The trucks returned and I was uneasy. There were strangers among the people getting off of the trucks. I stuck close to Diane since I wasn't sure what to make of this new group. I helped unload and gossip swiftly brought us up to date on the newcomers.

This wasn't the first group of people to return with Roland. Several dozen had already come over various trips to join. Most wanted whatever made them immune to zombie bites. Roland still held to his one months rule and that was a good thing. Quite a few had found their own niche and no longer wanted the Heartfire virus.

I grinned as I watched a few adults use some slides to go from the main deck to the ground. The larger slides had been put in just to allow anyone a quick descent without needing to use the ladder. A dozen people were herding more sheep into the pen. The weavers would be happy for them. The weaving group also had some new looms and were making some beautiful trade goods.

It didn't take long to unload everything. How they planned on getting that second water tank on top of the cliff was a problem for another day. The water tanks were filled by rain or by pumping water from the source of the tiny creek into the tanks.

The fact that we had running water was a huge improvement. There were a couple of bathrooms on each ledge that were shared by people, and the water from above fed the toilets and showers. The remains went through plumbing out to a septic field under the grazing fields that were flourishing from their supply of fertilizer.

This place was spectacular at night with the solar lights decorating the path. Numerous pairs of glowing blue eyes also added to the mysterious ambience once the sun set. The eyes of those first fired were finally faintly glowing, enough so that they could even see in the dark. They had even started running through the forest at dusk.

The first few times we had all travelled together, but it was pretty cumbersome for a group of dozens to run a long a deer trail. They eventually split into smaller groups as they overcame their nervousness and got bolder. The first few times I had glimpsed a pair of glowing eyes it startled me, but now I was getting used to it.

Roland wandered over to where Diane was and looked at the cliffs, "This went much faster than I had possibly imagined. Usually plans take at least a third longer than planned. I suspect it has a lot do with bored people who have Heartfire and can't sit still though."

Diane grinned wolfishly at his jibe. Her Heartfire still made her the most restless. The others were slowly getting more restless, but it would still take them months to get the point Diane was at.

Diane spoke quietly to Roland, "If you don't mind me asking, why do you keep leaving me here instead of going out with you on the trading runs? I know I am no use when it comes to bartering, but if someone tried to ambush the caravan, I could be of assistance. To be honest, I am happier here working as opposed to sitting on a trailer most of the day, but I am curious as to your reasoning considering you seem to be ensuring that everyone gets a turn to accompany you on the various trips you have been making."

Roland stilled for a moment before sighing, "The only way I can possibly leave this place is if I know Amber is safe. I know that nothing short of an army would be able to get past you, and even then you would buy the others time to climb that ladder and escape into the forest behind the cliff."

Oh. I hadn't realized that. It hadn't even occurred to me honestly. Considering how much they wanted me in a stationary home instead of on the road, I would have been more surprised if he had wanted me along. Where I went, so did Diane. None of them would dream of separating us.

Diane nodded thoughtfully, "I have no problem with that, but I do want to accompany you to Wainwright Fort."

He chuckled, "I know that. That is why I always left Todd and Julian behind, and also asked you to give them extra lessons in fighting. When you are with us, they will remain to act as guards."

So that was the main reason that Roland had talked Todd and Julian into so much extra training that involved more bruises than I wanted to think about. Todd had mentioned that he loved keeping everything running smoothly in Sanctuary.

Julian was likely never going to travel with his anxiety around strangers, and he had mentioned once that he was happier in Sanctuary than he had ever been anywhere else, even before the collapse. He still planned on getting fired as soon as Roland would allow it.

"What are our plans for the rest of this week?"

"I want to do one big raid on a town north of here. There are some specific supplies that I want and I want you along since you have the most experience with stores. We have warehouses mostly down pat, but we end up aborting every attempt on a store due to unexpected circumstances and situations before we really even get started."

Diane nodded, "Julian and his two friends will pass their waiting period in three days. About twenty others have also decided that they want the virus simply for the extra energy. They are all more than eager to get fired."

"I know. I plan to be back from that abandoned warehouse late tomorrow evening. I want you on our supply raid in the zombie town in three days, and I will have Kerry fire them that morning before we leave if they still want it. They will stay here since this place is almost perfectly set up for someone getting fired. We can leave here two days later to start our trip to Wainwright. I haven't been able to locate some of those specialty wool breeds that Amelia is after and I know they have them since you saw them there."

The sun had mostly set and Diane stood up and stretched, "Well, I am going to head for my own run. Let me know if you need anything."

He nodded, "Run safe."

I jumped to me feet, I loved our evening runs as darkness fell. It was always so magical. I saw some other fired people heading out for their own runs. They had no need to go as far or as long as we did. It was just Diane and me in the thick spruce trees. Like it had been in the beginning. I found it relaxing.

I watched the zombie-filled town from an overlooking hill. I wasn't sure if it was even possible to launch a raid on this place. Diane looked deep in thought and had been for some time as she evaluated the situation.

Diane sighed heavily, "This is going to be fun. There is no way we can secure this entire place easily and each place is going to possibly have zombies somewhere inside."

Roland nodded, "That is why I wanted you along." Roland wasn't surprised by Diane's observation, but he held no doubt that she had some sort of plan that would get them in and out safely with what they had come for.

Diane turned her gaze back to the town, "The trucks will have to slowly circle until we get everything by a loading door. Once we call them in, we will have to keep the immediate area zombie free until it is loaded. We will have to head to the next place while the truck leaves to circle again."

Roland nodded as he accepted her plan without hesitation. Diane once more took over the role as Raider Group Leader as she started organizing groups and giving them their instructions. Everyone now had radios, so my main role as communicator had blown to the wind. I was a sentry instead.

Diane had progressed into advanced zombie training for all residents of Sanctuary, every one of the blue eyed people here knew how to react in each situation. When everything was to Diane's satisfaction, two of the trucks headed for the far side of town to start a noisy concert that was meant to invite every zombie in town.

Diane watched the trailers disappear from sight and shook her head as she muttered, "If anyone had asked me a year ago if I saw myself leading a raid of 30 people into a zombie infested town, I would have thought that they had lost their mind."

I giggled as a few others snickered or laughed. She flashed a grin at us before watching the town once more. It wasn't long before everyone was in place. Music once more blasted out from the other side of town. I could see a few of the less bright zombies stuck behind hedges or fences.

Diane waved one group forward, and they ran down into the small town and lured the zombies out of their predicament and managed to outrun them down the streets. The zombies eventually focused on the racket and headed out of town.

Diane moved to another truck that was going to drop the raiding group off in town. The truck I was on waited on the hill for when we were called down to load supplies. Diane was going to be training three individuals in the finer details of how to properly conduct a raid in strange buildings.

I saw them break a lock and enter a store cautiously while the main group waited outside for the all-clear. Ten minutes later they all disappeared inside. I carefully watched the streets. If a zombie showed up near them or if we spotted a Swift anywhere, we would radio them.

It was almost an hour later before their voices came over the radio, "We are ready for pickup. Is it clear?"

A man beside me radioed back, "Nothing near the store that we can see. That part of town is pretty much abandoned. We'll send a truck in."

A truck started up and headed to the store to get loaded. The truck I was on remained parked though, to my disappointment. We would have our turn yet. Once the first truck was loaded, the people climbed on top to be dropped off at the next place on their hit list. The scene was repeated again. They hit over a dozen stores in this fashion.

Others were on edge, alert and somewhat nervous, but I was getting kind of bored just sitting here and watching. I still remained watchful for anything, but I wasn't worried. Such a difficult target was child's play with Diane in charge of the operation.

The truck I was on finally went down to get loaded, but no zombie appeared. The trucks were eventually full and we started to head back to the distant home we called Sanctuary. The drive was going to take over four hours...