Mike and Jim shook the dew off of their shoes as they finished walking the fence line that surrounded the homes and buildings that made up Jackson. The place they knew as "Jackson" was actually three miles or so away from the traditional resort and ski town. The initial residents, while scouting settlement locations, came upon this collection of small, well-built and insulated houses that were located close together. This became their new home.

Back before the infection, an enterprising investor built these homes in this area, hoping to cash in on the wealthy tourists that flocked to Jackson. The investor, long-since forgotten and dead, had a bright idea to build rustic-looking homes and rent them out to the citified tourists. The tourists saw the wood, log-cabin motif and the fact they were three whole miles away from a Starbucks as ample proof they were, in fact, roughing it.

In fact, the investor's plan was a godsend to the new residents. Despite the fact that the houses, abandoned for years, fell in disrepair, the main structures and base construction were sturdy and hardly compromised. The residents worked tirelessly to make the repairs needed to the houses and additional buildings used as common areas and stables, and construct a wall around the new "Jackson" and nearby hydroelectric plant. Some of the residents familiar with the area raided several abandoned military camps. One of the most valuable finds was several dozen large rolls of concertina wire. This cousin of barbed wire was wire studded not with barbs, but with razors. This guaranteed that anyone trying to breach it without special equipment or an armored vehicle would be cut to ribbons. The concertina wire topped the wall around Jackson and the hydroelectric plant. It was also used to enclose pasture areas used for horses.

The eleven horses that followed them around as they walked the fence line stood there, waiting for the carrots Mike and Jim brought them. Seven more horses watched from another pasture. These seven had only recently been brought to Jackson and were almost ready to join the main group. Horses were not difficult to find in this part of the country. The most difficult part was socializing the loose horses, who were not quite wild, with people again.

"Sorry, luvs, no more." Mike said after they gave out the last carrot. Jim opened the half-door that led into the barn and both men entered. On the way out through the barn, a female voice called out, "Was everything okay?"

The voice belonged to Caroline, who with her sister Meaghan, were pulling saddles and tack to go riding.

"Nothing amiss," Mike said. "Kathryn says she's about ready to let the seven we brought in last month join the herd. They were nosin' each other over the fence, so I think that's a good sign. She said they've ridden all of them, too, so they're saddle broke."

"Where are you guys off to?" Jim asked.

Meaghan held up her rifle. "Maria thought it would be a good idea to get an early start on winter rations. With the freezers running, she thinks we can store some meat for the winter. Be nice to have a change from the smoked stuff and jerky."

"It may get old, but it keeps us fed." Mike said. "This isn't your first winter here. We barely have enough now for every house to get its ration. Now with Joel and Ellie coming in, that's one more house. 'Course, with that good crop of potatoes that came in, it shouldn't be as touch and go as before." Mike saw the looks on Caroline and Meaghan's faces and gave them a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. I'm being a drama queen. We'll make it. We always do."

"Sorry." Meaghan said. "I didn't mean to sound ungrateful."

"You two are some of the best with a gun here. We need to take care of you." Mike said, giving Caroline, the older sister, a pat on the shoulder.

The sisters put their tack, backpacks and rifles down and went to get their horses. Meaghan said, "Oh, if you guys talk to Ellie, see if she wants to come with us one day."

"Sure thing, Moose. We'll let her know." Jim said.

Joel absent-mindedly twirled the curtain when he felt a soft hug from behind.

"Thank you," Ellie said.

"For what?"

"For what you said last night, about taking our time for - things," she said, blushing. "The last thing I want to do - if I carry - is hurt you. I probably shouldn't have even kissed you last night."

Joel turned around and stroked her hair. "I remember doing some kissing, too, and I didn't object." He paused for a second. "I've thought about this -"

"You've thought about making out with me?" Ellie asked with a twinkle in her eye. "Joel, you're turning red." Ellie giggled, then hugged him tighter.

"What I was saying," Joel said, failing to suppress a smile, "was that we've killed a lot of infected and I've got their blood and other stuff on me, and probably breathed it in and got it in my mouth. From everything I've seen, it takes an open wound, like a bite, or breathing in the spores, for the infection to pass. It has to get in the bloodstream directly. This infection acts a lot like a disease I remember before this outbreak called AIDS. It was a disease spread by infected needles and sexual contact, some way to have it pass directly into the bloodstream, too. It wasn't passed by just kissing, though." Joel looked into her eyes. "Even still, me just holding the prettiest girl I've ever seen close every night, and going to sleep with your hair tickling my nose makes me the happiest man in the world."

Ellie beamed as she walked to the small mirror on the wall and started brushing her hair. Joel lifted his shirt up and felt the scar on his stomach. Ellie saw him wince slightly in the mirror and turned around. "Does it still hurt?"

"Not really. It itches a little sometimes. Every time I see it or feel it, it reminds me of what you did for me. Everything you did, what you went through, for me, saying 'thank you' isn't ever going to be enough."

Ellie went to Joel and sat down on the bed with him and held his hand. "I was so scared. I couldn't stand the thought of being without you. Every time I could, I'd lie down next to you and put my hand and my head on your chest so I could feel you and hear your breathing. Every breath you took, that was you getting a little bit better."

"I kept having the same dream." Joel said. "I dreamed I was floating in water. I'd start to sink and panic. Then, I'd feel these hands beneath me. They were soft and gentle, but incredibly strong. These hands would lift me up and made me feel safe again. I'd hear a voice, too. It was the most beautiful voice I'd ever heard. It said 'I'm here, Joel. You're going to be okay'. Having that dream, knowing you were there, made me fight that much harder. I wanted to see you, to hear you, to be with you so much."

"I couldn't lose you, Joel. I just couldn't." Ellie leaned against Joel and hugged him. "We did it, together. But mostly me." Ellie said, leaning against him and putting her head on his shoulder.

After a morning of working on bomb materials, Mike, Jim, Joel and Ellie were at the mess hall for lunch. The fare was simple today - deer roast, boiled potatoes and turnip greens. All of the residents of Jackson, even the ones that had been there since the beginning, had vivid memories of surviving on stale canned goods and whatever else passed as food that could be found. These memories made a meal as simple as fresh potatoes and greens taste as good as anything from a fancy restaurant, not that any were around anymore.

"Hi, folks," Tommy said, as he and Maria came over to their table, along with a man and woman who looked to be in their thirties. "This is Jed and Elizabeth Carson. These are Mike, Jim, Ellie and Joel."

"Call me Beth," the young woman said.

After handshakes all around, Maria spoke.

"They came here all the way from Boston, too. We're going to have to start giving medals - seems like this is the Oregon Trail all over again. They had a fishing boat and do carpentry, so I have a feeling they'll be more than pulling their weight around here."

"So you must have known Robert, then," Joel said. "He ran the docks for a while when I was there."

"Yeah. He had his little extortion ring, taking a cut of whatever we brought in. I heard he had an accident and a guy named Max took over," Jed said. "Late last winter, the boat started leaking. It was old and needed work. Max said he'd give us what we needed to fix the boat if we signed the boat over to him. It was bad enough paying him twenty-five percent so he would leave us alone, but this wouldn't do. Without repairs, it wouldn't have made it the next spring. We weren't about to be indentured to that thug. We heard from some of the soldiers about this place. So, we struck out here last spring."

"We wanted to introduce you, but that's not the main reason for coming over here." Tommy said. "Jed and Beth ran into someone you know."

"Really." Joel said, interested.

"Do you know a guy, a big guy, dark hair, beard, name of Bill?" Jed asked.

"Bill? Last time we saw him, he was in a town outside of Boston called Lincoln."

"Not any more. We found him in Omaha. He was holed up in a church there. We were looking for supplies and found this church. It had a big iron fence around it, so we thought maybe there were supplies inside. He was putting up some kind of trap by the fence. He asked where we were going and I told him. He said that was where he was headed before he got sick and had to stay put for a while. He also said if we were to run into a guy named Joel and a girl named Ellie to see if there was any way you could come back and help him get to Jackson. He said 'ask them if they'll help me. Please."

"He said 'please'?" Joel asked.

"That's what he said."

Joel paused for a second. "In all of the years I've known Bill, he's never said 'please'. Not to anyone for any reason. He must want us to help him get here pretty bad."

"So he's a friend of yours?" Beth asked.

"Well, not exactly a friend." Joel said, as Ellie snorted in agreement. "What he might be, though, is the best person I've seen around cars and engines. I've seen him build a car from the ground up from scratch and repair an engine by the light of the moon." Joel looked at Tommy and Maria. "If we were to bring him here, he could get us some vehicles running."

"Whoa, whoa," Ellie said. "You're not thinking about helping that fu- helping him, are you?"

"Well, look at it this way. If you help him, he'll owe you big time, oh, pretty much forever." Joel said.

"Hmmph." Ellie said, leaning back and crossing her arms.

"Why didn't he come back here with you?" Jim asked.

"Bill said the only gate was swarming with infected. We didn't have much in the way of weapons. Some of 'em were getting close to us, so we had to run. He did throw us a bag with gun, a couple of clips and some food, though."

"Joel, it's a big risk." Maria said. "Huge. Is it worth taking? Whoever goes to get him putting their lives at risk for us? Ever since we've been here we've tried to get something running. I don't need to tell you what it would mean to have a vehicle or vehicles here. Simon, Olivia, Adam - they've tried to get something running. They've worked miracles giving us electricity, but engines and cars - that's outside their arena." Maria paused, thinking. "We've pretty much scavenged everything around here within a day's trip on horseback. Sasha needs more medicine and supplies. We need to do what's best for our little town. I can't make you go, Joel, but I think that Bill bringing what talents he has outweighs the risk."

Ellie spoke up. "If you go, Joel, I'm going with you. We stick together, remember? No way you go get Bill without me."

"I was going see if you'd want to go, but since you volunteered, I guess I don't have to ask." Joel said, as Ellie shot him a satisfied look.

"You're going to need a couple of folks to watch your back." Mike said. "What say, Jim, you ready for a little trip?"

"Always, my friend." Jim said.

"Guys, you don't have to -" Ellie said. She saw the looks on their faces. "But why should we have all the fun, right?"

"OK, then." Maria said. "Just two more people to convince."

"Let me get this straight. You want to take five of my horses on a trip across two states to find one man and bring him back here?" Miles said, gesturing with his hand in a big circle. Joel, Tommy and Maria had come to visit Miles and Kathryn right after lunch. "Okay, okay, I know they ain't my horses," Miles continued, "but we take care of them. They're safe here."

Kathryn was leaning against a stall, a hand in her pocket, when she spoke. "Maria, I know you say you don't run things around here, but you do. I know this isn't a kingdom and you aren't the queen, but you've kept us alive, you steered us through the first winters and helped get the people here that gave us electricity. I'm worried about the horses, too, but I'm more worried about Joel and Ellie and Mike and Jim. If you think them going out and bringing this guy back is important enough to outweigh the risk, then I'm with you." She looked at her husband, and he nodded.

Miles walked over to Joel and gave him a pat on the back. "I said what I did, so we know you'll be extra careful. Yeah, I'm worried about the horses, but you take care of them, they'll always bring you home."

"We will." Joel said. "We'll be here daybreak tomorrow."

Sasha Ivanov, or Dr. Sasha as she was known in Jackson, took the large plastic bottle of peroxide off of the shelf and handed it to Ellie. She was only fifteen when the infection came. Her parents were professors at the University of Chicago and died in the first few horrific days. She was a prodigy, starting her first year of medical school at Northwestern. She followed in the footsteps of her brother, Adam, who at seventeen was in his last year of a master's engineering program at Northwestern. After the outbreak they had lived in the Chicago QZ until it had become overrun.

While in Chicago, she apprenticed to the two doctors working there. Between the apprenticeship and reading every medical textbook she could borrow or find, she became, for all intents and purposes, a doctor. Sasha still had hopes of working on a cure, but the QZ didn't have the facilities and it was too dangerous to work in any of the nearby universities. So Sasha threw herself into treating the QZ residents and military for everyday medical problems, trauma, and infectious diseases.

Then, as it came to so many QZs, a mistake or lapse in attention allowed infected inside. Soon, Chicago was abandoned. The army, so concerned to protect the residents in the QZ, escaped in their armored vehicles and left the few remaining uninfected people to fend for themselves. Sasha and Adam struck out west and by sheer luck met up with Tommy's crew. They traveled with them to Jackson and became part of the town.

"Thanks for letting us have stuff for a first aid kit." Ellie said, packing the peroxide in a small bag, along with the rest of the medical supplies.

"You're welcome. Who is this guy you're supposed to get? He must be somebody we really want for you four to go all the way to Omaha to get him."

"Just a guy we know who is pretty good at fixing cars and stuff. He's not very nice, though. Do you have something we can stuff in his mouth so he doesn't talk?" Ellie sincerely asked.

"Now, Ellie." Sasha said.

Ellie held her serious look for three whole seconds before she smiled.

"You had me going there for a second." Sasha said, smiling as well.

"He seemed pretty desperate to ask for our help so I think he'll behave. I feel bad, though, helping out the guys these last couple of days and now leaving you for a couple of months. "

"I'll be okay. If I get somebody to come in and help, they won't be near as good as you. I mean that."

Ellie took a breath. "Dr. Sasha, after we come back, would it be okay if I stay here and help more or less permanent? We're supposed to pull shifts doing other things - I don't mind doing that - but when I can; I'd like to stay here."

"Of course, Ellie. You're a great help. I'd love for you to keep coming."

"And, can you teach me more things, about medicine? What I'm trying to say, I guess, is I think I want to work on being a doctor like you."

"I won't lie to you, Ellie. It is a lot of hard work." Sasha said. "I was about your age when I told Adam and my parents I wanted to be a doctor. If you want to put in the work, I'll be with you every step. You're smart and I know you can do it if you want to."

"Thanks, Dr. Sasha." Ellie said. "For everything."

Sasha saw that Ellie was still holding the medical bag. "If you want, just set it by the back door. If you come by early before I'm awake you can just come in and get it."

"If I don't see you tomorrow, I'll see you when we get back."

"You stay safe, Ellie."

The clear night sky over Jackson was filled with stars. Joel and Ellie were together on a blanket they spread out, watching the stars and occasional meteorite. They lay on their backs, holding hands.

"We must not be good at this settling down thing. I mean, we made it two whole weeks before going out again." Joel mused.

"It's too boring here." Ellie said, squeezing his hand. "Except when I'm doing stuff with you, even just looking at the mountains and the stars." She shifted over on her side so she could nestle next to Joel. "When I was over at Dr. Sasha's, I asked her if I could help her out all the times that I don't have a shift somewhere in town."

"I'm glad you like it there. She's a great doctor and she's lucky to have you there." Joel said.

"I also asked her if I could start doing things to learn how to be a doctor like her."

"That's wonderful," Joel said as he put his arm around her and held her close. "You sure were the best doctor I ever had. The folks here would be lucky to have you as a doctor, too." Joel paused for several seconds. "You know, you're going to have to tell Dr. Sasha about your immunity sometime."

"I know. I feel bad about keeping it a secret. Maybe I'll tell her when we get back. Will you be there with me when I tell her?"

"Of course." Joel said as he squeezed her hand.

"I mean, you said you told Tommy, I'm sure he's told Maria. It might not be a secret anymore."

"The thing is, too, is that they might not even care. I mean, I'm sure Dr. Sasha will, because she would probably love learning about what makes your immunity tick. But the others? They know you aren't going to bite them, and if you get hurt and bleed, you'll take care of that right away. At the very least, they know you've traveled a long way here and it wasn't easy - you still jumped right in and started doin' whatever was needed around here. You're a valuable asset to them now. Plus, they think you're pretty awesome. But not more than me." Joel said, reaching over and brushing a lock of hair out of her eyes. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

Ellie smiled and pressed close against him as they held each other and watched the stars. "Not as much as I love you," she whispered.

"Joel, hurry up! They're waiting for us!" Ellie said.

Joel came into the room, bent over to finish tying his boot. "Fine time for a lace to break," he muttered. "Just a sec." He finished up, grabbed his backpack and joined Ellie. Ellie paused right before they went out the door, went back to a window and took her knife off the sill and put it in her pocket. "You never know," she said to Joel.

"Yep." He said.

"Where's your knife?" she asked.

"In my pack."

"That's going to do you a lot of good you trying to find it when a runner is all up in your ass." Ellie said, shooting him a disapproving look

"Yes, ma'am." Joel said, pulling the hunting knife out of his pack and looping the sheath on his belt. "Better?"

"Now are you going to do what I say, when I say it?" Ellie said, sternly.

"Now where have I heard that before?" Joel asked.

Ellie giggled as they closed the door behind them and, after a brief stop and the clinic to pick up the first aid bag, went to meet Mike and Jim.

Miles and Kathryn were waiting, having herded up five horses in the paddock nearest them. Mike and Jim were just walking up, as were Tommy and Maria.

"I pulled your tack for you, right inside the barn. These five'll do you good."

There were three bays, a dappled grey and a pinto. The rescue party saddled and bridled the horses, and Mike and Jim secured the extra supplies to the pinto's saddle. The four mounted up. Tommy and Maria walked to Joel and Ellie.

"Joel -" Maria said, and paused. "Be careful."

He nodded. "Thanks."

"Ellie, you take care of my brother." Tommy said.

"I will."

They left Jackson, riding single file east, toward the prairie.