Bob nodded. “Gotcha.”

Moving slowly, cautiously, and as quietly as possible, Katie and Travis moved up the stairs into Nerit and Ralph’s old apartment. The stench of death filled their nostrils when they reached the landing.

They stood in horror at the destruction that had been wrought on the apartment.

The furniture was destroyed and tossed in pieces into corners.

Mementos, photos, and personal possessions were strewn about. Some of the photos were deliberately defaced. Porn magazines were also mixed in with the debris.

“They’re animals,” Katie gasped.

“Yeah,” Travis said, and felt a chill sweep over him. He looked at her and felt fear. If these monsters ever got a hold of Katie…

He couldn’t bear the thought.

Moving down the hall, they entered the dining room and found the source of the noise Katie had heard.

A woman lay on the floor, spread eagle, naked. Her wrists and ankles were shackled and chained to huge spikes driven into the floor.

Her mouth was duct taped shut. The silver tape went around her head so many times, only her eyes were visible.

There was a nasty bite on her shoulder and her undead condition explained her fate. She was trying to growl and was thrashing about.

What looked like a tongue lay on the floor nearby. Travis had a feeling it was hers.

She had been brutally raped over and over again. That much was too clear. He grabbed a sheet off the floor and threw it over the zombie’s body. It was too much to bear to see her like that.

“Why do I have a feeling the rapes took place before and after her death?” Katie's expression was grim.

Travis raised his gun and put the woman out of her misery. He then called downstairs to explain the shot and told the others to keep working.

Katie moved cautiously into the kitchen and looked around in shock. It was a mess. “They built their own meth lab.”

Travis shook his head. “Damn. These guys are fucked up.”

“Running around, strung out on meth, while zombies eat the living…what a nightmare.”

Together, Travis and Katie swept the rest of the apartment, finding it in utter shambles. The bandits had used photos as toilet paper and thrown them against the bathroom wall. It looked like they had squatted here for some time before moving on.

In silence, they pushed open the ajar bedroom door. Ralph’s remains lay in a jumble in a corner. It looked like someone had just ripped off the quilt with him in it and tossed it aside. To make matters even more disgusting, it appeared the bed had been used. Cigarettes, drug paraphernalia, and beer bottles littered the bed. But it was a relief to see that Ralph was still very truly dead. Travis moved to the body’s side and drew the blanket over its decomposing features.

“I hate these guys. Maybe even more than the zombies,” Katie gasped. Tears filled her eyes, but she fought not to spill them.

“Let's go,” Travis said in a tortured voice. “Let's get these bastards.”

Together they moved back downstairs and began to help load the rest of the boxes into the van.

“We’re being watched,” Lenore said after around twenty minutes of packing. “I saw the glint of glass through those trees over there. I’ve seen it three times now. I’m sure it's binoculars.”

“Nerit was right,” Travis said, working as though they didn’t know they were being watched. “Call it in, Ken.”

The younger man nodded. He calmly climbed into the van and pretended to do something other than call the fort.

Lenore raised her hunting bow and let another arrow rip. A zombie just coming around a far corner dropped. “So I guess this is it.”

“Can’t be sure yet, but my money is on yes,” Travis answered.

Katie shoved more ammunition boxes into the back of the Hummer.

“I say we go now.”

Felix heaved a huge box in. “I'm with her. Let's roll.”

Ken slid back out of the van. Walking calmly to pick up a box, he said, “The scary old woman says we keep to the plan. No deviations.”

“How many do you think there are?” Travis asked Lenore.

“I’ve seen at least one set of binoculars. I’m guessing one vehicle.

Otherwise more guys would be staring at us.”

“Good point,” Katie said, lifting another box into the Hummer.

“Are we done?”

“Last box here,” Bob answered.

“Then we go,” Travis said, and moved to the passenger door of the Hummer. “Felix, keep to the plan and don't panic.”

“Dude, I have more experience out here than you do,” Felix griped.

Travis shrugged. “Yeah, but I gotta sound like the condescending leader. It's my job.”

Felix slightly laughed, shaking his head and climbed into the van.

This time Lenore and Ken climbed into the backseat of the Hummer.

Katie turned on the Hummer and began to u-turn slowly. For a second, she too saw the glint of glass up in the tree line. Silently, she prayed that they would survive whatever came next. As the Hummer picked up speed, she reached out and took Travis’ hand in her own.

Up behind the tree line, a truck started.

Chapter 18

1. Seven, Six, Five

Jenni rubbed her trembling hands together and glanced out the window toward the dead town in the distance. It was just a few buildings. She could see the zombies milling around in the street, aimless without human prey to chase. They were far enough away that the zombies did not see or hear them, but the tiny outlines of their forms still made her stomach clench.

“We’re getting close,” Bill said. He looked tired and a little anxious. She knew he had been up many nights talking and planning with Nerit and Travis. “We’ll deal with this and keep to the initial plan unless things change.”

Jenni began to pull her long dark hair up into a knot on top of her head. She liked to wear it long and flowing, but that could be far too dangerous with zombies around. “I’m really sick and tired of these fuckers scaring us shitless.”

“Truer words were never spoken.” Bill chortled. “And I feel exactly the same way.”

Jenni finished with her hair and looked at him curiously. “You got a bad feeling, huh?”

“Woke up with it in my gut,” Bill admitted. “You too, huh?”

“Yeah. Things feel off,” Jenni answered. She thought of the long, sweet kisses she had shared with Juan before she had left. It was as if they were sharing their last kisses. The thought of him made her stomach twist a little more. She missed him and just wanted to crawl into bed with him and feel his warm, strong arms around her.

“We’re coming up on it,” Ed announced.

Jenni steadied herself by holding onto the back of her seat. Her rifle held tightly in one hand, she looked ahead with intense scrutiny.

They were rescuing what remained of a family; three teenagers; one boy, two girls, and their mother. Their father had died after the first day of a bite. The kids had put his zombified remains down. Their grandparents had passed away recently from natural causes. The grandfather stopped eating so the rest of the family could have more rations and had died of a heart attack. His wife had followed soon after. The surviving family was holed up in a trailer house. Jenni was told they had been living off the grandmother’s preserves the entire time. According to the briefing, the family’s truck was broke down.

They had no way to escape their small town. They had tried to walk to the neighbors for supplies, but had been chased back by zombies. The rescue team expected at least half a dozen zombies to be in the area.

“This isn’t good,” Bill decided.

The narrow dirt road unwound to reveal the trailer tucked in a clearing a ways back from the road. It had at least two additions built onto it. All the windows appeared to be boarded up, but the front door was hanging from its hinges. The muddied driveway revealed tire tracks. A group of zombies was gathered beneath a tree, growling and clawing at the trunk.

“Damn,” Jenni said.

Behind her, the rest of the team were standing and releasing the safety on their weapons.

“Jenni, go up top,” Bill said.

Half the zombies, around six, turned and rushed the bus.

Climbing up onto the back of the seat, Jenni shoved the hatch on top of the bus open. Bill helped raise her all the way up. Hot, grainy wind greeted her as the bus slowed down. She sat on the scorching metal roof as Bill handed up her rifle.

The zombies were closing fast, screeching, growling, clawed hands outstretched. They were more inhuman looking than ever before. The elements definitely were having an impact on them. Their skin was dark gray, their hair matted and wild, their faces shrunken. But the fresher ones that were nearly whole were startling fast, while their more mutilated counterparts staggered along behind them.

Jenni took down the front runner of the pack. The momentum of its run carried it forward and it skidded into the side of the bus with a wet sound. She fired at another zombie. It tumbled to the ground in a jumble of skirts.

Ah, damn. It was a bride.

Jenni wiped that thought away. She took aim at another zombie, a male. It reached the bus and began to bang on the driver’s window. It startled Ed and he jerked the wheel. The bus swerved sharply. Jenni found herself pitched to one side and her hair unfurled as she clung to the roof. Peering down over the edge, she saw a zombie look up at her.