Picking up her small suitcase off the bed, she smiled, feeling her face stretch into the highly practiced gracious smile Raleigh had taught her to adopt. With a little laugh,she wondered what the little f.a.ggot was doing now. Probably wandering around half-eaten like the rest. Unless the undead had cracked his skull open like a boiled egg and eaten his brain.

After a blase shrug, she walked out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the front door. The truck she had arrived in waited outside. She had cleared out the zombies from around the house over the last few weeks.

She stepped neatly over a few rotting bodies on her way to the truck. Once settled behind the wheel, she patted her suitcase and smiled.

It would be good to approach the fort with a motherly smile in place, her well-prepared speech spilling from her lips ringing out as though it was flowing from her heart. She would even let tears spring to her eyes. They would have pity on her and take her in. She would be humble and repentant before them.

Slowly, she would work her way back into their hearts and back to the top.

But this time, oh, yes, this time, she would be Mother Teresa, the Virgin Mary, and Princess Diana all rolled into one. They would forgive her past and embrace her as one of their own. It would be only a matter of time before she ousted Travis and became the fort leader. Then, she would slowly, but surely make the fort believe in her special plans for them.

The drive toward the fort was boring. The sun was just barely rising and a scattered mist gave the impression of wandering ghosts flowing over the fields. She hummed to herself as she drove and couldn't help but smile.

Failure was not an option to her. She had taken a hard knock, but she knew how to recover. Lord knows if George Bush could win a second term in office way back when, she sure as h.e.l.l could get her a.s.s into the fort.

Cresting the hill, she looked down at the fort and gasped. The walls were a lot more extensive than she had remembered the photos showing and there seemed to be catapults mounted on top of buildings. A lot of the town had been demolished, but there was a no man's land leading up to the fort walls for a two block radius in every direction except for a large expanse before the hotel.

"Interesting," she said.

Pushing down on the accelerator, she drove the truck down the winding road until she was driving through the old demolished neighborhoods toward the east side of the town. Many of the roads were destroyed or barricaded with what looked like the remains of the old houses and buildings. It was like driving through a maze.

She never saw the hole the truck fell into, but one second it was cruising just fine, the next it was nose down in a huge hole in the ground. Luckily she had her seat belt on and only hit her forehead on the padded steering wheel, but the jolt made her scream. She hadn't even seen the hole and it was huge. How she had missed it, she couldn't imagine. Staring out the windshield she was eye level with the road. The truck was sputtering its last as steam rose from beneath the crumpled hood.

Getting out of the truck slowly, her heels sank into the mud gripping the front tires. The hole was about three feet deep and the mud immediately sucked her shoes off her feet. Panicked, she managed to grab her suitcase and fling it and herself onto the back end of the truck bed. She had to scramble, but she managed to climb in. Catching her breath, she looked down at the hole again to see what looked like a swatch of cloth painted like the road mushed up into the mud.

"A f.u.c.king trap," she muttered. Probably for outlaws. Cursing under her breath, she opened her suitcase and pulled out a fresh pair of shoes. Using a blouse to clean off her feet, she kept an eye on her surroundings. No undead f.u.c.kers were around here. Tucking her feet into the almost too tight black shoes, she forced herself to calm down. She would walk to the wall of the fort. It would be fine. She zipped up her suitcase and decided to leave it there. Someone could come back for it. It was a little pain getting the bullhorn she had found in Blanche's sports closet out of the cab, but she managed to lean in through the open doorway and snag it.

Maneuvering over the cab of the truck was difficult and she almost fell.

Finally, she managed to leap from the top of it onto the street. A quick tuck of her blouse, fluff of her hair, and adjust of her jacket, and she was ready again. Taking a few deep breaths, she concentrated on reclaiming her earlier mood. That's right, she had to be positive and glowing. She had to be as genuine as possible to win over those behind the walls. She was sure she could do just that.

Walking briskly down the street, clutching the bullhorn, she kept her eyes on the corner. She would have to go around that corner, then down another block to draw near the wall. The windows and doors of all the buildings were boarded or bricked up, so she wasn't worried about anything lurching out at her.

She reached the intersection and took another breath.

This time she caught whiff of something bad. She spun around worriedly and spotted a dead body sprawled on the street nearby. It looked like someone in a police uniform and they were truly dead. Nothing to worry about there. She looked beyond the body down the long narrow street that seemed to swerve around toward the area where the hotel loomed. Again, she felt like she was in a maze.

Turning to face the wall, now a block down from her, she walked on. The sun was higher in the sky now and sweat began to trickle down the back of her neck. She shrugged her shoulders and felt a few beads of moisture slide down her spine. Ugh! She hated sweating.

Her foot hit something on the road and she stumbled forward in an unstoppable fall. She reached out to catch herself and heard a sharp mechanical clang. The ground was rushing up to meet her and she gasped.

She never hit the ground but was abruptly shoved back as what felt like an invisible truck hit her. Gasping, she found herself gazing at her hand lying on the ground a few feet away from her, the bullhorn still gripped tightly in it. Her mind sputtered as it tried to register what she was seeing and feeling. It was a cascade of information filling her brain and she could barely comprehend what was happening.

Her hand lay nearby, perfectly manicured, sliced off at the wrist. Her vision was blurred with a thick liquid flowing from her forehead. She tried to move, but she could not. She felt numb but beneath it was excruciating pain. It made no sense as her body tried to understand its state.

What her mind never understood as the Senator bled to death in a matter of seconds was that one of Jason's traps had gone off. It was razor wire carefully laid over a frame and rigged to springs. It shot up from its p.r.o.ne position when she had triggered it and locked into latches attached to metal pipes driven into the road. As it had snapped upright, the mesh had cut deeply into her body.

Arteries were sliced open and her blood flowed onto the street and slowly ran downhill past Curtis' body.

The Senator was still staring at her hand and trying to call for help when her eyes clouded over and death came for her. Her last thought was a panicked one.

They don't know I'm here, she thought. They don't know-- Then she was gone.

No one knew. Or would have cared.

2. When All That Is Left Is Goodbye "So this is what the last day of your life feels like," Katie mused as she stood in the moving elevator waiting for the doors to open.

"Yep," Nerit answered from beside her.

"Pretty much," Travis said as he rubbed her back.

"Sucks, huh?" Juan gave her a slight smile.

"Feels..." Katie struggled for the word.

"Normal," Nerit offered.

"Boring," Travis decided.

"Annoying," Juan finished.

Katie laughed and turned to look at all three of them. "You're all twisted."

Travis grinned his goofy smile. "Yeah, but..."

"It's a good day to die," Kevin said from the corner of the elevator.

Katie flicked her gaze at him and shook her finger at him. "Oh, no! I'm not dying."

"Keeping it positive, huh, babe?"

"Or just annoyingly optimistic," Juan decided.

"Or she knows something you don't know," Nerit teased as the doors opened to the foyer off the ballroom.

It was crammed full of people leaving off their small children, the elderly and the disabled. It had been planned that anyone not involved in the battle would remain at the highest point in the fort. Despite the tension flowing through the room, the sounds were muted and tender. People held their loved ones one last time as they said goodbye.

Katie stepped out and to the side as the others filed out. Everyone was not only saying goodbye but eating breakfast tacos laid out on the buffet tables and drinking coffee. Jack came bounding up to her and she leaned down to hug him.

"Hey, boy," she whispered, and he licked her face. She flashed back on the old days on the road with Jenni, the dog tucked between them as they rode into the west in their beat up truck, and she smiled a sad smile. "Who thought we'd come this far, huh?"

Jack woofed at her, then took off to weave his way through the crowd back to Juan's four children. The kids were in the ballroom sitting around Juan's grandmother's wheelchair munching away on tacos.

"She gave me four kids," Juan said to Katie.

Looking toward him, she lifted an eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"Loca. She couldn't have anymore kids, but she found a way to give me four. Two boys, two girls." Juan grinned. "That woman had a way of getting her way, huh?"

Katie smiled with bitter sweetness. "Yes, she did."

Pulling her close, Juan held Katie, then kissed her cheek. "Thank you for bringing my Loca to me."

Tears sprang instantly into her eyes and she couldn't speak.

Juan seemed to understand and patted her cheek, then headed over to his kids.

Her husband drew near and smoothed her golden hair back from her eyes. Cupping her face, Travis kissed her lips, then pressed his forehead to hers. "We're going to make it."

Katie nodded vehemently. "Of course."

The elevator doors slid open behind them and an unG.o.dly smell hit them.

Wincing, Katie looked toward Calhoun, satellite dish hat intact, looming in the opening.

"Calhoun, what is--" Travis started to ask.

"One of the traps is disconnected on the east side," Calhoun exclaimed, waving his hands in front of him. "Gawdd.a.m.n mind waves of the clones are disrupting my instruments and--"

"Cal, hold on," Nerit said from nearby around a mouthful of taco. "What do you mean--"

"I lost one of the traps. The controls are dead! Something got disconnected out there!"

"s.h.i.t," Kevin sputtered as he tried to talk and drink coffee at the same time.

"They're not arriving on the outskirts for another thirty minutes," Nerit said firmly.

"Sorry, Amazon lady, I don't trust your dead incubus of a husband!"

"Calhoun," Katie chided. "That wasn't nice."

"I don't trust these ghosts with their mysterious ways," Calhoun retorted.

"Especially that crazy Mexican one. She was loca in real life and sure as loca in death."

"Better not let Juan hear you say that," Nerit said calmly.

"My trap has been disrupted by the evil brain waves of the clone hordes--"

Calhoun then sputtered into a tirade that had half the people in the room gasping.

Small children were quickly ushered into the ballroom while some of the older teens looked impressed.

"We got thirty minutes, Calhoun. Let's do it," Rune said from nearby.

"Huh?" Calhoun blinked.

"Go out and fix it," Rune continued.

"Is it the razor wire trap?" Travis managed to grab a cup of coffee from a nearby tray.

"Nope. The fire one. And you know gawdd.a.m.n well how important that one is."

"s.h.i.t," Kevin muttered again, trying to stuff an entire taco in his mouth.

"Let's do it, dude. I mean it. Let's go!" Rune was clad in his motorcycle leathers and looking ready for war. "C'mon, Calhoun. We can do this."

Calhoun looked uneasy for a second. "Okay. Let's do it."

With a grin, Rune gripped Calhoun's shoulder and dragged him back into the elevator. "It's a d.a.m.n fine day to die," Rune a.s.sured Calhoun as the doors shut.

"I better monitor them," Keven decided.

"Good idea. I'll get Katarina out there," Nerit responded and took up position with Kevin to wait for the elevator to return.

Katie took a cup of coffee from a tray, then snagged the other half of Travis' breakfast taco. She felt strangely calm. Maybe it was the golden sunlight of the new day pouring through the windows or the light blue sky that seemed so welcoming, but it felt peaceful up here.

Greta appeared nearby already dressed in her uniform and looking ready to go. Her bird would be up in the air soon. Everything they had planned for was about to kick into gear and Katie had to believe it would work.

* * * * * "...and then we shoot them in da head," Holly a.s.sured Juan.

"They're not getting in," Jason promised the little girl again.

"Nieta, the bad monsters will not get past the walls," Rosie a.s.sured her adopted granddaughter. "It's not going to happen."

"But if they do," Margie said in an ominous voice, "we will shoot them in da head."

"Shoot them in da head," Troy said firmly.

Juan couldn't help but laugh and leaned over to kiss his kids fondly. "It won't come to that. I promise."

Jack flopped down amongst them and Jason leaned over to rub the dog behind the ears. Troy flopped backwards to rest against the dog's stomach like a pillow.

It seemed like a regular moment for his family: his grandmother had drifted off to sleep in her wheelchair; his mother was fussing with the kid; the kids were ornery as ever; Jason was peering at everyone through his bangs; and the dog was trying to get something into his stomach. This was his family. The thought made him smile, but made his stomach lurch at the same time.

He would do anything to protect them. Jenni had made this happen. His loca. His crazy, freaky, probably partially insane girlfriend. G.o.d, he loved her and missed her. But she was at peace, he knew that, and knew her prayers were with him. He had lost her, but gained his children. His heart, he realized, was healed because of their love and need for him. A gift to him. Without their love, he would still be in mourning.

"I need to get going," Jason said as the other three kids prattled on.

Suddenly, the little family looked quite somber. Jason, like many of the teenagers from thirteen on up, was part of the fort's defenses.

"Give me a kiss, nieto," Rosie said throwing out her arms to him.

Jason stood up and moved into her arms and looked a little embarra.s.sed by her tight hug and kiss. Juan rose to his feet as well and moved to hug his son tightly. Jason's arms came about him and they held each in an embrace that said more than words ever could.

"Me, too!" Margie leaped onto Jason. He laughed as he hugged the younger kids.

Juan took a step back, feeling tears threatening. Jason was his son. He loved him fiercely. He could not love him more if he had fathered him.