Personal relationships were never easy and the honeymoon was over. The greatest deterrent to anyone trying to cause drama was the thought of ending up outside the walls. After the exile of Shane and Philip and their fate and the fiasco with Blanche, people kept things as civil as possible. It wasn’t easy with a diverse group from just about every background.
The small group of Baptists were not pleased with certain developments in the fort. The special nights of dancing and drinking were heavily protested. The Reverend had tried to calm them, but they had turned on him for siding with the “heathens.” Mary, the leader of the Baptist Coalition, petitioned for a room to be set aside for a new Baptist church. This has been granted and now there were two churches running in the fort.
Nerit was disappointed, but she did not attend either one of the services so it was really not her concern. One of the smallest groups in the fort was the Hindu population. They were industrious, but often set apart. Nerit knew they were struggling to fit in. One of the older Indian women had cried when the Shoppers returned with bags of saris and cholis. It had been hard for her to try to adapt to wearing Western clothing.
Despite the growth of the fort population, things were running more smoothly. New extensions were being built as were more defensive traps. Maybe it was the beauty of dawning spring, but people seemed less restless than they had during winter and more willing to help out. What had brought on the need for the demolition of the town was the foray to the National Guard in a town 120 miles away. It had been used as a rescue station until it had been overrun. Like many rescue stations, it had tried to help those who were mauled or bitten. Of course, this led to rapid infection within the compound. It had been overrun within hours. Two of the helicopters were from that base.
The soldiers had been relieved to move into the roles of protectors and not prison guards at the fort. They helped train their civilian counterparts under the watchful eye of Nerit, creating an even more effective force. Like Kevin, they were all smitten with Nerit. One of the younger men called her the hottest old lady ever when she showed off her sniping skills. But her knowledge went only so far and they were able to go beyond that point and continue the training of the civilian volunteers. One of the first things that was decided was that the civilians needed more protection when they ventured out of the fort. This resulted in a flyover of the National Guard Base. Supplies were needed and it was decided to risk it.
To Greta’s surprise, not one creature was moving in the base when her helicopter flew over. There was no sign of any zombies inside or around the surrounding area. After several more recon flights, it was decided that the military would go in. It was one of the most terrifying moments in the fort history. But all the soldiers had returned with two helicopters full of additional equipment and weapons. They had found a few zombies inside the buildings, but they were slow and easily put down. The massive crowds of zombies they anticipated were not found.
“Migrating,” Travis had said softly when he heard the news. “They’re migrating.”
“You know how they follow the living. Maybe someone was stupid enough to drive by or try to get in,” Katie had offered up.
“The west gate was down. Twisted and bent like a great force went through it,” Kevin had answered. “My bet is that the zombies all pushed against it until it went down and then they were free.”
“Which direction are they going then?” Katie had asked. “My guess? North. We didn’t see anything between here and the National Guard.”
“But they could come this way. Or another large group like that,” Nerit had pointed out. “If they are not staying put and migrating, as Travis put it, then we could end up seeing a mass gathering of zombies coming our way.”
“Shit,” Katie had whispered.
It was then that they decided to do everything possible to secure the fort from a large invading body of the undead. The fort had already been constructed with the idea of a possible breach. There were strong, reinforced gates for every section. But if a large enough group of zombies came up against the fort walls…
“How’s it going?” Travis’ voice asked from behind her.
Nerit turned and gave him a tight smile. “So far, no trouble.” Travis gripped the railing and leaned against it staring out toward the bulldozers. A good three blocks were now demolished. “Damn shame.”
“The old things are useless to us now,” Nerit answered. “And we need to be able to see anything that approaches the fort.”
“I wonder if we’ll ever live in houses again,” Travis pondered. “Go to the grocery store. Drive to a movie.”
“In time, perhaps. But most likely not you or me. But your children’s children, maybe.”
Travis nodded with a grim expression etched on his face. “But we can hope. And plan. And try to make it happen.”
“Yes,” Nerit agreed. “We are pioneers in a new world. Frightening, isn’t it? We were so used to the old. Unchallenged. So spoiled. Now we are back to hunting and gathering.”
Below them several large trucks were heading back into town. The hunters had gone out for meat. The cattle population had dropped during the winter in the neighboring ranches, but the deer population seemed to be up. A group of men were now seeing to the care of the cattle. Once the herd was healthy again, beef would be back on the table. But until then, venison was the meat of choice. “At least we got big guns and ammo,” Travis said after a beat then winked at her.
Nerit laughed. “Yes, at least we have that.”
They both looked out over the town as another house crashed to the ground. Birds were singing in the trees. Wildflowers covered the hills. The sky was bright blue with enormous fluffy white clouds gliding overhead.
Below them, the bulldozers continued to reshape the old world into the new.
Chapter 24
1. Regrets
“Go! Go! Go!” Raleigh stumbled as he fled down the access corridor. His teeth snapped hard together and he immediately tasted blood. His hands caught onto a cart shoved up against the wall and he steadied himself, then kept running. He could see Charlie up ahead with the Senator. The soldier had a tight grip on her upper arm and despite her cries that he was hurting her, Charlie kept shoving, pulling and yanking her along.
Glancing behind him, he could see the dark face of Ruben glaring at him as he snarled at him to keep moving. Beyond Ruben, in the dim, sickly light, the undead followed. They were moaning and reaching out for the living, their slow, yet determined stride frightening in its relentlessness.
Ahead, Charlie reached the outside door and hesitated. Raleigh stumbled on, barely able to catch his breath. The ammo was low so he knew Ruben wouldn’t start firing unless he absolutely had to. The moans and stench of the dead were making his skin crawl. He turned to see Ruben shove some old chairs over, trying to block the dead.
“Just go,” Ruben barked at Charlie over his shoulder.
With the sharp nod of his head, Charlie shoved the outside door open.