The Complete Deadland Saga

by Rachel Aukes

  “No,” I said, and took a deep breath. “Listen. I’m not trying to be difficult. I’m only trying to be where I can provide the most value.”

  “Cash…” Justin said.

  Zach cut in. “C’mon, Justin. You know how short-staffed the force is. And, Cash has been out there, with these guys, for months. I’d be glad to have her on the force. It’s safer than the squadron, but she can still make a difference.”

  I bit my lip. While I wanted to be outside the walls—with Clutch—I also didn’t want to burn my shot with Zach’s force. It would be better than shuffling paperwork. I didn’t enjoy our team being split up, but I knew we’d have to make concessions at New Eden. After all, we were the newcomers here and had to abide by their rules. Not that it made things sit any easier in my gut.

  Justin finally relented. “Fine, fine. Cash and Jase will serve on the security force.” Then, he wagged a finger at me. “But, you will both be careful and do exactly what Zach says. I will not have you risk your lives unnecessarily.”

  “I got it,” I said, trying not to frown, holding back the sting of disappointment of being judged just because I had tits.

  Justin looked over each of us and then clapped his hands together. “We’re all set. Let’s get to work.”

  * * *

  When Zach had said we’d see plenty of action, what he’d meant was that our days would be filled with hotheaded disputes and fiery tempers. My first day on the job, Mary stole from Jim’s garden, the meal rations weren’t enough for Ron’s 260-pound frame, and Diesel caught a rabbit that Saul intended to eat. The second day, I learned most people used up their ration cards a day early, and they all believed they deserved extra rations for working.

  My partner was Zach. Even though he chose me because I was the only woman on the force and he was being protective, he wasn’t a bad partner. He had far more patience than I did, but he didn’t take bullshit from anyone. Not even Bryn, the pretty woman who’d been caught at least five times before stealing from people’s houses. We caught her pilfering canned pumpkin from house twelve. I would’ve kicked her out of New Eden after the second time. But, Justin was too protective of any women in New Eden. And everyone knew it.

  “It’s the ones like her who will make it so no one can trust anyone,” I grumbled after Zach locked Bryn up for the night.

  He shrugged. “She’s a hard worker. Justin says as long as she’s adding more value to New Eden than taking away, she stays.”

  “Locking her up overnight and giving her a free meal doesn’t do any good. She gets the same punishment after each offense, and she keeps on stealing. You need to up the ante each time. Make the punishment worse until she decides to be a team player or leaves New Eden.”

  “What would you do?”

  I thought for a moment. “I’d start by pulling her rations the next time she steals. Then, I’d try humiliation, such as those public stocks they used in the Middle Ages. After that, I’d send her outside the gates.”

  “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”

  I chuckled. “If you think that’s bad, you’re lucky you can’t read my mind as to what I’d really do.” A cold wind blew, and I shivered. “It’s hard enough the way it is to survive out here. We don’t need interminably selfish people to make it worse.”

  I envied Clutch, Griz, and Marco. The squadron of twelve men hit the road each day and was home in time for dinner. While the only excitement we got was taking out every zed or sick animal that reached the fence. The zeds were easy. Most had rotted enough they moved slowly in the cold. When the temperatures dropped about ten degrees below freezing, they couldn’t move at all. Easy to take out with a quick stab.

  The animals were another story. Between them and the zeds, the landscape was depleted of meat, making us walking around in New Eden look like a feast in their starved gazes. I could’ve sworn the damn things were taunting us. Running up to the fence, barking to get our attention, and then running back off into the surrounding woods. By day, they’d come out one or two at a time. By night, they numbered in the dozens, as they searched for weak spots at our fences. Our job was to scare them off. Kill them whenever we could. I hated that part of my job more than anything else. Not only because I was killing something that had once been a domesticated animal, but also because those dogs scared me a lot more than I was scaring them.

  Zach pointed to the two men headed our way. “Our shift is done, and not a moment too soon.”

  I rubbed my gloved hands together. “Good. It’s downright freezing out here.”

  “It looks like a storm could be finally rolling in,” he added as we walked to the force’s headquarters, which was next door to the quarantine-slash-jail.

  I glanced at the overcast sky blanketing everything in gray. “It’s looked like that for three days now.”

  “Yeah, but the wind’s picked up. I bet something’s headed our way.” He stepped inside and held the door open for me.

  I paused. “What month is this? Are we still in November?”

  “Yeah,” he replied. “Thanksgiving is next week already.”

  I sighed and entered. “Well, I guess we’re lucky to have gone this long before Mother Nature reared her ugly head again. When we got hit last month with snow already, I was expecting a hell of a winter ahead of us.”

  He nodded. “I was, too. Luckily, she’s been focusing on Canada so far.”

  “Let’s keep it that way.”

  When the next shift stepped inside, we quickly chatted and made notes in the daily log before heading our separate ways. The wind picked up, and I found myself jogging home. A block from my house, I found Jase walking home from his shift on the other side of town. Poor Jase was stuck with the deadbeat on the force, leaving Jase to do all the heavy lifting. A couple days ago, I’d found Jase walking his shift alone, his partner no doubt taking another “break.”

  We met in front of the house. “You don’t look so hot. Are you feeling okay?” I asked.

  He wiped his red nose. “Just tired. I didn’t sleep great last night. And, this cold weather doesn’t help.”

  I put a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll make you some tea. Hopefully you’ll sleep better tonight.”

  He sniffled. “Yeah.”

  “So, how’d Dick ditch you today?”

  His partner’s name was actually Richard, and he went by Rich, but we quickly decided that “Dick” fit him better.

  Jase rolled his eyes. “Dick was a no-show. Caught the flu.”

  My brows rose. “And exactly how could Dick catch the flu in a fenced-in town?”

  He shrugged.

  I shook my head. “Gotta give the guy credit. He comes up with a new excuse every day. I bet he’s faking it. I haven’t heard any rumors about a flu going around. Geez, I hope he’s faking it. The flu would be miserable to catch. It’s not like we get sick days or time off around here.”

  “You’re telling me,” he said and took the porch steps one at a time.

  I frowned. Usually Jase leapt up the steps to get inside and eat. That he was practically dragging his feet today worried me.

  Someone coughed daintily, and I froze. In slow motion, I stepped inside. Hali was lying on the couch. Several wadded tissues peppered the floor. Jase had sat down next to her and was rubbing her arm.

  Vicki came in from the kitchen, carrying two steamy mugs. She gave me a knowing look before handing Jase and Hali a mug. I followed her into the kitchen.

  “The flu’s here,” she said as she rinsed dishes in the sink. “Hali’s got it. Benji’s been in bed all day. You know how kids are. He probably picked it up at school and brought it home.”

  I let out a deep breath. “How’s everyone else?”

  “Okay for now.” She turned around and leaned against the sink. “But, I can tell I’m more tired than normal. I’m going to bed after a bit to try to fend it off. How are you doing?”

  “I feel fine.”

  “Good,” she said. “Deb is staying at the cl
inic. Marco’s with her. They’re quarantining her to make sure she doesn’t catch it. It’s probably your run-of-the-mill flu bug. Deb accused Justin of being overly careful. I have to admit, I’m siding with Justin this time.”

  The sound of familiar, heavy boot steps on the porch pulled our attention to the foyer.

  “I’ll put more tea on,” Vicki said.

  “I can do it,” I said. “Get some rest.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. “Thank you,” she said and headed up the stairs.

  I put on the water to boil, and heard Clutch enter the kitchen. He came up behind me, and I leaned back and into his warmth. “I was beginning to wonder where you were.”

  “We were at Justin’s,” he said and reached around me and grabbed a handful of walnuts and pumpkin seeds from a bowl under the cabinet. “He had us scout the Omaha suburbs today.”

  I turned around. “Why?”

  He popped some nuts in his mouth and chewed. “Justin wants New Eden to have a Thanksgiving feast. He thinks it’s important for morale. Lincoln’s closer, but it was more heavily bombed. And, we did find a store in Omaha that hadn’t been destroyed.”

  I frowned. “But, the cities are too dangerous. We learned that when we tried to camp in the store by Des Moines. There are way too many things that want to eat us in cities.”

  He shook his head. “The zeds won’t be a problem. The temperature’s dropped enough that all the ones we’ve come across lately were popsicles. As for the dogs, except for the sick ones, the packs seem to come out only at night. They’re still too skittish to come out during the day.”

  “Still…” I cautioned. “There could be a lot more of them around the larger city.”

  He flashed one of his rare smiles and ran a thumb over my cheek. “It’ll be fine. The superstore we found isn’t too far into town. It should be an easy in-and-out. But, we have to move fast. If we don’t hurry and grab what we can, other survivors will get to these stores first. And, once we run out of gas, getting supplies out of the cities will be infinitely harder.”

  “I know,” I said, frowning. “But, I still don’t like it. Besides, how are you going to make it into Omaha, raid a store, and make it back here in one day? The squadron is too small to unload a store. You need more help.”

  “We’ll be fine. The squadron is heading out first thing in the morning. We’re taking all three haulers. We’ll be gone for two nights.”

  “You need more hands,” I said. “Jase and I—”

  “Have to stay here,” he interrupted. “Without the squadron, New Eden only has the police force to protect it. And, Justin mentioned there’s a flu bug going around. You and Jase need to be careful.”

  “You’re the one who needs to be careful.”

  His smile widened. “I always am.”

  Chapter IX

  The temperature hovered at ten degrees Fahrenheit the morning the squadron headed out. An inch of fresh snow covered the ground. I went with Clutch and Griz to see them off. Marco had stayed the night with Deb, and I could see he was reluctant to leave her when he dragged his feet to the gate at dawn.

  As the squadron loaded up, I grabbed Clutch’s jacket, pulled him down, and kissed him solidly on the lips. He wrapped his arms around me. Someone whistled, and I ignored it. When I let go, Clutch looked rather pleased with himself. Typical guy expression. I held up three fingers. “Three days. You better be home in three days, or else I’m coming to get you.”

  He chuckled. “We’ll be back with time to spare. I don’t plan to get on your bad side.”

  I stuck out my chin and tried not to smile. “Damn straight.”

  “Where’s my kiss?” Griz asked, holding out his arms.

  I grinned and walked into his embrace. I kissed his cheek as he squeezed me half to death. When he let me go, I scolded, “Be careful out there.” Without waiting for an answer, I spun on my heel and walked away, though once I was around the building, I stopped and then watched them drive through the open gate from my relatively hidden place.

  After the gate closed behind the loud trucks, my heart pounded. While I’d grown accustomed to Clutch heading outside the fence every day, worry chewed at my nerves when he wasn’t home at night. Since the outbreak, I could count on two hands the number of nights we’d spent apart.

  The first few times, I’d worried about how I could possibly get by without him. Then, my fear had switched gears. Somewhere along the line, my feelings for Clutch had morphed into something deep and tangible, and I constantly worried about what could happen to him out there. I wanted to be there to protect him, even though he was more than capable of taking care of himself.

  After the gate closed behind the trucks, I hustled into the force’s HQ, a small brick building that had once been Justin’s insurance office.

  It was freezing inside. It was New Eden policy to not use precious energy to heat any building no one lived in. Even then, the force checked out every house every week to make sure energy wasn’t being wasted. With the exception of the medical clinic, thermostats couldn’t be set higher than sixty degrees, which felt balmy to me after being outside most of every day.

  “Just the two of us so far?”

  I jumped and turned to see Zach. “Jase caught the flu.”

  He frowned. “Rich, Steve, and Jack all called in sick. I haven’t heard from anyone else yet. That flu is spreading fast.”

  “It makes sense. We’re all working long hours in cold weather and not getting enough nutrients. And, we’re all in a relatively enclosed environment. Any virus that passes through is going to hit us hard.”

  “You’re starting to sound like a doctor.”

  I shrugged. “My dad was one. My mom was a nurse. I guess it’s in my genes.”

  “Why didn’t you go into medicine?”

  “I didn’t like dealing with people, and I used to get queasy at the sight of blood. So, I went the actuary route, though it wasn’t exactly the best career to prepare me for all this. Justin said you were a state trooper before the outbreak”

  He chuckled. “I was a volunteer reserve officer. For my day job, I worked in a factory. I assembled modular components for wind turbines.”

  “That’ll come in handy if we can put up a wind turbine in New Eden.”

  He shook his head. “Afraid not. I’m in the same boat as you. My skills are pretty much worthless nowadays. I worked on the RF module housing. The other ninety-nine percent of a wind turbine’s components is beyond my expertise.”

  “Well, aren’t we the pair?”

  He grinned. “Yeah. The fate of New Eden is in the hands of a number jockey and a windmill monkey.” He motioned toward the door. “Shall we?”

  I glanced at the icy window and cringed. “Let’s go defend the hapless citizens of New Eden against…well, the hapless citizens of New Eden.”

  * * *

  Two days later

  Justin, Zach, myself, and five other people stood around Charlie’s bed. Sarah sat in a chair next to him, biting back tears while she held his hand and crooned her love for him.

  I fidgeted. I’d never been any good around the dying. Probably because most of the time, the dying had been bitten, and I needed to be there to bring them permanent death after they’d died the first time. Today was different. Charlie had caught the flu, and it wasn’t even a bad flu as flus went. Only the run-of-the-mill flu that made its victims achy, sniffly, and coughy. Jase, Vicki, and Hali had all returned to work already. But, to the weak and infirm, the flu was always dangerous.

  Charlie had been still healing from his gunshot when the flu struck. It had knocked him down hard, and he’d quickly become bedridden. Earlier this morning, the doctor announced Charlie had pneumonia, and there was nothing that could be done. After that, Sarah had demanded the doctor return to the clinic to help those who could be saved.

  Charlie’s breaths rasped in lungs filling with fluid.

  Zach and I stopped during each of our daily rounds. A line of
people cycled through the house, giving their regards to Sarah and their final good-byes to Charlie, though both seemed oblivious to anyone in their home.

  As a coughing fit wracked Charlie and Sarah let out a sob, I swallowed the lump in my throat. Charlie was a good man. My lip quivered. “It’s not fair,” I said softly, turned on my heel, and walked from the room.

  Inside the hall, I took a deep breath. The cool air helped, but still a weight pressed upon my chest. Everyone died—that was a part of life—but the world had become nothing but death. Picking us off one by one. What hope was there if we were going to die, anyway?

  I leaned against the painted wall, and stared blankly at the picture at the end of the hall. It was a print of a famous painting—The Birth of Venus. It fit in with the tapestries and clay pots, all that remained of the house’s original occupants.

  A wail erupted from within the bedroom, and I clenched my eyes shut.

  Footsteps entered the hallway, and I heard the door quietly close. “It’s over,” Zach said softly.

  I opened my eyes and rested my head against the wall. Everyone who knew Charlie loved him. I couldn’t fathom him ever having an enemy. “Losing Charlie will be hard on New Eden.”

  The corner of his lip curled almost into a smile before dropping again. “It will be hardest on Sarah.”

  I remembered her swollen, red eyes, brimming with loss. “Yeah.”

  We stood there for a long minute before I pushed off from the wall. “We should continue our rounds.”

  Zach thought for a moment and then nodded. “I could use some fresh air, anyway. We’ll check on Sarah later. She’s got plenty of company right now.”

  We headed outside and continued our long, cold walk around the western half of New Eden. Even wearing my arctic coat, ski mask, stocking hat, and gloves, the cold bit at our fingers and noses, and we took indoor breaks every thirty minutes to prevent frostbite. As we did every day, we took a full hour to walk through the first floors of the silo. Our job was to make sure everything was secure, but truthfully, there was an inherent security to the silo, and the more stairs I descended, the safer I felt. Especially when Clutch was still away. He’d be home soon, probably even before I was off duty.