>day zero +789
>I was promoted to Stick leader today
>2nd Kentucky Rifles push into the Ashland has been an absolute nightmare
>Our linkup with the Texas Expeditionary Force fell through when a mixture of ash and high altitude stopped their trucks just south of Denver
>The curse of a light infantryman knows no bounds. Sure, we don't have trucks to fail us, but I think every man was looking forward to mounting up with the Texans. They get Infantry protection, we get motorization. Fair is fair.
Our previous stick commander bought the farm today when some coked up, twink-looking ashy with faded accents of pink and blue in their grey hair lept on him and ripped his throat out
>My training took over and I pumped four rounds into em, right into the Bernie sticker, just like they taught us.
>The ash is nothing like back home. It covers the ground in a fine blanket as thick as your foot. You can't just sweep it away, the particulates in the air just fill in the spots you sweep.
>The loot is sub-par. Survivors bodies litter the streets and homes, picked clean by other survivors who've met their end.
>Rumor on the lips of security forces and non-coms has it the Little Rock Regiment has taken to taking the teeth of the Ashes they kill, no idea why.
>Met a survivor today who claimed to have seen some CBRN suited weirdos near Bolder talking about blowouts and throwing bolts around, probably just the early stages of dust madness.
>We traded two pounds of hardtack for a packaged set of filters and a tarp. He offered us his daughters for iodine tablets and a box of 12 gauge, but the CO quickly shot that idea down
>Attrition rates are projected to climb sharply as we move closer to Cheyenne and north more. We get the occasional burst of the sun, maybe an hour of real bright illumination a day. Meteorological team says to expect that to go away the closer we get, and to start expecting ash rain
>Our filter supplies are holding
>But out minds...not as much.