Gabriel told them to fire three shots into the air if they ran into any trouble before we came to see them tomorrow. Tom promised they would, and we set off to finish the hike back to our cabin.

 

“So what do you think?” Gabe asked once we were well out of earshot of the camp.

 

I shrugged. “They seem nice enough.”

 

Gabe nodded. “They’ve managed to survive this long out here on their own, so I think it’s safe to say they’re not stupid.”

 

We were silent for a little while farther on our walk before something occurred to me. “Do you think there might be other people around here? I mean, we live less than three miles from those folks, and we didn’t even know they were here. Couldn’t there be other people around that we don’t know about?”

 

Gabe considered the idea for a moment. “I hate to say it, but you have a good point. It’s big country around here with lots of places to hide. I know a lot of folks that survived the Outbreak fled to the mountains to get away from the infected. We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled.”

 

The rest of the hike back to the cabin passed in silence. We didn’t run into any infected for a change, which was nice. Chores around our property kept us busy and our thoughts occupied us for the rest of the afternoon and on into the evening. Just as the sun was beginning to set, I grabbed a fishing pole and a tackle box and spent an hour fishing in the stream that flowed around the base of the mountain. A couple of fair sized brook trout took the bait and gave me a good fight before I landed them. That put a smile on my face; brook trout are good eating. The fish went on the grill over the fire pit in the front yard after Gabe helped me scale and clean them. My big friend was more pensive than usual as we ate.

 

“Something on your mind?” I asked.

 

Gabe pulled a bone from his filet and tossed it into the fire. “It just seems like a shame for those folks to sleep out in the cold tonight, what with them having a kid and all. We got plenty of room here. Maybe we should let them stay with us until we leave for Colorado.”

 

I looked across the fire at him. “You sure that’s a good idea? We just met those people. I’m not sure we should trust them that much yet.”

 

Gabe was quiet for a moment before he replied. “They seem like good people. I don’t think they would try anything stupid. Besides, we ain’t gonna need this place much longer.”

 

Deep down, I agreed with him, but I still wasn’t willing to take an unnecessary risk.

 

“We’ll see how things go tomorrow.” I said.