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“No shit?”
“The vice president, who is now president, is holed up on the island with what remains of the cabinet and some surviving military higher ups. They blew the bridges up and secured the island.”
For a moment hope erupted in Emma’s chest. Maybe somehow the United States government could yet come through for the citizens of the country. Those thoughts were quashed by Juan’s downcast expression. It wasn’t comforting.
Noticing her questioning look, Juan continued. “We heard through the apocalypse grapevine that they’re dependent on survivor encampments on the coast for supplies. .”
As quickly as she’d felt hopeful, Emma was despondent. “We really are on our own then. Which proves my point.”
Juan grinned.
Emma arched an eyebrow. “What?”
“You said ‘we.’ I take it you’re starting to feel at home here.”
Despite her trauma and weariness, she grinned back at him. “Well, I haven’t been here too long. I’ve already had to kill a bunch of zombies, which is normal for me. So I guess I do fit in here.”
Juan nudged her shoulder with his fist. “I told you that you did. By the way, Nerit wants me to show you around before you head up to your room. She feels you’re a valuable resource and that you should get a lay of the land. That okay? You up for a tour?”
Though she was exhausted, Emma nodded. She would be more comfortable after learning the ins and outs of the Fort. It would be good to know the layout of her environment, especially where to hide if things went south.
6
Tours & News
The sun and humidity created a sweltering heat inside the garage where the Fort’s vehicles were housed and maintained. It was hotter than hell and reeked of grease, mold, and gasoline. Emma’s nose wrinkled at the stench. The walls were covered in old newspapers yellowed by time. The name of the extinct daily newspaper was painted over the garage entrance and an old punch clock hung by a door leading deeper into the building.
Juan was obviously proud of the cordoned off area where the Fort’s vehicles were stored, which was a center of activity as the crews from outside returned. While he chatted with a woman named Greta, who ran the garage, Emma drifted over to a hand-drawn map of the Fort. The people of the town had used available resources to quickly create a safe haven for themselves utilizing the arrangement of the buildings. The central hub was the big area blocked off by the ten-story-tall hotel and the newspaper building. Since those two buildings touched corners, the construction crew had only had to wall in two sides of the large space. The City Hall building was also included in the perimeter. Emma had noticed the bottom floor windows and doors were covered in burglar bars providing a barrier to the outside.
“Checking out the layout?” Juan asked, joining her.
“It’s pretty impressive. I take it you built this wall first?” She pointed to a place on the map.
“Yeah, but we used semi-trucks and sandbags to close off the area while we built it,” Juan replied.
Emma raised an eyebrow. “I’m surprised the city officials let you do that. Doesn’t that type of thing have to go through a committee? Even in the zombie apocalypse?” Though her tone was joking, she was curious. Small town politics could get nasty.
“When the city leaders see people torn apart in front of City Hall, it makes it a little easier to convince them to build a wall. But I gotta admit:, they put up a fuss. I argued at the time we could always tear it down later. I’m not going to lie. It was fuckin’ hard as hell to get the city manager to sign off on it. The mayor ignored him and gave us the go ahead. The city manager-”
“Tobias,” Emma said, remembering the picture on the wall in City Hall. There had been a label under it. “Yolanda’s husband, right?”
“How did you figure that out?”
Emma explained about the photo.
Juan nodded sadly. “Tobias couldn’t deal with what was happening. His kids and grandkids all died at the school where people had been told to go for shelter. He convinced himself they were just sick. In need of help. He had a breakdown and tried to save them. You know how that went.”
“Poor Yolanda.”
“I honestly don’t know how she does it, Em. Lost everyone, but she’s a godsend. Peggy and her...” Juan faltered, tears welling in his eyes. Setting his hat on his head, he sucked in a deep breath, then explosively let it out. “Damn. I keep forgetting she’s gone.”
“Yolanda and you both get this look that says her death wasn’t expected. She took her life, didn’t she?”
“And her boy’s. Cody. That kid was skittish about everything.” Juan sighed. “You couldn’t even say ‘boo!’ to the kid without him losing it. I always thought it was weird that such a strong woman had a kid like that, but now I see she was just hiding her own fears. She kept askin’ for reassurances that the Fort wouldn’t fall when the horde came through. We were all scared. We had contingencies, escape plans, and all that. She was a part of all the planning, but it must have been too much for her. She poisoned her kid and did herself in.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” Emma said and meant it.
It was definitely easy to understand the disappointment and anger in Juan’s expression, but a part of her sympathized and understood why Peggy had made her decision. If Billy had been alive with her the last year, the choices Emma made would’ve probably been quite different. She was furious with her ex-husband, Stan, for not somehow saving Billy, or giving him a better exit from the world. Tears welled in her eyes at the memory of the horrific wounds that had covered her son’s body. What would she have done to spare her son that death?
