Stacey raised the gun and fired once.

The bullet sliced through Sean's forehead and blew out the back of his head. His body fell forward, was carried by his momentum and slid to a stop.

Sniffling, Stacey turned back to Eric and said, "Please, let's just find someplace safe. Please."

Eric reached out to her and she handed him the gun. Sliding onto the ATV behind him, she laid her head against his shoulder and wept.

Chapter Eighteen

Refuge

The ATV idled at the outskirts of the town. Now that night was coming, it was clear to them that going into the town was maybe not the best idea. Darkness would take away their ability to see what was coming. The going into a house or a building for shelter was also risky. They were at a loss as to what to do.

Stacey shivered from the coolness of the Spring night and Eric slid his light jacket off and handed it to her. She took it silently, pulled it on and stuffed Pepe inside. The little dog curled up and yawned. Eric didn’t blame him. He was exhausted, too. Eric's gaze swept over the road leading to town and he pushed his glasses up on his nose. Sitting in the middle of the road was certainly not a good idea. They needed to be out of sight and safe.

He lifted his eyes and suddenly knew what they had to do.

"The water tower."

"What?"

Eric turned to Stacey. "The water tower. It's like a block away. We can climb the ladder and hang out there tonight."

"That's like one hundred and fifty feet up!"

"Exactly."

She looked toward the quaint old water tower. In the dark it looked strangely homey. "Can they climb it?"

"I don't think so. They don't seem all that smart the longer they’re dead. Remember them pitching head first out of the window?"

She nodded and rubbed the top of Pepe's head thoughtfully. "Okay. I'm cold and I just want to be safe.”

"We'll use the tarp to rig a tent or something. I got bedding on the back of the trailer. We'll take supplies up there with us and hang out there tonight or until we can figure out how to get to the fort."

Stacey rubbed her nose and nodded. "Okay."

Eric shifted gears and Stacey took the revolver from his belt. It was better to be safe than sorry.

The water tower was not far up a side road that was unpopulated by buildings. The darkness hovering between the trees was intimidating, but Pepe remained quiet and they took it as a good sign. The moon was full and the light helped Eric maneuver to the tower over the uneven ground.

A large sign that read "Any Unauthorized Climbing of the tower is a violation of trespassing laws. You will be arrested” was set up in plain view.

"Guess they had a problem with the kids," Stacey decided.

"Probably the place to hang out in a town like this," Eric joked.

"Yeah, in my town it was the school stadium bleachers. Or under them, I should say," Stacey answered. "Not that I was ever under there!"

Eric laughed and parked under the tower. "Of course not."

Stacey forced a little smile and slid off the ATV. Holding Pepe tight, she stared up at the water tower. Eric turned off the ATV and hopped off. Walking over to the ladder he made note of the chain wrapped around the ladder several times over the rungs about five feet up. Another sign hung from the chain. It had the same threat as the big sign.

"Okay. Let's get this done."

Eric moved quickly to the trailer and tried to ignore the bloodstains on the blue tarp. He quickly untied the rope holding it in place and slid the tarp off. His luggage and luggage from the lost and found were carefully arranged on the trailer. Bright green tote bags that were used for grocery shopping were filled with food staples and water. He had been lucky enough to find them in the pantry.

"Should we take it all up?"

Eric looked toward her and considered this. "I don't know."

Stacey looked up at the tower again. "Not that I want to carry things up there."

Eric rubbed his nose then said, "Well, we're in the town we want to be. We just need to figure out how to get into the fort. That could take a few days. Peggy says they are going to clear out the zombies."

"But if we take it all up with us and we have to leave fast…"

Eric sighed. "Just half then?"

Stacey bit her bottom lip then nodded.

Eric began slinging some of the bags onto his shoulders and groaned at their weight. "This is not going to be easy."

"We can use the rope to pull them up."

Embarrassed, Eric blushed. "Oh, yeah."

He grabbed the huge coil of rope he had packed along with the rope he had used to hold down the tarp.

Stacey grinned at him. “Mr. So Well Prepared doesn’t know how well prepared he was.”

“Shush, you,” he playfully said. “I maybe an engineer, but sometimes the simple things confuse me. You know if it’s not something I have to spend hours on and make a dozen designs for, I get confused.”

“Somehow, I believe you.”

Eric grinned and headed for the ladder.

The climb to the top was not easy. Getting past the chain had been a little tricky, but not really hard. But he was tired and had not eaten since morning. His legs and arms burned as he pulled himself up the metal ladder. The cool night air was a welcome relief as sweat poured off his brow. Below, Stacey kept watch with the revolver in hand and Pepe's leash in the other.

Finally, he reached the top and gripping the handrails firmly, pulled himself up over the edge and onto the catwalk. Turning, the night sky filled his vision and he felt awed by the sight. He was relieved he wasn't afraid of heights as the wind buffeted him and he looked down. The lights from the ATV illuminated Stacey's fit form and Pepe was barely visible.

The catwalk was around three feet wide and quite sturdy. The water tower was from the turn of the last century and very old fashioned. It had a peaked roof and the edges of it partially stuck out over his head giving slight shelter.

Shivering from the cold air, he tied the rope around the sturdy wood railing and dropped it down to Stacey. Thankfully, with the second rope tied to it, it was long enough to reach the ground. Immediately, she began tying bags onto it and Eric hoisted them up.

It took longer than they expected to get everything up, but Pepe remained calm the entire time. Evidently all the dead were at the construction site. Finally, Stacey killed the lights on the ATV, shoved Pepe into the jacket, and made the long climb up. When she reached the catwalk, Eric reached out and helped steady her. She looked tired and overwhelmed in the moonlight.

"Welcome home," he quipped.

She rolled her eyes, but thankfully slid down to sit on the walkway. Pepe peeked out and looked around with fear in his eyes.

"It's okay, Pepe. Just don't get near the edge," Eric said and stroked the little dogs head.

Stacey gently lifted Pepe out of the jacket and set him on the catwalk. The little dog nosed around and dared a brief look over the edge then darted back to the wall.

Though he was exhausted, Eric knew they needed shelter from the wind. He had been a very thorough packer and pulled out duct tape and wet wipes. Leaving Stacey to recover from the climb, he wiped down the blue tarp she had folded and sent up earlier. He hated to litter, but he dropped the wipes over the edge so she wouldn’t have to see the blood. He commenced to use duct tape, the tarp and some of the rope to construct a makeshift tent. It formed a long narrow shelter for them to sleep in.

Stacey pulled the wet wipes over to her and pulled one out to clean her face and neck.

"Brandy never went anywhere without packing those," Eric said softly. He began to wrap the rope around the railing posts. He basically wove a safety net for them by threading the rope back and forth then finally tying it.

"What was she like?"

"Beautiful," Eric answered and tested the rope to see if it was secure. It held and he was comforted that neither of them would roll off in the middle of the night.

"What else?" Stacey pulled another wipe out and began on her arms.

Eric sat back in the shelter and thought for a second. The first word that had come to his mind was "demanding", but he was loath to say that. He fumbled for something to say that sounded good, but he was surprised to come up empty.

Stacey looked toward him curiously. "I guess I shouldn't have asked. Sorry."

"It's not that," Eric admitted. "I just…she was very high maintenance. My friends called her a bitch and worse. But I loved her. She was so beautiful and stylish and…" He faltered again. "That sounds so shallow."

Pepe scooted along the side of the water tank and into the shelter. Out of the wind and away from the terrifying view, he relaxed.

Stacey crawled over to the edge of the shelter and he saw her lips were trembling from the cold. "Sometimes we love the wrong people for all the wrong reasons."

Eric felt his throat constrict as he realized her words were true. "I did love her. And, yeah, it was for all the wrong reasons. But…"

Stacey gave him a little hug and crawled over him to sit out of the wind. "I know. I had one of those boyfriends."