As The World Dies: The First Days-A Zombie Trilogy Page 27

  Of course it was complicated enough because Katie was gay. She felt pretty bad that Travis was setting himself up for a world of hurt.

  Of course, Juan was feeling that hurt all too clearly right now.

  "Juan?"

  "Loca, I'm not in the mood," Juan answered briskly as he headed down into the fort.

  "I was just going to say how sorry-"

  Juan turned toward her, pointing at her with a fierce look on his face. "Don't."

  Jenni nodded. "Okay."

  Juan turned on the very muddy, gory heels of his cowboy boots and headed straight for the city hall. Peggy was there talking to the two newcomers. Curtis was there as well. Things already looked strained and heated and Juan marched right up to the young man and punched him square in his greasy face.

  "Whoa, Juan!"

  Curtis grabbed Juan and Jenni quickly stepped forward just in case the spaced out looking girl did anything. But she only stood there; looking mildly bemused by it all, swaying back and forth.

  The boy slowly rose up, fastened his eyes on Juan and just said, "That hurt."

  "You went into the fucking clinic!"

  "Hey, we were in need of…medicinal treatment," the boy answered.

  His eyes were so red they looked as if the blood vessels had ruptured in them and his skin looked clammy. Jenni realized the reason for all the anger. She was looking at two very strung out young people who had probably gone into the clinic looking for their next high.

  "Meth is not medicine, fucker," Juan spat furiously, trying to squirm away from Curtis.

  Peggy looked at Jenni and whispered, "You're looking at the local crystal meth dealer."

  Jenni nodded and frowned a bit more. "I think we may need Bill, too."

  Peggy looked at Curtis, who looked far too young and nervous. "You're right." She rushed off to find Bill.

  "Where's the rest of your posse, huh? Where are they?" Juan's voice was close to fury.

  "Dead, dude. It was bad. Real bad," the boy answered.

  The girl began to giggle.

  Curtis pushed Juan behind him. "Ritchie, you went to the clinic for drugs and you got your friends eaten, huh?"

  Ritchie frowned and shook his head. "It's not like that, man. We needed medicine. Carrie got bit and we needed medicine."

  Everyone immediately looked at the girl. She was busy staring at outdoor light bulb over Curtis' head.

  "Those things kept trying to get into the 7-11 we were shacking up in. It got real crazy."

  "Which 7-11?" Curtis raised an eyebrow.

  "You know, the one over by the McGee place. There was a lot of those things there."

  The girl giggled again, swaying on her feet, and covered her mouth with her hand. There was a distinct bite visible. It was swollen and puss filled.

  Jenni put her hand on Juan's arm, trying to calm him. But Juan was nowhere near calm when he said, "Yeah, so how did you get out? Where is Sergio?"

  Ritchie rolled his eyes and laughed. "Yeah, well. We drew straws and someone lost and that someone had to run out the side door and draw them away."

  Juan looked ready to punch him again. "Was it Sergio? Did you make my cousin do it?"

  Ritchie thought this over before answering. "No, no. It was…um...that Freddie guy."

  Curtis was looking a bit more pissed off than Jenni had ever seen him. "So you just made one of your guys run out there so you guys could escape?"

  "Yeah, pretty much. Then we got to the clinic, walked in, and things were fucked up in there, too. That's where Sergio got it. That was fucking sick, dude. They just grabbed him and went at it!"

  Jenni grabbed onto Juan's arm as his fist went sailing forward. The momentum sent her tumbling into Ritchie. Jenni was grossed out by the sheer reek of the boy and scrambled quickly away from him as he fell flat on his ass. Juan was already lunging toward him, shouting angrily in Spanish. Jenni flung herself at him and he grabbed onto her to shove her aside.

  "Loca, out of my way!"

  "It's not worth it!"

  "I'm gonna kill that sonnofabitch!"

  Curtis motioned to the boy to stay on the ground to keep him away from Juan. "We need to calm down now, Juan."

  "He killed my cousin! We all knew he was a good for nothing lowlife corrupting the kids of this town with his homemade shit! Now he has gone and gotten Sergio killed and you want me to fucking calm down?"

  Jenni kept her hands pressed firmly to Juan's chest. "Juan, Juan, please."

  "No, Jenni, he's a fucking murderer and we're letting him get away with it."

  The girl took this moment to throw up all over Jenni. She staggered back and fell against the wall.

  "Shit, that's gross," Ritchie decided.

  Jenni was beyond grossed out and unbuttoned her blouse and threw it off her. "Oh, shit! Gawd! Gross! Ugh!"

  Juan seemed to forget his anger and yanked off his T-shirt and started to wipe the muck off her hair and face. "Man, Loca…"

  Curtis looked down at the girl who was now having convulsions on the ground. "Shit." He drew his gun slowly. "Shit."

  Jenni turned around just as the girl's eyes rolled back into her head.

  "Curtis!"

  Ritchie was still on the ground, wasted, laughing, and not making much sense.

  "If she bites him…" Curtis started.

  "Fucking shoot her!"

  The girl's pupils suddenly came back into view, but they were glassy and quite dead. She opened her mouth and let out a growl that sent chills down Jenni's back.

  "Shoot her!"

  Curtis hesitated.

  Juan didn't. He took his good ol' boy shitkickers to the girl’s head, heel first and slammed her head sideways into the brick wall beside her and kept kicking until her head was mush.

  Curtis looked stunned and Jenni just lifted an eyebrow.

  Juan looked down at his bloodied boots and gore splattered jeans then at Jenni. "C'mon, Loca. We need a shower."

  Curtis hesitated, then grabbed Ritchie. "I'm locking him up."

  "Check him for bites, man," Juan said numbly. The anger had gone out of him. He reached out to Jenni and she took his hand.

  Bill was walking toward them, looking very cop-ish. "I'll help out."

  Juan nodded and walked quietly toward the city hall. Jenni followed, glancing back at the young man, who was really not much of a man at all, but mostly boy. The drug dealer was still giggling to himself with his now very dead girlfriend's body slumped beside him.

  "If we had let her bite him, we wouldn't have to deal with him," Curtis said to Bill.

  Bill just shrugged. "Not for us to decide, Curtis."

  "Yeah,” Curtis reluctantly agreed. “Yeah. You’re right.”

  Juan drew Jenni into the narrow hall that lead to the janitor's shower everyone in the fort used. It was in the back of the janitor's office and clipboard hung from a rusty nail with a sign in sheet and schedule attached to it. Billie Jo, one of the older women that had been rescued a few days before, was just emerging in a bright blue bathrobe. She blushed deeply and hurried past them. Another man, one Jenni didn't know, was waiting to go next, saw their condition and didn't complain as Juan pulled her into the janitor's office

  "I'm really sorry about your cousin," Jenni said softly.

  Juan walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. "It doesn't matter now."

  Jenni sighed. "Yeah, but he was your family."

  "Yeah, and he's dead and that fucker Ritchie is still alive. There really isn't much justice in this world." He grabbed hold of her and shoved her, completely clothed under the water and got in with her.

  Jenni tilted her head back to let the water flow over her and get all the disgusting vomit off her. Juan took off his hat and tossed it to the floor. He rested his hands on the ugly green tiled wall on either side of her and rested his forehead against hers.

  "Loca, I'm losing it."

  "No, you're not."

  "Yes, I am. I can't do this."

  "Do what?"r />
  "Make it safe for all of us and keep my head together," Juan's voice was ragged, overwhelmed.

  "You're doing a good job. The gate closed tonight when it needed to."

  "But too slow. They almost got in. We can't afford fuckups. And all because of that fucker that got my cousin and his drugged out buddies killed."

  Jenni's clothes were now quite soaked and the lukewarm water was going cold very fast. "We could throw him to the zombies."

  "Don't tempt me. I might." Juan sighed and watched the blood and gore slowly rinsing off his very beat up boots. "Help me, Loca, okay?"

  "Okay. But I'm not sure how."

  "Let's get a bottle of tequila from storage and go up to the roof. I want to get fucking drunk and I trust you to watch my back."

  "Okay." Jenni ran a hand over her hair and found it muck free. Grabbing the almost empty bottle of shampoo, she dumped some on her head and began to wash it. "But I need clean hair first."

  Juan laughed and pushed her hands away. He lathered up her hair, making horns at one point, amusing himself.

  Giggling, she let him and smiled up at him. It felt good to have him back after his puppy dog antics with Belinda. She was glad he hadn't mentioned that situation. Belinda had annoyed her from day one and Jenni was sure she wasn't good enough for Juan.

  Rinsing off her hair, Juan made sure to cover up her face with it. "You look better this way, Loca."

  "I'm so gonna kick your ass."

  Juan laughed and stepped out of the shower, rinsed off and looking a little better. Jenni followed and looked down at herself. Her tank top was very wet and not much was left to the imagination. Suddenly she felt the sexual tension in the room explode. Looking up, she saw Juan staring at her and suddenly things felt very different between them. She had a good idea from the look in his eyes that she looked very tasty in that moment.

  "Wanna fuck?" Jenni asked half-joking, looking him straight in the eye.

  "Later. After the tequila," Juan answered softly, looking a little dazed.

  "Okay. Meet you up there in twenty," Jenni answered with a smile and walked past him out of the room.

  She felt Juan watching her, then heard the guy waiting for his turn in the shower say, "If I had been in there with her, I wouldn't be out already."

  "Was she always that hot?" Juan asked, confused.

  "Pretty sure she was," was the answer.

  Jenni grinned to herself and ran up to her room.

  Chapter 20

  1. Dead Man’s Party

  Jenni changed into a pale green tank top and jeans and ran up the stairs to the roof. To her surprise, there were already quite a few people up there, including her son, who sat in a circle of teenagers. There were only five of them, two boys and three girls, but for the first time in awhile, he was smiling. The ever faithful Jack was at his side, smiling a doggy grin, and the kids were drinking warm colas and listening to a CD player someone must have snagged on a supply run.

  "Hey, Mom!" Jason smiled at her and got up to hug her. "Is it cool if I camp up here with the rest of the kids tonight?"

  "Yeah, sure," she answered, and eyed the pretty new brunette she had saved earlier today. The girl's haunted eyes were less red and she seemed comforted by the companionship of other teenagers.

  "We're trying to cheer up Shelley. Her Mom and little sis got killed today before she was rescued," Jason explained.

  "I totally get it," Jenni assured him, smiling. She was slowly starting to panic over Juan arriving with Jason standing there beaming. He looked so happy; she didn't want his smile to disappear.

  But then it abruptly did and Jenni turned around worriedly wondering how to make Juan recognize he needed to be low-key.

  But it was Travis and Katie that were walking onto the roof, both talking softly, not touching, but looking somehow intertwined. Jenni felt a pang of jealousy and frowned a little. She didn't care if Travis was in love with Katie. But Katie was close to her, not Travis.

  Katie looked up and smiled at Jenni. Walking up, she hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek and Jenni clung to her and felt better. The world was so cruel right now; she did not want to lose anything dear to her.

  Travis set a huge pack of beer down on the ground as Mike and a few other workers also appeared on the roof. Curtis came up last holding a bag of candles in one arm and some bags of chips in the other.

  "It's turning into a party," Jenni said with a laugh.

  "We need one after this day," Travis answered.

  More people were arriving, including the Mayor and Bill. There was a flurry of activity as folding chairs were brought up and some tables. More people spilled onto the roof, talking animatedly, shaking off the fear of the earlier attack. In the distance, the moans of the zombies still clawing at the gate could be heard, but everyone seemed determined to ignore it.

  Soon, candles were burning in little jars set up along the edges of the roof and people milled around, drinking beer and soda, talking and relaxing. There was a sense of relief among the people that could not be easily denied. Once more, disaster had been averted.

  Jenni hung out with Katie for a few minutes, her arms around her waist, talking to her softly.

  "You look sad," Jenni said.

  "Overwhelmed, that's all. Tomorrow we're going to start to get ready to go into the hotel."

  Jenni glanced toward Travis. He was busy talking to the teenagers and Jason watched him with the type of scrutiny only a teenager could achieve.

  "What about him?"

  Katie shrugged. "He's my friend."

  "And?"

  "Jenni, you know." Katie looked at her sadly.

  Jenni frowned a little more. "Look, I know you're into chicks, but maybe you could-okay, that was just dumb of me."

  Katie laughed and hugged her tighter. "I just need time. Even if he was the hottest woman in the world, I couldn't. I need to just deal in my own way."

  "You miss her terribly, don't you?"

  Katie nodded and smiled sadly. "More than I can bear at times."

  Juan literally tripped onto the rooftop. His boot had snagged on one of the electric cords being run up to power the stereo. He looked around confused. His gaze settled on Jenni and he wandered toward her trying far too hard to look nonchalant as he held one of the biggest bottles of tequila she had ever seen. In his other hand were two shot glasses.

  Katie looked at Jenni, lifted both eyebrows and said, "I thought you had a thing for Travis?"

  Jenni grinned and looked coy. "A girl can change her mind."

  Katie laughed and shook her head. "Gawd, I've been a fool."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Nothing. Go have fun."

  Jenni grabbed Katie close, kissed her hard on the cheek, grinned, and walked over to Juan. Jenni knew she was turning it on sufficiently when several of the guys turned to watch her strut by. Juan still had a little bit of a dazed look on his face, but he did smile when she drew near.

  There are times in life when pretense is just bullshit and a waste of time. Juan and Jenni hung out about ten minutes at the party before they disappeared downstairs as more people showed up on the roof. Holding Juan's roughened hand in her own, Jenni dragged him down to the janitor's room. Grabbing the clipboard, she scribbled, "Out of Order" on it.

  "Loca," Juan said with a laugh.

  "Shut up," she answered and shoved him inside.

  He managed to put the still closed bottle of tequila on the desk before Jenni was on him. She had already made up her mind that he was hers, at least for tonight, and she claimed him with burning kisses as she seductively wrapped herself around him.

  "You're loca, Loca," he said with a satisfied grin as she pulled his clothes from his body.

  "Yeah, you keep saying that. It's about time you experience it," she answered coyly.

  Fire and water, heat and passion, desperation and perhaps something more, fueled their lovemaking. Jenni felt no fear as only the second man she had ever been with willingly in her entire
life lifted her into his arms and pressed her naked back against the cool shower tiles and slid himself into her. She tangled her hands in his wet hair and kissed him deeply as the nightmare world they lived in faded to the dim edges of her reality. Only she and Juan existed and it was perfect.

  Later on, in a tangle of limbs, she laughed as he growled into her neck and called her Loca in a way that meant the world to her and it was perfect.

  Katie watched Juan and Jenni disappear off the roof and turned to Travis. They were sitting side by side on the edge of the roof. Travis looked back at her and raised his eyebrows. Katie slightly laughed and ran a hand over her hair.

  "I've been really oblivious to some things, evidently," she said.

  "Well, at least now I won't have to worry about you fixing me up with her," Travis answered with a wink.

  Katie elbowed him lightly and took another swig of her beer. The mood was surprisingly relaxed considering that a small crowd of zombies was gathered outside of the gate. Of course, no one really wanted to deal with them tonight. There was a desperate weariness about their little party. People were tired of the zombies and tired of the siege. In the time period they had been able to go out on scrounging parties to bring back supplies and survivors, there had been almost a sense of normality. And now the zombies were back and people just wanted to forget how trapped they truly were.

  Looking toward Jason, Katie saw he was talking intently with the other teenagers and now a few pre-teens. They were drinking soda and eating chips and once in awhile, Jason would laugh or smile. That was very good to see and Katie was sure he had not seen his stepmother disappear with Juan.

  Travis rubbed the back of her neck with one hand gently and she glanced toward him. He gave her that sad-eyed smile that made her heart ache for him. So she did the only thing she could think of. She crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at him. Laughing, he drew his hand away and leaned toward her.

  "You know, it’s little things like that which make me think there is so much more to you than meets the eye," Travis said.