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KATE
Surrounded by the Creekside crew on the rooftop of the dorm, I shade my eyes and survey the campus below. My brain feels like it’s taking an axe to my skull, though I do my best to conceal the ill effects of my hangover.
“Dude.” Beside me, Johnny squints. Based on his grimace, he’s as hungover as the rest of us. “I wish you’d let us use some of that Tylenol.”
“Nope.” I keep my eyes on the ground below. “Resources are finite. Hangovers don’t qualify for medication.”
“Carter, your mom is a hard ass,” Johnny mutters.
“I’m having a moment,” Jenna says, who stands on my other side.
“What sort of moment?” Ash asks.
“One of those moments where you fall asleep drunk,” Jenna replies. “Then you wake up and you’re not drunk anymore, but the alcohol is still in your body and everything hurts like hell.”
“I think we all had that moment, babe,” Carter says.
“We are that moment,” Reed adds.
I’m glad the mood is lighter today. Grief isn’t something we can escape, but I hope Ben is right. I hope we’ll scab over with time.
Standing with my Creekside family gives me strength. It’s a good reminder not to let grief get the better of me. Last night was for loss and sadness, but now it’s time to lock that grief away and get on with living. I can’t take care of my living kids if I wallow in the ones I’ve lost.
“There are still a lot out there on campus.” Caleb stands on the corner of the building, binoculars up to his face.
“They’re in clumps of five to ten,” Ben says, also with a pair of binoculars.
It’s better than I had hoped. Even though there are a fair number of zombies on campus, their numbers are spread out. I have a plan to deal with them.
I turn to my companions. “Let’s go back downstairs. I want to gather everyone for a Creekside meeting.”
Once in the main dorm, I lean up against the wall beside the flat screen and Xbox. I take in the faces of all those who have entrusted me with their safekeeping.
Carter and Jenna, holding hands. Eric, looking lost and dazed without Lila. Reed, eyes puffy from missing Jesus. Caleb and Ash, always near one another but never in physical contact. Our newest companion, Susan, with her husband still unconscious in a dorm room.
And Ben. Sometimes I think he should be leading our small group. He knows more and has more experience than I could ever hope to have. Except even I’m not dumb enough to think he could hold our small family together. The kids count on me for that.
“First, we need to clear the university. We’re going to split into two teams and kill every zombie on campus. I’ll lead one team and sweep west. Carter, you lead the second team and sweep east.” My son nods. “If you encounter any alphas, be sure to take them out first. The rest of the zoms will be confused when their alpha goes down. That will give you ample opportunity to take them out. That’s Phase 1.”
“What’s Phase 2?” Jenna asks.
“We can’t continue as we have. Humboldt University isn’t safe.” I sweep my eyes over them. “We have to fortify Creekside. That’s Phase 2.”
They shift and exchange looks. Susan raises a hand.
“Yes, Susan?”
“You don’t expect us to blow up more buildings, do you?”
“Nothing that extreme. But you are right about one thing. Our home needs a wall.”
“Like a Medieval village?” Jenna says.
“Exactly. We’re going to start with Creekside and all the neighboring dorms that share our parking lot. We create a home base that is secure and self-sufficient. We can’t run around blowing up buildings every time a horde comes. The way I see it, there could be a lot more. We don’t know how prevalent this alpha phenomenon is.”
“How do you plan to build the fortifications?” Ben asks.
“We dig up the fencing along the frontage road and bring it here,” I reply. “I saw bags of cement in the maintenance shop a few weeks ago. We erect the fence here in the gaps between the dorm buildings. Then we get some cars. Put them in neutral, roll them in front of our perimeter and pop the tires. We scavenge rebar from the rubble of College Creek and jam them into the hoods and front grills of the cars. These will impale zombies that get too close.” I make eye contact with everyone in the room. “It’s not a sophisticated plan, but it will work with the resources and manpower we have.” I push off from the wall. “We need to get started right away. I’m putting all endurance workouts on hold for a week. All our efforts need to be focused on campus clearance and fortifications.”
“Did you come up with all this while you were drunk last night?” Reed asks.
“Yes?”
“Raise your hand if you think Mama Bear should drink more often.” Reed sticks his arm in the air. His tone is light, but his usual big grin is dull. I can tell he’s trying to rally. A few others also raise their hands, smiles rippling around the room.
“Let’s get to work,” I reply. “We’re burning daylight. We have a home to fortify.”