The zombie moans and screams grew louder and the banging on the gate was more energetic.
Bill and Curtis managed to get a grip on Phil. With the help of Shane and a few others, they succeeded in pulling Phil to safety. Mike stepped out onto the wall to herd the rest of the men back to the platform.
“Waiting for me, baby?” Shane sneered at her.
Katie had had enough. She turned and walked away. Without looking behind her, she knew Travis was following. He caught up to her and slid his arm around her shoulders. Looking up, she could see he was more upset than she was.
“Travis, I’m used to it.”
“I’m not, and it was bullshit,” Travis answered darkly.
“Let it go. It’s not worth it. Lydia and I sometimes got comments like that. It’s not uncommon. Some men are very intimidated by lesbians.”
Travis turned her toward him, his hands on her shoulders. “Yeah, but I don’t like it.”
Katie tilted her head. “But they have a right to live here, too. And to be a part of this community.”
“Don’t twist my words back in on me,” Travis growled.
“Look, we just have to deal, that’s all,” Katie answered, then yawned. “God, I’m tired. And I have a feeling I don’t have a place to sleep. Maybe Peggy can put me up.”
“No, come with me. Sleep with me.”
“Travis?” She blinked in disbelief.
“I said sleep. I didn’t say have sex, okay?”
Katie hesitated. “Okay.”
Travis led her toward the beat-up portable building that was being used as a dorm. Having entered quietly, they walked past recently constructed doors and walls that formed tiny rooms. Travis’s office was at the end of the hall. It was crowded with a desk, light table, and file cabinets. Up against one wall was a sofa bed. The bedding was still rumpled from the night before, but Katie was too tired to care if it was freshly turned down or not. Sliding off her jacket, she flopped onto the thin mattress, boots and all, and stared up at the ceiling.
She felt exhausted, physically and emotionally. Shane and Phil had reminded her of all that she and Lydia had gone through together. Now she was dealing with it alone, and the ache inside her was intense.
Travis shed his own jacket and lay down next to her. “I’m sorry those guys are such shits.”
“Not your fault. Just part of life.” She closed her eyes and rolled onto her side.
She could sense Travis beside her and his great need to reach out and touch her. She ignored it and squeezed her eyes shut. Curling up, she felt the ache pulsating inside, eating at her.
“Fuck this,” Travis whispered. Suddenly his arms were around her, dragging her deep into his embrace. He held her tenderly and she clutched his wrists with her hands. “I can’t stand to see you in pain.”
Turning her head, she opened her eyes and gazed at him gratefully. She knew she was a bullheaded Norsewoman, prone to moodiness and solitude, but he bulldozed her defenses and she needed that.
“You’re a very good friend, you know that?”
“I’m trying,” he answered, and snuggled against her.
She closed her eyes again and enjoyed his closeness. Her pain was fading, but she was too tired and stressed to think too deeply about what that meant. For once, she didn’t want to think. She wanted to relax, to not care, just for a little bit.
Rolling over in his arms, she kissed his lips very softly. “Just for a moment,” she whispered, her gaze searching out his.
Travis kissed her slowly and deeply. His hand rested tenderly on hers. Somehow knowing when the kiss had grown to be too much for her to bear, he drew away and pressed his lips to her forehead. “Just for a moment,” he said, closing his eyes.
Katie fell into a peaceful slumber.
2.
Dead Man’s Party Ends
At last the party ended and people crept off to their beds, some so drunk, they barely found their way. Peggy hustled the kids down into the dining room to camp out after a few sprinkles of rain had fallen toward the end of the party. Silence descended except for the ceaseless moaning of the zombies.
A few hours later, a steady rain started and many of the guards rushed to get ponchos.
During the brief chaos, a heavily laden figure made its way to the roof of the city hall. Without a pause, it dropped its burden—a human body—over the edge. In utter silence, the person tumbled, arms and legs flailing, then landed with a painful thump.
Shambling zombies wandering along the walls soon found it, and a feast erupted in the street.
When the guard returned to his place, he noticed a heavily ravaged body standing in the street, swaying back and forth, its head turned upward.
Its mouth was taped shut.
It was Ritchie.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
1.
Skin Against Skin
Skin against skin … breath consuming breath … limbs intertwined … soft moans … gentle whispers … pleasure building steadily …
Katie’s hands slid over the broad shoulders of the man above her … her head tilted back … she sighed softly, rapturously.
“Travis…”
His mouth slid over hers in a soft kiss, and her fingers tangled in his hair.
Suddenly, something gripped her leg painfully. She opened her eyes to see Lydia, mangled, bloodied, and dead, leaning over them.
“How could you?” Lydia demanded in a raspy voice.
Then she lunged forward, bloodied teeth desperate for flesh.
Katie awoke and nearly fell off the bed in her haste to defend herself and Travis. Her heart was thundering in her chest and she pressed the flat of her hand against her breast, feeling the harsh beat beneath her fingers. Looking around, she realized the sun must be up, for a yellowish light was seeping in around the miniblinds.
Travis was nowhere to be seen. Katie felt panic billowing up in her.
Resting her feet against the floor, she sat up and leaned forward, taking deep breaths. Nothing had happened between her and Travis except for their good night kiss, but she still felt agonizing guilt. Rubbing her face with her hands, she tried to scrub away the vision of Lydia lunging forward to bite into Travis.
Feeling like crying, she shakily stood up and grabbed the reverend’s jacket. She slid it on and ran her hands over her hair. It felt tangled and crazed, so she pulled out the rubber band to let the curls fall around her face.
Travis entered, his expression grim and his gaze haunted. He saw her face, and his concern clearly showed as he moved toward her. “Katie…”
She took a deep breath. “I had a nightmare.”
“Evidently. You look pale as a ghost.” He touched her cheek sympathetically.
She had trouble looking him in the eye and he gently turned her face toward him.
When he saw the pain in her eyes, he gently lowered his hand. “Lydia?”
Nodding mutely, she fussed with her hair again, lowering her head so she wouldn’t have to look at him.
“Katie, I know what is going on is confusing,” he started.
“You’re not the one betraying your wife. Your entire life. You’re not living with the knowledge that your wife is one of those things now!”
Travis drew back, his expression tormented and sorrowful.
“I spent most of the last decade with an incredible woman who did nothing but love me unconditionally and believe in me. I loved—love—her with all my heart and it kills me that she is gone.”
“I understand.”
Katie tried hard not to cry, and vehemently shook her head. “No, you don’t. You don’t know what it is like to share your life with someone you love more than life itself and have people treat you like shit because of it. How you don’t hold hands or kiss in public out of fear. Or the way it feels when you do finally come out to a society that swings back and forth between wanting to see you fuck your wife or drive you out of the neighborhood. You don’t understand. You can’t.”
Tra
vis took hold of her wrist and drew her near. His voice was raw with emotion. “Don’t tell me that I don’t know what it’s like to love someone. If you haven’t figured it out, I love you. Maybe I’m a fool to believe you could love me back, but your kiss last night gave me hope. Lydia may have been your life before, but now she is your tormentor.”
“Fuck you!” She jerked away from him.
“Katie, our old world is dead. Everything we were is dead. This is the new world. It’s only been a few weeks, but it feels like that world was a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? Who you are now is not who you were before.”
Tears streamed down her face as she nodded mutely. That first day did seem like an eternity ago. Time seemed odd and cruel. Everyone seemed to be living at an accelerated pace.
“I feel lost without her. I miss her! Every day I miss her, and the only way I can deal with it is not to think about her.” She gasped at her own words and covered her mouth with her fingers.
Travis’s gaze warmed as he reached for her. “Katie, you’re not doing anything wrong. Lydia loved you and you loved her. But you can’t let that stop you from living.”
She blinked the tears from her lashes and took a slow, stuttering breath. She shuddered at the impact of his words as he slipped his arms around her and held her gently. Laying her hands on his chest, she sighed. “I can’t forget her.”
“And you shouldn’t,” he assured her. He kissed her forehead and let her go.
She rubbed her face and smoothed her T-shirt as she tried to regain her composure. What Travis said had hit a harsh chord within her.
“You didn’t come in here just to calm me down,” she said after a beat.
“Yeah.” He sighed. “We have a situation. It’s not going to be pleasant. Someone threw Ritchie over the wall, bound and gagged.”
Katie dropped her hands in shock. “What?”
“He’s out there in the street, staring up at city hall. He’s pretty much eaten away, but you can tell it’s him.”
“Oh, God, that’s awful,” Katie gasped.
“Yeah. I have to go find Juan. He’s suspect number one, followed by Curtis.”
Katie shook her head. “No, no, I don’t believe either one of them would do that.”
“Yeah, but Bill is investigating, so we need to find Juan.” Travis’s expression was grim.
“He’s with Jenni,” Katie said.
“That’s why I thought you should come with me.”
It was early morning and most people were having breakfast or still asleep. The sun was barely up and a thick mist, two feet deep, drifted over the ground. As they walked, Katie saw absolute devastation written on Travis’s features. He was taking a lot of hard knocks, and she knew she was part of that situation.
She was struggling hard against her internal turmoil. Never had she felt so conflicted. Well, actually, she had, back in high school when she came out as a staunch lesbian and endured much vilification at the hands of her former friends. Cheerleaders were not gay. Then, in her senior year, she and her girlfriend had broken up and Katie had unexpectedly fallen in love with a boy. It was a huge relief to her parents and friends, but it had thrown her a little.
Still, she embraced her boyfriend with the same love and passion she had given her girlfriend. When he started pushing her to have sex with another girl and let him watch, she had ended their relationship. He had been pleasant enough, but she despised him for trying to use her sexuality for his pleasure.
With both a boyfriend and a girlfriend behind her, Katie had felt secure in the knowledge that she could love a person for who they were. The series of girlfriends and boyfriends that followed had thrown her family and upset her mother. Some in the lesbian community thought she was a lesbian in denial or just confused. The straight community often wanted to portray her as promiscuous. More than one guy she had dated expressed delight at the thought of threesomes, only to have her apartment door shut on him for good. There were good boyfriends who had not worked out. There were good girlfriends who had not worked out.
And then there was Lydia.
Katie was jarred out of her thoughts by Travis suddenly jolting to one side as someone passed them. He looked shaken and took a breath.
“Waking nightmare?”
“Yeah. I wish they would go away. I’m afraid one day I’m going to shoot someone, thinking they are one of those things or not shoot a zombie, thinking I’m imagining it.”
Katie rested her hand on his shoulder. “We’re both pretty screwed up, huh?”
Travis laughed bitterly. “Who isn’t?”
Upon entering city hall, they hurried up to Katie and Jenni’s room. The door was closed. Katie tapped lightly on it.
“Uh…” Jenni’s voice, sounding wide awake.
“Jenni, it’s me.”
“Okay, come in.”
Katie opened the door. Jenni was sitting on her cot in a red tank top and shorts. Juan was lying down behind her with his hands behind his neck. Jenni was eating a small fruit cup and looked flushed and rather happy. Juan was wearing only his jeans and looking equally happy.
“Hi,” Jenni said with a giggle.
Juan noticed Travis’s expression and sat up quickly, his smile gone. “What’s wrong?”
“Someone gagged Ritchie and tossed him over the wall.”
“Who?”
“No one knows, but you’re a suspect. So is Curtis.”
“I was with Jenni,” Juan said.
“Obviously,” Katie said with a slight smile.
“He was. All night. We barely slept,” Jenni said, spooning up more fruit.
Travis blushed slightly. “Okay, so he has an alibi, but Bill will want to talk to you both, anyway.”
Jenni stood up and waved her plastic spoon at Travis. “How could anyone think that Juan would do something like that?”
“Because he tried his best to take Ritchie out last night,” Travis answered pointedly.
Jenni sighed. “True.”
Juan pulled on his boots and reached for his shirt. “Fine, I’ll go defend myself. But this is bullshit. What’s Bill going to do to whoever got rid of that piece of shit?”
Travis lifted his shoulders in a shrug. “I have no clue. Hell, how do we handle a murder? Or any crime?”
“Shane got off with a promise to behave,” Jenni groused. “He should have gone over the wall right away.”
“I almost agree with you,” Travis mumbled, flicking his gaze toward Katie.
Juan tugged on his shirt. “Travis, you know I would not do this.”
“I know that. And I know you were here with Jenni. I don’t think anything will come of it.”
“Yeah, well, you try to be a Hispanic male in a white society and see if you feel comfortable with that answer,” Juan said. He pushed past Travis and Katie, his face set and eyes blazing. “Where is Bill?”
“On the roof,” Travis answered.
Jenni grabbed Katie’s hand as they moved up the stairs and leaned toward her. “Are you okay?”
Katie smiled at her slightly. “Nightmares.”
“Lydia?”
Katie nodded.
Jenni sighed and rubbed Katie’s back with one hand as they walked. “I really didn’t sleep.”
“Yeah, I figured that out,” Katie said smirk.
Jenni giggled, then grew serious as they heard Curtis’s voice from above.
“Yeah, I said to put him out of his misery and chuck him over!” Curtis was shouting at Bill.
“So you wanted Ritchie dead.”
“Because he’s a threat, Bill. Or he was.” Curtis looked fiercely upset as they walked onto the roof.
Nearby, Jimmy, one of the construction workers, was keeping watch on the street below. He said, “I was gone for maybe ten minutes. I helped the kids move their stuff downstairs, then grabbed a poncho and headed back up here. Whoever it was moved fast.”
“The door to Ritchie’s cell is easily unlocked from outside. It’s just a dead bolt. Anyone
could have done it,” Juan said as he joined Bill and Curtis.
“Juan was with me last night,” Jenni said quickly, her hand grabbing his. “All night.”
Bill blinked and looked back and forth between them. “Okay, but I still need to question you.”
Katie strolled over to look down at the lone figure standing in the street staring up at them. The duct tape had survived the feeding, as had part of the teenager’s T-shirt. Much of him had been stripped almost to the bone, but some of his long ponytail, with its skull and crossbones clasp, remained. He moaned when he saw Katie and reached one skeletal hand out to her, staggering forward slightly.
The questions continued behind her. Katie wondered why Ritchie stood there, alone, while the rest of the zombies banged away on the gate.
With a squeal of tires, a big red Ram 1500 4x4 came roaring around the corner and slammed into Ritchie. The boy’s head splattered against the grille, and his body flew across the street as the truck came to a screeching stop. There was a moment of hesitation; then the truck charged forward.
“Ralph and Nerit are here!” Katie called to Travis, who ran forward to see.
They both watched the truck speed down the street and slam into another wandering, slow-moving zombie. The truck swung around and came to a stop.
Jimmy lifted his binoculars and peered through them. “I only see a woman, and she looks pissed.”
“Nerit,” Katie whispered.
The truck turned and made a run for the gate.
2.
Death by Red Truck
The truck vanished as it raced around the block toward the gate and the mob of zombies desperate to gain entry to the fort.
Katie ran along the rooftop, finding a better position to watch from just as the red truck slammed into the outer fringe of zombies, wiping out a slew of them in one fell swoop. The truck came to a hard stop right before the entrance, then backed up, drawing the surviving zombies away from the gate. Nerit drove slowly backward, allowing the zombies to nearly catch up before she hit the accelerator and the truck lurched out of their grasp. The truck reversed up the road quite some distance, and Katie had a good idea of what would come next.
As The World Dies Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3] Page 30