Travis looked back at the closed door and thought of Jenni's expression when she had seen Katie. The compassion in her eyes had touched him deeply. Yeah, he shared something with Katie, but it didn't seem to compare to the bond the women had.
And it made him feel very alone.
He walked on slowly, deep in thought.
4. Not Always As It Seems
“Coast is clear!"
Juan nodded to Jenni and she quickly let herself down the ladder and onto the main street. It was empty of bodies and covered in about a half foot of rich fresh earth. It didn't smell nearly as bad as it had. She walked quickly and confidently to the city truck Juan had pointed out to her. He had once worked for the city as a maintenance guy and was sure it was reliable and ready to go.
Juan dropped down behind her, walking with his rifle in his hands. His long hair flowed curly and crazed from beneath his cowboy hat.
"Almost seems like a normal day," he said.
Jenni looked around and nodded. "Want to go by McDonald's for a McGriddle?"
"Do not torture me, Loca. I loved those fuckers. "
The truck perimeter had been moved outward and now a new wall was being erected directly behind it. Also, the storage containers were moved off to their new location as the first of the "locks" was built. Everyone was working hard. Well, except for Old Man Watson. He sat around, smiling, nodding and look pretty oblivious to what was going down.
Jenni drew closer to the truck and ducked down to make sure there was nothing under the truck. Satisfied, she peered into the cab, then opened the door and slid in. Juan followed suit and slammed his door.
"Okay, we are taking the shortest route there. Anything jumps up and follows us, we don't do anything fancy unless we have to. Okay?"
Jenni nodded. "Okay. "
"Promise me. "
Jenni gave him her snootiest look. "I promise. "
Juan rolled his eyes and started the truck.
Jenni settled back in her seat and rested her rifle across her knees. They had actually received a briefing from Mike. They were to stick together and at the first sign of more than one or two zombies, they were to run for safety. If possible, they were to get to a safe position and take out the zombies.
Manpower was spread thin, so two men crews were being trained by Mike.
Despite their bickering, Juan and Jenni had actually done quite well together and felt confident.
Jenni watched the buildings gliding by her window thoughtfully. Many of the businesses were shut down, their fronts boarded up.
"The town was dying," she said.
"Pretty much dead. A developer came in and sold the city council on a big plan to revive it. In the old days, the hotel was actually a prime spot for the old Hollywood stars to come and relax while hunting out in these hills.
The construction site was an old theater that one of those old stars from this area actually built for shows. We're talking early 20s. Not even talkies, but silent films. So the developer was going to tap into that and raise up a whole little bit of old Hollywood here. Even had others interested in buying up the old stores and making them into retro style diners, etc, etc. The big clincher of all this was lobbying to get gambling legalized in the county. It was a crazy idea, but the guy has…had money. " Juan shrugged. "I thought it sounded like a load of shit, but it gave a lot of us jobs. "
Jenni thought this over. "I'm sure Vegas thought the same thing, huh?"
Juan laughed. "Yeah, probably. "
The truck turned down a residential road and they both tensed. There was more of a chance of the undead in this area than in the shutdown downtown area.
Juan swerved around a bike in the middle of the road, dried blood and guts clinging to its frame.
"Fucked up world," he said.
"Yeah. "