Kyle glanced down at the rifle in his hands as a sudden thought occurred to him. Hurriedly, he slung the rifle diagonally across his back by an attached strap and held a finger to his lips while motioning for Daniel to put away his own gun.

Daniel did as Kyle instructed without really knowing the reason behind it. When Daniel raised his hands in a perplexed manner, Kyle pointed in the direction they'd been heading to find Citadel and then tapped his ear to indicate the possibility the defenders of Citadel might hear the gunshots and come to investigate.

Drawing two of his many knives, Kyle held one of the weapons in each hand as he waited for the undead to arrive. Daniel took out the combat blade sheathed on his belt, his eyes darting around in an attempt to find the enemy closing in on them.

Seconds dragged by like hours, but the zombies failed to appear. Unable to find the enemy, Kyle nodded for the two of them to move on with Daniel watching for threats from the right while Kyle monitored for anything on their left. Minds focused and muscles tense, the two men continued toward the estimated location of Citadel, but their speed was severely reduced as they were now on alert for two enemy types, the living and the undead.

Facing a threat capable of killing them was bad enough, but the anticipation of the confrontation wore on their nerves. Every moving shadow and every sound of a leaf skittering across the ground made them flinch instinctively in defense, preparing to defend themselves from attack.

Stopping beside an old tree, Kyle inspected the sizable hollow in the trunk. Old and covered in more than a few spider webs, the gaping hole was large enough to conceal one or more people, and Kyle wanted to be certain the undead weren't waiting in the shaded interior. The tree hollow was empty, but as Kyle turned back toward Daniel, he caught a glimpse of a something else.

Taking a handful of Daniel's shirt by theshoulder, Kyle ducked into the tree hollow and dragged Daniel with him.

"Shhhhh," Kyle hissed insistently.

Both men waited in the dark, the only light coming through the gap in the trunk through which they'd entered. The sounds were muffled at first by the bark of the tree, but it got closer, Kyle and Daniel could hear enough to realize what was happening beyond their location.

The crunching leaves nearby signaled the arrival of at least one person, possibly more. The footfalls blended together, throwing off Kyle's efforts to estimate the total number of people. What they heard next was impossible to mistake, gunshots. A high-powered rifle on full automatic filled the forest with artificial thunder. When it ended, Daniel couldn't tell if the shots had stopped or if he'd been temporarily deafened by it.

A portable radio clicked on, static bursting through the speaker for a moment before the right frequency was chosen. The device clicked as its owner pressed the switch controlling transmission.

"Found the zombie," a voice reported. "Took him down easily enough. Returning to base."

Footsteps retreated from the woods, but Kyle held a firm hand on Daniel's shoulder to prevent him from leaving immediately.

"What if there's more than one?" Kyle questioned in a hushed voice. Daniel nodded and tried to get comfortable inside the cramped tree trunk interior.

   ***   

Daniel had lost all track of time when Kyle finally gave him a slight nudge toward the outside world. Leaving the tree behind, the two men exited the hollow and scanned the woods for any lingering threats. The light filtering through the canopy was the orange of late evening.

"We'd better hurry," Daniel suggested. "Unless, you want to scout the base at night."

"It might help us not to be seen," Kyle suggested, but he moved with a quicker pace than before. Both men kept their knives in hand and ready.

The woods thinned ahead of them, giving them fewer and fewer trees for cover. Kyle pressed his shoulder up against the rough bark of one tree and tilted his head slightly sideways to look around the tree while keeping the majority of his body behind the trunk. Daniel copied his movements on a nearby oak.

Beyond the edge of the forest was a massive military base. Chain-link fencing surrounded a sizable slab of gray pavement. Squat with thick walls, the numerous buildings were heavily reinforced concrete and steel. Watch towers with gun emplacements resided on the four corners of the base's territory to provide a clear field of view in all directions.

Dozens of troops marched the grounds in unison, their boots making a steady rhythm against the pavement. In the center of the buildings was a great pile of boxes. Neither Daniel nor Kyle could see the designation written on the boxes, but both of them could tell from the shape and color. The stack was composed of weapon crates and ammunition.

"Looks like they're putting together quite an arsenal," Kyle commented in a whisper.

"How did they know what happened?" Daniel asked in an equally soft voice. It was impossible for them to be heard by anyone in the base at their current distance, but the two men wanted to guard against any scouts or zombies still be in the area from hearing the conversation and coming to investigate.

"They don't know about their scout," Kyle reasoned. "He didn't report back, and that's their answer. Since we didn't surrender, war is their option, and it would seem they have what they need to wage a sizable campaign."

"If you'd let their messenger live, we would've had time to respond before the attack came," Daniel accused.

"I doubt it," Kyle countered. "We were only given twenty-four hours to evacuate the city. Their forces would've been on the way regardless. We need to get back to Bunker City and let them know what they're facing."