Juan tried to give the man a reassuring look.
Eric looked toward Travis. The man gave him a firm nod before Eric turned to look at the Dollar Store. He seemed to come to some sort of peace about the situation and sighed.
“I'll let them know,” he said, and climbed down the ladder.
“You can't blame them, ” Juan said once Eric was down below and talking to the group.
“They weren't here to see this construction site get made into a walled-in fort. They weren't here, man. ”
Travis looked calm, but Juan could tell he was upset by the set of his jaw.
“We're just doing our best to keep them all safe and in sanitary conditions. We're damn lucky the power is still on. ”
“It's that new hydroelectric power station they built a few years back. I betcha anything. ”
“But for how long will it stay operational? ” Travis lifted his sunglasses, rubbing his eyes before setting them back into place.
“I guess it doesn't matter. Right now, we get a secure location for them while we go into the hotel, then we claim it, and go on from there. ”
“And hope the bandits don't show up, ” Juan added.
“Let ’s not even talk about those bastards right now. ”
Juan shrugged. He supposed now wasn't the time to talk about the marauders who killed Nerit's husband. There was fear that they were still more out there. It probably wasn't time to bring up the vigilante in the fort, the one who had thrown someone over the wall, bound and gagged with duct tape, to feed the zombies. Yeah, the victim was the local drug dealer and the scum of the earth, but someone had taken justice into their own hands. That fact put everyone on edge.
“Just another day in zombie land, ” Juan said with a wide grin.
“Gotta love it. ”
Travis chucked.
“Yeah, ain't it grand?”
2. Waiting
Despite herself, Katie slept a few more hours in the small room she shared with Nerit. When she awakened, Nerit was gone. Yawning, she pulled on her shoes and headed to the community dining room.
Katie poured more milk onto her cereal, staring at the watery milk filling in around the flakes. She was slowly getting used to the powdered milk. It didn't taste bad; it just looked off. Picking up her spoon, she dug into the corn flakes, wishing there were a banana to add.
The salvage team from the grocery store had brought back tons of food in cardboard boxes, cans, and bags, but the fruit had all gone bad.
Rosie, Juan's mother, had salvaged seeds from the rotten fruit to be planted in a garden she was planning with Peggy, the city secretary.
Katie hoped it was successful; she missed fruit desperately.
With a sigh, she reached out and picked up her small paper cup of vitamins that everyone was required to take in the morning. She downed it with orange juice made from a powdered mix.
Jenni crashed into the chair across from her. “We're heading in!”
“Huh?”
Jenni gulped down her vitamins dry. “Dollar Store. We're heading in. ” Jenni poured Fruit Loops into a bowl and reached for the pitcher of milk. “Travis says I can go in with Ed, Bill, and Felix. ”
Katie tried not to frown, but it came automatically.
“Oh, c'mon. You volunteered to go into the hotel. You and I have more experience with zombies than most of these guys. You know, from when we were out on the road. You so cannot get into my face for volunteering for this. It's probably empty!”
“I just worry,” Katie admitted.