Nerit held onto her husband, feeling the roughness of his shirt in her hands and his bony arms under it. “Ralph, if you can ask, for me, please….”
Kissing her cheek, Ralph held her tight. Nerit felt tears sliding down her cheeks as her dog whined at her feet.
“I miss you, Nerit. Is it so bad to have peace?”
“But I won’t, Ralph. I won’t! Knowing that these people need me. For who I am, for what I am, I won’t have peace unless I help them. Tell Him that for me.” She drew back to gaze into her dead husband’s warm, loving eyes. “Please.”
“I love you, Nerit,” Ralph whispered, kissing her brow softly.
Nerit felt something in her head pop. It was a soft, delicate feeling, as if someone had switched something off. Then she was falling, slipping from Ralph’s hands.
She thought one more time, “No, not now” then the world faded into comforting black.
*
Kevin had just started to open his hotel room door when he had the strong urge to return to Nerit’s room. He couldn’t explain the feeling in that moment nor would he in the future when he looked back on that horrible night. But it was so strong, he ran to her room. When he reached her door, he heard the sound of something being overturned and the mournful wail of her dog.
Without a second thought, Kevin kicked in the door and rushed in. His worst fear was made real at the sight of Nerit lying on the floor, the floor lamp overturned beside her. The old dog was licking her face and whining loudly. A cigarette lay smoldering on the carpet.
Kevin immediately grabbed the cigarette and tossed it into the nearby ashtray then knelt beside Nerit. She looked very frail as she lay on the floor, but also very young. The lines were smoothed from her countenance and her hair looked gold, not silver, in the light. Touching her wrist, he felt for her pulse and couldn’t find one. Tears brimming, he touched her neck. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but he thought he felt a faint pulse. Picking up her surprisingly heavy form, he rushed toward the door whispering fervent prayers all the way.
4. Faith
Travis walked briskly through the lobby of the hotel. The meeting had gone well enough. People were signing up as volunteers for a variety of tasks, some life threatening, some not and there seemed to be a strong sense of determination to defeat the oncoming undead army.
Of course, in the midst of all the planning, the Baptist Coalition was getting ready to leave. Bill walked toward him and motioned for him to hold up. Travis stopped in his tracks, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans. Bill drew near, looking a tad breathless.
“Okay, got them set up in the extra short bus. Got extra fuel in the back and just about anything I could think of that they might need short term. Long term, they are on their own.”
“Did you give them something to siphon gas out of cars?” Travis asked.
“Sure did and loaded them up with mostly MREs. Gave them hunting rifles for protection and some spears.”
“Sounds good,” Travis decided, crossing his arms over his chest. “Is that young family still going with them?” “Yeah,” Bill answered sadly. “Yeah, they are. Can’t change their mind. Father keeps saying that if they stay their kids will surely die. If they go, God will show them the way.”
“Let’s hope He does,” Travis answered grimly.
“They’re leaving tonight,” Bill added. “I tried to get them to stay until morning, but they just want to go. It’s like they think God’s about to hurl lightning bolts down on us.”
“Wasn’t that Zeus, not Jesus?” Travis said with a wry smile.
“You know how Fundies are,” Bill responded. “Hellfire and brimstone, God is gonna getcha.”
“Yeah, unfortunately, yeah,” he sighed.
Mary walked up to join them. Her blue skirt and pale blouse were heavily starched and very neat. Her hair was swept into a chignon on top of her head and Travis thought she looked a little like Peggy from King of the Hill in that moment.
“We’re leaving now, Travis. I felt it best to give you one more chance to repent your sins and do what is right. Cleanse the fort and return to godly ways,” she said. Her towering beanpole of a husband stood behind her looking rather fierce.
“If that means casting out the people you consider undesirable, I think I’ll stay with my sinner ways,” Travis answered.
Mary’s face darkened. “A proud heart belongs to the fool,” she responded tersely. “Yeah,” Travis said significantly, looking at her pointedly. “It does.”
The elevator doors slid open behind them and Travis paled as he saw Kevin stumble out with Nerit in his arms.
“No,” Katie exclaimed from nearby as Bill instantly rushed forward.
“God is already striking down the sinners,” Mary said to her husband with a vindictive gleam in her eye and a smug smile.
“Get the hell out of the fort,” Travis snarled at her before rushing to where people were gathering around Kevin as he carried Nerit toward the clinic.
“What happened to her?” Katie asked as she kept pace with Kevin’s heavy footfalls. “I don’t know. I found her on the floor of her room,” Kevin answered, tears gleaming in his eyes.
“Is she...is she..” Bill’s voice cracked.
“I think I felt a pulse. I’m not sure,” Kevin responded in a voice thick with emotion.
Travis moved ahead of the small throng and flung open the clinic door to let them in. Bette looked up from where she sat reading a book. She was the night shift nurse for the week.
“Oh, shit!”
Bette was instantly at their side, guiding Kevin with a hand on his arm. Switching into full nurse mode, she quickly began to check Nerit’s vitals even before she was completely on the bed.
Travis stood next to Katie, his arms crossed over his chest, swallowing hard. “Is she…Is she…” Bill whispered again.
“I have a pulse,” Bette answered. “Barely.” Then she shooed them out the door. “Get Charlotte,” she said, then shut the door on them.
“I’ll get her,” Peggy said.
“Oh, God, we can’t lose Nerit, too!” Katie exclaimed.
Travis reached out and gently guided her into his arms. He held Katie close, feeling her body trembling.
Kevin sank into a chair in the waiting room and buried his face in his hands. “She can’t die,” Bill said after a moment of excruciating silence. “She just can’t. We need her. She’s vital.”
The clinic door swung open and Charlotte raced in followed by Belinda. The two woman rushed into the examination room where Nerit was and when that door was briefly open, Travis caught sight of Nerit’s pale unmoving form. Katie was pale and gently dabbing her eyes with her shirt sleeve. Being pregnant, her hormones tended to get the best of her, but she was trying to remain calm.
The Reverend entered, his Bible clutched in one hand, his expression bewildered and frightened. “They’re saying Nerit is in here dying.”
“She can’t die,” Bill repeated.
Kevin looked up at the older gentlemen and sighed. “Her pulse was barely there. She felt so heavy in my arms.”