Tom’s smile broadened. “Told you I’d have dinner waiting for you.”

 

I smiled back. I had to admit, I was starting to like the guy. “Anything I can do to help?” I asked.

 

“You can help me set up seats for the two of you.” Sarah said from behind me.

 

I turned around to see her and Brian rolling a short section of log toward the fire. It was about the right size to use as a stool. I walked over to help them.

 

“Careful now,” Sarah said, “It’s pretty heavy…”

 

She trailed off as I squatted down and casually pulled it up to my chest, being careful to lift with my legs. It had some weight to it, but I am not a weak man. “It’s alright, I got it.” I said, and turned to carry it back to the fire.

 

Sarah chuckled from behind me. “Okay, that works too.”

 

After shrugging out of my pack and harness, I laid my rifle down on the ground next to me and took a seat near the fire. The warmth felt good in the chill afternoon air, and my stomach growled at the scent of meat sizzling on the grill. It had been almost three months since I had eaten fresh venison. I didn’t like the stuff before the Outbreak, but after eating it as a staple food for the last two years I’d developed a taste for it.

 

 Brian shoveled some hot coals into a smaller fire pit nearby, and then opened a few cans of beans into an aluminum pot. Gabe helped him lash a few sticks together from which to suspend the pot over the coals. While the food cooked, we talked about the weather, how harsh the winter had been, and how strange the unseasonably cold spring temperatures were. I shot Gabe a look at that one. We knew why it was cold, but I wasn’t quite sure how to break the news to these folks. Sarah caught the exchange, and her expression grew quizzical.

 

“So where are you folks from, originally?” I asked, changing the subject.

 

They grew silent for a moment.

 

“We came here from Atlanta.” Tom said staring into the fire, a thin, grim line replacing his smile.

 

“Jesus Christ.” I breathed. “How did you get out of there?” 

 

Atlanta was ground zero when the Outbreak hit. It spread outward from there, and in less than a year, consumed nearly the entire world.

 

Tom shrugged. “We ran. We packed up everything that we could fit in my Explorer, and hit the road.