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While you don't want to get involved just yet, you'd rather be close enough should you feel the need to take action. You unlock the door and walk across the field to the group of people.

Gary and Lisa stand near the open doors of their minivan, their bodies tense and rigid. On the back of the pickup truck, the three men rise and show their rifles and shotguns. Cliff rests an ax handle on his shoulder. Dee steps to the back of the minivan and tugs on the rope tying down a stack of suitcases.

"Moving here? Not a lot of homes for sale."

"As I told Denton—I think that's his name—we're just passing through," Gary says, smiling in the way people do when they get pulled over by a cop for speeding, and they try to smooth-talk their way out of a ticket.

"Passing through to where?" Dee says as she circles to the driver's side. "I only ask 'cause we've heard lots of outsiders are fleeing the city and coming this way: camping on people's lawns, squatting in empty homes, setting up in fields."

"Like he said, we're just passin' through." Lisa says each word with conviction, hands on her hips. She struts to the back of the minivan, but Cliff blocks her. "Oh, I know you're not steppin' in my way! You're gonna let me go 'round this van."

"Lisa, please, let me handle this." Gary slams his hand on the side of the minivan. "Look, I don't know what you want from us, but we're leaving Colorado. With the virus and the outbreak and the zombies, we just want to get far away. Other people might be doing those things—the camping and all—but we're outta here. So if it's okay with you, we'll go."

Dee folds her arms over her chest and nods as the man speaks. When Gary has finished, she steps closer to him but stares through the window of the minivan. "You've convinced me. Thank you. We're just concerned citizens making sure that lawbreakers don't invade our community. The sheriffs and the National Guard are so busy, we felt the need to police the area ourselves. Certainly, you can go through."

"Great. Lisa, how about we hit the road," Gary says, turning to the passenger seat. Lisa backs away from Cliff, but he grabs her arm.

"We're just going to check through your possessions to make sure you're not carrying contraband through our town." She sidesteps and waves her hand over her shoulder. "All right, boys."

As the group moves toward Gary and Lisa, you…