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"Flaers "Flaate! That’s it!"

"You seemed a little upset there"

Calhoun tapped his chin as he tried to remember what it was that had terrified hihtly know"

"Okay, but you’re ready to talk about the flamethrowers? Eric is in my office with Juan" Travis looked at hied to find the pocket he hadout his notebook, he waved it in front of Travis "Got it right here! Let’s go!"

The big red thread in his mind, full of fire and the destruction ofout all the infor ones to proper defenses

For the next thirty , he was lost again in the web of his owntrapped inside that was very ierous to the fort

4 The Scales

After thewith Calhoun broke up, Travis found hi Juan and Bill build an extensive list of supplies the fort would need to expand Walking in the cold, notepad in hand, he had to e how the first iven birth to high, concrete walls patrolled by armed sentries

It was nearly dinnertime when he finally made it back into the hotel and up to the roo for a hot shower When he pushed open the door, he saw Katie sitting in a chair near the , holding a baby blanket, and staring wistfully toward the hills

"Katie?"

"Do you ever wonder when it happened? When the tide turned against us?" Her voice was soft, thoughtful, and ed off his heavy jacket, glad that the heater in the roo

"There had to be a ainst the living When the future of the world was precariously balanced between the living and the dead And then the scales tipped in favor of the dead" She looked toward hi

"Katie, honey," he said, feeling utterly helpless all at once He was confident and strong when out on the walls, planning, plotting, building, and fighting, but seeing his wife crying made hi if he could

"I was just sitting here, looking at the blanket, and wondering about the baby and then it hit eneration that will groith the dead walking? He or she will never knohat it is like to live freely outside of these walls And then it occurred tomoment in all of this"

Travis knelt beside her chair, his hand rubbing her fingers lightly

"Maybe, but we’ll never knohat it was or when it happened This insanity had to be happening for soone to hell in just twenty-four hours Jenni’s no good husband was bitten the day before There was that weird plane crash in Chicago Riots were being reported for days before the First Day"

"Why didn’t they tell us?" Katie’s green eyes were so big and beautiful with tears sparkling in theht it was under control Or "

"Do you think they wanted it to happen?"

Travis pondered this, then shrugged "I may sound like Crazy Old Calhoun, but maybe they wanted it to happen so they could seize full control, but it went too far I don’t know, but if there was a ain But this time those scales will tip in our favor"

Katie leaned her forehead against his and stroked his cheek lightly "I want to believe you"

"Then do," Travis whispered, and kissed her lightly

"I’

"Nah You’re just saying what everyone else thinks We’re all in a weird funk We need to get ourselves out of it Focus on s

Like the fact we are alive We are inside fortified walls, not outside them

We have food and supplies We have ammunition We have each other"

Travis felt better just expressing those few thoughts aloud It was all true, but so easy to forget when the days were cold, gray and full of unexpected dangers