Three days passed.

Once Maya got started, she really didn't stop. Marcus was impressed. In approximately seventy two hours, she managed to whip the church into shape.

On the first day, she organized a schedule for the watchtower. Everyone was on the schedule...except for Marcus and Maya. Alan didn't like that one, and immediately had started arguing about it. Maya explained that she and Marcus were exempt from the schedule because they were the designated explorers. It would be their job to head into town, pretty much every day pretty soon, and explore the abandoned structures for supplies. Considering the danger and exertion the job entailed, they deserved it.

No one argued after that, even Alan backed off.

On top of that, Maya made sure everyone had radios, (there were just enough of the little, black handhelds), and that everyone had a map, (there were more than enough of those). She then began working with Lily to commit everything about Trumbull Valley in general and Spencer's Mill in particular to memory. While she did that, Sam, Jacob and Ed began to inventory everything while Marcus set to work scrubbing down the basement and getting it ready to be an infirmary. When that was done, she set him to work preforming inventory on everything outside of the church but still within the protective perimeter wall.

It wasn't a very fun task.

Despite how motivated everyone was, they didn't get as much done on the first day as they'd hoped for. Everyone was still getting used to this level of work, and Ed and Jacob were still recovering. Still, Marcus went to bed that night exhausted and satisfied.

On the second day, work resumed with enthusiasm. Marcus was surprised at how much everyone threw themselves into the tasks Maya assigned them. They finished inventorying everything in the church and set to work making improvements to the watchtower. That and actually cleaning and organizing everything in the church took up the rest of the second day. By the time the sun was setting, the place was practically spotless.

Sam, Ed and Jacob had argued on that one, saying there were better things they could be doing. Maya stuck to her maxim that an organized environment led to an organized mind. Marcus had to give her that one. Nothing got him pumped and cleared his head quite in the same way cleaning his apartment did. So, they got to it, used up a good portion of the bleach and Windex. While they did that, Maya set to work coming up with a way to figure out how to divvy up the food and water they had per person per day.

The third, and final, day of this renewal, or, as Pastor Will liked to refer to it, revival, saw the most activity. Marcus, Jacob and Maya set up the room-sized tent, broke down the bunk-bed in the main room and rebuilt it in the tent. They also moved in a dresser, an end table and a pair of folding chairs, as well as the two beds from the gazebo, which Maya decided was going to be repurposed as an outdoors eating area.

She moved a large, breakdownable picnic table they'd discovered in the basement into the gazebo and moved Will's desk into the main room, not far from Lily's radio workstation. They scavenged a handful of chairs from the basement junk as well, and declared it done. The final portion of the day was spent sorting through everything from the basement. They managed to salvage some furniture that they broke down to beef up the watchtower, some kitchen utensils, about a boxful of books, (most of the paperbacks were too warped, eaten up or torn apart to be legible) and a ton of spare blankets, pillows and clothing articles.

They ended up moving anything left that could be used to burn when winter came back into the basement, shoving it all in a far corner. They also moved a large metal locker, a desk and a small, squat dresser downstairs to hold their minimal medical supplies. Maya wanted to move beds down there when they found more, for obvious reasons.

As the sun was setting on the third day, Maya called a group meeting.

"One week," she said as the conversation died away. They were all gathered in the main room, Maya standing at the front, where Will would normally stand to deliver his sermons. She looked pleased, but also reserved and a little nervous.

"What?" Marcus replied finally. They were all either sitting in foldout chairs or on the floor, or leaning against the walls.

"Based on our bullet, food, water and medical supply usage, and after applying a bit of a ration schedule, I've estimated that we have a week before we run out. Obviously, we need more. Starting tomorrow, Marcus and I are going to begin scavenging runs. Also, I'm going to set up another schedule for others to head out and do some scavenging runs of their own. I think it would be in all of our interests if we keep up the work and keep this place clean and running like clockwork. There are zombies everywhere, the Army is here and based on the threatening messages they've been spouting out recently, they aren't looking too friendly, and our neighbors consist of people like the Wilkersons and their ilk. We need to stay sharp. Questions?"

"If the Army isn't going to help us...what's our endgame?" Jacob asked.

"Survival," Maya replied simply.

"And beyond that?"

Maya shrugged. "Rebuild civilization? Retake the valley? Repopulate? We don't have enough information. We don't know if this is a localized incident or we're looking at World War Z."

"That movie was awesome!" Ed said.

"Nowhere near as good as the book," Marcus muttered.

Maya cleared her throat. "So we survive for now. Make friends, scavenge supplies, kill zombies, fortify our position. Any more questions?"

There were none.

Maya nodded. "Good. Go to sleep. We've got a busy day tomorrow."

Marcus stood looking up at the new and improved watchtower in the warming sunshine. Before, it had just been a relatively stable platform atop four stacks of forty gallon drums and spare wood nailed together with a makeshift ladder. Now, the base of the tower was a lot sturdier, the ladder was rock solid, the platform was steady and didn't make anyone nervous when they stood on it and they had built a canopy overhead, to keep the rain or sun off of whoever stood atop it. The new watchtower imbued a strange sense of power and motivation in him.

He checked his gear. Radio clipped to his belt, fully loaded M9 pistol tucked into a holster he'd managed to find among all the supplies, two spare magazines tucked into his pocket, his red crowbar in hand and an empty backpack strapped to his back. Well, almost empty, there was a packet of tuna and crackers and two bottles of water in the front pocket and the backup melee weapon. He'd replaced the box of granola bars, (well, what remained of them.)

"Ready to go?" Maya asked.

He turned around. She looked good, now wearing some form-fitting running shorts and a tight black tanktop. A pair of black sneakers completed the look. She'd also cut her dark black hair since last night. It was shorter now, a little bit less than shoulder-length. There was just enough for her to pull it up into a small ponytail.

"Uh...yeah," he replied.

Maya smirked. "You okay?"

"Yeah...fine...I, uh, like your hair," he said quickly, then turned around and began walking for the gate. "We should get going."

Maya laughed. "Oh my god, you are so awkward around women, aren't you?"

"No! Not all of them."

She walked up behind him and patted him on the back. "Come on, let's go. I promise not to bite or anything."

"Ugh...where are we going first?" he asked as they made their way to the edge of the gravel parking lot. The church was built onto a rise of land that overlooked a pair of backyards and three houses. There were two to the left, down the gentle slope of dirt, and one dead ahead, past about a dozen trees. Maya seemed to be considering it.

She looked very beautiful in the early morning sun.

Marcus suppressed a sigh. This was stupid. He was five days into the zombie apocalypse and again, his mind was crowded with thoughts of a girl. She was a very attractive, very competent, very sexy girl, no, not girl, a woman, but...still, it was stupid. Maya seemed to come to a decision. She struck off towards the house dead ahead.

"This one," she said.

"Okay."

They wound their ways through the trees, kicking through the underbrush, keeping a sharp eye out for any stumbling, groaning nightmares wandering around nearby. But there were none. Distantly, they could hear the occasional groan echoing across the city. They made it to the back porch. Maya stopped and Marcus did with her. They stared up at the house. The single window along the ground story was broken out, the glass teeth that ringed the window frame smeared with blood. After a moment, Maya walked up to the back door and tried it.

It was unlocked. It opened on the first try. They stepped into an almost totally empty kitchen. The only thing left were the counters and a refrigerator.

"Come on, first we'll search the area, confirm it's clear, then we'll do our search," Maya said.

"On it," Marcus replied.

They made their way through the first floor, which was easy, considering all that was left was the living room and a small hallway with a stairwell leading to the second story. Maya went first and Marcus watched her back. Or tried not to. They worked their way through another hallway and three more rooms: two bedrooms and a bathroom. Like the downstairs, they seemed practically empty. There were just random articles of clothing, debris and the occasionally piece of furniture left. There were no zombies, either.

Maya seemed disappointed. "It looks like they were in the process of moving out," she murmured. "Well, at least this'll be easy. You stay up here, see what you can find."

Marcus nodded and set to work. It took them the better part of an hour, but they went through the house, from top to bottom, hunting in every niche they could find. Unfortunately, all they turned up were a couple of cans of beans, forgotten at the back of one of the cabinets. Marcus stuffed them into his backpack and they left the house. Maya took a moment to pull out her map and mark it off with a black, circled X.

Marcus did the same on his.

"Good thing we came by," Maya said. "Lily told me she loves this brand of beans. She'll be happy. Come on, let's head to the next one."

As they walked across backyards, in between trees, Maya suddenly asked, "Do you think I'm doing a good job?"

"What? Yeah, of course."

"You aren't just saying that, are you?"

"No. Really. You're smart, making good, level-headed decisions, keeping us safe, teaching us. And you aren't afraid to listen to suggestions and make changes based on them. I don't know if we're going to make it, there's too much, too many factors to take into consideration, but I know we've got a hell of a higher chance now because you're here and in charge. The only thing that really worries me is Alan. I feel like...I don't know, he's harboring a grudge against us all," Marcus replied.

"Well, that much is obvious. He's in a bad mood all the time," Maya said.

"Yeah. I guess what I mean is, I'm worried he's going to do something about it."

"Like what?"

"I don't know."

They reached the next house and found it to be less empty, both of furniture and of zombies. As soon as Marcus stepped into the kitchen through the back door, he found himself staring at a pair of zombies. One wore a cop's uniform, another wore torn work jeans and a flannel shirt. He raised his crowbar, dashed forward and brought it down on the former cop's head in one swift motion. There was a sharp, nasty crack and the zombie collapsed as its skull caved in. He turned to take on the other one, but Maya was already there, bashing the thing's head in with an iron poker, the kind used to tend to fireplaces.

Behind him, Marcus heard shattering glass and a low groan. He whirled around and saw a teenager with glowing yellow eyes crawling in through the window. There were more lumbering shapes behind him, in the yard.

"We've got incoming!" Marcus called.

"There's more coming in from the rest of the house!" Maya called back.

Marcus tossed a glance over his shoulder and saw another one coming in through the only other door in the room. Maya was already moving to take care of it. Marcus returned his attention to the zombie crawling in through the window, heedless of the glass shards that bit into its hands and arms. As soon as he had a clear shot, he brought the crowbar around in a tight arc, cracking its skull and spraying its dark blood across the wall and ceiling. He shoved the body back out the window with his foot, and then repeated the action two more times as more zombies tried to do the same thing. Those two taken care of, he turned around and spied Maya slowly backing away as three zombies rushed into the room, groaning and reaching.

"A little help would be nice," she said.

Marcus stepped next to her and readied his bloody crowbar. Maya raised her poker. They set to work. It took another ten minutes to clear the house, not just from a few more lingering uglies that were still in the building itself, but from close to ten more that were drawn in by the sound of conflict. Marcus was out of breath by the time the final zombie fell. They both stood stock still in the main room of the house, waiting, listening.

Finally, as if acting on some unseen signal, Maya let out her breath in a slow sigh. "Well, that was bullshit," she muttered.

Marcus nodded in agreement, wiping sweat from his forehead. They began searching the house, moving slowly and thoroughly, checking in every drawer, beneath every piece of furniture, everywhere they could think of. It paid off, too. They found a few scattered bullets, a hunting knife, several more cans of food and some bottled water stashed in a backpack shoved beneath a bed. As Marcus finished checking out the pack, Maya walked into the room and studied the bed. It was a simple bed, meant for one person, complete with sheets, pillows and a blanket.

"We're going to need this," she said, staring at it. "For the infirmary. Also, there's a medicine cabinet in the bathroom that'd be perfect for holding meds."

"How do we get then home?" Marcus replied.

"There's that pickup truck in front of the church, also the jeep, but the truck'll be better. Hell, we can just drive it right down the incline into this place's backyard. It'll fit between the trees and it has four-wheel drive. We can back right up to the door, break down the bed into its component parts, load it up and drive it home."

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Marcus said.

They finished stuffing their supplies into their packs, then left the house and made their way back up to the church.

"We'll have to ask Lily where the keys to the truck are," Maya said as they moved through the gate.

"Hey, I was just going to look for you." Jacob was coming down the main steps of the church. "Something's come up."

"What?" Maya asked, sounding apprehensive.

"Go ask Lily. She's asking for you and Marcus...why do you need the keys to the truck?" Jacob asked.

"Is it yours?" Maya replied.

"Yeah."

"There's a bed and a medicine cabinet in the house down the hill." Maya pointed. "We need to bring them up here for the infirmary."

"Hell, me and Ed can do that."

"You sure?" Marcus asked.

"Yeah. My ankle's pretty much healed up and...well, between you and me, I think it'll be best for him if he gets out into the town. He won't say anything, but I think he's freaked out, he probably thinks this is all worse than it really is. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's horrible, but I think he thinks the moment he steps foot out of these gates he'll be eaten alive. A simple fetch mission fifty feet away will help build his confidence," Jacob replied.

"That's a good point...thanks, I appreciate you watching out for him," Marcus said.

Jacob offered him a crooked smile. "You and him are close, huh? The way he goes on about you, it was like you were his big brother or something...well, go on, go see Lily. I'll go find Ed."

Marcus and Maya went into the church. Lily sat alone in the main room at her radio, talking to someone. She glanced back as they approached. "Oh, they're here. I'll talk to them and get right back to you," she said.

"What's up?" Maya asked.

"Something's come up. There's another enclave that lives down the street, at the Kirkman place. It's a big house with a privacy fence of concrete, just like ours. They've done pretty good for themselves, but they're running low on ammo. They want to go raid the gun shop around the corner, but I guess no one's hit it yet because it's infested," Lily replied.

"Infested? You make it sound like it's more than the usual amount of zombies hanging around these places," Maya said.

Lily sighed. "It is. There's probably a couple of dozen of them packed in there. I don't know why, but some buildings are just more popular than others. It's really dangerous. They said that if we helped them clear it out, they'd split the bullets with us."

"Can't say no to that..." Maya murmured. "Well, Marcus, you up for it?" she asked, turning to face him.

He nodded. "Yeah, definitely."