The First Days: As the World Dies (13 page)

4. Breathing Space

    

    Katie stirred only once during the night. It was when Jenni had finally come into the small room to go to bed and had leaned over and kissed her forehead tenderly. Katie had sleepily opened her eyes to see Jenni lying down on her own cot and had reached out to take her hand. She had fallen back to sleep, Jenni's fingers intertwined with hers.

    In the morning, she awakened to Jenni peacefully snoring and Jason sneaking out the door with Jack on his heels. She could smell hot, fresh coffee wafting through the building and pulled on her socks and boots immediately.

    Almost stumbling down the narrow staircase, she found her way to the community dining room where people were gathered for coffee and a breakfast of what had been left over from the fundraiser dinner.

    Snagging a Danish, half of a club sandwich, and a hot cup of coffee, Katie found a corner and sat down to enjoy her meal. The townies weren't as open to her as the construction crew. The townspeople looked at her curiously, but seem locked in their own worlds. Of course, this was their town and it was now dead. They were probably in shock, in mourning, and not sure what to think of any of this, including the blond in the camouflage pants and black tank top.

    Jason joined her at the table, Jack hot on his heals with his ears perked and looking at the boy anxiously for any scraps. The teenager seemed a bit moody this morning and Katie didn't blame him. Being here, being safe, made her feel raw and more vulnerable emotionally. Being on the run, living on the edge of death, was numbing and comforting compared to a quiet moment to actually reflect on all they had endured and lost.

    "Mom's still asleep?" he asked.

    Katie looked at him, noting his use of the word "mom.” "Yeah, she seemed really tired."

    "She was out late with that guy," Jason said moodily.

    Katie opened her mouth to say something and faltered. Of course he was upset. Jason's dad was dead and already his step mom seemed to have her eyes on another man. She took a bite of the Danish, noting it was close to being stale.

    Jason sighed and gave the dog a few bits of cold chicken, which were immediately gulped down. "Dad was a shithead, but…" He shrugged.

    "Yeah," Katie said. Not sure really what she was agreeing to, but Jason nodded back at her and set about eating.

    "It would be different if it was you," he said softly, so no one else could hear. "At least you wouldn't be replacing Dad."

    Katie reached across the table and touched his cheek. "Jason, I think Jenni is just dealing with things the best way she can. I don't think you have to worry about anyone replacing your father right now."

    Turning his face away, he shrugged. "Whatever."

    She sighed softly and returned to eating. Jason didn't seem to want to talk, so she finished up, gave him a brief hug, patted Jack on the head, and headed downstairs.

    When she stepped out into the fresh, cool air, she saw that the construction of the wall was complete. Made of concrete and at least two feet thick, the wall stood sturdy and defiant about five feet from the perimeter of the hurricane fence. It was, at the very least, ten feet high. She stared over the top of it at the buildings surrounding their little fort. There was no way to be sure, but it looked like most of them had been abandoned long before all of this went down, except for the Dollar Store across the street.

    Hands on hips, she surveyed the interior of the little fort and noted a fairly clear path along the edges, except for where some of the bigger machinery was clustered in a corner. She had noticed the day before that the bulldozers and heavy equipment was parked outside the wall. She flicked her gaze up to the enormous crane attached to the building with the faded Coca Cola advertisement. How it all worked was beyond her.

    Stretching out, she felt the coffee giving her a nice little rush, and she felt almost normal for a second. She started to jog at a nice even clip over the packed earth of the site, darting around port-a-potties, the lunch wagon, and behind the portable office buildings. After a few minutes, she felt her energy increase and her endorphins kick in and soon she was jogging at a fair clip despite her heavy Doc Martens.

    She was on her third circuit around the fort when Travis dropped in beside her. He matched her pace easily and said, "Hey."

    "Hey," she answered with a smile.

    He looked a little groggy.

    "Late night?"

    "Sentry duty until midnight kinda took it out of me. I really need coffee, but they were fresh out and making a new pot when I went to grab a cup," he answered.

    "You jog?"

    "Every morning," he answered, and she noted the natural ease in which he carried himself.

    "I used to run every morning with Lydia," she said, and was instantly tormented by the vision of Lydia running at her. She shook her head and looked away from him, tears abruptly in her eyes.

    Travis jogged next to her, silent, yet watchful. He waited until she had control of herself, then said, "Ralph called in this morning before we were up.

    He wanted to know if we'll be heading his way today."

    Katie glanced toward Travis. "Are we?"

    "I'm seriously worried about the school. It is an older building. They will eventually get out and when they do, they'll come here."

    Katie expertly dodged around a few people who were standing and talking. All three were construction workers, looking dirty, tired, and nervous.

    "How far away is the school?"

    "Three blocks North of here."

    "Three blocks!" She was so startled, Katie nearly ran into the wall.

    Travis grabbed her arm and guided her back on her now worn jogging path.

    "Yeah. That's why I'm so nervous. They'll come straight here and we'll be swamped. We will have to better defend ourselves. They have numbers on their side."

    "Plus they don't sleep…" Katie shook her head. "Yeah, we need to get the guns here soon. What about food?"

    "We're okay for now thanks to the fund raiser and all the canned food from the food drive. The truck driver that arrived yesterday was in a WalMart truck, and we managed to unload a lot of that into the city hall before a throng of zombies arrived. A lot of canned and boxed food and other supplies.

    We're not running out of toilet paper any time soon." Travis grinned and they started on their next circuit around the complex.

    "Oh, gawd! What a relief! I thought we were doomed" Katie said with mock seriousness.

    Travis laughed and she joined him. They sprinted around the lunch wagon and some people sitting in chairs enjoying the morning.

    "But seriously, we have the wall up, food for awhile at least, but we need a solid way to defend ourselves. I was looking around the area today and I think our best shot is the truck you and Jenni came in."

    "We're out of gas though," Katie pointed out.

    "But we have some gasoline on reserve here in the fort," he said, using the term that the inhabitants were already using. "We just have to get it out to the truck and fill it up."

    "How many zombies are out there now?"

    Travis sighed a bit as he ran. "Six more showed up in the early morning.

    We're trying to lure them closer to kill them, but the dead ones keep tripping them up. We'll have to distract them. Probably with a car alarm like yesterday."

    Katie lifted an eyebrow. "So that's how you did it?"

    "We're clever that way," Travis grinned.

    "So. Someone runs over to the truck with the gas canisters, pours them into the tank, and hauls ass to get the guns?" Katie's voice sounded doubtful.

    "Yeah. You and me. We're running right now. Hardly winded. The guys trick the zombies to the other side of the fort and we run for it. There is a gas station ten miles down the road. We fill up there."

    Katie laughed. "Sounds easy."

    Travis' eyes cast a shy glance at her. "Yeah, I'm easy."

    That made Katie laugh even more. "Okay, so you and I run out there, I assume you with a spear, me with my gun, get the truck, ride to the nearest gas station, fill up the truck, haul ass over to Ralph's hunting shop, grab a bunch of guns and make it back here by nightfall."

    "Gee, ma'am, when you say it that way it sounds kinda romantic," Travis teased her.

    Katie rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm in. But Jenni will insist on coming with us. I know it."

    "Yeah, she really does like to kill zombies, doesn't she?"

    Katie remembered Jenni running out onto Ralph's balcony and shooting a zombie just because it looked like her father. "Um…yeah."

    "Think she's okay upstairs?" Travis asked softly.

    Katie pondered this, recalling Jenni's near catatonia, then her quick rebound into Linda Hamilton in Terminator. "No. No, I don't think so. But I think she is probably dealing with this better than us. I think Jenni had a lot of bad things happen to her in the old world."

    "So the new world is maybe a relief," Travis said sadly.

    "Yeah."

    They stopped outside of the back steps to city hall and Katie took the time to stretch out her muscles. "I'm due for the shower."