Peyton stopped for a moment on the uphill trail into the mountains. The voyage so far had involved a solid eight-day walk to reach Pagosa Springs with his skin recovering from sunburn and ankle blisters. Alex and June's company kept Lily's presence at bay for the moment, even if that company continuously argued about the decision to accompany him on this journey. Despite the knowledge that he couldn't turn back now, Alex kept talking as if it should have been a possibility. He'd point out their lack of plan, of training, and of their abysmal odds of coming back alive.

Peyton kept his mouth shut as he had no encouraging words for this man. The husband's words chipped away at his self-confidence and hope for his wife, but Peyton didn't dare engage in an argument. He needed all the energy he could muster to make the ten-hour walks. After the first day, ripe with dangerous UV rays, they had opted to turn day walks into night ones. The heat and risk of being found were less imposing under the moon's gentle touch.

Mr. M's route and maps were the greatest blessings he received aside from company. The route along the Rio Grande, in the beginning, had allowed them never to go thirsty and to have plenty of fresh food. Alex was an avid fisherman and they had scavenged some lures and poles from an abandoned cabin along the way. Peyton knew the best soil to find the bait and could identify the species of plants they could eat along the way.

Once they had passed Espanola and the Abiquiu reserve, water became scarcer, but they had had enough foresight to plan ahead and carry the weight of the extra as well as to alter their course to reach it when needed.

"Wow," April exclaimed as they drew nearer to a rushing river and a picturesque town. It looked like something out a tourist brochure, and the buildings stood, structurally sound.

"I wonder if the community was untouched," Alex said, his tone veering toward positive for the first time all day.

"We can only hope," Peyton said, and they ventured further. "Just in case, we should go back to regular etiquette: knocking on doors, alerting them of our presence. We don't want to get attacked for trespassing."

The first establishment had three stories and wide windows with red trim. The glass was clean and intact. He reached for the cold door handle, and it clicked open.

"Not knocking?" Alex challenged.

Peyton lifted his head to the sign: hotel. He opened up the door and looked around the lobby area. Luggage was still sitting near the striped couches. A continental breakfast stayed in place with ample quantities of probably stale cereal. The fruit had rotted and milk had gone sour long ago. The room smelled far worse than simple rotting food though.

"It's like a ghost town," June whispered into the silence. Not even the hum of a machine replied.

"Hello, is anyone around or alive?" Peyton called out.

He walked over to the front desk and found another empty chair. He looked on the group and saw a body curled in the fetal position. Her hair was held back in a tight bun but showed no signs of blood. Her pupils were dilated and eyes open wide as if terrified. The strange part was her mouth, agape as if gasping for breath, yet her neck showed no bruises of signs that she had been choked.

"Don't eat, drink or touch anything. There's a woman who died behind the front desk."

"Three here," Alex called out from the lobby lounge.

"A do-dozen," June's voice shook as she spoke. Peyton and Alex went to join her in the food area. Peyton opened up the shelves below the counter and pulled out a box of plastic gloves meant for food handling. Alex had his wife in a tight embrace. Peyton closed his eyes and tried to count the days since he had last seen his beloved wife. Too many.

"Take these," he said after they broke apart. "We'll see how much of this place is contaminated and see how far into town it has spread."

They grabbed as many of the keys as they could find at the front desk and set off to inspect the rooms. All were vacant except for one with a deceased cleaning woman. The vacuum had tipped down onto the ground, still plugged in. Whatever hit these folks had been instant.

The next hotels and homes they checked had the same results. It was easy enough to tell by the fully stocked shelves and stores that no one had needed to scavenge. They had all passed away without the chance to try and fight for their lives.

"This has biological warfare written all over it," Alex said. "It's sick."

"Alex, we don't know that for sure."

"It's quite likely," Peyton replied.

Gravel crunched behind them as they walked in a straight line. Peyton whirled around and his eyes scanned the area. A black dog emerged, and he let out a brief sigh. Just an animal.

"So it doesn't spread to animals, then," Alex thought aloud.

The gravel echoed again with heavier footsteps, and a small boy in a pair of overalls came out of the bushes. "Travis, come on back!" He stopped wide-eyed in his tracks when he saw the group of three adults.

"Hey, buddy. Is that your dog?" Peyton asked as he lowered himself to the boy's level.

The boy nodded and clutched the canine's fur tightly with tight fists.

"My name is Peyton, and these are two of my friends, June and Alex. We don't want to hurt you. We just had a few questions about this town. What's your name?"

"I'm Nicholas."

"It's lovely to meet you Nicholas, and you too Travis. Can I pet him?"

Nicholas nodded as he watched Peyton's every movement. Aware of this, Peyton gave him a small smile, not enough to scare him or seem unfriendly.

"Do you live in Pagosa Springs?"

His eyes shifted from side to side. "Sometimes."

"Is it safe to drink the water and eat the food here?"

He nodded. "Travis and I do most of the time."

"Are there any other people around here?"

"Just smelly statues." Nicholas began to pet the dog again. His eyes shot to Alex and June. "Is this real? Are you here to tell me this is just a bad dream?"

Peyton bit his lip and shook his head. Poor kid had no idea what was going on either. "We're going to stay here for a few days and rest. We'll be cooking up a few meals once we catch some fish if you want to join us for some food later."

The boy stared at Peyton's hair. "Okay, that sound pretty good."

"Can I can meet you back here when the sun gets a bit closer to the mountains?"

Nicholas shook his head, and a smile grew on his lips. "I haven't had hot food in a real long time. My daddy used to cook for me, but he's a statue too."

"It's hard for statues to cook. We'll make enough for you and Travis."

The boy wandered down another road with Travis. Alex had a scowl on his face when Peyton came back to them. "What good will that do us?" Alex said.

"We'll rest here, get as many clues as we can about what went on in this region, and feed a small boy in desperate need of food and companionship."

"Why didn't you tell him the people weren't statues?" June asked.

"Which reality would you prefer?"

"It's good news for us. We can drink the water, eat the food, and rest here in the vacant rooms. It's been too long since I've slept in an actual bed," Peyton said.

June placed her arm over her husband's shoulder. "C'mon babe, we need this."

"It's still another three days until we reach our destination. We need to replenish our energy. There are more than enough rooms for each of us to have our own and a generous food supply," Peyton reassured.

Alex sighed and they headed back to one of the emptier hotels with corpse-free rooms.

By the end of their two days in Pagosa Springs, Nicholas had warmed up to the three adults and had even managed to crack Alex's mood. Peyton dreaded leaving him here but feared what would happen if he got caught in the crossfire when they went to the colony. He had spent the second day teaching the boy to fish, light a fire and cook his find to justify leaving him on his own.

"I did it!"

Nicholas exclaimed as he pulled the slightly charred fish of the hot rock with a big stick. He set it on one of the metal plates the group had found yesterday. Peyton scooped out a helping of boiled vegetables on his plate. June gave him a baked potato that they had been lucky enough to find in a cold store. They hadn't eaten this well in a long time.

"You really have to leave tomorrow?" Nicholas asked.

June touched her palm to her chest and looked at Alex with watery eyes. His shoulders slumped.

"I have to find my wife, but we can stop by on our way back," Peyton said.

Nicholas' eyes lit up and his smile grew. "I'd really like that. Statueland is so lonely."

Alex leaned over to his wife and said quiet enough to hide it from the boy, "June, you should stay here with him."

Her eyes darted between Peyton and Nicholas as she tapped her foot on the ground. "You two need all the help you can get."

"If you want to stay, it's not an issue," Peyton said.

"But, I can't leave you on your own."

"Please, June, I'll be much more comfortable knowing you're somewhere safe than in harm's way. We'll be coming back."

"Excuse us a minute," June said, and the couple walked off away from the fire.

"I hope your wife isn't a statue," Nicholas said before taking another bite of fish.

"Me too," he muttered. The loss of his daughter had been enough. He wasn't sure he could survive losing his wife too.

Only the two men took off on the journey to the mountain fortress. Their pace increased a bit as both were taller and fit individuals. Three nights came and went to reach a very benign mountain, all things considered. It resembled every other one in the area and showed no signs of any life. The men rechecked the maps that Mr. M had sent to confirm it was the right location.

They changed into dark clothes to easily blend into the surrounding darkness and conceal their identities. They scouted around the water sources to look for pipes. To Peyton's dismay, the infrastructure was only large enough to offer passage to a rabbit or raccoon, however, they indicated a human presence in the uninhabited area. They slowly followed the pipes to discover a few paths large enough to support vehicles.

The path up stopped dead at a cavernous area with no signs of luck to their continued poor luck. They continued down another path and found a terraced landscape and a few greenhouses.

"Peyton," Alex whispered. "We should find shelter before the sun comes out."

"Not yet, I know Amelia. She would work here. I need to let her know I made it."  

He went into the medium greenhouse and looked around. From the organization of the plants, he knew it was his wife's workspace and he wanted to cry out in joy but contained himself.

He drew out a low red pocket light Mr. M had used during his military career to look at the handwriting in the notebook. Yesterday, so she frequented the area and was working on GMO products. The degree to which the pen pressed into the paper made his lips curl into a smile. She hated the work she was doing. Not that he ever questioned her motives, but it was reassuring to know after everything they had been through.

He would have waited for her in the greenhouse had it not been more a foreign set of handwriting on alternating dates. It was too big a risk being found and ruining their element of surprise. He couldn't write in the book and risk having it found either. He looked around the room and found nothing that could help his case. 

The lily petal! He tore through his backpack, looking for his morbid symbol of good luck. He hoped it would keep away the hallucinations if he brought that rogue dried flower petal he had found when he had first heard Lily's voice outside his dreams. Probably mildly insane, but Amelia would know. Lily had gotten her name from Amelia's favourite flower, the flower she had carried at their wedding.

Peyton quickly tore a page out the notebook and placed the petal next to the description of the green bean plant. He wrote her a cryptic note as not to get her in trouble and buried it in the dirt of the corresponding plant before joining Alex in search of shelter. They found a small cave at least ten minutes from the agricultural area and brought in some boulders to mask their presence for good measure.

Alex brought out one of the weapons and placed it by his side, toward the interior of the cave. Peyton chose not to give any intruders a possible crime of opportunity. Alex would be too proud to listen to Peyton's advice, although his moods had become more consistent once June decided to stay behind. If the man wanted to talk about it, he would, but Peyton knew better than to pour salt in the wound.

That night, Peyton's dreams were filled with wild images of Lily and Nicholas, running around his Statueland, which now had rivers of red flowing blood instead of the clear water. They came back from the river with wide grins.

"Daddy, daddy, we caught something!"

Lily, her dark hair held back in the tight braids Amelia used to do for her, held up the fishing rod and a gruesome catch.

"Sweetheart, put that down on the ground please."

"Why?" She turned her head to the boy in overalls who she matched in height. He had a wide grin on his face. "Nicholas says you'll help us cook it for supper. He says you taught him all sorts of cool tricks."

"Hunny, that's not a fish. Please put it down."

Her pale face scrunched up. "It's not?" A blood curling scream left her mouth as her gaze connected with the skull, tendons and arteries hanging down from the area where the neck severed on the human head.

Peyton bolted up in the cave, gasping for breath. He hated how they felt so real. Alex was already awake and cleaning the knife. He shot Peyton a look that confirmed that he had witnessed the grown man's panic. He made no move to reassure him or ask about what Peyton was facing. It was for the best to keep his insecurities to himself.

The high sun, slightly visible through the cracks in their rock wall confirmed it was nearly noon. Peyton peered through but couldn't glimpse the agricultural site, both a blessing for their concealment and a curse for finding his wife.

Below their position, footsteps echoed. Alex gripped the knife harder and Peyton stood completely still. His eyes followed the gap that allowed him to glimpse the path below. Hair dark like his daughter's. An airy yet strident walk, always indicating that the woman had a direction. Soil-stained palms and fingernails.

He waited until she passed and began to count away the minutes. She could be followed and he wanted to ensure that she wasn't. He looked at Alex then pointed to the rocks. With a raise of an eyebrow, Alex put the knife back in its holster and helped him move a small section of rock with the least noise possible. Amelia hadn't returned yet, and Peyton figured more distance was a good distance from those who knew, unless they were just around the corner.

"Stay here in case someone tails me."

Alex nodded and Peyton sneaked out, carefully working his way back down onto the path. It took another five minutes to reach Amelia who had turned around to head back. He ran toward her and embraced her as tightly as he possibly could.

"You're okay," he said softly. Tears began to tumble down his cheeks.

"I've missed you," Amelia said as she pulled him in tighter, not daring to let go anytime soon.

He brushed a bit of dirt off her forehead and left cheek before he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. He knew his were wind and sunburnt, burning a bit at her touch, but the ecstasy of the reunion numbed the pain.

"You shouldn't be here," she muttered. "I'm working my ass off to get myself out of here, and it's not easy. What if they find you? You could be killed or worse, forced to endure life with these psychopaths."  

"Tell me how I can help, and we'll get you out that much sooner."

"What was Lily's favourite animal when she was a four?"

"Limenitis arthemis because of its colours."

She kissed him again on the lips. "It really you!"

"Should I be concerned that you would kiss a stranger who looks like me, but only confirm my identity when it involves sensitive information."

Amelia laughed and ran her hand along the beard beginning to fill in on his face. "I just had to be sure. Blame my impulsive instincts that find you irresistible."

"We could hatch our escape now."

"No, it would be too risky. I've also enlisted the help of an expanding group of others."

"You were always good at shaking a place up."

Amelia smiled. "There's a girl working alongside me in the greenhouse, which I assume you suspected, and she's been forced into this gem of a society's plan to force women and men to procreate against their will. She has a friend taking care of the electrical mechanics of escaping the facility itself, and another young woman who has experience with mountainous terrain. There may be another who can override the security system who hasn't confirmed his involvement. And funny enough, they're all teenagers."

"We were all rebellious teens at one point too. And you were quite the prodigy yourself."

Amelia smiled but it fell shortly after. "I can't be gone much longer without arousing suspicion."

"When are your plans set to take off?"

"A week from today. I'll leave some items in the greenhouse corner. You should come to retrieve them at night so we have an external storage."

"What kind of supplies?"

"Extra water, food, tools. We'll need to defend ourselves if we do get caught."

"How do you expect to escape without being noticed?"

"Deactivate the sensors, run surveillance loop videos, and run like hell."

"They'll follow us. I've been speaking with a man who left this facility, and they are extremely dangerous."

"We take as much of a lead as we can, leave during a busy hour and use the darkness to our advantage. The route I want to take is one that seems illogical, one that does not initially follow a water source. We'll hide for forty hours immediately after the night of escape. What you can do is scout a route heading directly east, walk approximately nine hours and find shelter. You can outfit the shelter with food and water that I'll smuggle out this week. Remember, nine hours east and shelter large enough for six. Don't make any moves before sundown."

"Seven, I have a little help." Amelia raised an eyebrow. "He's not the most pleasant, but he can fish and hunt. We have to pass by Pagosa Springs on the way back to pick up his wife. It's a ghost town, some virus took out everyone except a scared little boy."

"That doesn't sound safe, Peyton."

"We stayed two days, ate the food, drank the water and we're alive, as is the boy."

"Okay, we'll head east, then to Pagosa Springs, and figure everything out from there."

"Can we meet up again?"

Amelia shook her head. "I don't want to risk it. I'll see you in a week, we'll meet you here, just after sundown." She gave him one last kiss on the lips before she headed back. Peyton waited on the path for a bit, contemplating the landscape and the odds of them all making it out alive, before he went back to pass on the news to Alex.