The First Days (As the World Dies #1)(64)



Laura did not even glance in Nerit's direction.

Together, they got the girl up the stairs and into a shower. They put her in fully clothed. Her dress was plastered to her skin with her own urine and excrement making a foul paste. The water soon ran hot and cleansing over the girls emaciated form. But she barely blinked, barely acknowledged what was happening. She just clung to the VCR tape and the remote control and stared straight ahead whispering, "…not fast…enough…"

Once the water ran clear, Katie and Nerit undressed the girl. They both winced at her wizened body. Her ribs stood out sharply and her pelvis stuck out harshly beneath her pale skin. Nerit and Katie didn't speak as they worked on bathing the girl. Cleaning her up with clinical aloofness it was if they both could not allow themselves to feel the sheer horror of this woman's mental and physical condition.

Finally, when they were done, they dressed her in one of Nerit's nightgowns and gently guided her to the kitchen. The entire time, the girl did not release the tape or the remote control.

"Sit down, Laura," Nerit said softly.

The woman obeyed.

Katie sat down across from the girl and finally let herself feel the brutal reality of it all. The girl had been starving to death slowly since this had all begun. While she and Jenni had taken refuge with Nerit and Ralph, this girl had been in that office. It was awful, terrible, and Katie felt guilty that she was relieved that she was not this young woman.

Nerit sat down with a small container of pudding in her hand. She opened it and spooned a little out. "Laura, it’s time to eat."

Laura turned toward Nerit, finally acknowledging her, and opened her mouth.

Katie guessed hunger had finally made Nerit's voice register with the girl. She watched Nerit tenderly shovel a little bit into the girl's mouth. The girl slowly closed her mouth and her jaw worked slightly. For some reason, it was too much to bear. "I need a breather." Katie stood.

Nerit nodded. "I know. You go. I will stay with her."

Katie walked out of the kitchen and out onto the balcony. She stood there, gripping the railing, taking deep breaths. She felt like a bitch, but she couldn't deal with this right now. She just couldn't. Yet she couldn't just stand out here and not do anything at all.

Moving through the living room, she snagged her rifle and went downstairs to help the men load the pallet. They were surprised to see her, but she simply said, "I need to help" and no one protested. She immediately began to help pack up the boxes with supplies while Ralph stood watch over the street.

Everything was boxed, labeled and taped shut. Once the load was done being packed onto the pallet, they began securing it down with ropes, a large hunting net, nails and wire. By the time they got done, Katie was certain nothing would be tumbling off the thick pallet. Travis had made it complete with a thick, heavy metal wire in the frame that hooked into thick towing chains in all four corners. They all connected to a large metal loop. Katie knew that the plan was to hook the pallet unto the crane's hook back at the fortress and use it basically as an elevator to lift them all up and over the wall.

She had felt leery about this plan at first, but seeing what Travis had concocted, she felt a bit more secure.

As they walked inside, Travis took hold of her arm and drew her back.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, sure…" Katie started to pull away, but Travis held firm.

"I don't think you are."

She pressed her lips together, then sighed. "That girl…Jenni was like her in the beginning. Staring ahead, not talking, just blank. Then she snapped out of it."

Travis flinched. "Oh."

"I see what Jenni could have been in that girl. If she hadn't run outside but had holed up in a bathroom or a bedroom…"

"Oh." Travis rubbed her arm lightly and kissed her forehead very tenderly. "But Jenni's okay."

Katie closed her eyes and nodded. "It's sheer luck, Travis. You, me, Jenni, all of us…being alive. Being okay. We were just lucky to get to safety.

We could have all been Laura."

His fingers were very tender as he stroked her hair, trying to calm her.

"Yes, but that reverend saved you and you saved Jenni."

"And you saved us," Katie added. She fastened her gaze on him and sighed. "This world is fragile. It hurts so deep. I can't bear to think too far, too much, of what it would be like to lose…" She faltered.

"Jenni."

"Or Jason. Or Jack," she hesitated. "Or you. Nerit. Ralph."

He smoothed her hair gently and gave her a little hug. "I have nightmares…waking nightmares. I see people-the people around metransformed into those things. I have since the first day. Juan, the Mayor, Peggy, others. When you were sick I kept seeing you as one of those things.

Just for a split second. A waking nightmare of my-"

"-fear."

"Yes." He sighed. "I was talking to Jenni that first night. I was thinking how beautiful she was, then for a moment, for a flash, I saw her as dead as one of those monsters."

Katie looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. "I think we all have those fears."

"We'll take Laura home with us. We'll help her find her way back to us, to the land of the living. We'll keep each other alive." Travis' voice was determined, full of emotion.

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