Free America the Dead by Joseph Talluto Page B

you guys came back.” Nate arched an eyebrow at me.
    I shook my head. “I hate repeating myself, so I’ll save it for later. We’ll need to have everyone assembled for what I need to tell them.”
    Nate pulled the truck into his driveway. “Fair enough. I’ll get the grapevine going. You all can relax for a while.”

10
     
     
    We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing in Nate’s house catching up and hearing about all the improvements the community had made. I was impressed with the aggressive moves to root out the zombies in the neighboring areas and to secure more and more zones. It felt like we had been just vacationing in our own little world compared to what was happening here. Nate assured me that we had earned the rest.
    I did relent and told Nate about what we had learned about Major Thorton and his band of merry marauders. Nate cursed more eloquently than I had ever heard from him before and managed to stun even Tommy and Duncan into silence.
    When he had finished, he looked pointedly at me and said in a deceptively calm voice. “So what are we going to do about it?”
    I shrugged. “What choice do we have? We try to get there first. If we succeed, great. If he beats us to it, we make sure no one knows he destroyed it. The idea can remain alive, even if the document is not. We will use force if pushed.”
    Nate snorted. “I’ve seen you when you’ve been pushed. This should be interesting.” He stood up and stretched, the rest of us doing the same. “I’m going to make sure the meeting gets rolling. We are meeting now at the old school gymnasium. We’ll see you there in what, thirty minutes?”
    “Deal. We’ll be there. Let Sarah know where I am if you see her,” I said, trying to work out a kink in my back.
    Half an hour later, we stepped out into the growing darkness. The sun had set, but there was still a decent amount of light. We couldn’t make out small details unless we were right on top of something, but we could still see fairly well. We walked two by two, Charlie and I in front with Duncan and Tommy bringing up the rear. We moved down the center of the road, heads moving to every sound, hands straying near pistols. We passed a few people on their way to the meeting and it was interesting to see how alert we were and how casual they had become. If I had to guess, I would bet most people within town limits were no longer arming themselves as a regular part of their day. I wondered if I would have given up my guns had I stayed here.
    My wonderings were interrupted by a voice to my left. “Well, well. The big hero everyone’s been talking about.”
    I looked over and saw the same kid I had seen earlier in the day. He was casually sitting on a porch swing, his hands in his lap. He was about six feet, maybe less, and had a wiry, lanky build, with slightly stooped shoulders. His long brown hair was held back by his ears and his aquiline features were accented by deep-set eyes. With his head down, his eyes were just pits of black.
    I gave a hand signal to my friends and they kept walking, Tommy saying they’ll see me at the meeting. I watched them walk to the end of the street, then they turned out of sight. I turned my attention back to the guy on the porch.
    “You seem to know who I am, but I don’t know you,” I said, hooking my right thumb in my belt near my SIG. “Got a name or do I make one up for you?”
    “Name’s Dan Winters, not that it matters. I just wanted to see for myself who the big hero was. Our savior!” Winters said sarcastically, waving his hands in the air. He stood up and walked to the end of the porch. “I heard a lot about what you did and how you got the people to stick together. I even heard some interesting stories about what you may or may not have done south of here.”
    Winters came off the porch and walked out into the street. “I’m not so sure I believe what I have been hearing, because nobody is that bad ass. Nobody.” Dan had come to a stop