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of the rubble and ashes. The town’s sole functioning fire engine put out most of the fires, while crews with shovels and buckets kept the isolated ones contained until they burned out. To the north, the sound of gunfire tattooed the air as all of Echo Company and the Ninth Tennessee Volunteer Militia, reinforced by the Sheriff’s Department and a hundred town guardsmen, engaged the infected attracted by the fighting.
    Mayor Stone appeared out of the dissipating smoke near the entrance to the clinic. She was speaking to Allison and one of the doctors from the Phoenix Initiative, Sudesh Khurana. Dr. Khurana was a small man in his late forties, balding, dark brown skin, rimless glasses, and sharp, intelligent eyes. His manner was brusque, but according to Allison, he was a highly skilled and eminently competent surgeon. An education at Johns Hopkins has that effect on people, evidently.
    Allison spotted me on my way over, stopped talking mid-sentence, and ran into my arms. The mayor looked on with kind impatience.
    “You’re all right,” she said.
    I had to clear my throat before I could speak. “Yeah. I am.”
    Her arms tightened and we stood that way for a few seconds, holding each other. I kissed the top of her head and then her lips and tried very hard to breathe against the constriction in my chest. I let her go and held her at arm’s length.
    “How are you holding up?”
    “I’d say I’ve seen worse, but that would be a lie.”
    “And the baby?”
    A small smile. “The baby is fine, Eric. I’m only five months pregnant. It’ll be a while before it’s big enough to cause trouble.”
    I looked down at the slight bulge in her trim stomach. Anyone not as familiar with her body as I was would not have noticed it. But I did. I stared at it often, and covered it with my hand when we slept at night, and wondered with a mix of fear and anticipation what the little person growing in there would be like when they came out. Would we have a boy or a girl? Would he or she look like me, or Allison? Either way, I hoped the baby had blue eyes. I have always liked having blue eyes.
    “Doctor Laroux,” Sudesh Khurana said. “We have patients.”
    Allison nodded and stepped away. “I don’t know when I’ll be home,” she said.
    “Me either. I’m going to go help out with the infected. Could be a long fight.”
    “Be careful.”
    “Always. Mayor, I assume you’ve set that contingency plan we discussed into motion?”
    “Deputy Glover is coordinating as we speak,” Elizabeth Stone said. “But the forklifts and propane are in storage on the other side of town. When you reach the lines, tell Captain Harlow we need twenty minutes to get the containers in place and probably another half hour to fill them with ballast.”
    “I’ll let him know.”
    “Thank you. I’ll send a rider when the breach is secured.”
    “I’ll let him know that too.”
    Allison’s cheek was covered in soot, but I kissed it anyway. Then I retrieved my rifle and gear and made my way toward the sounds of combat.

 
FOUR
     
     
     
    Gabriel, Captain Harlow, and a radioman I did not know stood atop the command vehicle. Gabe and the captain peered through binoculars at the battlefield. Gabe made suggestions, which Harlow passed to his radioman, who passed them on to platoon COs and squad leaders. I announced my presence by joining them on the roof of the Humvee.
    “Something I can do for you, Mr. Riordan?” Harlow asked without lowering his binoculars.
    “Message from the mayor,” I said. “Repair crews need about fifty minutes to move the shipping containers into place at the north gate and fill them with ballast. Think you can buy them that much time?”
    “I hope so,” he replied, still not looking at me. “Depends on how many more infected show up.”
    “I heard about Fuller,” Gabe said, turning to face me. “He was a good kid.”
    “Yes, he was.”
    “Is Allison all right?”
    “Yes. She’s at the clinic right