Despite his frustration with them, he knew most of this was them craving his attention. He had been gone all day working on the fort defenses and when he had come home, his beleaguered mother and grandmother had quickly dumped the kids off on him.
“They need their father. We’re done,” Rosie had said as she rolled her mother to out of the room. With that he had been on his own with the little terrors. “Holly! Freeze!”
To his surprise she froze in her tracks, giving him her big-eyed look of surprise. Slowly, he approached her, holding her pajama top in his grip, readying to put it over her head. Just when he got close, she took off again. “Dammit!”
“You said a bad word!” Troy popped up from behind the recliner. “I’m gonna tell.”
“Yeah? Who are you going to tell?” Juan asked.
“God,” Troy responded.
Well, Juan thought, at least Troy didn’t waste time with the middleman, but went straight to the top.
The door opened behind him and he turned to see Jason walk in. Covered in dirt and grime and reeking of gasoline, the teenager shut the door, then leaned back against it. “Is there hot water left?” Jason asked eying Margie’s soaking wet hair.
“Hey, kid,” Juan said, ignoring the little scamps rushing around him, trying to egg him into a game of catch again. “Hi, Dad,” Jason answered. He disengaged from the door and walked over to hug Juan. He was stopped by the trio of terror leaping on him. Clinging to him like monkeys, the three began to talk his head off and Jason slowly smiled from beneath his long hair.
Juan walked slowly toward the kids. “You’re just in time for the nightly roundup.”
“Yeah?” Jason looked down at the little ones yammering away at him, then grabbed all three of them up in his arms.
Massive squeals of delight followed. Juan managed to snag Holly and get her top over her head. “Ha!” Juan chucked her onto the sofa. “Stay there or no cookies tomorrow.”
Holly immediately froze and sat wide-eyed in false innocence.
Grabbing a towel off a stool, he wrapped it around Margie’s hair and knotted it on top of her head. Tossing her onto to the sofa, he muttered the same threat and was rewarded with another frozen child.
Troy tried the squirm and kick maneuver but Jason reduced him to giggles by tickling him. Juan somehow managed to get his pajamas on despite all the wrestling. Then Troy was also chucked onto the sofa and joined his sisters. “Now! In this family, we behave. Or no cookies,” Juan said.
Jack looked up from where he was trying to sleep on the recliner with a look of horror in his doggy eyes.
“Understood?” Juan asked. The little heads nodded, then Holly yawned.
“Okay, now to bed. And no more horsing around,” Juan said firmly.
Forming a short line, the kids all came up to kiss and hug him and Jason, then trekked to their bedroom pretending to be the best little kids he’d ever seen. “And I better not hear any talking in there,” Juan added.
Jason giggled and sat down at the bar. Popping open a can of soda, he yawned long and hard. “Hard work out there today, huh?”
“Yeah. Got the fire traps set though. Had some trouble at first, but we sorted it out. Had a zombie creep up on us and try to bite Calhoun’s arm, but his jacket didn’t let the bite go through. Got a shitty ass bruise though. It must have been in some rubble from a house or something. It was weird.” Juan sat at the bar and rubbed his brow. “We got a lot of stuff rigged up, too. Not too sure about the tar and cement traps, but we gotta try. I think the tiger traps will do okay until they fill up.”
“It’s all crazy, you know. I keep thinking about Mom coming and saving me from that camp and now I’m here. The world seemed so small then. And now... it’s still small, but it feels bigger. I dunno I have been feeling like we’re not just fighting for us but for the world.” Jason sighed and rested his chin on his hand.
“There is a lot at stake. We can’t pretend there isn’t, ya know. We just gotta buckle down and do what we can. And next time we’ll be better prepared and ready to deal with all of this.” Juan rubbed Jason’s shoulder gently. “You’re doing a good job, Jason. I’m proud of you.” Jason looked toward him in surprise, then slowly smiled. “Thanks, Dad. That means a lot.”
“All of this has been a lot for a kid your age. But you’re not a kid anymore, Jason, you’re a man and I’m damn proud of you.”
Jason grinned even more. “Yeah, well, I kinda had to grow up fast.” He looked toward the partially open door behind which the three kids were tucked into their beds. “I don’t want them to lose their innocence. They should get to be kids.”
With a sigh, Juan nodded. “Yeah. I know. But we’re all changed now. All of this bullshit with the zombies has changed everyone.”
“What is bullshit?” a small voice said from behind the recliner.
“Holly, get to bed,” Juan ordered without turning around.
With a little giggle, the little girl ducked back into her room.
Jason and Juan looked at each other before bursting into laughter.
*
Travis rubbed his face, feeling the stubble scrubbing at his palms. With a sigh, he drank more of lukewarm coffee. Standing outside the hotel, he looked up at the perimeter wall. Catapults, mounted crossbows, and other inventive weapons decorated the top.
Nearby, Curtis and Linda were in a deep conversation. He was trying not to pay attention, but Linda was obviously crying. Curtis looked close to it as well. It was easy to figure out what was going on. The police officer had been sulking ever since Linda and Bette had become a couple.
“Look,” Linda’s voice raised in the warm night air. “There is no going back. Okay? Maybe if Bette hadn’t shown up maybe things would be different. But she is here and in my life, so let it be! Let it go! I can’t do this anymore!” The few people still working on the defenses nearby all pretended not to hear her words. They also tried not to watch her run into the hotel or notice Curtis’ stricken expression.
Travis looked away. Sipping his coffee once more, he started up the stairs to check on the defenses at the gated entrance.
*
Katie stirred in her sleep. The room she shared with Travis was dark except for some light seeping through the curtains from the security lights on the perimeter wall. Exhausted from the day, she had taken a hot bath and gone to bed.
In her mind’s eye, she saw visions of her future baby, her father, Travis and even her long dead mother. She dreamed of playing in a field of flowers with her family and making a wreath to put around Travis’ neck. It was a pleasant dream and she smiled in her sleep.
In her dream, she looked up to see the meadow that led up to the walls of the fort, standing strong and proud over the countryside. It gleamed golden and she lifted her hand to wave to the people on the walls. Then suddenly she was standing on the wall looking down at her family in the field below.