As The World Dies Trilogy Box Set [Books 1-3]

by Frater, Rhiannon

  Katie shivered and slumped back in the chair, holding herself. “I hate leaving you both here.”

  “It’s where we belong. Same as you going back to the fort. It’s where you belong.” Ralph took her hand in his and gave it a firm squeeze. “You help Travis and the others keep safe. You keep strong.”

  Katie smiled. “And you do the same.”

  Ralph nodded as Nerit appeared at the door. “It’s time to sleep, you two. We have an early morning.”

  Ralph unfolded his body from the chair with a little grunt. He walked over and kissed Nerit on the cheek. She smiled softly at him and held out her hand to Katie.

  Katie went to her, and Nerit clasped her hand, drawing her inside.

  Laura was still asleep on the sofa, curled up tightly, still clutching the tape. Bill was lying on a cot nearby, snoring a little.

  “You and Travis need to share the guest room now, since we gave Laura the sofa. Is that okay?” Nerit asked.

  Ralph turned to protest, but was silenced by Nerit’s expression.

  “I don’t care. It’s not like he’s a jerk who’ll try to feel me up,” Katie joked.

  “It ain’t proper—,” Ralph started, but Nerit kissed him firmly on the mouth, shutting him up.

  “Good night, you old codger,” Nerit said, patting his cheek.

  “Good night, honey,” Ralph answered lovingly. “I’ll be up soon, but I don’t think—”

  “Shush, you.” Nerit cut him off as she followed Katie.

  “Night, Ralph.”

  “Night, Katie.”

  Ralph gave Nerit a look as they left the room, and she just waved her hand at him. Katie was amused by Ralph’s old-fashioned sensibilities, but mostly she was tired and wanted to sleep.

  Travis was already in the guest room, lying on his back on the bed, on top of the covers, with his eyes closed. Katie almost laughed at the sight.

  Nerit caught Katie’s hand, drew her aside, and kissed her cheek before whispering, “I’m going to miss you.”

  Katie smiled at her. “I’m going to miss you, too. I hope that one day I can be as strong as you are.”

  Nerit looked flattered, yet a little sad. “Just remember to always be true to your heart and do your best. That will make you strong.”

  Katie kissed Nerit’s cheek gently and hugged her. “Good advice.”

  Nerit yawned, moving toward the door to her bedroom. “I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well.”

  “You, too, Nerit.”

  Katie slipped into the darkened bedroom and lay down on the bed.

  “Don’t try anything,” Travis said sleepily. “I’d hate to punch a woman.”

  “I can barely contain myself, but I’ll keep my hands off,” Katie assured him with a little laugh.

  Travis opened one eye to look at her. “I’ve turned gay women before.”

  “Suuure.”

  “Yep, turned their stomachs and sent them screaming,” Travis teased groggily.

  “That sounds more plausible. I can barely keep from gagging.” Katie rolled onto her side and tucked her hand under her cheek, facing him. “But seriously…”

  Travis rolled over to face her. “Yeah?”

  “Tomorrow…”

  “Yeah?”

  “If I don’t make it—”

  “You will make it.”

  “But if I don’t, take care of Jenni and Jason.”

  Travis sighed. “Okay. But you are going to make it, Katie.”

  Katie wasn’t so sure anymore. Today had made her feel vulnerable.

  Travis reached out and took her free hand. “We both will.”

  “Okay, but don’t let go.”

  “I won’t,” Travis promised, and held her hand until she slept.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  1.

  Falling into the Abyss

  “Don’t let go!” Katie swung over the zombies, feet kicking as she tried to get back onto the pallet.

  Travis’s hand, slick with sweat from the heat and nerves, had an iron-tight grip on her wrist. “I won’t! Grab on to my arm with your other hand!”

  Katie’s body was jolted as the pallet swung about, and she screamed. The moans and growls of the zombies below made her shiver with fear. People in the fort were shouting, yet over all of them, she could hear Jenni screaming her name.

  Travis was holding firm to the heavy chain that connected the pallet to the crane’s hook. Bill was clutching the net secured over the supplies for dear life, struggling not to fall off.

  The pallet was swinging crazily from the crane.

  This is it, Katie thought. This is how it ends for me.

  Katie kicked hard, trying to somehow swim through the air and get a better grip on Travis. Her free hand finally managed to grip his strong, thick wrist. Her fingers barely fit around it. She gagged on the stench of the dead below; her terror felt as if it was choking her. Travis’s grip on her felt tenuous, but he gazed down at her with grim determination.

  The pallet that made up their makeshift elevator swung in long loops over the heads of the undead, making them shriek all the more at the sight of the humans dangling teasingly from it.

  How had it come to this?

  The journey back to Ashley Oaks had been uneventful. Travis drove the old white truck with Katie squeezed in between him and Bill. Laura sat hunched on Bill’s lap, staring straight ahead. Nerit had given her a crocheted purse and put the VCR tape and remote control into it. Laura found this acceptable. Her fingers stroked the purse endlessly during the trip.

  Travis had avoided the main street into the heart of Ashley Oaks, taking a series of side roads until they came up to the outside of the enormous hotel that backed onto the fort. No zombies had appeared as they parked the vehicle. The enormous crane, perched over the fort, had already been moving, its long arm extending toward them. Travis moved to the pickup’s bed while Bill and Katie covered him, guns drawn. Bill kept one hand on Laura’s shoulder.

  “… not fast … enough…,” Laura had begun to murmur.

  She had been silent since they left the hunting store, so it startled them to hear her speak.

  “She’s starting up,” Bill had whispered.

  They worked as quietly as possible, trying not to draw too much attention. The cries and moans behind the barrier let them know that the zombies were well aware of their presence. Travis had climbed onto the pallet and connected the metal ring to the crane’s hook.

  “Okay, remember where I told you to stand. It’s all about weight distribution to keep us from tipping over,” Travis had said.

  Laura whispered, “… not … fast … enough…”

  Katie helped Bill get Laura up onto the pallet. Katie pressed Laura’s hands onto the handholds Travis had made out of rope, and Laura had gripped them firmly despite her blank stare. Katie had taken up her position, slinging her rifle over one shoulder, while Bill and Travis took theirs.

  “Nervous?” Travis had asked.

  “Not at all,” Katie had lied.

  The pallet lifted smoothly. When they were high enough to be safe, the crane had begun to swing them over the zombies, toward the fort. The stink of dead had filled their nostrils with an almost burning sensation, and the screams from below were hellish and chilling. Katie had tried not to look down. She checked on Laura, who stood near her, holding the ropes tightly. Her lips had been moving, and Katie had barely heard her whisper, “… not fast … enough.”

  Bill had looked down and let out a whistle. “Damn. There’s a lot of zombies.”

  Katie couldn’t help herself then; she looked down, too. It made her gasp to see how many were beneath her, jumping and swinging their arms, trying in vain to reach the living swinging overhead.

  Laura had looked down as well. Her voice had risen in volume and speed. “… not fast … enough … not fast enoughnotfastenoughnotfastenough…”

  “Laura, calm down. Look away,” Travis had urged the frightened young woman.

  “Laura, don�
�t look,” Katie had insisted.

  Laura stopped muttering and looked at each of them one by one. “We can never be fast enough,” she had said clearly.

  And then she let go.

  “No!” Katie made a mad grab for the girl and had caught her hair for just an instant before gravity dragged the young woman into the hands of the zombies below.

  Unfortunately, Katie wasn’t the only one who had lunged for Laura. Bill and Travis reflexively reached out as well, and Bill, who was heavier than all of them, shifted his weight too much, and the pallet had tilted to one side, swinging wildly.

  Katie, holding on by just one hand, had fallen. She clung desperately to the rope handhold, but her unbalanced weight made the pallet swing ever more dangerously.

  “Katie!” Travis grabbed for her as she dangled over the zombies.

  Bill had almost fallen off, trying to regain his footing, and sprawled over the top of the supplies, gripping the netting fiercely. Katie hung, suspended; the feeding frenzy below made her feel like throwing up. The slurping noises, the harsh crunching of bones, made her even more desperate to get up onto the pallet.

  “Don’t move,” Travis ordered. “I have you. Just hang there.”

  Katie stared into his eyes and trusted him.

  Slowly, the pallet stopped its crazy swinging and came to a halt above the zombies, slightly listing to one side. Finally, the crane started to move again.

  “I’m slipping,” Katie whispered.

  “No, you’re not,” Travis responded firmly. “I have you.”

  Her fingers clutched his wrist. His hand had such a tight hold on her that she felt as if he were crushing her wrist and hand.

  Bill didn’t dare move. He whispered, “Oh shit … oh … shit … she jumped.”

  Katie dared to look down and saw the dirt-filled trucks beneath her along with some very evil-looking black spikes. Then they were above the fence and finally, last of all, the concrete wall.

  The pallet began to descend, and Katie sobbed with relief.

  “Katie! Katie! Katie!” Jenni’s voice wafted up to her.

  Abruptly, hands were all over her and for a moment, she had one of Travis’s waking nightmares and thought they had her. But when Travis let go, she fell into Juan’s arms.

  Jenni was next to him, tears on her cheeks, and she grabbed Katie’s bruised hands.

  “You made it!”

  Katie felt wetness flowing down her own face as she pulled Jenni into an embrace. Jason threw his arms around both of them while Jack barked for attention. Katie kissed both Jenni and Jason on the cheek firmly, then hugged them again. It felt delicious to be alive and with them once more.

  Travis swooped down and seized them all in a big bear hug. Jenni threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.

  “You saved Katie!” Her expression was one of absolute joy.

  Travis shook his head. “Nah, she saved herself. She held on so tight, I think she broke my wrist.”

  Jason didn’t smile at Travis, but he hugged Katie again and whispered, “I’m so glad you’re back.”

  Katie grinned and kissed his cheek again. She was amused when he blushed.

  Juan walked up to them and looked at the pallet. “Okay, I gotta ask. Did you get any smokes?”

  After a pause, Katie burst into laughter. She felt overwhelmed with emotion. Happiness, sadness, fear, relief, remorse, guilt, all mingled together. But relief overrode all of them and she flung her arms around Juan and kissed his cheek.

  “What? What? Why are all of you women crazy? I just want my smokes,” Juan protested.

  Travis just shook his head, one arm slung around Jenni’s shoulders. “One-track mind … one-track mind.”

  Katie slipped her arm around Travis’s waist and gave him a sideways hug. “Thanks, by the way.”

  Travis kissed the top of her head. “I promised Jenni I wouldn’t let you die.”

  “Yes,” Jenni said happily. “And he kept his promise!”

  “Seriously,” Juan said again. “Did anyone grab some smokes?”

  2.

  Dead of Night

  Night finally descended, pushing back the heat and letting the cool evening breeze waft into the fort. The wind would have been even more welcome if it hadn’t carried the stench of the dead with it.

  Travis stood in the middle of the construction site, drinking a soda and surveying the property with Juan. His best friend had done a good job of getting the site a bit more organized, even designating one corner specifically as a living area. The lunch wagon, two portable office buildings, and a variety of chairs and tables had been arranged on what remained of the old building’s foundation. Blue tarps had been made into makeshift tents. Building materials, tools, machinery, anything at all that could be used to defend the fort was neatly organized in another corner. It was all about imagination and making do at this point.

  Travis had been damn impressed with the spiked perimeter. He had never thought of breaking down the wrought iron fence for something like that.

  Juan said, “We got people out there still alive. Curtis has been talking to them every day on the CB. If we could actually make a safe, not crazy-ass, way to get into the fort, we could bring more people in here.”

  “Yeah, but do we have the resources?”

  Juan shrugged. “Who knows? We just gotta figure it out as we go. This is the new Eden, dude, whether we like it or not.”

  Travis looked around glumly. “Yeah, dammit. Just how the hell are we supposed to save the world?”

  Juan tipped his cowboy hat back on his head and shrugged again. “Not the whole world. Just what little we can carve out of it for ourselves.”

  Travis waved toward the hotel. “I want to get in there. There’s plenty of room for everyone, and it would be helluva lot more comfortable than trailers and cots.”

  Juan whistled. “That will be a big undertaking. At least they hadn’t officially opened, and there was only training staff there—maybe twenty people? But now that we have guns, we can clear them out easier.”

  Travis sighed. “I’d like to avoid guns at all costs. It will probably draw more of the zombies’ attention. Katie grabbed some crossbows and archery stuff back at Ralph’s, but we’ll need to practice a lot with those before we use them.”

  “You know, it’s really sissy of you not to like guns.”

  Travis gave Juan a look. “Yeah, well, I had staunch Democratic parents who were former hippies. They even moved to England for a while to live in a commune. I don’t always agree with them, but I’ll admit guns do scare me. I always believed there was a peaceful solution to everything.”

  “Well, ‘give peace a chance’ will get your ass kicked nowadays. Well, more like eaten,” Juan reminded him.

  “Yeah.” Travis rubbed his forehead. “Yeah. The rules are all different.”

  “Except the lesbian rule. Lesbians are still hot,” Juan stated. “Especially those two.”

  Travis looked where Juan was pointing to see Katie and Jenni standing on the back steps of city hall. Katie wore a tank top and shorts, and Jenni was in an oversized man’s shirt that went down to her knees. They were animatedly talking and laughing. It was very late, so they probably couldn’t sleep. The day had been tiring but invigorating at the same time. Travis and Katie returning with Bill had been seen as a victory in the fort.

  “Katie is a lesbian, but I don’t think—”

  “No, no, dude, they’re together. Everyone knows it.” Juan grinned and nudged him with his elbow. “Too bad they don’t like guys. Maybe they’d invite one of us to have fun, you know, if they liked the ol’ man meat.”

  Travis gave Juan a long look. “Man meat? Really?”

  “But I wouldn’t mind watching, even if I couldn’t touch.”

  “You’re really something, you know that?”

  Folding his arms across his chest, Juan grinned at him.

  Travis shook his head, laughing slightly. “I think you’re wrong, anyway. I’m pretty
sure that Jenni—”

  “Nope, she likes the chicas. I heard it on good authority.”

  “Well, damn,” Travis said, his voice edged with disappointment.

  “Yeah,” Juan drawled, obviously daydreaming about something highly pornographic.

  Katie and Jenni walked toward them, both barefoot, Travis noted. Katie looked better than she had in days, which made him feel good. He really liked her. She was a hot lesbian buddy, he thought. And Jenni, well, she was just crazy and precious all rolled into one.

  “Hey, guys, what’s up?” Katie asked.

  “Figuring out our next move,” Travis answered. He couldn’t help but study both of them rather suspiciously.

  Jenni gave him her sweetest smile. Her long black hair flowed around her face, and occasionally she would wrinkle her nose at the stench.

  Juan said, “Talking about the archery stuff. I don’t know if anyone is going to remember their camp days good enough to figure out how to use it.”

  “Oh, yeah, but if we could use bows and arrows instead of guns unless in high-pressure situations, it could cut down on how much attention we attract,” Katie said.

  “Attracting attention,” Juan said in a way that let Travis know he wasn’t talking about zombies.

  “Um, yeah.” Katie scrutinized Juan intensely.

  Jenni was still smiling at Travis. “What do you think, Travis?”

  “That we’re fucked,” Travis answered truthfully. “But we can do our best to get unfucked.”

  Katie gave him a long look. “Sounding a little bitter there, Travis.”

  “Well—” Before Travis could complete his sentence, one of the construction workers called his name and ran over to them. It was Mike.

  “We have a situation,” Mike said.

  Travis saw that Mike was holding one of the new rifles. That made him nervous even though he knew Mike was former army. “What is it?”

  “You better come see,” Mike answered. Shaking his bald head, he muttered, “It ain’t good, that’s for damn sure.”