The street had crumbled to gravel years ago and crunched under Wayne's boots as he approached the glowing transparency of the barrier wall. The energy field had always made him feel safe from outside threats, but as he stared up at it, a feeling of dread twisted in his stomach as the threat to him now came from within the wall.

The roar of an engine drew his attention to the gate further down the wall from where he stood. Massive doors pulled back and an armored personnel carrier sped out of the protected zone and into the broken and dead city. Clouds of dust churned out from its six wheels as the vehicle turned sharply and sped directly toward Wayne.

Wayne was conflicted. A part of him wanted to run for cover as he was sure to be either shot or run over by the incoming personnel carrier, but another part argued for him to stay and face them in order to find out if peace with his former city was still possible.

When the speeding vehicle neared, its velocity diminished until it came to a full stop only three feet away from Wayne. The top hatch flipped open, and a soldier in armored tactical gear appeared, the face hidden behind a featureless helmet of reflective black. The name tag on the left of the chest identified the wearer as Kelsey.

"Wayne Dunn," the soldier growled. The helmet muffled the voice slightly, but Wayne could still make out what was said, nodding in acknowledgment. The soldier climbed down and removed her helmet. Dark skinned, the soldier's darker hair had been shaved to a fuzz on the sides and only slightly longer atop her head. A white line of a scar crossed her left cheek and into her upper lip. "We heard your radio broadcast."

"Good," Wayne accepted. "Were you the strike team we communicated with in town?"

"Yes," the woman answered.

"We made the broadcast because we were concerned what the Council might do to you if they wanted to keep the situation quiet," Wayne offered.

"We considered that to," she told him. "It's why we took over the city and placed the Council under arrest for treason and attempted murder. If convicted, they'll be executed."

"I don't think that's necessary," Wayne objected.

"They ordered us to shoot you if we couldn't bring you back," Kelsey pointed out.

"I might've done the same," Wayne admitted. "If you were facing an enemy responsible for bringing down every civilization on Earth, how trusting would you be if extinction was possible if you chose wrong? Against the possible outcomes, did the Council really have a choice? Yes, they were willing to sacrifice me and possibly your team as well, but they were fighting against the threat of the entire city being either eradicated or erupting into a mass panic that could destroy it just as easily as the undead. If you were in charge, what would you have done?"

"I don't know," Kelsey admitted. She paused while considering it. Her focus returned to him a moment later. "It will be brought up at their trial, and we'll have to see what the people decide."

"The lengths they were willing to go to protect their people should also be taken into account," Wayne added. "If anything, it should prove they're exactly the kind of people you want watching over the city as they would do anything to keep its people safe."

"Whether or not they're put back in charge, what happens between those inside the barrier and those outside?" Kelsey inquired.

"Trust will be a slow process," Wayne admitted. "I'm not sure there will ever be a way for one side to fully trust the other. Even if we had access to the feeds from your security cameras, there's many places beyond their field of view where you might be preparing weapons to exterminate us. On the other hand, there's no way for you to patrol the entire world, so as we go out there to revive more of the undead, you wouldn't be able to know if we weren't building an army with advanced weapons to attack the city."

"What would you suggest?" Kelsey prompted.

"Truthfully, I don't know," Wayne told her. "I think it will simply take time. High alertness can only be maintained for so long, and if one doesn't attack or cause trouble for the other, tensions will go down. It may be years before the peace becomes lasting, but it will happen."

"We'll also have to take into account trouble makers," Kelsey suggested. "Those who don't want to trust the other side may actively work toward causing a fight and will have to be dealt with to maintain the truce."

"We should also consider what we're going to do about those who want to join their loved ones," Wayne stated. "We can't let the revived into the city as it might cause an outbreak, even unintentionally. Since we don't know if the revival is permanent or has any long term side effects, we don't dare risk the humans who are left."

"A form of meeting area could be set up," Kelsey suggested. "Intercoms and reinforced glass could allow them to see and speak with each other while maintaining security."

"Speaking of security," Wayne said as her suggestion gave him an idea. "The meeting area should be outside the barrier with a reinforced airlock connecting it to the city because if a troublemaker wanted to spread the infection, they'd only have to break through the glass and start bleeding on people to trigger an outbreak. If it's outside barrier, you can seal it off if needed and protect the city as a whole."

"Sacrifice a few to save many," Kelsey mused. "Sounds just like the Council."

"Horrible situations sometimes require horrible choices," Wayne replied, scratching uncomfortably at the stubble on his chin. "It's the world in which we live."

"Hopefully not for long," Kelsey answered. "After all, with the two of us not trying to kill each other, we're already building something better right now."

Wayne smiled. "It's a good start."