Fighting to Survive (38 page)

Travis
took a step forward, but Juan grabbed his arm.
“
Dude,
keep focused.
”

Travis
took another deep breath.

“
What
a man and woman do is their own business,
”
Ed said from nearby. His grizzled features were emotionless.

“
Ed,
you can
’
t
believe that Katie allowed Shane to-
”
Peggy started.

Ed
cut her off by saying,
“
I
wasn
’
t
there. Can
’
t
say what did or didn
’
t
happen. But whatever did go down, it
’
s
between them.
”

“
So
you won
’
t
mind if Katie shoves Shane over the wall?
”
Juan asked. He folded his arms over his chest to keep from punching
someone. He was close to losing his temper, but knew he had to keep
it in check. He was already under suspicion for what had happened to
Ritchie and Jimmy.

Travis
was silent beside Juan, but he was fuming. Juan could see him
clenching his hands at his sides.

“
Now,
I didn
’
t
say that,
”
Ed answered.
“
Just
sayin
’
that it
’
s
a personal thing between them.
”

“
She
was leading him on,
”
Blanche said.
“
We
all saw it.
”

“
Actually,
we all saw her getting cozy with Travis,
”
Peggy drawled. She gave Blanche a look of disgust.

More voices chimed
in. Frustration and anger made them harsh with emotion. People
began to argue with each other in small groups. It was becoming
raucous.

“
All
I know is that man is nasty and he shouldn
’
t
be allowed to stay!
”
This was from Lenore. The black girl stomped her foot and put her
hands on her ample hips as she glared at Blanche.

“
We
gotta do something,
”
Curtis said to Bill.
“
We
can
’
t
let Shane go around assaulting women.
”

“
What
do you we suggest we do? Due process isn
’
t
around no more,
”
Bill reminded him.

“
Then
we find a new way,
”
Juan interjected.

People murmured in
agreement.

“
A
fair and just way to deal with situations like this,
”
Rosie added, supporting her son.

“
Because
this won
’
t
be the last time someone breaks the law,
”
Curtis said in a morose tone.

“
We
are civilized people. We need to remember that,
”
Travis finally said.

The arguing people
around them fell into silence at the sound of his voice. Travis
rubbed his chin slowly and thoughtfully. He looked up at all the
faces surrounding him.

“
What
do you want, Travis?
”
Juan
’
s
voice had a hard edge to it, but he couldn
’
t
help it. He was pissed off. He couldn
’
t
imagine how Travis was feeling. The need to protect the women they
loved was a trait they shared.

“
Yeah,
Travis,
”
Peggy said.
“
What
do you want to do?
”

Travis
lowered his hand, and sighed.
“
My
inclination is to feed both of them to the zombies, but that isn
’
t
the right thing to do.
”

“
Hey,
I
’
m
fine with feeding them to the zombies,
”
Lenore answered.

“
Me,
too,
”
Ken chimed in next to her.

“
He
is a danger to this fort as a whole,
”
Eric said firmly.
“
He
can
’
t
be trusted.
”

“
I
think this discussion should be handled in a more discreet setting,
”
Manny, the Mayor, said as he joined the group.

People fell silent
as he moved to the center of the crowd. The Mayor had been sick for
days and his health was waning. He had suffered a heart attack a few
years back and he was without his medication now. He was a fading
figure in the politics of the fort, but he had the respect of many in
the town. He was known for being amiable, good-natured, and a
peacemaker. All the things that had helped him keep the peace with a
cantankerous city council and opinionated townsfolk worked against
him in the new world. He was not a fighter, he was not a firm hand;
he was the kindly uncle who just wanted everyone to get along.
Despite the anger in the lobby, people still respected him.

Juan
thought Manny was right. The discussion needed to be taken elsewhere
before the crowd became a mob, but the Mayor
’
s
breed of leadership wasn
’
t
going to help in this situation. Manny would look for a compromise.
Juan didn
’
t
have the desire to throw down with the Mayor in front of everyone, so
he shrugged and looked at Travis.

“
I
’
m
willing to discuss this in a more calm setting,
”
his friend finally said.

“
Good.
Bill, Curtis, Juan, Peggy, and Travis, please join me in my office.
”
The crowd murmured, but seemed somewhat satisfied. Smiling like a
true politician, Manny shook the hands of a few people as he made his
way back through the crowd.

Juan followed, his
agitation settling into his shoulders. He felt tense and angry and
he glanced over toward Travis. If he felt wired up, he was sure
Travis was worse. But, regardless of the situation, his friend
looked surprisingly calm. Only the tension in his neck gave away his
internal turmoil.

“
It
’
s
going to be okay, man,
”
Juan assured him.

“
I
keep telling myself that,
”
Travis answered grimly.

A few people patted
Travis on the shoulder as he passed by them.

“
We
’
re
behind you on this, Travis,
”
Eric said.

“
I
say we throw him over the wall!
”
Lenore said loudly again.

Juan sighed and
shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he walked toward
the office. Tonight was a bitch and only bound to get worse.

***

Travis entered the
office and looked around the room. The Mayor, looking very ill, was
already hunched down in a chair in the corner while Peggy spritzed
the air with Lysol. Bill and Curtis took their places in deep leather
chairs. Juan flopped onto a couch while Travis leaned against the
wall.

“
So,
are we throwing them over the wall?
”
Juan asked.

Bill
looked up and shook his head.
“
Phillip
and Shane are both sticking to their story that Katie asked Shane for
sex and Travis assaulted them.
”

“
That's
bullshit,
”
Travis muttered.

“
Yeah.
But they are corroborating each others stories,
”
Bill answered.

“
And
I'm corroborating Katie's. I saw what Shane was trying to do!
”
Travis felt his temper rising.
“
She
was fighting him!
”

Manny
coughed and wheezed, then said,
“
Shane
and Phillip have been invaluable to this community with their
salvaging expeditions. We need to take that into consideration.
”

“
They
also tried to rape Katie,
”
Travis snapped.

“
And
Shane beat her up that day for shooting his brother when he got
chewed up by a zombie,
”
Peggy added.
“
She
was doing us all a favor before he turned.
”

“
He's
shit on our heels,
”
Curtis said in a low voice.

“
He
deserves some sort of due process,
”
Bill said firmly.

“
He
deserves to be chunked over the wall!
”
Juan exclaimed.
“
There
is no fucking due process anymore. You even said that! The world
ended. All that is in the past!
”

“
C
’
mon
now, Juan. We can
’
t
be going off all half-cocked and pissed off and start chunking people
over the wall. You know that,
”
Bill said sternly.

Peggy
sighed heavily.
“
Yet,
we're the ones that everyone looks at to make it better. Bill, those
people out there expect us to do something. You especially.
”

“
That
doesn't give us the right to choose the fate of these men.
”
Bill shook his head.
“
I
don
’
t
want that kinda of power. Do you?
”

“
Chunk
them over the damn wall,
”
Juan repeated.
“
I
’
m
willing to take that power.
”

Bill gave Juan a
sharp, thoughtful look. Travis reached out to calm his friend down.
The last thing Juan needed to do was draw even more suspicion on
himself.

“
They
do expect us to do something,
”
Peggy said.
“
All
those people out in the lobby expect you-
“
she pointed to the Mayor, and then Bill
“
-to
do something.
”

“
They
think he
’
s
guilty,
”
Manny said in a soft voice.
“
I
can
’
t
condemn a man just because there is a consensus by a lot of angry
people that he did something wrong.
”