Fighting to Survive (4 page)

“
But
for how long will it stay operational?
”
Travis lifted his sunglasses, rubbing his eyes before setting them
back into place.
“
I
guess it doesn't matter. Right now, we get a secure location for them
while we go into the hotel, then we claim it, and go on from there.
”

“
And
hope the bandits don't show up,
”
Juan added.

“
Let
’
s
not even talk about those bastards right now.
”

Juan shrugged. He
supposed now wasn't the time to talk about the marauders who killed
Nerit's husband. There was fear that they were still more out there.
It probably wasn't time to bring up the vigilante in the fort, the
one who had thrown someone over the wall, bound and gagged with duct
tape, to feed the zombies. Yeah, the victim was the local drug
dealer and the scum of the earth, but someone had taken justice into
their own hands. That fact put everyone on edge.

“
Just
another day in zombie land,
”
Juan said with a wide grin.
“
Gotta
love it.
”

Travis
chucked.
“
Yeah,
ain't it grand?
”

2. Waiting

Despite herself,
Katie slept a few more hours in the small room she shared with Nerit.
When she awakened, Nerit was gone. Yawning, she pulled on her shoes
and headed to the community dining room.

Katie
poured more milk onto her cereal, staring at the watery milk filling
in around the flakes. She was slowly getting used to the powdered
milk. It didn't taste bad; it just looked off. Picking up her
spoon, she dug into the corn flakes, wishing there were a banana to
add.

The
salvage team from the grocery store had brought back tons of food in
cardboard boxes, cans, and bags, but the fruit had all gone bad.
Rosie, Juan's mother, had salvaged seeds from the rotten fruit to be
planted in a garden she was planning with Peggy, the city secretary.
Katie hoped it was successful; she missed fruit desperately.

With
a sigh, she reached out and picked up her small paper cup of vitamins
that everyone was required to take in the morning. She downed it
with orange juice made from a powdered mix.

Jenni
crashed into the chair across from her.
“
We're
heading in!
”

“
Huh?
”

Jenni
gulped down her vitamins dry.
“
Dollar
Store. We're heading in.
”
Jenni poured Fruit Loops into a bowl and reached for the pitcher of
milk.
“
Travis
says I can go in with Ed, Bill, and Felix.
”

Katie
tried not to frown, but it came automatically.

“
Oh,
c'mon. You volunteered to go into the hotel. You and I have more
experience with zombies than most of these guys. You know, from when
we were out on the road. You so cannot get into my face for
volunteering for this. It's probably empty!
”

“
I
just worry,
”
Katie admitted.

Jenni
snorted.
“
You're
such a mom.
”

“
I
just had a bad night last night. I worry about the ones I love.
”

“
You
love someone other than me?
”
Jenni widened her eyes playfully.
“
Oh,
wow. I have competition for best friend? I'll cut 'em!
”

Despite
herself, Katie laughed.
“
Yeah,
I'm so sure you can take Nerit down. Or Jason. Or Old Man Watson.
Or...
”
She faltered at Travis.

Jenni
crunched her cereal.
“
You're
such a dork.
”

“
Thanks,
I needed that.
”
Katie shoveled more cereal into her mouth.

“
I
had a rough night, too. Fucking nightmares.
”

Katie
waited for Jenni to go on, but, as usual, she didn't.

“
So,
I'm going to take this ax in that Ed got from the grocery store.
I've been practicing using it and I like it so much better than the
spears. It has this really great energy when you swing it.
”
Jenni added more cereal to her bowl.
“
I'm
going to have such a great sugar high off this stuff.
”

“
Pure
carbs. We seriously need more protein in our diets,
”
Katie said in a serious tone. The salvaged meat from the grocery
store freezer wouldn't last much longer. It was part of dinner only.
Lunch was usually stuff from cans.

Jenni
wrinkled her nose.
“
Whatever.
So, the new ax-
”

Katie
listened to Jenni prattle on about her newest weapon with amusement.
It was a very Jenni thing to do. As of late, her friend avoided
talking about the past or anything to do with the life she had lost.
Katie marveled at Jenni's ability to move on, but at the same time
wondered if all the things she was ignoring would one day catch up
with her.

Jason,
Jenni's stepson, and Jack, his ever-faithful German Shepherd
companion, joined them. Katie and Jenni both hugged the teenager and
showered the dog with attention before they settled down at their
table. Jason's bangs were long. He tended to stare at the world
through the brown, straggly strands, but he was a smart kid, a good
kid. Katie was glad they had been able to rescue him from the camp
he had been attending during the first days of the outbreak.

“
I
was talking to Roger, that science teacher, and he says my plans for
a catapult are really good. Think if I talk to Juan he could get me
the stuff to make it?
”
Jason picked out Grape Nuts from the boxes on the table, which
impressed Katie, until he drowned the little nuggets in sugar and
milk.

“
Yeah.
He would totally do that. But probably not until we get the hotel
under our control. He's all obsessed with getting us in.
”
Jenni slurped down the sugary milk in her bowl.

Jason
frowned, then shrugged.
“
I'm
just trying to help out.
”

“
Don't
take it personal. The guys are all obsessed with getting us into the
hotel. The City Hall's air conditioner is not that great and some of
the older people will suffer if the heat gets any worse.
”
Katie rubbed the boy's back to reassure him.

“
Yeah,
but we're not building enough defenses. What if a bunch of them show
up? Or the bandit guys? Or...
”
He shrugged.
“
Whatever.
I'm just a kid.
”

“
And
a moody one,
”
Jenni teased.

“
Mom!
”

Jenni
leaned over the table to hug and kiss him relentlessly. Jason tried
to fight her off at first, then started laughing. Satisfied, Jenni
slid back into her chair.

“
Gawd,
Mom,
”
Jason said, his cheeks flushed.

Katie
grinned and tucked back into her breakfast. Suddenly, she didn't
feel so down or so alone. It was a good feeling.

3. Going In

“
Go
in, secure the front. Jenni and Bill, you take right. Me and Felix,
we'll take left. Do not fire your weapon unless you have to and only
if you are sure everyone else is clear. We don't need friendly fire
in there,
”
Ed said firmly. He was a scrawny, grizzled guy in his late fifties.
A local, he was a tough Texan who had run a small farm on the
outskirts of town. His peach groves were the only fruit they had any
hope of bringing into the fort, but the salvage team had yet to get
out that far. There were plans to head out there in a week's time.

Felix,
a good-looking young man from the Houston area, stood with his
makeshift spear in one hand. He had modified it to have two deadly
ends and he often practiced with it. Jenni thought his skin was
amazing. He was so black, his skin gleamed purple in the sunlight.
He dressed like a thug, but when he spoke, you quickly realized he
was much more than he appeared to be. He was the son of white
parents who had adopted him from Africa and had been raised in an
affluent part of Houston. He had been a student at the University of
Texas when things had all gone to hell. He had barely made it out of
Austin alive. Felix didn't talk about it, but Jenni got the
impression he was torn between many different worlds.

Bill
looked toward the store from their perch on the wall.
“
I
can't see there being anyone in there if they haven't shown up at the
front door.
”
He hitched his belt a little higher and looked somber.

Ed
shrugged.
“
In
this world, can't be too sure about nothing.
”

“
Amen,
”
Jenni agreed, and lifted her ax up.
“
And
I'm ready to choppy, choppy.
”

“
You're
one crazy bitch,
”
Felix chided with a grin.

“
Uh
huh. Your point is?
”

Felix
held up one hand and twirled a finger around to indicate she was
loopy.

Jenni
grinned.

The
road was blocked off on both ends by the huge storage containers and
cement bags. Snipers, including Nerit, stood on the corners of the
fort wall ready to shoot any approaching zombies. What the small
team had to worry about was inside the Dollar Store and abandoned
shops.

“
We
all know Jenni is batshit crazy, but it's okay. She's good at
killing the gawddamn zombies,
”
Ed said with a wry grin.
“
So
let's go in and see how things are cooking in there.
”

Jenni
looked down into the fort and saw all the people staring up at them.
She waved to Katie and Jason. Juan was up on the far wall and she
blew him a kiss. He caught it and pretended to smack it onto his
ass. She laughed.

Ed
headed down the ladder first, followed by Felix, then Bill, and
finally Jenni. She jumped down the last few rungs and landed on the
hot road. The entire downtown area was paved in red bricks. A few
blades of grass were sticking up around the edges, but otherwise it
was in good condition.

Despite
the heat, they were all in jeans, boots, gloves and jackets. Jenni's
hair was braided and pinned up on her head to avoid giving the
zombies anything to grab onto. Her work gloves were lightweight, but
would be a bitch for any zombie to bite through. She was overheated
already, but they had to stay safe.

They
slowly approached the Dollar Store. It was hard to see inside past
the advertisements taped to the windows. The lights were off; the
gloom was unwelcoming. Bill went down on his knees before the door
and started to pick the lock. Busting the door open would be the
last resort.

“
Ha.
I bet everyone thought the black man would be doing that,
”
Felix remarked with a grin.