Equal parts of fear and excitement fluttered through me, and I leaned forward to watch the SUVs come to a stop and form a roadblock in front of us. People with rifles jumped out and stepped behind the SUVs, using the vehicles for cover while leveling their sights upon us.
“They could be playing it safe,” Clutch mused. “But I’d still make sure we can make a hasty retreat if this turns to shit.”
“Already thinking the same thing,” Griz said as he stopped our Humvee at least a hundred yards back in a diagonal position on the highway.
I sucked in a deep breath. “Here’s hoping they recognize Marco.”
Marco chuckled. “They’ll recognize me. It’s not
that
big a town.”
Hali came awake with a stretch. “Are we there yet?” she asked.
“Almost. Assuming we don’t get shot first,” Griz replied bluntly.
“Not funny,” the girl replied.
“I wasn’t joking,” he replied.
As soon as we stopped, Marco stepped out of the Humvee.
“Be careful,” Clutch said as he climbed out and stood by the open door with his rifle.
“I will,” Marco said. He waved his arms in the air as he approached the newcomers. A man emerged from a white SUV and met him halfway. When they embraced, I think we let out a collective sigh. Marco motioned for all of us to come out.
“Hot dog,” Griz said. “Looks like they’re friendlies.”
Energy tightened my muscles. “We really made it, didn’t we?” I said to no one in particular as I opened my door.
“It looks like it,” Clutch replied, sounding just as surprised as I felt.
Our group of nine approached the SUVs. Jase looked at me and smiled. Hope flared and my lips widened into a broad smile. Likewise, I turned to Clutch, and he grinned. He embraced me and I nearly squealed. We were safe.
Marco was grinning from ear to ear when we approached. “We did it, guys. We’re almost home.”
“Welcome to New Eden.” The man next to Marco said. “Now, surrender your weapons.”
Chapter V
“I thought these guys were supposed to be your friends,” I snapped at Marco.
Marco held up his hands. “They were. They
are
.” He turned to the man at his side. “What’s going on? I tried to reach you on the radio but never got a response.”
“We haven’t had the resources to listen on the radios lately,” The man replied. “There’s been a lot going on.”
Marco’s lips thinned. “You’ll have to fill me in later, after we get these folks to New Eden. Come on, we’ve been on the road a long time and are beat. I gave them my word we’d be safe at New Eden.”
I had to shade my eyes against the sunlight to make out the man’s features. He was short, fair-skinned, with curly brown hair that had likely been much shorter and groomed before the outbreak.
The man’s lips thinned. “It’s nothing personal, but we’ve had to take new precautions since all the squadrons followed the herds south. Ever since the migration, the Black Sheep have really put a hit on New Eden. They sent in two assassins last week alone. So, you can see why we can’t let anyone armed enter New Eden without quarantine and interviews.”
“That’s bullshit,” Jase said at my side. “We’re obviously not bandits. Look at us. Half of our group is women. We even have a kid with us. Have you ever seen bandits like this before?”
The man scowled. “And one of the assassins was a teenaged girl. Listen, I get that you’re not happy. That’s fair. But, it doesn’t change the rules. I won’t negotiate on this. If you want to enter New Eden, you have to surrender your weapons until you’re cleared.”
Clutch took a step forward. “And how long will that take?”
“Since Marco led you here, probably two days at most,” the man replied. “The choice is yours. I’ll give you five minutes to make your decision.”
The man tilted his head at Marco. “In the meantime, you can fill me in. Where is the rest of your squadron? Why did they send you ahead?”
Even though we’d all gathered around Clutch, no one spoke. We all watched Marco.
“I’m all that’s left,” Marco said after a long pause. “The Black Sheep had ambushed their community.” He pointed our way. “We moved in to help, but things went bad. There’s no one left. Everyone’s gone.”
The man placed a hand on Marco’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for your loss. I hope your squadron was able to put just as much a hurtin’ on the Black Sheep.”
“We did, but one managed to get away.” Marco took a deep breath. “And, these folks say he was missing three fingers on his left hand.”
“
Hodge,”
the man said, the name dripping with hatred. “That son of a bitch just won’t die. Well, I guess we couldn’t expect to be that lucky. At least you got the rest. Not that it helps the pain. Good people were lost, and the news is going to hit New Eden hard. Especially since the capital had ordered all but one of our remaining squadrons to the south.”
“South?” Marco asked. “Why?”
“A lot’s happened this week. I’ll fill you in once we reach town. You’ve been through enough and probably want to sleep in a safe place tonight.”
“Do I ever,” Marco said quickly. “Give us a moment.”
The man nodded and took several steps back.
Marco joined us. “How about it? You guys ready to give New Eden a shot?”
After a moment of internal debate, I shrugged. “We didn’t drive all this way for nothing. I’d say we give it a shot.”
“Oh, what the hell,” Griz said. “We didn’t come all this way for a Sunday drive.”
Others chimed in before Clutch spoke loudly. “We’ve come a long way. And, we all could use a place to kick up our heels for a bit. Marco’s like us. He’s a survivor, and I believe him. New Eden is worth a shot. All right. We’ve had this debate a hundred times. This is the last vote. New Eden or Fox Park. Each person has to make his or her own decision.” He lifted a hand. “All in favor of New Eden, raise your hand.”
One by one, the hands went up. Benji was watching Frost, and his small hand shot up as soon as his grandfather raised his hand, like always. Jase and then Hali grudgingly lifted his hand after all other hands rose. It was unanimous.
“Okay,” I said, not really knowing what to say. “I guess it’s settled. New Eden, it is.”
Marco grinned at us before waving Justin back over. “You guys won’t regret it,” he said. “New Eden is good people.
The man stepped over, followed by several others. “So you’ve decided?”
Clutch made eye contact with each of us one last time before speaking. “We have. We’ll follow you to New Eden under the condition that we can each retain a weapon for self-defense.”
“That’s not our policy,” the man replied.
“Where we came from, we’d let folks keep knives,” Jase said. “You can’t leave folks completely defenseless, not in this world.”
“No guns,” the man said after a moment. “Not until you’re cleared.”
“No guns,” Clutch echoed.
“Fair enough.” He motioned to their SUVs. “I’ll ride with Marco in your vehicle. You’ll ride with my people and follow us to New Eden.”
“What are you going to do with our Humvee?” Griz asked. “Because I’ve got a lot of hours with her and would hate to see her go.”
“We’ll park it—
her
—until you’re done with quarantine, at which time she’s all yours again.”
“Including everything inside?” Griz countered.
“Including everything inside, as long as it doesn’t pose a risk to New Eden citizens. Marco’s been with us since the beginning, and I trust his judgment. If you don’t mean to do harm to anyone in New Eden, you’ll have nothing to fear from us.”
He then called to his men to collect our weapons. “The name’s Justin, and I serve as the mayor of New Eden, the safest place in the Midwest. You have my word. You’ll be safe there.”
He motioned to Marco. “Marco, you can fill me in on what’s happened in the past month.”
We’ll see
, I thought to myself as I gave up my rifle. Sunlight glistened off the barrel as I handed it over in exchange for the promise of safety. I was relieved we stashed most of our supplies, but I had a tough time believing Marco would keep his word. After all, New Eden was his home. Why wouldn’t he tell them?
I didn’t have long to dwell on the situation, because the short drive felt like it took only seconds before we came to a fenced-in small town flying a huge American flag with an eagle stitched over it.
New Eden.
We had arrived.
AMBITION
Chapter VI
New Eden was the exact opposite of Camp Fox in one manner. Whereas we had protected ourselves through seclusion, New Eden broadcasted their location to anyone for miles. Like most of Nebraska, the small town was surrounded by flatlands for as far as the eye could see.
The New Eden flag proudly flew at the front gate. The size of the flag reminded me of ones I’d seen while eating breakfast at Perkins restaurants, and I realized that was probably where they’d found it.
A mishmash of fencing at least ten feet high—layers of wire, wood, and poles—closed off New Eden from the rest of the world. When we pulled up to the gate, we were all asked to step out of our vehicle. I took a deep breath, feeling better that Clutch, Jase, Griz, and I were still together.
As Justin’s men led us through the gate, I could now see the town, which looked like it had been an old, broken-down, small town before the outbreak. There were wood guard towers erected inside the fence. Every tower was manned, and every guard kept a wary eye and semi-raised weapon pointed in our direction. Everything was exactly as Marco described it except for one thing: there were none of the military vehicles and soldiers Marco had spoken about. If we wanted, I had a feeling we could’ve rammed through the gates in our Humvee, and they could’ve done little to stop us.
People emerged from around buildings. None looked too thin, and most looked relatively clean. Only a couple people could’ve passed as beggars. A medium-sized dog galloped forward to sniff Diesel. Diesel sniffed back, and they did a friendly “nice to meet you” doggie dance around each other.
“Buddy’s harmless,” a man who looked about my age said as he approached. “Unless you’re a zed, then he turns into the Terror of the Plains. The rest of the time, he just trots wherever he feels like around town and startles the feral cats. But, they’re the bosses around town. They keep the mice away.” He walked alongside us. “The name’s Charlie. I’d offer my hand, but we have a twenty-four hour quarantine period for travelers on the off chance you’re infected and turn. I’ll be one of your hosts tonight.”
Justin stepped out of our Humvee, and we all watched as Marco pulled the vehicle into a garage to be locked away during our quarantine. As Justin approached us, Charlie spoke. “You’ll want time to get settled in. I’ll stop by later.”
Justin motioned to town. “Here’s New Eden. Well, sort of. This is the edge of town. The real town starts another block in. You’ll get the tour after your quarantine is up. For your first night, you’ll be staying in the building right over there.” He pointed at a small brick building with a U.S. Postal Service emblem etched into the glass door.
He motioned for us to follow, and he started walking. Several guards kept their distance but made it clear they were herding us toward the building. I swallowed and took the lead, checking to make sure the rest of our group was right behind me. People stood around, watching us.
Justin held open the glass door, and I cautiously stepped in. Inside, six beds filled nearly the entire space. When Clutch entered, I saw him take in the whole place—no doubt searching for weaknesses, surveillance, and whatever it was he always looked for. As for me, I looked for places that would be safe from zeds, bad guys, and animals. Beyond that, I didn’t know much else to look for.
“We don’t have enough beds for everyone. We’ll see if we can’t scrounge up some mats, but at least it’s only for one night,” Justin said. “Truth is, we haven’t come across any groups larger than four in months.”
“Believe me, we’ve slept in worse conditions,” I said.
Justin motioned around. “You have free run of this building, but you can’t leave. There are guards stationed outside every wall. There’s a single toilet and sink right down the hall. It’s not much. What you see is what you get.”
My eyes widened. “You have running water?”
“Yes. We also have electricity, and somehow natural gas is still pumping through the lines, but blackouts are common. We’re still working on a better long-term solution.”
“Impressive,” Clutch said at my side.
“Supper will be brought in just before sunset. I have a couple errands to take care of, so Charlie and I will be back to talk with you later.”
Justin waited until everyone was inside before he stepped out, meeting Marco on the way. Justin gave him a smile before leaving.
Benji started to jump on a mattress, burning more of that never-ending supply of energy eight-year-olds possessed. Frost sat down on the floor next to the boy’s bed.
Clutch and I stood off to the side as people claimed beds for the night.
Some things never changed. All the men waited for the women to choose beds before claiming theirs. Jase quickly claimed the one next to Hali, though he tried to look all cool about it. I was planning to unroll my sleeping bag on the floor, but I sensed eyes on me and noticed both Griz and Clutch were motioning me to take the last bed. I shrugged with a smile and then jumped onto the mattress. “If you insist.”
Marco sat on the floor next to Deb, and I frowned. “Why are you in here with us, Marco? Guilty by association?”
He looked up. “Standard operating procedures. Anyone who’s been outside for more than a day has to stay in quarantine overnight.”
“We just can’t get rid of him, can we?” Jase muttered, and everyone chuckled.
Truth was, I was happy to have Marco with us. Someone with a foot in our world and a foot in New Eden’s. Especially since as long as he was with us, the less chance he had to tell others about our secret cache. Although, I supposed he could’ve told Justin about it already.