Lily turned out to be a short, pale brunette of maybe eighteen. She wore a blue jacket and jeans with work boots and though her face was friendly, her expression was also guarded. She seemed to look the three of them over, her gaze lingering on Ed, who wasn't looking too good.

"The first thing I've got to know...does the bite turn a man?" Marcus asked.

Lily shook her head. "No, it doesn't."

"Oh, thank god," Ed muttered.

"Okay then, first things first, we need to get Ed some medical help and a place to lie down."

"I can help with that," a new voice declared.

Marcus glanced over and saw a portly, balding man in his fifties with a broad, open, friendly face limping over. He wore religious clothing and Marcus realized he must be affiliated with the church. He came to stand next to Lily.

"I heard about your situation from Lily, son. If you'd like, I have a place for you to rest and some medical supplies. Not much, I'm afraid, but I'd like to help. I'm William Mulroney, I'm a Pastor here at the church."

"Thank you," Ed said, moving towards him. "I'd love to lie down."

"Come with me, son."

Marcus watched Ed follow William towards a gazebo to the left, in between the cinder-block wall and the church. He supposed it would have to do for now. Returning his attention to Lily, he was determined to get some answers.

"I need to know what happened. How did we go from civilized to post-apocalyptic in two weeks?" he asked.

"I'd like to know that myself," Maya added.

Lily stared at them silently for a moment, a look of incredulous surprise on her face. "You mean you don't know? Either of you? You really don't know about all this?"

"No, we've been in the woods on vacation. We just stumbled out today into this mess," Marcus replied.

Lily sighed. "Okay...come with me. I might as well give you the nickle tour and tell you what's going on since I'm obviously not going to throw you out...at least not for the night."

"Gee, thanks," Marcus muttered.

"That's the watchtower," Lily said before going anywhere, pointing to the tower of forty gallon drums and wooden planks that had been assembled in one corner of the walled-in yard. It didn't look very stable. It was positioned right next to the gate they'd come in through. "Besides that and the gazebo, everything else is inside the church. Come on."

She led them across the courtyard towards the front entrance of the building. There were no lights on, no soft hum of power. Besides the whispering of the winds, the occasional distant groan and the soft, comforting tones of the Pastor speaking to Ed, there were no sounds. It was full dark now, the stars twinkling overhead, as brilliant as could be. Marcus stared up at them briefly as he walked. It was difficult to see them so clearly in the city, but this celestial clarity was something he always associated with vacations.

Lily led them up the cracked, cement steps and through the front door into a large, open room. Marcus could easily envision twin rows of benches pointing towards the front, where a podium was. He could see the benevolent Pastor William presiding over a small congregation, delivering a sermon. Now, the benches were stacked along one wall. He saw pieces of some of them nailed over the windows. In one corner was a desk with a mess of what looked to be radio equipment scattered across the top, a battered, old foldout chair pushed under it.

In the opposite corner was a large, battered, old metal gun locker, a chipped wooden shelf and another desk with several drawers. Lily stood in the center of the room, fixed them with her sharp gaze and began to give her own sermon.

"It started happening about two weeks ago, maybe a little less. People started getting sick, a lot of people. And there were reports on the news. Strange stuff, random assaults, people just attacking each other for no reason...eating each other. The city went into marshal law, like a lockdown, after five days. Then the national guard was here and they told us to stay in our homes after a week. Then...I don't know, everything just kind of went to hell. I remember calling 911 because someone was breaking into our house and no one answered.

"That was kind of the wake up call. That was about five days ago. Me, my dad, my brother and a few people we had taken into our house headed for this church. It just seemed like the place to be, I guess we thought we'd be safe here. We were...at first..." she trailed off.

Marcus became distracted by footsteps outside. He walked to the nearest window and saw the grumpy middle-aged man in the park ranger outfit was carrying a high-powered rifle, stomping across the courtyard towards the watchtower. When he reached it, he began climbing the rickety ladder. Marcus turned away from the window.

"This is sort of the base of operations," Lily said. She pointed to the radio set up Marcus had noticed. "I pretty much spend all my time on the radio. It's...really the only thing I'm any good at. I try to coordinate with other survivors, listen for calls for help or make deals...And over there, those shelves and the gun locker, that's where we keep the mishmash of supplies you might find yourself needing if you're heading into the city."

"And why would anyone be heading into the city?" Marcus asked, staring at the supply station.

"Because we can't last forever here. We need fresh supplies," Lily replied, sounding a little frustrated.

"What's through there?" Maya asked suddenly, pointing to the only other door in the room, along the back wall. Marcus thought it strange that she was playing the diplomat, trying to avoid a verbal confrontation, but also thought she was right.

"That's the kitchen," Lily said, turning and walking towards it. The pair followed her through the open door and into a tightly-packed kitchen. A black woman wearing tan cargo pants and a shirt that said Ask me about my Big Dick was sorting through cans. She wore a pistol on her hip. She glanced over as the trio entered the kitchen.

"This is Sam. She usually does the cooking around here," Lily said.

"Yeah, that's because I'm the only one who can cook," Sam muttered. "These some newbies we're going to be feeding?" she asked.

"Yes, Sam. Three people came down from Mount Tanner and they'll be staying with us," Lily replied.

Sam merely shrugged, grunted and went back to sorting the cans. There were two more doors in the room, one in the right wall, one at the back. Lily led them to the right wall and showed them the final room in the church: a bedroom. It had been packed full of things, namely three pairs of bunk beds. There was just enough room for a chair, a small dresser and a nightstand. Marcus noticed another door at the back of the room, between two of the bunk beds, and caught sight of a toilet. It must have been the only bathroom in the building.

Lily led them to the final door at the back, which just led back outside, letting out not far from the gazebo.

"And that's it, that's the tour," she said. They walked to the gazebo, where William was looking at a thermometer and frowning.

"I'm afraid you have a fever," he said softly. Marcus saw that Ed's wound was properly bandaged. William turned to face them. "I only had a few painkillers and some Neosporin to give him. It will help with the pain, but if he's got a fever, he has an infection, and there's nothing I can do about that. We simply don't have the resources. I'm sorry."

"So what can we do?" Marcus asked.

"I've got a few ideas. There's a doctor, Hanson, who travels around a lot, tending to the various...communities? Survivors? I don't know what to call them. Tending to the people spread out across the city. I'll start trying to get in touch with him as soon as we're done here. But what we're really going to need is medicine. I'm not sure where we can get that...I'll have to think about it. For now, he'll just have to rest," Lily replied.

"Fine," Marcus said uncertainly, not happy with the outcome of the conversation, but not knowing what else to do. He wanted to say something to Ed, but the man was asleep. He looked peaceful, at least. Lily was walking away, back towards the gate and the watchtower. Marcus and Maya followed her. Lily led them to the front porch, then stopped and looked at them unhappily. She seemed distinctly uncomfortable.

"So, I didn't want to say anything in front your friend, but...a fever is a bad sign. If we don't find some antibiotics soon, he probably won't live to see Doc Hanson. Now, while he won't turn while he's still alive, it seems that everyone who dies does turn after death. If that's the case, I promise Alan will take care of him...bullet to the brain. Quick and painless."

Marcus felt a splash of cold fear wash through him at the thought of Ed being shot in the head. The fear quickly turned to irrational anger at Lily for even suggesting it. "Jesus, Lily, he's not a fucking rabid dog that needs to be put down!" he snapped.

Lily's features screwed up. "Don't you think I know that!?" she cried. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself. "Look, more of us died than lived. Do you know how slim our chances of survival are right now? There's hundreds, maybe thousands of them out there, and the government or the military obviously isn't coming to help us. We're on our own. We can't afford to be softhearted about this. You got it?"

"Yeah...yeah, I'm sorry. I just...this is a bit much, you know?" Marcus murmured.

"I know. It's fine. But...well, continuing what I just said, we can't have any dead weight around here. Everyone needs to be doing something to continue our existence. No slackers, you know?" she asked, sounding apologetic but firm.

"I'm no slacker," Marcus replied.

"Me neither. I'm in the Army. I can run, I can gun. I also noticed some gaps in your barbed wire set-up I could fix, and I could probably make that watchtower a bit sturdier. I can also pull guard duty or repair guns if you need," Maya said.

"Wow, we really lucked out with you," Lily murmured.

"I'm afraid I'm not as useful. But I am fit and not afraid of hard work," Marcus said.

"Fair enough," Lily replied.

"If you don't need me for anything, I'm going to get something to eat and go to sleep for the night," Maya said.

"That sounds fine," Lily replied.

Maya turned and walked into the church. Marcus lingered a moment longer. "So what's his problem?" he asked, looking up at Alan atop the watchtower.

Lily snorted. "Oh, poor Alan...he's one of those guys who takes himself too seriously. The way he talks, you'd think he was some hardcore Special Forces vet or something. But he's not. He was in the police force for a while, but he was fired...I don't know why. It was before my time. He picked up work as a park ranger maybe fifteen years ago. He's just got a stick up ass is all, and I don't see it coming out anytime soon."

"So, you, Alan, Sam and William...just the four of you?"

"No, there's my dad and brother, too, but they're both out for supplies. Honestly, I'm starting to get a little worried about them," Lily replied.

Marcus felt a pang of guilt and fear. Her father...should he tell her? He yawned, suddenly, unexpectedly. A big, jaw-cracking yawn that spoke of deep lethargy. Lily mirrored it. "Yeah, I think it's about that time," she said.

"I guess so," Marcus murmured. It could wait, he decided. At least a little bit longer. It wasn't like he was aching to tell a teenager girl he'd killed her father. No...he hadn't killed that man. The zombies did. He'd just finished the job.

"Goodnight. I'm sure we'll figure something out by morning," Lily said.

"Yeah, I hope so...goodnight."

Marcus watched her walk into the church, then began walking towards the gazebo at the back. When he got there, he found that Ed was still asleep and William was nearby. Marcus studied the gazebo. Obviously they'd expanded their living space into the exterior structure. There were two, single-wide beds, one tucked into each corner. A desk and chair occupied another corner. William was seated there, reading a bible by candlelight.

"How are you?" he asked as Marcus came in.

"Very tired," Marcus replied. The weight of the day seemed to be coming down on him, and now it was a genuine struggle to stay awake.

"I'm a night owl by nature," William said. "Not so good back before the zombie apocalypse, but now it suits me well. I take the night watch, along with, sometimes, Alan or Sam. Why don't you sleep? The temperature shouldn't drop below sixty five tonight and I'll be here, watching over the two of you," he suggested.

"That sounds like a good deal," Marcus replied. "Tell me, were there others, before now? I know about Lily's dad and brother..."

"There were twelve of us, at first," William said quietly. "Some were injured and succumbed to their wounds. Others...decided they wanted to take their chances out in the city."

"Oh...sorry," Marcus murmured.

"It's okay. Pleasant dreams."

Marcus laid down on the bed beneath the blanket after putting his revolver beneath the pillow. It was uncomfortable, but worth it. He didn't take off his shoes, wanting to be able to leap out of bed and go in two seconds flat if he had to.

Within a minute, he was asleep.