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The mere thought of her not being next to him made his throat tighten with emotion. He didn’t know what to say, and she seemed to be waiting for words to soothe her. At last, he managed to say, “Okay,” his voice cracking slightly.

Nodding, satisfied, Jenni curled up in her chair. She looked so small and so delicate, the blood splatter and the reek of the dead couldn’t keep him away. He grabbed her arm and tugged her firmly out of her chair and onto his lap. Holding her close, he nuzzled her cheek. Her body melded into his and she made a small, happy sound that made him smile.

Chapter 3

1. The Boring Things In Life

“How many boxes?” Peggy’s voice droned.

Katie quickly counted the boxes of ammunition, her fingers lightly touching each stack. “Fifty. ”

“Damn,” Peggy muttered. She shoved her brown hair back from her frowning face and made a notation on her clipboard.

The two women were in the storage room used for the ammunition stock.

In recent days, a fresh batch of zombies had appeared out of the Texas Hill Country. There was speculation that they were from one of the fort’s neighboring towns. A few of the zombies had been somewhat recognizable as former friends or business acquaintances. Nerit had ordered the horde destroyed, and a good chunk of ammunition had been used up.

“We still got a lot in these other boxes,” Katie reminded her.

“Yeah, but if they don’t find fresh supplies, we better learn to make our own bullets soon,” Peggy responded.

Katie nodded, her hand gently rubbing her swelling belly. In the days before the zombie uprising, she had never imagined being pregnant. It was something her wife, Lydia, and she had discussed a few times, but adoption had always been seen as the route to go. Now, time was more precious and not to be squandered. Death was everywhere as the living struggled to maintain a foothold on the world.

She had been forced to decide when the world ended whether to let her sorrow drag her down into the depths of despair and give up or fight to survive. She had chosen to survive. In the silence of the night, she still mourned Ly

dia and their old life, but she had also allowed herself to let go of the old world. That had opened the door for her to find love with Travis and now they were expecting a baby.

“Jason and the kids are working on new weapons for the perimeter. It’s scary how good they are at inventing diabolical ways to take out the zombies,” Katie remarked as they moved to the next box.

“Yeah, well, kids are always good at finding ways to be in trouble. They’re just frying zombies instead of ants now. ” Peggy looked around the room at all the shelves stuffed with battered boxes of ammo. “It never feels like enough, does it?”

Katie shook her head. “No, it doesn’t. ”

Peggy looked down, her expression clouded with fear and pain, and then she shrugged. “Nothing we can do but keep going and hope to God we don’t get eaten. ”

There was nothing really to say to that, so Katie kept quiet. Everyone in the fort had their moments. It seemed to be happening more now. Travis was gloomy about the dampened spirits of the fort, but Katie thought it was probably only natural. There were more cold, overcast days than sunny. Also, illnesses had been working their way through the fort population. The flu had already made one pass and a bad cold had many people stuck in bed. Plus, the safety of the fort allowed people to actually have moments of peace. Strangely, it was easier to shove all that pain and terror away when fighting to live. It was the mundane daily routine that made things harder to handle. Old ghosts and old memories seemed to surface at unexpected moments.

Realizing she may have upset Katie, Peggy looked back at the tall blond standing behind her. “I mean, we ain’t gonna get eaten. I mean, look at this place. We got it made compared to the poor bastards out there. I’m sure we’re all gonna be safe and sound. And your sweet baby will be fine. ”

Smiling slightly, Katie reached out to pat Peggy on the shoulder. “I know. ”

“And that team will come back packed to the gills with ammunition and more supplies, and I won’t be such a worried old hag. ”

“Peggy, you’re not old and you’re not a hag. ”

“I feel like it. Worn out and tired. Cody has got that damn cold something fierce, and I was up all night with him. I just hate seeing him suffer. It makes me feel so helpless. ” Peggy sighed and shook her head. “I miss his daddy at times like these. He was so good at calming him down. ”

Peggy rarely spoke about her husband who had died in the first days.

Katie knew from things Peggy’s little boy said that they had seen him transformed into a zombie. Cody was a sensitive soul to begin with and the death of the world had crushed him. For months he had not left his mother’s side, always clinging to her and terrified whenever she was out of his view. But lately, with other children joining the fort, he had been braver. He was now able to be away from his mother a few hours at a time without panicking.

The door to the storeroom opened, and Nerit stood in the doorway. The older woman had her yellowed, silver hair drawn back from her face and her sniper rifle was slung over one shoulder. By her reddened cheeks, it looked like she had just come off duty.

“The team just got back, Peggy. I think Yolanda is struggling with the communication center and lost track of them for a few minutes. Could you go check on her? Make sure she has it down?” Nerit asked.

“Sure thing,” Peggy answered, handing off her clipboard to Katie. “I told Curtis that one CB was shorting out. But did he listen? Oh, no. ”

Katie listened to Peggy complain all the way down the hall, her voice fading away.