Free Tomorrow Land by Mari Mancusi Page A

hadn’t gone crazy, alone with her thoughts for all these years.
     “So, you’re the one responsible for all of this?” she asked Tank, gesturing to the kids.
    “Yeah, he is. Tank’s a regular Pied Piper,” Chase spoke up. “I swear, he must have some kind of flute stuffed in his pocket.”
    “Nah, man, I’m just happy to see you.”
    Raising an eyebrow, Chris stared at his brother.
    Tank chortled, then turned back to Peyton. “Yeah, I guess you could say that I’m the leader of this here motley crew. When all the adults started dying, I realized someone had to step up to the plate. And I was the oldest.”
    “And the dumbest,” Chase piped in playfully. Here in the Walmart, back with his crew, he seemed more relaxed, less intense, than he’d been out in the wild. More like his old self.
    Tank smacked him on the shoulder. “Pot, kettle, black, Chasey,” he said. “Anyway, I combed the city for survivors and brought them all back here. We have a pretty good set-up going on. Sleeping bags, food, water, toys. Even rigged up some electricity.”
    “Limited electricity. Which you are currently wasting,” Chase remarked, motioning to the lights.
    “Hey, the children wanted to play.”
    “Softie.”
    Tank shrugged, not denying it. “I try to make it as good for them as possible,” he said. “I mean, it’s not much of a life here, but it’s better than being out there.”
    Peyton thought about the zombie she had fought and how it had come out of nowhere. She couldn’t imagine a child being able to cope. “I can see that,” she agreed.
    Tank studied her, and his eyes grew a bit cold. “So, what’s your story?” he asked. “Last I remember, you were standing my brother up on judgment day. Get a better offer?”
    Peyton cringed. This was not the conversation she wanted to be having. “It’s a long story,” she mumbled. “My dad needed me and . . .” She trailed off. What good would it do to explain? In their eyes, she was a traitor. That’s how it’d always be. “Sorry to leave you guys hanging.”
    “No skin off my back,” Tank replied, his mouth twisting with humor. “In fact, I should thank you. Because of you bailing, there was room in the van for Anna Simmons.” He paused, then asked, “So what happened to your old man? He was one of the few people who was probably prepared for this, considering who he was.”
    Peyton bristled, waiting for an insult. When one didn’t come, she forced herself to relax. “I believe he’s down in Florida,” she said. “That’s where I’m headed.”
    “What’s down there?” Tank sounded genuinely curious.
    “Disney World.”
    Chase’s brother laughed richly. “Disney World? What, y’all got a sudden urge to ride Space Mountain?”
    She gave him a tight lipped smile. Here it came. “My father and his scientist buddies are—I hope—holed up down there. They’re working on rebuilding society. When things started getting bad, they made a pact to meet. It was meant to be the Eden of the new—”
    “Hey, Tank, you’ve just survived the apocalypse. What are you going to do now?” the oldest boy called out from across the way. She hadn’t realized he’d been listening.
    Tank erupted in a howl of mirth. “I’m going to Disney World!”
    Chase rolled his eyes, giving Peyton an apologetic look.
    She clenched her jaw, trying not to take offense. They were just joking. Like Chase had said, you had to find humor, even in the most dire situations. But to her, this was no laughing matter. “I know it probably sounds weird,” she tried. “But Disney makes perfect sense if you think about it. The way my father talked, his friends were planning to use the underground service tunnels to make the place completely defensible. Also, there are a ton of hotel rooms—localized residences with their own power and water plants. And Florida is warm year-round, so no worries about anyone freezing to death.”
    “I guess that could work,” Tank said, his