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Once he was gone, Jenni put the gun down and quickly removed her sweater and wadded it up. The wound was ugly and bleeding hard on the left side of his chest. Jenni didn’t even want to think about the damage the bullet may have done. Pressing her sweater against the wound, she tried to staunch the bleeding.

“Tengo frio,” Juan whispered.

“We’ll get you somewhere warm,” Jenni promised. She stroked his hair and lay kisses on his clammy brow.

“I. . . always. . . thought. . . she was. . . a stupid. . . bitch. . . ” Juan muttered, and tried to smile.

“Shh. . . don’t worry about her. I beat the hell out of her. No one messes with my man,” Jenni answered.

“That’s. . . my. . . Loca. . . ” Juan smiled, but he looked too pale and his eyes were growing glassy.

Jenni could feel his blood, hot against her flesh, soaking into the sweater.

She looked toward the door and knew Ray wasn’t coming with help.

That was when she began to scream.

* * * * * There were moments that would be forever seared into the memories of those who lived and worked in the fort. The terror of the first day, the raising of the first wall, the battle against the horde of zombies from the school, and countless others. But one that would haunt those that survived the coming terrors was the vision of Jenni, covered in blood, dragging Juan into the winter sunlight that cold morning.

Jenni would always

remember the terror that she was losing the love of her life. But she would also remember how her screams brought the fort members running to help her.

And for some reason, until her last day on earth, she remembered the color of the white winter sky and the single bird flying over head, riding the cold winds.

Chapter 7

1. Eyes I Dare Not Meet In Dreams

Travis couldn’t bear to look at Jenni. As she was guided into the hotel, he thought of the T. S. Eliot poem “The Hollow Men. ” The line that came to him was: “eyes I dare not meet in dreams. ” He had seen the utter hollowness in Jenni’s eyes when Katie had helped her into the hotel, and he had gone cold inside. She had looked almost as lifeless as Juan.

Through the doorway, he could see Katie and Rosie gently cleaning and bandaging Jenni’s hands. Jenni’s hair was covering her face; her shoulders shook as she sobbed.

The lobby was loud with voices as word got around about what had happened in the garage. Nerit and her people were looking for Ray while Bill had Blanche locked away. The bitch was unconscious, but alive despite the incredible beating Jenni had given her. Travis hadn’t even recognized Blanche when they had carried her in to the hotel.

Travis felt sick to the pit of his stomach as he looked at the long line of blood donors. Charlotte was working feverishly to save Juan with Belinda assisting her. Brewster was in another room with Peggy and Stacey trying to clean up his shattered nose. The Reverend was leading a prayer vigil nearby. He wasn’t sure how bad off Juan was, but he knew the fort did not have the medical facilities needed to save his life.

Travis tried to remember how did the T. S. Elliot poem ended. Didn’t Stephen King quote it in one of his books?

This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends This is the way the world ends Not with a bang but a whimper The fort was abuzz with people talking about Blanche being the Vigilante.

It was a consensus that she must have had help, but that she was the mastermind. Case closed.

Travis rubbed his brow and looked up as Ken rushed up to him. “Did you find Ray?”

“No. And Calhoun is gone, too. We can’t find him anywhere. He was supposed to help with some wiring today and never showed up. Juan sent me to find him right before that bitch shot him,” Ken answered. His eyes widened and he pressed one hand to his throat. “Shit, Travis, think she offed him? Ed said Calhoun was acting weird this morning. He was all muttering stuff about the Whore of Babylon right before that biker guy left. ”

Travis shook his head, exhaling slowly, trying to keep calm. “Keep looking. He’s a wily, old man. He could be anywhere. I can’t see Blanche and her goons taking him out that easily. ”

“Yeah, but she hated his guts,” Ken said, tears glimmering in his dark eyes. “Yesterday, Calhoun stepped on her boots, and she shoved him into the wall. She’s a psycho bitch. I refused to do her hair because she’s so mean!”

Travis rubbed his brow slowly. “Just keep looking. Hopefully, we’ll find him and Ray and figure out what the hell is really going on. ”

Katarina strode by, her rifle slung casually in her arms, as Ken departed into the crowd. She just merely shook her head at Travis as she passed and moved through the crowd on her way to another part of the building.

Curtis, looking nervous and very young, appeared next to him. “I’m hearing he’s at death’s door. ”

“Yeah,” Travis said softly. How where you supposed to react when your best friend was dying? He wasn’t sure. He just felt strangely numb, yet angry.