Fighting to Survive (57 page)

“
Contact
the survivor groups and let them know we are coming today,
”
Nerit ordered.

Peggy chewed on her
bottom lip, her nervousness growing. Behind Nerit, there were
children, squealing with delight and running around with the little
Jack Russell terrier named Pepe. It was hard when their people
traveled out into the deadlands. It was too horrible when you had to
wait and see if they all made it back and if not, who hadn't made it.
Dylan wasn't their only loss in the last few months. The children
running around were who they were doing this for.

Nerit slid the paper
across the counter to Peggy.

Looking
over it, Peggy scratched behind one ear.
“
Okay,
I'm on it. I'll start contacting the groups.
”

Nerit
gave her a nod then walked off slowly, slightly favoring one leg. If
she knew Peggy noticed, she'd probably be annoyed.

Peggy
sighed and hurried to the communication center.

2.
The Countdown Begins

Katie watched the
gates glide open, her stomach knotting. The gates to the inner
courtyard were already closed behind the two vehicles leaving the
fort. Katie and Travis were in the Hummer. Four others were in the
souped up mini-van behind them.

In the distance, two
zombies moved toward the opening gates, but the fort snipers took
them down with eerie efficiency. Nerit had meticulously trained the
most gifted of the fort's people in her art and Katie heard that
Katarina had risen to be her star pupil.

Katie
pushed down the accelerator and started down the road. Glancing into
the review mirror, she saw the mini-van following closely. Felix was
driving with a new guy, Bob, sitting beside him. She was hoped the
new people would be able to handle the stress of entering the
deadlands.

“
This
is pretty nice,
”
Travis decided, looking around the interior.

“
Should
be, for how much it costs,
”
Katie answered.

“
I
hear it's actually Blanche's. She used it to go shopping.
”
Travis looked amused.

Katie
shook her head.
“
Amazing,
isn't it? And I felt guilt over the convertible Lydia gave me.
”

“
You
would look cute in a convertible,
”
Travis decided.

“
Yeah,
but I think I have a fetish for big 4x4 trucks now.
”
Katie winked.
“
They
smash up zombies better.
”

“
Oh,
you better watch yourself. You
’
re
starting to sound like a redneck and not a big bad prosecuting
attorney,
”
Travis teased.

“
Oh,
I am still the big bad prosecuting attorney,
”
Katie assured him, and gave him her coldest courtroom glare.

“
Damn,
”
he laughed.
“
I
hope I never get that look for real.
”

“
Just
watch yourself and you'll be okay. Otherwise, you're screwed.
”
She turned her gaze fully to the road as the Hummer sped out of
town.

“
Ruthless,
huh?
”

“
And
I still am.
”

A
zombie staggered out into the road, clawing at the air in their
direction. Katie didn
’
t
flinch. The truck hit it straight on, flinging it off the road. The
van behind them swerved to avoid its flying body.

“
Ummmm...I
noticed,
”
Travis said with a wry smile, settling back into his seat.

Katie
was comfortably settled into the leather seat. There were less and
less zombies in town as the snipers picked them off from afar. The
idea of systematically clearing the town had been considered, but
without a sufficient way to keep the zombies out, it was a waste of
man and firepower. It had finally been determined they would aim to
slowly take over the entire downtown area with a wall encircling
them, then concentrate on keeping that area secure. Even controlled
burning of the rest of the town had been discussed. What would happen
to the parts of town that they would no longer use was still up for
debate, but Katie had seen Travis' plans for what could become of
their little fortress. She knew that he had definitive ideas that
could work very well and keep them safe.

If they could only
keep safe while they built it...

“
Do
you think Nerit is right?
”
Travis asked after a stretch of silence.

Katie
was so wrapped up in watching the road, his voice startled her.
“
Probably.
”

“
She
does have a lot more experience with this type of thing I guess,
”
Travis said thoughtfully.

“
And
she has trained and briefed all of us,
”
Katie added. Her gaze swept over the road in front of them.

No zombies.

No bandits.

So
far so good.

Travis
looked back at the mini-van, then returned his gaze to the scenery
quickly flying by the windows. The scorching heat of the late summer
had crisped the trees leaves, and the grass was so dry and brown it
merely resembled the world they had grown used to. It was hot and
dead. He couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding.

“
Having
to deal with the bandits on top of the zombies is bull shit. It
’
s
hard to understand why they just didn't try to help out instead
of...you know...killing, raping, stealing.
”

Katie
sighed a little.
“
Trust
me, I've pondered that many times during my career. But then again,
maybe it's just human nature to try to survive. And some people have
a twisted nature and a twisted way of surviving.
”

Three zombies were
standing in the road when they rounded the bend. Katie didn't swerve,
but hit them straight on. One managed to cling to the deer guard on
the front of the Hummer for a few seconds, then slid off and bounced
down the road. The zombies didn't look very human anymore. Their
shrunken features and mottled bodies just didn't seem quite as
terrifyingly human as they had been in the first days. It was easier
and easier to see them just as monsters.

Travis
reached out and rested his hand on her thigh.
“
You
be careful, okay?
”

Katie
ran her hand over his.
“
And
you be careful, too.
”

***

Jenni sat in the
front seat behind Ed, the driver of the short bus. Bill sat across
from her, looking grim and anxious. Four more people sat scattered
throughout the bus. There was sparse conversation, but mostly
silence. Behind the bus was a large moving truck that carried another
team. Jenni's would pick up any survivors; the other team would look
for supplies.

The bus was even
more tricked out than before. Now it had heavy mesh over all the
windows and a heavy deer guard in the front. Jenni thought it was
almost like being in a prison bus.

They
were bringing the last of the survivors in their area today. It was a
big moment for the fort. After today their population would basically
be complete.

Running
her hand over her rifle, she sighed. She was very hot and the air
conditioner was barely working. Outside the windows, the world was
brown and dead. Occasionally, they would see a zombie staggering
down the road or through a field. It didn't take much imagination to
know that the cities were probably crammed with the creatures, but
out here, they were seemingly sparse these days. She had a feeling
they should never get too comfortable with that thought.

Jenni
had come a long way in these stressful long months since that first
day. It was as if her life before that morning was just a dim memory
of another world. The days on the road seemed stark and vivid in her
mind. The crazed sense of liberation, the fear, the adrenaline, the
passionate desire to live; she had felt stripped of all her
boundaries and free to be herself, whatever that was, at last.

Despite
all that she had lost, she was happy, happy to have Katie and Jason
as her family, happy to love and be loved by Juan, happy with her
role as the psycho zombie killer. She felt free to speak Spanish to
Juan and not fear someone's disapproving gaze. That was an enormous
relief.

She
still had nightmares about her children. It hurt to think of Benji
and Mikey. She missed them horribly. At times, she would weep
uncontrollably when no one else was around. It hurt to think of them
out there, decaying slowly as they prowled for flesh. Those tiny
fingers still reached for her in her nightmares. Lloyd's damn ghost
lingered on the corners of her life. She ignored his taunts and
tried not to listen to him. His words only stirred her guilt at
surviving. He reminded her of that other time, that other life, that
other home.

The
fort was far away from her old house and old life. She loved it, but
she was terribly afraid that they could lose it all.

If
Nerit was right, this would be a decisive day for all of them. It
would be a day none of them would forget one way or the other.

Today
would decide if they all lived and died if Nerit was right.

Jenni
lowered her head and sighed.

Those
tiny fingers seemed oddly closer today...

When the Hummer drew
up to the old hunting store, it was immediately obvious the bandits
had not only returned, but had broken into the store. Decaying bodies
littered the street. A van with its tires blown out and all the
windows shattered listed to one side of the street.

“
Nerit
’
s
handiwork,
”
Travis decided.

The
bars of one of the windows were twisted to one side. Katie stared at
the damage and could only imagine that the bandits had pulled the
bars loose by using a chain and a truck.

“
Move
with extreme caution,
”
Travis said into the CB.

“
Understood,
”
came the answer over a cackle of static.

Katie drew up to the
front of the store and looked around. The bandits had gone nuts in
this small town. All the windows of the main street were shattered
and merchandise from the store littered the street. The body of a
woman was tied to the lamppost nearby.

Correction.

A
zombie woman was tied to the lamppost. She was mostly eaten, but her
eyes were moving, watching them, her mouth opening and closing on
slender sinews.

“
I
really hate these guys,
”
Katie whispered.

“
Yeah,
”
Travis agreed grimly.

Turning
off the Hummer, Katie drew her rifle onto her lap.
“
Ready?
”

Travis
gave her a quick nod. He drew Nerit
’
s
keys from his pocket and moved toward the front door. The people from
the min-van also slid out into the street and followed, guns drawn,
looking alert.