Fighting to Survive (22 page)

“
Steven,
speak to the woman. I do not converse with the help,
”
the woman, Blanche―Katie thought that was the woman
’
s
name―said to her husband.

“
I
demand a larger room more suited to our previous lifestyle,
”
Steven repeated. He looked adamant and quite fierce.

“
So
those of us who lived in trailers should just get the shit rooms?
”
someone asked.

Manny
looked at the list. The Manns had heavily funded his last campaign
and he was often seen talking to them. Old habits die hard.
“
Peggy,
maybe we could…”

“
No,
it was agreed upon.
”
Peggy held out the keys to Steven Mann with a insistent look on her
face.
“
By
vote. Rooms are granted according to need. A married couple only
needs a king-sized bed, unless maybe the married couple would rather
have two beds?
”
Peggy smiled sweetly, but her eyes were poisonous.

“
Well,
I do have a rather bad ba―“ Blanche started to say.

“
Just
what are you insinuating?
”
Steven looked ready to blow his temper.

Travis
appeared out of the crowd looking tired and annoyed.
“
Steven,
take your keys and go to your room. The world that you loved so much
is gone now. You
’
re
now just one of us. A survivor. You hardly carry your weight so I
think you
’
re
damn lucky we don
’
t
just make you sleep on a cot in the hallway.
”

There were murmurs
of agreement.

Steven
grabbed the key and fastened his gaze on the Mayor.
“
I
will remember this.
”

“
You
do realize,
”
Peggy said with a snarky smile,
“
there
are no more elections to fund anymore.
”

“
For
now,
”
Steven snapped back. He grabbed his wife
’
s
arm and dragged her off.

“
I
don
’
t
understand why you let them treat us this way,
”
Blanche said as she was lead through the decidedly hostile crowd.
“
They're
just common people.
”

Travis shook his
head.

Katie
looked down at Jack.
“
People
are silly.
”

The
German Shepherd thumped his tail in response and nudged her hand for
more scratching. She obliged.

Mike
’
s
girlfriend, Belinda, sobbed when her name was called. Katarina
helped her claim her key. The young Hispanic woman was Juan
’
s
life long crush until Jenni had claimed his heart. Belinda looked
frail and shell-shocked as Katarina lead her away. Losing Mike had
been devastating to all of them, but Belinda was shattered.

Jenni
’
s
name was called a few minutes later and she came up to claim her key.
Jason tagged along behind her looking surly. Katie realized why.
Juan
’
s
name had been called with theirs. It was their first public
acknowledgment of what everyone already knew. Juan was absolutely
beaming.

“
C
’
mere,
Jack,
”
Jason called out. The dog gave Katie an apologetic look, then trotted
off.

“
The
Four J
’
s,
”
Travis said with a weary smile as he joined her.

“
Uh
huh,
”
Katie answered.

Jenni
did look happy and taken care of. Juan helped her walk and Jason
trudged along behind them, looking annoyed. Since they were
considered a
“
family,
”
they had ended up with a small suite with two rooms.

Eric
and Stacey claimed their key together. Pepe danced around at their
feet as the young couple kissed happily. Stacey had complained to
Katie about the lack of privacy that haunted all the couples in the
fort. Only Jenni and Juan seemed comfortable with everyone
overhearing their business, or maybe they just didn
’
t
think about it.

When
Nerit
’
s
name was called, she walked forward, her dog in tow, and claimed her
key. She looked very weary, like she wanted nothing more than to
sleep. The older woman forced a smile as she passed them on her way
to claim her things.

“
We
’
re
finally inside,
”
Katie said to Travis in a low voice.
“
How
does it feel?
”

Travis
looked around at all the people gathered around them, then back at
Katie.
“
Like
the cost was high, but the right thing to do.
”

She
nodded, then heard her name called. Moving forward, she smiled at
Peggy.
“
I
’
m
wanting to check in.
”

Peggy
grinned.
“
I
have your reservation. Room 718.
”

Katie
lifted an eyebrow.
“
Kinda
nice for just little ol
’
me.
”

Peggy
had a wicked gleam in her eye.
“
Uh,
is it just you?
”

Katie
gave her a look and dared not look at Travis.
“
Yes,
it is. Thanks, Peggy.
”

Peggy
just smiled and called out the next name.

Moving
through what remained of the crowd, Katie smiled at all the weary,
stressed faces. She walked back into the construction site through
the now cleaned up janitor
’
s
room. Making her way up to the small room in the city hall, she ran
into Nerit carrying her suitcase. She had her rifle over one arm and
her dog leash in the other hand.

“
Nerit,
”
Katie said softly.
“
You
were so amazing.
”

“
I
’
m
so tired,
”
Nerit answered truthfully.
“
I
did my job. Now I want a bath and a nice bit of reading before bed.
”

Katie
smiled.
“
You
deserve a nice rest.
”

Nerit
gave her a little hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“
I
will see you in the morning.
”

“
Night,
Nerit,
”
Katie answered.

Moving
up the stairs and toward the small room she had once shared with
Jenni, Katie found Juan picking up Jenni
’
s
bag that she kept in Katie
’
s
room, even though she slept in Juan's tent.

“
We
just decided today,
”
he explained.
“
Life
is so short. We just don
’
t
’
want to waste time. We
’
ve
been sleeping together in my tent. Might as well make it official and
be a family.
”

Nodding,
Katie smiled.
“
I
get it. I understand and I think its great. I knew she would never
move back in with me. Our time to be roomies is long gone.
”

Juan
heaved the bag over his shoulder and picked up a smaller bag of
items.
“
I
really love her, Katie. She
’
s
loca, but she
’
s
my loca. I know her life was shitty before, I want to take care of
her.
”

“
I
know, Juan. You don
’
t
have to tell me this.
”

“
Yeah,
but I do. You
’
re
her best friend, her sister. Other than Jason, you are her family. I
just wanted you to know how I feel,
”
Juan said.
“
That
I really love her.
”

Katie
gave him a gentle hug.
“
And
that makes me so very happy.
”

Juan
looked almost embarrassed.
“
I
’
m
glad. I know you like the chicas, but Travis―“

Katie
rolled her eyes and pointed at the door.
“
Out!
”

Juan
hesitated.
“
Seriously,
maybe with a little lipstick-
”

“
Out!
”
Katie pushed him out the door.

Juan
turned and tried one last time.
“
Maybe
a wig-
”

Katie rolled her
eyes, then shut the door.

After
packing up her meager belongings, she carried her bag to the hotel
and entered the brightly-lit interior. The lobby was now pretty much
empty except for a few men propping sheets of metal up against the
newly walled in windows and doors for added security.

Taking
the elevator that still reeked of bleach, she was relieved to not
have to climb the stairs again today. Her legs were aching horribly.

Her
new room was nice, spacious, and welcoming. The four poster bed and
heavy Victorian furniture were not her cup of tea, but there was
something very homey about it all. She pushed back the heavy dark
pink curtains covering the tall, narrow windows and looked down into
the street. A few figures staggered out there. They were zombies too
mutilated to run and pose much of a threat. Closing the curtains, she
set about putting away her things.

It
was sad how quickly everything was tucked away into its proper place.
In this new world, she barely owned anything. Maybe that was good,
less to be attached to.

She
turned down the bed and flipped on the TV. It was on a closed
circuit. Someone had put in a bunch of movies to run through the
night. Terminator 2 was on and she briefly compared her arms to Linda
Hamilton
’
s.
All this hard work had her looking pretty buff.

With
a sigh, she headed into the bathroom for a long bath. She undressed,
her body protesting every movement. Looking into the mirror, she saw
why. There were bruises all over her body.