The first man to the tree was tall and angular. As he took off his orange helmet, Eric could see that his thinning hair was plastered to his head with sweat. Unfortunately, he had stopped sooner than Eric expected, leaving only the lead vehicle in sight and the rest of the column hidden in the trees.

As two other men moved up to join him, the leader’s voice carried clearly up to where Eric lay concealed. “Look at this. This tree didn’t just fall across the road. It’s been cut, and in the last day or two.”

So at least they are Americans. Eric could detect no trace of accent, and that relieved him somewhat. Each man was clad in orange and blue and had what appeared to be a weapon strapped to his hip. And yet from this distance it was difficult to tell exactly what kind of weapon. It looked too long for a pistol, and yet too short for a rifle.

“It looks like it was done deliberately to block the highway.”

“Well, if it was, they chose their spot well.” The leader gestured to one of the men. “Bring up one of the trucks. We can use a winch to move it. It’s not worth getting the tractor off.”

“I wouldn’t do that, not just yet.”

It was comical in a way. Had the fallen tree instantly righted itself, it could not have created a more stunned reaction. All three men visibly jumped at the sound of Cliff’s voice and whirled to stare at the figure that had appeared from nowhere.

The leader was the first to recover. “Hello,” he called nervously, starting toward Cliff.

The muzzle of Cliffs Winchester 30.06 raised slightly. “Just stand easy,” he drawled, “until we get a little better acquainted. Who are you, and where do you come from?”

The tall man stopped, but if he was deterred by Cliff’s coolness, Eric couldn’t detect it in his voice. “My name is Bruce Byers. I am the commander of the First Corps of Guardians.” He waved toward the unseen column. “We’re from the city of Shalev.”

“Never heard of it,” Cliff said.

“That’s not too surprising. It’s up north, where Kalispell, Montana, used to be. The name comes from the Hebrew word meaning peaceful.”

“You’re a long ways from home.”

“Yes, about five hundred miles.”

“What brings you this far south?”

“We heard there were people living in a valley south of here.”

The surprise in Cliff’s voice made Eric smile. “Oh, really? Whereabouts?”

The leader shook his head. “We’re not exactly sure. That’s assuming there is a village.” It was evident he was fishing.

Cliff rejected the bait. “And if you find them?”

“We’re hoping they might be pleased to hear others have survived, that there are cities and civilization. We’d like them to join us, help us rebuild America.”

“Cities?”