Nate’s face turned quizzical. “Phase three?”

“Sure. Phase one was to survive the Upheaval. Phase two was to establish a safe zone we could live in permanently. Phase three was to go out and see who else might be out there and either bring them in or establish communication and increase the size of our community.”

“Is there a phase four?” Nate asked.

“Yes.”

“And?”

“You’ll see.”

“You haven’t lost your wonderful sense of humor” Nate said.

“The secret to a spicy relationship is a little mystery. Didn’t you know that?” I grinned at Nate who rolled his eyes. “Tell me about our new friends.”

“Okay. Here we are.” Nate opened a map of Illinois and indicated our position with a pencil. “We know that State Center Bravo is located here.” He pointed to an area located about ten miles southeast of Morris in a spot that looked like it was surrounded by waterways and state parks. “The town that contacted us is located here, called Coal City.”

I looked at the map. “How have they managed to survive? They’re in between two interstates and a major road passes through their area. Not to mention having a state center nearby with who knows how many infected that might have headed that way, not knowing they had the virus until it was too late.”

“Actually, they did it pretty much the same way we did. They are a junction of rail lines, so they used cargo containers. One of their people was a train driver and he made the run to this rail yard here,” Nate indicated a spot north of the town, “and grabbed train movers and flatbeds, along with a mess of cars. They made a fence like we did.”

“So what’s the trouble?” I asked. “Far as I can see, they should be all right.”

Nate nodded. “They were, but the situation changed and they’re seeing a lot of zombie activity and they just don’t have the resources to take care of it.”

“And we do?” I arched an eyebrow at Nate.