Siege (As the World Dies #3)(153)

“What the mighty hell is this damn veil?” It was the same man who had made the comment about the gay people. Katie finally recognized him as someone from the mall. His name was Art or something like that. He was a former councilman of another town.

“It’s what lays between the physical realm and spiritual realm,” a woman’s voice said. It was Maddie Goode. “The veil is what keeps the worlds from bleeding over.”

“Witch stuff, huh?” “No, real stuff. Plus, a New Moon tonight. The veil is very, very thin.” Goode lifted her tiny chin and looked defiantly at Art.



The Reverend cleared his throat. “God does send messengers. We must remember that.”

“She’s talking witch stuff,” another woman said. “Everyone knows she’s one of those Wiccans.”

“Just because she’s from another religion, does not mean her belief is not accurate in some form,” Rune spoke up for Maddie. She gave him a tight hug, but looked wary of the people glaring at her.



This comment did not sit well with many gathered in the lobby. The long festering resentments were flowing to the surface very quickly. Friends and family members were arguing with each other. The stress was overwhelming. Everyone was on edge. Everyone was afraid.

“Maybe the Baptists had it right. Maybe it isn’t safe here,” Art said at last. “If we can’t trust our leadership to look out for all of us.”



“They’ve been excluding us a lot lately. They tossed out Blanche without a vote!” someone shouted from the back. Travis winced and shook his head. “We made a choice at the time-”

“You cut us out of that decision,” Ed said sharply.

Kevin moved to stand with Nerit. “Everyone standing here knows how hard it has been on those we voted into leadership roles. They’ve suffered losses just like the rest of us.”

“Maybe looking out for our own best interests is the way to go,” Ed decided at last.



“I don’t understand where this is coming from,” Travis protested. “This fort is doing damn good right now.”

“A lot of us are tired of not feeling we have a choice about what goes on,” Gretchen said. “No offense, Travis, but it’s damn hard in this world to give our lives over to other people.”

Ed nodded slowly. “Don’t mean nothing personal. I may be a might angry, but I’m damn scared. What happens if something goes wrong out there and someone opens a gate or a door they shouldn’t. I dunno if I can trust y’all”

Katarina looked at Ed, her expression was full of pain. “Bill died trying to protect this fort.”

“I know that, Katarina. I know that. But...I don’t like feeling like I’m not in control of my own life. Gimme a truck and some ammo. I’m more willing to take a chance out there on my own at this point.” Silence fell over the room. Then slowly people began to whisper among themselves. Katie could feel Travis’ hand trembling and she knew he was hurt and trying to hold his temper. It was hard not to be trusted after all they had worked to achieve.

“Let them go,” Eric said from near the front desk. “Let whoever wants to leave the fort take what they need and go.”



“We can’t hold them here,” Kevin added.

“We need them here. Everyone has a role to play in the upcoming battle,” Juan protested. “Everyone has assignments!”

“Some of us don’t want to be here for it,” a man near Juan snapped.

More voices rumbled through the vast room, disagreeing and agreeing.

“We can do it without them,” Jason called out. Jack immediately woofed in agreement.

Peggy stood smoking her cigarette, looking pale. Katie tried to reach out to her, but Peggy turned and walked away through the crowd.



“Very well. If you want to go while the going is good, go. We got extra vehicles out there. But you’re on your own once you’re gone,” Travis finally said. Ed nodded. “That’s fair.”

Nerit looked around the room thoughtfully. Katie noticed Kevin’s hand was resting on her back in a gesture that seemed more for his comfort than for hers.

“If you are going, you must go tonight,” Nerit finally said.



“Why is that?” Gretchen asked. There was an edge to her voice, but it sounded more like frustration than anger.

“The zombies arrive in the morning. At 9:20, the first zombies will cross over the first line.”

“And how do you know this?” Art asked sharply. “Ralph told me. The zombies arrive early. Tomorrow. The battle is tomorrow. If you’re going to leave, you need to leave now,” Nerit said in a firm, strong voice.

“And why are we supposed to believe this?” a voice Katie didn’t recognize called out.

“Because she knows what she’s talking about.” Calhoun moved through the crowd. He looked haggard and held a tape recorder in his hand. “I’ve been taking care of the communication center, monitoring for alien transmissions. Got this instead.” He held up a tape recorder and hit PLAY. “If anyone can hear us, we were trying to get back to the fort, but we can’t get through. There are thousands of zombies near the junction of 16 and 1456. They’re everywhere. We had to make a run for it. We’re going to have to head back to the Baptist Encampment. Hello? Can you hear me? This is Milo and Susan. We were trying to head back but they’re everywhere.”