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equipment, had been one of the first to develop an entire network of communities, with Camp Fox being one of its weekly contacts.
    Manny cocked his head. “You haven’t heard? Marshall was overtaken. When the herds hit the university, we couldn’t get back to the student center where everyone else was. We were out on a supply run, and the herds cut us off. Anyone else who couldn’t get back to the student center scattered to the four winds. So we radioed the center and took off to scout somewhere safe from the zeds. We’ll go back to pick up everyone as soon as we find somewhere safe in case the zeds pass through again. Before we lost contact with them, they’d said several herds were still there. They don’t have much food in the student center, enough for a few weeks, maybe.”
    I gulped in shock. Marshall was a large settlement. With survivors from the Twin Cities, they’d had a couple thousand survivors and had set up walls around the small university. No herd should’ve gotten close.
    “I don’t get it,” Tyler said. “What kind of herd could get past Marshall’s troops?”
    “Not just any herd. Many huge herds all moving together.” Manny waved his hand. “One was at least a hundred thousand strong.”
    A hundred thousand zeds . I shivered. A herd of forty nearly got the best of us today. The last thing I could fathom was an endless herd heading straight toward us.
    Manny continued. “They’re slow, but they make a wide path, and they trample everything. The bastards are relentless. They only stop to feed. As soon as we’d get in front of one herd, we’d run into another. They got my Marcia when we first tried to leave the house we’d spent the night in. I tried to get to her, but…well, she’s with them in hell now.” He rubbed a hand through his greasy hair. “We’d finally put a couple hundred miles between us and them. We stopped at Freeley when the sun set. We were planning to come here first thing in the morning, but when we’d awoke, a herd had found us. We tried to get out, but we lost several good people. We’d been holed up in that house for damn near a week, losing time that we don’t have.”
    “You think these herds are headed this way?” I asked the instant before I knew Tyler would voice the same question.
    Manny nodded with a pained expression. “They’re headed this way, that’s guaranteed. We figure they’re migrating. Near as I can tell, zeds from as far north as Canada are picking up small herds as they move south, until their numbers become like locusts.”
    Tyler pursed his lips before letting out a sigh. “Well, shit. I definitely want to learn more about this zed problem, but your folks need food and rest. We can talk more over dinner. Tonight, Vicki is making a rare treat, pumpkin for dessert. You and your people are welcome to stay as long as you need.” He pointed down the road to the south. “I have a farmhouse set up about a mile from here for you to stay in tonight. As long as you play fair, you’ll see no aggression from Camp Fox. If you want to make your stay more permanent and live within the park, we’ll have to talk. There are conditions all residents must agree to.” He motioned to Griz and Tack in the Humvee closest to the gate. “My men will take your people into the park for dinner and then to the farmhouse so you can clean up and rest. Sound good?”
    The other man nodded. “I owe you my life and my thanks. Your offer is more than fair.” Then he held out his hand.
    This time, Tyler shook it.
    A blond guy approached Manny. I c ould see the white tip of a thick scar peeking out from the V-neck of his shirt. He reached behind him and I readied my spear. Instead of pulling out a weapon, he held up a picture of a family. I assumed he was the man in the photo, though the beard and a hundred pounds less fat made it tough to tell. In the picture, a middle-aged man posed with a kindly looking woman and a teenaged girl. All three looked happy.