Lenore reached out to shake his hand, but a surge of emotion overwhelmed her and instead she threw her arms around him. “Thank you.”

Travis held her close, like a father or a brother would, and said, “You’re home now, hon.”

Weeping, Lenore knew it was true. Ken rested his head on her shoulder and snuggled into her. They had made it at last. After all the loss and all the pain, they were safe. And she would fight for her new family and home until the day she died.

Epilogue

The truck slowly drew up to the RV, the engine hot and growling beneath the hood. Tito slid out of the driver’s side door, shotgun at the ready. The RV’s sides were smeared in blood and gore and the door was listing open.

“Ken? Lenore? Grandma?” he called out, though he knew it was futile.

A moan called out from inside the RV.

Tito watched the empty doorway warily, fearing what he would see. A zombie stumbled to the door, peering out at him. Its gnarled form was not familiar. It was not one of his friends.

Tito fired.

The zombie’s head snapped back and it fell out of sight.

“Tito?” his wife’s worried voice called out.

“Gimme a sec,” he answered.

Esmeralda sat in the front seat holding onto their youngest. His older boy sat in the backseat holding a second shotgun.

Tito swiftly moved into the RV, sweeping his gaze over the interior. No other zombies emerged from the corners of the small living space. He quickly searched for any sign of his friends. If they had died inside, he would deliver them from their undead state. If they were mere corpses, he would burn them out of respect. Though all their clothes remained, there was no sign of his three friends. He considered going to check their campsite, but he knew it was fruitless. They would have only fled if zombies had invaded.

Stepping into the sunlight, he studied the surrounding area. Nothing stirred in the shadows of the trees.

“Are they there?” Esmeralda called out.

“No, baby,” Tito said with a sigh. “They’re not.”

Swinging back into the truck, he slammed his door shut. Setting the shotgun next to him, he looked into his wife’s dark eyes.

“You can’t feel guilty,” she said in a tender voice.

“I promised them I’d come back,” Tito answered. His wife knew him too well. Guilt was eating him up.

“You did your best for them and for us,” she reminded him.

He looked into the eyes of his children and knew she was right. “I just wish...” Shrugging, he drove onto the road. “We got a long way to go if we want to make it to Marfa by tomorrow morning.”

“Daddy, is Grandpa going to be in Marfa?” Carlitos asked from the back seat.

“Along with a whole lot of other people. We’ll be safe there,” Tito answered, shifting gears. “There is nothing out here for us anymore.”

The truck sped down the road, away from the RV, away from the Hill Country.

And the little town with a fort hidden in its heart.