Zomblog Saga Box Set (Books 1-6) (100 page)

Not exactly the approach that I would take if I wanted pe
ople to do something, but to each his or her own, I guess. I looked around the room and saw a lot of mouths hanging open.

“We have been saying for years that there could come a time when we might need to band together. Of course, we b
elieved that the threat would come from the people in the Corridor wanting to expand, but the fact remains that we saw this coming. And now, my people have been scooped up by this lunatic. My children barely escaped because of this woman…”

I liked being called a woman. And I didn’t see the point in telling her that she would have been snatched up also due to her age. She was on a roll and I could see a few people starting to stare at the ground. She was using the good old motherly tactic of shame and guilt. Yay for her!

“…and if what I am hearing is true, this is just the beginning. You will all feel rather foolish if you return to your homes and end up suffering the fate that the people of the Corridor, people who have never done us any harm by the way, as well as several of the tribes in the area.”

She stood there for another few seconds and scanned the crowd of silent people who had just moments before been pra
ctically shouting down Ethan, one of their most respected leaders. I glanced over and was surprised to see Bob looking at his feet and Felicia picking at her fingernails like she had just found the most interesting thing under them.

“And if we did band together…what would you have us do then? Attack this NAA? They would slaughter us wholesale,” Greg Carrick stepped forward.

“Nobody said anything about meeting these people in a straight up fight. However, we have the advantage of knowing this place far better than she or her soldiers. We could set traps, perform ambushes. History is full of armies that were defeated by the locals. In fact, if you read up on the history of this country, I believe it was born out of just that sort of conflict,” the woman said with the air of somebody that was lecturing small children.

I knew what she was talking about. History was one of my favorite subjects in school. I guess, if you thought about it, this situation was not that much different. And, to coin a sports phrase that I had heard on more than one occasion in my life, we had “home field advantage.”

I desperately wanted to say something, but this woman was doing just fine without any help from me. A low murmur started as the people gathered began to whisper and mumble to one another. I noticed a few that were still holdouts—Greg and Ginger among them.

“If we do nothing, then it will be our own fault when we fall under this new tyranny that wishes to bend us to whatever plan this self-proclaimed president may have.”

I decided that maybe I had something worth offering and stepped forward again. “I know that none of you have any reason to trust me, I am an outsider. But I was there when my mother and the president of Sunset Fortress got the word about how Dominique assassinated the person who had been the president of New America. I know that under the former administration there were deals in place that asked for any community receiving help to offer up recruits for the NAA. But my mother told me that those recruits were voluntary. And at any time, a community could opt out of the deal. Assistance would cease, but we were within our rights to withdraw from the agreement.”

I was
mostly
telling the truth. I had learned that there was more to it than that. I had also learned that I had been kept out of the lottery that our community held to determine who was sent when the requests came, but that was my problem, not theirs.

“If you think that Dominique will simply stop,” I continued, “then you will be thinking that all the way up until she comes rolling in to your homes and scoops up all she sees as useful and uses the rest as hostages to ensure that those she captures will do her bidding.”

I shot a look at the woman and saw her lips curl in a little smile. She motioned for me to follow her and she walked out of the gathering. I had to pull my coat tight against the wind that was starting to whip up pretty fierce. I hate wind. I can deal with rain, snow, or hot sun, but wind serves no purpose in my opinion other than to make a person miserable.

I took a moment to get a better look at her now that we weren’t running for our lives. She had a pretty face, but there were lines etched in it from hard living. Her hair was dark, a
lmost black, and her eyes were a deep brown that still seemed to sparkle despite how darkly colored they were. She was a little taller than me now that I got a better look at her, and even dressed in furs and heavy clothing, you could tell she was stout; not fat, but sturdy…that was the word that came to mind when I looked at her—sturdy.

“You really Snoe Gainey?” the woman asked once we were alone.

I sighed. That was not what I wanted to talk about…not how I wanted to be known. I had given up long ago on the notion that I would ever be treated like a normal person in the Corridor. I guess I was hoping that it wouldn’t be as bad around the tribes.

“Yes.”

“I bet you get really tired of that question,” the woman said with a smile.

“You might say that.”

“Well, the only reason that I know is because I overheard some of what went on during the interrogation. I don’t imagine too many others have a clue.”

“I guess I was hoping that I could be someplace where n
obody knew who I was…or more importantly, who my parents were.”

“A lot of people would trade places with you in a hear
tbeat,” the woman said. I could hear just a hint of something in her voice. It wasn’t like she was scolding me, but she had something on her mind.

“So is this what you wanted to ask me?” I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture on how great it must be to have such famous parents. I have no idea why people think that sort of thing has any meaning. If anything, it puts a lot of pressure on the child to live up to some mythological idea that outsiders have no clue about.

“Actually, what I wanted to do was thank you.” The woman seemed content to change the subject. “I owe you a debt that can never be repaid. You saved my children from a life that I shudder just thinking about.”

“Yeah…” I decided that maybe she should know that it wasn’t just her children on the line. “Well, according to the o
rders we were given, you would have been taken as well.”

The woman nodded, no look of surprise crossed her face. “Yes, well, if Dominique is really building an army, then I ima
gine that she has need of any able-bodied person that she can scrape up. I just wish I knew what she really had in mind.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I wasn’t really interested in tr
ying to guess what Dominique’s plan might be. All I wanted to do was stop her…permanently.

“Sure.”

“You now my name, but I have no idea who you are. Do I just call you lady?”

The woman actually blushed. Her face turned a bright red and the smile on her face was priceless.

“I am so sorry.” Hearing her stammer and sound all flustered just did not seem right. I could tell that this woman was usually very much in control. “My name is Mary…Mary Turner. I feel like such a doofus.”

If seeing her blush was odd, hearing her say the word ‘doofus’ was even more peculiar. There was something about this woman, all the way down to the way that she spoke, that told you she was a smart, strong individual. In many ways, she was what I hoped to be. And then it hit me…she reminded me of Mama Lindsay…only about ten years younger.

“Nice to meet you, Mary Turner,” I said.

***

“So, it seems that the council has agreed to send runners to other tribes. We are going as far south as the 205 Corridor, as far east as West Hill summit and north to the Columbia,” Ethan said.

Sitting around a long table were the leaders of each of the tribes currently present, as well as Bob Hall, Mary Turner, me, and that creepy little man from the interrogation. I still hadn’t gotten his name yet, and I had no desire to ask. Every time I glanced his direction, it seemed like he was looking at me. No…to be realistic, he was staring. I began to wonder if he ever blinked. I started to feel real icky.

“And how long will that take?” Mary Turner asked.

“Hopefully no more than a week or two,” Ethan said.

I looked around the table at everybody. They were all nodding. That had me wondering, how much actual travelling around did these people do? Things happen out in the wilderness. Setting a time like a week? I had made the trip to the 205 Corridor and it could take longer without a doubt.

“You have a problem, Snoe?” Ethan asked.

“Huh?” I never had been any good at hiding my feelings. “I just wondered how much moving around you folks do?” I said it as flat as possible. I didn’t want to make them think I was some sort of expert. After all, I had only made a couple of runs. The time I went off by myself had been a failure. Still, they seemed a bit too optimistic with their time frame.

“We travel between tribal territories quite often,” Ethan said with his eyebrow raised just slightly. Perhaps I had not come off as casual as I had hoped. “We do things a little different than people from the Corridor. You are always looking out for poss
ible supplies, and you tend to engage every walker you find. Our people stay out of sight and only travel in pairs. That allows us to move through areas that your wagons and such do not.”

He wasn’t snotty about it, but I heard a little something in his voice that made me bristle. Maybe I was just being defe
nsive, but to me, all this talking was not getting us anywhere. If these people did not act and act soon, Dominique would roll over them all before they knew what hit them.

“Perhaps what my friend here is trying to say is that, while we wait, maybe some preparations should begin,” Mary spoke. I gave her a sideways glance and wondered if she could read minds.

“That is reasonable,” Ethan agreed. “I will send word that all capable defenders will need to assemble.”

“And where would you have them assemble?” Mary asked.

“There is an airfield about three miles from here,” Ethan said. “Some of the hangars are still standing. I think that might do.”

“I would also suggest that you put some eyes on Warehouse City.” Mary said it like a suggestion, but you could tell that there was very little doubt she expected it to be done immediately.

Finally, the meeting was over. A few more things were tossed around, and there was still a bit of grumbling from a few of the tribal leaders who believed that maybe the best move would be to run for the hills. They were a minority, though. I could see a new sense of urgency now that Mary had shared what happened to her people.

I headed out, intent on following Bob and having my eve
ning meal with him and Felicia. Mary caught me by the elbow and steered me away with a curt nod to Bob. He looked like he wanted to protest, but thought better of it. I was really starting to wonder about Mary. Everybody treated her different…almost like they were afraid of her.

“You don’t do a very good job of hiding your feelings,” she said once we were alone and walking down a path that I would have never seen if she hadn’t led me to it.

“Never really had to,” I answered with a shrug.

“Yes, well when you are dealing with people who make the decisions for groups, there is more to it than just stating your piece. You have to learn how to ask for what you want in such a way that makes them want to give it to you.”

I wasn’t exactly sure what she was talking about.

“And when you deal with men, especially older men, you have to let them think that they are doing something
for
you.” She really stressed the word ‘for’ in her statement like it had a special meaning. Unfortunately, I was just not catching on.

“Like now,” Mary laughed. “You look like somebody just asked you how to fly an airplane. You have to learn how to keep what is on your mind from showing on your face.”

“Is that why Ethan got so touchy?” I asked.

“Considering that you were looking at him like he was a t
otal idiot? Yeah, I would say that might have something to do with his reaction.”

I gave what I was about to say some careful thought. I d
ecided that it wouldn’t hurt.

“So why does everybody act weird around you? Almost like they are afraid of you.”

Mary stopped walking. She looked at me and her eyes sort of clouded over. Not like she was going to cry or anything, but more like she was remembering something and reliving it at the same instant.

“I met your mother.”

Those four words hung in the air for quite a while. I wanted her to say more, but I didn’t want to push. I could see a few things on Mary’s face…and one of them almost looked like shame or embarrassment.

“I was travelling down south for a while with several other girls. A few of us had escaped from some very bad men. We sort of took it on ourselves to make them pay. Only, after them there were others…”

As I listened, I instantly remembered the entry from my mom’s journal. She and Greyfeather had found this group of girls while heading south towards Las Vegas. They had a guy that they were “dealing with” when Meredith found them. I tried to picture this woman involved in that sort of thing and it just didn’t fit. I guess people can change over time. However, if this was common knowledge, no wonder folks gave her so much space.