“How long do we have?” Turnbull asked.  He was skeptical about the source of their information, but experience told him not to rule out the paranormal.  Even the great Flint Olmstead held some belief in the supernatural.  For a brief period, Olmstead had attempted to train remote viewers in order to find rebels.  To the best of Turnbull’s knowledge, it never got off of the ground, but every so often their ruler would give it another shot.

            “A couple of hours,” Helen said.

            The meeting was closed.  Sam, Helen, and Sal were the only other people in the room.  Seeing as four of the outsiders had the same dream and seemed to remember the same details, Turnbull didn’t see the point in inviting everyone.

            “I think their numbers are down, but the may still have a few hundred soldiers,” Helen said.

            He’d wished they could have been more specific with a time frame.  If Gideon Turnbull had believed in destiny, he’d have thought there was a grand plan in motion.  Instead he though of how fucked they were.  Even if they survived Olmstead’s strike, they were in no shape to take on a larger army.  Should the cultists get there first, then the fight would have been for nothing.  Sure, Sal’s people and Helen would have loved a crack at their nemesis but it wasn’t Turnbull’s fight.  The remnants of the cult could have easily been put down if they’d have waited until after Olmstead’s removal.  Taking them on now wouldn’t do his people any good.

            Bugging out started to look like a viable option.  It still wasn’t attractive after announcing their position to Olmstead.  If they scattered, they’d have hunting parties sniffing for their asses.  They’d lose the advantage of a secure location and they’d lose any advantage their measly numbers gave them.  Any further deaths would have been in vain.

            Turnbull wanted to curse out loud, but restrained himself.

            “You think of something to tell your men,” Sam said.  “I’ve done enough hiding and sitting over the last week.  I’m going to make a stand against whoever shows up.”

            Helen agreed, as did Sal.

            “Let me give you the location of our people if your people leave.  Sarah should go with you.”

            Not knowing what to say, Turnbull nodded.

            He wondered what in the hell he was going to tell his men.  He wondered how Rick would react to his story.

*

            A voice repeated the same instructions over and over via loud speaker as the refugees filed out of their hotel.  Catherine was relieved that they hadn’t snatched her, but she was still anxious about the move.  She wondered if the talk with Sanchez had only been a move to pacify her.

            She felt little comfort when she saw the relocation effort being led by Lou Sanchez.  When the secret friend spotted Catherine, he moved over to speak with her.

            “Your people will find your weapons inside of the transports.  I hope you won’t need them.”

            “Thank you,” Frank said.

            “We’re moving you out an hour ahead of schedule,” Sanchez said.  “It should throw off any traps.  Just don’t mind the noise.  The guards are going to be pretty busy soon.”

            “What’s that supposed to mean?” Catherine asked.

            “Just follow us,” Sanchez said.

            They filed into the parking lot, where three large transports waited.  They were the same size as the ones that had carried them over, but the extra carrier allowed for more space.  Catherine wondered if it was meant to provide comfort or had another purpose.

            As her people were herded into the transports, Catherine looked around.  She’d spotted Lucy and Erika boarding one.  They’d been almost at the front of the line.  Phil Harker stepped in after them.  Scott stood outside, perhaps waiting to be the last aboard.  After a while he said something to the people inside and to the guards who loaded in the passengers.  He made his way over to Catherine.

            “He wasn’t lying,” Scott said, “at least not about our guns being inside.  We’ll see about the rest.”

            “Nothing we can really do now,” Frank said.  “Where are we headed?”

            “It’s probably better if I don’t know,” Sanchez said.  “If I’m alive tomorrow it means Olmstead is gone.  In that case, I can talk to some connections and find you.  Otherwise, I don’t want Truax pulling the information out of me.”

            When the last few passengers were being loaded, Catherine turned to Scott and told him to join his wife.  He didn’t move.

            “I’m thinking someone should stay here and make sure our friend stays honest,” Scott said.

            “I’m thinking you have a pregnant wife,” Catherine answered.

            “I’ll stay,” Frank said.

            “No,” Catherine told him.  “I’ve been thinking the same thing as Scott since last night.  Our people need both of you.”  She looked at Scott.  “Especially you.  Even if we do succeed, there’s no guarantee we’ll be able to find you soon.  Lucy needs you now.  You both have a decent amount of training and experience in dealing with the undead.  You both know how to survive in the wilderness.  We have plenty of nurses.”

            “We have plenty of veteran scavengers too,” Frank said.

            “Fine, then take it as an order.  I’m staying.”

            Lou piped up: “Wait just a second.”

            “No.  You wait.  We have to know we can trust you and the only way that can happen is if one of us stays back with a gun to your head,” Catherine said.

            Her hand eased towards her pistol.

            Frank let a smile slip out.  He’d probably been thinking back to Catherine’s doubts.  Surely he failed to notice how badly her hands were shaking.

            “Well the rest of you had better get in quickly,” Sanchez resigned.  “We’re on a tight schedule.”

            They said quick goodbyes and the two men boarded separate transports.

*

            Since he doubted Rick and the others would buy into a story about premonitions, Gideon had hastily taken a turn at manning the radio.  He’d told his brother that one of them should be at the station in case Olmstead replies.  After he was sure he’d been alone for a while, Turnbull left and told his brother about chatter.  He’d heard communications from an unidentified force roving through the area.  If they were close enough, there was a good chance they’d spot the commotion in the tower.  In response, Rick had spoken to his troops.  Aware of the other force they would be up against, they’d been given the choice to leave.

            They didn’t take it.  They’d heard stories from McRee’s people and Helen.  If this mobilization was allowed to live, they would pose a danger to refugees who were surviving outside.  They all saw mental images of their families being slaughtered and mutilated; their children being stolen and turned into butchers.  Since they posed little threat to Olmstead, it was likely that he would allow them to run free, killing the dissidents who’d escaped his clutches.

            When Turnbull told Rick about the situation, his brother had responded quickly, and said that he would stay.  His brother’s answer was surprising.  Though he worried about how Rick would handle the situation when it came, his brother’s resolve in that moment impressed him.  Just as impressing were the troops’ reactions.  They not only all agreed to stay, but they hadn’t needed any convincing.

            Turnbull expected Olmstead’s forced to arrive at noon.  There was no telling when the other force would arrive.  Luckily, they’d been more or less ready for combat since late that previous night.

            Since the decision, Turnbull had spent the last twenty minutes distributing suicide capsules.  He’d hated the contingency plan, because it showed doubt.  It seemed to make any motivational speech he might give moot.

            “Have you sent a team outside yet?” Sal McRee’s voice asked from behind.

            Turnbull turned around and shook his head.

            “I think I’d be the most help with them,” he said.

            “I think you might have to keep Newman on a leash.”

            “Sarah will be with him.  She’s better at cooling people off than I am.”

            “I appreciate your offer, but I’d prefer it if the men outside all knew each other.  This may be one of the more dangerous parts of the battle and they all need to trust each other.  I don’t even know what kind of experience you have.  You never served in the military.  From what you’ve said, you seem like some paranoid nut case who wondered down from the mountains and lost his tinfoil hat.”

            The words came out much harsher than Turnbull intended.  McRee seemed to know what he was doing and Turnbull liked the man.  He just didn’t trust him yet.

            “I’ve been training men on how to stay alive almost since the dead started walking.  Before then, well let’s say being a paranoid in the mountains has its advantages.  I know a thing or two about spotting and setting traps.  I know how to handle myself in a firefight and how to set up an ambush.  It’s the only way I’ll fight if I have a choice,” McRee said.  “I understand your protest.  When my people first built up their fortification and organized militia, they’d been hesitant about my involvement.  They also thought I was a nut.  A few of them wanted to take Sarah and give me the boot because they thought I’d go on a rampage.  I’m still an embarrassment to my girl, but there’s one thing I’m good at.  When they saw my talents, they’d allowed me to train many of their soldiers and take some of the more dangerous missions.  They’d even allowed me to design some of the more secret additions to our compound.”

            Turnbull wondered what McRee meant by that last part.

            “You don’t talk like a mountain goat,” Turnbull said.

            McRee laughed.  “I read.”

            “Talk to the team.  If they want you along, you can join them.”

            “Thank you,” Sal said.

            Without another word, the man walked away.  Turnbull hoped his gut was right about McRee.  He didn’t need any more complications.

*

            As soon as the transports pulled away, the remaining troops along with Sanchez and Catherine hopped into their jeeps.  The pulled away from the transports and headed towards the middle of the compound.

            “You’re going to want to cover your ears,” Sanchez said.

            “What?”

            “As soon as they see the transports, a demolition…”  Before he could finish his sentence, an explosion rocked the compound.

            “Shit!” the driver, who couldn’t have been much older than twenty shouted.  “Let’s hope the old fucker doesn’t call his troops back.”

            “They left an hour ago.  We just have to worry about the ones who are still here.”

            “What the hell was that?” Catherine asked.

            “The southern wall being brought down.  Right now, the compound is flooding with the undead.  Now the guards have bigger problems to worry about than a transport.”

            “Have you lost your mind?”

            “Do you think your friends were just going to be allowed to roll out?  Besides, we needed a distraction before the battle.  Without it, we’d be swarmed and we’d be forced to kill a lot of people who don’t deserve it.  They know how to handle the undead.  The civilian structures are fortified so the ghouls can’t get in.  It’s better this way.”

            The doubts Catherine had were starting to fade.  No sooner had her people started to leave had Sanchez’s people began the battle.  She wondered if she’d made the right choice by staying.

            “Where are we going now?”

            “Straight to Olmstead’s compound.  I want to nail the bastard before he has a chance to skip out.  He sent one helicopter out with the strike force.  That leaves once here.  There’s also an underground network of tunnels or he could just try to roll out with a convoy.”

            Her stomach dropped.  Catherine was about to enter her first real fire fight.

            “How many times have you fired one of those?”

            “Once or twice.”

            “Well we could use a medic,” Sanchez said.  “Just stay around us.”

            As soon as their conversation ended, Catherine noticed the gunfire in the distance.  Unless the explosion was a signal for something else, it meant the guards were engaging the ghouls.  Over the gunfire, a siren blasted a warning throughout the compound.  Soldiers mobilized while anyone else dug in and hoped for the best.  The commotion would probably give them free passage to Olmstead’s fortress.

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