As usual, Burns had his fun listening to our rapport, but it was impossible to ignore the underlying strain of worry. Here was hoping that no one else would pick up on that any time soon.
By late afternoon, we turned away from the broader roads and took the overgrown dirt track to the rendezvous point Dan Harris had called in when we’d managed to hail him from New Angeles this morning. I’d expected maybe two to three cars waiting for us, but there were a full five of them, all slightly dented and scratched but in good working order. Of the people milling around, I only recognized two—Harris himself and the hulking fellow that reminded me a little of a horse that I thought was his right-hand man—with two more that returned from guarding the perimeter upon our arrival. Harris made quite the show out of welcoming us and shaking our hands, finishing with a quick, “And I’m sure you remember Pete, John, and Hunter.” I nodded at his men in turn, forgetting their names almost as soon as he’d called them out. Judging from Harris’s grin, he wasn’t oblivious to that fact, but didn’t rub it in my face.
“And the rest?” I inquired, glancing at the men milling around in the background, not quite staring at us with pinched looks on their faces but clearly holding their distance.
“Some of the folks we agreed to help bring to their new home safely,” Harris declared, not bothering with keeping the scorn out of his voice. “We were already underway to escort them over to the Mariposa settlement so they could hitch a ride with someone else, but seeing as we got reinforcements, we might as well go on the round trip. Can’t say I terribly mind stretching my legs before the winter sets in. Right, boys?” His men murmured something unintelligible, not quite as thrilled as Harris appeared to be, but none of them protested.
“We’re camping here for the night?” I presumed, looking at the fire pit someone had already gotten started.
“Yes, ma’am,” Harris agreed. “Tanner called ahead. They’re going to be a little late. Had to switch out vehicles because one of their trucks stalled. Either they make it just after nightfall or they’ll camp out and join us in the morning. That fine with you?”
I nodded, not even thinking it odd that Harris would coordinate with me—after all, we’d gone through that very same spiel on an almost daily basis for days on end in summer—but one of the settlers spoke up, rather rudely if I might say so.
“Why are you asking permission from her? You’re our caravan leader.”
Harris ignored the challenge in the question, or maybe that’s what made him crack a benevolent, tobacco-stained smile. “Because that’s Bree Lewis, and I don’t think there’s a man out there who’s stupid enough to think he can tell her what to do, present company included.” That earned him a snicker from Burns, while Nate didn’t even acknowledge the jibe. The insolent imbecile’s eyes widened slightly, but Harris talked right over him before he could say something even more stupid. “On my watch, ain’t nobody disrespecting her. If you’ve got a beef with that, I haven’t had my daily exercise yet so we might as well go a few rounds. Or better yet, you take it up straight with her. Never seen her shy away from a fight.”
I had to admit, I really wasn’t in for punching anyone in the teeth with my muscles complaining because I’d spent most of the day crammed into the car without rest stops, but it only took a flat stare to dissuade the guy from any further action. He mumbled something along the lines of not meaning any disrespect before he slinked off.
Harris snorted, shaking his head. “You three want to split night watch? We’re exposed as fuck up here but at least that means clear sight for miles. If Tanner and his people get here soon enough, you might as well push it on them. Townies will help but I wouldn’t rely too heavily on ‘em if I were you.”
I answered with an ambivalent shrug. “No need. I’ll take the asscrack of dawn shift, and I’m sure those two can cover the rest. We’ll coordinate with the others if they make it here in time.”
That settled things. Not much of a surprise there as Harris and his guys hadn’t survived well on their own for a long time without proper cause. I didn’t much care for how the people from the settlement seemed to avoid me like the plague, but then I had been full of “I won’t go near anyone I might possibly infect” just hours before. They steered well clear of Burns and Nate as well, and only briefly chatted with one of Harris’s guys, so it wasn’t targeted prejudice. Altogether ten men, they were a large enough group to remain on their own while we spread out around camp, gravitating to the warmth of our cars now that the temperatures were dropping rapidly.
The convoy from New Angeles came into view just as the last remaining light of day winked out, forcing them to go the last five miles or so in complete darkness. We’d made sure to rendezvous in a part of the region that we knew was mostly free of shamblers because of where it was relative to the maze of beacons, but that didn’t mean that there were no undead—or other critters—out there, looking for some easy prey. I felt myself get more antsy with every minute that passed, until I was ready to go out there and lead them over to us. I didn’t, mostly because I didn’t want to appear like an overprotective asshole, but the last few weeks of sitting mostly behind walls after dark made me feel like I’d unlearned half of my survival skills. That, and the lack of safety in numbers didn’t bode well for my peace of mind, I was afraid.
Gita, Tanner, and the others made it over in one piece, but were pretty much wiped from driving nonstop as fast as they dared to make it. What remained of dinner was distributed, watch shifts changed for the night, and the camp fell quiet way faster than I was used to. Nate’s barely audible snoring kept me up well past when I should have dozed off, and I was wide awake when he and Burns switched places. I’d just about given up on falling asleep when I blacked out, and of course rousing when my shift was due was twice as hard. I spent a good hour of it actually walking the perimeter with my jacket half unzipped, hoping the cold of predawn would wake me up, but the effect of that was debatable. Once I accepted that, I ended up perching on the roof of the Jeep where I had a pretty good view of our camp and the surrounding flatland, which also made it hard to ignore the hostile glances the two townspeople sharing their watch duty kept shooting my way. Far was it from me to tell them just how good my eyesight was in the dark. Ultimately, it didn’t matter as the entire lot of them didn’t change their demeanor once the sun rose and made it plain as day that there was somewhat of a rift going through our group.
We set out as soon as everyone had been, more or less rudely, awakened, seeing as it was too cold to enjoy the morning air without a fire, and there was no need to risk lighting one. Harris took the lead in his car with the townspeople hot on his heels, mingling with the two largest cargo trucks of the New Angeles folks. Then followed the second Vegas truck, the remainder of the New Angeles people, with us and Tanner bringing up the rear. The day was overcast enough that I would have ditched my shades if we’d had tinted windows, but that was, like so many other things that I missed about the Rover, a thing of the past.
Short due to the length of the day as our trek was, it still dragged. There weren’t many zombies to kill on the side of the road, due to the fact that we followed the established route until the Pixley settlement came into view. Except for the railroad tracks running close by what used to be the old town before the shit had hit the fan, there was nothing remarkable to see around. It felt terribly exposed to me, but judging from the tracks I could see everywhere, the settlement had done well as far as agriculture went—as much as that was possible in the California heat. I still didn’t get why anyone would want to settle down here—at least the coast had fishing options—but considering that what we called home nowadays was only a two-day drive away I should probably have considered myself a hypocrite. I really didn’t care by the time Harris made a roll call over the radio, patching the Pixley radio control right into our frequency.
“Great to hear you made it,” a gruff voice announced once Harris had verified that we had the goods they were waiting for in our
cargo holds. “Took you long enough.”
If I had been in charge, I would have told him where to shove his belligerence. It was likely a good thing that the role fell to Harris, who replied with a jovial chuckle. “Took us some time to get the goods and people together to make the run. Might have been another week if we hadn’t gotten some backup.” I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about, but presumed whatever they had ordered had come from the New Angeles stocks, seeing as none of us had raided any stores on the way over, and before yesterday morning, there hadn’t even been a convoy on the move.
“Yeah, we get that a lot,” the guy from the settlement grumbled. “Damn politics and shit. Glad you haven’t forgotten about us. Just tell us your official codes so we know that none of you belong to that diseased scum, and we’re ready to let you in.”
I glanced at Nate, who grimaced at the last part. “Think he means us?” I ventured a guess.
“Would be surprised if he didn’t,” Burns supplied from between our seats. “We did a great job reminding them that we’re not just dogs that play nice and go fetch the sticks they throw us.”
Harris took a moment to formulate his reply, likely waiting for one of us to blare some bullshit over the line. When that didn’t happen, he gave another good-natured laugh, if a somewhat more fake sounding one. “We’re a rather cobbled together group. Not many official scavenger units out and about in the state. I can give you the roll call if you want, but you better get something to write on because that’s gonna take a while.”
More grumbling from the other side of the sturdy palisades ensued, but apparently the guard wasn’t that dedicated to this absolutely useless task. “Don’t bother. But you all just got one mark on your neck, right? We will shoot anyone on sight who’s trying to deceive us.”
Now wasn’t that a pleasant surprise? Before I could do more than gnash my teeth, Harris was on the line again. “You do realize that’s against the agreements? You’re allowed to keep anyone out that’s sick or bitten, but I assure you, all of us are in mighty good health, or we wouldn’t be out there, trekking across the country.” Which was, of course, an answer in and of its own.
The guard wasn’t very pleased with that reminder. “How many? Might let one or two in—“
“Four,” Harris offered. “All trustworthy folks. Been out there with them for quite a while. Hell, they likely dragged in half of what you’re so eager to take off our backs.”
“No can do,” the guard replied before Harris could continue to sing our praises. “They stay outside. If that’s a problem for you, you can turn around right about now and leave the goods at the gate.”
Why we should part with the cargo after that proclamation, I didn’t know, but it was obvious from the looks the townfolk in the other cars threw our way that they weren’t pleased. Nate didn’t look particularly happy—or surprised—when he picked up the mic. “Harris, just tell them we’ll camp outside. Would be nice if you’d bring us some hot chow. Hope Tanner’s up for that as well?”
“Fine with me,” Tanner’s reply came a few seconds later. “Just make sure to add a bonus to the costs for those assholes. We didn’t deplete half of our winter reserves just so they can insult us and get them for cheap.”
“See, told them you were decent folk,” Harris observed, then relayed the news to the guard. Five minutes later, it was just the Jeep and Tanner’s scratched behemoth idling in front of the palisades. Gita refused to leave us, a needless sign of loyalty that I felt I shouldn’t complain about, really. Looked like we were about to get comfy out in the open—but what else was new? I had to admit, I minded a lot less than I’d expected—it was one thing that, technically, we could have forced our way into the settlement, but why bother? In there, we’d have to watch our backs twenty-four/seven. Out here it was just the average predator that might pass by, but I doubted the wolves would be coming down from the mountains in search of food yet. No people, no problems, if last summer had taught me anything—and that sounded damn fine for me.
Chapter 5
Nate got out and climbed onto the hood of the car to get a better look around, then told us to drive over to a small copse of trees maybe two hundred yards out. I didn’t miss the fact that this would put us well out of the range of what most people could shoot—and hit. This suspicion was further underlined when he had us park the cars in a way that they were between us and the small fire pit he and Burns got started. I knew why I’d married that man.
“Should we set up a perimeter, or just wing it?” I asked once everyone had settled down, using the questionable comfort of the camping chairs that Tanner dragged out of his vehicle. Still in full gear, I wouldn’t have minded a blanket to snuggle into.
“Wing it,” Nate answered. “I think it’s enough if someone’s awake to rouse the others should there be any trouble.” That he looked toward the gate rather than the flatlands surrounding us was saying a lot. “We should be partly hidden by the trees for anyone coming from farther out, and it will be hard to miss someone trying to sneak out to us.”
I was about to protest his assessment, but considering how wiped I was after this second day on the road, I swallowed my misgivings. And those chairs were more comfortable than they appeared at first glance. Maybe we’d really overdone it in trying to live as rough as possible out there on the road. Next thing, we’d be searching for an RV.
Gita didn’t look particularly enthusiastic as she kept poking the logs with a dry branch, and eventually voiced what had been on my mind for the past few minutes as well. “Exactly why do you let them get away with this bullshit? The settlement guards, I mean.”
She hadn’t asked anyone in particular, but Nate still felt obliged to answer, a slow smile spreading across his face. “You mean, why did neither of us speak up after all the heroic negotiating that we’ve done in the past?” I didn’t miss the glare he shot my way but did my best to ignore it. So what if he still hadn’t swallowed his ire over that. “The answer’s easy,” he went on. “We didn’t get all of us together to make the world a better place. We tried to make it a safer place for as many people as possible. If that means that we’re not included in that, so what? We can take care of ourselves just as well.”
Tanner toasted that with his steaming mug of tea while Burns shook his head, chuckling softly. I gave her a neutral shrug as I offered up my point. “It’s just not worth the hassle. If they don’t want us in there and we don’t need to hunker down, might as well not press the issue. I for one don’t mind that, so far, we’ve mostly managed to avoid becoming the target of a witch hunt.”
“Mostly?” Gita echoed, grinning slightly.
“Well, the fuckers did pick me off in that cursed hick town in Colorado,” I griped. “But except for that things have been quiet. Even moderately nice with most settlements. I don’t think acting like assholes now will help. Let them forget all about our rebellion over the winter and get used to running out of shit. They’ll be happy to welcome us with open arms come spring.”
“And you’re not worried that the truce will be broken with the last of the snow thawing away?”
I gave a shrug at Gita’s—admittedly valid—concern. “I’m pretty sure someone will come after us”—I indicated Nate and me—“eventually. We’ll be ready for that. In the meantime, well, we’ll just have to make do with what we have, right? Which is a hell of a nice place down by the coast, and Gabriel fucking Greene’s utopian maze of a city. Spending the rest of my days lazing on the beach doesn’t really sound too bad.”
Tanner laughed into his cup. “I’ll drink to that!”
Looking over his shoulder briefly, Nate harrumphed under his breath. “We’re also staying out here so we can do this.”
Not ten seconds later, Dan Harris came striding between our strategically parked cars, a large pot of something that smelled deliciously like chili in his hands. Burns was quick to relieve him of his burden, starting to distribute the hot chow in our cups while Harris looked around ou
r little camp. “I see you’ve settled in?”
“Blankets would have been nice, too,” Gita complained, underlining again why I liked having her around so much. Spared me a lot of scorn for reasonable comments, that one.
Harris chuckled softly. “Not sure I’d consider the flea-infested glorified sheets that they gave us as such. We’ll likely be sleeping in the cars, too. Just without the option to bail quickly if anything goes wrong.”
“My, aren’t you a little paranoid?” I teased, accepting my aluminum cup from Burns, happy to wrap my hands around the warming container.
Harris flashed his teeth in a quick grin. “Me? Never. Anyhoo. I expect the reason you didn’t put up more of a fight is that you reasoned it wasn’t worth it?” I nodded. “So, how about explaining what you’re really up to? Just so we know how to play our hand when we come across other folks out there. That you’re only using the goods and people to fly under the radar is obvious. To me at least,” he was quick to explain. “I’ve seen your little camp down by the coast. Wouldn’t leave that until spring myself if I’d dug myself in well and good like a tick.”
“Why did you leave Vegas?” Nate asked, somewhat belatedly for my taste.
Harris shrugged. “Guess I wasn’t ready to hunker down just yet. There’s a good chance we’ll get swarmed if the undead fuckers migrate with the cold season again, so leaving now’s our last chance. Might very well stay with Jason and his guys if we get delayed and snow bogs us down. Our guys and dolls are all well-armed and know what to do. They don’t need me lording over them.”
Nate nodded, and since I didn’t volunteer an explanation, he did. “We need to run a few things by the geeks up at the Silo. It’s as easy as that. Nothing grand, but if we ask over the radio, someone’s bound to intercept the transmission and read more into it than is warranted.”
A thoughtful nod from Harris, somewhat at odds with his usual cocky swagger. “This got anything to do with what happened in Cheyenne Mountain?”
Green Fields Series Box Set | Vol. 3 | Books 7-9 Page 6
