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little to fear from them when you have the right training.”
    The little girl’s blue eyes went wide at this. “But, I can’t on account of I’m going with you, Mr. Neil. You need me now that Captain Grey is all captured and such. Even Ipes thinks it’s a good idea that I go with… Oh shut up,” she said to the zebra under her arm. “Be on my side for once and really it won’t be all that dangerous, neither.”
    “Of course it will be dangerous,” Joslyn said. “Crossing the river in the daytime won’t be like it was last night. The zombies will be able to see you and you know what that means.”
    “This is the sort of defeatist thinking you’re going to have to overcome, Jillybean,” Neil said, frowning at Joslyn. “We’ll wear our makeup and camo, and if we stay in character we should be just fine. Now, can I get a couple of volunteers to come with me?”
    Eyes flicked around the room, everyone waiting to see if someone else would step up. Finally, Big Bill hefted his bulk upward. Neil looked relieved. Another minute went by and the eyes began to flick with more urgency as no one else volunteered. Michael Gates began to stand but Neil waved him down. “Someone else.” The river was an absolute horror. All the former prostitutes were dead afraid of it, while the people from the Floating Island had been so sheltered that they couldn’t imagine crossing it more than they needed to, and most of the ex-prisoners Neil had rescued from Gunner’s slave camp were too selfish to risk their skin.
    A shiver ran up Deanna’s back at the thought of another river crossing. It was pretty much the last thing in the world she wanted to do. “Fuck,” Deanna said, under her breath. With her lips drawn tight, she stood and everyone but Jillybean looked relieved. Inside her abdomen, little Emily turned a somersault making her mommy feel as though she was about to puke.
    Neil raised a single eyebrow at her before saying, “I want to be gone in fifteen, so let’s move.”

Chapter 5
Neil Martin
    As Jillybean began to reluctantly demonstrate her patented zombie walk while complaining under her breath about being stuck shepherding a bunch of noobies through the obvious process of zombie evasion, Neil stood among the thick vegetation on the edge of the black river, feeling the butterflies eat at his stomach. They were voracious fuckers.
    “Everyone ready?” he asked.
    Big Bill and Deanna were just up the bank, squatting among the overgrowth of plants, not a one of which Neil could name. His one hope that afternoon, besides not getting eaten by the hundreds of zombies lazing in the river, was that none of the plants was poison ivy. He had no clue what it looked like—he couldn’t tell an ivy from a fern and thus did his best to keep his uncovered skin away from everything green. It was a tall order.
    “We are good to go,” Big Bill intoned with a voice as deep as night. Deanna looked far from good. She was green with fear at the prospect of the river and literally green from head to toe because of the makeup she was wearing and her camouflaged outfit. Her quivering lip, the quick breath shooting in and out, and the fact that her eyes were huge in her head made her fear obvious.
    “If we’re good,” Neil said. “Then I guess it’s time.” He swallowed with a clicking sound and crept out of the brush doing his best not to come in contact with anything living which made it seem like he was afraid of everything. He ducked and dodged and made grimacey faces at the least stem until they made it to the river. There he paused. With all his heart, he wished Capt. Grey was there or Jillybean or Sarah…
    He made another louder swallow as he stepped into the river. The river of dead was the only thing that could push the image of Sarah out of his mind. She was always there taking up every extra neuron always a part of every breath in his body. Only when the cold, cold water shriveled his testicles and the dead turned their