Travis moved ahead of the small throng and flung open the clinic door to let them in. Bette looked up from where she sat reading a book. She was the night shift nurse for the week.

"Oh, s.h.i.t!"

Bette was instantly at their side, guiding Kevin with a hand on his arm.

Switching into full nurse mode, she quickly began to check Nerit's vitals even before she was completely on the bed.

Travis stood next to Katie, his arms crossed over his chest, swallowing hard.

"Is she...Is she..." Bill whispered again.

"I have a pulse," Bette answered. "Barely." Then she shooed them out the door. "Get Charlotte," she said, then shut the door on them.

"I'll get her," Peggy said.

"Oh, G.o.d, we can't lose Nerit, too!" Katie exclaimed.

Travis reached out and gently guided her into his arms. He held Katie close, feeling her body trembling.

Kevin sank into a chair in the waiting room and buried his face in his hands.

"She can't die," Bill said after a moment of excruciating silence. "She just can't. We need her. She's vital."

The clinic door swung open and Charlotte raced in followed by Belinda.

The two woman rushed into the examination room where Nerit was and when that door was briefly open, Travis caught sight of Nerit's pale unmoving form.

Katie was pale and gently dabbing her eyes with her shirt sleeve. Being pregnant, her hormones tended to get the best of her, but she was trying to remain calm.

The Reverend entered, his Bible clutched in one hand, his expression bewildered and frightened. "They're saying Nerit is in here dying."

"She can't die," Bill repeated.

Kevin looked up at the older gentlemen and sighed. "Her pulse was barely there. She felt so heavy in my arms."

The Reverend looked down, his eyes glimmering with sudden tears. "I will pray."

Outside the door Curtis' voice screamed shrilly, "Get the f.u.c.k out of here!

Get out!"

"You will all be struck down as she has been! All of you! Consumed by sin you will be consumed," Mary shouted back.

"Get them out of here," Travis said to Bill, his voice raspy. "Get them the h.e.l.l out of here!"

Bill looked up then over his shoulder, as if becoming aware of the commotion outside. "Oh, yeah. Okay."

"f.u.c.king get out of here now!" Curtis sounded as though he was about to break.

Bill stood up, adjusted his uniform, then headed out.

Silently, the Reverend sat down, his hands clutching the Bible.

"Sorry, Reverend," Travis finally said. "I didn't mean to swear in front of you."

"It's all right. These are hard times."

Kevin looked toward the door that Nerit lay behind. His expression was shadowed by pain. "I didn't know what to do when I found her," he said in a low voice.

"You did the right thing bringing her here," the Reverend a.s.sured him.

Katie looked grim. "This can't be happening. It can't be."

"It is and we must do what we can to support her during this time," the Reverend answered her.

Katie reached down to the Reverend. He took her hand then Kevin's.

Travis slowly stepped into the circle and took Katie and Kevin's hands.

The four of them stood in silence for a moment, then the Reverend's voice, full of warmth and faith began, "Dear Heavenly Father, be with us now in this most terrible hour of despair and rest your hand upon your child and our dear friend, Nerit. Bring her comfort in this time and heal her body..."

5. Where The Dead Are Juan slowly crept into his hotel suite, hoping not to wake the children, but instead found them in their pajamas gathered around his grandmother, Guadalupe and his mother, Rosie.

"Hi, Daddy One," Holly said with a somber expression on her face.

"Why are you children still up?"

"Praying for Nerit," Margie answered, her hair falling around her face.

Her small hand swept it back, but it promptly fell back into her face.

"She's sick," Troy added.

"How is she, Dad?" Jason looked at him through his bangs.

"Yes, how is she?" Guadalupe asked.

He saw the rosaries clutched in their hands and those of the children.

"Coma. They don't know why. Charlotte says she's stable, but in critical condition. Her life signs are not very strong." He sat down on the sofa and Holly and Troy promptly crawled onto his lap. He cuddled them close and sighed into Holly's hair.

"We're praying and asking Daddy G.o.d to make her well," Margie a.s.sured him.

"And Jesus, too," Holly added.

"And his Mom," Troy said in a soft voice. "I didn't know we could pray to Jesus' Mom. Can we pray to my Mom, too?"

"I am sure your Mama hears your every word," Guadalupe a.s.sured Troy.

"Does she?" Troy looked at Juan expecting the truth of him.

Juan thought of Jenni appearing to him after her death and nodded. "Yes, I know she does."

* * * * * "We got zombies!" Katarina swung her rifle around and aimed down toward the edge of the lighted area in front of the west wall of the fort.

Two zombies staggered into view, staring up at her with lidless eyes. One slowly reached its hand up toward her while the other moved slowly toward the wall.

"s.h.i.t, already?" Bill peered down and took aim. The reaching zombie's head exploded almost in time with the one about to reach the wall.

"Check in. We had zombies on the west side," Katarina called into her headset.

"I'm watching the f.u.c.king Baptists circling around trying to figure out where the h.e.l.l they are gonna go. Do they count?" Calhoun's voice answered her. "Oh, yeah...East Wall reporting in."

"South Wall reporting in. No sign of zombies."

"North Wall reporting in. No go this way," Lenore's voice answered.

Katarina nodded and looked toward Bill, tears in her eyes. "Oh, G.o.d, my heart is beating so fast I can barely stand it. How the h.e.l.l am I going to feel when all those zombies show up?"

"You're just spooked because of Nerit, honey," Bill a.s.sured her.

"Look at me! I'm shaking! I don't do this, Bill. I don't freak out," Katarina said, running her trembling hand through her hair.

He kissed her cheek softly and held her tight against him. "It's okay, honey. It will be okay."

Chapter 28.

1. Goodbyes Curtis watched through squinted eyes as the shiny new Durangos were having last minute checks done. He stood on the platform that straddled the wall between the hotel courtyard and the entry gates.

It was two days after Nerit's collapse and she was no closer to life or death in that time. She seemed suspended between the two worlds and the Reverend was holding an around the clock prayer vigil for her.

Nervously, Curtis shifted from foot to foot, his hands tucked into the pockets of his trousers. Glancing over his shoulder at the back entrance of the hotel, he saw several of the volunteers saying emotional farewells to their loved ones.

Linda and Bette came out together, Bette walking in front dressed in Army fatigues. Linda wore hunting clothes and her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. To his disgust, they were holding hands. As they neared him, he took a breath and boldly stepped in front of them. Bette looked surprised, but Linda already looked annoyed.

"Linda, I would like just a moment of your time," he said softly. He tried very hard not to glare at Bette.

"I don't know, Curtis," she said.

"It's okay, hon. You take care of this," Bette said, giving Linda's hand a squeeze then walked on.

Linda put her hands on her hips and looked at him intently. "What is it Curtis?"

"Look, I...uh...know I f.u.c.ked up...somehow...somewhere...you know...with you," he stuttered, trying to remember his well rehea.r.s.ed speech.

"We were never together, Curtis. We were f.u.c.k buddies," Linda answered tersely.

He winced, but plunged on with his pre-planned speech, "But you're going out on a dangerous mission. You could die. I just don't want, you know, bad blood between us."

Linda sighed deeply and folded her arms over the b.r.e.a.s.t.s he had loved to touch so much. She looked away from him, then said, "Okay, that's true. I don't want bad blood either. Look, I just wasn't clear enough with you. I needed you to relieve all that stress. I thought you understood. That it was just s.e.x."

Curtis felt his temper rising and felt his face flushing, but he curled his hands up tight and tried not to scream at her that she was a dirty wh.o.r.e.

"Linda, I love you."

She took in a deep breath and exhaled very slowly. "Curtis, I'm sorry. I just don't feel that way toward you."

"I did something wrong. I know that. I know I'm young and not wise in the ways of women," he said in a voice that was becoming increasingly heated. "I know I do not fully know how to satisfy a woman yet. But if you had just given me time-"

"Curtis, the s.e.x was fine. It was what I needed at that time. I was not looking for a relationship. I didn't want that. Bette just happened. I've never been with a girl before. Ever. It's been all new to me. But I love her.

I'm sorry that hurts you. But if we can just be friends and let our past go, Curtis, that would make me so happy." Linda was close to tears and looked at him with trembling lips. "I really don't want bad blood between us."

Hurtful, angry words danced on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them away, nodding slowly. "Okay, okay." Forcing a smile, he said, "Friendship is good." In his mind though, he saw the two of them, tangled up, naked, sweating, touching each other, kissing each other and he wanted to hurt them both so badly he felt pain in his gut. "I can live with friendship."

For the first time in awhile, Linda smiled at him. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, Curtis. That makes me feel good."

He kissed her awkwardly on the cheek, tasting her skin, and hating her as much as he loved her.

Linda walked on toward the woman that she now let touch her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and the other places Curtis had considered his. He felt himself grow hotter and more flushed.

"Hey, Curtis, ready to go?" Greta asked from beside him.

He started, his sheepish grin wiping away the tension in his young, handsome face. "Sure. Yeah. I'm ready."

Greta nodded. "Great! Let's go zombie hunting."

* * * * * "You die, I kick your a.s.s," Lenore told Ken firmly.

"Okay. Do it now," he said, presenting his rear.

Smacking it, she gave him her sternest look. 'You shouldn't go out without me."

Dale tattooed and intense, stood nearby. "I'll take care of your boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"I'm her girlfriend," Ken said, putting on his best flaming gay routine.

Lenore growled at him and he pulled on one of her braids. Reluctantly, she smiled and they embraced tightly. "Take care, you crazy f.a.ggot."

"Will and can do! Dale will protect me, won't you?"