Fighting to Survive (As the World Dies #2)(3)

Jenni's grip on his arm lessened as sleep took her completely. He kissed her shoulder hoping and praying that her dreams would not be ones of terror. Closing his eyes, he tried to block out the aching of his body and capture what little sleep he could before tomorrow came and a whole new day of hard work would consume him.

He was so tired in both body and mind. Jenni brought him happiness, but he wanted a rest from the daily terror they all experienced since the zombie apocalypse had started. He wanted to sleep in a real bed with Jenni and not feel afraid. Was it wrong to hope for a little peace for both of them? He hoped not, because that is what he prayed for every night.

Beyond the walls of their little fort, the world was still dying and the dead were walking, but all Juan wanted was a moment when all would feel alive and good. Maybe it was too much to hope for. Perhaps this moment, listening to Jenni breathing as she slept peacefully, was all he could truly wish for.

With a long sigh, he tightened his deadened arm around her waist and held onto her tightly.





3. The Lurking Past


Katie sat on top of the city hall roof in a plastic chair with her arms folded over her breasts and her head tilted back to stare at the stars. She was done with sleep for the night. One more nightmare about her dead wife and she would start screaming and never stop. The ache in her chest hurt so bad; she didn’t want to see her loved one’s mutilated form rushing her with clawed hands anymore.

The cigarette dangling from her fingers was burning down slowly. Raising it to her lips, she took another long drag, then exhaled slowly. She watched the smoke unfurl against the backdrop of the stunning black sky with pinpricks of stars. She had quit smoking when she had met Lydia. Lydia had hated smoking with a passion. Her fiancé at the time had been a chain smoker and she had never even thought about quitting until she had met Lydia. After one look into Lydia's amazing eyes, Katie would have done anything for her.

A tear slipped free from her eye and traced down her temple as she stared up at the sky. Sniffling loudly, she took another drag on the cigarette, desperately seeking some sort of satisfaction in the process.

Lydia was still out there, one of the many undead hordes. Katie had barely escaped with her own life while on the way to work. Thankfully, she had been rescued by a man who had been dragged down by the zombies. She had raced home in his old battered white truck only to see her beautiful wife gorging on the body of a fallen postman.

Her life with Lydia had ended in that terrible, brutal moment. She would never hold Lydia's soft, delicate hand, kiss her sweet lips, or feel her gentle caress ever again. It had ended just like that.

Another tear slipped free and she blinked hard.

How could she love Lydia so much and yet feel drawn to Travis? How could she betray Lydia's memory like that?

Nearby, the guard on the roof coughed and stretched. It was Bill, the cop from a little town where she and Jenni had taken refuge. He was watching the street for any sign of the zombies. They had cleared out a majority of them from the town, but many still lurked out there. Caught in bushes, trapped in buildings, wandering through the hills...

Who would have ever imagined that the dead would walk the earth outside of a George A. Romero film? She never did. Ever. She had dealt in a real world. She had worked hard as a prosecutor, doing her best to bring justice to the world while living a simple life with Lydia.

And then it had all ended.

This new world confused her. It was full of the walking hungry dead. Surviving from one day to the next was everyone's top priority. But beyond that, there seemed so little time to mourn before making new connections, new friends, and even new loves. She saw it all around her. Families torn apart by the first day of the zombie rising were forever gone, but new families were being born all around her. Strangers were becoming brothers, sisters, aunts and uncles to each other. The elderly in the fort were now everyone's grandparents. At the thought of the elderly, Old Man Watson came to mind, bringing a smile to her face. Although he could barely hear, he was everyone’s great grandpa now, one who hugged and kissed, who always smiled, always happy to be part of the survivors.

Jenni was her new sister. Jenni's stepson Jason felt like a nephew, Juan was her annoying new brother in law, and Travis...

She rubbed her nose with irritation and sighed.

Travis was the man everyone loved. Everyone listened to him. Everyone believed in him. He was calm strength in the midst of chaos. He was handsome, but didn't know it. And, sometimes, he was a bit of a nerd. Despite herself, she smiled at the thought of him.

From the moment she had met him, she knew he was important to her life. To the lives of all the survivors. She had believed in him instantly. And as they grew to know each other, it had become more than apparent that he had fallen in love with her.

But as far as Travis knew, it was a lost cause. Katie had a wife in her old life and he saw her as unattainable. And she had encouraged that belief. She was afraid if he realized she was actually bisexual, he would immediately pursue her.

Despite herself, she knew in her heart that she would not resist him for long. She hated this new world where everyone seemed to be living at an accelerated pace. Life seemed so precious and short now that there was no real time to mourn the world they had lost. They had to survive and find their own small moments of happiness, or else the life they had now was meaningless.

“Oh, God, Lydia,” she whispered, wiping tears away.