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“Eggs,” Thomas gasped behind Kevin.

Nothing in this world was similar to his. His world was near starvation, mindless tasks to keep people moving, children dying of the flu, and zombies moaning endlessly outside the walls of the mall. It was power struggles. It was hell.

To his surprise, a group of people was seated in the hotel lobby with their luggage around them. When they saw him, they all rose to their feet and began to applaud.

“What the hell is this?” Valerie muttered.

A middle-aged man rushed over. Kevin saw in his peripheral vision Travis sigh and rub his brow in embarrassment.

“It is so good to see you! We are ready to go! We have all our things,” the man said in a torrent of words as he grabbed Kevin’s hand.

“Um. . . why?” Kevin looked at the man clutching his hand and shaking it vigorously.

The man blinked and his grip lessened. “Why what?”

“Why are you ready to go?”

“Yeah. And where to?” Valerie tilted her head and looked at the man curiously.

“To go to your base, of course. Away from here!”

The soldiers laughed and Kevin patted the man’s shoulder. “Trust me.

You don’t want to leave here. You don’t want to go to where I came from. ”

The people looked confused and began to whisper among themselves.

Then an older black woman said loudly, “We want to go where it’s safer!”

“Ma’am, this is about as safe as you are going to get. Trust me. This is heaven compared to where I came from. ” Kevin turned toward Travis and the blond woman and saw amused expressions on their faces. “Trust me, they don’t want to go there. ”

Travis led him down a hall, past the check-in desk, and into a large office that most likely had belonged to the hotel manager. There was a young man in a police officer uniform waiting along with a man that looked every inch the city official. The woman, who had stood outside of city hall looking suspiciously at them, came around from behind Kevin and took a seat. Travis motioned to the soldiers to sit down as he sat on the edge of the desk. The blond woman slid onto the desk next to him, her legs dangling, watching all of them curiously.

A little nervously, Kevin and his people took up seats in the creaky leather chairs, feeling awkward in their helmets and body armor. Kevin took off his helmet and the others followed his example. Next to him, Valerie shoved her weapon under her chair.

“My name is Nerit,” the older woman said. “And this is Katarina. We head up the fort security. ”

“I’m Peggy. The fort secretary. I deal with making sure the people here are comfortable. ”

“Curtis, I’m the last cop from the town’s force. I assist in law enforcement.

Bill usually works with me on that. ”

“Eric, fort planner and engineer,” the well-dressed man said.

“Juan De La Torre is in charge of construction, but he is recovering right now in our clinic,” Travis said. “Katie, my wife, serves on the fort council.

I’m Travis, the Mayor. ”

“First Lieutenant Kevin Reynolds,” Kevin answered. “I have been serving at the Madison Mall Rescue Center since the first day. ”

“Valerie. I don’t think my rank means much anymore,” Valerie, the perpetual smart-ass, said with a grin.

“Thomas. I was a Private,” Thomas said with a slight wave.

“Greta. That’s my copter out there,” came the surly response from the redhead.

“We’re taking care of it,” Nerit assured her.