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

by Frater, Rhiannon

  Lydia lightly kissed her again. “Tell me.”

  Katie shivered and whispered against Lydia’s soft lips, “Oh, God…”

  “Tell me.”

  “I should have killed you!”

  Lydia drew back. Her figure altered before Katie’s eyes. A huge hole opened in her chest, and her emptiness was revealed. Raising milky eyes, Lydia whispered, “You should have.”

  And then she rushed at Katie, screaming.

  Katie woke, tumbled off the plastic chair, and landed hard on the roof. Travis was there in an instant, helping her up. He had been standing guard nearby when she must have fallen asleep.

  “Geezus, you’re shaking,” he said with concern.

  Katie looked around, terrified. Her fingers gripped his shirt tightly as she searched desperately for the ghoul from her nightmare. But the rooftop was empty except for them.

  “Travis,” she sobbed.

  “I’m here,” he answered.

  “I let her down,” Katie choked out the words, then collapsed against him, weeping.

  * * *

  Travis wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, feeling her shivering violently against him. Tenderly, he stood stroking her hair as she cried, not understanding her rambling words. But he knew her heart was shattered, and his broke for her.

  When her sobs subsided to mere tears, he helped her down the stairs and back to her room. She walked slowly and leaned heavily against him. When he entered, Jenni was just lying down. Seeing Katie, she immediately sprang to her feet and rushed to Katie’s side.

  “Katie, honey, what is it?”

  Travis released Katie reluctantly and watched Jenni help her lie down. He stood awkwardly as Katie and Jenni clasped hands.

  “Lydia,” Katie said, her voice clear at last. “She’s still out there—one of them.”

  “I know, Katie.” She pushed her cot up to Katie’s and lay down. Katie seemed to relax as Jenni curled up next to her and held her hand.

  Travis backed out of the room slowly and shut the door.

  Juan was coming up the stairs, smoking despite all the THANK YOU FOR NOT SMOKING signs all over city hall. The recovery team had brought back beer and cigarettes from the grocery store, and Juan was a happy man. When he saw Travis, he stopped and studied his friend’s face

  “Want to talk about it?” Juan asked after a beat.

  “No,” Travis answered.

  “Eh, yer fucked,” Juan decided.

  “Yeah.” Travis looked at the storeroom door.

  “Well, I’m off to get shut-eye. Loca and I are heading out tomorrow around noon.”

  “Take it easy out there,” Travis responded automatically.

  “As long as Loca doesn’t shoot me in the ass, it should be just fine.” Juan grinned and walked on.

  Travis looked back at the closed door and thought of Jenni’s expression when she had seen Katie. The compassion in her eyes had touched him deeply. Yeah, he shared something with Katie, but it didn’t seem to compare to the bond the women had.

  That made him feel very alone.

  He walked on slowly, deep in thought.

  4.

  Not Always as It Seems

  “Coast is clear!” Mike shouted.

  Juan signaled to Jenni and she quickly let herself down the ladder and onto the main street, with Juan close behind. The street was empty of bodies and covered in about half a foot of rich fresh earth to stifle the reek of the dead. She walked quickly and confidently to the city truck Juan had chosen for their expedition to the library. He had once worked in maintenance for the city and was sure the vehicle was reliable and ready to go.

  “Almost seems like a normal day,” Juan said, strolling along beside her with his rifle in his hands. His long, curly hair flowed crazily from beneath his cowboy hat. His lean but muscled form was clad in tight blue jeans, a T-shirt, and denim jacket. Jenni glanced briefly at his ass. For a jerk, he wasn’t that bad looking.

  “Want to go by McDonald’s for a McGriddle?”

  “Do not torture me, Loca. I loved those fuckers.”

  The truck perimeter had been moved outward and a new wall was being erected directly inside it. The storage containers had been moved to their new location, where the first of the “locks” was built. Everyone was working hard, except for Old Man Watson, the oldest person in the fort. He sat around, smiling and nodding as he observed the new construction. Jenni loved his old faded tattoos and his big hugs.

  As they neared the truck, Jenni ducked down to make sure there was nothing under the vehicle. Satisfied, she peered into the cab, then opened the door and slid in. Juan followed suit and slammed his door.

  “Okay, we are taking the shortest route there. We don’t do anything fancy unless we have to. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Promise me.”

  Jenni gave him a petulant look. “I promise.”

  Juan rolled his eyes and started the truck.

  Jenni settled back in her seat and rested her rifle across her knees. Before they left, Mike had briefed them on procedures. They were to stick together at all times. At the first sign of more than one or two zombies, they were to run for safety. If possible, they were to get to a safe position and take out the zombies. Juan and Jenni had done well together during their training and felt confident.

  Jenni watched the buildings gliding by her window. Many of the businesses were shut down, their fronts boarded up.

  “The town was dying,” she said.

  “Pretty much dead,” Juan agreed. “A local developer came in and sold the city council on a big plan to revive it. In the old days, the hotel was actually a prime spot for the Hollywood stars to come and relax and go hunting out in the hills. We’re talking early 1920s—not even talkies, but silent films. The developer was going to tap into that and raise up a little bit of old Hollywood here. Even had others interested in buying up stores and making them into retro-style diners and stuff. The big clincher was that the guy was lobbying to get gambling legalized in the county. It was a crazy idea, but the guy has … had … money.” Juan shrugged. “I thought it sounded like a load of shit, but it gave a lot of us jobs.”

  The truck turned down a residential road and they both tensed. There was more of a chance of finding the undead in this area than in the mostly shuttered downtown. Juan swerved around a bike in the middle of the road, dried blood and guts clinging to its frame.

  “Fucked-up world,” he said.

  “Yeah.”

  Jenni glanced into the large picture window of a house as they passed. A woman and little boy stood inside, beating on the window. Neither one was alive. “There are some trapped in these houses.”

  “And wandering outside,” Juan said. The truck bounced as they ran over a legless zombie, smashing in its skull and killing it.

  Jenni snickered. “Pop goes the weasel.”

  “Yer a sick chica,” Juan said, but his voice seemed to be tinged with appreciation.

  “Yep. Pretty much.” She flashed her biggest smile at him.

  “Too bad yer gay. I might actually ask your sick ass out.”

  Jenni rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. I’m so not gay.”

  “Ah, c’mon. Everyone knows about you and Katie.” Juan made a really obscene action.

  Jenni flipped him off. “Not gay.”

  “Yep.”

  “Nope.”

  “Yep.”

  “Nope.”

  “Yep.”

  “Love the penis, I assure you,” Jenni asserted, and wagged an eyebrow.

  Juan nearly drove into a car. “Shit, girl!”

  “I do! I was a married woman! I love men.”

  “So you and Katie aren’t—?” Juan made another obscene gesture, and Jenni smacked him.

  “No!”

  “Oh.” He sounded rather disappointed.

  “I kinda like Travis, honestly.”

  Juan blinked. “Yeah?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Oh, I thin
k he’s got a hard-on for your former girlfriend.”

  Jenni blinked. “Huh?”

  “Yeah. Though I’m sure he thinks you are a fine piece of ass. Loca, but fine.”

  Jenni frowned a little. “Katie is gay. She’s the gay one.”

  Juan shrugged. “Travis just … he’s always confused about women. You should go for him. He’d enjoy your locaness.”

  Jenni smacked Juan again. “Get out! Really?” She smiled at the thought of being even a little alluring to Travis.

  “Yeah. Stop hitting me, I’m driving.”

  “Oh, yeah.” Jenni was beaming now. “Well, Katie is gay, so maybe he’ll look my way. I need makeup. And a cute top.” Jenni glanced down a side street as they passed by. “Think we’ll get to kill zombies?”

  “Your mind just goes all over the place, doesn’t it?”

  “Pretty much.”

  Juan pulled into the nearly empty parking lot of what had probably been a very modern building in the ’70s, but could now be safely classified as an atrocity of architecture. Across the street was a nice park. There were no houses nearby, so it was easy to look around and see that the area was pretty clear of danger. There were only two cars in the lot and both seemed empty.

  “Just keep smart, Loca.”

  Jenni rolled her eyes as she slid out of the truck. She flicked the safety off her rifle and walked slowly toward the library’s main entrance.

  Their first obstacle was soon in plain view. The library had a set of glass double doors with a small foyer between them. Trapped in the entryway was an old man, dead, hungry, and beating on the interior door. It was kind of funny that he still clung to his library book.

  “He wants in,” Jenni observed.

  “Possible survivors?”

  “That’s what I’m thinking.”

  Juan strode over and peered past the old man. “Can’t see anything but a card catalog up against the door.”

  “Survivors, then.”

  “Maybe. If they had food.”

  The old man became aware of them and instantly started banging on the door to the outside. Surprisingly, it wasn’t locked and slowly opened under his weight.

  “Shit,” Juan gasped.

  “Fuck.” Jenni raised her rifle.

  “Shoot it, Loca.”

  Jenni waited until the zombie managed to stagger outside before firing, neatly taking off the top of his head and shattering the glass door behind him. “Got him!”

  Juan looked down at the zombie’s book. “ Better Sex after Sixty,” he read.

  “No!”

  “Yeah.”

  Jenni checked out the title of the book and broke into wild laughter. “Oh, shit. That is funny. He probably got here early to turn it in before his buddies saw him.”

  They became aware of three anxious faces looking at them over the top of the card catalog. They were a little drawn and pinched, but alive. The heavy piece of library furniture was pushed out of the way, and a woman unlocked the inner door.

  “Oh, thank God! Juan!”

  “Belinda!”

  Juan hugged the woman tightly and slipped into the library. “Everyone okay?”

  Jenni sized up Belinda. She had long black hair, amber eyes, and a tiny frame. She was obviously Hispanic and very pretty. The other woman was older, blond, and very short and stout. The third person was a young teenage girl with red hair and a spray of freckles across her nose.

  “Thank God someone came for us!” the blond woman cried.

  “Gretchen, good to see you alive,” Juan said.

  “Same here, Juan,” she replied.

  Belinda locked the door behind them. “We’ve been here since it started.”

  “We were almost out of food,” the teenager said.

  “We’re here now,” Jenni said with a smile. “We’ll get you somewhere safe.”

  “Thank Jesus. We’ve been eating snacks out of the vending machines. We’re almost out,” said Gretchen.

  “Mr. Marsters showed up with a bad bite. He said someone bit him as he was stopped at a stoplight. We tried to help him, but he died,” Belinda explained.

  “We had already heard about them coming back and so we were carrying him outside when…,” Gretchen continued.

  “We almost didn’t get away from him. He tripped and fell and we managed to lock the door,” Belinda finished.

  Jenni studied her a bit longer. She was fairly sure that librarians were not supposed to be attractive or sexy. She felt uneasy around her, but wasn’t sure why.

  Juan quickly described the fort and all they had endured. Gretchen kept clasping and unclasping her hands and saying, “Dear sweet Jesus.” The teenager just seemed dazed. Belinda kept hugging Juan, which really annoyed Jenni, much to her surprise.

  Jenni wasn’t sure she liked any of them. But then again, Jenni had never really had any real relationships with any women other than members of her family and, now, Katie. It annoyed her to feel her past insecurity returning. She had often felt awkward around women who seemed prettier or more intelligent than she was. Belinda reminded her of all the girls she had envied growing up, and she struggled to get a rein on her feelings.

  Juan finished his account by clarifying why they had come to the library. Belinda straightened, wiped the tears from her eyes, and said, “Okay. Give us the list.”

  Juan rummaged around in the pocket of his worn jeans and pulled it out.

  Belinda took it and quickly scanned it. “Okay, we’ll divide it up, load up the book carts, and get out of here.”

  Jenni tried not to frown at her. Who had put her in charge? She knew it! Belinda was just like those popular girls who always bossed everyone around. Struggling to contain her growing dislike, Jenni listened to her new assignment. She trudged along behind Gretchen, pushing a book cart that was soon loaded with what looked like a lot of really boring books. Juan went with Belinda while the teenager, Darcy, collected all the remaining candy from the vending machine.

  Jenni was almost disappointed when they went back to the truck and there were no zombies in sight. She was feeling edgy and irritable and wanted to shoot something. Somehow, they all squeezed into the truck. Belinda sat next to Juan with the teenager on her lap. Gretchen squeezed in next, and Jenni ended up crammed in almost on top of Gretchen.

  The trip back was even more boring than the trip out. She saw more zombies trapped in houses, but none broke out. She thought of Mikey, sighed, and felt even more like shooting stuff.

  Back at the fort, the newcomers were helped into the construction site while Juan loaded the pallet Travis had built with books, and Jenni and others stood watch.

  Finally, she went over the wall, Juan behind her.

  “Well, Loca, we’re safe and sound.”

  “Big fucking deal.”

  Juan looked at her and frowned. “What?”

  Jenni wrinkled her nose at him.

  “What?” he repeated.

  “I didn’t get to kill anything on the way back!”

  Juan started to laugh. “Yeah, but you’re back and okay. So you can go flirt with Travis.”

  Jenni considered this option, but it didn’t seem quite as alluring as before. “Oh, yeah. I guess I could.”

  “Time to come out of the straight closet, chica.” Juan mussed her hair with one hand and strode off to join Belinda.

  Jenni scowled after him.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  1.

  The Terrible World

  Jenni walked out through the new gate cautiously, her rifle in her hands, safety off. Bill walked with her, sweeping his gaze over the abandoned street. Curtis was right behind them, looking very edgy. This was his first time out of the fort, and he was sweating profusely.

  Jenni had been asked to accompany the former cops on a search and rescue expedition. Either Juan had talked up her skills and craziness to grandiose proportions or her actions in the fort had made her seem crazy yet competent. Maybe both. It amused her that they wanted her to tag al
ong, probably because they knew she had no issue about killing zombies. Unfortunately, there were those who were reluctant to kill their former friends and neighbors. On one rescue mission already, someone’s aversion to killing his zombified grandmother had resulted in a death.

  The construction workers attempted to shut the gate behind them. There were a lot of teeth-jarring screeches and a lot of swearing. Juan had told Jenni that there were some issues with the gate, and obviously this was true. Hopefully, they would have it fixed by the time the three rescuers got back.

  Despite her efforts not to be perturbed, Jenni was having trouble dealing with Juan. It was all about Belinda, and she hated that the woman bothered her so much. She suspected that Juan’s real reason for the library excursion was to save Belinda. Of course, she had no proof of this. Since Belinda arrived, Juan had been acting like a total idiot, trying to be all smooth and sophisticated. If Jenni even tried to pop a joke in his direction, he’d get annoyed. Though she was utterly loath to admit it, she missed their banter. She tried flirting with Travis to make herself feel better, but that had fallen flat. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her, but she always felt better when she was working on something useful.

  She strode quickly toward the minibus they had collected from the school to use for rescue missions over the past few weeks. The fort’s population was growing, and the ratio of men to women was slowly evening out. There were at least a half dozen children in the fort now, and Peggy’s son had plenty of other kids to play with. At times, Jenni felt upset by their presence. It was hard to see other children alive and well when hers had died so quickly.

  Fate was a bitch. It had been cruel to so many and spared others for no apparent reason.

  “Keep it short and sweet,” Bill instructed.

  “We’re going to stir up the captive ones again,” Curtis groaned.

  “Let them bust out. If we shoot them, we won’t have to deal with them later,” Jenni said with a grin.

  Bill shook his head. “Such a bloodthirsty woman. You PMSing again, Jenni?”

  Pushing open the door to the minibus, Jenni turned to the two men. “Yeah. Be afraid, be very afraid.”

  Curtis legitimately looked a little afraid, but Bill just laughed and lugged his girth into the driver’s seat. Warily, Curtis slid past Jenni and sat in the front passenger seat. “Juan tells stories about you.”