“Is it drivable?” Zion asked.
The guard shrugged. “As long as you got four wheel drive, you’re good. Anything else and you’re going to get stuck.” he replied.
Zion patted the steering wheel. “Covered.”
“It's gonna wind around a bit in spots,” the guard admitted, “but if you keep going, you’ll hit a road just after a few miles. Just hang a left and you’ll hit the interstate.”
Zion smiled and extended a fist. “Appreciate the info.”
“Anytime, mister Zion,” the guard replied, returning the smile and bumping his fist with his own. “You two be safe out there.”
Zion nodded and rolled up the window, executing a quick three-point turn and heading back up the road.
“Here’s hoping we got the bad out of the way today,” Calvin said with a sigh as he stubbed out the end of his joint.
His friend shook his head. “Don’t go jinxing us now,” he said, and they shared a chuckle.
Zion slowed to a crawl as they looked for the trail entrance. After a few moments, Calvin pointed to an opening in the trees.
“That’s gotta be it,” he said.
Zion turned onto it, stopping at the entrance. Before them stretched a bumpy dirt path that was barely wider than the truck.
“Buckle up,” he said, “this ain’t gonna be fun.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Zion and Calvin pulled up to the camp less than a mile from the bridge over the river. As they approached the neighborhood, there were a few groups of armed guards about, both men and women, patrolling the streets on foot. They waved at the vehicle as it rolled up towards the entrance.
“Man, they’re really expanding down here,” Calvin said as he waved back to the guards.
Zion nodded. “Talked to Monique last night for a bit, and she said they’ve taken over another two blocks since we were last here,” he said.
“That’s a hell of an expansion,” Calvin mused in awe.
Zion shrugged as he pulled in. “Kind of necessary with the survivors they’ve been taking in,” he explained. “She said they found a family of ten yesterday and brought them in.”
“Let me guess,” his friend drawled, “they have a shopping list for us?”
Zion cocked his head. “She didn’t say, she just said come down,” he said, and drove through the eight foot tall iron gate across the center of the road.
One of the door guards leaned in. “Wendy and Monique are waiting for you at the house on the corner,” he said, waving them through and then helping to close the giant gate.
Zion nodded and drove on, parking the truck outside a large two-story brick house. As he killed the engine and they got out of the car, Wendy and Monique emerged from the house.
“You’re late, little brother,” his sister quipped.
Zion shook his head. “Cheryl said she let you know we were running behind,” he said.
“You’re nearly half an hour late outside of that,” Wendy added, crossing her arms.
“We had to off-road it a bit to get around the interstate horde,” Calvin explained. “Feels like I’m still bumping up and down even though I’m not moving.” He shook out his arms a bit.
“So what you got for us?” Zion asked.
Wendy turned towards the door and waved for them to follow. “Why don’t you come inside?” she asked. “We got some people we’d like you to meet.”
The duo headed up the porch steps, and Monique and Zion embraced before they headed into the house. There was a Latino family sitting in the main foyer, looking like they were several generations of people ranging from four to eighty-four years old. A couple of the children were playing together in the corner under the watchful eye of a grandmother, while several adults sat around a table in the center playing a card game.
“Wow,” Calvin said, blinking at the guests. “Where in the world did you find them at?”
“At their restaurant about ten miles south of here,” Wendy replied. She waved at one of the men, who looked to be in his mid-twenties. “Mateo, can you come over here, please?” she asked.
He got up from the table. He was physically fit, but no body builder, with dark hair and determined eyes. He extended his hand to Zion and Calvin in turn with a warm smile.
“Hello gentlemen,” he said with a slight accent, but a confident tone that said he’d been speaking English his entire life. “I am Mateo.”
Zion nodded as they shook. “I’m Zion, and this is my friend Calvin.”
“Tell them what you told us,” Wendy prompted.
“Okay,” he began, taking a deep breath. “My family, we have had this restaurant for years, and we got all of our supplies from a, um, family friend. He really wanted to help out people like him, so he would only sell to people he knew. Because of this, his place of business wasn’t listed. No signs, no nothing.”
“When you say supplies, you mean…” Calvin prompted.
“Food,” Mateo replied with a nod. “Dried beans, masa flour, other staples with a long shelf life.”
Zion cocked his head. “Where is this place?”
“About ten miles south of here,” Mateo replied.
Calvin nodded. “Could be worth checking out,” he said, and grinned at the corner inhabitants. “Especially with some old school grandma cooks.”
“That’s why we called you,” Wendy piped up. “We could send some of ours from here, but they’re worn out from clearing the block over the past few days.”
Monique winked at her brother. “And we know how much you love bashing in skulls,” she said. “What kind of sister would I be if I didn’t look out for my kid brother?”
Zion chuckled. “Thanks, sis.”
“So you’ll go?” Mateo asked, hope in his eyes.
“Yeah, we’ll go check it out,” Zion replied.
Their new acquaintance clapped his hands. “Wonderful!” he exclaimed. “Let me get my things and I will join you.”
“Slow down, bud,” Zion said, putting up a hand. “Calvin and
