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Widening her eyes, Emma found herself speechless.

“You didn’t know? They dropped a bomb on Atlanta and Houston on the same day.”

“No, I had no idea. We only had local stations on our television and the cov

erage went dead within two days.”

“It was about a week after things got really bad that they started taking out the big cities. New York City was first. Then Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. The idea was to kill the outbreaks in the big cities and save the rest of the country. Didn’t work. The bombs didn’t stop it from spreading.”

“But it could’ve killed millions of zombies, which is better for us survivors.”

“Maybe.” Narrowing his dark eyes, Lewis leaned toward her. “Why are you interested in Aunt Macy?”

Emma didn’t see the point in not being truthful. Her pain would always be a part of her. “I was a mom too.”

“Was? Oh, wow. Shit. Sorry.”

“I was the one giving her cover yesterday and when I saw your cousin in that condition, it broke my heart.”

“You know what’s sad? We told ourselves that because he had such a small bite, they could cure him. He wasn’t ripped up like other zombies, you know? My aunt clung to that the whole way here. But it was for nothing. I don’t think there’s a damn thing you could say to her to convince her to give up hope. I tried yesterday. I begged her to come inside. That dude, Juan, he tried the same. I even tried to pull Julian out of her arms. She wouldn’t let me. I love her, but she’s gone crazy with grief.”

“I can’t say I blame her.”

“Look, Emma, you seem like a nice lady.” Pressing a hand against his chest, Lewis said, “It touches my heart that you care about my aunt. It’s been months since he died and she’s still got hope because some asshole on the ham radio said there’s a cure here. I just don’t know how you can change that. I love her, but I’m not going to go out there and die with her. And she’s gonna die. I hate it, but that’s the truth.”

“I understand why you feel like that, but I had given up on life when someone saved me. I can’t give up on your aunt.”

The vision of the dark haired woman in the red sweater reappeared in her mind. Jenni sitting in the shadows, urging Emma to live.

“So whatcha gonna do to save her?” Lewis asked, genuinely curious.

A ghost had saved her, so maybe a ghost was the answer.

Emma moved her gaze from Lewis, scanning the area for the white-haired medium. “I’m going to speak to a friend and see if he can help.”

“How’d he change anything?”

“He’s a man with inside information.”

Lewis gave her a befuddled look which was promptly interrupted by the back door to City Hall opening. Yolanda poked her head out and was relieved to see Lewis.

“There you are, Lewis! I need to talk to you about fixing my computer. No one else around here is that good with them, but you did a fine job with Travis’s last night.”

“Sure, Ms. Yolanda. Be right there. I’ll catch you later, Emma. I appreciate you being concerned about my aunt. If you can get her to come inside, that would be awesome.”

“I’ll do my best,” Emma promised.

Lewis gave her a brief nod and rushed back inside City Hall.

With fresh determination, Emma started her search for Rune.

10

The Inside Man

It took a few tries to find someone who knew where the white-haired medium was. The first people Emma approached were very friendly though they didn’t have an answer for her. That alleviated her shyness, making it easier to ask others for help. It was a good sign that she was gradually adapting to being around other people.

Finally, someone directed her to the garage where Rune was working on his bike. Eagerly, she took the wooden steps over the inner wall into the main entrance to the Fort. It was quieter today since the construction vehicles were stored elsewhere in the Fort and must exit another way. Out of the garage came the sound of tools being used and the hum of large industrial sized fans blowing warm air into the stuffy interior.