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“This isn’t an easy world to live in sometimes,” Juan muttered. “But you know that.”

“All survivors know that.” Needing a change of topic before she started to cry, Emma said, “So you said you used semi-trucks as a barrier first?”

“And the construction trucks. We also had chain-link panels as a barrier inside the truck line. Anything we could use to put a barrier between the zombies and us, we used. Added rebar spikes later on. The next section we built was this area we’re in now, so we could go in and out with our vehicles without risking zombies getting into the main area.”

“I like the double paddock.”

“That was my idea,” Juan said, puffing his chest a little. “We had to build fast and anticipate what might be coming our way.”

“What I said earlier about us saving ourselves, I can see clearly you did that. I like how you didn’t just wait around for someone to save you. You just kept building what you needed.”

Looking surprisingly bashful, Juan shrugged. “We couldn’t wait for the Army or FEMA or whoever to show up. The town survivors were all crammed inside the walls and ready to fight for their lives. Then the city folk started arriving and we needed more room. Taking over the hotel was one of our first victories.”

“You should be proud of what you

accomplished here.”

“We are. I am. It’s just…we did what we had to.”

“I understand.”

“I know you do.”

They shared an awkward moment where neither one knew what to say next. It was Juan who pointed to the buildings across from the garage. Horses drank from a trough set near a stable while several teenagers put up some saddles. “We added that recently. When we found the horses, we needed to make them a stable. So we renovated those old abandoned buildings. It’s temporary until we can take another block and build them a proper stable.”

“Isn’t walling in more areas risky? More to defend.”

“Yeah, to a degree. We got the people to guard the walls. We also needed barriers between the main area and the zombies or banditos.”

“Fallback positions.”

“Yeah. It’s designed like an old medieval fortress for a reason.”

Staring at the map, Emma recognized the similarity. “Whose idea?”

“Me and Travis.’”

“The mayor, right?”

Juan nodded. “The new mayor. Architect in his old life. Leader in this one.”

“And you?”

“Construction worker in the old life. Same in this one,” he replied.

“I think you’re more than that here.”

“I just help get shit done.”

“And you’re the father of four adopted kids.”

His smile widening, Juan cocked an eyebrow at her. “That I am. And I’m good at it too. Which was surprising to me. What about you?”

“Mom and student in my old life. Fearless zombie killer in this one.”

“Shit, Em. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“It’s okay. We all got our burdens to carry.”