"So, this dairy...you guys really have food?" Mark questioned as he, Ben, Carley, Lee, and Carlos walked along a dirt path with the two strangers. Carlos was still feeling quite skeptical, but as long as they had food for Sarah, he didn't mind going to the farm.

"Sure do," the taller man with the gas can said. "We lost most of the cattle, but we're stocked up on milk, butter, and cheese," he answered.

The shorter man chimed in, "And with the vegetables we grow, we got plenty of food."

They continued to walk on while Lee and Carley spoke of Lee's past. Carlos was silent the majority of the time, just wanting to hurry and get to the dairy, and then back to his daughter as soon as possible. She was already probably worried sick about him; he hoped at least Lilly was being nice to her.

"Y'all seemed pretty settled in at the motor inn over there..." the taller man said, breaking up the silence. "Who's running things over there?" he asked.

"We work as a group," Lee answered. "All of us looking out for each other."

"I hear that," the taller man replied. "There are so many dumbasses out there, fightin' each other these days. It's just stupid," he finished.

"How many people you got over there anyway?" the shorter man questioned.

"Enough to defend ourselves," Lee answered.

"Well that's good!" the tall man said. "It's getting dangerous out there."

"Well, we'd love to get you all out to the dairy," the shorter man, Danny, added. "Like I said, we've got plenty of food, and quite frankly, we could use an extra helping hand."

"In the summers, I used to help out on a goat farm," Ben announced.

"Well, that's great. Everything helps!"

"Mama's been runnin' the dairy for as long as I can remember," the taller man, Andy spoke up. "I think we-"

"You think you're gonna cut me out of this?!" a new voice yelled out. Carlos frowned, this voice sounded oddly familiar.

"Shit, get down!" Andrew ordered.

Everyone crouched down and stayed out of sight. Two men wearing masks were arguing about something or other, and that was when Carlos realized why the voice sounded so familiar: These were the people who had raided their camp just a couple of hours earlier.

"Fuckin' bandits," Danny muttered.

"Carlos, those look like the people who raided our camp," Ben glanced at the Hispanic man behind him.

"Who are they?" Lee whispered.

"Shh!" Andy shushed him. "Fucking assholes is who they are."

"There's only two of them," Carley pointed out.

"Yeah, and you know what? We ate it all!" one bandit shouted. "What are you gonna fucking do about it?"

"Don't worry, Danny and I got you covered if something happens, but let's just wait this out and hopefully they'll move on."

"FUCK YOU!" the first bandit shouted. Much to the shock of everyone, he promptly kicked the other guy down and immediately shot him in cold blood. Ben let out an audible gasp. The bandit began to repeatedly shoot the second, although he was already dead. "FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU!"

"Jesus!" Carley uttered.

"Asshole," the bandit finally commented as he walked away.

Carlos grumbled to himself and squeezed his eyes shut. He was very thankful that Sarah wasn't here to see what had just occurred.

"The world out here has gone to shit," Andy said. "Come on, let's get to the dairy where it's safe." The group then walked for a little while longer until finally they approached the clear path of the dairy farm. Then they knew that they had finally made it. "Here it is, the St. John family dairy," Andy said. "Y'all can see how we've kept this place so safe," he added, gesturing to the electric fence.

"The fence keeps them out?" Ben asked.

"You betcha. They fry like bugs in a zapper."

"Ever have any accidents?" Lee asked.

Andy shook his head. "Nah."

"It's safer here than it is out there!" Danny chimed in.

Suddenly, an older looking woman approached the group. "I thought I saw y'all coming with company down the drive," she smiled at the group.

"Guys, this is our mama," Andy said proudly.

"I'm Brenda St. John and welcome to the St. John dairy!" she welcomed with a big smile. Carlos thought she seemed friendly enough. He wished he had Sarah with him though, she was good at telling what kind of person new people were by first impressions. She would tell him if Brenda was nice or not.

"This here's Lee, he's been living down at that old motel round the way," Andy introduced.

"Oh my goodness, that place is pretty vulnerable," said Brenda. "Have you got someone with survival experience to lead your group?"

"We all work together, plus we got plenty of people with military experience," Lee responded.

"Well, that's good to hear. That motel ain't the safest place," Brenda continued. "Now that y'all are here, we'll make sure you're safe and comfortable."

"Does that offer apply to the rest of us?" Lee inquired.

"We're all incredibly hungry," Carley added.

"These are for y'all, baked fresh this morning," Brenda replied, holding out a basket of biscuits for the group to see.

"Wow," Carlos breathed out. He was starting to get somewhat of a good feeling. Sarah would be happy to see the food once they arrived back.

"Amazing!" Carley exclaimed.

"Can't get stuff like that anymore, not without a cow for milk and butter, that's for sure," Danny shook his head slightly.

"That's right!" Brenda chimed in. "Hopefully Maybelle will make it through whatever this is that she's got, and will be with us for a long while," she added, referring to their cow.

"Your cow is sick?" Lee asked. "What's-"

"We have a vet!" Mark jumped in. "We could bring her here, help you folks out."

"And Carlos here is a doctor," Ben said, causing Carlos to smile.

"I'm not sure my skills will be very helpful with animals," Carlos replied. He couldn't help but to think of Sarah's reaction when she would see the cow. She absolutely adored animals, and seeing one would make her very happy.

"A vet? And a doctor?" Brenda exclaimed. "Oh my, our prayers have been answered!"

"Maybe our whole group could come," Mark suggested. "Just for the day."

"Well, how about this, y'all go get your veterinary friend and I'll prepare some dinner! A big feast for all you hungry souls," Brenda replied. "It'll be nice to have some folks to help out around here again. Danny, why don't you come help me in the kitchen?" Danny nodded, and he and his mother walked to the house.

"Why don't I head back with the food, and get everyone ready for the trip over here?" Carley suggested.

"You might wanna take someone with you," Andy said. "Those roads can be dangerous."

"Take this," Mark said, and handed Carley his gun. "And why don't you take Ben anyway."

"I should come too," Carlos said. "My daughter will be worried about me."

"Sure," Carley nodded. Then, she turned to Lee. "Take care of yourself, Lee. See you in a while."

The trio walked off back into the woods, hoping not to see any more shit on the way back to the motel. Carley opened up the basket of biscuits and counted how many were in there. "I think there's plenty in here for everyone. What do you guys think?"

"I wish we'd been able to grab our stuff before the bandits could take it," Ben replied. He seemed to think for a moment, then reached in and took out a biscuit, and started to eat it. Carley took out another one and offered the basket to Carlos.

"I'm fine," the doctor said. "I want to make sure Sarah has something to eat first."

"You sure?" Carley asked.

"Yes."

It was silent for about a minute or two, then Carley made some conversation with Ben and Carlos, asking what their lives were like before, et cetera. The walk back to the motel didn't take all that long.

At the motel, Sarah was reading one of the books that Lilly had given her when she heard a voice. "We're back!"

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