We eventually reached their 'village'. They were hiding behind bison fencing instead of a wooden palisade. I had never heard of any settlements doing that before. Other than Wainwright Fort, every other place supposedly had just a wooden palisade for protection.

The elderly couple who met us by the gate where also shocked to hear of other surviving settlements. The old lady was happy to trade flour for an afternoon of us helping point out edible plants. The old lady didn't plan on going, but got four other younger women to go instead.

The bison fence covered a huge area and we were able to walk inside of it. I followed Diane closely, afraid to get separated from her even with only 13 people inside the fence. I occasionally spoke to point out some plants, but Diane did most of the talking. They quite often eyed me up in curiosity and confusion, as if they couldn't figure out why I was here.

Some plants we pointed out they knew about, but most were new to them as an edible. They knew most of the plants on sight and had thought that it was a weed in their gardens and fields. One lady had a huge garden with dozens of herbs. Diane went through it and rattled off dozens of different ways to cook with them or use them.

Before long it was time for supper. I took a big helping of the salad, although there was stew and some bread. We had barely dished up our plates before several people tried asking us questions at the same time.

The old man we first met, Mike, took over and apologized, "Sorry about that, we haven't had any guests since fall. Could you possible tell us about your travels and other groups of survivors?"

Diane started talking about the various settlements, their sizes, and where they were located. Mike was quite interested about Wainwright Fort.

Mike sighed tiredly, "Do you think that they might welcome us if we went to join them? Last winter was tough, not sure how we are going to get through this one."

Small groups often did not have enough skills or hands to do the amount of work needed to handle the long cold winters that were guaranteed in Alberta.

Diane nodded, "Yes, most settlements will be very happy to invite you in. Just as you invited me in. Most will also allow you to stay and work with them while waiting for some of their group to head to a neighboring village for some trade or while waiting for one of the trading groups themselves to stop by. If you want, I can help you draw their locations on a map."

He sent someone for a map and Diane marked the villages on it. She also noted the good camping spots that Dave had also put on her map. A safe camping spot was essential when traveling.

One woman glumly sighed, "But how are we going to avoid the zombies? Even getting to the closest place will take two days of traveling."

I blinked as I realized that they wouldn't have had any of the zombie training that was mandatory back at Wainwright Fort. For them, this trip was the equivalent of a non-swimmer wishing to swim across a lake with no lifejacket or floatation device. They wouldn't make it.

Diane furrowed her eyebrows, "Exactly how much are you going to be transporting?"

Mike had been making notes of things to take like livestock, food, and valuable supplies that could be used to trade for a place to stay or for passage to the next village with a guide.

They had chickens, a few sheep, dairy cows, meat cows, and twelve horses. Only four of the horses were trained to a harness. They also had a fair bit of grain and food supplies. Diane talked a bit with them before it was decided that if everything was carefully loaded, all but the cattle could fit into one enclosed horse trailer that they had out back.

Diane thought silently for a few minutes before looking at me, "If they can organize everything tomorrow for the trip, I think we should escort them to the nearest village."

If we didn't help, they wouldn't survive the trip. They would be reduced to a slow walk and even the average zombie would catch up fairly easily. I returned her look with a serious expression and nodded, "It is only right."

It was in her nature to always try to help people. I could do no less. Even if it meant traveling with them for two days. Several people gasped in shock or surprise at her offer. I could practically feel the hope rising in the people around me.

Mike looked around the table and eventually rested his determined gaze on Diane, "We will be in your debt if you escort us. We will try to get everything ready tonight, if you are willing, we can even leave first thing tomorrow."

Diane nodded, "That works quite well for me."

People scattered as they started to hastily pack and get everything ready. I followed Diane as she checked on various groups. About half were making the required changes to the horse trailer so the horses could pull it. They had to add a wheel to the front so it was more like a wagon than a trailer.

One elderly woman pulled a large plastic poultry transport cage out of a shed, "I'm going to be some sore when we arrive, but better sore than dead." She continued tottering her load to the chicken shed.

Diane watched her go and spoke quietly to me, "That is Mike's mother. She is far too old to try and sit on a horse for two days. Her joints simply won't take it."

Diane was right, and that worried me. We couldn't leave anyone behind, but she wouldn't be able to keep up on foot and she couldn't ride for that long... Diane thought for a few moments before she headed to a different shed. I followed in curiosity. She obviously had thought of something.

Diane passed me some stuff and carried more herself as we packed it back to the trailer. Someone had already installed two ladders on the sides of the trailer in case a zombie got too close. I helped Diane to bolt the lawn chair loungers to the top of the trailer. We left an umbrella on each seat, they could use them to keep the sun off of them to avoid heat stroke.

Diane went back into the shed and hauled out a horse harness. I followed her and helped her see if it would fit Smokey. It took us almost fifteen minutes of altering the strap lengths, but in the end, it did fit. That was a relief. Smokey had a lot of energy and would be a good addition to the team pulling the trailer.

We helped them pack up the last of the stuff. They had already bolted various bins, cages, and dividers inside the trailer so it would be easy to load the animals tomorrow. They would be cramped, but it would work.

Diane slung her arm companionably over my shoulder as we watched the last bits of stuff go into the trailer as the sun was setting, "Good job. We will have our work cut out for us the next two days. Can you stay on the trailer and keep an eye out for zombies? If too many approach at once, I may need help luring them away."

I nodded eagerly, "Sure. I would love to help. I can even help train a few of the others to lure the zombies away and get them stuck."

Diane nodded and glanced over as old Mike came over. Mike looked at the trailer, "We got everything packed so we are ready to roll tomorrow whenever you want to pull out."

Diane didn't even hesitate, "I want to be on the road at day break. If we push hard, we might make it in two days."

He nodded, "I will spread the word. Let me show you to a guest house."

We followed him as he guided us to a small RV camper. It was a bit dusty inside, but it was in good shape. I was amused to note that our treehouse had been bigger. Mike left to find his own bed before the last of the daylight left the sky. With no solar panels, they were reduced to candles or small wood torches.

Diane and I sat and watched as people all went into their homes. Candles were slowly extinguished one by one. She turned to me, "There aren't many large trees outside the fence, so you can stay here or hide in the barn loft. With the darkness they won't be able to find you inside the fence easily and you do have the radio."

I considered my options. If anyone did come, this fence was huge and they probably wouldn't search far with only candles or torches for light. There had been clouds on the horizon as the sunset as well. "I think I would like to go to the barn loft. They wouldn't think to look there, besides, it might rain tonight."

She nodded, "Okay, let's go."

She guided me to the small ladder leading up to the hayloft and I climbed up. When I glanced out of the open loft, Diane's shadowy form was already going through the gate of the fence. I unrolled my sleeping bag in the back corner of the loft. The hay made a really soft cushion and I was soon asleep.

I stirred as Diane returned, but she simply unrolled her own sleeping bag beside mine. I rolled a bit so I could lean against her back. She never minded and I always slept better like that.