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There was a strong fear of what lay beyond the hills.

“Hey, Bill,” Katie called out as she jogged toward him.

“Hey, Katie. How you feeling,” he answered with a grin. He looked kind of handsome in his uniform. The fresh glow of his newfound love with Katarina also made him more attractive.

“Good. Just getting my morning jog in before chores,” she answered.

Running up to him, she kept moving, but managed to give him a quick hug.

“Tell your husband the poker game is at eight tonight,” Bill said. I plan to demolish him, Juan and Eric. ”

“Okay. Will do,” she answered, laughing.

As she passed by the theater she caught sight of Linda and Bette holding hands and staring up at an old poster someone had tacked up announcing the premiere of Jaws. The bloom of their brand new love affair was still fresh and beautiful. Of course, there were naysayers. There was a group of fundamentalists, mostly Southern Baptists, who had a strong issue with the miniscule gay population in the fort.

And then there was Curtis.

Curtis was never happy anymore. Never smiled. Never did much of anything other than sit in the communication center or patrol the streets with Bill. He avoided social gatherings that would put him near Linda.

Curtis’ total breakdown after Linda hooked up with Bette was heartbreaking. It was just a damn shame that he had to be hurt because Linda found someone to truly love.

Of course, moving on in this world was important.

But how could she let Jenni go? Their life together seemed unfinished.

Kevin and Travis came into view as she headed back toward the hotel.

They were standing up on the wall with Eric. Talking animatedly, they were obviously planning more expansions. They were all smiling. Kevin clapped Travis on the shoulder and they both laughed. It made Katie smile a little, but it hurt at the same time.

Jenni was gone… Kevin was just as powerful a presence as Jenni in the fort. At times, Katie resented it. But he was very nice and she liked him very much.

But sometimes she wanted to scream at him. “Why are you here and she’s not?”

But she knew the answer and it wasn’t Kevin’s fault.

Tears were now hot and heavy in her eyes and she fought them.

Running through the gates into the old construction site, she saw Juan in one corner. He wasn’t allowed to do any of the heavy work. He was still healing, but he had managed to get permission to build a small garden as a memorial to Jenni and others who had died. Already he had the area roped off and was busy breaking the ground. Bags of rich soil and fertilizer sat nearby. Behind him was a statue of the Virgin Mary resting against the wall, ready to be erected at some point.

Slowly, she came to a stop near him, slowly stretching out her limbs. Her baby bump was a little bit of an issue, but she was learning to work with it.

How could she have gained and yet lost so much in just a year? She had been shocked when Peggy had told her a whole year had passed since the first day.

Standing with her hands resting on her swollen belly, she looke

d toward Juan. His ponytail was falling into his face and he kept flipping it back. He seemed intent on not looking up and slowly Katie realized he was crying as he worked.

Refusing to cry, refusing the release it might bring her, she walked determinedly into the fort.

She wasn’t ready yet. She couldn’t do it. Despite the changes in the world around her she couldn’t let go of Jenni. Not yet.

She just couldn’t.

3. While You Were Sleeping

Walking light-footed across the floor, Ruben moved toward Charlie. The younger man was seated in a window, hunting rifle slung across his lap, staring down over the darkened street. They were holed up in a small town museum and night was settling firmly over the land. Only the full moon gave any light to the room.

Behind them the Senator was fast asleep on a World War II cot in a recreation of a bunker. She was snoring loudly.