I awake the next morning feeling like a different person. I haven’t been this well-rested in – well, I can’t even remember the last time. In the hallway I hear voices talking in low tones. Slipping from bed, I open the door. Daisy and a woman with red hair are there.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to wake you. We were just leaving your clean clothes.” Daisy says.

She points to the basket by the door.

The other woman says, “Better get out of here before Boss realizes where we are.”

Daisy rolls her eyes. “He’ll get over it.” To me, she says, “We’re heading to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Would you like to join us?”

I say, “Give me a few minutes to change.”

I grab the basket and close the door. Dave is sitting up in bed.

“Did you hear all that?”

He nods. “Will you be okay?”

I reply, “I should be. I’ll hurry.”

He runs his fingers through his hair. “I might try to find Eli. Maybe talk to him before he talks to his people.”

I finish dressing and run a brush through my hair. It’s strange. I’m actually nervous about spending time with Daisy. I guess that’s what happens when you’re not around different people on a daily basis. You forget how to socialize.

Waving at Dave, I step into the hallway. Daisy is there, but the other woman is gone.

“Sorry if that took too long.”

She smiles. “You’re fine. Kat had to feed her baby.”

This surprises me. “Baby? How old?”

“She’s almost four weeks old now. The first one born here.”

“Wow. That’s amazing.”

Daisy nods. “We’re hoping more families will follow suit.”

There’s something in her smile that makes me wonder if Daisy and Elijah don’t have a secret of their own.

Daisy leads me down several hallways. As we get closer to the cafeteria, my stomach grumbles.

“How have you managed to keep fresh food around?”

Daisy frowns. “That’s a long story. Once we get breakfast prepared I’ll fill you in.”

We go to the kitchen where a few women and a man work. The man is in charge, telling everyone what to do.

“That’s Cooper. He’s our cook.”

Cooper waves. “Nice to meet you. Know your way around a kitchen?”

I nod. “A little.”

“Perfect. Can you crack fifty eggs?”

I’m sure my mouth is open. Fifty eggs. How?

Daisy touches my arm. “I promise I’ll fill you in.”

Nodding, I go to a stainless-steel table with two large bowls. One is empty and the other has the eggs. I soon have them cracked and mixed together.

Cooper takes the bowl and says, “We’re having omelets today. Hope that’s okay?”

My stomach growls loud enough that he hears. “Good lord. That sounds amazing.”

He winks and takes the eggs to a large grill, pouring the eggs. He adds vegetables and a little meat, making several large omelets. When they’re done cooking, he cuts them into smaller portions.

Daisy says to me, “As soon as the door opens, people are going to come through. It’s easier on something like this to have the omelets ready to go. On other meals we let them self-serve.”

“That’s impressive. I can’t remember the last time we ate something that didn’t come from a can or that we killed.”

“Cooper is a god in the kitchen. He can make roadkill taste good.”

Cooper laughs. “Girl, you’re going to make me blush.”

Daisy says to me, “Let’s open the door. After the first wave, we can sit and talk.”

She goes through a swinging door and opens a large door. True to her word, several people come through. As they grab their food I listen to their chatter. Some talk about working on a house. Others talk about barn duty. I’m surprised when they mention watchtower duty. This place is a functioning miracle in the middle of the apocalypse.

The red head, Kat, comes through the line with the bearded man. He carries a tiny baby with red hair.

I gush, “Oh my gosh. She’s so tiny.”

The man preens. “She might be small, but she’s feisty as hell.” He holds out his hand. “Never introduced myself last night. I’m Grey. This sweet thing is Hilly and her mother, Kat.”

“I’m Nikki.”

Kat nods her head at me. “Nice to meet you.”

I get the feeling it takes time for Kat to warm up to people. She takes Hilly from Grey and goes to a table to feed her baby.

Grey says to Daisy, “Do you happen to know where Boss went?”

She gives me a look before replying, “If I were to guess I’d say he wanted to speak to his brother before the meeting.”

I say, “Sounds like they both had similar ideas, then.”

Grey nods. “Thought at much. I’ll give them some time.”

He goes to the table with Kat, looking at them with so much love that my eyes actually water.

“It’s sweet, isn’t it? He’s like a mountain of muscles, but when he looks at them you realize he’s all gooey inside.”

I grin at Daisy. “That’s accurate.”

“Come on. Let’s find somewhere quiet and sit.”

She picks up two plates and leads the way into the cafeteria. People shoot me curious looks as we make our way to an empty table in the corner.

“I’m guessing you don’t get very many visitors here.”

She shakes her head. “No. And, in our experience, not all visitors are good.”

“Is that what happened to the gate? And the outside of the building?”

She takes a bite of her omelet before replying, “You noticed?”

I nod and wait for her to speak.

“You asked how we were able to have all of this. There used to be so much more, but another group came in and tried to kill Elijah.” Her face falls. “We lost a lot of good people that day. Elijah was wounded, so we decided to go to Texas - to my family home. That was a mistake, to say the least.”

“Why didn’t you just stay here?”

“We weren’t sure who all was against us. Some of the people we trusted most turned on us. Going to Texas was the best option at the time.”

She gazes off into the distance, as if remembering. “You always think your family home isn’t going to change. I have wished a million times over that we hadn’t gone back. There are things that I saw there that will never leave my mind.”

Maybe not going back to my apartment after the outbreak was a blessing. I just didn’t know it at the time.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Don’t be. Not everything that happened there was bad. Cooper left with us, and we met Jo and Norman there, too.” She blinks. “That’s right. You haven’t formally met them. Jo is the woman who brought the water while Elijah was working on your friend last night.”

I vaguely remembered her.

Daisy goes on, “When we came back to Oklahoma we were expecting a fight, but discovered that our enemy had died. Just like that it was over, or so we thought.” She shakes her head. “We’re finally safe and things are starting to turn around again.”

I sigh. “And then we show up.”

She nods. “To be blunt, yes. You arrive and bring trouble with you. We’ve spotted this new group from our watchtowers. And another group nearby has reported seeing them, too.”

My hands actually shake. “We had no idea what would happen when we ran into them near Vinita. They told us to turn around, but it was the fastest route to get here.”

“And you did nothing to provoke them? Kill one of their members?”

“No! They’re the ones who have been chasing us. No matter what we do they’re one step ahead of us. They say it’s a game and I believe them. To them, this is fun.”

She reaches across the table, touching my hand. “I’m sorry. We need to know all the details.”

“I understand. But we literally didn’t do anything to these people. The second time we saw them they told us the only solution was for us to submit to death. And I believe that’s the only way they will stop hunting us.”

She says, “They don’t sound sane.”

“They’re not.” I choose my next words carefully. “I know it’s wrong to ask, but is there any way you can sway Elijah into letting us stay? If we go out there we’re dead.”

“Elijah has decided it’s up to the members of the community to decide if you can stay or not.” She smiles. “I like you Nikki. You’re strong and willing to do what it takes to protect the ones that you love.”

“Thank you.”

She goes on, “My vote will be to let you stay and help you fight.”

My eyes water. “Daisy, I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say, Nikki. Sometimes you just have to have faith in someone. And, as I’ve told Elijah, it’s okay to let people in.”

That makes me grin. “This is going to sound silly, but I have little rules for surviving the apocalypse.”

“Oh?”

“And what you just said is the second rule on my list.”

She smiles. “You’ll have to show me this list one day.”

I’m about to reply when Grey comes over to our table.

“Sorry to interrupt. One of the guys told me Boss and his brother are fist-fighting out back. Didn’t know if you wanted to intervene.”

Daisy curses. “Of fucking course.” She stands and says, “Let’s go watch these grown-ass men fight like children.

She leads the way from the cafeteria. Grey and I follow.

He says to me, “This ought to be good. Daisy gets madder than a wet hen when Boss does stupid shit.”

The more I’m around this man, the more I like him. We go through a set of double doors. Outside, Dave and Elijah are circling each other. Both men have their shirts off. I take a moment to appreciate Dave’s physique. His muscles ripple when he swings at Elijah, who blocks. I gasp when I see the scarred skin on his shoulder.

Cooper joins me and says, “Damn. This is better than a porno.”

I laugh.

“Sorry. Don’t tell my boyfriend I said that.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

Daisy steps toward the men and calls out, “You two are being ridiculous right now.”

Elijah replies, “We’re just sorting through some things.”

Dave’s fist connects with Elijah’s jaw and he lets out a groan before lunging at his brother.

Dave adds, “This is harmless, ma’am.”

“Don’t talk to Daisy,” Elijah says back.

“Dude. Get over it. I stole one girlfriend from you when we were kids. You’re the one who liked my sloppy seconds.”

Daisy meets my gaze, shaking her head. “I feel like we’re going to hear things we’ll be able to hold over their heads later.”

I laugh. Dave looks at me, which give Elijah the opportunity to take a swing. Dave grunts, rubbing his jaw. We watch the brawl for several more minutes. Jeff and Harper join my side.

“Heard there was a fight. Knew Dave was involved,” Jeff says.

I reply, “He says it’s harmless.”

“I believe it. There would be more blood if they were serious.”

Daisy puts her hands on her hips. “Are you idiots finished?”

Elijah calls out, “Not quite.”

Both men are panting, though, and it’s obvious they’re running out of steam. Finally, Elijah steps back. He and Dave hug and talk in low tones to each other. There’s a handshake and then they grab their shirts, heading toward a barn.

Daisy shakes her head. “Fucking men.”

Grey laughs. “I’m going to follow.” To Jeff and Harper he asks, “Want to come along?”

Jeff and Harper exchange a look and nod, following Grey.

Daisy comes to me. “I swear to God. I do not understand men.”

Cooper says, “You and me both, girl.”

Daisy says, “While they’re doing their thing, would you like a tour of the place?”

“Do you mind if I check on Rocco first?”

“Of course not. Let’s go.”

As we walk we pass a man and woman. The man looks familiar, like the star of a television show.

“Is that-”

Daisy grins. “It is. I’ll fill you in.”

Shaking my head, I follow her back to my room. Rocco is awake and looks better today. He and Noah are playing a card game.

Daisy checks the bandage, nodding. “Looks good.”

“I can’t thank you enough.” Rocco says.

“It’s my pleasure. Would you like to take a walk with us? The stitches should hold and it’ll be good for you to get exercise.”

He nods. Noah and I help him to his feet.

He flexes his leg. “Feels better than it did yesterday.”

We follow Daisy from the room. As she gives us the tour of the hospital I’m again blown away at everything they’ve managed to do.

“Want to walk around the grounds?” Daisy asks.

Rocco says, “My leg is starting to ache. I think I’ll rest for a bit.”

Noah replies, “I’ll take you back.”

“No, you go with Nikki. I know you’re dying to look around.”

He grins at Rocco. “Thanks, man.”

As we walk we tell Daisy how we came to know each other.

“So Dave saved you from your groom, who just turned?”

I nod. “Best thing to happen to me.”

When she tells us how she met Elijah, I laugh.

“That is so crazy. They really used to bow to him?”

“Oh yeah. That’s one of the things I don’t miss. That and the way women are viewed. Before, they were kept inside where it was safe. Now, it’s understood that men and women are equal in every way.”

Noah replies, “Just as it should be.”

I say, “You seemed surprised when Dave said he was Elijah’s brother. Had he never mentioned Dave before?”

She smiles to herself. “Elijah is complicated. He hadn’t mentioned him before, but it was because he thought he was dead. Believe me, if his dad had sent him a letter saying where Dave was, Elijah would have tried to get there.”

We walk until the sun is overhead. Again, I can’t believe what they’ve accomplished. Solar panels. Fields for crops. Running water. Communication with nearby communities.

Daisy says, “I think things are finally looking in our favor.”

Cooper finds us in the connecting housing addition.

He says, “Elijah sent for all of you. Says it’s time for the vote.”

Suddenly, my stomach feels heavy. Whatever happens next will change our lives, one way or another.

Rule 16: When things look bleak, sometimes you just need a little faith.