Manny rubbed his face with one hand. “This is not acceptable.”

“No, what is not acceptable was that Katie woman obviously acting like a complete tart in the ballroom and it was obvious to all she was intoxicated,” Steven said in a tight, controlled voice. “I'm sure she did lead Shane on.”

“What?” Travis stood up sharply. He was close to losing his temper.

Calhoun whipped around to zoom in on Travis. Travis forced himself not to shove the old man away.

“I mean that dress…that awful dress…with such nice shoes,”

Blanche sniffed.

Juan moved to Travis' side. “Look, bitch, you have no right to say-“

“Shane is a good man and she is smearing his name in an effort to get him thrown over the wall,” Steven said, cutting off Juan’s comment.

Travis took a step forward and Juan grabbed his arm. He was sure he was looking furious if Juan felt the need to rein him in. And he was furious, beyond furious. He had been trying to be rational, but he was not going to be able to keep from punching Steven in the mouth if the man kept it up.

Manny looked at Bill and said, “There are conflicting stories.”

“Yes, there are, but we should consider-” Bill started to answer.

“Just do a vote,” Peggy said simply.

“…the Amazonian speaks her words…” Calhoun narrated. “All fall silent to listen.”

Blanche snorted.

“A vote?” Bill blinked.

“Just type up their statements and let everyone in the fort read them, then vote.” Peggy looked determined, tired, and pissed off. “Let the people of the fort decide what to do. You’re saying you don’t want us with all the power. Fine. Give it back to the people. Let them decide.”

“And what are the options for punishment?” Juan demanded.

“We could give them a car, weapons, ammo and food and set them on their way if guilty,” Bill offered.

Curtis shook his head. “Why waste our supplies on criminals?”

“Because it’s humane,” Bill retorted.

“And what is the other option? Letting them go?” Travis could feel Juan’s grip tightening on his arm. Travis was so overwhelmed with emotion, he wasn’t sure what the hell he wanted other than Katie safe.

“Of course,” Steven and Blanche chorused.

“With a restraining order against him to steer clear of Katie,” Bill added.

“So basically Katie's safety is dependent on how people vote,”

Travis said with frustration. He wasn’t sure if he liked that idea or not. It made him feel helpless.

“I say we dump them over the wall,” Juan said firmly.

“Let our vigilante do it,” Peggy said with a sigh. “I’m sure Shane is on his list now.”

“I have round the clock guards on that holding cell,” Bill said.

“They are not going over the wall.”

“So we vote,” Peggy said again.

Manny nodded. “That sounds fair to me.”

“Well, I'm not certain we want all sorts of people voting on this, Manny,” Steven said sharply.

“I think everyone old enough to understand should vote,” Peggy retorted. “You can't count people out because they are not your version of the right sort of people.”

Blanche rolled her eyes.

“You know what? Do whatever. But you better be damn well sure you are setting a precedent you can live with,” Travis said, and stormed out.

“…may be human after all as he exits the top secret meeting…”

Juan followed Travis down the hall and into the lobby. Travis tried hard not to let his temper get the best of him.

“Travis,” Eric called out from nearby, and rushed over to him.

Travis took several deep breaths as he looked back and forth between Juan and Eric. Both of the men looked concerned and maybe a little fearful. Travis could feel the heat of his anger burning in his eyes. He rubbed them with his fingertips.

“What’s going to happen?” Eric asked.

“A vote. The fort will vote on what to do,” Travis answered.

“Okay. That seems fair,” Eric said. “Are you okay with that?”

“Just scared,” Travis confessed.

“Why?” Juan folded his arms over his chest. “This is a good thing.”

“But what if people vote to keep them?” Travis shook his head. “I hate this feeling. Voting out a person into the deadlands. It doesn’t feel right.”

“We don’t want them here, that’s for damn sure,” Eric reminded him. “I know you want them gone.”

“Yeah, but what if we start voting out people for the wrong reasons?” Travis shook his head. He felt compromised by his own beliefs in this moment. He wanted Shane and Phillip gone, but the thought of people voting out someone from the safety of the fort was terrifying.

“It’s the right thing to do, man. It’s the right thing. You know it,”

Juan assured him.

Travis set his hands on his hips as he considered this, then sighed.

“Nothing feels right anymore. Nothing.” And with that, he walked to the elevator to go up to be with Katie.

When Travis finally entered Katie's room, he found her fast asleep with Jenni holding her close. He walked over and gently smoothed Katie's hair back from her face, then sighed. Sitting in a chair next to the bed, he sat in silence, deep in his thoughts

Chapter 12

1. Justice

The next week was sheer hell.

The idea to vote on what to do with Shane and Philip had seemed like a good idea at first. Nicely printed copies of the depositions of those involved were handed out to anyone over the age of seventeen who were willing to vote. It became the most popular reading material in the fort. It also became the most talked about and scandalous.

Philip and Shane were tucked away in one of the guardrooms where they could be constantly monitored and put to work keeping an eye out for marauders or zombies. They weren’t allowed to touch weapons during their watches, but their duty did allow them enough time to flap their jaws to spread rumors. Roger had become so disgusted by their tales, he had asked Nerit not to assign him to their guard duty anymore. Nerit had made sure Roger understood that he needed to keep his spot to limit the damage they were doing.

Rumor was rife throughout the fort and Katie’s sexuality became the focus of a lot of discussions. Some people staunchly refused to believe she was anything other than a good ol’ straight girl. Others suspected that she was a lesbian in hiding. That it was even considered part of the decision making process made Katie angry and feel hurt all at the same time.

“Yeah, someone asked me if I was your mustache,” Travis said with a wry smile one night.

“Huh? Oh! My beard!” Katie rolled her eyes. “I’m surprised they even knew the term.”

“Yeah, I’m the mustache for you and Jenni.” Travis shook his head and laughed.

“Of course. What else would you be,” she said with a laugh. The words hurt more than she cared to admit.

It was painful reminder of all she and Lydia had gone through. The furtive looks, the guarded questions, the gossip: all of it had been hell.

Somehow, it had been easier with Lydia because they had each other to help them through the hard times. They understood what the other woman was going through. Katie remembered one woman screaming at her and Lydia at a gay pride parade that there was no way they loved each other like a straight man and woman loved each other.

Lydia had just laughed and said, “Yeah, true. Less beard burn!” Katie had nearly fallen over laughing and Lydia had waltzed her around, then kissed her.

Travis was trying so hard, but he didn’t really know what it was like to know that a good portion of the old world population hated you simply because you looked at your own sex and saw no issue with loving them. As a bisexual woman, Katie had struggled with both the gay and straight community at times, when they had been trying to force her to decide. She let her heart decide when it came to both Lydia and Travis. She was very aware, as was Travis, that if not for the zombie holocaust, she would still be with Lydia.

Loving Travis was the same, yet different. How she could explain that to any of the people giving her strange looks? So she didn’t say anything except, “Travis and I are together and I would never cheat on him with Shane or anyone else.” She was torn between feeling like she was betraying her relationship with Lydia and feeling that she was preserving its sanctity by not going into details about her past.

But the rumors continued and Blanche dragged her name through the dirt. She heard the woman’s mocking words ringing in her ears.

She saw the condemning stares from a few. The scary old Southern Baptist woman named Mary especially took to saying nasty things around Katie. She just tried to ignore it all.

Yet at the same time, she had the sweet hugs of her supporters. Old Man Watson went out of his way to stand up and hug her tight. Nerit, of course, was unwavering. Jenni was almost psychotic in her defense.

Every night, she went to bed with Travis’ arms around her waist as his chest fit snuggly against her back. He had surprised her with a cell phone charger he had found somewhere and plugged in her cell phone when she wasn’t looking. One night, she had slipped into bed and looked over to see Lydia’s picture smiling out at her. She had almost cried at the sight and looked up to see Travis smiling sheepishly from the bathroom. Running across the room, she had flung her arms around his neck and clung to him while clasping the phone in her hand.