With the city secured by over two hundred former slaves and rebels, it was time to contact Angel and arrange a time to retrieve the hard drive he had left in the other engineer’s possession. Other than the destroyed mansion, the city was still fully functional. The Order had restored the local power plant to full operations. It was one of the newer ones that generated electricity from several sources: wind, solar, geothermal, human, and hydroelectric.

Reece thought that human power was both a bit funny, but also ingenious. With the steep rise of treadmills, ellipticals, and the like’s popularity, why not capture the energy expended by someone trying to lose weight or get into shape? As Reece pondered this, Naeva walked up next to him.

“I’ve contacted Angel,” she reported. “The good news is that he’s agreed to hand over the hard drive to Ground Control. They’re near the coast, so it shouldn’t be much trouble.”

“So, what’s the bad news?” asked Reece.

“Well, it sounds like some of the others have really stepped up to make the community work,” replied Naeva. “They’ve got a good thing going on there. There are already too many people for their small outpost, so they’ve been repairing and cleaning up Kennedy again. In fact, most of their people are already living there while they prepare it for the rest of them.”

“So, he wasn’t keen on taking in a bunch of former pit fighters and abused house slaves just yet...” she continued, putting up her hand to stop his objection. But... he’d consider it since it’s you that’s asking. Just...talk to him, Reece. I’m sure he’ll come around.”

“Okay...alright. Thanks, Naeva,” replied Reece. “It’s also possible that these folks may just stay here. It’s a pretty sweet setup. I’m just worried that a group this exposed would have a hard time repelling an assault from a large group of Z’s or worse, the Order themselves if they came in force. While the town is nice, its defenses are clearly lacking. After all, it only took the four of us to infiltrate and liberate this place.”

“Well,” pondered Naeva. “I checked the map. Kennedy’s a little over 450 kilometers from here. It’s about a five-hour drive up I-95, depending on the state of the road. Why don’t I see if Angel can just meet us here? Then he can see this place and these people for himself before he makes a decision.”

“Sure,” nodded Reece. “That’d be great if he’s willing to do that. It’s a bit of a drive. Speaking of that, why don’t we have him bring the drive here first. At least that way, we can use the drive to buy our passage with ground control.”

“You don’t think they’d turn us away, do you?” asked Naeva, furrowing her brow.

“I don’t know,” answered Reece. “I know we have established some goodwill with Micah, but I don’t think he’s calling the shots. We probably shouldn’t give away our leverage for no good reason. We’ll turn it over once we board their ships or whatever. Besides, Angel doesn’t have a secure line to ground control. It would be difficult for them to arrange a pickup without the Order intercepting it and sending a welcoming party.”

“You think of everything, don’t you? You do know, I find intelligence extremely sexy,” whispered Naeva into his ear. “In case I forgot to mention it, thank you for the hotel.”

“My pleasure,” Reece replied. “You never need to thank me for that. Now, let’s hope Angel can get here quickly. We’re exposed here and the Order will undoubtedly send someone or something to investigate the explosion and communications blackout with the town.”

Naeva gave him a comforting smile and squeezed his arm before heading back to the small comms center they had discovered in the small inner-city. It had been five days since the explosion and Reece and his companions were helping the reformed community to set up new quarters for the former slaves that had been displaced by the mansion’s explosive demise.

It wasn’t too hard since they were the ones that had kept the city going before and there was plenty of room to grow. Only now, they were doing it for themselves. For the first time in weeks, Reece, Ciera, and Naeva were able to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables provided by the people they had liberated.

By the time a week had passed since they had liberated the city, Angel arrived in one of their transport trucks with a small retinue. Dr. Firth was with him, and she and Angel seemed to be getting along. Reece caught each of them giving the other a little smile when they thought no one was looking. Reece smiled inwardly for them both. They more than deserved a little happiness.

A very dark-skinned and wiry man hopped out of the transport and joined them as well. The swarthy man was wearing a loose-fitting white shirt, a good choice in the heat and humidity.

The last to exit the vehicle was a man with shaggy grey hair and a short-cropped grey beard. Despite his hair color, he was massive. Thick muscles covered his over-two-meter frame, and he had a dark tan and piercing blue eyes.

“How was the trip,” called out Reece as he approached his friend. “Did you make good time?”

“Reece,” smiled Angel as he greeted him with a hug before backing off to introduce the others. “Yeah, took about six hours with all the stops to clear the road, but it wasn’t bad. You remember Stefanie, right?”

Reece nodded, smiling widely. “Nice to see you again. I see you and Angel are getting along.”

“Ah hum, and this is Shawn... and Asher,” said Angel sheepishly after clearing his throat. He indicated the dark-skinned man and then the grey-haired man in turn. Dr. Firth’s cheeks turned slightly red. Apparently, they were trying to keep whatever was happening between them a secret for now.

Reece shook each of the new folk’s hands before taking the four on a tour of the miniature city he had spent the last week working within. They met many of the locals, now former slaves trying for a fresh start, and were impressed by what they had accomplished.

Reece took them to the roofs and showed them the many gardens growing there with varying degrees of shade-canopies for the crops requiring less sunlight. He showed them the power plant and the comms center too, stopping back at the courtyard where they had left their truck. By the time they had finished, Angel was chuckling.

“What is it?” asked Reece nervously.

“I thought we were making good progress on standing Kennedy back up, but this is at a whole other level. I’m thinking we can move our people up here to help with defenses and farming and such. Kennedy’s not bad, but this place seems much more functional. And, with a little work, it’ll be almost as defensible. Well, unless we’re trying to defend it against your little posse,” gushed Angel in awe at the scope of the small city. “It’s amazing how quickly just the four of you secured this place. It’s huge!”

Reece had filled him in on how he, Ciera, Naeva, and Karina had taken the city. Reece had to admit, thinking back, that it was indeed impressive and a bit lucky. Any number of things could have gone wrong. Reece brushed the dark thoughts away before they could take hold.

“Thanks, Angel, that means a lot,” he replied before changing the subject. “Oh, do you have that hard drive handy?”

“Sure,” answered Angel as he reached into his inner jacket pocket and retrieved the drive, handing it over to Reece. “So, do you think these folks would like to combine our two communities? It would be nice to have the extra support, not to mention trade.”

“You’re sounding more like a politician every time I talk to you,” laughed Reece as he placed the drive in his ever-present satchel.

“Hey, you take that back,” replied Angel in mock anger, making Reece just laugh harder. It was infectious and soon both men were chuckling.

“Oh ahem, okay...I think it sounds like a solid plan, but let me talk to Bjorn,” answered Reece as he regained his bearings. “He’s their current spokesperson and they’ll probably need to talk it out before making a decision.”

“Of course. That’s more than fair,” replied Angel. “For now, how about you offer us weary travelers some supper?”

“Ah, my apologies, bud,” laughed Reece. “I forgot how long it must have taken you to get here. And here I am, showing you fruits and vegetables hanging from the vine. Come, let’s get something to eat. They’ve converted a grocery store into a market and cafeteria of sorts. It’s actually pretty great.”

“Sounds good. Please, lead the way,” said Angel, mouth salivating as he motioned for Reece to lead them to the cafeteria.

Reece took the four to a single-story building that took up half a square block. The entire roof had been converted into a garden and Reece indicated a gardener they could see working on it. The man was near enough to the edge that they could see him from street level. He wore a large wide-brimmed hat of straw that kept most of his body in the shade.

Angel laughed at the small city’s resourcefulness. Reece had explained that it was the Order that had set all of this up and it stood to reason that there were more of these little cities all around the world. That sober thought momentarily took the smile from Angel’s face as the five of them entered the building.

Inside, a couple of coppery-skinned folks in white aprons talked and joked behind a line of food. The young man had light-brown hair that was short and spiky, not unlike a hedgehog. The girl had the same color hair, but it was pulled back into a ponytail.

“What would you like?” asked the girl as the five approached. She indicated the spread of foods in front of her.

Fruits, nuts, vegetables, bread, and several cuts of beef were available, as was fish, and lobster. The chicken coup had been kept outside of the city and a small horde of zombies had tragically trampled it over a month ago. They each picked out what they wanted, and the two chefs cooked it up for them right there.

Taking their meals to eat them, they sat down at nearby tables set up for such a purpose. Reece dug into a fish fillet over a bed of rice, with parsnips and cooked carrots on the side. There also happened to be a distillery and Reece enjoyed a rather strong dark ale with his meal. When they saw Reece grab a mug, the four all got up and enthusiastically followed suit.

“Oh, before I forget, I’ve got this for you,” said Reece as he handed Angel a scrap of paper with a number written on it.

“What’s this?” asked Angel.

“It’s the number for a secure line to Ground Control. I already memorized it, just in case,” Reece explained. “I didn’t dare give it to you over the radio in case it was intercepted.”

“Makes sense, thanks man,” said Angel nodding appreciatively

“No worries, now why don’t you eat up?” suggested Reece.

Angel nodded and got back to eating his meal of steak, corn, and potatoes, washing every few bites down with a swish of the rich ale.

“Wow,” laughed Angel. “This is really first class, especially considering it’s the end of the world.”

“Nah,” corrected Reece. “Not the end, through this worldwide disaster we’re going to bring about a new beginning. Look around you, bud. Can’t you feel it? We’re going to reclaim this planet one community at a time.”

“Alright, alright,” laughed Angel. “I like the sentiment. Consider me corrected. Once we start taking the fight to the Order more, we should be able to spread our communities out. In the meantime, when I get back to Kennedy, I’ll present the case to combine our communities in this city. I think they’ll go for it.”

The pony-tailed girl who had prepared their food abruptly came around the counter and started walking up to their table before the male chef stopped her by gently grabbing her arm. He whispered something to her, but she angrily whispered something back before jerking her arm from his weak grip. She approached the table while looking at each of them sitting there.

“Did one of you mention Kennedy Space Center?” she asked anxiously.

“Yeah, I did,” replied Angel. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but I overheard Mayor Butterbell speaking with someone about providing manpower for an attack that was being planned against Kennedy Space Center. I don’t know when the attack is supposed to take place, but it sounded like it was imminent. They may have already been attacked.”

Angel and the other members of the community looked shaken with a mixture of panic and anger on their faces as they all stood up.

“Reece, we’re going to contact Kennedy immediately and warn them. We also need to head back right now,” announced Angel. “We can’t afford to not believe her or assume she’s mistaken. We’ll be back if we can, and I’ll try to stay in touch.”

“I understand,” responded Reece. “Is there anything we can do?”

“Just get this place prepared for incoming, both friendly and otherwise. If they’re sending a large force down to Kennedy, they’ll likely chase us all the way here.”

“Alright, we’ll try to prepare for a number of possibilities. In the meantime, get going and watch yourselves,” said Reece.

Reece gave Angel a quick but strong hug and let him go just as quickly. “Now go.”

Angel nodded and he and his crew jogged out to their transport and took off back towards their settlement.