"Matt and I just got married." Susan said with a smile. David and Sharon just started at them blankly for a moment.

"Zack and Ron get infected with the plague and you two get married?" David said harshly.

"It's because they are gone that we decided to do it." Susan said. "I know you don't understand."

"I don't understand." David said.

"It might have been impulsive but I know that I love Susan and she loves me. And it was right for us." Matt said.

"With what happened to Zack and Ron... Dad... We realized that tomorrow might never come for any of us. Like Matt said, we love each other." Susan looked between her mother and brother, looking for understanding in their eyes. David just shook his head in amazement but Sharon hugged her daughter close and kissed her again. She called Matt over and included him in her embrace.

"Zack was wounded saving the lives of me and my children. You have put the safety of my family above your own. If my daughter says she loves you then that's enough for me. I'm proud to call you son." Sharon hugged them both tight, tears of sadness and of joy streaming down her face.

"I made a promise to Frank to take care of his family." Matt said, his own eyes clouded by tears. "Now you're my family."

Susan looked over to David, who had a look of confused anger on his face.

"Davey please?" she pleaded, holding an arm out to him. For a moment she thought he might scream obscenities at them and run away but he broke, tears coming to his eyes as he rushed to the embrace...

They left the hospital and walked back to the Hotel. Susan was happy to see her mother smiling and actually enjoying the good weather. When they reached the hospital they saw that the rest of their party had gathered at four tables across the room. Even Jenkins and Mac were there. All four of them went to Rick, who sat holding his wife Jennifer and their two daughters and paid their condolences. Rick was red-eyed from earlier tears but his composure seemed strong for the moment.

Matt ordered a round of whiskey for everyone and once they were served his took his in hand and looked to Rick.

"I'm sorry about your brother Rick. I truly am. I didn't know him that long but he was my partner too." Jenkins looked at Matt coldly and Matt stared back. They eyed each other for several long seconds before Jenkins smiled and picked up his shot of whiskey.

"To partners..." Jenkins said and everyone drained their shots.

"We are still partners, aren't we Jenkins?" Matt asked.

"Partners." Jenkins said with a nod.

Matt ordered another round for everyone. While the bartender poured them Matt handed them out to the band of refugees. Matt raised his up in another toast.

"Zack Thomas, Frank Young and Ron Black. Zack and Frank got us going and without Ron, we wouldn't be where we are now. May God have mercy on your souls. Amen.

"AMEN!" the group cheered. Everyone drained their shot.

Jenkins ordered another round. When they had all been served it was his turn to raise his glass in a toast.

"To the newlyweds Matt and Susan. Your mother just told us all the news. You're both crazy you know that? But I guess congratulations are due."

Everyone drained they're glasses.

Only then did they finally get down to serious talk.

"Before we head up to Rainbow Lake en masse I suggest we do a bit of recon." Jenkins said.

"It makes sense." Matt said. "We don't want to be heading in there blind. God only knows how the town of Kittewa has handled the plague."

"You'd think a few hundred rednecks in a back water town would be able to contain this shit." Rick said. "It's not like the city where dozens if not hundreds of people die each day."

"It's not about how many people die compared to the town population." Scott Bowler said with a touch of anger. He had hardly said a word since they had picked him up near the zoo yesterday afternoon. Despite his small, wiry frame there was fierceness about him, just under the surface. "What is happening is wrong. It goes against God. It goes against nature. Dead men aren't supposed to walk. Only Jesus has dominion over the dead. Just seeing such a thing..." By the tone of Scott's voice it was affecting him deeply right now. "Many of them might not be able to handle it. The Lord knows I'm having a hard time."

"I don't give a damn how it's affecting other people. All I care about now is our situation. That's all any of you should care about." Jenkins words were spoken as brutally as they were truthfully. "We don't know anything about Rainbow Lake or Kittewa except their names. Matt, earlier you told me that most of the houses on the lake were summer places. Martial Law was declared several months ago, just before Thanksgiving, so hopefully not a lot of the homes were occupied. But if things did go to shit in Kittewa then the survivors may have fled to the lake."

"So you think some of the lake residences are already occupied?" Rick asked.

"I don't know what to think until we get some Intel. The only way we're going to get that it by having a look for ourselves."

"When do we do this?" Mac asked.

"Tomorrow..." Jenkins said. "When Ron and I were at the tariff station this morning we met one of the militia helicopter pilots. I was asking him if he'd by chance been up near Rainbow Lake. Unfortunately he hadn't. But he also told me there's an old news chopper that hardly gets used. A Bell 206 L-4. No weapons or armor. And it only holds five, maybe six people."

"How much will that cost us?" Susan asked.

"That's if the military will even sell it to us." Matt said.

"We are very rich people here my friend." Jenkins said smugly. "And everything has its price. Everything..."

"Who will pilot it?" David asked.

"I'm going to be the pilot." Jenkins said.

"Where the hell did you learn how to fly?" Matt asked him.

"Personal interest... My dad was in the Air Force and then a commercial pilot. When I was a kid he built his own airplane from one of those kits and taught me how to fly. He expected me to join the Air Force just as he did. It really pissed him off when I joined the Army." Jenkins got a small chuckle out of that. "I picked up helicopters on my own."

"It will only be useful until the gas tank runs dry." Jennifer Black said.

"We can buy gas from Park City. Just today while I was at the tariff station I saw two rigs pulling tankers of diesel fuel come in. The dock manager told me the team of six men who brought them in were regulars."

"Babylon has fallen, but she left behind a fat bloated corpse for us to feed upon." Scott said sourly.

"A recon mission it is." Matt said, eyeing Scott oddly. "And I'm in."

"Me too..." Mac said.

"Me three..." David said.

"Are you as tough as your sister, boy?" Jenkins asked, giving the teenage boy a hard stare. "If your not then you stay back with your momma and Rick comes along."

"I can handle myself." David said sharply.

"Are you alright with that?" Jenkins asked Rick, smirking at David's stung pride.

"I'll take care of things here. We've got plenty of shopping to do." Rick answered, returning the smirk.

"I've compiled a rudimentary list of things we'll need." Jenkins said. He pulled a sheet of paper from another pocket, all business once again. "We have plenty of food and medicine for now. What we do need is ammunition, fishing equipment, blankets and clothing. We will hole up in one of the large mansions, raiding the other mansions for food and supplies. With what we have we can easily make it through winter with plenty to spare."

"It sounds like you've got it all figured out." Scott said.

"Once we secure the lake and get settled in I'll tell you of a few more ideas I got in mind..."

Chapter 33.

Monday, June 25, 2001 Park City, UT 8:01 AM.

They had spent another hour down at the bar discussing their plans before night had fallen and everyone was exhausted from the days events. After returning to their rooms, Matt and Susan had consummated their marriage with another bout of lovemaking before they had both fallen into a deep, restful sleep.

Jenkins called at eight o'clock sharp to inform them that he had in fact purchased the helicopter and was downstairs, ready to go. As Matt hung up the phone Susan rolled over and snuggled against him.

"Is it that time already?" she asked sleepily.

"It's time." Matt answered. He lay back and pulled her close. "Jenkins bought that helicopter for one ton of food."

"He's crazy." Susan said. "And I don't like him."

"I don't really like him either. But he's smart, ruthless, and one hell of a fighter. Besides, if he were going to try something he would have done it by now. He wants to relax by the lake as bad as any of us."

"But he's such an asshole!"

"What do you expect from somebody who has been on the frontline fighting zombies for as long as he has? You saw how it was up at the U. When I went out on that patrol the first time with Ron and Jenkins I could tell that all of those soldiers were crazy. Even Jenkins... Even Ron... We stayed holed up in our houses since martial law. We didn't even see a zombie until last week but the U and Ft. Douglas were fighting them from the beginning. Jenkins and Ron had been there all along, fighting those deadfucks every single day. I'm sure he's just numb to it all. But the fact that he's still with us shows that he's not as cold and ruthless as you think."

Susan nodded in silent agreement. "I still think he's an asshole."

"I need a shower. Jenkins is downstairs waiting for me." Matt rolled out of the bed and walked into the bathroom.

"When it's nice and steamy give a holler and I'll join you." Susan called from the bed. Matt soaked in the hot spray, and when Susan joined him they turned it steamy...

It was ten minutes to nine when he hurried down stairs to find Jenkins, Mac and David all waiting impatiently in the hotel lobby.

"Sorry." Matt said with a smile. Jenkins directed them all to the main elevator and took them to the roof of the hotel where the Bell 206 L-4 sat on a small helipad. It had been a news helicopter before the outbreak of the plague, the channel 9-logo still emblazoned along both sides.

"It's in great condition," Jenkins said. "Only a few years old and loaded with all the gadgets."

"What kind of gadgets?" Mac asked.

"Aside from the high powered spotlight, this baby has an onboard computer with satellite linkup and four cameras attached to the outer hull and equipped with thermo and night-vision capabilities." A large smile was on Jenkins face.

"Satellite link?" David beamed.

"Why the hell would they sell it to us?" Matt asked.

"The military choppers make this stuff look like kids toys." Jenkins said. "It's got plenty of storage too." There were storage compartments on both sides under the back seats that were accessible from outside and there was another open storage compartment between the two seats on the rear bulkhead.

"I bought some other stuff as well. Get in and I'll show you." Jenkins had been busy this morning. Besides buying the helicopter he had also bought a small, compact military field radio and half a dozen hand held walkie-talkies. He'd set all the radios to the same frequency, including the radio in the chopper and given the field unit and two of the hand units to Rick earlier this morning. He now equipped the four of them in the recon party with walkie-talkies. He'd also bought a case of 1000 5.56 MM rounds for the assault rifles and 50 empty magazines, which sat on the floor of the back seat.

"How far will a full tank get us in this thing?" Matt asked from the shotgun seat.

"A few hundred miles at least...it all depends on the weight we're carrying. It's also got a top speed of nearly 200 mph." Jenkins started the engine and the propeller slowly began to spin.

"I've never flown before." David said. He and Mac were seated in the back.

"You better not puke." Mac said.

"I won't puke."

Jenkins got the ok from the Park City Air Control and lifted the chopper off the ground and began a vertical ascent. Matt looked out the window and watched park City grow smaller as they climbed higher in the sky. At 500 feet Jenkins swung the bird northeast and gave it some throttle.

"It's been a few years..." Jenkins said with a chuckle as he took a minute to get the feel of the chopper. "It should only take us a few minutes to reach Kittewa."

"David and I should have these clips filled by then." Mac said. He put a few boxes of 5.56 ammo and a few assault rifle clips in David's lap. "Get busy."

"Put that radio on your head and give Rick a shout." Jenkins told Matt. Matt grabbed the headset comlink that Jenkins had indicated and slipped it on. The padded earpieces fit comfortably against as he adjusted the size. "The frequency is already set. Its hands free, just talk." The radio worked perfectly and once communication with Rick was established Matt signed off. Once they reached Kittewa he would contact Rick again.

"How fast are we going?" David asked. He had already filled three clips and was working quickly on the forth.

"130 mph!" Jenkins exclaimed. "Sure don't feel like it though."

Matt noticed that Jenkins was roughly following the highway below; the highway they would be driving to Rainbow Lake later today.

"Highway looks clean and clear. The town of Wanship is just ahead." He was reading the GPS screen. It was a sweet toy, but sooner or later all those satellites up there were going to drift off course. And he really doubted there was anybody sitting at a workstation adjusting the satellites orbit. And once they drift, say goodbye to the GPS, not to mention what was left of worldwide communications.

Jenkins dipped the helicopter down to an altitude of two hundred feet and slowed the speed to just above 50mph as they passed over Wanship. The town was teeming with zombies who appeared to be wandering aimlessly until the chopper slowly passed overhead. Dozens of zombies raised their rotting arms to the sky and moaned in hunger.

"My dad used to take us fishing here at the reservoir." David said solemnly.

"Nothing to see here..." Jenkins said, gaining altitude and pouring on the speed...

Following the highway another eight miles brought them to another small town named Coalville. It too seemed devoid of anything save zombies. A lesser road branched east of the main highway here at Coalville and Jenkins steered the chopper to follow it. They went on another ten miles, the road climbed north by northeast through thick mountain forest and the town of Upton. Here too nothing but zombies. The road continued east out of Upton, through the pine forested mountains and a few miles later cornered sharply north. Here the forest thinned as the road dipped into the valley at the base of the mountains. The land to either side of the highway was open farmland. Kittewa was just a few miles ahead, around the next point of mountains and nestled in the valley on the east side of the highway.

Jenkins guided the chopper around the point of the mountain. More open farmland stretched for several miles north along both sides of the highway. To the east, nestled into the foot of the mountain was the town of Kittewa. Jenkins took a slow pass over head. Kittewa was little more than 1 main street that ran west to the highway or east up into the canyon. Along it there were the few businesses and the town hall/jail that made up downtown. There were half a dozen smaller residential streets that intersected with main-street. Only a few zombies could be seen walking about but there was no sign of recent human habitation.

"Not too many deadfucks here." Jenkins thought aloud.

"Maybe the survivors fled up to the lake." Matt said.

"Only one way to find out..." Jenkins gunned the throttle and guided the chopper east, up the canyon.

"This is the only road leading up to the lake. It goes up there, circles the entire lake and comes back down." The road was three hundred feet below them, lost in the overhanging forest. A narrow, fast moving river flowed down the canyon alongside the road.

"Easily defendable..." Mac said.