luck, our livestock pens and barns would be full until we made our move.

Finally, a three person crew left in search of twenty wood burning cook stoves for the cabins at the new homesite. The electric heating and cooling systems in them were useless, and we were converting to wood and coal burners.

The plan made for a busy and hectic week. Deliverance was left with fourteen of our original adults plus seven of the Masters’ group. They would finish gathering and processing the remaining vegetables from the late harvest, as well as feeding, milking and grooming the livestock. Plus there was always a list of minor and major repair issues to be addressed at the ten-year-old building.

There had been an unusual number of trades among people scheduled to go on the multiple procurement trips that week. Most of the people, except for the Masters’ group, didn't normally object to getting away for a few days. For several days before we left, I'd had an uneasy feeling. All I'd noticed out of place were a few sly smirks from several people, especially from Tim and Nate. That didn't set off alarms because neither was happy with any of my recent decisions.

Before reaching our new homesite, we stopped in Rolla and found two building supply stores. Roofing shingles must not have held any interest to the people who had been there before us. The heavy-duty lowboy equipment trailer we pulled with a tandem dump truck would easily carry the two hundred bundles of asphalt shingles we wanted. We were lucky to find all the rolls of felt and nails and plywood sheeting we'd need for the installation. Surprisingly, there was even a good stock of lumber to choose from. Before we left, I ransacked the small office space. On a book shelf, I discovered a local phone book with yellow pages that was in good condition. That would make locating stores we needed for other items easier than driving blindly from town to town.

A mile from the second store, we saw three naked zombies about seven hundred yards out. I stopped the Expedition, opened the moon roof and squatted on the seat to steady my arms on the roof. Three shots later, an adult male and an adolescent zombie lay prone to the tall grass covering the ground beside the highway. The female escaped in high leaps like a gazelle chased by a pride of lions. Close examination of the downed zombies revealed an adult that compared to a fifty-year-old human, and what I'd taken for an adolescent looked to be about thirty years old.

It was well past dark when we finally reached the new homesite. Everyone was tired from the heavy lifting and carrying it took to gather materials.

At sunrise, we broke into three crews. Each group began stripping shingles from different cabins. As soon as the first roof was bare, that crew started installing the new roof components. The other two crews moved on to strip shingles from all the remaining cabins.

By day five we were running ahead of schedule. I sent two men to the nearest lumber yard with a material list for building our first communal crapper. Two others began digging a six foot deep excavation. After lunch, we began precutting the lumber and spreading dirt and rock from the hole to make a flat area for the outhouse to sit on. The building would consist of two sections, each with two holes cut in the board seats and a simple divider between them. It wasn't fancy or private, but it was simple and functional.

It was early afternoon on our sixth day when we finished. Everyone was tired from a fast-paced six days of hard work from dawn to dusk. But we were all proud of the work we'd accomplished and were in a good mood. We decided to head out and drive after dark to get home and share our good news with the rest of our people.

Midnight fast approached when our three trucks stopped in front of the gate at Deliverance. A call on the radio got the watchtower guard to open the gate. I was apprehensive when Barlow Jones added, "I sure glad you're back. There's been big trouble."

Ed Jarnigan pranced excitedly outside the entrance as we parked. He wore a serious frown and spit a chaw on the gravel as we approached the group surrounding him. Several began to speak when we were still ten feet away.

Ed waved his arms. "One at a time, and I'm first..."That damned Majors group stole from us and left. I assume they're headed back to Tim’s place."

I shook my head. "Now I know what all the sneaky looks were about before we left. They planned this when they learned so many of us would be gone at once. Were any of our people hurt?"

"A couple got roughed up, but nothing serious. Tim punched Doc's jaw when Doc tried to stop them from releasing Joe and Ronnie from confinement. Morgan, Andrea and Kira were shoved around when they stood steadfast and resisted. They took our people’s weapons first, then they were all locked in the holding cells while the cowards stole what they wanted. A few firearms and a lot of ammunition are missing and half or more of the food was taken."

"Was anything else taken?"

Kira skirted the group and moved to stand beside me. I assumed our kids were asleep in their room. I encircled her waist with my arm and pulled her close, glad she was unharmed.

"At least three trucks and trailers and the five hundred gallon fuel tank are missing. About half of the seeds for planting next year's crops are gone too. My group arrived late this morning today, released our people, and started the inventory at noon. There may be other things missing to add to the list."

"Let's move inside and gather everyone in the dining

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