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“We don’t have a choice though, do we? If we’re to be safe,” Katie pointed out.

Travis felt her hand tighten on his, and he gave it a reassuring squeeze.

/> “The interior walls to the main area of the fort are pretty solid. We can always fall back to the main area if there if there is a breach. ”

“I say reinforce the interior walls behind the Dollar Store before starting on the outer perimeter,” Bill said.

“We need to make sure the internal walls will stand no matter how large the onslaught. ” Nerit chimed in.

Travis wondered if she was playing all sorts of terrible scenarios in her mind. “The zombie population has been really low. We need to take advantage of that. ” Travis tucked his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket and gazed over the dead town toward the hills. “We should work on the outer walls. The expansion. ”

“We need to build outside while we have the chance,” Juan agreed.

“We don’t need to expand so far that we don’t have the resources to support it though,” Eric said. “We should reinforce the walls we have up now. ”

“And we need to be able to defend it,” Nerit added. “We’re working on bows and arrows, catapults, and fire pits, but we still need more time to make sure people understand how to use them. ”

Travis sighed and rubbed his brow.

Peggy sat nearby. She looked tired as she clutched her notepad. “We’ll need space for another garden and the sooner the better. We need to plant soon. ”

“If we bring in some of the surviving livestock, we’ll need that big empty lot behind the Dollar Store,” Bill said.

“Another reason to build a new wall back there,” Eric interjected. “That will make sure that the area is secure. ”

“We definitely need to think about our food supplies. ” Peggy looked up, her expression one of worry. “We got enough for now, but what about the future?”

“Do you think having multiple entrances into the fort is wise? We already have the Panama Canal and the loading dock on the side of the hotel,”

Eric added. “If we expand, maybe we should consider that as well. ”

“We don’t want to be trapped either,” Nerit answered. “Should something go wrong. ”

“I think I have a headache,” Travis said with a wry smile.

“No one ever said recreating Eden would be easy,” Katie responded.

Nerit cleared her throat and said in a steady, firm voice, “Look, the zombies are not smart, nor are they that fast anymore. But they are dangerous when in a large group. They are persistent. They don’t give up.

If there is any weak spot in our defenses, we better get it shored up now before we have something more to worry about. ”

“I agree with what she said,” Jenni piped up, ignoring Juan’s look of disapproval.

“I say we expand while we got the chance,” Juan ignored Jenni’s look of disapproval.

“I know the fort defenses are very important. But so is food. We need to build up our stores. We need a garden. We need livestock,” Peggy said worriedly.

“She’s right. I was working on the food inventory with Rosie. We have to make long term plans,” Katie added.

Calhoun raised his hand high over his head.

“Yeah?” Travis looked at him bleary-eyed. He hated being Mayor. It wasn’t easy making the tough choices.

“I got chickens,” the old man offered. “Automatic feeder and water probably have them doing just fine. ”

Everyone laughed. Travis knew they had all been expecting something crazy. He had been ready for some insane conspiracy theory.

“Got my whole place rigged up on timers and thermal detectors. ”