I rode on Simon’s left while Charlie brought up the rear. We talked briefly of the Upheaval and I learned that Simon was a computer software engineer, working out of Los Angeles. When the Upheaval hit, he managed to escape the carnage of the city and take refuge in the mountains. He had been living off the land and foraging through the ranches when he was ‘recruited’ by the Major. He didn’t elaborate and I figured we would learn more when we returned home. I told him about where we lived and how we came to be there. His eyes got wide when I told him of the towns and communities we had put together and he expressed a sincere interest in seeing those towns. Simon apologized for his behavior, but he thought he had been chased for hundreds of miles, thinking he had given his pursuers the slip when he crossed the Mississippi. When he saw us in all our gear, he immediately thought of the Major and therefore reacted the way he did.

The sun was high when we reached the outer gate and Simon was impressed with our earthen wall. I could see him running an experienced eye on its effectiveness and I saw him nod his head in approval. As we approached the lodge, I could see Simon openly nodding.

“Very nice,” he said. “Was this place a tourist spot before the zombies came?”

I gave him a short nod as I put my bike away. “This place has a lot of history, but the short version is we found it empty, realized its potential, and settled in. We could have done worse and nobody has laid a counter claim to it.”

“Not yet,” Simon mumbled, but quickly smiled to cover it. “Looking forward to seeing the rest,” he said amicably

Charlie led the way and we climbed the stairs to the second floor, then worked our way down to the main room. Simon whistled at the size of our common area, then walked over to the window to admire the view. I shrugged off my backpack and took off my vest. Charlie did the same, although he put his used tomahawk near the fireplace in the center to burn off any trace of the virus from the Z he killed. I motioned Simon to settle in at the big round table we used for discussions and he sat down, relaxing into the chair after his long hike. He pulled a bottle of water out of his pack and took a drink, his eyes glancing around at his surroundings.