“Turn and go,” Travis directed in a defeated voice.
Katie spun the wheel around as she pushed down on the accelerator. The truck plowed through the zombies that had originally been chasing them.
They were jostled around in the cab as the huge wheels churned over the dead. The truck broke free and raced up the long stretch of road out of town. Katie’s gaze flicked to the rearview mirror. Some zombies were still in pursuit, but most of the others were beating their fists against the truck barricade.
Travis was very quiet alongside her, breathing hard, reeking of gasoline. Her shower was a moot point and she felt hot and sweaty. From the corner of her eye, Katie saw Travis run a hand slowly through his brown curls. Lifting his head, he said, “We just do what we planned.”
Katie licked her very dry lips. “Yeah. Okay.” Her throat felt tight and scratchy, and she forced herself to take a calming breath.
How they were going to get back into the fort would be dealt with later. For now, they had a job to do and they were determined to do it.
2.
Left Behind
Jenni was dimly aware of Juan pulling her back as she strained forward, reaching toward the red truck. She screamed loud and hard as the pickup spun around and retreated and the throng of the dead filled the street. Juan stumbled back with his arms locked around her as the dead began to bang on the side of the construction truck, moaning and screeching. The heavy sandbags held the truck steady and the sides were too high and too smooth for the undead to scale.
“They’re not good climbers as far as we know, but let’s not give them any reason to try,” Juan said in Jenni’s ear as he half carried, half dragged her down the ladder.
She struggled frantically. “Katie, no! She can’t leave without me!” Jenni felt like her head was going to explode. Juan dropped her and they both fell behind the barricade. Safe but bruised, they were hidden from the zombies.
Katie couldn’t leave her. Katie was safety. Katie was her friend. Her comrade. Her war buddy.
Jenni scrambled to her feet, drawing her gun and grabbing the ladder.
Juan gripped her wrist tightly. “No. They are gone already! They’re safe!”
Jason was at the wall, waving and yelling at her. “Mom, come back!”
She felt the world spinning around her and covered her face. Mom? … Was she still a mom?
Those tiny fingers …
“Mom! Come back in!”
Benji … gone … Mikey … gone … Jason … Jason was calling her.
She stumbled toward her son. Juan helped her scale the hurricane fence. Jenni shoved her gun into her waistband and dropped to the other side.
She turned back toward the outer perimeter, the morning sun blinding her.
Katie …
Juan pushed her up onto the next ladder. “Come on, loca. Get up there.”
Jason reached down to her from the sentry post and she crawled up the rungs to him. His arms went around her in a tight hug. Jack was on the ground, whining.
“Katie left…,” Jenni whispered, her voice unsteady with fear.
“She’ll be fine, Mom. She’ll be fine.” Jason held her tightly, supporting her as she walked.
“But we’re a team. If I’m not with her, they’ll get her. That’s how it works. That’s how it works.”
“Travis is with her, Mom. She’ll be okay.”
Jenni felt numb, disoriented, and overwhelmed. Katie needed to be here with her, or she needed to be out there with Katie. That was how it worked. They had to be together or else the zombies would get them.
The world started spinning again. …
Jenni fainted.
3.
And Further Still
Katie looked at the gas gauge and frowned. The needle was hovering close to empty. The truck tore over the bumpy country road, jostling her about. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly to steady her nerves. She let out a slow sigh.
“It’s up ahead. Soon,” Travis assured her. He was peering at a map, much like Jenni had done the previous day.
Jenni …
Katie had a feeling Jenni was not taking their separation well. Actually, she wasn’t either. They had bonded so quickly and strongly that to be separated felt more than a little odd. Travis’s presence felt very different from Jenni’s. It had her a little off balance. She wanted to reach out and take Jenni’s hand and know that it was all going to be okay. Instead, she gripped the steering wheel tighter.
“I’m sorry,” Travis said sympathetically .
“Why sorry?”
“It was my stupid idea to have us leave and now…” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Katie. I’ve never been a real leader before. I’m sure I’m fucking things up.”
“No, no, you’re doing your best. Hell, none of us have any idea what we are really doing.”
“Except Juan with his zombie handbook. He assured me that the guns were important, though he mumbled something about blades,” Travis uttered grimly.
“Guns are effective. They just draw a lot of attention because of the noise,” Katie reminded him. “Still, I’d rather have a gun than a blade with some of the faster ones.”
“Yeah, Juan is still bitching about that. He keeps complaining that they’re supposed to be slow. But some of the ones that aren’t as screwed up are really damn fast.”
Katie let out a slight laugh. “Actually, Jenni spent a good deal of time bitching about the same thing.”
“Gas station should be just around that bend.” Travis looked at her with an unreadable expression. “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay. It’s not like I haven’t done this before.” She smiled reassuringly at him as they pulled into the mom-and-pop gas station. “After two days of this, I’m an old pro.”
The station was a very old building, with peeling white paint and heavy bars over the windows, but the pumps were new. An ancient, beat-up trailer was nestled behind the weathered building. Travis looked out his window. “It looks clear. I’ll try to get inside and turn on the pumps. I can see that the readouts on the pumps are still working, so the electricity isn’t out here.”
Katie pulled her credit card out of her pants pocket. “We could just try this.”
Travis looked at the card, then at her, and finally smiled. “I knew there was a reason I had you with me.”
Katie slid out of the truck, her gun drawn and her gaze sweeping over the terrain. She was feeling a little hot and mushy-headed. Wiping her brow, she grimaced as her wound pulsed with pain. She watched Travis to see if the credit card worked.
He grabbed the nozzle and gave her a wink. “We’re in business,” he said.
“Just make it fast.”
Her stomach gave a low growl, and a twinge ran through her intestines. Dammit, great time to have an upset stomach. Sliding around the front of the truck, she scrutinized the area, studying the shadows under the trees and the buildings in the distance.
“Do you have food and water, Travis?” It was a woman’s voice. Young, perky.
Travis whirled around, as did Katie.
A young woman with red hair had opened what looked like a window for after-hour payments.
“A bottle or two of water would do us fine, Janet,” Travis answered. “Glad to see you’re okay.”
“We got the family holed up in here. But nothing has come by since yesterday. Luthor shot it and we drug it out back.”
Katie kept her gaze on her surroundings as she moved toward the building. She felt her stomach flutter. She hated being exposed in the openness of the parking lot. She took a long look down the side of the building to make sure nothing lurked there, then moved toward the window.
The girl waited for her, the window half-open, talking to someone hidden from view. That person handed Janet a bag and she pushed the window all the way open to pass it to Katie, who took it gratefully and peeked inside. Two bottles of water and some Danish. She was getting tired of Danish.
Janet looked at her, sizing her
up. “You and Travis heading out of town together? Going to hide somewhere?”
“We’re on a mission for city hall, actually.”
“I heard on the CB that a lot of people were down there. We decided to wait it out here until the army comes,” Janet answered. “We got food in here to last us and I’m sure the army will get here soon.”
“What makes you think they’ll come?”
“Because that’s their job,” Janet said briskly, and looked toward Travis. “So, you and Travis are doing a mission? What kinda mission?”
Katie smiled slightly, realizing the woman was jealous. “Getting guns to blow the zombies to hell,” she replied.
“Yeah? Hell, just go into any house around here and you’ll find guns.”
“And maybe zombies,” Katie reminded her.
“Yeah, that’s not good.”
“Let’s go, Katie!” Travis thumped the lid to the tank closed and waved to her.
“Thanks, Janet,” Katie said, and quickly ran toward the bright red pickup.
She felt her intestines twisting again. Her head was throbbing, too. What the hell was wrong with her?
“You okay?” Travis looked at her with concern.
“Yeah,” she assured him. She slid back into the driver’s seat and put on her seat belt. Her hands felt clammy when she gripped the steering wheel, and for an instant, her eyesight swam.
Travis ran his hand over her hair gently. “Katie, you’re burning up. I can feel it even through your hair.”
She leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. “I don’t feel well.”
“Nothing got you?” Travis asked, his voice edged with fear.
“No, no. Nothing touched me even.” She stared at him through a blond curl that had fallen over her eyes. “I just don’t feel good.”
“Let me drive,” Travis said.
“Okay.” Her strength was leaving her fast. She slid over into the passenger seat. The wound she had received when slipping down onto the road sent a sharp pain through her limb and she grimaced.
Travis came around and got into the driver’s seat. He touched her forehead gently. “You feel feverish. You’d better rest. Here, drink some water.”
Katie smiled at how sweet he was as he buckled her in and handed her the bottle of water. “Thanks.”
His hands were rough, but very cool on her face and neck. “Katie, are you sure—?”
“Yes, yes. I wouldn’t lie about that.”
Katie took long sips of water and watched the road begin its never-ending crawl beneath the tires of the truck. The tank now full, the truck sped toward Ralph’s tiny little town and his hunting store.
She was feeling worse and worse and closed her eyes. She must have dozed because she woke with a start. “Pull over!”
Travis slammed on the brakes and Katie flung open the door and threw up her breakfast. Heaving, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“It may not be safe here, Katie,” Travis said, his hand on her back, a comforting gesture, yet she knew he was ready to yank her back inside.
“Okay,” she said, and threw up all that remained in her stomach. She yanked the door shut and wiped her mouth with a kerchief Travis handed her.
Travis’s face changed. Katie realized he had just noticed her wounded forearm. “Katie, what is this?”
“Scrape. I caught it on the truck when we jumped down.”
Worriedly, he examined it. He poured water over it and found a napkin in the cup holder to cover it. “Just a scrape?”
“I would tell you. I don’t want to be one of those things,” she answered defensively.
Travis gazed at her solemnly and said, “I know. But you’re scaring me.”
Weakly, she took hold of his wrist and forced a smile onto her lips. “I’m sure it’s nothing. Just something I ate.”
Then she passed out onto his lap.
* * *
Dimly, she was aware of being carried. She heard Nerit’s and Ralph’s voices. Another voice— the deputy, she thought—was also talking.
“I’m afraid,” Travis said at some point.
They put her into a very cold bath. Someone’s hands kept her head above water. She tried to talk, but felt too weak.
“She wasn’t bit. That’s not a bite,” Ralph’s voice declared.
“But there was zombie blood and guts all over that truck,” Travis said, and she heard a catch in his voice. “What if—?”
Katie’s head swam. Her body felt so hot. …
“Katie,” a voice insisted.
She opened her eyes to see Lydia kneeling next to the tub, her gaze very concerned.
“Lydia,” she whispered.
“It’ll be okay. I’m here. I’ll be with you,” Lydia said softly, reassuringly, kissing Katie’s brow and holding her up in the cold bath.
Katie smiled at her feverishly. “Then it’s all going to be okay.” She sank back into unconsciousness.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
1.
Other Voices
Juan sat slumped in a chair in the mayor’s office, hands folded on his flat stomach, twiddling his thumbs and seriously considering smacking Jenni a few times. Yeah, she was hot. Way hotter than the blond chick, but she had been a fucking annoyance ever since Travis and the blonde had rode into the sunset together.
It had only gotten worse when Ralph radioed that Katie was very sick and that Travis was worried the zombie guts on the trucks lining the perimeter had contaminated her when she cut open her arm during their departure.
Jenni had become downright hysterical at that news. “I have to go to her! I have to! I’m her best friend, don’t you see! We’re sisters now!”
Juan had to pry Jenni’s fingers off the mayor’s shirt and helped Jason carry her out of the communication center so that they could actually hear what Travis was saying over the CB. Jenni had fallen apart completely as soon as they laid her down on her cot. As far as he knew, she was still there, in the storage room, with her son watching over her.
He studied his thumb for a moment. Years ago, he had accidentally chopped off the tip on another construction job. Every once in a while it would start throbbing. When he was nervous, he often found himself looking at its mutilated nail and gnarled skin. Juan was a nail biter by nature, and that deformed, bizarre half nail called to him.
Just as he stuck the tip of his finger in his mouth, he received a deft slap across the back of his head.
“Don’t do that. You look like a baby.” His mother, Rosario—Rosie for short—stood in the doorway next to him. She was a very tiny woman with dark hair shot through with silver and pale amber eyes. They were very sad eyes, the eyes of a woman who had recently lost her husband to cancer.
“Sorry, Mom.”
“Where’s the mayor? I have that list for him.”
“Not sure. He told me to wait here.”
Juan had lived in Ashley Oaks all his life, except for the two years he lived in Houston with his big, black, beautiful wife, Candace. But that marriage had failed when he decided to move back home to be with his dad during his illness. Candace couldn’t take the small-town living, and he couldn’t blame her. They had parted friends and he still talked to her every other day.
At least he had, until … Not for the first time since the zombies arrived, Juan thought of Candace. … Where was she? Was she okay?
He took off his cowboy hat and ran a hand over his hair to smooth it. It was long and curly and, due to the heat, terribly frizzy.
“I made a list of all the people in the fort, just like the mayor asked,” Rosie said, and sat down next to her son.
“Let me see.” He took the clipboard and read the names. He knew just about everyone on the list. Forty-two people, including Travis and Katie. Fifteen construction workers, five city workers, twenty civilians—mostly family members of the local construction workers or the city workers. Plus Chuck the truck driver, Jenni, and Jason. And the dog.
He liked the dog.
/>
“It’s sad that we don’t have more people here.” He sighed and handed it back.
“Well, the way I see it, people went to where they thought it was safe and where they could stay with their families. My family was here at the site, so I came here.”
Juan smiled at his mom, then leaned over and kissed her cheek. She gave him a pat on the back of his hand.
“It’s a diverse group,” Rosie said, “just like the town population. Sixty percent under the age of sixty-two, forty percent over sixty-two. Forty percent white, thirty percent Hispanic, twenty-five percent black, and five percent other.”
“What the hell is other, anyway?” Juan snorted with a smirk.
“Raymond Gutierrez is Navajo Indian.” Rosie gave him a wide smile. “Now, where do we put the dog? Other, because he is another species, or white, since he’s German?” She winked. “The balance between men and women is really off. Women make up only thirty percent of those here.”
“Guess I won’t be dating anytime soon,” he said with a grin.
His mother smacked him lightly. “It’s just sad that we were so ill prepared. The city can only plan for things that seem plausible.” She waved a hand contemptuously. “Zombies have never been a part of city planning.”
“You were city secretary way too long, Mom,” Juan said. Her head was full of facts and figures on the town population. “This isn’t your fault. No one could have planned for this.”
Peggy, the current city secretary, strolled in with her small six-year-old son pressed against one leg. Juan liked the late-in-life mother and her son, and he couldn’t blame the kid for clinging to his mom. Lord knows he had wanted to cling to Rosie a few times.
Behind Peggy came Tobias, a tall black man in his late fifties and the city manager. His expression was grim under his scraggly eyebrows and his salt and pepper hair was a bit mussed. The mayor, Manny Reyes, filed in last. He looked tired and worn around the edges. His Spanish blood made him fair and very gringo-looking, but he loved tequila as much as Juan did. And while Juan knew what the hell was up, the mayor did not. Manny was way too centered on being logical and finding exact answers. Juan knew that what was going on did not fit into a neat little box that Manny could understand.
As The World Dies Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3] Page 16