The First Days (As the World Dies #1)(68)

Katie grinned at him and kissed his cheek again. She was amused when he blushed.

Juan walked up to them and looked toward the pallet. "Okay, I gotta ask.

Did anyone get any smokes?"

There was a pause before Katie burst into laughter. She felt overwhelmed with emotions. Happiness, sadness, fear, relief, remorse, guilt all mingled together. But she let her relief override all of them and she flung her arms around Juan and kissed his cheek.

"What? What? Why are all of you women crazy? I just want my smokes,"

Juan protested.

Travis just shook his head, his arm slung around Jenni's shoulders. "One track mind…one track mind."

Katie slung her arm around Travis' waist and gave him a sideways hug.

"Thanks, by the way."

Travis kissed the top of her head. "Sorry, but I'm not going to let you die."

"Good," Jenni said happily and grabbed Katie's hand.

"Seriously," Juan said again. "Did anyone grab some smokes?"





2. Dead of Night





Night finally descended, pushing back the heat, and letting the cool evening breeze waft into the fort. It would have been even more welcomed if it hadn't brought the stench of the dead in with it.

Travis stood out in the middle of the construction site, drinking a soda, and surveying the property with Juan. Juan had done a good job of getting it a bit more organized, even creating one corner specifically as a living area.

The lunch wagon, two portable office buildings, and a variety of chairs and tables had been arranged on what remained of the old building's foundation.

Blue tarps were made into makeshift tents. Everything that could be useful had been organized in another area. Building materials, tools, machinery, anything at all that could be used to defend the fort was neatly organized in another corner. It was all about imagination and making do at this point.

Travis had been damn impressed with the spiked perimeter. He had never thought of breaking down the wrought iron fence for something like that.

"I figure this. We got people still out there alive. Curtis has been talking to them every day on the CB. If we could actually make a "safe" not crazy ass way to get into the fort, we could have more people in here," Juan said to him.

"Yeah, but do we have the resources?"

Juan shrugged. "Who knows? We just gotta figure it out as we go. This is the new Eden, dude, whether we like it or not."

Travis looked around the site glumly and sighed. "Yeah, dammit. Just how the hell are we supposed to save the world?"

Juan shrugged. "Not the whole world. Just what little we can carve out of it for ourselves."

Travis motioned to the back of the hotel. "I want to get in there. There is plenty of room in there for everyone and it would be helluva lot more comfortable than trailers and cots."

Juan nodded. "That will be a big undertaking. At least they hadn't officially opened yet and there was only training staff the first day. Maybe twenty people? But with the guns we can clear them out easier."

Travis sighed. "I'd like to avoid guns at all costs. It will probably draw more of the zombie's attention. Katie grabbed some crossbows and archery stuff back at Ralph's, but we'll definitely need to practice a lot with those before we use them. Same with the guns."

"You know, it's really sissy of you not to like guns."

Travis gave Juan a look. "Yeah, well, I had staunch Democratic parents who were former hippies."

"Well, "give peace a chance" will get your ass kicked now days. Well, more like eaten," Juan reminded him.

"Yeah," Travis rubbed his forehead. "Yeah. The rules are all different."

"Except the lesbian rule. Lesbians are still hot," Juan decided.

"Especially those two."

Travis looked to where Juan was pointing and was surprised to see Katie and Jenni standing out on the back steps of city hall. Katie was in a tank top and shorts and Jenni was in an over-sized man's shirt that went down to her knees. They were animatedly talking and laughing. It was very late, so they probably couldn't sleep. The day had been tiring, but invigorating at the same time. Travis and Katie returning with Bill had been seen as a victory in the fort.

"Katie is a lesbian, but I don't think-"

"No, no, dude, they are together. Everyone knows it." Juan grinned and nudged him with his elbow. "Too bad they don't like guys. Maybe they'd invite one of us to have fun, you know, if they liked the ol' man meat"

Travis gave Juan a long look. "Man meat?"

Juan grinned. "But I wouldn't mind watching, even if I couldn't touch.

Travis' brow furrowed with confusion. "I'm pretty sure that Jenni-"

"Nope, she likes the chicas. I heard it on good authority."

"Well, damn," Travis said, his voice edged with disappointment.

"Yeah," Juan said, but was obviously daydreaming about something highly pornographic.

Katie and Jenni started the long walk toward them, both of them barefoot he noted. Katie looked better than she had for days and it made him feel good. He really liked her. She was a hot lesbian buddy, he thought. And Jenni, well, she was just crazy and precious all rolled into one.