Journal 98

Gretchen and the baby died two days ago. I was beginning to think Marty and Cecelia were not going to let us remove their bodies from Bear Country. It was starting to get a little creepy. I dreamt last night that Gretchen was walking around like a zombie. No one wanted to be the person to tell Marty and Cecelia that we needed to remove the bodies from Bear Country.

To solve our dilemma, we held a meeting and drew straws. Sheriff Pete pulled the shortest straw. After losing the draw, Sheriff Pete excused himself and went for a walk. I think he was trying to get his thoughts together. Pete came back a short time later and then went to talk to Marty and Cecelia. The meeting only lasted a few moments.

We all stood around trying to look natural. I don’t know what Sheriff Pete said but it must have been appropriate. Marty and Cecelia agreed we could move Gretchen and the baby to another location in the building until we could dig a hole for their burial and hold a simple ceremony.

We spent half the day trying to dig a hole along the tree line behind the football field. The ground is frozen solid. We barely made a dent in the dirt. Sheriff Pete suggested we use the empty green house for Gretchen and the baby until we can dig a proper hole.