I lived in Atlanta my whole life, so I knew the back roads better than most other people did. Atlanta was one of those cities where half the people who lived there were from somewhere else. I used to hate that, but in the end, it worked to my advantage.”

 

I nodded in understanding. Charlotte was the same way back before the end of the world. After the big banks moved in and brought tens of thousands of jobs with them, the mild weather and low cost of living attracted workers from all over the country. By the time the Outbreak hit, it was a rare thing to meet anyone born and raised in the city.

 

“We’ve been moving slowly, one place to another for the last couple of years.” Tom continued. “We headed straight for the mountain country when we left Atlanta. Been working our way north on foot ever since.”

 

“But why come here?” I asked.

 

Tom pointed to his wife. “Sarah grew up near Morganton. She knows the country around here. Figured this would be a good place to start over.”

 

I turned to Sarah. “You’re from Morganton?”

 

She nodded. “Yep. Grew up about ten miles south of where we sit right now.”

 

That got a wry smile out of me. Small world. I thought about asking her if she had ever been down to Alexis, but decided against it. That conversation could wait.

 

“How did you end up in Atlanta?” I asked.

 

“I worked in the FBI field office there.” She replied.

 

“You were an FBI agent?”

 

Sarah nodded. “Used to be. I left the Bureau after Brian was born. It was hard enough just being married, but when he came along…it was tough. Work kept me away from my family a lot.” She reached out a hand and stroked the back of Brian’s head. “I put out some feelers and wound up getting an offer as a security manager for a big retail chain. The number on the offer letter was twice my government salary, so I turned in my badge and my gun and I never looked back.”

 

I absorbed that for a moment, and then pointed at Tom. “So how did the two of you meet?”

 

“I ran my own contracting business.” Tom replied. “Mostly remodeling, roofing, things like that.”

 

“He had good reviews on Angie’s List, so I hired him to refurbish the kitchen in my condo.” Sarah interjected.

 

Tom grinned.