Page 19

Monica pointed at Emma and then herself. “We’re cool, right?”

“I am all for people lovin’ whoever they want. Back home folks called the only lesbians in town the spinster sisters to keep the scandal from delicate ears. Frankly, the spinster sisters gave the impression of being a lot happier than most of the married couples in my old church.”

Monica’s shoulders relaxed. “I knew you looked like a cool chick.”

“She’s going to fit right in. I feel it,” Juan said with an approving look in Emma’s direction.

Tilting her head, Monica regarded him thoughtfully. “Oh really?”

Leaning toward his cousin, a defiant look in his eye, Juan said, “Yeah. Really.”

“I see.”

Emma could see the wheels spinning about in Monica’s head. Matchmaking was apparently alive and well even in the zombie apocalypse.

Emma directed her gaze away from the cousins, watching the activity outside the garage. Again, she was struck by the bustle of the Fort inhabitants. Everyone was always on the move, hurrying to some task. The SILENCE flags were gone and the hum of activity permeated the humid afternoon air. There was a long line of people outside the portable building that served as a medical center. Emma had been cleared through there when she’d first arrived. It was disconcerting to realize how many people had been stuck outside the gates.

“Everyone gets checked in when they come from outside.” Monica wiped her face with a Harley-Davidson bandana. “It’s annoying, but it prevents anyone with a zombie bite from entering the main area of the Fort.”

“I thought people who got bitten turned right away,” Emma said, her gaze flicking to Juan. “How could someone get in with a bite?

Monica gave Emma a befuddled look. “Seriously?”

Juan shuffled his weight from one foot to the other, a little uncomfortable with the topic. “Haven’t you noticed that not everyone turns the same way, Em?”

“Honestly, no. I lived on the outskirts of town. I was busy taking care of my grandparents when the outbreak happened. I’ve never seen someone turn.”

“That explains it,” Monica said.

“Shit. You’ve been lucky then, Em.”

“It’s

obvious I’ve got a lot to learn yet about what happened to the world outside my town. We were cut off immediately when the cable went out. I did piece together what happened to the townsfolk in the months after the outbreak.”

“When you were killing them off?”

“Yeah. When I was giving them peace.”

As Emma had systematically put down the zombies the town residents had become, she’d seen clues about their demise. She suspected that people attempting to flee the outbreak in the larger cities had only managed to bring it to rural Texas. A car with out-of-state plates had crashed into a gas station and had been slathered inside with blood. She’d bet all her worthless money that car was the start of the death of her town. The bits and pieces of news she’d heard through the snowy reception on her grandfather’s old black-and-white television before the stations had gone silent reported that it was a fast-spreading virus wiping out the citizens of America bite by bite.

Stepping slightly in front of her cousin, Monica said, “I can tell you what I know about the zombies, Emma. Some turn faster than others. It depends on several factors: like how healthy you are, your immune system, genetics, that sort of thing. At least that’s what Bette says. She was a medic in the Army.” Monica pointed to a young woman with short, cropped blonde hair slowly working her way down the line with two somber looking armed young men behind her. It appeared that in order to speed things up, Bette was performing examinations on the spot.

“So if someone’s been bitten, then what happens?”

“They have a choice to do themselves in, or have someone do it for them.” Again, there was a hint of guilt in Juan’s tone. “Usually a loved one. If they’re around.”

He started out of the building and gestured for the women to follow. Emma fell into step with Monica.

“Once in a while the bitten ask to be put outside the gates so they can turn.” Monica scowled with disgust. “That third option is one I don’t understand. Why anyone would choose to turn zombie confuses the hell out of me. I don’t ever want to be one of those things. I’d rather eat a bullet.”

Emma now understood why the two armed men were with the medic. It sent a chill down her spine. “Seems like a harsh way to deal with someone in that situation.”

Monica shrugged. “When you see what happens when someone’s bitten, it changes you inside, Emma. It kicks in a survival instinct you didn’t even know you had and it gives you the ability to do shit you never thought you could. Trust me on that.”

Gazing at the two people walking with her, Emma wondered what it’d be like to face one of them if they were bitten and give them the three options. It was a heartbreaking scenario she didn’t even want to consider.

“We’re not assholes, you know. We’re just trying to stay alive. You’ve been on your own, Em, so our rules might sound brutal to you.” Juan was slightly defensive, as though ready for her to disapprove of their methods.