The summer heat had given way to fall. In the last week or two, the leaves had all started to change color, and the green grass was losing it's vibrant color.

Preparations for surviving the coming winter were in full swing.

We had traveled further south than I'd ever been before, and I wasn't sure exactly what to expect winter to be like in our new home. But I suspected, even if the weather was much less harsh than I was used to, it was going to feel worse. I could only imagine what it was going to be like to not have a thermostat that could turn up the heat with a simple turn of the dial.

Several of the older members of the community were busy canning the huge crop of tomatoes that had come out of the garden. There were other vegetables too. I had tried to help them for an entire afternoon, but I had no idea what I was doing with the glass jars and little metal lids and rings. I felt like I was more in the way than anything else, and had finally ended up going in search of another way to be helpful.

I wasn't happy about it, but multiple people from my family had volunteered to go out on scavenging trips. Shawn was, of course, one of them. When I heard that he was planning to go, I'd quickly volunteered too. We ended up paired with Bill and Maya, and working together with the ease of practice, our group had come back with the back of the suv crammed with things that would come in handy for the cold season.

Another group had gone to the farm we'd passed on our way in to town. Now that the grass was dying, we were going to need to find enough feed to keep the cow alive through the winter.

A few people had suggested that eating her would be easier than bringing in food for her, but to my relief, that idea had been quickly squashed. An older man, I'd learned that his name was Mark, had said that he thought the cow was pregnant. If she was, that would mean more milk next year, and a calf that we could later decide what to do with. Looking to the future, it was decided that eating that cow was a shortsighted decision.

A bonus to keeping the cow around, Marcus was part of the group that had climbed into a pickup truck and gone in search of her food. Anything that got him outside of the fences, and away from us, was a great idea to me.

I couldn't stand being within sight of the man.

One morning, frustrated that Shawn seemed to have forgiven the creep, I'd lashed out at him. Furiously whispering that I didn't understand how he could talk amicably to someone who had left us to die, I'd thrown up my hands and had a bit of a temper tantrum.

Looking me dead in the eye, Shawn had said, "You keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

That had deflated me. At least I didn't feel so alone in my dislike and distrust any longer.

Wrapping an arm around my waist, he had pulled me close and we'd walked to breakfast together. After that, I had done my best to pretend like I wasn't watching Marcus' every move.

But today, he was gone, and that made it an exceptionally good day.

We were sitting in the grass under the big tree that stood at a far corner inside the fence. Shawn was leaning up against it's broad trunk, and I was leaning back against his chest, throwing a ball for Rex. Occasionally, a few leaves would drift down from the colorful branches above us. The air was cool, but not cold, and the sky was a vibrant blue. Shawn was playing with the ends of my hair, twirling the long strands around his fingers.

We were stealing some time to just be, and it couldn't have been more perfect.

"We should do this more often."

"Mm hmm," I agreed, tossing the ball for the dog again. He wasn't going to get an argument out of me.

Another couple of throws and Rex was finally tired of chasing the ball. He dropped into the grass a few feet away, panting happily. I let the ball drop and relaxed completely. Shawn wrapped his arms around me and I felt him kiss the top of my head. Smiling, I closed my eyes.

We sat like that for a while, but not nearly long enough, before the sound of a vehicle broke the silence. My eyes popped open.

We were on the opposite side of the school from the gate, and couldn't see who was coming. As far as I knew, Marcus and his group were the only people outside at the moment.

My blissful mood began to fade.

I wasn't the only one. The chest I was resting against rose and fell in a big sigh.

"We should probably go see if they need any help."

He didn't sound at all enthusiastic. I didn't reply, just hauled myself to my feet and held out a hand to help him up.

Dusting the seat of my pants off, I let him take the lead back to the other side of the school.

Before we made it to the front doors, I could already see that their trip had been a success. The pickup was loaded with a mountain of rectangular hay bales. They probably couldn't have gotten another one onto the top of the pile if they'd tried. A group of people had started to gather around the truck.

I fought back the urge to make a face when my least favorite person left alive climbed from the driver's seat. Mark was the next one out of the truck, and then much to my surprise, a third man climbed out behind Mark.

I looked at Shawn. I didn't remember seeing that guy before. I could tell from the glance he sent my way that Shawn didn't know who it was either. We picked up the pace to get to the truck faster.

"... and wouldn't you believe it, I turned around and there he was! I haven't seen this guy since it started, and I didn't think I'd ever see him again!" Marcus was animatedly telling a story to the growing crowd. Ned appeared and he shifted his focus to the leader. "Ned! You'll never believe this, but we ran into a good friend of mine while we were out there! This is Sam."

Ned smiled and reached to shake Sam's hand, "Nice to meet you Sam. If Marcus here wants to vouch for you, well then, welcome to our home."

The new guy smiled and shook with Ned. He appeared around the same age as Marcus, and was average in every way. The kind of guy who would have blended into the background before the world ended.

Sam shoved his glasses back up his nose and said, "Thanks. It's been one hell of a trip trying to get back home here. I'm just glad to find that there are still people alive. After what I've seen, I wasn't sure that would be the case."

Shawn and I had stopped at the edge of the gathering. We listened to the exchange, shooting small glances back and forth between each other. Charlie, and then Maggie, came up to stand next to us. The women both watched the exchange with a hint of caution on their faces. We had quietly pulled our friends aside and told them about Marcus threatening to shoot us, and that he had abandoned us to the zombie in the first place. Neither woman was fool enough to trust Marcus any more.

Ned was still talking to Sam. "Exactly how far have you traveled?"

"Quite a ways, actually. I was starting to think I was never going to make it here," he chuckled, but the expression on his face didn't match the sound. "I was working in DC when this all started."

* * *

The newcomer was the talk of the community that night, much to his apparent delight. He dramatically answered questions and told stories while everyone was eating.

Our family group was quiet, listening and waiting to see if the new addition was going to be a problem. Even Luna, normally busy chattering away with Jaime, was silent.

While he didn't have anyone to back him up, we had felt that Marcus would likely not do much more than give us all the creeps with his staring. But, if he had a friend behind him, that could change. I wasn't willing to gamble on it, and I already could tell that Sam and I were never going to be friends.

"What's DC like?" Someone asked.

"It's a lot like here, but with more zombies," Sam told him around a mouthful of food. "There are a couple of safe strongholds though, and there's a few thousand people alive in each of them. It's a mess, but DC is probably where civilization will start to be rebuilt from."

"Who's in charge? Like, did they find the President, or is someone else calling the shots?" Mark asked.

"As far as I know, they never figured out what happened to the President. I don't really know who is in charge now, but there's these militia looking guys everywhere that keep order."

"What about a cure or a vaccine?" Jane asked quietly. "We've heard that they might be working on something like that there."

Sam finished the mouthful of food, "Actually, Yeah. Last I heard, they were making some progress on a vaccine, but they had run into some sort of issue with needing more people who had survived the infection." He waved his hand in the air. "I don't know exactly how it all works, but I guess there's only been a handful of people who've turned up and volunteered, and they can only get so many samples at a time from each person. The vaccine is taking longer than they planned on."

As soon as I heard what Sam had said, I knew what Shawn would be thinking. His drive to always put others ahead of himself was going to put him in danger yet again.