Fighting to Survive (33 page)

“
I
had three husbands. I understand very well,
”
Nerit assured her. She was very happy for Katie and confident that
she and Travis being together was a good thing, but she also knew
that Lydia would always be a part of Katie and never truly fade away

“
I
’
m
doing better than I was,
”
Katie decided.
“
Accepting
it more.
”

“
It
’
s
a journey,
”
Nerit agreed.
“
Just
take one step at a time.

Katie
walked back to Nerit and knelt beside her with the sewing kits. Nerit
looked up into the younger woman
’
s
face and could see an unspoken question in her eyes.
“
Yes?
”

”
Can
you make it a sexy dress?
”

Nerit
smirked and nodded.
“
Oh,
yes. I can.
”

4. The Stage Is
Set

Travis stood up and
stretched. His eyes were growing weary and he could no longer
concentrate on the plans he was working on for walling in Main
Street. It had reached the point where he needed to take a break and
not think about it anymore. He stretched again and felt the pleasant
burn of scratches on his back. It had been a long time since he had
worn any. It felt good.

Pushing
the office door open, he moved down the hall, running his hand over
his hair. It wasn
’
t
until Katie had left that he had realized they had made a major
mistake. It had been awhile since he had been with any woman and when
he had been, it had been in a monogamous relationship where she had
been on the Pill. Since Katie had spent the last decade with a
woman….

Of
course, it wasn
’
t
really an excuse. Their first time together they had both had condoms
ready to go.

Stepping
into the hot afternoon air, he had to wonder if maybe they hadn
’
t
done it subconsciously. His thoughts were definitely in the realm of
forever. He was done looking. Katie was it. And maybe in some sort of
Darwinian way, he was trying to secure that relationship with a
child.

“
Peggy,
I am here to protest my treatment as a citizen of this city and the
shoddy way that I have been treated since I arrived here in this fort
that I did not vote on building. I was kept in that garage for over
an hour being checked for bites. No, I do not allow anyone to bite
me. I told this vampire once…”

Travis
turned to see Crazy Calhoun being escorted to City Hall. Peggy was
waiting for the town freak looking weary already. The crazy coot was
carrying a video camera at his side and looked ready for an argument.

“
Life
just keeps getting more interesting,
”
Travis muttered.

Shane
moved toward him.
“
Hey,
Travis, keep the lesbos from making out on the job. Seriously, they
could have gotten us killed. They were so busy making out with each
other they didn
’
t
even see us getting ready to leave a while back.
”

Travis
lifted an eyebrow.
“
What
are you talking about?
”

“
Now,
I know you
’
re
into the blond and I
’
m
sure you have all sorts of wild fantasies about her. Who doesn
’
t?
If that Jewish old hag is going to be running the guards, she better
make sure her lesbos don
’
t
spend that time making out.
”
Shane was obviously furious and ready for a fight.

“
Okay,
I
’
ll
let her know,
”
Travis said in a calm tone.

“
Oh,
you better, because I
’
m
not going to get my ass eaten because that blond lesbo chick can
’
t
keep her hands off her girlfriend,
”
Shane spat, then stormed off followed, by his buddy, Philip.

Bewildered, Travis
walked into the hotel. Some of the older people were gathered in the
lobby, playing board games. He smiled and waved at them. Old Man
Watson waved and smiled at him happily. Travis felt good about the
decision to take the hotel. It definitely had created a real home for
the survivors.

Behind him, Calhoun
and Peggy entered the hotel.

“…
and
when did the city take over a privately owned building? This is
socialism or communism. I can't remember which. I don
’
t
agree with you pushing your Amazonian agenda on the people of this
fine town…”

Peggy
sighed as she led Calhoun over to the front desk.

Calhoun
glanced over and saw Travis.
“
Now,
that young man came here to build the old theater and now he
’
s
breaking and entering into hotels. Why hasn
’
t
he been arrested? If what people are telling me is true, he is the
dangerous ringleader of this new cult…”

Travis
winked at a beleaguered Peggy, stepped into the elevator and
thankfully watched the doors slide shut.

Reaching
Katie
’
s
room a few minutes later, he knocked and waited for her to answer.
When the door opened just a crack, he saw only Katie
’
s
eye staring out at him.

“
Hi,
uh, can we talk?
”
he asked.

“
Um,
”
Katie hesitated and looked behind her.
“
Now
is really not a good time.
”

Travis
was a little surprised by this.
“
Oh,
I just thought…I guess I
’
ll
catch you later.
”

Katie
opened the door a little wider. He caught site of her bare arm and
shoulder. Keeping behind the door, she reached out and pulled him
close and kissed him.
“
Later
will be perfect.
”

“
Don
’
t
move so much,
”
Nerit
’
s
voice said from the room.

Travis
raised an eyebrow. Katie only gave him an enormous grin.

“
It
’
s
a secret,
”
she said.

Jenni
came down the hall holding a plastic bag. Seeing Travis, she shoved
it into her jacket and tried to look innocent.

“
Hi,
Travis,
”
she said, an impish expression on her face.

“
Hey,
Jenni,
”
he answered.

As soon as Jenni was
close enough, Katie opened the door enough to let her squeeze
through, then immediately closed it to a slim crack again.

“
Okay,
obviously you guys are up to something,
”
he said uneasily.

“
Pretty
much yeah,
”
Katie answered.
“
I
’
ll
let you know what later.
”

Frowning
just a tad, he backed away from the door.
“
Okay,
then.
”

As
the door closed, he turned and wandered down the hall feeling a
little uneasy, but not really sure what was bothering him. He
definitely did not give credence to Shane
’
s
words. With Nerit there, he was sure nothing that Shane had accused
the girls of was happening, but he hated how for a moment, he had
felt a twinge of suspicion.

Striding
down the hall, he shoved his hands into his jean pockets, his brow
furrowed. The elevator doors opened. Shane stood in there with
Philip.

“
Turned
you away, huh?
”
Shane smirked.

Travis
didn
’
t
answer and stepped into the elevator. He could literally feel Shane
’
s
anger boiling behind his back.

“
Things
have got to change around here,
”
Shane said to Travis.
“
Or
it
’
s
all going to go to hell.
”

The
door opened on Travis
’
floor and he stepped out. He looked back at Shane.
“
It
already has,
”
he answered.

The elevator doors
shut and Travis walked on.

1. The Characters
Enter

The
ballroom was alive with music, people, and the rich smell of food.
The elderly had arrived first and were settled happily at a table in
one corner, their weary bodies nestled into the plush velvet chairs.
Rosie
’
s
dinner crew had laid out a fabulous buffet of chicken, wild rice, and
assorted vegetables with big flaky biscuits and two different kinds
of dessert. Someone had gone around collecting CDs. Music now played
softly in the background.

Jason
and Shelley made their way outside to meet up with the other
teenagers and preteens. Gathering in the gazebo, they had hooked up a
stereo to play music they wanted to hear and had lugged a cooler of
soda out. One of the youngest of the group, Ricky, Shelley
’
s
younger brother, was hunched down sipping cola and looking at an old
magazine. Jason sat down on a pillow and Shelley sat down beside him.

All
together, there were a dozen kids in the fort. They had learned to
stick together amidst all the adults. It wasn
’
t
easy at times. The adults were always so worried and scared they
forgot the kids were just as anxious. They often tried to shield the
kids from what was really going on, so the youngest of the survivors
often had to find ways to glean information about what was going on.

Melanie,
the oldest at eighteen, and Dylan, seventeen, were already smoking
the pot they had found on the body of one of the waiters the day
before. It had been the big news yesterday amongst the
“
shorties,
”
as they called themselves. At first, it had just been cool that
Melanie, Dylan, Shelley and Jason were allowed to work with the
adults, but when there was a discovery of contraband, it had been
pretty exciting.

“
What
’
s
up?
”
Dylan asked as Jason reached out for the joint.

“
Just
a bunch of old people listening to country music so far. The food
looked good,
”
Jason answered.