Siege (45 page)

Travis greeted him warmly when he entered the office. “Hey, Rune. Good to have you back.”

“Good to be here. Nerit, like your hair. Looks good.” He shook both their hands and Nerit looked pleased with the mention of her new hairstyle.

“What do you have to tell us, Rune? Lenore made it sound urgent.”

Travis sat on the edge of his desk as Nerit took a chair. Rune remained standing and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well, it must have been my tone. I’ve been riding most of last night and today trying to get here. I need to warn you about something big.”

His smile fading, Travis said, “Go on.”

“I woke up last night. Got woke up last night. Jenni was there. She told me that I needed to come warn you. Needed to get moving.”

“Jenni?”

“Yeah,” Rune answered, then exhaled as he shrugged. “I see the dead.”

“How do you know she’s dead?” Nerit tilted her head.

“Because I saw her last night in the hunters blind where I was sleeping. She was a spirit. She’s dead. And she told me that there is a whole mess of zombies heading this way. She told me to get my own ass moving. Sure enough, I saw a mess of zombies like I’ve never seen coming out of the valley.”

Travis looked at Nerit, his expression troubled, and obviously unsure of what to say.

“If you think I’m nuts for thinking I saw Jenni, I get that. But you gotta go check it out for yourselves. I saw some helicopters out there. Send one of them.”

“We need to check it out, Travis.” Nerit stood up slowly. “We have to see if what he is saying is accurate.”

“They’re heading straight for the fort. It will take them a lot longer to get here cause they’re going over every hill, through every forest, every pasture along the way. But they’re coming.” Rune would have felt resentful if not for the fact he was used to people doubting his abilities. He probably shouldn’t have mentioned Jenni.

“We’ll send one of the helicopters and check it out,” Travis assured him.

“Welcome back, Rune.”

“And I did see Jenni,” Rune declared. “I did.”

“I don’t doubt it. The dead don’t seem to stay dead in this world anymore.” Travis smiled ruefully. “Let’s talk to Kevin, Nerit, and get this ball rolling.”

Satisfied, Rune finally let himself relax and fell into a nearby chair. With relief, he listened to Nerit calling for the helicopter pilot and someone named Kevin. He would tell them where to look, then find a hot plate of food, and a place to sleep.

Despite the terror of the night before and the coming dangers, Rune was glad to be back at the fort. It was like coming home.

2. Family Life

Juan wasn’t real sure he could deal with this.

It was almost too much.

His stomach was clenched in a tight little ball and his heart felt fluttery. He felt dizzy for a moment.

Slowly, he lowered the tiny pink panties with the bows on them into the dresser drawer.

Jack lay on the bed next to the trash bags full of clothes and toys Juan was unpacking. The dog was trying to edge his way toward a stuffed bear. Jack was doing his best innocent look while being very sneaky.

“My bear,” Juan’s new son said to the dog and grabbed the teddy bear. Jack whined and looked as pathetic as possible.

The kids were moving into the suite he had shared with Jenni and Jason. It had been a sad little home for him and Jason and the ever-faithful Jack, but now it was filled with laughter and loud little voices. Jason sat on the bed opposite him, smiling from beneath his thick bangs, as Margie talked his head off. Holly, the middle child, was busy stuffing her toys into the shelf in the side table, talking to each one as she transferred them to their new home.

“Bad dog,” the little boy chided Jack.

“Troy, don’t be mean to Jack,” Margie scolded her brother, then went on talking to Jason in her rapid, little-girl speak.

I’m a father, Juan thought. I have four kids. And a dog. How did this happen?

Oh..yeah...

Jenni.

With a wry smile he folded up some tiny jeans and placed them in the drawer. Troy leaned over and pressed his forehead to Jack’s brow and was given a sloppy lick in response. Troy laughed and crawled onto the bed and promptly tackled the dog. The tussle that ensued had Juan half-annoyed, half-amused as he tried to get the clothes tucked away. A knock on the door startled all of them and Holly screamed, “I’ll get it!”

and ran out of the room.

A minute later, Travis walked in behind the little one, looking confused.

“Uh, you have kids,” Travis said to Juan and eyed his friend thoughtfully.

“Yes, yes, I do. I took over custody from Peggy,” Juan said with a sheepish, yet proud grin.

“Daddy One,” Troy said and pointed at Juan. He was now lying on the bed cuddling his teddy bear and using Jack as a pillow.

Travis chuckled and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Well, fatherhood suits you. You beat me to the punch.”

“Yeah,” Juan said with a grin. “Weird how that happened. But it’s good. It feels right.” He looked down at the little Spider-man shirt in his hands.

“Peggy did a good job trying to take care of them, but they feel like mine. It felt like it was time to bring them home.”

Travis smiled and nodded. “I think I understand.”

Juan relaxed a little and tucked more clothes into a second drawer. “You have that look. That something is up.”

Travis sighed and rubbed his brow. “We need you at a meeting in thirty minutes. I didn’t realize you had such a huge life change and I hate to bug you right now, but this is urgent.”

“About the stinky people?” Holly asked as she leaned against the bed and played with a battered Barbie.

“Yeah, the stinky people,” Travis answered.

“I don’t like them,” Troy said in a soft voice.

“They killed our mom and dad,” Margie added.

“They killed a lot of people,” Travis said softly. “But we need Daddy One to come help us make plans to get rid of them.”

Margie was frowning and Juan leaned over and kissed the top of her head. She was the little worrier. “It’s okay. I’ll come back soon. Jason, can you watch them?”

“Sure,” Jason answered with a typical teenager shrug. “I can do that...Daddy One.” He smirked a little and Juan lightly tousled his hair.

“Make sure they get down to dinner and that they don’t feed Jack too many cookies.” He sounded like a Dad. Wow.

Jack gave him a reproachful look and Juan grinned.

“Dog farts in the middle of the night are no fun, Jack,” Juan informed the dog, who whined a little in response.

Kneeling down, Juan let himself be engulfed by little arms and kissed the kids one by one. Standing, he felt his throat tighten with emotion. Jason stood up and gave him a quick, light hug, then flopped onto the bed next to Jack. “Don’t worry about the kiddies. I got it covered, Dad.”

Juan felt tears in his eyes. He joined Travis at the doorway into the room and together they walked across the living room.

“Daddy One, eh?”

“I blame Jenni,” Juan answered.

Travis grinned and opened the door to the hall. “Ornery beyond the grave, ain’t she?”

Juan laughed as he headed down the hall. “That’s our Loca.”

3. Grasping Shadows

The sun was still blazing hot outside when Katie drew the curtains and turned down the air conditioner. She felt tired after her morning walk and decided to lay down again. At eight months pregnant, she was too big to run anymore.

Laying down on the bed in the cool darkness, Katie tried not to think of the latest news from Rune and the recon mission Travis was sending. Her eyes easily closed and sleep fell over her immediately. She dreamed of her mother…

“…Katie, of course you love your best friend. She is your best friend. Just because you love her doesn’t mean you have to kiss her. You’re just confused…”

“But, Mom, I’m in love with her. I need you to understand,” her teenage voice answered.

“Don’t be foolish, Katie-girl,” her mother chided.

Agitated, she fought the dream away, not wanting to remember her mother’s unrelenting refusal to accept her for who she was. The dream wavered then Lydia sat at the kitchen table as her mother fussed with dinner.

“…and this is simply ridiculous. Women do not marry women,” her mother was saying to Lydia.

“Sit down, Katie,” Lydia’s sweet voice said as she patted the chair next to her.

Katie moved into the dream and took the seat next to her dead wife. Her dream mother continued to cook, filling the room with fragrant, delicious aromas.

“You look lost,” Lydia decided, and gently swept Katie’s hair back from her face.

“I was looking for Jenni,” Katie answered glumly. “I never see her in my dreams.”

“I know, honey.” Lydia smiled sweetly. She reached out and squeezed her hand. “It’s not time yet.”

Katie’s mother turned, saw their clasped hands, and quickly turned back to the stove.

“I miss her, Lydia. So much. She’s my best friend,” Katie whispered emotionally, tears in her eyes. “I need her here. I am so afraid. I don’t have you or her here to help me through this. I feel so emotional over the baby and so lost. Travis tries, but he doesn’t understand how this feels.”

Katie pressed her hand to her stomach.

Lydia fastened her gaze firmly to Katie’s face and said, “Katie, look at me.”

With tears glittering on the edges of her eyes, Katie obeyed.

“You’re going to be okay. You’re going to be fine. Travis will take good care of you and the baby. But you need to be careful. Things are about to become very, very difficult. Very dangerous.”

“I can’t deal with anymore loss,” Katie whispered.

“I know, honey. I know. But you need to listen to me. You’ve always been strong. You’ve always been confident. Trust your instincts. Do what you know is right and don’t back down.”

“I need Jenni,” Katie insisted, her hands trembling.

“You know, Jenni,” Lydia said with a smile. “She’ll be there when you need her. She won’t let you down. But until then, you need to be strong and listen to your instincts. Do what you know is right.”

Lydia looked up sharply toward the door, then back at Katie. “I need to go now. Remember what I said.” Standing, she kissed Katie gently on the forehead and smoothed her hair before fading away.

Katie’s eyes opened to see a sliver of sunlight had found its way through the closed curtains and was drawing a line of glowing light over the floor. The motes of dust swirling in the beam danced like little fairies and she smiled to herself. For some reason, Jenni felt very close in that moment. The door opened and she rolled over to see Travis slip into the room. For a brief moment she saw Juan outside the door.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

Travis hesitated, then slid onto the bed. “Recon came back with photos.”

“It’s not good, is it?”

“No. It’s not.”

Katie rolled over and lay on his lap, her arms around him.

“You don’t seem surprised.”

“Lydia warned me.”

“Oh,” Travis answered, his fingers lightly brushing her shoulder. He seemed uncertain of what to say.

“I never dream of Jenni,” Katie said finally. “Just Lydia.” Pulling herself up, she kissed his lips lightly.

Travis stroked her hair and said, “I’m sure you will dream of Jenni.”

“She’s come to Juan and Jason and now Rune. Why not me?” Katie couldn’t help the hurt from leaking into her voice.

Travis rubbed her cheek and looked thoughtful. “Maybe it’s just not time yet.”

Katie pouted then let out a heavy sigh. “Lydia told me that, too. You two conspiring behind my back?” Sliding off the bed, she tried not to feel put out.

With a laugh, her husband stood up and laid his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. “Katie, your spouses got to stick together. You’re kinda tough to handle at times.”

Katie made a face at him, then laughed a little. “Fine, okay.” She shook free of her hurt feelings and forced herself to concentrate on the moment at hand. “So the recon wasn’t good.”

“Nope. It’s not. We’re meeting in about five minutes. We need you there.”

“Does everyone in the fort know yet?”

“Not yet. We’re getting the core group together to come up with strategies on how to handle telling the fort populace.” A shadow of fear flickered over Travis’ features and he looked haunted. His hand rested lightly on her belly and he kissed her forehead.

“Oh, shit. That bad, huh?” Katie felt her throat tighten and her pulse quicken.

“Yeah,” Travis answered. “Yeah.”

Katie rubbed her suddenly wet palms against her jeans and headed to the door. Travis opened the door for her and she looked out to see Juan gazing back at her. His forehead was covered in a light sheen of sweat and he looked pale under his tan.

“Shit.”

“Yeah,” Juan answered.

Travis shut the door behind them leaving the room empty save for the stream of sunlight glowing brightly in the darkened room. Then the curtain shifted and the light was gone, leaving the room empty and cold.
4. Facing the Truth

“What we are looking at is at least fifteen thousand zombies heading straight our way,” Nerit said as the photos were slid across the table one by one.

“Possibly up to twenty thousand,” Kevin added.

Travis frowned as he studied one, then passed it on to his wife. “Where did they come from?”

Greta shrugged. “Who knows? They’re just there. Moving straight toward us. Rune was right.”

Curtis and Bill studied the photos side by side as Katarina sat down sharply and looked rather ill.

Eric sighed softly, also looking a bit pale. “Could it be the people from the National Guard rescue center? Wouldn’t that be from the right direction?”

“It was completely empty when we went there for supplies,” Greta noted, then shrugged again. “But why’d they leave?”

“Who knows what got them started in this direction,” Katie said with a sigh. She sat down slowly in a chair next to the table and her hand pressed firmly against her belly. “We know that once they get started in a direction it’s hard to deter them.” Travis kissed the top of her head softly and rubbed her back. She leaned back into him, trying to find comfort, but not truly finding it.