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d and disappeared down the hallway.

While Juan radioed in the situation, Yolanda approached Emma with a key with a post-it note wrapped around it. “This is your room. Feel free to change it around however you want. If you wait a few minutes, I’ll find someone to take you up there.”

Juan interrupted his conversation to say, “Don’t worry about it, Yolanda. I’ll make sure she’s settled in.”

“Oh, okay,” Yolanda said with surprise but also a knowing look in her eyes.

Emma knew that expression. It was the one the ladies at church got when they happened upon a new bit of gossip to spread around.

“Nerit is going to check out the situation. I’m gonna join her. Want to tag along and see how we do things around here?”

Though she’d had her fill of zombies, Emma nodded. “Yeah. That sounds good.”

“You don’t have to, you know,” Juan said, suddenly seeming nervous. “I know you’re new here.”

“No, no. If this is going to be my home that entails learning how things function here.”

Juan grinned. “You’re going to do fine here. I feel it in my bones.”

That smile made her a little fluttery and she blushed, much to her dismay. Under his cowboy hat, his face reddened too, much to Yolanda’s obvious amusement.

“What about my stuff?” Emma asked, pointing to her bag and weapons.

“Bring the rifle, machete, and pistol. Yolanda, she can leave the bag here, right?”

“No problem.”

“Thank you,” Emma said, slinging her rifle over her shoulder.

Juan waved her through the door. “Okay, let’s go see what those fuckin’ zombies are up to. Nerit’s going to meet us out on the wall.”

Strolling through the old City Hall building, Emma took a deep breath and rubbed her sweaty palms against her jeans. When they reached the door to the outside, Juan skittered ahead of her to open the door. The sunlight poured through the exit, nearly blinding her.

Pulling on her sunglasses, Emma stepped out into the Fort.

2

Welcome to Badassery

The glare of the sun was blinding. The shadow cast by the hotel had moved away, leaving the busiest area of the Fort in direct sunlight. Juan tucked his cowboy hat onto his curls and gestured for Emma to follow him down the back steps of City Hall and into the heart of the complex.

Strolling past the Fort occupants, Emma noted they were all ages, genders, and from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. The Fort clearly was a place for everyone as long as they were willing to get along and do some hard work. All looked exhausted and sweaty as they stood around in small groups watching Juan and Emma pass by.

Dust stirred in a faint breeze and the smell of hard-working bodies was pungent. That hard work had come to a halt and everyone was eerily quiet. There was a smattering of hushed conversations, but the loudest noise was the wind blowing in through the gap in the hills to the east. It was a little unsettling until Emma observed the yellow flags erected over the sentry posts. On them was written SILENCE/SILENCIO. That explained the work shutdown.

People were taking advantage of the time out to drink from frosty water bottles handed out by some teenagers dragging an ice chest on wheels.

“What’s up, Dad?” a teenage boy whispered to Juan while handing him a bottle of water. He had messy brown hair that fell over his eyes and partially hid his freckled nose.

“Zombies are causing trouble, Jason. We’re on our way to check it out,” Juan said in a voice so soft Emma could barely hear it.

The boy’s gaze shifted to Emma. The intensity of the teenager’s stare made her feel like an interloper, and she resisted the urge to apologize for an offense she didn’t know she had committed.

Jason nodded solemnly and moved on to the next group with two other teens following.

Juan leaned over to say in her ear, “My oldest. Jason.”

Jason appeared to be about fifteen. Juan looked like he was a little older than her in his late twenties or maybe early thirties. The math didn’t exactly add up unless Juan had been a really young father.