Siege (As the World Dies #3)(33)

This is the way the world ends

Not with a bang but a whimper





The fort was abuzz with people talking about Blanche being the Vigilante. It was a consensus that she must have had help, but that she was the mastermind. Case closed. Travis rubbed his brow and looked up as Ken rushed up to him. “Did you find Ray?”



“No. And Calhoun is gone, too. We can’t find him anywhere. He was supposed to help with some wiring today and never showed up. Juan sent me to find him right before that bitch shot him,” Ken answered. His eyes widened and he pressed one hand to his throat. “Shit, Travis, think she offed him? Ed said Calhoun was acting weird this morning. He was all muttering stuff about the Whore of Babylon right before that biker guy left.” Travis shook his head, exhaling slowly, trying to keep calm. “Keep looking. He’s a wily, old man. He could be anywhere. I can’t see Blanche and her goons taking him out that easily.”

“Yeah, but she hated his guts,” Ken said, tears glimmering in his dark eyes. “Yesterday, Calhoun stepped on her boots, and she shoved him into the wall. She’s a psycho bitch. I refused to do her hair because she’s so mean!”

Travis rubbed his brow slowly. “Just keep looking. Hopefully, we’ll find him and Ray and figure out what the hell is really going on.”

Katarina strode by, her rifle slung casually in her arms, as Ken departed into the crowd. She just merely shook her head at Travis as she passed and moved through the crowd on her way to another part of the building.

Curtis, looking nervous and very young, appeared next to him. “I’m hearing he’s at death’s door.”

“Yeah,” Travis said softly. How where you supposed to react when your best friend was dying? He wasn’t sure. He just felt strangely numb, yet angry.

“I can’t believe it was Blanche and her goons all along. Guess we should have seen it?” Curtis shook his head. “It’s kinda obvious now. She’s one messed up bitch. Always been a mean one.”

Travis sighed and rubbed his face again. “Yeah, I suppose. But everyone just thought she was a spoiled bitch...not a dangerous one.”

With a nod of his head, Curtis agreed. “What are we going to do with her and Brewster? And Ray if we find him?”



“I have no f*cking clue,” Travis answered. One of the older black women, who’s name eluded Travis, stepped out of the makeshift clinic and motioned for the next person in line. They were using a lot of blood donors to try to save Juan.



The crowd parted automatically for Nerit as she moved toward Travis. He noted her slight limp, but knew better than to ask about it. Nerit’s yellowish white hair was in a tight bun on her head and she looked fierce.

“No sign of Ray. I suspect he went over the wall. Dixon says he swore he heard a car start up in the distance. I have a feeling this little group had some contingency plans.”

“Dammit,” Travis murmured.

“We should send out patrols then! Round his ass back up.” Curtis looked fierce and very bloodthirsty. His hands were clutched tightly at his side and he kept pivoting back and forth on the balls of his feet with agitation.

“Won’t do us any good, will it?” Nerit’s gaze was cold. “We’ll just set his ass back outside the wall again.”

“But we need answers! A confession!” “We have Blanche and Brewster. I think that is sufficient.”

Travis looked over at the Reverend and his prayer group. “Nothing is sufficient anymore,” he said bitterly.

“We gotta go after him and find out what was going on!”

“Curtis, it’s obvious what was going on. Blanche wanted her damn Hummer back.” Travis shook his head. “And she was stupid and crazy enough to kill for it.”

“It was more than that, Travis,” Nerit said in a low voice. “It was a grandiose move on her part to make a point.”

“And what was her damn point, Nerit? That the Hummer was hers?” Travis glared at Nerit, trying not to direct his anger at her and failing.

Nerit shrugged. “She is clearly not sane. And how can we anticipate or understand the actions of the insane?”

Travis rubbed his face with both hands, growling with frustration. “I should have given them the damn Hummer!”

“It may not have satisfied her, Travis. Maybe this is all about revenge for not treating her as she believed she should be.”

“She was just a freaking beauty queen,” Curtis exclaimed. “Who happened to marry a rich guy! She weren’t no damn Queen of England.”

“All this arguing is pointless. Juan is dying. Ray is missing. Calhoun is nowhere to be found. There are two dead men in the garage. And that bitch is unconscious. And none of this makes a bit of freakin’ sense!” Travis whirled on his heel and stalked off. He didn’t want to talk about any of this anymore. He didn’t even want to deal with it anymore, but he had to. For Juan’s sake.

He walked into the room where Jenni sat trembling, sobbing, and whispering to Rosie in Spanish. Katie stood up and came to him. He allowed himself a brief moment of comfort in her arms.

“We can’t find, Ray,” Travis told her. “Or Calhoun.”

Katie frowned. “Calhoun? I don’t--”