Fighting to Survive (31 page)

“
Well,
”
Katie started slowly, as if measuring her thoughts before making them
into words.
“
Travis
and I just had some really intense, throw you up against the wall,
earth-shattering sex.
”

“
All
right!
”
Jenni held out her hand for a high five.

Katie
looked at her hand, and added,
“
Without
any protection.
”

“
Oh,
shit.
”
Jenni dropped her hand.

“
Yeah.
We both really spaced it. Completely. I
’
m
not sure he even realizes what happened.
”
Katie sighed softly.

“
Um…shit?
”

“
Yeah.
Shit.
”
Katie ran her hands over her face, then looked at Jenni.
“
Lesbian
sex is not this complicated!
”

Jenni
laughed and shook her head.
“
Nope,
it's not. I mean your girlfriend can
’
t
knock you up. It
’
s
not like dildos come fully loaded with that baby making stuff.
”

Katie
burst out laughing and covered her face with one hand.
“
Oh,
gawd.
”

Jenni
smiled, but then her expression grew as serious as her thoughts.
“
You
okay?
”

With
a nod, Katie sighed.
“
Yeah.
I am. Weirdly. I don
’
t
really feel panicked at all. I mean, honestly, I had not even thought
about it. You know. Babies. But, I guess I have to. Travis….
”
She smiled at the sound of his name on her lips.
“
Travis
is like Lydia. The one you keep until death parts you. He
’
s
in my heart now and I guess I need to think like…uh….
”

“
A
straight woman,
”
Jenni offered.

“
A
woman who can now have babies biologically with her mate and doesn
’
t
have to worry about in vitro-fertilization and the proper donor.
”
Katie smiled at the memories of her and Lydia's discussion about
making a family or not. They had opted not to in the end.
“
Now,
right now, this could be it. Babyville.
”

“
I
’
m
sure we could find a pill down in the pharmacy stash,
”
Jenni offered.

“
No,
no.
”
Katie shook her head.
“
No.
If something happens then it happens. I
’
ll
deal with it. We both will.
”

“
You
know, I have a feeling that Travis would love a baby with you,
”
Jenni said.

“
Me,
too. Me, too. But what about you? You and Juan. Being careful?
”

“
Tubes
tied,
”
Jenni said sadly.
“
Stupid
Lloyd didn
’
t
want anymore kids. Of course, I had to be the one to face the knife,
the bastard.
”

“
Oh,
Jenni, I'm so sorry.
”

“
It
’
s
okay. I told Juan. He was real quiet then shrugged it off. Said it
was kinda cool not to have to worry about condoms. Later on he said
something about when people do start having kids that Hillary Clinton
will have her wish because it will be a village, literally, raising
them. I guess he figures that somehow he
’
ll
get in on the kid thing. I mean, if you have a kid, I
’
m
so gonna be Auntie Jenni.
”

“
Oh,
yeah, you will be,
”
Katie said with a wide grin. Her smile faded and she looked very
thoughtful.
“
I
’
m
madly in love with him. It
’
s
different. Very different. I
’
m
still adjusting. His body, his…smell...the way he touches
me…all different, but I love him. I kept wanting to not love
him, but I do. And if we have a baby out of our fuck up, I
’
m
okay with that. Because…”

Jenni reached out
and hugged her as Katie started to cry. She smoothed her blond curls
back, kissed her brow and held her close. Katie clung to her,
sobbing, both happy and sad, and Jenni knew she just needed to hold
her.

“
Hey,
lesbos,
”
Shane
’
s
voice said from afar.
“
Can
you watch the fucking street instead of making out? We
’
re
heading out again.
”

Jenni
looked down to see Shane and three other men getting into a delivery
truck. All day, they had been going in and out of the hotel since it
appeared to be a slow day in zombieville. Already they had returned
twice with truckloads of supplies.

“
Fuck
off, Shane,
”
Jenni yelled down at him.

“
Save
your pussy eating for later, bitch,
”
Shane responded.

“
Bite
me, asshole,
”
Jenni shouted back.

“
I
have no trouble smacking up a dyke. Trying to be all manly up there
like you have a big cock,
”
Shane snapped back.

“
Somebody
’
s
gotta since you're hung like a light switch,
”
Jenni retorted.

“
Fuck
you, bitch.
”

Katie
leaned over the rail next to Jenni.
“
You
’
re
just jealous
‘
cause
the girls like me, not you.
”

Jenni
saw such intense rage overwhelm Shane
’
s
features that, for the first time, she felt afraid of him.

He
merely pointed at them and got into the driver
’
s
seat of the truck. It roared down the street.

“
He
’
s
such a scary fucktard,
”
Jenni said softly.

“
Why
doesn
’
t
someone throw him over the wall?
”
Katie muttered.

They
were both quiet for a while, sitting back down and staring over the
streets. The wind was hot and the sky was growing overcast in the
distance. Another summer thunderstorm was coming.
“
I
wonder if the heat will make them rot faster,
”
Katie said after a while.

“
Yeah,
I wish they were like Romero
’
s
zombies.
”
Jenni wistfully sighed.
“
They
’
d
be so much easier to deal with. What the hell?
”

A
man was coming down the street on a scooter. Its engine was coughing
and sputtering and the exhaust was a cloud of dark smoke. He was a
tall man dressed in very old jeans and a leather jacket. On top of
his head was a beat up, greasy straw cowboy hat that was warped out
of its shape so badly it looked like a banana sitting on his head.
Even from this great distance he looked dirty and smelly.

“
Who
the hell is that?
”
Jenni stood up and tried to get a better view.

Seeing
her, the man waved to her and aimed the scooter toward them. Behind
him, in the distance were some shambling shapes.

Katie
stood up beside Jenni and drew her pistol.
“
What
does he think he
’
s
doing?
”

The
man cruised up to just under the fire escape.
“
Now,
I am a tax paying citizen of not only this country, but the city and
county as well and when the Mayor decides to steal my property be
sending out rabid CIA clones to try to tear down my fence and get
onto my property, I have a God given, constitutional right to defend
my property. Now if you think I
’
m
going to just sit back and not complain, you have another thing
coming. I fully intend to speak with the police, even if they are a
bunch of coke snorting, mafia thugs, about what the Mayor has been
doing and I will have justice. I may have had to kill the clones, but
I figure since they are clones they really don
’
t
count as a life form. Besides, the mixture was bad on that batch and
they had all sorts of things wrong with them….
”

The
man spoke earnestly, in the voice of someone giving an interview with
Larry King on a TV show, his hands moving eloquently as he talked.

“
Is
he for real?
”
Jenni asked.

“
I
think so,
”
Katie answered.

“…
and
even if they are going to sit outside my house and snort up on coke
so they don
’
t
feel a damn thing, I will defend myself. A good knock to the head
seems to do the trick. Took me awhile to figure that one out. But now
that I know how the clones have got to be killed, I won
’
t
have an issue with them. Now the aliens, well, they don
’
t
die so easily…”

Jenni
was so fascinated by what the man was saying, she almost didn
’
t
see the zombie run around the corner. But her reflexes were fast and
sure and she shot a nice hole through its head and sent it sprawling.

“…
and
that
’
s
what I
’
m
talking about. Now they are everywhere! I am going to write to the
President of the United States even if he is in league with the
aliens to let him know of the blatant abuse of the use of taxes on
this cloning program…”

“
You
need to get the hell off the street right now,
”
Jenni yelled at him.

“
The
slow ones are closing in,
”
Katie pointed out. She took aim and waited for them to be in range.

“…
and
I have my video recorder and I will record any meeting that is
associated with my complaint because I know that Peggy does alter the
minutes to suit her Amazonian agenda…”