One Month Later...

Wayne and Anna stepped out onto the rooftop of the radio building they'd appropriated. Being the first building put back to use since the outbreak, it had become the unofficial center of the new city with work toward rebuilding civilization extending out from it in an ever widening circle.

It had been a busy week, and the two of them wanted some time away from the activity going on elsewhere in the building and surrounding settlement. Wayne spread out a checkered blanket of black and red across the cement roof, and he and Anna stretched out on the padded material.

"Are you going to tell them?" Anna questioned while laying on her back and watching the clouds passing slowly overhead.

"Is there any reason I shouldn't?" Wayne questioned in return. His gaze was focused on the feathering of color added to the undersides of the clouds as the sun began to sink in the west.

"Oh, come on," Anna chided. "Don't pretend you haven't been thinking about this since we found out this morning. The nutrient solution maintains our cells and prevents them from breaking down or needing to be replaced. I think the people of the city might have a negative reaction if they found out all of the revived are not aging."

"True," Wayne agreed. "However, I think their reaction would be even more negative if they discovered we knew about it and were keeping it a secret. It would certainly raise the question in their minds about why we were trying to hide it from them."

"Councilman Kirby will be happy to hear from you," Anna commented. "Ever since your testimony got him and the Council reinstated, he couldn't be more cooperative."

"I think it has less to do with him getting his job back and more to do with who we are," Wayne countered. "Had we been smart zombies trying to infect the city, we wouldn't have tried to restore him to authority since his actions toward us were rather hostile."

Anna chuckled. "Rather hostile, an interesting way of saying he tried to kill us."

"He did apologize for that," Wayne reminded, sharing a laugh with his wife.

"I'm glad he trusts us again," Anna commented. "With the problems we're soon to encounter, we can't afford to split our focus."

"I've been thinking about that," Wayne agreed. "So far, the people we've brought back have been relieved they're alive again with the possibility of finding their family and friends. Politics and social issues that for so long divided mankind have been forgotten. I don't want them falling back into those patterns now. Humanity is united and working together. It would be terrible if we saved the world just to have it lapse back into its old ways and start splitting into factions."

"I agree," Anna said. "What do you want to do about it? We could avoid bringing some of them back."

"No," Wayne denied. "I refuse to be judge and jury when it comes to who will be restored and who won't be. I don't want to be a king, and I'm certainly not God. If someone is a blight upon humanity, let a court of law decide to eliminate them, not me."

"What do you intend to do about other countries?" Anna inquired, tilting her head to look at him.

"It's my hope that after time spent helping restore their people and nation, they'll see us as friends and allies," Wayne suggested. "If we can get enough people to lay aside their mistrust and hostility, we can build on that in the years to come."

"You think you can unite the world?" Anna asked.

"I'd like to try," Wayne confirmed. "Humanity has gone through too much, teetering on the edge of oblivion, for us to go back to the way things were before. We have a chance to put aside the past and forge ahead as a united species. If enough of us come together with a singular vision for humanity's forward progress, the few trouble makers that will show up won't be enough to stop us."

"Speaking of progress," Anna said suddenly. "I completely forgot we got a message. A runner brought it in from Detroit this morning. Clayton Bell found the rest of his family. They're being leashed and led back for revival."

"That is good news," Wayne agreed with a smile.

"Remind me again why we didn't give him any nutrient solution to revive his family there," Anna prompted.

"The problems we're trying to stay ahead of will become much more difficult to handle if the revived spread out too quickly," Wayne explained. "What if a family is restored and starts rebuilding their hometown and declares it their own? Another family is revived later but also considers it their town. Fighting could break out and ruin everything. The world is wilderness, so if people start spreading out, they might establish whole communities, separate from each other. Next thing you know, we've got opposing nations. If anyone else knows the chemical mix, they could use it to force obedience, 'Follow our commands, or we won't revive your family.' Things of that nature. As long as we control the regeneration process, we've got the leverage to keep things together."

"Since we're not going to age," Anna put forward. "What do you want to do in the centuries after this world is put back in order?"

"I might like to see what's on the world next door," Wayne suggested. "Being ageless would let us explore to the furthest reaches. We'd finally have the time to see it all. Would you like to explore the universe with me?"

Anna took his hand in hers. "I'll spend eternity with you, on this world, on another, or anywhere in between."

Wayne sank his free hand into her thick mane of blonde hair, gently curling his fingers around the back of her neck to draw her close before covering her lips in a kiss.