Heather waited for them downstairs, impeccably dressed in a floral spring dress that made Rachael feel like a hobo in her Batgirl T-shirt and worn jeans. Heather led them on a pleasantly meandering trip through the community to a sprawling building that screamed “country club,” with beautiful orchards and gardens surrounding it.

“This is our community center and town hall,” said Heather. “We have our own government now that everything else has failed. We have a mayor, Margaret Van Sloane, and a town council. It’s all very proper . . . we had an election and everything. It really works wonderfully.”

As they walked through the entrance of the main building, she looked through sparkling glass windows that overlooked the gardens and orchards where a good dozen or so people were at work trimming leaves, picking fruit, pruning flowers, and weeding.

The council was set up in a spacious room, a long table with eight chairs on either side running the length of it. The chairs were all occupied by men in slacks and dress shirts, and women in dresses similar to Heather’s. A single chair sat at the head of the table, occupied by a painfully skinny woman; the kind of skinny that was once considered chic amongst the wealthy. Rachael stood at the foot of the table, Jason and Claudia standing beside her.

“Welcome to Happy Valley.” The woman at the head of the table stood, offering them a tight smile that made Rachael think of Botox. “I’m Margaret Van Sloane, the mayor of this community. What brings you here?”

Rachael cleared her throat.

“Good morning. I’m Rachael, this is Jason and Claudia.We were looking for supplies for our group when we found Tommy. He’d gotten lost so we decided to help him find his way home. We came across some of your people looking for one of your men, Pat. Long story short, we talked, Heather and John said the residents didn’t have much experience defending themselves, so we offered to come and spend a few days here to teach your people the basics.”

“I thought John said there were five of you.”

Rachael felt rather than saw Jason tense up beside her. “There were,” she replied readily. “But they wanted to rejoin our group rather than come here so we parted ways back in the woods.”

Van Sloane gave a small, satisfied nod.

“Well then, we will be glad for your help. Heather and John both maintain that you’re very competent fighters.”

“We just get a lot of practice,” Rachael deflected the compliment awkwardly. “I’d rather be as lucky as you all, and not need it.”

The mayor gave the same tight little smile she’d offered upon their arrival. “Regardless, you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like. And your friends as well, of course.” She nodded toward Jason and Claudia without really looking at them.