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"Where is the President? What does he say?" Katie drank her tea without any sugar and thattrip," Ralph answered and slid into a chair

"News is all confusing now They’re telling half-truths Lots of bull shit Got one guy on last night saying it’s a strain of Ebola"

Jenni rolled her eyes and sat back up Katie snagged her plate and dragged the uneaten cheesecake over to her Jenni didn’tof all they had endured All they would endure

Nerit shook her head and took another drag off her cigarette "So that’s it"

"Yep Lost the local feed already," Ralph said with a nod of his head

Jenni laid her head down on her folded arhtfully He reached out and patted her head lightly and it comforted her

"It really is the end," Katie said

They all knew it, but hearing the words again helped it sink in that much more To accept it was to be empowered Jenni understood that and she knew the people at the table understood it, too To survive ht

Chapter 5

1 Into the Breach

The ha, but Katie tried to block out the sound The nuht and they were insistently banging on the s The sound wore on the survivor’s nerves, but they tried to ignore the undead as they gathered to brainstorood plan to save Jenni’s stepson

Ralph spread out awith a calculator and a notepad covered in equations Nerit leaned against the wall nearby with her hands tucked into her jean pockets Her yellohite hair was pinned up on top of her head today and her green eyes looked sharp and intense

Jenni slid onto a folding chair at the table She was clad head to toe in hunting gear: cae pants and jacket, a T-shirt that read "I aim to shoot" and heavy Doc Martens Her black hair tucked up into a ponytail; she looked very young and delicate Katie noted that today there was a difference in the way she held herself It was subtle, but there After they had returned to the bed they were sharing after theirasleep, but Jenni had seemed to have found some peace within herself and had slept soundly

Katie drew near to Ralph and crossed her ar of hunting clothes The only difference in her and Jenni’s outfits was that she wore a black tank top under the Reverend’s hunting jacket The warm smell of tobacco and the faint save her a sense of peace It was as though the oldover her In her hand she held a cup of coffee and she tucked a blond curl back from her face as she studied theto cut it This ain’t the old world where a low tank as station Electricity is still up here Grid hasn’t gone down Depends on et lucky TV is static except for the eitation like yesterday Not worth as stations between here and the ca Gotta plan for the opposite"

"Gotcha So we’re limited to e can carry in canisters and what is in the tank," Katie said

"Right Now, the truck yer in, well, it got you here, but probably not erously low on fuel," Katie adas I noticed at least five gallons of extra gas loaded up in those red canisters in the back of your pickup We’ll put those inone and any other survivor back there along with Jack Gun rack is perfect for your rifle Also got a CB in there that can keep you in touch with us back here

Keep to channel 23" Ralph pointed at their location "Here’s Hillsboro Here is the national park Mapped out the et there Did calculations You can do a round trip sticking to the route, but no ht stick you out there with just the reserve fuel"

Katie nodded and looked at Jenni Jenni’s eyes were huge and desperate

Katie knew instantly what she was thinking "We’re still going," she assured her and Jenni relaxed

"Keep to the route Don’t veer off I hway near that park If any infected people made it out that far you could have zo at thedeadly serious

"I understand," Katie assured hirab Jason and head back here"

"And don’t hesitate to run those things over," Nerit said froiggled a little

Katie smirked "I don’t think that will be a probleear up Take what you can in three backpacks If you get caught out there you’ll need supplies," Ralph said His eyes were so sharp and thoughtful Katie couldn’t look at him His expression reminded her too much of her father

"MREs, aht, knives…" Ralph trailed off "I should go with you"

"No, no You belong here with Nerit"