5. Where The Dead Are Juan slowly crept into his hotel suite, hoping not to wake the children, but instead found them in their pajamas gathered around his grandmother, Guadalupe and his mother, Rosie.
“Hi, Daddy One,” Holly said with a somber expression on her face.
“Why are you children still up?”
“Praying for Nerit,” Margie answered, her hair falling around her face.
Her small hand swept it back, but it promptly fell back into her face.
“She’s sick,” Troy added.
“How is she, Dad?” Jason looked at him through his bangs.
“Yes, how is she?” Guadalupe asked.
He saw the rosaries clutched in their hands and those of the children.
“Coma. They don’t know why. Charlotte says she’s stable, but in critical condition. Her life signs are not very strong. ” He sat down on the sofa and Holly and Troy promptly crawled onto his lap. He cuddled them close and sighed into Holly’s hair.
“We’re praying and asking Daddy God to make her well,” Margie assured him.
“And Jesus, too,” Holly added.
“And his Mom,” Troy said in a soft voice. “I didn’t know we could pray to Jesus’ Mom. Can we pray to my Mom, too?”
“I am sure your Mama hears your every word,” Guadalupe assured Troy.
“Does she?” Troy looked at Juan expecting the truth of him.
Juan thought of Jenni appearing to him after her death and nodded. “Yes, I know she does. ”
* * * * * “We got zombies!” Katarina swung her rifle around and aimed down toward the edge of the lighted area in front of the west wall of the fort.
Two zombies staggered into view, staring up at her with lidless eyes. One slowly reached its hand up toward her while the other moved slowly toward the wall.
“Shit, already?” Bill peered down and took aim. The reaching zombie’s head exploded almost in time with the one about to reach the wall.
“Check in. We had zombies on the west side,” Katarina called into her headset.
“I’m watching the fucking Baptists circling around trying to figure out where the hell they are gonna go. Do they count?” Calhoun’s voice answered her. “Oh, yeah. . . East Wall reporting in. ”
“South Wall reporting in. No
sign of zombies. ”
“North Wall reporting in. No go this way,” Lenore’s voice answered.
Katarina nodded and looked toward Bill, tears in her eyes. “Oh, God, my heart is beating so fast I can barely stand it. How the hell am I going to feel when all those zombies show up?”
“You’re just spooked because of Nerit, honey,” Bill assured her.
“Look at me! I’m shaking! I don’t do this, Bill. I don’t freak out,” Katarina said, running her trembling hand through her hair.
He kissed her cheek softly and held her tight against him. “It’s okay, honey. It will be okay. ”
Chapter 28
1. Goodbyes