Fighting to Survive (54 page)

“
Protecting
the good of society is what we are trained to do. It is what comes
first to our minds. Protecting our own should be a priority.
”
Curtis shook his head.

“
We
bring them in,
”
Travis said.
“
Because
they are our own.
”

There was an
uncomfortable silence. Curtis just sighed.

Nerit
waved to the zombies rabidly growling and jostling each other below.
“
Target
practice for Jason and his crew. Don't they have some new weapons to
try out?
”

“
Herding
zombies,
”
Curtis chuckled to himself.
“
What
will those dumb fuck bandits think of next?
”

Katie
turned to Nerit.
“
Well,
it was nice of the bandits to send us targets.
”

Nerit
gave Katie a sly smile.
“
Oh,
yes. It gives me a little more insight into their leaders mind.
”
She slipped past Katie and down the stairs.

“
Okay,
is it just me, or is she one scary old woman?
”
Bill blinked his eyes rapidly, his hands on his hips.

“
The
scariest,
”
Curtis said somberly.
“
She
scares me shitless.
”
He followed Nerit down the stairs.

“
Glad
she's on our side,
”
Katie added, and followed.

Bill
looked over at the zombies.
“
Yeah,
me, too.
”

2.
And So It Begins Again

Peggy studied her
little map with all its highlighted spots she had laid out on the
front desk in the lobby. She drew an x through one of the bright
yellow circles. They had lost contact with one of the survivor
groups. She had finally given up hope this morning after a third day
of no response. It could be the zombies, or it could be the bandits.
There was no way of truly knowing.

Looking up, she saw
the newest additions to the fort, three little kids, running around
the lobby with her son, playing what looked like a superhero game.
The new family had broken her heart when they had arrived, reeking to
high heaven and absolutely terrified. When the wife had seen their
new suite in the hotel, she had burst into tears. At their first
meal, the children had kept stuffing their faces until the youngest
had thrown up. It had grown too easy to forget just how good those in
the fort had it compared to those stuck in tiny pockets out in the
hostile world.

Nerit
glanced over at the children, then back down at the map.
“
Five
locations. Which is the most desperate?
”

Travis
was at her side, staring down at the map as well. He was certain to
be the new mayor, despite Steven Mann's dirty politicking. Manny was
a fading leader as he struggled with health problems. People
automatically deferred to Travis now. The vote was the last step to
making his ascension to the fort leader official.

“
Sadler
Farm. It's a family and a few workers. They've been holed up in the
main house since the second day of the outbreak. It's an old stone
house with storm windows, shutters and doors. Originally, they
declined joining us. They felt they had it under control.
Considering how far out they are, you would think they would be safe,
but a wave of the dead arrived about ten days ago. They're just about
out of ammo now and they are low on food. For awhile, they told me
they had come and gone from the house to the garden and the chicken
coops with no issue. Then one day the zombies hit in force and they
lost two men and ended up barely holding them off.
”

Nerit
nodded stoically.
“
The
RN is where?
”

“
Bowie
High School in Raymond,
”
Peggy answered.
“
She
has two teachers and four kids with her. Two are hers. She was at the
school giving flu shots on the first day. The school was evacuated,
but they remained behind deliberately.
”

“
Why?
”
Nerit's gaze was curious.

Peggy
laughed a little.
“
She
watches horror movies and saw one of the walking dead and was pretty
sure it was a zombie. Then she noticed bites on some of the people
being put on the buses. So she and the others hid and waited until
everyone had been shipped off to a rescue center, then barricaded
themselves inside the school. It's a very small school, so it wasn't
that hard.
”

Nerit
smiled wryly.
“
Horror
movies...odd how they became a guideline for survival.
”

Katie
joined them, dressed in hunting gear. She leaned into Travis and he
slung an arm around her shoulders. A tender kiss followed, Peggy
grinned.

Peggy
loved seeing them together. Her own marriage had been rocky and never
very romantic. She knew she was a sucker for country love songs and
soap operas. She couldn't help it. But this was the real thing. She
could see it. Feel it. Travis and Katie had found real, true love.
She was happy for them. She just wished it would one day happen to
her. Of course, in this dead world, what were the chances of that?

“
So
these are the last two groups?
”
Travis pondered over the map.

“
One
more. A family trapped in a trailer. Again, doing okay until a
recent mob of zombies arrived a few days ago. They were also
holdouts, but they have not been doing so well. They're just
bullheaded country folk, but they now need us to go get them.
”
Peggy tapped the map and stared up at Nerit and Travis.

Nerit was deep in
thought, her finger tracing over the various points on the map.

“
Who
is out there right now?
”
Travis leaned against the counter and stared up at Peggy.

She
really liked his style. He always gave his full attention to her and
valued her opinion. It wasn't like how she had to bust heads with
Manny constantly.

“
Ed
is out with his group protecting the harvesting of his peach groves
right now,
”
Peggy answered.
“
He
took Lenore with him.
”

“
Lenore?
”
Travis blinked.

“
I
felt she was ready,
”
Nerit muttered as she studied the map.

“
Jenni
is out on a scavenging run with Curtis, Katarina, Felix and Dylan,
”
Katie added.
“
They're
due back soon.
”

“
Dylan?
We sent Dylan out? Isn't he a bit young?
”
Travis arched an eyebrow.

“
He
just turned eighteen. We have men in the military that age...or at
least we did,
”
Nerit pointed out.

“
And
no one out on the field is reporting anything odd? No bandits?
”
Travis lifted his eyebrows.

“
No,
just those waves of zombies showing up. Kinda like they do here. I
think that's the bandits,
”
Peggy answered.

“
I
agree with that assessment.
”
Nerit began to write notes down on a pad of paper.

“
You
don't think they've decided maybe we're too big to take on?
”
Katie asked.

“
I
think they're trying to figure out what to do with us,
”
Travis answered.

“
Agreed.
”
Nerit leaned over the map and studied it.
“
Waiting
for a time to strike.
”

Ken rushed down the
hall from the communication center and leaped behind the counter.
Hugging Peggy, he startled her.

“
Oh,
my gawd! You will not believe my news!
”

Travis
slightly smiled.
“
Oh,
yeah?
”

“
Yeah!
Ed called in from where they are getting all those delicious
peaches!
”

“
So
the good news is we're having peach cobbler?
”
Katie queried teasingly.

Ken
gave her a dark look.
“
I'm
building this up. You're cramping my style! Shush, you!
”

“
Spill
it, Ken.
”
Peggy was about to smack him upside the head.

“
My
girl, Lenore, my bestest girl, is safe and on her way back with
mission numero uno under her belt. That's the first part. Second
part, Ed's boys were there!
”

“
No
shit?
”
Peggy was stunned. Ed rarely spoke of the three sons that were
somewhere out on the deadlands. When he did, it was often when he was
drunk. The boys were all Ed had left in the world after his wife,
Edna, had died. All three had been away at school on the first day.
Peggy knew Ed had hopes they were still alive, but this was amazing
news.
“
Seriously.
The boys were all alive?
”

“
Yep!
They fought their way back to Ed's farm and holed up there! They
thought their Daddy was dead until they saw him in the peach groves
with the team!
”
Ken danced around.
“
Lenore
is trying to find out if any of them are gay.
”

“
I
swear to God, all you think about is finding a boyfriend,
”
Peggy groused.

“
Like
you don't?
”

“
Hey,
my sex life, or lack thereof, ain't your business.
”
Peggy shook her pen in his face.

“
Hard
up, aren't you?
”

“
I'm
gonna kick your ass, Ken.
”

Katie
smirked.
“
My
money is on Peggy if they throw down.
”

Travis
shook his head as he laughed.
“
Ken
looks kinda vicious.
”

Ken
playfully snarled at him.
“
Okay,
good news time is over! Back to the communication center!
”
He bounced back down the hall.

“
I'm
gonna choke him. I swear to God, I will,
”
Peggy muttered.

Nerit
looked up from her map, seeming impervious to Ken's exploits.
“
I
think I see how we need to handle this. What we need to do. They're
after resources: food, guns, drugs, and women. We're going to need
to lure them out. I think I know how.
”
She tapped the map with one finger.