“Don
’t
hit
him!”
I
screamed.
The
man
was
practically
running
down
the
middle
of
the
road.
“I
won
’t!”
He
merged
into
the
other
lane,
and
the
soldier
jumped
into
the
ditch.
Quinn
slammed
on
the
brakes,
and
we
waited
until
the
man
caught
up
to
us.
We
’d
overshot
him
by
quite
a
way.
Not
that
we
meant
to
. It’s
difficult
to stop
a semi
on
a
dime.
Bill
pulled
his truck
next
to
Quinn’s.
“What
are
you
doing,
man?”
“We
can
’t
leave
him
out
here
alone.”
“Where
are
you
going to
take
him?”
“Back to
the
ranch.”
Bill
shook
his
head.
“I
don’t
think
tha
t’s
a
very
good
idea.
What
if
it’s
a
trap?”
Quinn
set
his arm
on
the
door
and
leaned
forward.
“We
can
’t
leave
him
out
here
to
die.”
“He
could
have
a
tracking
device
on
him.
Or
a
walkie
-
talkie
to
tell
them
where
he’s
at.”
Bill’s tone bordered on angry
.
Quinn
pursed
his
lips.
“You
know
as
well
as I do
that
short
-
range
radios
don’t
work
at
the
ranch.
And
I’m
sure
someone
will
notice
if
he
tries
to
make
it
to
higher
grounds
, but
I
don’t
think
tha
t’s
going
to
happen.
I’
m
pretty
sure
this
isn’t
a
trap.”
Bill
spit
onto
the
ground.
“I
sure
hope
you
’r
e
right.”
Quinn
turned
to
me
and
signaled
toward
Bill
with
his
eyes.
“Paranoid,”
he
said
quietly.
I
smiled,
then
covered
my
mouth
with
my
hand,
trying
to
suppress
a
giggle.
The
man
caught
up
to
the truck
and
doubled over,
panting.
I
opened
my
door.
“Thank
you,
thank
you
so much,”
he
wheezed.
I
moved
so
he
could
climb
into
the
cab,
and
he
took
a
seat
in
the
sleeper
cabin. Quinn put
the
truck
into
gear,
and
we
headed
down
the
road.
“There’s
some
water
in
the
bag
back
there.”
I
pointed
to
the
duffel
on
the
man
’s
left.
He
unzipped
the
bag
and
then
downed
the
water
before
speaking again.
“You
guys
saved
my
life. I
really
appreciate
it.
Lucky
for
me,
Pam
was
my
executioner.
She
gave
me
the
chance
to
run,
and
I
did.”
I
frowned.
“Sending
you
out
onto
this
side
of
the
wall
is
just
as
bad
as
shooting
you
in
the
head.
It’s
a
death
sentence
either
way.”
“Yeah,
but
maybe
she
knew
you
were
coming
down
the
road.
Maybe
she
knew
I
’d
be
safe.”
I
turned
so
I
faced
the
man. “What
did
you
do?”
“I
gave
some
children
an
extra
ration
of
food.
Their
parents
were
stuck
working
overtime at
the
wall,
and
they
were
hungry.
One
of
the
other
soldiers
saw
me
do it,
and
he
turned
me in
to
General
Liet. Really,
I
didn’t
do
anything
wrong.”
I
glanced
at
Quinn.
“You
’l
l
be
safe
where
we
’r
e
going,”
Quinn
said.
“Where
are
we
going?”
I
wondered.
“To
my
house
in
the
hills.
Unfortunately,
Bill
still
isn’t
convinced
that
you
’re
trustworthy,
so
I’m
going
to
have
to
blindfold
you
so
you
don’t
know
the
way
to
our
sanctuary.”
I
scowled.
“You
’r
e
kidding,
right?”
Quinn
smiled.
For a second, I wasn’t sure what that meant, but he didn’t pull over or hand me anything to cover my eyes. Ah. He was joking. I snorted a chuckle and turned my gaze out the window.
After
traveling
on
the
interstate
for
two
hours,
he
turned
the
tanker
truck
onto
a
secondary
highway,
which
we
followed
for
another
hour,
then
turned
down
a
dirt
road.
The
landscape
changed
from
the
flat
desert
into
rolling
hills
covered
with
juniper
trees,
then
into
steep
cliffs
with
pines
and
red
rocks.
We
bumped
and
wound
our
way
across the
road
until
we
came
to
a
canyon.
Large
wooden
doors
covered
the
entrance,
and
men
with
rifles
were
perched
on
top
of the cliff.
The
gates
to
the
ranch
opened,
and
Quinn
pulled
the truck
inside.
“We
have
about
twenty-five
thousand
acres
and
a
few
hundred
head
of
cattle
and
a
couple
horses.
After
the
zombie
attack,
the
neighbors
abandoned
their
open
ranches
to
live
on this
secluded
one.”
He
pulled
the
truck
onto
the
circular driveway
in front
of
the
house
and
pointed
to
the
side.
“We
planted
a
garden,
although
not
too
much
grows.
We
have
a
pretty
good
supply
of
carrots,
lettuce,
tomatoes,
beans,
and
peas.”