Fighting to Survive (3 page)

“
I
slept enough,
”
he answered, and shrugged. He took Bill's place and immediately saw
the tangled up zombie. He frowned when he realized he didn't have a
clear shot.
“
Is
everything okay with you?
”

“
I'm
fine,
”
Katie assured him.

“
Ralph
dying and Nerit coming here seems to have shook you up,
”
he said. He looked at her worriedly.

The
two elderly people who had taken her and Jenni into their home above
the hunting store that first night had come up against ruthless men
that had killed Ralph before Nerit, his wife and former sniper for
the Israeli army, took them out.

“
I'm
fine. Really,
”
Katie stepped away from him, deciding it was time to go. She wanted
to cry again and she wanted him to comfort her.

“
Katie,
”
he said softly, reaching toward her.

“
I'll
catch you later,
”
she said, and briskly walked away.

When
she reached the stairs, she hurried down the steps and put as much
distance between her and Travis as she could. Once down in the
hallway of city hall, she leaned against the wall and felt tears fall
down her face as she gave into her pain and wept.

Travis wanted to
follow Katie, but he couldn't. Guard duty was a serious thing. The
zombies were sparse of late, but they all knew how quickly that could
change. Every time they felt they had secured their area, more of
the walking dead would come wandering out of the landscape to screech
and moan at the walls.

Rubbing
his face with one hand, Travis let out a long breath. He had seen
the torment on Katie's face, had wanted to comfort her, but knew she
wouldn't let him. Perhaps things had gone too far when they had
shared that kiss not too long ago. Immediately, she had withdrawn
from him and there was nothing he could do but wait and let her work
things out.

What
he could do was make sure that the small haven they were carving out
in the world of the dead stayed safe. Tomorrow they would secure the
road next to the fort and take over the Dollar Store. The shops next
to it were empty and in disrepair, but they might be able to use them
as well. To enter the hotel, they had to make sure the survivors
were in a safe place. There was a risk with breaking into the hotel.
If there were zombies inside, they could swarm out into the fort and
that would be the end of everything. They had built a small walled
in area up against the back of the hotel to use as an entrance, but
there were no real assurances that the wrought iron gate would hold
if a horde of zombies were inside the fort. As a secondary
precaution, they planned to create a temporary shelter in the Dollar
Store after blocking off the street.

Travis
narrowed his eyes as the zombie staggered free from where it had been
temporarily trapped. Raising the rifle, he fumbled with the safety.
Using the sight, he aimed for the zombie's head. He felt
uncomfortable using the weapon, but they needed to keep the area as
zombie free as possible for tomorrow.

The
zombie stopped walking and he could see a skirt flowing in the breeze
around its crooked legs. It slowly began to raise its hand. Before
it could issue its horrifying screech, he pulled the trigger.

It
collapsed onto the sidewalk as the echoes of the shot faded away.

With
a sigh, Travis lowered the rifle.

Tomorrow
was a new day.

A
new beginning.

And
that was all any of them could hope for anymore.

1. Taking Risks

Beads of sweat slid
down Juan's spine as he stood on the wall ready to direct the
operator of the huge crane. The side street that ran alongside the
fort had been left open until today, as it had been regarded as an
escape route. Now, though, they needed the room to continue the
expansion of the fort. The huge crane was lowering the long storage
containers into place to block off the sides of the street. Once
that was done, they would send a team in to clear the buildings of
any possible zombies.

By tomorrow, new
walls would be in place to hold off the zombie hordes and the fort
would gain the use of four more buildings. Luckily, the downtown
area was so old that the buildings were flush up against each other.
They only had to worry about the two ends of the street and securing
the back entrances into the buildings.

The breeze was still
cool despite the sun's rays. He wiped his forehead beneath the brim
of his cowboy hat. Looking over his shoulder, he could see the
survivors watching from the safety of the fort. Excitement was
already building. It was going to be an intense day and they all
knew it. If their luck held out, it would be a good one, too.

Travis joined him on
the wall, where he looked down at the front windows of the Dollar
Store. They were covered in huge paper posters announcing the latest
items for sale. The posters were mostly of Easter baskets and Easter
treats. Juan frowned as he realized the holiday had passed without
anyone even noticing it.

It was hard to see
into the building. No one had seen any movement inside the store,
but that did not mean that there wasn't anything inside.

“
Think
someone is in there?
”

Juan
shrugged.
“
We
did try to get everyone into the construction site once it started
going to shit. I know someone went over and knocked on the door, but
they weren't open yet.
”

Travis yawned,
rubbing his face.

“
No
sleep?
”

“
Not
a lot. You?
”

“
Once
we're in the hotel, I think I'll sleep a lot better,
”
Juan answered.

“
Yeah.
I can't argue there.
”

“
Hey,
guys,
”
a voice called out.

Juan and Travis both
looked down to see one of the newest members of the fort climbing up
the stairs to the wall. It was Eric, an engineer from Austin. He
and his girlfriend, Stacey, had been rescued a week ago from a water
tower on the outskirts of town where zombies had trapped them for
nearly a month. Eric was still far too thin for his height, but he
looked better than he had. He hesitated at the top of the ladder and
looked up at them worriedly.

“
Whazzup?
”
Juan cocked his head curiously.

“
Hey,
I know you guys said I can't go into the store, but I really do feel
I need to inspect the store and the other shops once they are clear.
You know, before we move people over the wall. All these buildings
are really old and we can't be too sure if they are sound
structurally.
”

Juan almost laughed.
He was pretty sure most of the old buildings were better built than
the newer ones, but Eric looked very sincere.

“
Yeah,
man, that's cool,
”
Juan said.

“
I
don't see that as an issue after we're sure its clear,
”
Travis agreed.

Eric
climbed onto the wall and cautiously stood up. He gained his balance
and folded his arms over his chest.
“
What
you guys did with the construction site to make it into a fort is
outstanding, but-
”

“
Eh,
I understand.
”
Juan shrugged.
“
We're
taking risks all the time.
”

“
But
we can't risk too much or we lose everything.
”
Eric pushed his glasses up on his nose.

Juan couldn't blame
him for looking nervous. He had heard Eric's story and knew that he
and his girlfriend had barely survived out there on their own.

Travis
looked down the street toward the corner where he had killed the
zombie the night before.
“
We've
already lost too much to risk the loss of everything. That's why we
need a safe, secure location outside the main construction site for
when we break into the hotel. So if there are zombies in there and
they manage to get into the construction site, we can contain them.

Eric
nodded.
“
I
know. I do. I understand. We're all just-
”
He motioned to all the people watching them from below.
“
-scared
to be on the other side of this wall.
”

Juan and Travis
looked back toward the line of stores. Juan knew they were both
thinking the same thing.

They had no choice.

“
I
know that they sent you up here for reassurance. I can promise you,
and everyone down there, that we will not move anyone over into the
new area until we're absolutely sure its clear of zombies. We'll
also make sure the zombies won't be able to get in,
”
Travis said in a very firm voice.
“
We
have no choice. With the summer storm season just around the corner
and the temperatures sure to start hitting in the hundreds, we need
to have a good sound shelter for everyone.
”

“
Yeah,
one fierce storm and we're flooded out down there. City Hall can't be
a permanent home for everyone. It wouldn't be sanitary for long,
”
Juan added.

“
I
guess the way things are set up right now just feels so safe.
Risking anything is just scary. I'm not dissing what you guys are
saying or insinuating that you don't know what you're doing, just
some of us...
”
Eric faltered as he gestured down into the construction site.

Juan looked down as
well. A good-sized group of people huddled together. Eric's still
emaciated girlfriend was holding her Jack Russell Terrier, Pepe, and
looking up at Eric with a worried expression. Juan thought she was a
pretty little thing. She had long tanned limbs and pale blond hair,
but her cheeks were hollow and her shoulders bony. He could
understand Eric's desire to protect her. The people gathered around
her were also looking worried. Juan realized Eric was a spokesman
for more than his own fears.

“
Man,
we got loved ones, too. We're not going to risk them. Okay?
”
Juan tried to give the man a reassuring look.

Eric
looked toward Travis. The man gave him a firm nod before Eric turned
to look at the Dollar Store. He seemed to come to some sort of peace
about the situation and sighed.
“
I'll
let them know,
”
he said, and climbed down the ladder.

“
You
can't blame them,
”
Juan said once Eric was down below and talking to the group.
“
They
weren't here to see this construction site get made into a walled-in
fort. They weren't here, man.
”

Travis
looked calm, but Juan could tell he was upset by the set of his jaw.
“
We're
just doing our best to keep them all safe and in sanitary conditions.
We're damn lucky the power is still on.
”

“
It's
that new hydroelectric power station they built a few years back. I
betcha anything.
”