Raleigh stumbled on, barely able to catch his breath. The ammo was low so he knew Ruben wouldn't start firing unless he absolutely had to. The moans and stench of the dead were making his skin crawl. He turned to see Ruben shove some old chairs over, trying to block the dead.

"Just go," Ruben barked at Charlie over his shoulder.

With the sharp nod of his head, Charlie shoved the outside door open.

Almost immediately gray hands shoved in toward them.

The Senator began screaming as Charlie opened fire, precious ammunition splattering the brains of those creatures trying to reach them. Then Charlie and the Senator were through the door and Raleigh, despite his terrible fear, followed.

Blinking in the harsh sunlight, Raleigh tried to rid his eyes of the temporary blindness that instantly fell on him. Stumbling over the dead bodies near the door, he started to follow Charlie and the Senator. They had been holed up in the theater for days. He felt dizzy and knew that all the sugar in the movie theater candy he had consumed was affecting him.

He had to keep moving. It was almost comical how he reached into his pocket, pulled out a bag of M & M's and poured most of them into his mouth.

Ruben grabbed him from behind and shoved him down the alleyway. The moans of the undead echoed all around them.

Ahead of them, the Senator was cussing at Charlie, telling him not to be so rough. Charlie, to Raleigh's great satisfaction, was not listening.

The four of them, the last survivors of the second truck from the mall, stumbled into the street of the small town, and stood on unsteady legs, uncertain of what to do next. Their previous truck had broken down in this small town and they had to run for it when they were besieged by a mob of the undead. The theater had been their shelter until the front doors had given away.

A few vehicles stood in the street, empty of life. Some had flat tires now.

The sun would soon bleach them of color and the elements would begin to slowly corrode them.

Nearby, a gas station stood silent. In the shade next to it was a brand new truck. The paper license plate was long faded, but it had been new when all of this had began.

"Go," Ruben ordered.

The four of them hurried down the street, the soldiers holding onto the arms of the civilians. The undead were at least a block away, slowly moving toward them. They had a little time. Thankfully, the zombies were very slow now. But if the humans did not move swiftly and intelligently, that slow moving mob would find them and then... Raleigh felt sick and wanted to throw up, but he kept chewing the chocolate in his mouth. For the billionth time he cursed himself for staying with the Senator. He should have gone to the fort. He should have taken a knock to his f.u.c.king pride and joined the rednecks of the area in making a new life. Instead, he was on the run with the Senator, barely keeping alive.

"Keep moving," Ruben ordered as zombies appeared far down the street.

"Just keep moving."

Raleigh had been stupid and he knew it. He had been so flattered by the Senator's pursuit of his skills as a campaign manager he had disregarded so much about her. Of course, her brother-in-law's money had boosted his confidence that he could shape her into a real political threat. It hadn't been easy. She was a bigot, an elitist and tended to not think before she spoke. She was a person of grandiose ideas with very little concept of how to execute them. People not in her own social circle tended to be disregarded. But he had worked d.a.m.n hard on her. His whole team had managed to get her elected despite her stupid comment that she liked "brown people" when she was trying to impress the Hispanic vote.

What annoyed him the most was that he had known the Central idea was bulls.h.i.t. He had sat in on her conversations. He had listened to everything said on the other side, but it was clear she never really understood what was truly happening. She had colored every conversation with her own point of view. She had been so intent on getting to Central, she didn't seem to understand that Central was barely existing. That is why they had been so desperate to establish supply lines to other survivor enclaves.

Why the h.e.l.l had he gone with her?

It had been his desire to somehow make it to a better place than that d.a.m.n mall. He should have realized that was the fort.

Looking around, he knew how terrible a mistake he had made.

The dead were coming.

Charlie moved swiftly to the truck and checked the doors. One was unlocked and he opened it swiftly. There was no key inside. Shoving the Senator in, he said, "If we're lucky, the guy is inside the store."

Ruben motioned to Raleigh to get into the truck and he willingly obeyed.

Then the two soldiers disappeared around the corner.

"How did we get stuck with complete morons?" the Senator huffed. Her usual bouffant hair was flat and her face was clean of makeup. She began to search the truck, feeling under the seats, looking desperately for a key.

Raleigh joined her, uncertain of where to look, but scrounging around anyway. He could hear the moans getting louder.

"They're coming," he whispered.

"I know, moron," she snapped.

Raleigh opened up the armrest and was startled to see the car keys. He pulled them out and looked at the Senator in shock.

"At least you can do something right." She grabbed them from him and turned on the truck. With the ease of any rich soccer mom, she pulled the truck around to the front of the gas station and honked.

The two startled soldiers rushed out. They had been inside systematically killing the four zombies inside then looking through their pockets for keys.

"Get in," she ordered, sliding into the center of the seat.

Charlie slid in behind the wheel while Ruben moved around to the other side of the truck. Already the fit was tight and Raleigh tried to make himself as small as possible.

"Get out and let him in first," the Senator ordered.

Raleigh hesitated, then obeyed. His eyes flicked to the horde coming closer and closer.

Ruben slid in and pushed himself up tight to the Senator. Raleigh began to climb in when he saw the Senator smile then slam her foot down on Charlie's as she shifted gears. The truck lurched forward, knocking Raleigh to the side.

He never realized how close the undead were until he saw one reaching down for him. He really should have gone with the others from the fort.

He really should have... * * * * * Inside the truck, Ruben shouted, "What the f.u.c.k?"

"We needed a distraction," the Senator answered, leaning across Ruben's lap to shut the door.

Shakily, Charlie continued driving, trying not to look at his mirrors.

"You are one cold-hearted b.i.t.c.h," Ruben declared angrily.

"I could have driven off with him and left you," the Senator answered coolly. "Remember that."

Behind them, the zombies feasted. Ruben averted his eyes from the mirrors and looked down at the M & M wrapper on the floor. He wondered if Raleigh tasted like chocolate.

2. When All is New Everything had changed. Nothing was the same.

Katie jogged down Main Street, her pony tail swinging back and forth behind her head like a pendulum.

Overhead a helicopter was veering off toward the north. It was probably running some field workers out to a nearby ranch the fort was attempting to secure. Or maybe going to the farm. Or maybe taking someone to check on the water station. Or maybe it was just refueling at the nearby airstrip.

Helicopters... Who would have thought the fort would have helicopters back when they were just trying to survive. Jenni had joked about a handsome black leading man and helicopters when they were first on the road. She had been full of Romero film facts and tossed them out as if they were the zombie bible.

Katie's eyes suddenly stung and she tried not to think of Jenni in her pink bathrobe riding shotgun beside her in that old white pickup.

Jogging around the corner she saw Nerit taking a calm stroll down the street. Her hands were tucked into her pockets and she looked more relaxed than Katie had ever seen her. Of course, with the influx of soldiers into the fort, Nerit's job had become easier. Beside Nerit ambled her old hunting dog and Katie smiled at them as she jogged past.

How different Nerit was from the first time she saw her on the roof of Ralph's Hunting store. The long braid was gone now. She had a younger hairdo, cut short and sa.s.sy to her shoulders. Ken had insisted on it along with the rinse that took the yellow caste from her silver locks. Nerit looked younger now and more at peace.

Katie almost felt resentful of Nerit moving on past Ralph. Of course, she had moved on past Lydia. Even her father's death was muted now. She had a.s.sumed he was dead for months and to be given a chance to talk to him, share with him her new life, and say goodbye had been a gift.

But it was hard to let go of Jenni.

They had saved each other in so many ways so many times. In her heart she knew Jenni had done the right thing that day and so had she. It was only right that she fired the bullet that rescued Jenni from death at the hands of the zombies. But it still hurt.

Swinging around another corner, she jogged along the interior of the wall.

Above her, on a st.u.r.dy platform were Jason and some of the other teenagers. They were busy building a catapult. Even Jack was up on the platform, leashed in case he tried anything crazy like diving over the wall at a zombie.

Jason seemed better lately. Stronger. He had wept for days, but even through his tears, he kept saying that he knew his Mom was all right. He had seen her in a dream and knew she had come to comfort him. It was all right. Soon, he had crawled out of bed and started drawing defensive weapon schematics for the fort.

He was moving on... With a small frown, she ran under the platform and then turned down another street. Bill came into view wearing his new police uniform. The police force for the fort was now five former police officers. They all wore matching uniforms when on duty. Though crime was not a common occurrence in the fort, they did have to deal with a small load of petty theft, occasional fights, and sadly, domestic disputes. Since the council had made it clear that any major crime would result in immediate expulsion from the fort, those inclined toward crime were kept in check.

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 ch.o.r.es," 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 pa.s.sed 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 d.a.m.n 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 b.u.mp 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 pa.s.sed since the first day.

Standing with her hands resting on her swollen belly, she looked 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.

"Charlie," Ruben said softly, barely a whisper.

Charlie looked at him slowly. The boy's face was pinched and a little gray.

The food they had salvaged two days before had been bad. They were all a little shaky still.

"Wazzup?"

Ruben crouched down next to the nineteen year old. He had eight years on the boy, but he felt old and fatherly toward the younger man.

"Time to go," he whispered.

Charlie looked slowly toward the Senator, then back at Ruben. "Gonna wake her?"

"No." The word was said softly, firmly and with conviction.

"Okay," Charlie answered, slowly sliding off the windowsill. He stood on still shaky legs and took a deep breath. "Is it right? To leave her?" His voice was soft, but the emotion was thick.

"I listened in on her last conversation with Central," Ruben said oh so quietly. "Everything she's been saying is bulls.h.i.t. They aren't telling her to find a safe location for pickup. They're telling her they ain't gonna get us."

Charlie pressed his lips firmly together and in the moonlight his eyes glistened with tears. He was an East Texas bayou boy. All he wanted to do was get home to the swamps. Ruben was from south San Antonio. He wanted to go home, too, but he knew that there was nothing left. Central had given Charlie hope and Ruben had just killed it. He felt like a s.h.i.t doing it, but they had made enough mistakes.

"We left those people in the mall..." Charlie whispered, his voice catching.

"We saw the smoke. But we kept going..."