Rubbing his face with one hand, Travis let out a long breath. He had seen the torment on Katie's face, had wanted to comfort her, but knew she wouldn't let him. Perhaps things had gone too far when they had shared that kiss not too long ago. Immediately, she had withdrawn from him and there was nothing he could do but wait and let her work things out.
What he could do was make sure that the small haven they were carving out in the world of the dead stayed safe. Tomorrow they would secure the road next to the fort and take over the Dollar Store.
The shops next to it were empty and in disrepair, but they might be able to use them as well. To enter the hotel, they had to make sure the survivors were in a safe place. There was a risk with breaking into the hotel. If there were zombies inside, they could swarm out into the fort and that would be the end of everything. They had built a small walled in area up against the back of the hotel to use as an entrance, but there were no real assurances that the wrought iron gate would hold if a horde of zombies were inside the fort. As a secondary precaution, they planned to create a temporary shelter in the Dollar Store after blocking off the street.
Travis narrowed his eyes as the zombie staggered free from where it had been temporarily trapped. Raising the rifle, he fumbled with the safety. Using the sight, he aimed for the zombie's head. He felt uncomfortable using the weapon, but they needed to keep the area as zombie free as possible for tomorrow.
The zombie stopped walking and he could see a skirt flowing in the breeze around its crooked legs. It slowly began to raise its hand.
Before it could issue its horrifying screech, he pulled the trigger.
It collapsed onto the sidewalk as the echoes of the shot faded away.
With a sigh, Travis lowered the rifle.
Tomorrow was a new day.
A new beginning.
And that was all any of them could hope for anymore.
Chapter 2
1. Taking Risks
Beads of sweat slid down Juan's spine as he stood on the wall ready to direct the operator of the huge crane. The side street that ran alongside the fort had been left open until today, as it had been regarded as an escape route. Now, though, they needed the room to continue the expansion of the fort. The huge crane was lowering the long storage containers into place to block off the sides of the street.
Once that was done, they would send a team in to clear the buildings of any possible zombies.
By tomorrow, new walls would be in place to hold off the zombie hordes and the fort would gain the use of four more buildings.
Luckily, the downtown area was so old that the buildings were flush up against each other. They only had to worry about the two ends of the street and securing the back entrances into the buildings.
The breeze was still cool despite the sun's rays. He wiped his forehead beneath the brim of his cowboy hat. Looking over his shoulder, he could see the survivors watching from the safety of the fort. Excitement was already building. It was going to be an intense day and they all knew it. If their luck held out, it would be a good one, too.
Travis joined him on the wall, where he looked down at the front windows of the Dollar Store. They were covered in huge paper posters announcing the latest items for sale. The posters were mostly of Easter baskets and Easter treats. Juan frowned as he realized the holiday had passed without anyone even noticing it.
It was hard to see into the building. No one had seen any movement inside the store, but that did not mean that there wasn't anything inside.
“Think someone is in there? ”
Juan shrugged.
“We did try to get everyone into the construction site once it started going to shit. I know someone went over and knocked on the door, but they weren't open yet. ”
Travis yawned, rubbing his face.
“No sleep? ”
“Not a lot. You? ”
“Once we're in the hotel, I think I'll sleep a lot better, ” Juan answered.
“Yeah. I can't argue there. ”
“Hey, guys, ” a voice called out.
Juan and Travis both looked down to see one of the newest members of the fort climbing up the stairs to the wall. It was Eric, an engineer from Austin. He and his girlfriend, Stacey, had been rescued a week ago from a water tower on the outskirts of town where zombies had trapped them for nearly a month. Eric was still far too thin for his height, but he looked better than he had. He hesitated at the top of the ladder and looked up at them worriedly.