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town?"
    "No. I'm from Texas, actually."
    "How'd you get to Settler's Creek?"
    "I've been on the road for days. I've been trying to get away from everything that was happening out west, but it just seems to get worse and worse the farther I go. My car broke down two days ago, and I've been stuck in town ever since. I ended up in a factory building."
    Tim heaved a sigh. By the looks of it, he'd been through as much as the rest of them.
    Dan glanced at the empty fields around them, catching a glimpse of the dead bodies. "Okay. Let's get inside. We can talk more in there."
    The four of them entered the house.  
    When they stepped through the door, Quinn caught sight of Meredith and John. She immediately sprung for them.
    "I missed you, Aunt Meredith."
    "Missed you, too, kiddo," Meredith said, hugging her.  
    "Don't leave me again."
    "I won't."
    After securing the door, Dan gave Quinn a dose of the inhaler. Then he offered Tim some food and water, which the man gratefully accepted.  
    "Thanks. It's been a hard couple of days, as you can imagine."
    "I'm sure it has," Dan said.
    The group hovered around the new man in a half-circle. It'd been days since they'd encountered another survivor, and Tim's appearance added not only a tinge of hope, but also a welcome reprieve from their isolated existence.
    The group waited impatiently for him to finish his water.
    "Did you see anyone else in town?" Dan asked, once the man had swallowed.
    "Nope. Nobody except the woman we lost."
    Dan furrowed his brow. "Woman?"
    "There was another survivor in town," Meredith explained. "But we didn't make it to her in time. The creatures got to her. Tim was on top of a factory building when we spotted him."
    Dan nodded gravely.
    "For a while I thought everyone was dead, and it was just me and those things," Tim said, shaking his head.
    "Well, it could be worse." Dan shrugged.   "Sometimes I think we're better off not running into anyone, with all the maniacs that are out there." He eyed the newcomer as he said it, trying to gauge the man's intentions. From what he could tell, Tim was being honest. But he couldn't be too careful.
    "I hear you."
    "Where did you say you were from again?" Dan quizzed.
    "Texas. San Antonio."
    "So you must have arrived on I-40," Dan said.
    "Yep. It looked like the military had a blockade in place at one time, but when I got there, they were all dead," Tim said, his eyes downcast. "I'm surprised I made it this far."
    Dan nodded. He briefed the man on the situation as far as they knew it. He explained the role of the agents, the theory that the virus was contracted through contaminated food and drink, and the suspicion that the survivors were immune. He concluded with his daughter's asthma attack.  
    "I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, young lady," Tim said, giving Quinn a smile. "But I'm sure glad you got your medicine."
    After finishing the food Dan had given him, Tim stifled a yawn. His eyes were glazed and bloodshot.
    "Listen," Dan said. "We have beds in the other room, if you'd like to get some rest."
    "I'd feel bad sleeping. Can I help you out with something?"
    "You just got here, Tim. There'll be plenty of time for that. Get some rest."
    "I'll show you to the bedroom," Meredith offered.
    Tim thanked the group, and Meredith led him out of the kitchen and down the hallway. Dan watched him walk off.  
    As far as Dan could tell, Tim was another civilian caught in the madness. Dan was still in awe that the man was alive and that his companions had found him. In a world where everyone seemed to have died, finding another survivor seemed nothing short of a miracle.

    "I'll take its legs," Dan said.
    Dan grabbed the infected body by the ankles, and John tucked his hands under its armpits. They lifted the body off the ground and carried it across the grass, heading for a makeshift burial ground they'd established a few days earlier.  
    In the daylight, Dan was able to make out the details of the creature. The infected