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Once again, Katarina was grateful for the wall. “Not too bad a group. ”

“Bullets or spears?”

“Save the ammo,” Katarina decided.

They both grabbed their long spears that were screwed into extensions to ensure their reach. Katarina braced herself against the railing and slid her spear into position.

The first group of zombies looked up and froze at the sight of the lights.

They stared with wide glazed eyes, their mouths gaping open as they reached upwards toward the lights. Some of the zombies behind them seemed to be more aggressive and shoved past the ones staring and began to beat against the wall.

Katarina took a breath, ignoring the stench, and began to aim, shoving the spear downwards as hard she could. She killed three of the creatures before a fourth managed to grab the spear. Releasing it instantly, she didn’t fight the creature for it.

Whirling about, she reached for another one.

“Katarina, they’re pulling back!”

Leaning over the rail, she could see most of the zombies turning slowly back into the mist leaving only three behind staring at the Christmas lights Katarina stared in shock, blinking, then whispered, “Someone is alive down there. That is the only thing that would make them back off. ”

“Shit!” Linda pulled out her walkie-talkie. “We have a situation outside the wall. Possible human survivors approaching. ”

Moving swiftly, Katarina dropped the spear, raised her rifle and dropped the three zombies staring up at the lights. She then hit the spotlight and it lit up the mist like a beacon.

All around the fort, the spotlights switched on. Katarina cursed as nothing became visible except mist. Hopefully whoever was out there would clearly see them now.

The sun broke the horizon, the sky cracked by rays of yellow and pink.

The world began to slide from shades of black to gray. Katarina strained to see into the fog, but could see only a few tree limbs beginning to poke through the thick soup.

In the distance, Katarina could hear the rumble of what sounded like an engine. Linda began to swing the spotlight back and forth.

“See anything, Kat?”

“Not yet, but I hear it. ”

The yapping and barking of what sounded like a pack of dogs began. The moans of the zombies seemed to echo hungrily up from the street below.

“Hello!” Katarina called out.

The dogs began to growl down below.

Travis and Katie appeared out of the fog. “What’s going on?”

“Zombies were attacking the wall, but then took off,” Linda answered.

“We think someone alive has to be down there,” Katarina added “What’s that noise?” Katie asked.

A huge chunk of the mist broke off and floated down the street as the sun’s rays began to slowly penetrate the fog. The area they had cleared of buildings was now visible, as was Bowie street that intersected with Morris.

“I’ll be damned,” Linda whispered.

A huge tractor was slowly coming down Bowie. A strange, cage-like contraption had been welded around the driver’s seat. The tractor was towing a flatbed piled high with chicken coops and pet carriers. Attached to that flatbed was another one piled with several bales of hay. Following the bales of hay at an even, slow walk was a small herd of black and white cows. Weaving in and out of the parade was a large pack of dogs of every size and zombies.

It was almost comical to see the zombies trying to get to the tractor through the herd of cows. The undead seemed utterly oblivious to what these moving obstacles were and would bounce back and forth off of them as they struggled to get to the person driving the tractor.

The dogs, even the little Chihuahuas, seemed almost rabid in their hatred of the zombies. They would grab hold of the dead, tearing at them viciously. As the stunned onlookers on the walls of the fort watched, the pack of dogs took down a zombie with primal savagery. When a little terrier walked out of the fray with the thing’s head, Katarina began to laugh.

“Calhoun,” Travis decided.