The First Days (As the World Dies 1)

Jenni blinked. "Yeah! They're all corralled! Easy pickings!"

"We can't-" Travis started, but stopped himself. "Okay. In the morning. "

"We shouldn't waste all that ammo," Juan muttered.

"It's not wasting it if we are securing our perimeter and our safety,"

Katie answered.

"It'll be like shooting fish in a barrel," Travis sighed.

Jenni had one of the biggest grins on her face Katie had ever seen.

"Yeah, it'll be fun. "

"You are so loca," Juan declared.

"Oh, yeah, hick spic?"

"I am so not a part of this," Katie declared and slipped past them into the hall.

She felt Travis following her, and when they were far enough from the arguing two, she turned toward him. His face was a mask of pain and uncertainty. "We have to do this. "

Travis nodded. He said softly, "Once we start firing those guns, we may bring more. "

"Do you want to risk more of those things figuring out how to get past the trucks?"

Travis sighed. "Yeah, I know. In theory, the spikes could slow a lot of them down. The Hurricane fence would probably stand for a little while, but then they'd be up against the wall. "

Katie nodded her face tense. "We cannot afford to lose ground to them. "

She felt it to her bones that if the zombies ever breached the first perimeter, things would not go well for them, despite the security of the wall. They needed to gain ground, not lose it.

Travis looked back at Jenni and Juan who were now cursing each other out in Spanish. He blinked. Jenni knew Spanish?

Katie glanced back down the hall then grinned. "Kinda like kindergarten flirting, huh?"

"Uh, you're not jealous?"

Katie snorted. "Yeah, right. Like I'd be jealous of Juan. " She gave him a bemused look. But her stomach was coiled into knots. She was horribly afraid. There seemed to never be time for peace.

Travis gave her a decidedly goofy look. "Yeah, well, anyway, let's start planning what we're doing. I guess I'll wake the Mayor. "

She reached out and touched his arm. "Travis, it’s a war. We have to fight. "

He sighed and said. "The thing about war is that there are always causalities. "

Katie felt a chill flow down her spine and she glanced toward Jenni. She felt her stomach tighten and she looked back at Travis. "But we have no choice. "

"Yeah, I know," he answered sadly They stood in silence for a long moment and Katie looked toward the still arguing Juan and Jenni. "We better get the Mayor…"

Chapter 15

1. The Killing Grounds

Jenni flipped Juan off discreetly behind Katie's back, then found a place to sit down in the Mayor's office. The Mayor looked weary and overwhelmed with the news of the zombies climbing over the trucks. Tobias' death had weighed heavily on him and he looked haggard.

Curtis looked a little better than he had. It was as if he was finding his role to play in this world and growing comfortable with it. Jenni thought he was cute in a little boy sort of way. Jason and Curtis often hung out, talking, and just being guys. It made Jenni happy. Jason needed a friend, considering all he had lost.