The First Days: As the World Dies (22 page)

1. Voices

    

    Katie swam to the surface of consciousness slowly. The darkness was deep and stifling. She clawed at it, trying to rise, trying to break free.

    "…defending all of us…"

    Travis' voice.

    "…shot a man in cold blood…"

    That was the Mayor's voice.

    "…there is no cure for a bite…"

    Juan sounded pissed.

    "…we would have had to shoot him anyway…"

    Curtis was defending her. Wow.

    She struggled to push up through the thick membrane of the darkness and strained to speak.

    "Don't be an idiot," a woman's voice said.

    Peggy, the city secretary.

    "Yeah, this world has all new rules. Katie did that guy a favor."

    Jenni, safe and sound.

    "Who is in charge around here?"

    The Mayor again, sounding shrill.

    "Well, I would say Travis," Juan said.

    There were murmurs of agreement, Peggy and Curtis included.

    "I'm an elected official!"

    "Well, the new elections were just held and you lost," Juan answered.

    "Take the handcuffs off," Travis ordered.

    Handcuffs?

    Katie realized the cold brace around her wrists was metal. She tried to open her eyes and failed. Something cold and wet was resting on her forehead and eye. An ice pack.

    "Curtis, I am your boss!"

    "Not anymore," Curtis answered.

    "Give me the keys," Travis said.

    Again, she tried to open her eyes.

    "Hey, you awake?" Travis' voice, warm and strong. So much like her father.

    Her eyes fluttered and light broke the darkness.

    She felt him fumbling with the handcuffs.

    "Kinky," she moaned.

    Travis laughed and his features swam before her eyes and slowly solidified.

    More figures pushed into her vision and she saw Jenni's large eyes.

    "Not dead…" she managed.

    "And not arrested," Juan assured her.

    "You can't let her go," the Mayor protested.

    "Watch us," Travis answered, and leaned down and gathered her up in his arms.

    The ice pack tumbled off her head and onto the cot.

    Wrapping her arms loosely around his neck, she whispered,

    "…need…to…stop…playing…romantic hero…"

    "Yeah, I keep telling you that, but you just don't listen," Travis chided her playfully.

    "She's bullheaded that way," Jenni agreed, following him as he carried Katie out of the room.

    Katie slumped against Travis. "Head hurts," she said.

    Then she slipped away again.

    

    

2. Movement

    

    Jenni pushed her way into the city council meeting room and elbowed her way past the many people gathered there: townspeople, construction workers, city workers, other stragglers who had found their way here.

    Everyone was pressed into the room.

    At the council table sat Katie, Travis, Juan, the Mayor, Peggy and Curtis.

    The room was already in an uproar.

    "…we should have a say…"

    "…who says what we should do…"

    Jenni was relieved to see that Katie looked very alert despite her swollen face and blackened eye. Her lip was still swollen and cracked, but it didn't take away from the fierce look on her face.

    Jason was seated toward the front and motioned Jenni over. She slipped into the seat he was saving for her and Jack rested his chin on her knee so he could have scratches behind his ears. He gave her a doggy grin of satisfaction as she commenced her scratching.

    Curtis stood up slowly. "Okay, okay, let’s be civil about this. A lot has happened since yesterday. We need to stay calm."

    The room quieted down a bit.

    Curtis sat down and Travis stood up. "I'm not real good at leadership stuff, but we need to do something to make sure that what happened yesterday doesn't happen again. Now, my strong point is building and I can design new fortifications for this…uh…fort. Juan also has a lot of ideas and we are working together to expand our fort and also make it safer. Safer to live in. Safer to get in and out of. We're going to need a lot of volunteers.

    Now, the Mayor here, he can run a city and he will be dealing with the logistics of that. Food distribution, water consumption, living quarters, all that."

    The Mayor slowly raised his head and Jenni could tell he was a defeated man who had grabbed onto whatever was left of his power base.

    "What about the lesbo?"

    The voice came from the back of the room.

    Travis' face darkened, but he kept his temper. "Katie, Bill, and Curtis have experience in law enforcement-"

    "She killed Patrick in cold blood!"

    "Patrick was bitten," Travis said softly. "A bite is deadly in this new world. He was dead already. And yeah, you get bit, you are going to be delivered out of this life fast and quick to keep the rest of us safe."

    "That's murder!"

    Jenni strained to see who was talking.

    "No, it's being humane. Now, Katie, Bill, and Curtis are going to work together to make sure that everyone understands the new rules around here."

    "Who gave you the right?" An older man now.

    "No one. But it's what we are good at. We'll need everyone to work hard to keep this place safe." Travis looked grim. "We need to work together, or we will all die."

    Katie said in a low voice, "Tell them the plans."

    Travis nodded. "First off, we cleared out the zombies to the point that none have been seen since yesterday. Tomorrow, we'll dispose of all the bodies after removing the corral and clearing the area…"

    He spoke softly, but firmly. Juan had a plan to devise a new entry point using the street to the east by rigging up what he called the "Panama Canal.”

    It was a simple series of walls with gates. Anyone entering by vehicle would have to drive into two locks to give guards time to shoot any zombies who slipped in as well. Then the vehicle would enter an area behind the construction site that would be walled off and enter the garage of the building that had once housed a county newspaper office and distribution center.

    "So, we're expanding the wall as fast as we can. We'll use the storage containers to block off an area for safety, build the wall, then move the containers again until we have enough space."

    They would go into the hotel and the old newspaper building and clear it out, then brick up every entrance that would be facing the outside world.

    Everyone would be moved into the hotel.

    Other teams would take trucks to go into the town and bring back supplies.

    "Seeds so we can plant gardens for food, as much food as possible, bedding, tools, toilet paper…" Peggy read off a long list.

    Other teams would look for survivors. They would be armed, of course, and Mike would train those volunteers, since he was former army.

    Juan added, "I'm heading to the library. We need books on farming, medicine, weapons, warfare…"

    "We have a window of opportunity before another batch of those bastards show up," Travis said as the meeting continued.

    "What about the army coming to rescue us?"

    Curtis shook his head. "The best news I have is that they are holed up at a rescue station in Madison and under heavy siege."

    "We have to rescue ourselves," Katie said.

    Jenni looked over the people in the room to see that they actually did understand. There was seriousness in their features and a grim determination that gave her hope.

    "Everyone just needs to do what they are good at. We need to work together. I don't want to be your leader, but someone who is helping out."

    There were murmurs of agreement to Travis' words.

    "What about the lesbo bitch? Shane is locked up because of her."

    Jenni finally spot him. A tall man with dark brown hair and a heavy mustache. An older guy, grizzled and fierce.

    Curtis stood up slowly. "He agrees to act like a civilized man, we'll let him out. But the rule remains. You get bit, you will be given the gift of a quick death."

    There was silence, then Rosie, Juan's mother, said, "That is fair. And right."

    More murmurs of agreement.

    Travis motioned to those at the table. "All of us are heading up some part of the fortifying of this fort. Come to us. Talk to us. Volunteer. We need to work hard to get this done."

    Jenni raised her hand as high as she could.

    Travis acknowledged her.

    "I just want to say that in every zombie movie internal fighting is what finally let’s the zombies in to win," she said, and gave Travis a big smile.

    There was total silence at this, but Juan nodded. "She's right. We keep it together or die."

    The grizzled old timer snorted, but shrugged. "Fine."

    Jenni gave him a long look and leaned over to Jason. " He'll be trouble."

    Jason nodded. "Yeah, I know."

    The meeting finally broke up. Most of the people actually seemed relieved that there was some sort of plan. Katie stood slowly and her hand rose to her battered face. Travis turned to her to make sure she was okay.

    Jenni hesitated, feeling a little jealous. Katie was her best friend, not Travis'.

    She sighed and fought the emotion. It was hard to share at times. Katie gave him a little smile. She gave Jenni an even bigger smile and Jenni grinned happily.

    Juan started past her.

    "Hey, I'm going with you," Jenni informed Juan.

    Juan stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine. But you'll do as I say."

    Jenni smirked. "Of course, I will."

    Katie laughed and sat back down slowly. "I wish I could go along just to enjoy the banter."

    "We don't banter," Juan said with a sniff.

    "We argue," Jenni agreed.

    "We hate each other," Juan added.

    "Viciously," Jenni said with a nod.

    Travis regarded both of them, then looked at Katie. "I think they're secretly dating."

    Juan sputtered and Jenni made a face.

    "Yeah, definitely," Katie agreed.

    Juan and Jenni eyed each other for a moment and both shook their heads vehemently.

    "I'd rather date you, Travis," Juan said firmly.

    "Oh, how cute!" Katie laughed and wagged her finger at both the men.

    "It would be a match in heaven."

    Jenni flung her arms playfully around Katie's neck as she sat on her lap.

    "And I have a woman."

    Katie just giggled and missed Travis' stricken expression.

    If Jenni had seen, she would realized her kidding had hit a nerve, but she missed it and the two women began to joke around.

    Travis and Juan slipped away.

    "Told you," Juan said simply.

    "Yeah," Travis said glumly.

    "Want to hold my hand?"

    Travis snorted. "Ha, ha."

    "What? I'm a sexy bitch!"

    Travis just kept walking.

    

    

3. What Have I Become

    

    Katie felt trapped within the fort now that others were venturing out into the town. It was three days since the great battle and she was a walking bruise. Her jaw ached and her eye looked worse than ever. She was healing, but her bruises were still rising to the surface and revealing themselves in all their colorful glory.

    The first group to go out of the fort had returned with truckloads of food from the local grocery and survivors from the convenience store she and Travis had stopped on the way to Nerit and Ralph's. Unfortunately, they had become too confident and two zombies had dragged down one of the fort's men in the grocery store. It was a sobering moment that reminded everyone vividly that the danger still existed even though the zombies were not crowded outside their walls. It was a bitter irony to add ten new people to their company while losing another.

    Travis had called off any other sojourns out of the fort for another day.

    He enlisted Mike to once more go over gun safety and procedure, with Curtis helping him out with demonstrations. They couldn't afford to lose anyone else.

    As her body struggled to heal, she sat in on planning sessions for the new entrance and the taking of the hotel. Though she didn't understand all the logistics and the terminology, it became apparent that Juan and Travis were clever and resourceful. If she were well enough, she would be joining the team that was going in to clear out the hotel. Meanwhile, Jenni had volunteered to go into town to the library with Juan and had also volunteered to stand guard at night.

    Katie suspected Jenni was interested in standing guard due to Travis taking the late shift. It was pretty clear to her that Jenni was interested in Travis. Whether the attraction went both ways, she wasn't sure.

    Unable to sleep, Jack and Jason snoring loudly on the nearby cot, she slid off her bed and wandered up to the roof. The wind was cool and soft on her skin and she hugged herself to keep warm. Sitting down on a plastic chair someone had left up there, she looked up at the bright stars and sighed.

    It was hard to feel peace when you now knew you could kill without remorse and on pure instinct. In her mind, she replayed the image of that man, torn and bleeding, and how he had not even realized her finger was pulling back the trigger. He had been so relieved that she had saved him.