Siege (As the World Dies #3)(22)

“Agreed,” Eric said.



“I’m all for it. Let’s hurry though. I’m dying for some coffee.” Juan finally gave up trying to hold his hat on his head and took it off. His long hair was ruffled by the wind as Jenni tucked her head under his chin. Calhoun was already filming, muttering in a low voice to himself. Travis tried not to pay attention to the crazy, old coot. “Okay, we have already expanded outward, taking in a block on the west and enclosing it with new walls. That is our planned entertainment and recreation area. Our attempt to help morale. We have the main fort centralized on this block. We have the Panama Canal, the garage, the hotel, city hall, and the construction site blocked off from the rest of the expansion. To the north, we have the Dollar Store and empty buildings that we are now using as a storage depot.”



“We definitely need to reinforce the back of those buildings,” Eric said in a grim voice. “I still think it’s a weak point.” He still dressed like he was going to the office. He was wearing a red sweater with khakis under his long wool coat and leather loafers. His girlfriend, Stacey, had worked hard to get him into jeans and a t-shirt. It hadn’t lasted long. Peggy quickly scribbled down everything that was being said, her face pale, her jaw tensed.

“We got the windows and doors all bricked up,” Juan pointed out.



“But those structures are old. Rot has set in. I firmly believe we should build a new wall behind those stores that connects with the wall we have going across Main Street.” Eric shoved his glasses up on his nose and looked at Travis for support. “We need to reinforce that area.” “Nerit, what do you think?” Travis looked toward their head of fort security.



“We haven’t had the amount of zombies that we had in the first days, so we know it’s secure for the level of threat we’ve had recently. But if we end up with a larger horde descending on us, we may have issues. Especially if our engineer fears for the structural integrity of the buildings,” Nerit answered.

“We’ll have to find more building supplies. More rebar, more bricks, more cement,” Juan said. “Construction supplies are low after the last wall we built.” “We may have to go further out and risk bringing a crowd of those things our way to get those supplies in,” Bill said in a somber tone. “Every time we go out, it gets harder to come back with everyone alive.”



“We don’t have a choice though, do we? If we’re to be safe,” Katie pointed out.

Travis felt her hand tighten on his, and he gave it a reassuring squeeze. “The interior walls to the main area of the fort are pretty solid. We can always fall back to the main area if there if there is a breach.” “I say reinforce the interior walls behind the Dollar Store before starting on the outer perimeter,” Bill said.

“We need to make sure the internal walls will stand no matter how large the onslaught.” Nerit chimed in.

Travis wondered if she was playing all sorts of terrible scenarios in her mind. “The zombie population has been really low. We need to take advantage of that.” Travis tucked his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and gazed over the dead town toward the hills. “We should work on the outer walls. The expansion.”

“We need to build outside while we have the chance,” Juan agreed.

“We don’t need to expand so far that we don’t have the resources to support it though,” Eric said. “We should reinforce the walls we have up now.”

“And we need to be able to defend it,” Nerit added. “We’re working on bows and arrows, catapults, and fire pits, but we still need more time to make sure people understand how to use them.”



Travis sighed and rubbed his brow. Peggy sat nearby. She looked tired as she clutched her notepad. “We’ll need space for another garden and the sooner the better. We need to plant soon.”



“If we bring in some of the surviving livestock, we’ll need that big empty lot behind the Dollar Store,” Bill said. “Another reason to build a new wall back there,” Eric interjected. “That will make sure that the area is secure.”

“We definitely need to think about our food supplies.” Peggy looked up, her expression one of worry. “We got enough for now, but what about the future?”

“Do you think having multiple entrances into the fort is wise? We already have the Panama Canal and the loading dock on the side of the hotel,” Eric added. “If we expand, maybe we should consider that as well.”

“We don’t want to be trapped either,” Nerit answered. “Should something go wrong.”

“I think I have a headache,” Travis said with a wry smile.

“No one ever said recreating Eden would be easy,” Katie responded.

Nerit cleared her throat and said in a steady, firm voice, “Look, the zombies are not smart, nor are they that fast anymore. But they are dangerous when in a large group. They are persistent. They don’t give up. If there is any weak spot in our defenses, we better get it shored up now before we have something more to worry about.”

“I agree with what she said,” Jenni piped up, ignoring Juan’s look of disapproval.

“I say we expand while we got the chance,” Juan ignored Jenni’s look of disapproval.