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

by Frater, Rhiannon

  When he paused for breath, someone in the ballroom shouted, “It’s suicide to go out in those trucks!”

  “It’s volunteer only,” Travis responded, abandoning his planned speech.

  “And if no one volunteers?” a man asked.

  “I’ll go,” Bette said, standing up, her expression somber.

  Next to Bette, Monica got to her feet instantly. “I’ll go with her.”

  “Count me in,” Bill said as Curtis scowled angrily at Monica from Bill’s other side.

  “Me, too,” Katarina said, resting her hand on Bill’s shoulder.

  Mary West stood. A dour woman with a pinched mouth, she was the leader of the self-styled Baptist Coalition. Her blue skirt and pale blouse were heavily starched and very neat. Her hair was swept into a chignon on top of her head, and Travis thought she looked a little like Peggy from King of the Hill.

  Travis felt his pulse quicken slightly as he acknowledged her with a brief nod.

  She spoke calmly, loud enough to be heard over the murmuring crowd. “Your plans are for naught. The sins of this fort have offended God, and as He passed judgment on the earth, He will pass judgment on the fort.” The nodding heads around her and the chorus of amens made Travis feel cold inside.

  “Many of us feel that God has brought us here to begin anew,” Reverend Thomas responded swiftly. “He has shown us grace in our time of need.”

  Mary’s tight smile had no mirth or kindness to it. “You have fallen away, Pastor, and your congregation is full of fornicators, idolaters, and homosexuals.”

  “Hey,” Ken cried out, jumping to his feet. “Hey, I’m a Christian, too!”

  “A homosexual cannot be a Christian,” Mary responded coolly.

  “I love Jesus!” Ken shouted. “I read the Bible. You can’t tell me that I’m not a Christian!”

  “An unrepentant sinner cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven,” Mary bitingly answered. “This fort will fall, for sin runs rampant between its walls.” She pointed at Bette and Monica. “Lesbians and gays in open displays of affection.” She pointed at Travis and Katie. “Children born out of wedlock.”

  “We’re married!” Katie protested.

  With a cold look at Reverend Thomas, Mary answered, “Are you, really? By a holy man of God?”

  “Oh, that is going too far,” Yolanda said sharply as she rose to her feet. “Just because we may not believe as you do—”

  “Catholics! Worshiping idols,” Mary said dismissively.

  “That’s a tribute to those who fell,” Juan snapped. “It’s Jesus’ mother, for God’s sake.”

  “Taking the Lord’s name in vain. Is it any wonder that God has sent this horde of demons to destroy you?”

  Travis took a breath to steady his temper. Voices were rising in anger and frustration.

  “If we die, you die with us!” Ken shouted.

  “We must repent and throw out the fornicators, adulterers, idolaters, and homosexuals. Then God will deliver us.” Mary’s confidence was impressive yet disturbing.

  To Travis’s dismay, more than thirty people rose in support, calling out, “Amen!”

  2.

  Trouble in Paradise

  Horrified silence filled the room for a long moment.

  “Look, I don’t agree with gay people or what they do. I think it’s wrong,” Peggy said loudly, getting to her feet. “I think it’s a sin, just like you do.” Travis saw Katie stiffen in shock at Peggy’s betrayal. “But I don’t believe in putting anyone outside these walls just because we don’t like how they live!” The former city secretary’s voice trembled with emotion. “Death is outside those walls, and even if we don’t all agree on what’s right and what’s wrong, we all got a right to live! It was bad enough when we had Blanche and her people tossing people over the wall, being vigilantes. We can’t let that happen again.”

  “How do we know Blanche was the Vigilante? Maybe it was her!” Ken said, pointing an accusing finger at Mary.

  “God is going to smite you, sinner!” Mary snapped at Ken.

  “God is a God of love, not hate!” Reverend Thomas intoned. “You have no right to put words of hate in His mouth.”

  Mary’s face was full of cold fury. “Jesus will judge you harshly for leading His people astray.”

  “Well,” Bill’s big, booming voice rang out. He adjusted his belt around his diminishing beer belly and fastened his eyes on Mary. “As a good Southern Baptist boy, son of a minister, and former summer missionary, I gotta say I don’t remember Jesus saying anything about being so damn hateful.”

  “Fornicator! You have a serpent’s tongue,” Mary shot back.

  Katarina’s face was as red as her hair. “Bill and I have not had sex! We’re waiting until we get married!”

  “Lying harlot,” Mary snapped.

  “That is enough,” Travis said loudly into the microphone. “You have no right to judge anyone here. Didn’t Jesus say, ‘Judge not lest ye be judged’?” His voice was stern.

  Mary lifted her chin and her eyes narrowed. “A sinner needs correction.”

  “Jesus said to love one another,” someone called out.

  “The devil himself turned the Scripture to his purposes,” Mary hissed.

  “Is that where you learned it from?” Ken asked smartly.

  Laughter rang through the room.

  “We will not stay and be slaughtered with the sinners!”

  “Then leave,” Kevin said. He’d moved forward to stand next to Travis. His voice was calm, but his eyes glittered with distaste. “Take your followers and leave. We won’t hold anyone against their will.”

  “Agreed,” Nerit said, joining the men at the front of the room.

  “Your sin will be your downfall!” Mary shrieked harshly, beginning to lose control as the resistance in the room became clear.

  “If that happens, it will be by our choice,” Travis replied. “What is yours? Are you staying or going?”

  Mary clenched her hands at her sides. Around her, the rest of the Baptist Coalition shifted about uneasily, their faces reflecting uncertainty.

  “We will not stay and be judged with the fornicators, idolaters, and pagans,” Mary said firmly.

  “Fine,” Bill said. “We can give them some supplies and a few vehicles, can’t we?”

  “I don’t see why not,” Nerit said calmly.

  “Any objections?” Travis asked. Now that most of the fort had sided against the extremists, he felt the situation was a little more under control.

  There were no objections.

  “We will leave immediately,” Mary said, and led her group out of the room.

  Kevin gestured to Arnold and Bette, who hurried after the group. “Better keep an eye on them,” he whispered to Travis.

  It took a few minutes for everyone to settle down. While calm returned, Juan helped set up the large maps and posters the council had prepared. His three little ones never took their eyes off him.

  When everything was ready, Travis said, “This fort is about life. It’s about a new beginning, about building a new world out of the old and not making the same mistakes. We may not always get along or share the same opinions, but we gotta respect one another or we’re going to end up destroying everything we have achieved.

  “I am not a perfect man. I fall short of the mark a lot. But I believe in a God who will honor those who work hard to do what is best for everyone. I think He … or She … whatever you believe God is … has been helping us. I’m not a highly religious man, I admit to that, but I believe in the goodness of the human heart and the integrity of the human spirit. And I think God does, too.”

  Tears stung his eyes as he finished and he took a deep breath as applause filled his ears. Katie was smiling proudly and he felt himself blushing.

  “I’m going to turn this over to Kevin now,” Travis said, relinquishing the podium to the first lieutenant.

  The handsome soldier stepped forward and began, “Now, this is what we have to do. …”
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  3.

  The Unexpected Guest

  Nerit felt bone weary as she entered the small hotel room that she now called home. Tucker, her old dog, was asleep next to the bed, snoring loudly. Kevin lingered in the doorway, watching her with visible concern. It had been difficult to hide her limp today.

  When she was in public, she made sure that no one witnessed how much her arthritic hip hurt. It was important to her that people see her as indestructible, to trust in her and her abilities.

  “You need pain meds,” Kevin said after a beat.

  “Those are for dire injuries, not old bones,” Nerit answered as she eased herself into the large recliner tucked into the corner of the room. Relaxing a bit, she exhaled slowly.

  Leaning against the open door, Kevin smiled wryly. “You’re a bullheaded woman.”

  “Yes, I am.” Nerit smiled.

  Tucker woke up, tottered over to her, and laid his head on her knee. Scratching him behind the ears, Nerit relaxed farther into the chair.

  Kevin stepped into the room and the door shut behind him. “Makes it hard to take care of you.”

  “You don’t have to watch over me.”

  “I know, but it makes me feel better,” Kevin responded. Despite herself, Nerit appreciated the care she noticed in his green eyes. “Think the fort took the news well?”

  “As well as could be expected.”

  Kevin was silent, his expression thoughtful. He seemed about to say something, but appeared to reconsider. He hesitated, then leaned over to kiss her on the cheek before retreating to the door. “Good night, Nerit.”

  “Good night, Kevin.”

  She watched him walk out, his shoulders slumped. She reached for a pack of cigarettes, then retired to her smoking chair by the window. She didn’t have a fancy balcony, so if she wanted to smoke, she had to open the window. Having slid back the glass, she eased onto the simple wooden chair with a small grunt.

  Lighting up, she felt her sore muscles protesting. Exhaling slowly, she rested her forehead against her hand and gazed into the silent courtyard below.

  “Strange things happening since the dead all stood up,” Ralph’s voice said.

  Turning, Nerit saw her deceased husband sitting in the recliner, one hand stroking Tucker’s floppy ears.

  “Things are all messed up now,” he continued, looking straight at her. “Nothing’s right no more.”

  “Ralph!”

  “Crossing over ain’t hard, for now,” Ralph said. “You look real pretty, Nerit. I like yer hair.”

  “Ralph, why are you here?”

  With another familiar, crooked little smile, he said, “Came to take you home with me.”

  “Ralph, no!” She stood up sharply, the cigarette falling from her hand. “I have too much to do here!”

  Slowly standing up, Ralph reached out to her. “Honey, I know. You’re a good woman and a good soldier. You were supposed to go when I did, but you’re too damn stubborn.”

  For the first time in her life, Nerit feared her husband. She was not ready to move on. “Ralph, please, I’m not done here.”

  He embraced her gently. He felt like real flesh and blood, but she knew he could not be. “I know, but you’re sicker than you think, Nerit. You got the bone cancer. That’s why you’re hurting so bad.”

  Nerit clung to her husband, feeling the roughness of his shirt and firmness of his grip. “Ralph, if you can ask for me, please…”

  Kissing her cheek, Ralph drew her closer. Nerit felt tears sliding down her cheeks. The old dog whined at her feet.

  “I miss you, Nerit. Is it so bad to have peace?”

  “But I won’t have peace, Ralph, knowing that these people need me. I won’t have peace unless I help them. Tell Him that for me.” She drew back to gaze into her dead husband’s warm, loving eyes. “Please.”

  “I love you, Nerit,” Ralph whispered, kissing her.

  Nerit felt a delicate pop in her head, as if someone had switched something off. Then she was falling, slipping from Ralph’s arms.

  She thought, Not now, as the world faded into comforting black.

  * * *

  Kevin had just started to open the door of his room when he had a strong urge to go back to check on Nerit. As a soldier, he’d learned to trust his instincts. When he reached Nerit’s door, he heard the mournful wail of her dog and the sound of something hitting the floor.

  Without a second thought, Kevin kicked in the door. Nerit was lying on the floor, a lamp overturned beside her. Tucker was licking her face and whining loudly. A cigarette lay smoldering on the carpet.

  Heart pounding, Kevin tossed the cigarette into the nearby ashtray, then knelt beside Nerit, who looked frail and young. The lines had been smoothed from her countenance, and her hair gleamed gold, not silver, in the light. He felt for a pulse in her wrist and found a faint beat.

  Grabbing the phone, he dialed down to the clinic. “Bette, it’s Kevin. Nerit has collapsed. She has a pulse. I’m bringing her down.” Before the startled nurse could answer, he hung up.

  Picking up Nerit’s surprisingly heavy form, he rushed toward the door, whispering fervent prayers all the way.

  4.

  Faith

  Travis walked briskly through the hotel lobby, looking for Bill. People were already signing up to defend the fort, taking on even the most dangerous tasks. He sensed their strong determination to defeat the oncoming undead army.

  In the midst of the commotion, the Baptist Coalition was getting ready to leave. Bill was overseeing their departure.

  “Okay,” Bill said as Travis found him in the lobby. “I’ve got them set up in the extra short bus. Put extra fuel in the back and just about anything I could think of that they might need, short-term. Long-term, they’re on their own.”

  “Did you give them something to use to siphon gas out of cars?” Travis asked.

  “Sure did, and plenty of MREs. Gave them hunting rifles and some spears.”

  “Sounds good,” Travis said approvingly.

  “They’re leaving tonight,” Bill continued. “I tried to get them to stay until morning, but they just want to go. It’s like they think God’s about to hurl lightning bolts down on us.”

  “Wasn’t that Zeus, not Jesus?” Travis said with a wry smile.

  “You know how Fundies are. Hellfire and brimstone, God is gonna getcha.”

  Travis sighed.

  Mary walked up to them. “Travis, I felt it best to give you one more chance to repent your sins and do what is right. Cleanse the fort and return to godly ways.”

  “If that means casting out the people you consider undesirable, I think I’ll stay with my sinner ways,” Travis stated.

  Mary’s face darkened. “A proud heart belongs to the fool,” she responded tersely.

  “Yeah,” Travis said, looking at her pointedly. “It does.”

  The elevator doors slid open. Travis gasped as he saw Kevin stumble out with Nerit limp in his arms.

  “God is already striking down the sinners,” Mary said with a vindictive gleam in her eye and a smug smile.

  “Get the hell out,” Travis snarled at her over his shoulder, already moving toward the clinic. Katie appeared out of the crowd, reaching for Travis’s hand. They were only steps behind Kevin.

  “What happened?” Katie asked.

  “I don’t know. I found her on the floor of her room,” the soldier answered.

  Bette was standing in the clinic doorway, waiting for them. “I called Charlotte. She’s on her way,” she said, guiding Kevin to an examination table. Switching into full nurse mode, Bette checked Nerit’s vital signs as Kevin stepped away.

  The door opened and Charlotte charged in.

  “All of you! Out! Go to the waiting room,” Charlotte ordered.

  Obediently, they filed into the adjoining room that served as a waiting area.

  “Oh, God, we can’t lose Nerit,” Katie whispered as she took a seat.

  Travis slid an arm over her shoulders
, feeling her body trembling. Kevin sank into a chair and buried his face in his hands.

  Reverend Thomas entered, his Bible clutched in one hand, his expression bewildered. “They’re saying Nerit is dying.”

  “We don’t know yet,” Kevin answered darkly.

  “Well, if you don’t mind, I would like to say a prayer.”

  “Thank you,” Katie said. “I think we would all find it a comfort.”

  The reverend joined hands with Katie and Kevin, as did Travis. With a voice full of warmth and faith, the reverend 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 Aren’t

  Juan crept into his hotel suite, hoping not to wake the children, but found them gathered around his mother and grandmother, clutching rosaries. The three little ones were in pajamas; Jason was still dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, with Jack asleep at his feet.

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

  “Why are you children still up?”

  “We’re praying for Nerit,” Margie answered, her hair falling around her face.

  “How is she, Dad?” Jason asked.

  “Coma, but no one knows why. Charlotte says she’s stable but critical.” He sat down on the sofa. Holly and Troy promptly climbed onto his lap. He cuddled them, sighing into Holly’s hair.

  “We’re asking God to make her well,” Margie said.

  “And Jesus, too,” Holly added.

  “And his mom,” Troy said in a soft voice. “I never prayed to Jesus’ mom before. Can we pray to my mom, too?”

  “I am sure your mama hears your every word,” Guadalupe assured Troy.

  “Does she?” Troy asked Juan, expecting the truth.

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

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  1.

  Good-byes

  Three shiny new Durangos were being checked over before the start of their mission. Curtis was watching from his post on the platform that straddled the wall between the hotel courtyard and the entry gates. Two days had passed since Nerit’s collapse, and she was no closer to life or death. Reverend Thomas was holding an around-the-clock prayer vigil for her. Curtis wondered if God was listening anymore.