The First Days (As the World Dies 1)

"But once we leave, you'll be here alone. "

Nerit nodded and put the plate up. Picking up a glass, she began to dry it. "Katie, Ralph has three sons. I have two sons. We have grandchildren. We do not know where they are. If they are safe, alive, on the run, or…They will come here if they can. At least Ralph's sons will. Mine are in Israel. I have very little hope of hearing from them. "

Katie looked down and her vision blurred just a bit from the tears she felt starting to brim. "I see. "

"This is all we have left now. If we leave, we leave behind all of it. We are very old and all we have is this shop. This little town. The hope that our children may still be alive with their children somewhere out there. "

Katie pressed her lips together, then nodded. She couldn't blame Nerit.

If she could have holed up somewhere with Lydia, safe and secure, and ride this out, she would have. "I understand. "

Travis leaned in the doorway. "Katie, how are you feeling?"

"Good. Good. "

"I could use your help," he said. "If Nerit doesn't mind you abandoning her. "

Nerit laughed and shooed them away. "Go, go, do what you need. "

Katie walked out into the hall and looked at Travis. He looked surprisingly sheepish.

"Okay, Ralph and I have packed up all the guns, ammo, and clothes from the shop that we think the Fort needs. We're heading over to the grocery store for anything else we may need. " Travis blushed even more now. "Uh, there are…um…things. " He was now looking everywhere but at her face.

"Uh…women things. "

Katie rolled her eyes and laughed. "Oh, my God, Travis. Didn't you ever buy tampons for a girlfriend. "

Travis winced. "I try to block that memory. "

Katie brushed past him laughing and headed down the stairs. Bill and Ralph were in the store, both dressed up in hunting outfits, rifles slung over their arms casually. Katie looked out the window to see the old white truck was in a new position and Travis had evidently constructed a sturdy pallet on the truck bed to carry the haul back to the fort.

"I hear we're going shopping?"

"Yep, next door. Put on a jacket and grab a gun," Ralph said with a grin at her.

"I thought you cleared out the town?"

"Can't take a chance," Ralph answered.

"There are probably more out there wandering around," Bill added. He pulled a baseball cap on. "There are lots of farms and trailer parks out in those hills. We can't let down our guard. "

"Makes sense," Katie sighed.

Travis handed her a hunting jacket and she shrugged it on. Picking up a gun, she looked over her shoulder at the men.

"So, basically, I'm risking my life because you pansies don't want to pick up the tampons," she said with a grin.

All three nodded.

"Yep. "

"Pretty much. "

"Uh huh. "

Katie shook her head and looked out the front door at the grocery store across the way. It was very small, old fashioned. The road was clear except for the truck. She had heard, through her fever, that Ralph and Bill and dragged the bodies onto the back of a truck and drove a ways out of town, before dumping them into a ditch. This was not a time for proper burial.

Ralph and Bill were the first ones out the door, followed by Katie, then Travis. Travis walked stiffly, the gun in his hands obviously making him uncomfortable, but it was equally obvious that Ralph had been working with him.