Vehicles of every size and description formed a tangled necklace of battered metal and gla.s.s. Standing among the ruins were thousands of softly moaning zombies. It didn"t take a genius to figure out that the fleeing traffic of nearly every city and town along I-35 had become a buffet of fresh meat for the newly risen dead in the first days.
The large silent National Guard truck beside them was a small consolation facing such danger.
I-35 cut across Texas dividing the East from the West. It connected major and minor Texas cities together like a chain from Laredo through San Antonio, Austin, and Waco, before branching off to Fort Worth and Dallas and then continuing on up into Oklahoma. If they wanted to get to East Texas, they were going to have to find a way over the ma.s.sive thoroughfare that was clogged mile after mile after mile.
"They"re just standing there," Raleigh said, mystified by this. "Why do they just stand there?"
"They haven"t seen fresh meat yet," Ruben, the soldier, answered him. "If they see us, they"ll be moving like ants toward a picnic."
"We can"t get across. We need to go back," a young black soldier His name was Lewis and he looked as terrified as the rest of them were trying hard to pretend they were not.
Ben, the soldier in charge and a native of East Texas, looked grimly determined. "I think we can barrel across and get onto the farm road."
"I don"t see much of a weak spot," Lewis decided.
"I got family over yonder. We"re going across," Ben said firmly.
The Senator looked toward him. "How?" Her expression was grim, all traces of her usual false bravado erased. She was facing the reality of the situation and she didn"t like it. Her plans had seemed so easy when they had been formulating in her mind. It was a simple plan: show up at Central, present all the information on the fort, get the support of Central"s firepower and take over the fort.
"First truck will gun it and hit that point right there. Those are just small cars. We can shove through. Second truck will then follow. We can do this," Ben declared. "We can do this."
"They"ll follow," Raleigh pointed out. "Which is exactly what Central doesn"t want."
"f.u.c.k Central," Ben snapped.
The Senator was silent, her thin lips pursed together. The collagen that once plumped her lips was long gone and they were once more a tight little line on her face. She was furious at Central for placing her in this situation. After she had informed Central that the terrorists from the fort had sabotaged the mall, she had been receiving only vague responses to her request for a.s.sistance. She had been convinced they would send air transport for her and her men once Central understood her position.
Instead, she had been told to find safe lodgings and hold tight.
There was no d.a.m.n way she was just going to hold tight.
Of course none of this would have happened if Kevin hadn"t betrayed her.
Something had gone wrong with the military in the last few years.
Everyone had seen it coming. Maybe it was the endless "nation building"
in other countries with high casualty rates among the enlisted that had slowly eroded the blind allegiance soldiers once had in their superiors.
She had met with strong resistance from the soldiers in the mall over and over again when she spoke of military action against the fort. It was clear they were loathe to move against the civilians. It had infuriated her to no end. The world had been a place of chaos before all this and now it was worse. When soldiers talked back and refused orders, it only proved to her that the government should have done more to control them before the world had gone to h.e.l.l.
"Let"s do it," the Senator finally said.
"We can reach Nacogdoches by nightfall," Ben a.s.sured her.
"Very well," she responded, walking back to her truck. She could hear Raleigh close behind her and she could feel his fear. She could smell it.
Ben and his men climbed into their truck as she, Raleigh, and Ruben rejoined the four men that were in theirs.
There had been a few losses along the way. Though they had avoided Fort Worth, they had run into trouble in one of the small towns on its outskirts. It was sheer luck they had made it through the rabid town at all.
A few men had perished, but the Senator couldn"t remember their names.
Ben"s truck moved out of the line of trees and hit the narrow dirt road that cut through the field and led to the highway. Squeezed between Ruben, the driver, and Raleigh, the Senator gripped the dash tightly and concentrated straight ahead.
She knew Ben was half-crazed at the idea of reaching his family. She could see it in his eyes. That was why he was so perfect to lead them. He would do anything to make this happen.
The truck in front of them picked up speed and began to barrel down toward the highway, a plume of dirt spraying behind it. The zombies on the highway seemed to all turn at the same time to watch the speeding vehicle rushing toward them. Together, they began a determined march toward it. Hands outstretched, they moaned and bellowed.
"Catch up!" The Senator"s voice sounded strained. "We"re too far back!"
Ruben swore, but the truck sped up.
Raleigh looked terrified. "It"s going to push through and we"re going to get stuck in the breach. We"re not going to make it!"
Ben"s truck reached the edge of the field and roared up the short embankment. It sailed onto the shoulder of the highway so quickly, the whole truck seemed to be airborne. It hit the small cars like a torpedo and the screech of twisting metal filled the air.
No one could ever be certain what the huge truck hit, but one side of it suddenly pivoted upwards. For a moment, it kept moving forward cars being shoved away from it, then it began a horrible roll to one side.
"Turn! Turn! Turn! Turn! Turn!" Raleigh screamed.
Ruben whipped the wheel about in response to the Senator"s command and the second truck slid around on the dry gra.s.s and dirt of the field.
Zombies were flooding toward the capsized truck, but others were now moving determinedly toward the second. Gunshots could be heard going off as the moans of the zombies grew louder.
The Senator fell into Raleigh as the truck made its steep turn. Ruben managed to keep control and the vehicle roared back up the incline toward the tree line.
No one spoke for at least ten minutes as I-35 vanished from the view of the side mirrors along with the determined crowd of undead stalking after the truck.
Finally, Raleigh said, "Now what?"
There was silence.
No one had an answer.
2. The Seasons Ends It was inevitable that the fort would feel different after the new arrivals were settled. Suddenly there were a lot more new faces as people wandered around looking lost. Some new arrivals slept for days. Others were almost hyper-awake, afraid to go to sleep and wake up back at the mall. It wasn"t unusual to see the newcomers walking down Main Street staring in awe at the buildings. The Sat.u.r.day matinee of Star Wars was greeted with emotional sobs from some of the new people in the audience.
It was easy to understand that the people from the mall had given up all hope. Only the deep desire to survive had kept them going in the difficult conditions of their former haven. Now they had a refuge that felt a lot like the old world that had seemed so distant for so long. It was amazing to be in a safe place. A place where children could ride their bikes down the street and old folks sat in the sun talking about the good ol"days.
The rest of the week was about settling in and helping people find their niche. The soldiers from the mall seemed relieved to finally be able to do their job. They joined the guard ranks and began daily sweeps outside the wall. Construction began on another courtyard that would house the four helicopters.
The fort found itself once more evolving. Life moved on.
* * * * * Katie was too tired to help settle the new citizens of the fort. She felt guilt, but after losing Jenni and her father, she just wanted to sleep. Travis stayed with her the first day, but he could not stand not doing anything and returned to work.
She nestled down in the bed, covered up in blankets, and slept. To her dismay, she didn"t dream of Jenni. To her relief she didn"t dream of the mall. She did dream of Lydia. She was having a picnic with Travis and Lydia. She sat in the bright sunlight holding her baby as they laughed and told stories as she played with her baby"s toes. The day had been beautiful in her dream. The Texas sky seemed endless and majestic. A part of her had been terrified that something was going to go horribly wrong and destroy the tranquil scene, but it ended when she woke up to Travis lightly kissing her lips.
"You were smiling in your sleep," he said as he slid into bed with her.
She curled up against him and held him tightly. "I had a good dream. No zombies. No death."
"A very good dream then," he decided.
Her fingers played with the curls falling over his brow and he nestled into her arms. "I wish I would dream about Jenni. Juan and Jason did, but...I look for her in my dreams but never find her."
"You will," Travis promised. "Maybe she has nothing to say yet to you. You know Jenni. She"s probably distracted watching over Jason and Juan and expects me to take care of you."
"True, but I miss her."
Travis kissed her brow softly. "I miss her, too. She was amazingly brave."
"Or stupid."
"She did the right thing. We both know it." Travis hesitated, then said in a gentler tone. "You did the right thing."
"I know. I know! But I just hate that she isn"t here anymore. I miss her. I really thought she"d be here for the birth of our baby. I thought she"d be able to give me Mommy advice."
"Well, the one thing about Jenni is that she always made choices with her heart. She always did what she felt she had to do," Travis reminded Katie.
"And that was one of the things that made her lovable even when you wanted to kick her a.s.s for some of the stuff she pulled."
"Yeah. I know. She could be exasperating." She felt the tears welling up and she choked back a sob. "But I loved her."
With gentleness that was soothing, Travis stroked Katie"s hair as he gazed into her eyes. "She loved you, Katie. You guys had a strong bond. It"s still there. Don"t forget that."
Katie wiped her tears away and tucked her head under his chin. "I know. I know. But it still hurts and I still miss her."
* * * * * Nerit was on watch on the wall when Kevin finally reappeared from his long slumber. Blinking in the bright sunlight, he stood rather shakily, a peanut b.u.t.ter sandwich in one hand, looking out over the town.
"It"s real," he said with relief.
Nerit smiled at him. "Yes and you"re home."
Kevin smiled slightly as he looked down over the town and saw people from the mall moving about, living their lives once more. "It feels great."
* * * * * Disco Night was a huge success. The Southern Baptists sat it out, but most of the people showed up in the ballroom. There was plenty of laughter, plenty of beer, and lots of dancing.
Kevin got on the dance floor with Nerit while Bill and Katarina attempted to remember the moves from the old days. Curtis followed Linda around and managed to get her to dance once or twice. Guadalupe and Old Man Watkins sat together, laughing as they watched the kids dance.
Katie sat most of the night in a comfortable chair, enjoying conversations with new friends and old. She didn"t feel like dancing. She had always danced with Jenni at these socials and it felt odd to not have her best friend around.
After awhile, Travis stole Nerit away from Kevin and twirled her around.
The music pounded and thumped and kept people on the dance floor.
It was a good night.
After coming off the dance floor, Kevin sat next to Katie. He had danced with quite a few of the ladies. He was popular with the mall women and the fort women thought he quite handsome. It was good to just sit down for a few and enjoy the music. He joined Katie in watching Travis dance with Charlotte. They didn"t really speak, but smiled at each other often.
Now that their battle weariness had worn off after their long slumber, they were left with just a dull numbness that was slowly ebbing away.
They were both slowly coming back to life.
"Strange," Kevin finally said.
"What?"
"I didn"t think Bette was gay," he said, then shrugged.
Katie looked out on the dance floor to see Bette and Linda dancing together. Many women were dancing together. It wasn"t that unusual, but the amazing sparks flying between Bette and Linda were undeniable.
"I didn"t think Linda was either and my radar is pretty good," Katie answered, then shrugged.
"It"s like they say...love knows no bounds," Kevin decided.
Out of the corner of her eye, Katie caught sight of Curtis pushing through the crowd toward the exit. His expression said it all. He had seen the sparks as well. She sighed and looked back at the two women. It was always good to see new love, but sad to see hopes of love crushed.
Finally, Kevin turned to Katie and held out his hand. "Want to dance?"
She hesitated, then nodded. "Why not? I have to start sometime."
It was almost like a sign when one of Gloria Gaynor"s. .h.i.ts came on. Katie knew it was one of Jenni"s favorites. With a slight smile, she started to move to the music, Kevin leading the way. Trying to follow his steps, she laughed when she tripped and about four people moved to catch her.
"I"m fine," she a.s.sured them, then began to move again.
Someone had rigged up a dis...o...b..ll over the dance floor made out of foil and tiny lights danced over them like little fairies. She found herself laughing as Kevin showed off his fancy dance moves with mastery that would make John Travolta jealous. Soon he was twirling her around with an expertise that she found exhilarating. He was so great, he made her look good. With the music pulsating, they danced through the crowd, laughing and having a good time.
What made it more special was that every time Kevin twirled Katie around, for a moment, she would see Jenni dancing nearby. She could never look at Jenni straight on, but when she was whirled about, she could see Jenni"s flying black hair as she strutted her stuff to Gloria Gaynor"s "I Will Survive."
As the song ended, Katie hugged Kevin tightly. It may have been a mirage, but it had been a comfort to imagine Jenni near her. "Thank you, Kevin."
"Life"s too short not to dance," Kevin answered with a small smile.
"I"ll try to remember that."
Walking back to her seat, Katie still felt the absence off her father and Jenni, but she also saw the faces of those that remained behind. Her husband, Nerit, Peggy, Bill, Katarina, and all the others who were now dear friends. Even smelly Calhoun dancing in one corner with his dogs at his feet was a welcome sight.
Travis collapsed into a chair beside her and flashed his boyish grin. Katie grabbed his hand and pressed a kiss to his lips.
"You okay?"
"Not yet, but I will be," she answered.
Travis gathered her into his arms and she laid her head against his chest.