“And why are we supposed to believe this?” a voice Katie didn’t recognize called out.
“Because she knows what she’s talking about.” Calhoun moved through the crowd. He looked haggard and held a tape recorder in his hand. “I’ve been taking care of the communication center, monitoring for alien transmissions. Got this instead.” He held up a tape recorder and hit PLAY. “If anyone can hear us, we were trying to get back to the fort, but we can’t get through. There are thousands of zombies near the junction of 16 and 1456. They’re everywhere. We had to make a run for it. We’re going to have to head back to the Baptist Encampment. Hello? Can you hear me? This is Milo and Susan. We were trying to head back but they’re everywhere.”
Katie tried to remember the junction they were talking about and realized quite quickly it was close to town.
“I gotcha,” Calhoun’s voice said on the tape. “You head back to the crazy Baptists and stay low. Make sure their demon-possessed leader don’t do nothing stupid. We’ll fight off the zombie clones and let you know when it’s clear.”
“Thanks, Calhoun. Just thought I ’d give ya heads up,” the voice answered, then Calhoun hit STOP. The silence was, as they say, deafening.
“We leave tonight then,” Ed said.
“Can I go with you?” a voice called out. It was Belinda. Juan’s one time crush and Mike’s widow. She pushed through the people to Ed’s side. “I want to go, too.”
Juan lowered his eyes and his mother squeezed his arm gently.
“Okay. You can come. Let’s roll within the hour,” Ed said.
Then the room was full of people arguing and crying.
Chaos filled the lobby and Katie put down her head and wept.
2. Sweet Sorrow
The paddock was full of people as Durangos were loaded up with carefully doled out ammunition and MREs. Jugs of water were rolled up to each vehicle and loaded. Bags of clothes and personal effects were tossed into the trucks. A small pink backpack full of toys was packed into a back seat.
Families gathered around departing members, in some cases still fighting bitterly, with others it was a tearful farewell. Ed strode through the throng to his designated vehicle with Belinda in his wake. Gretchen stood nearby with a few other people and her gaze followed the old hunter. If she had designs on going with Ed, they were shot down by Belinda joining him. Ed’s sons were already in the backseat arguing over something, holding their shotguns.
Travis and Juan leaned against a nearby pallet loaded with bricks watching sadly. Six vehicles were leaving. Twenty-three people in all. A young woman picked up her six year old daughter and pushed her into the back seat of a nearby truck, buckling her in, while two men climbed into the front of the Durango. Travis remembered her name was Cindy and he smiled slightly at her as she gave him a sad look. Then, determinedly, she circled the vehicle and climbed in.
“They’re probably all going to die,” Juan said finally.
“Yeah, but it’s their choice.” Ed saw to Belinda getting safely into his vehicle, then walked back to the two men. His grizzled face was worn and his eyes tired, but his jaw was set firmly. As he drew near, he thrust out his hand.
“Boys, it’s been good,” he said.
Travis didn’t hesitate to take his hand and clasp it tightly. “We’ll miss you.” “We did good here, but gotta move on,” Ed said.
Travis gave Ed’s hand one firm shake, then stepped back. Juan stepped forward to grip the older man’s hand tightly.
“Take care, man,” Juan said.
“I will. I’ll take care of Belinda, too. This place has been good and bad for all of us. Hope you guys make it through tomorrow okay.”
“We will,” Travis said firmly. “We will.”
Ed nodded once. “Good luck.”
“Same to you,” Juan answered. With one more nod, Ed set his thin lips into a line and walked back to the Durango. Around him, other people followed his lead and climbed into their vehicles as well.
Juan lifted a walkie-talkie to his lips. “Clear?”
“All clear,” a voice cackled back.
“Then open the gates,” he ordered. Travis exhaled slowly as the massive doors opened. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw Peggy sobbing as she watched Gretchen leave. A few people were still pleading with those in the Durangos to stay as the long line slowly began to roll out of the fort.
“This shit sucks,” Juan finally muttered.
“Can’t be helped,” a voice said beside them. They turned to see Rune standing near them.
“What do you mean?” Travis asked.
“Look, Dude, no offense, but you’re still a city boy at heart and you don’t quite get it at times. Texans stick together as long as there is a common enemy. That will get fucked up if two things happen: religion; or you feel you’re at the mercy of someone else. Things go fine around here most of the time cause we got those dead folks trying to eat us. But right now, people are feeling mighty powerless and they’re gonna either fight or run. Those folks...God bless ’em...they’re running.” Rune grinned, showing all his teeth. “Don’t matter what they say. They’re scared and they don’t have no gawdamn control, so they’re outta here. I say let em go.” He turned and waved to the very last Durango leaving through the gate. Travis shook his head. “Well. No point keeping them here anyway.”
“They’re a bunch of ingrates,” Peggy said joining them. She was still crying and her face was swollen.
Juan watched as the gate begin to close. “Ed’s freaking out about us opening the loading dock? Well, I’d be freaking worried that he’d pull something stupid like run away in the middle of it. Better now than later.” “Amen,” Rune said. He then reached out to greet Calhoun as the old man approached.
“Okay, the pussies are gone and the real soldiers are left. So, I gotta know a few things real quick.”
“What is it, Calhoun?” Travis smiled slightly at the sight of the older man. He was wearing some sort of weird hat with what looked like a miniature satellite dish on top. It was made out of foil and odds and ends.
“Is your wife going to have the Amazons come help us tomorrow?”
Travis grinned a little, then shook his head. “No, they’re keeping put on Paradise Island.”
Calhoun abruptly frowned.
Travis lifted his eyebrows realizing he said something wrong.
“They don’t live on Paradise Island. Don’t your wife tell you nothing?” With one last scornful look, Calhoun stalked off muttering about Amazons not helping out like decent women should.
“Oops,” Juan laughed. Travis shook his head again, looking bemused.
Manny Reyes, the former mayor, walked up slowly. “Hey, Manny, how you doing?” Peggy asked, dabbing her eyes.