Was the only thing I could get my hands on at the time.
47Dianne: He’s fine, though. Just shaken up. Had me worried for a moment there.
48Dianne: I’m going to volunteer to go back into the city. It’s not safe here. Even as far outside the city as we are, it’s just not safe to stay in one place like this.
49Dianne: We’re going to find that camp one way or another.
50Dianne: Talk to you tomorrow. Or not, depends on how the next few hours go for me.
51Dianne: Dianne out.
52
53(Fourth broadcast, day five. Dianne returns from Riverside with a six-seater van for her group. Prepping to leave in search of the camp.)
54
55Dianne: Hey there. Dianne again. Still alive.
56Dianne: Made it back with a van to seat all of us. We’re leaving tonight.
57Dianne: Riverside’s lost. Even more of those things are out on the streets now. For those of you listening, stay away from the cities.
58Dianne: It’s just death around every corner. Everywhere you look. Anyone that didn’t leave town’s out hiding out or dying in the streets.
59Dianne: Saw this woman trying to get away from a group of them, but her leg was cut up badly.
60Dianne: What she cut it on, I couldn’t say. All I know is, they tore her apart. The screams… God.
61Dianne: The noise she was making was what got me the van to begin with. She drew their attention.
62Dianne: It’s hard not to think about it. Hell, it’s all I’ve been able to think about for the last few hours.
63Dianne: Paul’s asleep on the bed behind me. Said he needed some extra rest after the night before.
64Dianne: Anyway, we’re packing the van in about an hour. Just double checking for anything we might’ve forgotten to put in the bags.
65Dianne: So, I guess I’ll-
66Dianne: Hm? Paul? Paul, what’s the matter?
67Dianne: Why are you looking at me like that?
68(Blue text)
69Paul: HRAAAAAGH!
70Dianne: FUCK! PAUL! GET-
71Dianne: GET OFF!
72*Sounds of a struggle*
73*Door slams*
74*Thump*
75*Thump*
76*Thump*
77(greyed out text, voice coming from behind door)
78??: Dianne? What’s going-
79Dianne: It’s Paul. He turned. *sob* I couldn’t-
80*Thump*
81??: Fucking Christ. Should we just-
82Dianne: No. I can’t leave him like that. I won’t just-
83*Thump*
84??: Alan, you still got that hammer?
85*Thump*
86*Thump*
87??: Dianne, I’ll do it. You shouldn’t have to.
88??: Just go downstairs, okay? Pack the van.
89<pause>
90*SLAM*
91*Thud*
92(Green text)
93??: I’m sorry, Paul.
94Paul: HRAA-
95*Thwack!*
96*Thwack!*
97*Crunch!*
98*Splat!*
99*Splat!*
100??: *pant*
101??: *pant*
102*Shuffling noise*
103
104(Fifth broadcast. Day seven. Dianne reaches the camp of Rosewood survivors with what’s left of her group.)
105
106Dianne: Dianne here.
107Dianne: Paul… turned. He must’ve been concealing a bite.
108Dianne: Somehow, was able to throw him off me and lock him in the room.
109Dianne: Looking back, I don’t know how I managed it.
110Dianne: We found the camp in Rosewood. Just before we ran out of gas, too.
111Dianne: They were cautious of us at first but warmed up to us pretty quick once we showed them the food we had in our trunk.
112Dianne: Emptied out a Spiffo's on the way here. Was completely stocked.
113Dianne: They're starting to build the walls as we speak. This place'll be a fortress before long.
114Dianne: My walkie’s almost outta juice. Until I get more batteries for this thing, I won't be able to broadcast any longer.
115Dianne: Talk to you soon, folks. Keep safe.
116Dianne: Dianne, signing off. For now, at least.
117*click*
118
119Background: Dianne Caldwell begins broadcasting again after two months of silence. She talks about her experiences since losing Paul, her daughter who’s out of state, odd zombie behaviors, and how ruthless people have become since the apocalypse.
120Note: I have decided to turn Dianne’s broadcasts into a bi-monthly occurrence that occur in 2-day intervals.
121
122(First broadcast. Day 62. Dianne breaks her two-month silence and talks about the camp she’s currently residing in)
123(pink text)
124Dianne: Hey there, folks. Lot’s changed the last couple months, figured now’s the best time to start broadcasting again.
125Dianne: I found fresh batteries for this thing a while ago, but the group’s always had more important uses for em. Batteries were some of the first things to be looted from shelves when the panic started.
126Dianne: So, you can understand my extended absence.
127Dianne: Now that we’re well stocked though, I’ve got lots of downtime. Just recently I’ve read through the Harry Potter series for the second time.
128Dianne: My daughter Alice obsessed over those books when she was in high school. Sent her off to college in Tampa, Florida six months ago. No clue if she made it.
129Dianne: God, she doesn’t know about her dad… about Paul.
130Dianne: I’m worried about her, but obsessing over it’s gonna mess with my head too much. 
131Dianne: Looking back, I think what Paul did was a shitty thing. Hiding that bite could’ve gotten the whole group killed.
132Dianne: But I’m not going to hold it against him. The rest of us are still breathing. It worked out… for the most part.
133Dianne: This camp I’m in now? It ain’t exactly Fort Knox, but it’s about as close as you’re gonna get given the circumstances.
134Dianne: I know I said before that they were building a survivalist compound that could self-sustain, but what we have here puts that statement to shame.
135Dianne: We’ve got gardens, water purifiers, and a mountain of canned food. If we ration it properly, it’ll last us for three winters, at most.
136Dianne: You could say people here were prepping like crazy before the deadheads came about.
137Dianne: We’ve even got electricity. Our gas generator powers the whole compound. We plan on using that very sparingly though, most likely only after a harvest when we need the crops to keep a while.
138Dianne: For those of you who might have similar living standards at the moment, you know how much gas these generators gobble up.
139Dianne: It’s a complete blackout nationwide I hear, so electricity’s a luxury at this point. I won’t complain too much.
140Dianne: Now, if you’re wondering why I’m so willingly talking about my camp in such detail, I’m not concerned about raiders. Not for now at least.
141Dianne: Security’s top-notch here. We’ve got a fella here named Matt who’s a savant when it comes to carpentry. 
142Dianne: He built walkways around our wall system so we can shoot down at any deadheads that approach the walls. Raiders, too.
143Dianne: Just about everyone still alive’s had to deal with a bandit at least once by now. If you haven’t, you’re lucky.
144Dianne: I… well, let’s just say I’ve got quite the story to tell about those scumbags.
145Dianne: Probably a story best told when I’m not feeling so tired. Just got back from scavenging houses in Rosewood today. Slim pickings, but there’s still scraps that people have missed here and there.
146Dianne: I’ll broadcast the same time two days from now. Gonna kick my feet up and start reading this book I swiped off a shelf today.
147Dianne: The Stand by Stephen King. Book’s about a disease that wipes out the majority of humanity in a matter of weeks.
148Dianne: Sounds a bit familiar, doesn’t it?
149Dianne: Talk to you soon folks. Dianne out.
150
151(Second broadcast. Day 64. Dianne tells her story about an encounter with a bandit group, which has left her feeling with a sense of dread.)
152
153Dianne: Hey there, folks. Back again as promised.
154Dianne: For those of you that tuned in yesterday, I promised to tell you a story about a bandit group I encountered.
155Dianne: Well, get comfy. You’re about to hear all about it.
156Dianne: Now, for those of you listeners that have encountered a hostile survivor, what did you have to do to get out of the situation?
157Dianne: Run, perhaps? Scare them off with a gun, provided they didn’t have one?
158Dianne: Kill them?
159Dianne: Well, if it was just one person you had to deal with, then you got a hell of a lot luckier than I did.
160Dianne: This happened three weeks after I stopped broadcasting before. Was scavenging for food in the Giga Mart when this woman snuck up behind me and told me to drop my backpack. Had an axe in her hands.
161Dianne: Something in her voice told me I couldn’t reason with her. Couldn’t negotiate with her to just take half and let me walk. Just had a bad feeling, you know?
162Dianne: Now, I’d long since parted ways with that shotgun I mentioned previously. I keep a 9mm automatic strapped to my hip.
163Dianne: Alan had the group go through shooting lessons, once we found a stockpile of ammo. I’m quite a good shot now.
164Dianne: A pistol’s less difficult to lug around, makes hauling large amounts of loot easier.
165Dianne: I… I pulled the gun and just shot her. In the head. She was dead before she hit the ground.
166Dianne: It was like I’d flipped her switch, and I watched her lights go out. I saw it happen in slow motion, yet at the same time it felt like it happened instantly.
167Dianne: It was stupid of me to think she was by herself.
168Dianne: She had three others covering the exits in case I got away from her. They’d been watching me for a while, clearly.
169Dianne: Guess they didn’t think I’d have the guts to fight back, or something.
170Dianne: I… killed all of them.
171Dianne: Didn’t hesitate or anything. Just one after the other, two to three shots per person.
172Dianne: Sure, it was self defense. But killing living people? It feels worlds different from killing the dead.
173Dianne: For a while I was thinking about what I could’ve done differently, and to be honest, not much came to mind.
174Dianne: I made the right call.
175Dianne: Giving them my supplies wasn’t an option. My backpack has a map that has the location of my camp on it. Not chance I’m leading crazies back home, that’s for sure.
176Dianne: This is the world we now live in, folks. Sure is a dream, ain’t it?
177Dianne: Talk to you in a couple days. Dianne out.
178(Third broadcast. Day 66. Dianne talks about strange zombie behavior and trouble comes to her doorstep.)
179
180Dianne: Hey it’s Dianne. Been quiet here the last couple of days.
181Dianne: Alan had quite the odd story to tell about his last scavenging trip, though. Thought you’d wanna hear about it.
182Dianne: He went into Rosewood with Mary. They were hitting up a neighborhood we hadn’t poked through yet.
183Dianne: Said he spotted a scene of serious roadkill. Deadheads splattered across the pavement for a good hundred meters or so. 
184Dianne: Whoever did it must’ve been in a real hurry.
185Dianne: They walked over one of them and it reached out and grabbed Mary’s ankle. It was completely still until she stepped over it.
186Dianne: Alan was able to split its skull with his axe before it got her, but he’d never seen anything like that before.
187Dianne: If the deadheads lose function of their legs, they’ll play statue until someone living comes along and try to grab hold. 
188Dianne: I don’t think you could say that they’re learning to do things, not by a long shot.
189Dianne: But the dead have some odd behaviors. Some that we should take note of.
190Dianne: If you’re unsure if something’s really dead, don’t get too close. Or, if you have to, keep your weapon at the ready.
191Dianne: Taking stupid risks is a solid way to get yourself killed. After you’ve made it this far, why take the chance, right?
192*An alarm blares in the background*
193(greyed out text, suggesting that Dianne’s voice is barely comprehensible over the alarm)
194Dianne: Shit, that’s our alarm. Only plays when a horde’s coming in.
195Dianne: Be talking to you soon, folks. Might be a while till we take care of the corpses we’re sure as shit about to create.
196Dianne: Dianne, signing off for now. Take care.
197*click*
198Background: Dianne Caldwell begins broadcasting after scavenging the majority of locations in Rosewood. She discusses extending her camp’s vegetable’s shelf life with jars, her strategies on long-distance scavenging runs, and a threat to the survivors of Knox county unlike any before.
199
200(First broadcast, day 120. Dianne talks about her group’s strategy to get through winter without using too much canned food.)
201
202Dianne: Hey there, folks. Guess who?
203Dianne: Deadheads still haven’t got me yet. Which, for those of you out there all by your lonesome hoping to hear a human voice, is undoubtedly good news.
204Dianne: By now, those of you still alive must have picked up a thing or two in survival to keep yourselves fed. C’mon, you know what I’m talking about. Foraging.
205Dianne: Not everyone’s got access to a safe plot of land and clean water to start a garden with. 
206Dianne: Some friendlies I’ve met out there almost live exclusively on berries, mushrooms, hell, anything out in the forest that won’t have you puking your guts out for days on end.
207Dianne: Which brings me to a cool little hack in preservatives that we’ve been using around camp here for the last couple of weeks.
208Dianne: Those bottles of vinegar and bags of sugar you’ve no doubt been spotting in pantries? Might not seem valuable by themselves, but combining them is a whole other story.
209Dianne: Hope you’ve got at least a couple of em’ laying about your camp somewhere, because as winter quickly approaches, this might just keep you fed if you’re lacking in non-perishables.
210Dianne: We’ve been pouring the vinegar and sugar into jars and mixing it up, then dropping the vegetables from our garden that we can’t eat in them.
211Dianne: Helps keep em fresh for quite an extended period of time. Not forever, mind you. But long enough for you to break into them once the ground freezes over and growing cabbages ain’t an option any more.
212Dianne: On that note, I know cabbage grows the quickest and is the most filling, but I’m having nightmares about cabbages now. Like, seriously. Why can’t we grow less cabbage here?
213Dianne: Can’t get the taste outta my mouth, for God’s sake. Losing my appetite just talking about it.
214Dianne: Anyway, it’s my turn on watch. Alan must be exhausted by now. Talk to you in a couple days, folks. Dianne out.
215
216(Second broadcast, day 122. Dianne talks about friendly survivors they’ve come in contact with, including the Hilltop. She also talks about raiders becoming heavily armed and organized, which might threaten their long-distance scavenging runs.)
217
218(pink text)
219
220Dianne: For those of you long-term listeners, you probably remember we got attacked by a mob of deadheads couple months ago.
221Dianne: Well, we didn’t get the corpses moved away from the walls quick enough. Had some people sick in camp for a while.
222Dianne: Just thanking my lucky stars that we had antibiotics handy. Would’ve been a disaster otherwise.
223Dianne: Had we lost anybody, we would’ve been in no shape to fend off raiders.
224Dianne: Ah, yes. Raiders. The scourge of the apocalypse. They’ve tried to get inside before, but they learned quick that we’re no pushovers.
225Dianne: Same goes for this group of friendlies to the south. Been in contact with them for the last few weeks.
226Dianne: They live in a compound just like this one, but they’re more open to trading than we are. Place is called “Hilltop”, apparently.
227Dianne: They’ve been receiving threats from this heavily armed and organized group of raiders. Sadistic, bloodthirsty, psychopaths, whatever you wanna call them, it fits. 
228Dianne: Heard that they kidnapped one of their people and tortured him for information. They’ve been having problems with them ever since.
229Dianne: Hilltop’s leader, fella named Nate had quite a lot of intel on this gang. Said they’ve got roots in both Muldraugh and West Point.
230Dianne: We’ve almost searched every building in Rosewood. We’ve got plans to go scavenging in neighboring towns.
231Dianne: This gang is definitely going to be a problem for us. We’d planned on building outposts to spend the night in while we’re away from home, but… these psychos might make that an impossibility.
232Dianne: If they become too much of a problem, we might have to take more… aggressive measures.
233Dianne: I need some time to think on this. I’ll talk to you tomorrow folks. Keep safe.
234Dianne: Dianne out.
235
236(Third broadcast, day 124. Dianne comes up with a plan to team up with Hilltop scouts to find a rumored military installation hidden deep in the forests around Rosewood. Her goal is to acquire weaponry and supplies to go to war against the Justice gang.)
237
238Dianne: So over the last couple days I had a realization dawn on me.
239Dianne: There’s this bit of forest some kilometers from our camp. Just past that prison that we daren’t even get close to.
240Dianne: Alan scouted that place out in the beginning, it fell fast. Hundreds of deadheads locked behind those fences.
241Dianne: What made no sense to any of us, though, was why every now and then an occasional deadhead dressed in army garbs comes shambling outta that forest.
242Dianne: We’ve checked and double checked our maps. There’s nothing supposed to be in that forest but dirt paths.
243Dianne: I’m not the conspiratorial type, but my gut tells me the army might be keeping more than just a few secrets here in Knox.
244Dianne: We think there’s an army base somewhere hidden in that forest. Most likely untouched since the outbreak.
245Dianne: The kinds of supplies we could get our hands on in there… military grade rifles, grenades, the possibilities are limitless.
246Dianne: It’s the kinda stuff that would send raider groups running scared like the cowards they are. They wouldn’t dare fuck with us if we got our hands on it.
247Dianne: I already talked this over with Nate from the Hilltop. He said that he’ll be able to spare half a dozen of his scouts to aid us in clearing it out, and our groups will split the loot evenly down the middle.
248Dianne: That, however, hinges on us finding it first. If it even exists.
249Dianne: I’m not going to abandon the search in a matter of days if we turn up with nothing, though. Those deadheads gotta be coming from somewhere.
250Dianne: I’m going to focus my full attention on this, so until we find it, I feel like broadcasting should be put on hold.
251Dianne: Latest I’ll start broadcasting again is another two months. Should be plenty of time to find it, right?
252Dianne: Talk to you soon, people. Dianne, signing off for now.
253
254Background: Dianne begins broadcasting after failing to find the base for two whole months. Finally, however, one of her group finds its location and reports back to her. Their attempts to loot the base, however, quickly fall apart due to a run-in with the Blind Justice gang.
255
256(First broadcast, day 180. Dianne seemingly has nothing to report on her findings… until Alan proves her otherwise.)
257(pink text)
258Dianne: Well, keeping to my promise, here I am. With no findings since last time.
259Dianne: I won’t pretend like I’m surprised. I joined in on the search several times over the last few weeks.  That forest is like a labyrinth, so easy to get lost in.
260Dianne: Not to mention, the deadheads become more and more numerous the further deep you get. Just confirms my suspicions- there’s definitely an army base in there.
261Dianne: Alan, Mary, Duane and Matt are searching for it at the moment. Should be back soon, though, we never stay out after dark.
262Dianne: I’ve got a HAM radio on the table next to me. By sundown, they’re supposed to send out a signal and check in.
263Dianne: Should be any minute now. They tend to keep things on the dot.
264<pause>
265*skrrzzt*
266(light blue text)
267??: -ianne? Dianne, are you there? We found it! We actually fucking found it!
268Dianne: For real? Alan, you better not be pulling my leg here. This isn’t-
269Alan: No, I’m dead serious! Remember that bit of clearing that had no dirt path? It was down that way! 
270Alan: It’s got a fence perimeter, watchtowers, and we saw deadheads on the inside with-
271Dianne: Not to be rude, but fill me in on the fine details when you’re back. In the middle of another broadcast here. You know they might be listening.
272Dianne: Just get yourselves home safe, alright? This will have all been for nothing if you don’t make it back!
273Alan: Don’t gotta tell me twice! We’re on our way.
274<pause>
275Dianne: Talk to you soon, folks.
276*click*