《Deadman (STUBBED)》


 Ch.1: Neither Rain, Nor Sleet, Nor Bullets

    The geiger counter at my waist buzzed gently as I walked along a ruined chunk of I-10. The rads were high on the route, but that wasn¡¯t a problem for me. The only issue I had with them is that they made the already hot night feel just that much hotter. It would help if I didn¡¯t have to cover my face, but that wasn¡¯t really an option. Too many people would shoot a deadman on sight, even one that¡¯s a courier.


    I took a canteen off my waist, and pulled my bandana down from my face taking a long sip of water, clearing some of the dust from my throat. This was the most boring, but also most important, part of my job, walking. Sure I got to take a direct route through deadzones that would kill a normal person, and that saved a lot of time, but even a straight shot between most settlements is days of travel. Days of putting one foot in front of the other.


    I¡¯d known a few other couriers who¡¯d used vehicles, motorcycles, cars, even one who used a series of motorboats on what parts of the Mississippi were still navigable. They¡¯d all died. The noise the vehicles made had attracted raiders, or worse. Though one had simply disappeared into one of the stranger dead zones and never come out. Even if I was willing to risk it, my route was mainly along Iron Horde territory and they didn¡¯t like to see anyone who wasn¡¯t their own out on a guzzler anyway.


    I looked back at my cart. It followed a couple yards behind, the 300 pounds of cargo it carried well secured in lead boxes to keep the rads from seeping in. I¡¯d tried to drive it when I¡¯d first gotten it, but apparently it could only follow. My weight probably would¡¯ve cut into how much I could lug between settlements anyway.


    I looked around for landmarks. My job gave me a kind of homing feature that pointed me where I needed to go, but I preferred to be certain. The ruined shell of an old gas station told me I wasn¡¯t too far from Kind, the last stop for most of my load. I scanned the horizon, and noticed movement ahead. I gave no indication of noticing and just kept walking. I unholstered my pistol slowly, hoping my bulky clothes would hide the motion, and started making a headcount. There were two that I could see and a third I could only smell. The fact that I hadn¡¯t been shot yet led me to believe they didn¡¯t have anything long ranged, but that didn¡¯t mean they didn¡¯t have something with real punch for up close.


    I walked until they were just within my range and waited for one of them to make a mistake. I didn¡¯t have to wait long. One of them peeked his head out from behind a rusted out car. I swung my pistol up and took three quick shots, one of which hit true. His head jolted back from the force of the bullet before his body collapsed.


    After that I dove behind my cart, making it behind the lead containers just before several low caliber rounds hit where I¡¯d been standing. All of the shots were coming from the same direction, which told me that the one I could smell closing in behind me didn¡¯t have a gun.


    I popped out of cover and took a quick shot in the direction of the shooter, but hit nothing but air. I was forced to duck as he returned fire, one bullet tearing through some of the shoulder fabric of my jacket.


    It was then that the third one revealed himself, lunging from cover toward me with an old fire axe above his head. He was a giant of man, wearing scraps of old tires on his chest and a worn out pair of jeans. His eyes were so bloodshot they looked red. I shot him two times before he could reach me, but he didn¡¯t slow. I rolled toward him hoping to throw him off and stay close enough that the one with the gun wouldn¡¯t be able to take a shot without potentially hitting his ally.


    I sat up and put two more rounds into the large man¡¯s back, but he just roared and turned around. I realized then that he was on blitz. I drew my machete and placed myself so that he¡¯d be between me and the shooter.


    He charged me, swinging wildly with his axe, the veins on his neck so engorged they looked like they might pop. I decided to try and make them.


    Before he could bring down another swing I slashed at his neck with my machete causing it to shoot out a wave of crimson. He took a few more steps closer to me, his eyes full of rage, before his brain realized he was already dead, and the life faded from them. I caught his body as it was falling and brought my gun up in my left hand, popping off a round in the direction of my shooter. I started running straight for where I knew he¡¯d taken cover, using the giant man¡¯s body as cover.


    The shooter began panicking, unloading whatever ammo he had left in order to stop me, but his fear worsened his aim and he only managed to fill his ally with more holes. I heard a click as he ran out of ammo and I dropped his friend so I could close in.


    He chose that moment to cut and run, exposing himself. I took a breath, lined up a shot, and exhaled, dropping him. I walked over to his body and wiped the blood off my machete and onto his ragged clothes.


    I wasted no time after that searching the bodies for anything useful. It was a disappointing haul. The shooter had used most of his ammo, and his gun had already been falling apart before the fight had started. The one with the axe had half a vial of blitz left, but the stuff didn¡¯t affect me the same way it did humans and no one at a settlement would buy a half used vial. Too many risks taking something after a seal is broken. The one I¡¯d managed to kill first had a handful of 9mm rounds on him and nothing else, which wasn¡¯t even enough to make up for all I¡¯d unloaded into his friend.


    I sighed, noticing the telltale blinking of a notification in the corner of my eye. It looked like I¡¯d at least gotten something out of the scuffle, aside from my life of course. I began walking, wanting to put some distance between myself and the bodies before something hungry smelled them. As I did so I pulled up the first notification.


    Excellent work postman! You¡¯ve successfully performed a secondary goal of your job ¡®Protecting the Cargo¡¯! You¡¯ve earned 50 Patriot Points!


    That seemed low, but that was the issue with secondary goals. The delivery part of my job was only mildly deadly and yielded much more PP than the portion that recognized the many firefights I found myself in. I checked my second notification.


    Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in Pistol! Good job exercising your 2nd amendment rights


    That was good news. That brought me to rank 7. I was still low enough in it that I could actually feel the increase in ability as I reloaded my pistol just a bit more quickly than I¡¯d been able to before. I¡¯d been quite happy to learn that the Postman job included a combat skill. There were a lot of jobs that didn¡¯t. That wasn¡¯t to say a person without the ¡®pistol¡¯ skill couldn¡¯t shoot, anyone could, it was just that they didn¡¯t gain the benefit of having it as a skill. I holstered my pistol and got back to working on my now much inflated Postman skill, walking, which was sitting pretty at 33.


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    ¡­


    Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in walking! A great way to see the beautiful vistas of this great nation


    Wonderful, what a great and useful skill to have as my highest. I thought as I neared my destination. Kind was a small settlement. Maybe a little over a hundred people. Like everyone in the area they tithed to the Iron Horde.


    I made sure that my face was covered by my goggles and bandana. It was difficult to keep them up without ears or a nose, but I managed. It was alright if my nose was exposed, most people could stomach that, but my teeth¡­ they¡¯d led to more than a few screams in the past. That was bad for business. I made sure my gun was holstered and kept my cart in full view, approaching the main gate slowly. Usually a desire to receive goods and send some out was reason enough to keep from shooting at me. Usually.


    Once I was a hundred feet from the gate a warning shot rang out. I call that a southern hello.


    ¡°Stay where you are! Hands up!¡±


    I complied, raising my gloved hands into the air.


    ¡°State your business!¡±


    ¡°Courier!¡± I yelled, hearing my own voice for the first time in days. There was a brief pause while the gate guard formulated a response.


    ¡°Come closer!¡±


    I did, slowly, earning a full seventy five feet more towards reaching walking rank 35. I made out more of the walls as I got close. Walls turned out to be generous, it was more of a half circle of rusted out trucks and school buses with scrap metal piled around them. There were two men standing behind some sandbags stacked on the top of a school bus, rifles aimed. One was taller, covered in sunburn and bald, the other was shorter with a blue tarp draped over himself, likely to avoid the same fate. I watched as their eyes flicked to my cart and back to me.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Slim?¡± the shorter of the two men asked.


    ¡°Dead. Swarmed by skippers in the deadzone near red lake. I took over this part of his route.¡±


    ¡°Damn, he owed me twelve cigs,¡± muttered the taller of the men.


    The short one elbowed him. ¡°What¡¯s with the getup?¡±


    Here came the hard part. ¡°I¡¯m a deadman. Didn¡¯t want to scare anyone.¡±


    The bald man¡¯s mouth twisted up into a scowl, but the shorter man managed to adopt a more politic expression.


    ¡°Wait here. I¡¯ll need to talk to Boss.¡± The shorter man hopped down and went off toward the run down structures in the distance.


    The bald man watched him run, and once he was at a fair distance he lifted his rifle and pointed it at me, a scowl still on his face.


    My gun was pointed at his head before he¡¯d even turned around.


    His eyes widened, but he kept his rifle pointed.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid,¡± I said.


    ¡°Can¡¯t trust deadmen. You eat people.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never eaten anyone,¡± I lied, steadying my hand, slightly adjusting where my gun was pointed. ¡°If you miss me, I won¡¯t miss you.¡±


    I could see a bead of sweat drip down the man¡¯s sunburnt face, before he pointed the gun down and looked away.


    ¡°Bad enough we already got one of you living here,¡± he muttered.


    The other man returned then and opened the gate to let me in.


    ¡°Boss says he can come in. Deadman or not, if he¡¯s got deliveries we want em.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I grunted, taking a moment to stop in front of the bald man. He was tall, but I had a few inches on him. I simply stood and stared down at him for a few moments until he looked away. Then I followed the other one into town.


    It was unusual that I would actually be invited into a town, especially on the first delivery. There were a few that had grown used to me enough to tolerate me in their streets, but Kind seemed to be unusually, well, kind so far. Even the tense moment with the bald man was probably not even in my top ten worst first encounters with someone.


    Once I reached the nearest of the structures I received several notifications.


    Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in customer service! Here in the US of A we know the customer is always right!


    That one almost made me laugh aloud. I wondered if I¡¯d received the rank for talking my way in, talking the other man down, or a combination of both.


    Excellent work postman! You¡¯ve successfully performed the primary goal of your job ''Delivery¡¯! You¡¯ve earned 151 Patriot Points!


    Congratulations Citizen! You¡¯ve earned a level in Postman, carrying on the legacy of the Pony Express. You have received +1 Speed, +1 Endurance, and +1 Perception.


    5th level also unlocks


    Special Delivery: You can mark a delivery ¡®special¡¯ which will allow you to track it if it¡¯s lost.


    Hmm, that one was interesting. The Postman job was a mixed bag in terms of utility, but overall I was lucky to have it. Sure jobs like ¡®Marine¡¯ or ¡®Cop¡¯ had an edge in combat ability, but they weren¡¯t an option for everyone, and they rarely opened up on the R.A.S. Postman opened up constantly because of the high mortality rate, so I snagged it up quickly. It was one of the more common jobs for deadmen to take, we were uniquely suited for the work.


    I pulled up the rest of my sheet.


    Citizen: Donovan


    5th Level Postman


    Patriot Points: 27


    SPINES: Be the backbone of America!


    Strength- 20


    Perception- 15


    Intelligence- 10


    Nationalism- 3


    Endurance- 23


    Speed- 17


    Job Abilities:


    Neither Rain, Sleet, or Snow: You are unhampered by adverse weather


    Express: You gain a 5% bonus to movement speed


    Special Delivery: You can mark a delivery ¡®special¡¯ which will allow you to track it.


    Skills:


    Walking- 34


    Pistol- 7


    Loading/unloading- 21


    Customer Service- 12


    Driving- 3


    Below the standard sheet there was some visual distortion followed by something that as far as I knew, was exclusive to me.


    Virus:


    Deadman- Bonus to all physical stats +5, negative to social based skills


    Natural weapon- Teeth


    Night Vision

 Ch 2: A Kind Place

    When I reached the center of town I opened the lead containers and let people come and get their packages. They received notifications that they¡¯d arrived, so there was a small crowd gathered. I waited off to the side, not wanting to scare anyone, but was surprised to find many of them passing directly by me, some even managed thank yous and smiles. It made me uncomfortable, but luckily there were still plenty of hateful looks in the small crowd that gathered to even things out.


    After everyone had gotten their packages, I walked up to my cart and addressed the short man again.


    ¡°Let everyone know my next delivery is to Boon, then I loop back around. I¡¯ll be here to take the packages and letters tomorrow morning.¡±


    The man nodded. Seemed to struggle with something for a moment, then offered his hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m JD¡±


    I blinked a few times. This town just kept getting weirder. Still, I reached out and took his hand.


    ¡°Donovan.¡±


    He retrieved his hand just a little too quickly, but I didn¡¯t fault him for it.


    ¡°There¡¯s a bar in town. Tim¡¯s place. He¡¯ll take ammo, tobacco, fruit, or PP of course if you¡¯d rather not barter. I have a feeling he may cut you a deal, whatever the case.¡±


    ¡°Where?¡±


    ¡°Toward the back wall,¡± he said, pointing. "There¡¯s a cantina before that one, but uh¡­ the kids eat there.¡±


    ¡°I understand. Thanks.¡±


    I readjusted my goggles and bandana and headed in the direction he pointed. Walking through the town I could tell that it was a middling settlement. Not too populous, not too prosperous, but getting along fine. Most of the buildings were made from scrap and all of them were clustered closely together. I saw small farms here and there that led me to believe the main thing they tithed to the Iron Horde was food. Toward the center of town I noticed a large central building made up of half an old cesna with paper lanterns strung up outside, unlit in the daylight, and the sounds of people enjoying breakfast. I gave it a wide berth, and kept moving toward the edge of the town.


    A lone building sat halfway between the town and the wall. I saw a couple men and a woman in a pile outside the door, sleeping off, from what I could smell, a legendary amount of hooch. I stepped over them and walked in. The place was sleazy, but I had initially expected to sleep outside of the walls after making my delivery, so I decided not to be choosy. The lighting was dim, and the seating was mostly chairs ripped from cars, though the bar had a few actual stools. I sat at one and rapped my knuckles on the bar twice.


    I heard some shuffling and a man emerged from the back room. I immediately understood what the difference was in this town. He was short, maybe a head smaller than me, his skin the color of exposed muscle tissue, and his eyes a watery yellow. Unlike me he had a full head of brown hair that he¡¯d grown long and was using to cover his face, but I could still tell what he was immediately. He was more handsome than me, but that¡¯s a relative statement. His yellow eyes lit up a bit when he saw me, and he approached the bar.


    ¡°Welcome,¡± his voice was raspy, like he¡¯d been a pack a day smoker since he was two, and he smiled at me with yellow pointed teeth, smaller and less sharp than my own, but still more than capable of tearing through flesh.


    I looked him over for a second before asking the question I¡¯d wanted to ask since I entered the bar. ¡°Got hooch?¡±


    His smile flickered for a moment, that hadn¡¯t been the question he¡¯d wanted to hear, but he recovered quickly. He must have a high Customer Service rank.


    ¡°Sure, first rounds on me,¡± he reached behind the bar and I heard a scoop and pour before a cup of foul smelling liquid was placed in front of me.


    I sniffed it. ¡°This what you serve the¡­ regulars?¡±


    He nodded.


    ¡°What about what you drink?¡±


    He shook his head. ¡°I uh, don¡¯t drink.¡±


    ¡°A bartender that doesn¡¯t drink? That¡¯s almost as strange as a deadman living somewhere besides Pott¡¯s Field.¡±


    He gave a small smile. ¡°Drinking killed my pa.¡±


    ¡°Well, just a heads up, what gets them drunk is barely a tickle for us.¡± I slammed the glass he gave me back, lifting my bandana over it, and swallowed it quickly. ¡°Thanks for the drink though.¡±


    We sat in silence for a bit, the young deadman shuffling on his feet as I took out my gun and began cleaning it. I didn¡¯t want to get involved, but the way he was staring at me eventually forced me to say something, if only to settle him down.


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    ¡°I¡¯m Donovan,¡± I said, reaching out a hand for him to take. He was startled, but shook it.


    ¡°Tim, nice to meet you.¡±


    ¡°So, how¡¯s a deadman become a bartender?¡±


    Tim smiled. ¡°Well, I was born here. My ma was Boss¡¯ sister, my pa was his best friend. He made the town keep me when I was born, and kept them from exiling ma. She went missing a few years later though and just a while after that pa drank himself to death. Boss wanted to discourage folks from drinkin too much after that so he made me a bartender, helped me get the Job on the R.A.S. an everythin.¡±


    I chuckled. ¡°He uses you as a deterrent?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s how it was at first, but now almost everyone comes in fer a drink sometime.¡±


    I wanted to explain to him how dangerous all of this was for him, but he seemed like a sweet kid and I hoped I was wrong.


    ¡°You must be good with people.¡±


    He smiled proudly. ¡°I got my customer service rank up to twenty two.¡±


    ¡°Respectable,¡± I said, cleaning my gun. I didn¡¯t have the heart to tell him that the deadman penalty for customer service put that closer to two. No other deadman I¡¯d spoken to had the Virus readout on the citizen sheet, so he likely wasn¡¯t aware of that himself. Still, the fact he¡¯d gone that far was impressive.


    ¡°What do you do mister?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a courier. I travel between settlements, carrying letters, and packages.¡±


    ¡°You seen a lot of places?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Anywhere extra special?¡±


    I thought about it, picturing the places I¡¯d been. Green tinted wastes crackling with odd electricity, a city of deadmen in the middle of the tear that divides east from west, a river filled to the brim with gators the size of cars, and a stretch of road where reality itself seemed to bend and fade. I looked back at him.


    ¡°Not really.¡±


    ¡­


    Tim had a spare room, which is to say he had a shack attached to the side of the building with a bare mattress on it. I pulled out a worn paperback and read for most of the day before closing my eyes. After that I slept just as restfully as I would¡¯ve if I¡¯d been outside the walls, with a gun in my hand and my eyes half opened.


    I was woken up by rays of light pouring through holes in the shack''s construction. I assessed my surroundings before I opened my eyes. No unfamiliar smells or sounds, so I opened them confirming I was alone. I sat up and made my way to the bathroom, a blue bucket that I popped outside the door once I was done.


    I made my way back inside the bar and saw Tim just starting to drag a few patrons outside to sober up. He was holding two at once and I held the door for him to toss them outside. After that he poured me a drink and slid me a bowl of some kind of oats. I removed the bandana around my mouth and noticed that even Tim¡¯s eyes widened at my teeth. I took some dried meat from a pouch and tore a few pieces into the oats before tucking in.


    Tim looked at me questioningly.


    ¡°It was a deer. Attacked me on the road a ways back, had teeth like razors. Radiated meat like this tastes better to us.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I broke off a piece of the meat and handed it to him.


    He nibbled at it tentatively, but then immediately shoved the entire thing into his mouth, chewing ferociously.


    I handed him the rest of what I had in my hand. I found myself feeling a little responsible for him. It was clear he¡¯d never encountered another deadman. At the same time, I couldn¡¯t stick around, and when I¡¯d seen this kind of thing in the past, it had never gone well. I finished eating before deciding to speak.


    ¡°You should leave.¡±


    Tim swallowed a piece of meat he¡¯d been chewing. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Kind, you should leave the town.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°Because eventually they¡¯ll turn on you.¡±


    ¡°No they wouldn¡¯t. I¡¯ve been here since I was a kid and they¡¯ve always treated me well.¡±


    I looked around the shitty bar. Treated well was quite the overstatement. ¡®Tolerated and found a use for¡¯ seemed more fitting.


    ¡°Listen kid, I¡¯m just telling you how things are. The next time something goes wrong, food runs low, someone goes missing, a raider slips in, they¡¯ll be looking for someone to blame and you¡¯re the only one that doesn¡¯t look like them.¡±


    He glared at me. ¡°It¡¯s not like that here. Uncle Boss¡¯d never let that happen.¡±


    ¡°I just¡­ I felt obligated to warn you. Do what you want. I¡¯m not sure if an Undertaker ever comes this way, but I know one hits Davis a short way east. Pott¡¯s field ain¡¯t a perfect place, but you¡¯d be safe.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m safe here, and all fairness mister, I don¡¯t even fucking know you.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve said my piece. I¡¯ll leave you be.¡± I covered my mouth back up with my bandana. ¡°Thank you for the room and the breakfast.¡± I sent fifteen PP his way. He hadn¡¯t made me pay for the food and room, but a tip felt fair.


    I left the bar, feeling Tim¡¯s yellow eyes bore a hole in the back of my head as I did. It wasn¡¯t my desire to ruin people''s days, but it seemed to happen pretty often.


    When I reached the center of Kind there was a line of citizens waiting with letters and packages. A lot of people had kin that were spread out across the area since before the tearing. Regular caravans and traders could handle goods, but I mostly wound up transporting gifts and letters that were meant for those distant relatives, or quick communiques between settlement leaders.


    I started taking packages and letters, ignoring the clear trepidation they felt handing them to me. I¡¯d initially let people load their items themselves, but I¡¯d been screwed by collapsing towers of boxes too often, besides there were other benefits. I noted that there was a new notification as I loaded the second to last box.


    Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in loading/unloading! Even the statue of liberty was shipped here one piece at a time!


    I felt a small amount of shame for the warm feeling I got from improving that trivial skill, but I did have a fundamental love of seeing ranks go up and numbers improve. Besides, at least it wasn¡¯t walking.


    ¡°I¡¯ll probably be back through in two or three weeks depending on storms, or if I get killed.¡±


    JD spoke up as the other Kind folk dispersed. ¡°How could that happen, aren¡¯t you already a deadman?¡± he asked with a wry smile.


    I looked at him through my goggles for a few long seconds. ¡°Ha.¡± I said in monotone and started walking toward the gate.

 Ch 3: Deadzone

    The most direct route between Kind and Boon was straight through a deadzone. I wasn¡¯t familiar with this one, but I figured I¡¯d risk the trek straight through to cut time off the journey.


    The edges of deadzones aren¡¯t usually distinct. If you didn¡¯t have a geiger counter handy, or weren¡¯t familiar with an area it could be easy to wander into one without realizing it. This one snuck up on me. The road I was walking slowly went from solid, to broken through by plants and patches of water, until I found myself walking through a thick swamp.


    Deadzones tended to be areas with high rads, but they were named deadzones because they killed people, not necessarily because they didn¡¯t hold life of their own. The swamp was teeming with it. Lizards the size of dogs and frogs with long tails scurried away as I walked, sensing a more dangerous predator than they could handle. I broke a branch from a tree that bled a sticky orange substance, and I started using it to touch the ground in front of me, using it to avoid drowning in soft patches of earth. My cart had no issues, it just hummed softly as its treads carried it through any difficulty.


    As I walked my geiger counter trilled loudly in areas of particularly thick foliage and as I reached what I gauged to be the center of the zone I began to hear a loud buzzing noise. I removed my geiger counter and held it to my ear, but the buzzing wasn¡¯t coming from it. I kept moving, and as I did the buzzing grew louder.


    I walked about another mile before I saw what was making the noise. What looked like a black cloud was writhing in front of me. It undulated and danced, moving in what seemed like random directions. After watching it for a few minutes I realized what it was. Mosquitos, thick as a cement wall. I wasn¡¯t sure if they¡¯d noticed me and were ignoring me, or if they were simply preoccupied with something else. None broke off from the cloud to bite me, instead they moved as a single entity.


    After watching them for a few minutes I noticed something. A glint of metal peaking through their thick cloud. I watched that spot a little longer and was able to slowly piece together a picture of a body, guns, and a bag.


    Salvage, valuable salvage. It¡¯s one of the benefits of being able to explore deadzones relatively freely. A lot of people wander in and die, leaving behind goods that tend to lie untouched. I considered ignoring it, but the gun didn¡¯t look like the crap I was used to finding. It seemed well maintained. It seemed like whoever had died to leave it behind had taken care of it.


    I pulled out some meat and ate it while I considered what to do. The mosquitos hadn¡¯t bothered me yet, but I didn¡¯t know if that would last if I walked into them. My clothing covered most of my body, but I was certain they could slip between the folds of it if they wanted to. I considered a fire, but finding dry wood in a swamp didn¡¯t seem likely. That left one option. I pulled out my machete.


    ¡­


    I yanked my machete out of the now dead salamander. It¡¯s body twitched as I did. I could¡¯ve made short work of it with my pistol, but I didn¡¯t want to waste what ammo I had. I¡¯d had to slowly sneak up on them and strike before they could react. They were slippery bastards, but after an hour''s work I had two of the salamanders and a half dozen of the frogs. I pulled out a net I sometimes used to carry mail and shoved the newest body into it. I didn¡¯t earn PP for killing them since they weren¡¯t attempting to harm me or my cargo, but I figured the salvage opportunity would make all the effort worth it.


    When I returned the mosquitos were still there, a black pulsating mass of buzzing. I took the net, aimed it, and threw it through the thick cloud. It briefly knocked a hole in it, but that swiftly closed back up as the bugs recovered. The buzzing grew excited and I watched the mass slowly move off of the body they¡¯d most recently feasted on and head toward the fresh blood I¡¯d provided for them.


    I approached the corpse cautiously. It was covered in small holes from the mosquitos, but what surprised me were two large ones. One was in his chest and the other his stomach. They looked like they were burned around the edges, and I could still catch a whiff of burnt flesh in the air.


    A notification filled my vision.


    Citizen, you have found a dead Marshall. You are being offered the following job:


    Federal Marshall


    This Job offers the following:


    Stat focus: Strength, Perception, Intelligence


    Skills: Long Guns, Pistols, Melee Weapons, Investigation, Tracking


    Abilities for Lvl 1:


    Under Cover: You may retain your previous job and those with the ability to read your sheet will see whichever job you choose to show.


    You''re Under Arrest: You may temporarily remove all job based bonuses from a target to ease apprehending them. This person will be highlighted in your vision while this ability is active.


    This job receives PP based on the following criteria:


    Completing investigations


    Making arrests


    Combat


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    Tracking suspects


    This job will be granted to you as temporary, but can be made permanent on the following condition: Solve the murder of the former Marshall


    I blinked, a Marshall. The dead man had been a Marshall. I¡¯d heard the rumors, but I¡¯d never thought they really existed. They were dangerous to the point that supposedly even the Iron Horde was wary of them.


    I shook off my surprise. What¡¯s in front of me was more important than notifications at the moment, especially since I was unsure of if the mosquito cloud would return. I found two rifles, a pistol, a bag half full of ammo and provisions, a small notepad, and a metal badge with the word ¡®Marshall¡¯ stamped across it.


    I heard an approaching buzz as the mosquitos returned and left the body where it lay. One mosquito managed to land on my exposed wrist and I watched it take a drink then proceed to die. I¡¯d assumed the rads in my blood wouldn¡¯t bother creatures that lived in the deadzone, but it was possible that my virus made it even less tasty than the radiation did. Either way it looked like I may have been overly cautious. Better than dead though.


    I checked on my cart and when I found that everything was fine I started back on my previous path. Night fell before I reached the end of it, but I pushed on. Deadzones were rarely a smart place to sleep. Luckily my great skill at walking made the rest of the trek go smoothly.


    The swamp ended as gradually as it began. Thick trees, pools of glowing water, and strange mutant wildlife gradually gave way to barren roads and shattered buildings. The trill of my geiger counter slowly quieted to a soft purr. I made a mental note to let any guides in the next town know exactly what was killing people there, aside from the radiation.


    I did a quick scan around to make sure no one was nearby and went to find a place to camp. Eventually I found the husk of a bus and was lucky enough that a few of the seats actually had padding. I parked my cart just outside the door, making sure the cargo was locked down and covered it with a tarp. After that I climbed inside. I had a quick meal of meat and looked through the marshall¡¯s provisions. I was gratified to find peppers, some kind of hard bread, a few raw onions, and some dried meat. I treated myself to one of the peppers and enjoyed the burning as the juices from it filled my mouth. They were fresh. My guess was that he¡¯d gotten them in Boon.


    One of the rifles I found was similar to one I¡¯d used before. It took .308 ammo, which was good because most gunsmiths made that pretty steadily. The other rifle I didn¡¯t recognize, along with two magazines of ammo in a caliber I¡¯d never seen. I dry fired it and gave it a closer look. I was surprised to find that it was automatic. Between the unique ammo and the auto fire it wouldn¡¯t be practical for regular use, but I liked the idea of having something powerful in my back pocket for emergencies. The revolver was a .38. I¡¯d seen them before, and didn¡¯t care for them as much as my 9mm, but I bet I could pick up a decent amount of PP from the right trader for it. The notepad was soaked through with a mixture of blood and water, making it unreadable. Overall the haul was worth the effort.


    Once I was done, I turned my attention to the notification I¡¯d gotten. I gave it a long focused read. There was an opportunity here. Jobs like this one were hard to come by, and the fact that I could have both it and my Courier Job meant that there were no real negatives to taking it. None aside from becoming embroiled in solving a murder.


    I accepted the new job.


    Congratulations! You have been granted the job of Federal Marshall (temporary)!


    You are carrying on the legacy of men like Wild Bill Hickock, Wyatt Earp, and Bas Reeves!


    That a marshal shall be appointed in and for each district for a term of four years, but shall be removable from office at pleasure, whose duty it shall be to attend the district and circuit courts when sitting therein, and also the Supreme Court in the district in which that court shall sit. And to execute throughout the district, all lawful precepts directed to him, and issued under the authority of the United States, and he shall have the power to command all necessary assistance in the execution of his duty, and to appoint as shall be occasion, one or more deputies. - Judiciary Act


    This Job is granted as temporary and can be made permanent upon completion of your first investigation: Solve the murder of the former Marshall


    You have 30 days to complete this


    I had no idea who the hell Bill Hickock and those folks were, but I assumed they were impressive since they were included in a system message. I also noticed that I should apparently have the ability to deputize people, but I saw no such ability on my citizen sheet when I pulled it up.


    Citizen: Donovan


    5th Level Postman/ 1st Level Marshall (Temporary)


    Patriot Points: 24


    SPINES: Be the backbone of America!


    Strength- 20


    Perception- 15


    Intelligence- 10


    Nationalism- 3


    Endurance- 23


    Speed- 17


    Job Abilities:


    Neither Rain, Sleet, or Snow: You are unhampered by adverse weather


    Express: You gain a 5% bonus to movement speed


    Special Delivery: You can mark a delivery ¡®special¡¯ which will allow you to track it.


    Under Cover: You may retain your previous job and those with the ability to read your sheet will see whichever job you choose to show.


    You''re Under Arrest: You may temporarily remove all job based bonuses from a target to ease apprehending them. This person will be highlighted in your vision while this ability is active.


    Skills:


    Walking- 34


    Pistol- 8


    Loading/unloading- 22


    Customer Service- 12


    Driving- 3


    Melee Weapons- 1


    Long Guns- 1


    Investigation- 1


    Tracking- 1


    Virus:


    Deadman- Bonus to all physical stats +5, negative to social based skills


    Natural weapon- Teeth


    Night Vision


    The new skills had a lot of value, particularly melee weapons. I was already good with a machete, but having it as an actual skill meant I could get much better with it a lot quicker. I also noticed my pistol skill got an automatic boost of one. I wanted to keep these new advantages, to use them. All I needed to do was solve a murder. The strange wounds on the body seemed to be the best clue to finding what may have happened. I went into my sheet and activated my undercover ability to make only my Postman Job display. There was a chance the marshall had been shot in Boon, no sense in me taking the risk of being found out. If anyone had the Mayor or other bureaucratic jobs now they¡¯d only see the profession I had allowed to display. Once I was done I drew my duster closely about myself and went to sleep.

 Ch 4: A Boon for Boon

    I woke up before dawn. I wanted to sleep more, but my night was full of bad dreams that made old scars ache. I climbed out of the bus seat I¡¯d curled up in and slung my pack over my shoulders. The added weight of yesterday''s loot made me grimace, but it was well worth it. Outside of the bus my cart remained untouched. I got everything together and started back on the road toward Boon.


    Even with my brief detour the previous day I was making good time thanks to the shortcut I¡¯d taken through the deadzone. After only about four hours of working on my favorite skill Boon began to come into sight. I¡¯d heard it described by another courier at one point, but seeing it was a different story. The town was about five times larger than Kind had been. It was built on two sides of a river, with the majority of the town on the river itself. Old tourist steamships, small dinghies, and rotting yachts were all strung together across the river and built on top of with wood and scrap metal structures. The shacks on the edges of the river all seemed to be for merchants and security, and I could tell that the outermost boats were fortified in case of attack. Even at the distance I was I could see freshly burnt holes in the walls and barricades that made up the fortification. Whatever weapon had killed the marshall had also been used here.


    When I was nearly at the outskirts I realized that there were no traders in the outer part of Boon, only security with guns. I made sure my cart was visible and put my hands up after ensuring my bandana and goggles were covering my face.. They¡¯d definitely been attacked and were likely a little trigger happy, I wanted to appear as friendly as possible.


    One of the men saw me and I watched him call for backup. I waited where I was until there were three more men that all approached me with their rifles raised.


    When they were close enough I said. ¡°Courier.¡±


    One of the men, who had a cigarette hanging out of his mouth, approached me a bit closer and looked me and my cart over. ¡°Slim?¡±


    ¡°Dead.¡±


    ¡°You a deadman?¡±


    ¡°That obvious huh?¡±


    He took a long draw from his cigarette and spat out the butt. ¡°Alright.¡± He turned to the other armed men. ¡°Let him in.¡±


    I expected some argument, but they just nodded and took places behind the cart so they could escort me into the outskirts of the town. This was in a lot of ways my ideal interaction. Quick, easy, no small talk. Unfortunately, this was the one time I needed more details.


    ¡°Security always this tight?¡± I asked as I started unloading packages onto a table one of the men had dragged out of a nearby shack.


    ¡°Should¡¯ve been,¡± answered the man who¡¯d been smoking as he lit another cigarette. He was older, and had a face the shape of a cinderblock, but meaner. In spite of his looks he held out a cigarette to me.


    ¡°No thank you.¡±


    He shrugged and pocketed it. I noticed his men giving me suspicious glares as I continued the work of unloading, but whenever they seemed about to say something, they¡¯d catch themselves and look at the smoking man.


    ¡°Something go down recently?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Listen, I¡¯m going to be traveling around here and making deliveries. Any chance I could get some more information?¡±


    The man took a long inhale from his cigarette and blew it into the air. ¡°Raiders. Bout thirty of them. A few of them had some kind of weapon I ain¡¯t seen before. It was like it was shooting pure heat. Burned holes in people, buildings. They rounded up everyone left outside and carted them up north. Not sure exactly where to. I would avoid that whole area if I were you.¡±


    ¡°Alright, thanks.¡± I finished unloading the boxes and let them know I¡¯d be back in two days to pick up any deliveries they had to head back to Kind. I asked if there was a place I could sleep. They offered one of the most outside buildings. That was typical, but I told them I¡¯d camp out and return later.


    I walked out of the settlement and reviewed my notifications.


    Excellent work postman! You¡¯ve successfully performed the primary goal of your job ''Delivery¡¯! You¡¯ve earned 173 Patriot Points!


    Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in Investigation! Here in the US we have the right to question everything, except freedom!


    Solid gains overall. I wondered if the R.A.S. would distinguish between which jobs the PP belonged to, or if I¡¯d be able to choose how to distribute them. If I could choose that would be very helpful. Since leveling was automatic when one received enough PP it could sometimes leave you with too little to spend, but if I could just avoid choosing where to distribute them it meant I could save PP when I wanted to use it to buy something in a town. Considering how much higher settlements usually charged me than a non-deadman, that could be very helpful.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    I had some answers and a general location for where to take my investigation. I also had enough information to make me reconsider what I was doing. Around thirty raiders, powerful unknown weapons, and a mass kidnapping. That was a lot to deal with. The advantages I¡¯d received from the new job were significant, but I¡¯d been doing fine as a postman.


    Fine as a postman wasn¡¯t enough though. It had simply been the best of the options I¡¯d had. A job like Marshall felt right, felt like something I could really use. Something that could help me do what I felt needed to be doing when I felt like doing it. There was also the fact they¡¯d kidnapped people, probably to trade as slaves. I knew what it was like to experience that. I might be able to save a few people the way I¡¯d wanted to be. Maybe some of the people I freed would only let out a small scream when they saw who was rescuing them.


    I broke from my thoughts and realized I was already heading north. Apparently my feet knew what I wanted better than I did.


    ¡­


    After a few hours of walking I saw smoke. I drew my new hunting rifle and began treading more carefully. Luckily the area I was walking through was wooded and so I had ample places to hide or take cover.


    Eventually I reached the source of the smoke. It was what looked to have been a small encampment in the middle of a clearing. There was a ring of small log cabins and other outbuildings arrayed in neat rows and lines. In front of the structures was a sign that read, ¡°Campsite¡±. The buildings were riddled with holes. Both bullet holes and the strange burns I¡¯d seen in Boon. I approached cautiously, hiding behind the walls of the building closest to me and slipping from building to building, keeping my eyes and the holes of my ears open and focused as I moved.


    Unfortunately, they still got the drop on me. A gunshot rang out and splintered the wood of a cabin wall next to me. I ducked down, just in time for another to ring out. I dove backward and made my way to behind where the cabin sat. The next shot hit the ground next to me. I went to the other side of the cabin and peeked out just in time to see a man on the roof of the opposite cabin line up a shot at me. He fired just as I swung my head back behind cover.


    I took a deep breath and considered my options. I could run straight and lose him in the woods, but I needed more information. I could also trade shots, but he was in a much better position than I was. I looked into the cabin window and noticed the door on the other side was mostly closed. I slowly slid the window open and climbed inside, keeping as low as I could.


    Once I was inside I heard a noise coming from where I¡¯d just been. I slowly peeked out and saw a second man with a pistol. They¡¯d been trying to flank me.


    I slowly made my way to the front of the cabin and peeked out toward the sharpshooter. He was still looking at either edge of the cabin. I backed into the shadows and began lining up a shot with my rifle. Once I was certain, I pulled the trigger.


    The first shot narrowly missed and buried itself behind him, but I let off two more before he could react and those two dropped him. I watched his body slump and slide off the roof leaving a trail of blood behind. I leapt through the front door and ducked to the side drawing my pistol. The second man went through the gap between cabins and as he passed me I made a shot low, and caught his knee making him tumble forward, dropping his gun.


    I closed the distance between us, my gun still ready, but he¡¯d fallen headfirst on a rock, leaving a bloody head print, and was no longer conscious. I rolled him over. He was still breathing. That was good. I still needed more information, and I didn¡¯t mind earning another point in investigation the hard way.


    ¡­


    My captive woke up in darkness. I watched him let out a ¡°fuck¡± as the pain in his knee registered. He started breathing rapidly and straining against the rope I¡¯d tied him to the chair with. I let him struggle for a little bit, let him think he was alone. He couldn¡¯t see in the dark like I could.


    I¡¯d covered all the windows to the cabin and searched the rest of them for anything useful. What I¡¯d found was blood, bodies, and burns. The raiders had devastated this small settlement and unlike Boon, it didn¡¯t have nearly the manpower or defense to stop them. I wasn¡¯t in a mood to ask the man questions nicely.


    When he was good and scared I placed a hand on his shoulder.


    He jumped, ¡°What the fuck!? Who''s there!?


    I slowly brought my mouth next to his ear. ¡°Me.¡±


    He shook the chair, trying to get away, but all he managed to do was fall over.


    ¡°What the fuck do you want?¡± His voice came out harsh, but I could hear the little twinge of terror in his voice.


    I lifted him, chair and all and sat it back up. ¡°Answers.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you!¡±


    I jammed my finger into the bulletwound and twisted it.


    He screamed, a little higher pitched than I expected, and once he was done he spat in the direction he thought I was. I walked behind him and drew the cloth I¡¯d hung up to let some light in. I walked around to face him. I removed my mask and goggles. It felt nice not to hide my face.


    His eyes widened and a stain spread down his legs.


    I brought my face close to his and he jerked back, almost falling over again.


    ¡°Give me answers and I¡¯ll let you live.¡±


    He gave a trembling nod.


    ¡°How many of you are there? Where is the rest of your group? How many people have you taken? What are the strange weapons you''re using?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s uh, I don¡¯t know thirty, forty of us? Everyone¡¯s up in Porto. We¡¯ve taken, like two dozen? Maybe more. I, I don¡¯t know what the weapons are, Jase found them. Only lets a few people touch em.¡±


    ¡°Did you kill the Marshall?¡±


    ¡°Marshall? The guy with the badge? We shot him, but he ran into a deadzone before we could finish him off.¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I frowned. I was hoping for more information on their weapons, but it was better than nothing.


    ¡°Can I¡­ Can I go?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± I took my machete and slammed it into his skull. No reason to waste a bullet.

 Book 2 Ch 1: The Cabinet

    After shaking my hand, Masters, walked down the line to introduce himself to the rest of the people who¡¯d gathered from STAR territory to meet him and the rest of the Remnant leadership. That left me standing there confused. What had he meant when he said that I was the man who was going to help bring America back to life?


    The remaining four members of the cabinet began making their way down the line as well. First greeting Leah, then Boyd, then myself. They seemed less interested in talking than Masters, simply giving me their names and exchanging simple pleasantries before continuing down the line.


    Only one of them, Matthews, did anything out of the ordinary. She opened her helmet, revealing a woman in her mid thirties with black hair and circular glasses. She turned my hand over after we shook and stared at it.


    ¡°Fascinating,¡± she muttered with her eyebrow raised.


    I raised my own nonexistent eyebrow, but she didn¡¯t notice the gesture and instead continued down the line. Of the cabinet, three were men, and two were women. Masters was clearly the one in charge, but whether their deference to him was something formal or informal, I couldn¡¯t tell. Either way, while they worked their way up and down the rows of sycophants, I approached Leah.


    ¡°What was Masters talking about?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I was planning on briefing you along with the rest of the cabinet after they were done introducing themselves here. Masters shouldn¡¯t have mentioned anything yet. The jist of it is, that we have a job for you.¡±


    That wasn¡¯t a surprise. I¡¯d figured even from when she approached me in Jasper that there would be a job involved at some point. Sure I was a ¡®representative¡¯ for Potts, but I was also a ¡®representative¡¯ of getting shit done. The latter role was definitely the one I was more suited for.


    ¡°The Remnants are based in space?¡± I asked.


    Leah nodded. ¡°It was one of the old governments crowning achievements. Putting a self sustaining station in orbit, and getting our best people up there. We¡¯ve been monitoring things from there for quite some time. What we were able to monitor anyway.¡±


    Before I could question her further, the Cabinet, the Remnant soldiers that landed with them, and the STAR personnel all started moving away from us.


    Leah gestured at Graves, who nodded and moved back toward the Shrike. He started it up, ascended and flew ahead to whatever the destination was. She then gestured for me to follow her, which I did.


    The procession made its way a little less than a mile, to about a dozen trucks that had been altered into transports that could fit the heavily armored members of the Remnants, and a series of camouflage tents. Different people filtered into each tents, and Leah led me directly to the one I saw the members of the cabinet enter. Masters was standing outside making a bit of last minute smalltalk with Boyd who shot me a look when I entered. I responded with a toothy smile that made the color drain from his face.


    The tent was mostly bare, filled mostly by Remnant guards in armor, as well as a large table and some chairs.


    The cabinet¡¯s helmets all hissed opened, and Matthews laid down a long flat screen on the table. She pulled a cord from her armor, and plugged it into the screen which hummed to life as it activated, showing a map that looked both familiar and alien at the same time, which I recognized as a depiction of the area directly east and west of The Cut. The rest of the cabinet were at different positions around the table, murmuring to one another just too quietly for me to hear. Masters reentered and sat gesturing for us to take a seat at the side of the table opposite to him, which we did.


    ¡°Well Donovan, first off I just want to say how much we appreciate a representative of Pott¡¯s being here, and that we are extraordinarily thankful for all the good you¡¯ve done for our country already,¡± said Masters, his smile still wide and seemingly genuine.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°I mostly did it for the points and the scrap,¡± I offered.


    Masters didn¡¯t miss a beat. ¡°Honesty, such a uniquely American virtue.¡±


    That hadn¡¯t been my experience, but I let him speak.


    ¡°I know you just got everyone¡¯s names a little bit ago, but I want to clarify for you, and our friends in Pott¡¯s, the role each of us in the cabinet plays.¡± He gestured to Matthews who was still standing and operating the map screen. ¡°Matthews is our Chief of Science and Technology,¡± He gestured toward the man nearest to Leah and me to a man with a dour expression and sunken eyes, ¡°Adams is our Chief of Patriotism,¡± he gestured to a woman to his right with long blonde hair, ¡°Ms. Slate is our Chief of Commerce,¡± and he pointed to the man on his left, a bald man with a square head and a scar on his left cheek, ¡°Last, but not least, is Mr. Curtis, our Chief of diplomacy. He¡¯s the one that drafted the initial agreement with Potts.¡±


    ¡°And you?¡± I asked.


    Masters¡¯ smile widened slightly. ¡°I¡¯m the Chief of Reclamation.¡±


    I nodded. I could tell they were all expecting me to be impressed, but so far the only thing that I found worthy of note about the Remnants was their technology. Aside from Leah, and Graves, they seemed to be a group that hid in space while the planet went to shit and were now expecting to roll back in and take back over. Still, the tech may really be all the edge they needed to be respected, not to mention that I had no idea how many of them were still in space. Keeping things neutral for the Deadmen, and playing it safe was definitely still the right play.


    ¡°And what is it you want from me?¡±


    Leah stood and pointed at the map. ¡°This is what we need from you.¡±


    I stood and looked at what she was pointing at. I referenced the point in my mind and realized it was the western most bunker I¡¯d seen on the map I¡¯d found in the bunker back when I first became a Marshall. That meant old, probably dangerous, tech. That made my teeth itch, but that was just the start of it.


    ¡°That¡¯s west of The Cut,¡± I noted incredulously.


    ¡°Is that what the locals call it?¡± asked Masters. ¡°Interesting.¡±


    ¡°Did Leah tell you anything about it? It¡¯s a deadzone. Cuts the country in half from East to West. Rads are beyond anything anywhere else, and it¡¯s not called ¡®The Cut¡¯ for nothing. It¡¯s a gorge, a deep rend in the Earth. It¡¯s full of monsters and horrors. We get a taste of them over in Pott¡¯s every once in a while. It isn¡¯t pretty.¡±


    Masters nodded. ¡°Leah told us.¡±


    ¡°I understand that you may take it as a given that people will do as you ask, but I don¡¯t owe your version of the US of A anything, and as far as I know going to The Cut is a death sentence.¡±


    Adams stood, causing the table to shake violently. ¡°You owe EVERYTHING to it.¡± His voice was familiar, but I couldn¡¯t quite place it.


    Masters held out a hand for Adams, who managed to calm himself and sit back down. I simply stared at him impassively. Outbursts didn¡¯t impress me much.


    ¡°If you need to get over there, why don¡¯t you send a Shrike? Or even have one of your landing craft arrive there?¡± I asked.


    Matthews shook her head. ¡°Too many variables. None of our monitoring equipment seems to function properly on that side of the cut. The entire area is invisible to us, a complete unknown.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s as unknown to you as it is to us, and no one has ever crossed The Cut to let us know what was on the other side.¡±


    ¡°Someone has made it across,¡± said Masters


    ¡°What?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Less than a month ago we found a man that we believe came across the cut from the other side,¡± responded Leah.


    The Cut represented the edge of my world. A barrier beyond which lay the unknown. In spite of the situation I found myself in, surrounded by tentative allies, and honest betrayers, I was suddenly excited. I took a moment to tone it down and calm myself. However strong my desire to move, and explore may be, I didn¡¯t work for free, and I did my best not to operate blind. I needed more information. ¡°Where is he?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s here, in one of the other tents. He¡¯s hurt and having difficulty answering questions. Though even beyond that he refuses to answer certain questions until he speaks to one of the other Chosen. We¡¯re hoping you might have better luck speaking with him.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± I could certainly do some good work as an interrogator, but I wasn¡¯t exactly a diplomat.


    ¡°We think the Chosen are deadmen.¡±

 Book 2 Ch 2: Pilgrim

    It made sense that the man who came across The Cut would be a fellow deadman. The radiation in that area alone would cause any human who got near it to have their skin melt off. Leah, and Matthews led me out of the tent and through the camp. We arrived at a tent that was guarded by roughly a dozen STAR soldiers. Leah gave them a nod and one of them pulled the tent flap aside to let us in.


    Inside was a small medical cot, a few chairs, and a small table. A man in a white coat sat on a chair next to the medical cot, on which rested a deadman. He had large bandages wrapped around his chest and stomach, and his breathing was ragged. He smelled both familiar and different from the deadmen I¡¯d met in the past. There was the usual dirt smell, and irradiated tinge, but beneath that was something sickly sweet I didn¡¯t recognize. It may have been the rot of the wounds, but I wasn¡¯t quite sure.


    The man in the white coat looked up at us. ¡°He suddenly took a turn for the worse. I tried to treat his wounds, and he seemed to stabilize, but¡­ I¡¯m not sure how much longer he has. He¡¯s also grown less coherent.¡±


    I moved toward the doctor and gestured for him to stand and move, then I sat next to the deadman. His eyes were yellow and half lidded, and his breathing was labored.


    I leaned closer. ¡°Can you answer some questions?¡±


    His eyes drifted up to me and widened. ¡°A Chosen¡­Paradise. I must¡¯ve been so close,¡± he whispered. His voice was raspy and I could see dried blood on his teeth and chin.


    ¡°How did you get here? How did you cross the cut?¡±


    He suddenly shot up and grabbed me, bringing his mouth close to my ear. ¡°Through the forest of teeth, across the metal wastes, walk without rhythm as you cross the abyss, they will notice you otherwise, the black sand whispers and seeks flame, do not give it what it wants. Follow this path and you will find paradise.¡±


    I listened carefully as he spoke, resisting the urge to push him off as he grabbed me. His manner of speech reminded me of the way the Kaijin would sometimes speak in riddles and metaphors. I knew directions when I heard them and I immediately pressed them into my memory.


    When he was done speaking, the man fell back into the cot, and began convulsing. I stood up and got out of the way so that the doctor could get to him, and moved to stand next to Leah and Matthews.


    ¡°Interesting that he doesn¡¯t seem to have the same level of regenerative abilities that you exhibit,¡± said Matthews, watching the scene unfold dispassionately.


    I clenched my teeth a bit. I wasn¡¯t surprised that she knew, I had already assumed Leah would¡¯ve told her leaders everything about me, Pott¡¯s, and anything else they¡¯d asked, but I still found it grating. ¡°We¡¯re all built differently. It¡¯s more impressive that he made it across The Cut without it. Did he have any weapons on him when he was found?¡±


    Leah nodded. ¡°A spear, knife, and a well worn rifle.¡±


    I nodded. That little kit indicated that most of the dangers in the Cut were environmental, or could be avoided without violence. I stood and watched as the doctor struggled to stabilize the deadman dying on the cot. I had the impression that he¡¯d been waiting to see another deadman before giving in. I¡¯d seen it before. A person would hold on to life for just long enough to say one last thing, take a final shot, or spit blood in their enemies face before letting go. I felt an obligation to stay there, and stand watch, as he went. He was an explorer, like myself, and whatever ideology had led him to seeking paradise across The Cut, I respected him for accomplishing what no one else had managed. It was unfortunate that my side of the Cut was no paradise, and considering that¡¯s what he risked to leave his own side, I imagined it wasn¡¯t exactly a happy place to be either.


    After around fifteen minutes of watching the doctor struggle to keep the pilgrim alive, Leah and Matthews left the tent. After ten more, it was over. The doctor sighed heavily, shook his head, made a note on a clipboard and left the tent without acknowledging me. I moved over to the body and slid his eyelids back over his black eyes, then I left the tent.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Matthews was gone, but Leah was still there sitting and reading her newly acquired communist romance novel. I moved over to her.


    ¡°The bunker on the other side. What¡¯s so important about it?¡±


    She closed her book and looked up at me. ¡°It¡¯s where the Rebuild America System was developed.¡±


    ¡°Really? Not in DC or up in space?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°There were distribution and control points in multiple areas, but it was developed and distributed from that facility to begin with.¡±


    ¡°Why do you need me there? What am I meant to be looking for?¡±


    ¡°Salvation. I told you before that we have partial system control.¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say ¡®partial¡¯ is generous. The biggest edge we have is the ability to send messages to one another.¡±


    I blinked, I had assumed with them being remnants of the former US government they had a bit more control than that. ¡°Why are you telling me?¡± I asked, it seemed like the kind of information they¡¯d prefer to keep private.


    ¡°I promised honesty from our agreement on, and I¡¯m trying to honor that. The cabinet doesn¡¯t yet understand the realities on the ground. They think they can whip anyone into their side with a bit of patriotism and some advanced tech. It¡¯ll take us a long way, but we¡¯ll need more than that.¡±


    ¡°So, me entering the bunker, how does that help?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not completely active. We¡¯re not sure why, but only the lowest levels are functioning. Dozens of jobs and abilities are locked without the higher levels online.¡±


    ¡°And these higher levels will give you more control?¡± The idea of that made me very hesitant to help.


    She shook her head. ¡°No. Not until we earn them. If the system had gone fully online right away when it was meant to, we¡¯d have been able to sweep up whatever we wanted, now it would be available to anyone, we¡¯d have some advantage, but it would be limited. Still, we think it¡¯s our best chance. Everyone¡¯s best chance.¡±


    I adjusted my hat, sliding my fingers across the brim. ¡°What would be in it for me? For Pott¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°What would you want? We¡¯re not exactly in a great position to negotiate. As far as I know you¡¯re the only person who could possibly get across the Cut.¡±


    I smiled, showing my teeth and eyeballing one of the armored remnant soldiers standing nearby. ¡°I can think of a few things, and I¡¯m sure that Pott¡¯s can too. Is there any way you can have an agreement drafted that we can alter?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°We can.¡±


    ¡°Get me that for now, and set aside a suit of armor, at least to start.¡±


    I watched some calculations play out behind her eyes before she nodded. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll get the document for you.¡±


    I nodded, satisfied for now. In truth, I''d always planned on making an attempt to cross the Cut. I¡¯d collected maps from the other side, learned what I could from those who¡¯d gone close to it before, and generally yearned to see something more, but it had always been something out of reach. With my new class, my new abilities, and experiences things were different now, I felt like I had the strength to make the crossing. If I could guarantee myself some extra loot and some benefits for Pott¡¯s for doing a job I wanted to anyway, all the better.


    ¡°When do you think you¡¯ll be able to start?¡± She asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll need to wrap some things up in Horde territory.¡± Dealing with the Widows would probably take priority, then getting the agreement to Pott¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯ll also need more information from the rest of you. Knowing where the Pilgrim was found for instance may help me plot my route.¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll get that document now, and then Graves and I can transport you back to the outside of Jasper. I¡¯ll leave you a way to contact us.¡±


    Having all my demands and requests met so easily was a little jarring to me. It made how important this was to the Remnants all the more clear, which made me all the more suspicious. Still, this was a situation in which I had all the power. I¡¯d be working alone, entering the bunker alone, and whatever happened or didn¡¯t happen would be up to me to explain. Their desperation put all the odds in my favor.

 Book 2 Ch 3: Cleanup and Prep

    The flight in the Shrike out of STAR territory and back to Jasper was quiet. Leah kept her eyes closed as she performed whatever ¡®agent¡¯ functions she had, and Graves was focused on piloting, as eager to talk as he always was. I was surprised to find myself thinking of Mercy, and wondering whether or not she was still reading the book I¡¯d given her. Things were likely to change for her people in the Republic sooner rather than later.


    I took some time to categorize all the information I had so far. The Remnants had arrived, at least partially. So far they consisted of maybe thirty people in power armor, but they also had intel, tech, and what seemed like near total control of STAR. They¡¯d made their goals clear, and even if my trip across the Cut for them amounted to nothing, they¡¯d certainly remain a force to be reckoned with either way. They seemed friendly, but that just made me trust them less.


    I thought back to the Cabinet members. Masters was definitely in charge, there was no doubt about that or attempt to hide it. Matthews reminded me a little of Julian, had the same burning curiosity behind her eyes. The others hadn¡¯t really made much of an impression on me, though Adams had seemed familiar. Not in terms of looks, but his voice. I went through my supplies, triple checking my ammunition and making a few notes of the topography we flew over, and the route that the plane was taking. I placed the notebook back in my pack when it hit me. He was the voice on the radio, the one that had been broadcasted giving speeches about America and boosted my nationalism stat. Leah had mentioned that they¡¯d been paving the way for their return, I should¡¯ve guessed that was part of it. I was surprised that a man with such conviction on the radio looked so pathetic in person. I suppose he just really had a face for radio.


    It was after dusk by the time the Shrike landed. Graves gave me a nod as I hopped out, and Leah followed close behind me. She handed me a tube much like the one I¡¯d carried the initial agreement with Pott¡¯s.


    I took it. ¡°How will I contact you?¡± I asked.


    Her eyes closed for a moment and I received a notification.


    Someone is attempting to use an ability on you. Allow? Y/N


    I looked at her with nonexistent eyebrow raised.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a messaging attempt. If you allow it, then it¡¯ll allow me to establish a messaging system between us.¡±


    I hit Y, and a small box appeared in my vision.


    Hello


    ¡°How do I respond?¡±


    ¡°Just say what you want and it should appear. You can also subvocalize.¡±


    Okay


    She nodded, and hopped back into the Shrike. ¡°Don¡¯t rush anything. You¡¯re our only chance at this, and we want you to be ready. Also, be aware that the messaging may not function as well in deadzones.¡±


    I gave her a nod and started walking back on the path toward Jasper and my Deadzone. Another thing I¡¯d have to add when considering the strength of the Remnants was long distance instant communications. It seemed limited, but I knew the importance of communication from my time as a courier. If they used it correctly, it amplified the threat they could pose immensely.


    Originally I planned on going straight home to my boat for a night¡¯s rest in comfortable familiarity, but I decided to walk close enough to Jasper to at least make sure I didn¡¯t hear any new gunshots. When I got close enough, I began to smell smog, and noticed smoke rising in several places. I drew my rifle and started running toward the settlement expecting another attack, but when I got closer I realized that the only sound I could hear was engines. The Horde had arrived.


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    I was surprised. News could travel surprisingly fast, but considering I¡¯d been gone for less than a day, they shouldn¡¯t already be here. I slung my gun back over my shoulder and walked closer. I could see several men and women already hard at work digging a trench in the town¡¯s perimeter as I approached, and I gave a wave to a tower guard who was squinting to see me in the dark dressed in black clothes. He lowered his gun and waved back when he realized who I was, and I walked the rest of the way into Jasper proper.


    The damage to the town was still there. Fresh bullet holes, and blood were everywhere, though most of the debris from the armored bus plowing through town had been cleared. Instead of the usual fear or revulsion I was used to on people¡¯s faces, I instead saw relief in the eyes of those I passed as I walked into town toward the sound of engines. Those looks made me avert my gaze and focus my eyes forward.


    In the center of Jasper, where the damage was most severe, I saw a number of motorcycles and Horde soldiers gathered around. In the center of them I saw Rose, the foul mouthed mayor of the town, speaking with Angela. She seemed to have earned a few new tattoos since the last time I¡¯d seen her, when she¡¯d driven me to the edge of the Black Woods, and was wearing some ursan leather and fur. Her mohawk was still proudly on display, making her look like a rooster.


    The gathered Horde riders parted as I approached, offering respectful nods of acknowledgement, a few of them whispering to one another as they noticed me. Angela and Rose were speaking in what, to me, seemed to be a coded language composed of the most foul words and metaphors imaginable. I stood in silence listening for a few moments.


    ¡°-four other settlements more fucked than a Horde rider¡¯s woman after he earns his first tattoo,¡± said Angela. ¡°You¡¯re lucky yours is only half fucked.¡±


    ¡°We pay tribute for protection not for the Horde to show up late making excuses. Maybe if you spent more time patrolling and less time sucking your own-¡±


    ¡°There were multiple attacks?¡± I interrupted..


    Rose and Angela turned their attention to me.


    ¡°Cocks¡± Rose finished, in spite of the pause she¡¯d just taken.


    ¡°Good to see you too, Donny,¡± said Angela. ¡°Not gonna bother with a hello, how do you do?¡±


    I gave her a blank stare.


    She sighed. ¡°Yes. Five including Jasper, at least so far. All attacked by female raiders loaded into armored buses. From what we can tell the attacks happened simultaneously.¡±


    ¡°Were they all caught off guard? None of them managed to kill all the raiders?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°They targeted settlements that usually don¡¯t see a lot of raider action. Jasper seems to be the only one that managed a half-decent defense.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you learn about Jasper so quickly?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t. Khan ordered patrols out to every settlement after the first two reports. We just happened to come to this one.¡±


    I nodded. That explained how they could¡¯ve arrived here so quickly after the attack. ¡°Do you have any leads on the raiders? Know the location of their base? Their leader? Anything?¡±


    ¡°We know they go by ¡®The Widows¡¯, and they¡¯re made up entirely of women. Up until now they focused on smaller scale raids and manipulations. Tricking men into ambushes, pretending to need saving, that kind of thing.¡±


    I didn¡¯t mention the fact that it wasn¡¯t just men that they¡¯d tricked, considering the encounter we¡¯d had with them on the way to the Black Woods. ¡°No information on how they got the buses? The fuel? They seem very well armed and equipped for a raider group. I doubt they got all that gear just from petty raids like they were doing before.¡±


    ¡°No clue.¡±


    I opened up my system, and put in the details. Once the investigation was successfully opened I returned my attention to Angela.


    ¡°I¡¯m starting an investigation now. I¡¯ll need to head to Fette to gather some information.¡±


    Angela nodded. ¡°Thank fuck. You can give the bad news to the Khan that this settlement got hit too.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not heading back to Fette soon too?¡± I asked. I had expected to be able to convoy with her crew. I preferred to travel alone, but with the danger vehicles posed, it was usually a good idea to have a few extra bodies around me.


    ¡°No. Khan wants us out patrolling more heavily, this region is the lot I drew.¡±


    Rose scoffed. ¡°Good. Better to have someone competent fucking these widows, rather than a bunch of useless cun-.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to head out for now,¡± I had spoken more in the last twenty four hours with different people than I had in certain entire years of my life and I had a distinct desire for solitude that felt almost overpowering. I tipped my hat and started the trek out of Jasper and back toward my deadzone. I¡¯d had enough of people for a while.

 Book 2 Ch 4: A Visit

    As I walked back to my deadzone I thought through the investigation I¡¯d just opened. The Widows had become real players in the wasteland, bold enough to make attacks deep within Horde territory and get away with it, at least for now. The question in my mind was resources. Every time I¡¯d encountered them they seemed to get stronger. The first time on the way to the Black Woods they were just thugs with guns. Then suddenly they had radio equipment and ambushes. Now they had multiple fully armored buses with mounted machine guns.


    There were a few possibilities. They could¡¯ve somehow uncovered a cache of equipment somewhere. It¡¯s been known to happen, and had upended the balance within the wastes more than once. They could also be receiving support from outside. STAR wouldn¡¯t mind doing a little something to weaken the Horde, possibly even the Remnants were involved. They weren¡¯t my primary suspects though, for one major reason, those buses needed fuel, and the only major source of fuel in this part of the wastes was Fette. My teeth itched, and I brought up a hand to pick at them as I walked.


    I could feel my transition into the deadzone. The tingling on my skin as the radiation levels hit the point at which humans would be killed, felt pleasant. I walked the short path I¡¯d cut for myself through the woods up to my lake and could tell almost immediately that something was off. I drew my pistol as I came closer to the boat. The raft I used to get to and from it wasn''t where I left it, and was instead sitting next to the railing. I looked to the far edge of the lake and noticed Gus lounging, a half lidded eye lazily regarding me, and a few down feathers stuck to the scales around his mouth. I caught a whiff of tobacco on the air and that told me everything I needed to know.


    I let out a heavy sigh and holstered my pistol. It looked like I wouldn''t get the rest and solitude I was so looking forward to after all.


    ¡°Deux! Send the raft back my way!¡± I yelled.


    After a few moments Deux¡¯s head popped up over the railing, a wide grin across his face as usual. He waved. ¡°Hey Donny! Welcome home.¡±


    ¡°The raft,¡± I hollered back, gesturing to it.


    He moved over to the rope and started pulling it, sending the raft back to the shore of the lake. As he did I was surprised to see a second face pop up next to him. Wearing her usual brown hat and a frown as low as Deux¡¯s grin was high, stood Nico. She was around a head taller than him, and rather than saying hello she gave me a small nod which I returned, moderately relieved. Deux was always chipper, but Nico and I were almost dour enough to bring him down to bearable.


    I stepped on the raft and Nico pulled the rope to draw me over to the boat. I climbed on board.


    Deux moved over to hug me and I took that moment to freeze him, grab him by the heels, hold him upside down, and start shaking.


    ¡°What the hell!?¡± he asked, with a kind of amused half-yell.


    That¡¯s when several packets of instant coffee and meat I¡¯d taken the time to dry started to tumble out of his pockets onto the deck of the boat. I spun him back around and placed him gently back onto his feet, then I patted his leather jacket smooth. I pointed to the pile of my things that had tumbled out. ¡°That¡¯s what the hell.¡±


    He smiled. ¡°I only took essentials. What if my pistol had tumbled out and gone off?¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯d be dumber about keeping your gun secured than I remember you being.¡±


    Nico sighed. ¡°Patting him down would¡¯ve worked just as well.¡±


    I shrugged. ¡°This felt more direct.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to try that on me next?¡± she asked.


    I shook my head. ¡°No, you can have some coffee and food if you want. Any ammo you need too.¡±


    Deux slid to stand next to Nico. ¡°You¡¯ll share with a poor soul whose been so recently mugged won¡¯t you.¡±


    She sighed and sent me a questioning look.


    I shrugged. ¡°It would be yours to share.¡±


    With our usual dynamic re-established, I made a pot of coffee and looked the other way when Nico poured Deux a mug. He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it. With the redeye of the cigarette and the caffeine in the coffee I would¡¯ve been nearly vibrating, but he seemed as at ease as he always was. He wasn¡¯t wearing his undertaker garb, and was instead wearing a black T-Shirt with an old band name on it, ¡®The Sphincter Skateboarders¡¯, over which was a black leather jacket covered in patches and metal studs. Aside from that he wore well worn jeans with tears at the knees and black boots.


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    Once everyone was settled and on deck, I took a long sip of coffee. ¡°So, why are you both here? Is someone dead and you need me to investigate? Pott¡¯s under attack? Someone go missing? Need help with a deadzone?¡±


    Deux laughed. ¡°Nope. None of those options, though I appreciate that you feel the first person we¡¯d go to for all of those is you.¡±


    Nico nodded. ¡°We¡¯re just visiting actually.¡±


    ¡°Just¡­visiting?¡±


    Deux nodded. ¡°Yep. I¡¯m going to meet with a few more remote Kaijin wild settlers to see if I can add them to the undertaker network, and Nico was on her way back to her route at the same time. We figured we¡¯d stop by to see how you¡¯re doing. I know you can get lonely.¡±


    I grimaced. ¡°I enjoy my solitude actually.¡±


    ¡°If it would make you feel better, you can give Deux any maps you have of the regions he¡¯s planning on going through, and give me any information you want passed on to Potts. That way you don¡¯t have to endure the suffering of seeing us for no reason, and can pretend it was just for work all along.¡± offered Nico.


    I scratched my chin. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that, thank you.¡± I moved into the main cabin of my boat, and drew out a few notebooks and maps which I laid out on a table for Deux and I to go over. Between myself, Deux, and Nico, we were likely the three most well traveled deadmen in the wastes, and I found myself actually able to add additional notes and references to the maps with their input. By the time we were done, Deux had an itinerary planned that put any of the trips I¡¯d plotted to shame. Sure, there were still more than a few things he could run into that could kill him, but we¡¯d managed to cut a day or two off his planned travel time, and avoid some of the more concerning dangers.


    ¡°So, what¡¯ve you been up to since the Honored Dead decided they loved you too much to let you go?¡± asked Deux.


    ¡°Killing people mostly.¡±


    ¡°Unsurprising,¡± said Nico in deadpan.


    ¡°I started by targeting some slavers moving deadmen slaves through Horde territory, then I wound up helping to defend Jasper from a raid done by a heavily armored bus. I only just found out it was one of five separate attacks that happened simultaneously.¡±


    Deux fiddled with a button on his jacket. ¡°Five simultaneous attacks huh? Is it an old raider group that found a fresh backbone, or a new player?¡±


    ¡°New player. Call themselves the Widows.¡±


    ¡°Like the ones we ran into on the way to Pott¡¯s?¡± asked Nico.


    I nodded. ¡°Yeah. They went from ambushes to coordinated raids across the wasteland.¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s a big leap. Outside help?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s my theory.¡±


    ¡°Luckily not a major problem for Pott¡¯s at least,¡± noted Deux.


    ¡°That¡¯s not, but I did also have another run in with the Remnants.¡±


    Deux took a deep inhale of his cigarette, and flicked the butt into my lake, a half smile and raised eyebrow on his face. ¡°Maybe you should¡¯ve led with that.¡±


    I nodded, and took a few minutes to explain the encounter I¡¯d had with the Remnants, the Pilgrim, and what they¡¯d all offered for it. I ended the tale by placing the contract container Leah had given me on the counter.


    Nico looked at Deux, ¡°We should prioritize getting this back to Pott¡¯s before we get back to the usual work.¡±


    Deux grabbed it and slipped it into his jacket. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. It¡¯s not like those Kaijin knew I was planning on visiting anyway. They can wait for now.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°I think it¡¯s keyed to my thumbprint, like the last one was.¡±


    Deux chuckled. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about that. Julian figured out how to crack them using the last one as a test case.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    Nico nodded. ¡°He¡¯s been hard at work in that factory the Remnants gave to us since we negotiated with them. He¡¯s apparently been cultivating quite a few Deadmen with technical skills for years, and now that he has a place to put them to use they¡¯ve been really throwing themselves into the work.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯s the rest of the council handling things?¡± I asked.


    ¡°For the rest it¡¯s been business as usual. Pott¡¯s is a little stirred up though, and when I tell them what you just told us about the Cut well¡­ Things may get even more serious,¡± answered Deux.


    ¡°How do you think they¡¯ll want to act?¡± I asked.


    Deux smiled. ¡°Considering our number one goal is to find other Deadmen and bring them home? I¡¯m thinking they¡¯ll want you across the cut just as much as the Remnants do.¡±

 Book 3 Ch 1: Back

    The sun beat down on me as I looked down at the smoothly cut walls of the Cut. It had been easier to reach the other side this time. The Forest of Teeth had accepted my bribe of fresh meat. The Metal Wastes had been a blessing of fresh clothes and equipment rather than a curse of whispered Russian voices in the night. The Cut itself, and the hideously mutated man-wyrms I¡¯d encountered, no longer saw me as prey, even though they¡¯d swallowed me and spat me out during our last encounter, saving me in a corpse-filled larder for their young to devour. Whatever senses remained to them had caused them to see me instead as one of their own, even going so far as to offer me food.


    I knew the journey had changed me. That was the nature of traveling. Whether it had been delivering letters as a Postman, or bringing justice as a Marshall, I never came back the same. Normally, that change was mental. Sure I¡¯d had a fresh bullet hole or stab wound once or twice, but this was different. The change this time was more fundamental, deeper.


    I sat thinking for a few more moments. It would be easier to kill them now, I assumed, since I could get closer without causing them to stir. I¡¯d granted the ferals I¡¯d met in the hallucinogenic clouds around the R.A.S. bunker that mercy. This would be different. These creatures seemed to have been born as they were, rather than changed. On a more practical level, I felt that removing an obstacle between the two sides of the Cut would be nothing but trouble. Even if I¡¯d removed the threat of Eden for good, I remembered the pile of corpses I¡¯d woken up in. It had been full of the invisible coyote mutants, and other creatures that I imagined would do tremendous damage if their populations weren¡¯t kept in check. Every one of them that made it past the wyrms could wind up a problem for Pott¡¯s.


    I turned around and started walking East again. They¡¯d be there waiting for me if I changed my mind. I wasn¡¯t going to do anything to them until I was certain.


    The next few days of travel were melancholy and reflective. I rested little, finding that I didn¡¯t need to. I experimented with absorbing and expelling the thick radiation in the air. Moving it through my body freely, letting it sit in different parts of myself, matching it to radiation around me, or even seeing just how much I was able to contain. Those particular tests always ceased when I began to glow and feel my hold on how much I was taking in start to slip. There didn¡¯t seem much benefit to me to be lit up like a christmas tree while I walked through what was, as far as I knew, the deadliest part of the country. The First may have benefited from glowing, it set him apart from his followers, but I wasn¡¯t certain he could turn it off or on the way I seemed to be able to. It was possible we were entirely different kinds of freaks. I think I¡¯d prefer that to be the case.


    It didn¡¯t take long for me to reach the black sands that covered the Ozymandias Project bunker. I considered, for a moment, overwriting one of my extra data squares to save whatever information I could find, but decided against it. It didn¡¯t seem like the kind of thing that could be controlled. Besides, thinking of the note that the scientist who¡¯d sabotaged the facility had left, I felt oddly compelled to do right by him.


    After a few more days, supplies were low. At the pace I¡¯d been traveling I estimated that I could make it, but it would be close, and I¡¯d need to ration water for the rest of the trip. When I started to recognize landmarks that meant I was getting closer to where I¡¯d started, I took my radio from my pack and started turning the dials. Searching the static for either the Remnant¡¯s station or preferably, Deux¡¯s. I listened to a few crackles, then a voice came in more clearly.


    ¡°...have continued to fortify the city of Medina, as the forces of the false orientals of the khanate increase their patrols at our border. It is unfortunate that our attempts to welcome them back to the bosom of America have been met with only hostility and malice as their ignoble horde continues to forbid us travel through their lands, and even burn their own settlements rather than lose them to the principles of democracy, and freedom.¡±


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    That was Adam¡¯s talking, the Remnant¡¯s head of Patriotism. I slowed my walking, wanting to listen more carefully to whatever may have changed since I¡¯d been gone.


    ¡°Why has the Horde not accepted our olive branch in the way of STAR and the Republic? While once we were many, now we are a fully integrated society, working together for the restoration of America. Certainly there had been some deviation since the war, but this Khanate thinks itself sovereign when they exist on soil that belongs forever to the United States, and will eventually be returned to her, one way¡­or another.¡±


    This speech was very different from the ones I¡¯d heard before. It was still propaganda, but it was less elevated and lofty, more like a heavily colored report of current events. It did give me valuable information though. I now knew that tensions between the Horde and the Remnants had grown. The Remnants have consolidated their gains within the Republic, and now they¡¯d captured Medina, which had been a lawless border town between STAR and the Khanate. War was inevitable, that much was clear. I heard nothing to indicate Pott¡¯s had yet taken a side, and perhaps they wouldn¡¯t even when war began.


    I found myself wondering exactly how I would handle completing my job for the Remnants. I pulled up the R.A.S.


    Advanced R.A.S.patching in progress [97/100]


    The patch was almost complete. I had no idea what it would bring, I only really knew that it was unfinished, and from what I could tell from the logs, the only thing they would unlock would be a President. I wasn¡¯t fully certain of what the implications of that would be, but I knew that the role would allow someone to have the power to actually change the system. I would¡¯ve ignored it completely, but now that I had it, it would spread from me to anyone I interacted with. No one in Eden had commented on it, which either meant that it wasn¡¯t going to start spreading until the patching was complete, or Eden¡¯s aversion to the system meant that they weren¡¯t checking their R.A.S. Either way was to my benefit, though I also hadn¡¯t noticed anyone doubling over in pain at what the process had begun as I had, though that was possibly because I was the first to receive it directly from the lab.


    I hoped that with the information I had, the people in Pott¡¯s may be able to help me figure things out. There was no way I was heading straight back into Remnant territory before that, no matter how valuable the rewards they¡¯d offered or how much I needed a resupply. The data I¡¯d gathered needed to make its way to Julian and the Honored Dead before anyone else could see it. When I arrived I¡¯d speak with them first, after that¡­


    I needed to check in with Nico. I¡¯d deputized her before I¡¯d left and heaped an enormous amount of responsibility onto her shoulders, but I was hesitant about it. I¡¯d learned in the R.A.S. bunker that she was my sister. The one my Mother had taken with her when she¡¯d fled from my father, leaving me behind with him. Leaving me as the only remaining victim of his rage.


    I shook that thought away, realizing my pace had slowed to a crawl, and forced myself to focus on my surroundings. Adams was still giving speeches, but they were basically just repeating the same information over and over again with only slight variance in what metaphor or imagery he was drawing from each time. His speaking rhythm had changed as well, and after listening to him a bit longer I realized that it reminded me of the Prophet, the leader of the Republic. I¡¯d only ever heard him speak when I was sneaking through his compound, but the similarity was uncanny. I wondered if it was a skill that nanites drilled into their minds that led to the similarity, or something else.


    I twisted the knob on the radio just in time to hear the screech of a guitar as a song ended, and Deux¡¯s voice coming back on.


    ¡°Welcome back to Radiation Revolution Radio, the Triple R. Today''s weather is heavily irradiated with a chance of acid rain, and hellfire raining down on us. Thank you all for listening, and proving you have the good taste to prefer hearing music over some asshole encouraging poor wasters to die for shit that doesn¡¯t matter. Up next we¡¯ll be listening to The Skirmish, with their top 100 hit, at least according to a pre-war mag I found, ¡®Should I remain or should I leave¡¯.


    The music started back up and I was surprised to find a smile tugging on the corner of my mouth, my sharp teeth peeking through. At least Deux seemed about the same as always.

 Book 3 Ch 2: Batty

    I took a different path from the one I took initially to avoid being detected by the Remnants. Graves had dropped me by Shrike where they¡¯d initially found the Pilgrim, and it seemed likely they may still be sending the occasional patrol that way. I still might meet them there later, but not until I gave Pott¡¯s all the information I had and hedged as many bets as possible.


    I took a breath and looked around the vast sea of orange sand around me. It felt good to be back in familiar territory. The warm radiation of the deadzone that Pott¡¯s resided in had a different feel to it then the intense heat of the Cut or the peaks and valleys of rads I¡¯d experienced in Eden. The land itself was also familiar to me, with my legs automatically taking me across familiar paths without conscious effort.


    After another nearly full day of travel, the domes of Pott¡¯s came into view. It was night, and the sky of the city was cloudy. I couldn¡¯t make out the myriad colors of the domes, but the shadowy shape of them in the distance was a relief to me. A part of me had believed that they may not be there anymore, even after hearing Deux¡¯s voice on the radio earlier that day.


    I saw a flash of red light, and stopped moving. There was another shortly after. I started


    running, drawing my rifle as I moved. I closed the distance quickly, my newfound speed and strength, along with my knowledge of the terrain allowing me to practically fly in that direction. I realized as I moved that the majority of red flashes were being fired into the air, at a patch of undulating dark clouds. Closing in, I realized that they weren¡¯t clouds, but a group of large flying creatures.


    As I closed in, one of the creatures took notice of me and dove, allowing me to take a closer look. It plummeted toward me on leathery wings, its body sleek and hairless, covered in what looked to be rotting sections of flesh. Its teeth were long and ferocious, and its eyes black. It was roughly the size of a large dog, maybe eighty pounds. Rather than waste ammo, since it was kind enough to close the distance between us for me, I reached out my left hand, caught it by the face, and smashed it into the ground next to me.


    That drew the attention of the others, and a half dozen of the monsters dove in my direction, screeching at such a high pitch that I found myself momentarily deafened. I let off a half dozen shots, dropping three of them before they reached me, then I rolled under the dive of the remaining three that swiftly returned to the swarm above.


    I watched as lances of red light sliced through the radbats above me, dropping them by the handful with what I recognized as fire from Cerberus las-guns. I looked over to the nearest buildings, and saw on the roofs of the nearest houses were deadmen and women, crouched and firing on any of the creatures foolish enough to swoop down on them, and firing into the swarm when they had an opening to do so.


    The bats began massing again, and I raised my rifle. Firing while I made my way closer to the edge of Pott¡¯s. My hearing began to return enough that I started to hear what sounded like a mechanical whirring, and I looked to see a suit of power armor approaching me. At first I panicked, thinking that somehow it was a Remnant, then I realized it was painted entirely black, and wielding what looked to be four Cerberus las-guns at the tip of a massive pole wired to an equally massive pack on the armor¡¯s back. The armored figure raised the pole, aiming it at the bats and unleashed a salvo of las-fire that literally cut the swarm in half, causing a rain of bat corpses down onto the ground. The figure raised the pole again to let out another volley, but then fell to its knees.


    The radbats, sensing weakness, dove on him. Normally the creatures I encountered in the wastes had some kind of survival instinct. Most would¡¯ve fled already from the massive losses inflicted on them, but these bats didn¡¯t seem to have the same rationality. Eight of them landed on the figure and started to tear and claw at the armor, causing the sound of claws on metal to overtake the sound of their screeching.


    I moved toward the figure, holstering my rifle, and started to tear the bats off of the armor. Snapping their necks, tearing off wings, and stomping on spines until I had them cleared off. They kept coming, most of them seeming to believe that we were vulnerable, but I kept at it, killing and tearing them apart until  there was a circle of their dead surrounding us.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    As I continued my brutal work, the deadmen firing their lasguns continued to attack the ones in the sky. As before, even though they¡¯d suffered intense losses, they just kept coming.


    By the time I snapped the last one''s neck, I¡¯d been killing them constantly for maybe a half hour. I could smell blood and singed flesh all around me. I bent down, grabbed one of the bat corpses, and took a bite. It was good. Heavily irradiated meat, freshly killed, one of my favorite ways to have it. As I chewed the power armored figure held out a hand and I hauled them up with my free hand, hearing the servos groan as they did so.


    The figure did a couple of light squats, and adjusted the staff-weapon, slotting it into a sheath on their back. Then they opened the power armor, it was Nix, current leader of the Undertakers. I¡¯d last spoken to her when I was investigating a murder in Pott¡¯s. She looked much the same, wearing the black hood of her office even under the helmet of the power armor.


    ¡°Thank you. Looks like Julian¡¯s prototype has a few kinks to work out still,¡± she said, knocking the power pack on her back gently with her knuckles. She looked at me squinting. ¡°Who do I have to thank for the assist?¡±


    I frowned, then remembered that most of my head and face had been covered in black cloth. I slid it off my face and wiped the bat blood from my mouth.


    Her eyes widened. ¡°Donovan?¡±


    I gave her a nod. ¡°Nix.¡±


    She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, the deadmen that had been covering us with lasguns made it over to us, one of them even doing as I had and biting into one of the bats he picked up from the ground.


    ¡°We should take some of these over the Last Meal to see if their cook can do anything fun with it,¡± he said through his mouthful.


    ¡°Most of this should probably be taken over to feed the bloodmanes,¡± responded a deadwoman next to him. ¡°Cal told me their feed was getting a little low the other day.¡±


    ¡°Whose this?¡± She asked, turning to Nix.


    She shifted her weight to look at her, which seemed difficult in the clearly underpowered armor. ¡°It¡¯s Donovan.¡±


    The other deadmen all stopped what they were doing and turned to look at me.


    I stood there for a few moments, confused by their stares, but not uncomfortable with them. I was used to stares. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± I asked.


    Nix stepped up. ¡°Char, Pers, start gathering up some of these bodies. Whether for bloodmanes, fertilizer, or us it¡¯s not a good idea to let them go to waste. Mac, go give the white robes at the Mausoleum a report on what happened, run ahead of us and tell them that Donovan is here.¡± She turned to me as the other deadmen went scurrying away. ¡°Donovan, come with me¡­ Bear with while I lug this thing around. Hopefully the power will kick back in soon.¡±


    I moved next to her and put my arm around the suit to help her move more quickly, and we started walking. I didn¡¯t really do it with a mind to help her, I just hated walking at a slow pace.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said as we began to move.


    I grunted in response, and we began to make a good pace as we watched the deadman she sent ahead of us, run toward the edge of the domes. Pott¡¯s looked different. The informal defense nests I¡¯d seen at the top of the domes before were now built out, and manned. It was still a rather light defense, but the fact that they¡¯d done it meant changes were coming.


    ¡°You wondering why they reacted that way?¡± asked Nix as we moved.


    ¡°That too,¡± I answered.


    ¡°People have been talking a lot about you since you¡¯ve been gone. Started with some of mine who talked about the time you traveled with them to Tilly. Then other undertakers who go between STAR and Pott¡¯s started bringing home more rumors¡­ then a few of the non-undertaker deadmen that travel started hearing about you too, not to mention the deadmen slaves who arrived and talked about you saving them. The talk about you has only grown since you left for the Cut. Can¡¯t imagine it¡¯ll slow down now that you¡¯re back.¡±


    I listened in silence, continuing to help her lumber forward. I couldn¡¯t imagine they¡¯d slow down either. It¡¯s not like I had any intention of slowing down.

 Book 3 Ch 3: Report

    As we moved into the city there were more people. More stares and whispers. Because Pott¡¯s was full of deadmen that could see perfectly in the dark, it tended to be more active at night than other settlements. If you combine that with the attack of the radbats, it makes for some busy streets. Nix and I got a number of stares, but from what I could tell they were mostly because I was helping her walk in a suit of power armor, rather than because they knew who I was. Rumors didn¡¯t necessarily tell people what I looked like, and I took some comfort in that. Or at least I did until I heard one of the people staring mutter my name.


    I focused on moving toward the mausoleum. As its black dome started to come into view, I heard a speedy whirring from Nix¡¯s armor,and she adjusted her posture, flexing her power armored hands.


    ¡°Seems like the juice kicked back in,¡± she noted, taking point as we walked.


    I followed behind her wordlessly, my paranoia making me wonder if she was delaying me on purpose from meeting with the Honored Dead, or if it was an accident. Certainly the initial failure of the suit was accidental, but it slowed us down to a certain degree, and gave them the time to be briefed on my arrival and assemble¡­ I shook my head. I was still on edge from my time in Eden. Even if it was a delay tactic, it was just to get things in order, not to lay a real trap like there would¡¯ve been there.


    Nix led the way through the Mausoleum and to the large central room where the Honored Dead sat. I knew the way myself, but assumed Nix had things she needed to report as well. She pushed open the doors and walked inside. I followed behind her, the bulk of her armor not quite enough to hide me behind her.


    Seated in a semicircle in front of us was Mama, Kit, Julian, Solomon, and Jim. Mama smiled widely and warmly when she saw me, and for some reason that reaction made me more uncomfortable than any of the stares I¡¯d received walking into the city. Kit gave me a warm nod, which I returned, Julian kept his expression passive, but his eyes were full of curiosity. Solomon¡¯s expression was truly neutral, but I felt like I could feel something like surprise from him, and his lackey Jim looked completely befuddled.


    Nix stepped in front of me and into the center of their semicircle. ¡°I¡¯ll keep this quick so that you can get to the questions you really want to ask. It was a horde of mutant bats. Couldn¡¯t be driven off, so we had to kill them to the last. We took no losses.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d the Tomb and Hydra function?¡± asked Solomon.


    ¡°Incredibly at first, then I experienced complete power failure. Donovan here had to keep the creatures off of me.¡±


    Julian nodded. ¡°Hmmm, we¡¯ll have to make some adjustments then. Thank you Nix, as always.¡±


    ¡°The bat corpses, I¡¯d like them given to my people. The Bloodmanes have been low on feed, and we can use the rest as fertilizer,¡± said Kit.


    ¡°Two of your people said the same thing, ¡° noted Nix. ¡°But, I¡¯ll pass on that it should be a priority once I¡¯m out of this armor.¡±


    Kit nodded, and Nix turned and walked out of the room with a grinding of servos, and a nod in my direction.


    I returned the nod and stepped into the space she¡¯d been occupying.


    ¡°Donovan, I¡¯m so glad that you¡¯ve made it back safely,¡± said Mama.


    I squirmed internally, but managed to say, ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°You made it across and back, or were you forced to turn back before the full journey could be made?¡± asked Kit.


    ¡°I made the full journey,¡± I said, pulling notebooks and marked maps out of my pack and handing them to her. I left a number of them in my pack as I did so, there were some things that they didn¡¯t need to know.


    Kit took the materials, and immediately started scanning them.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way,¡± said Jim interjecting. ¡°It can¡¯t be done.¡±


    I pulled the data squares I¡¯d set aside for Pott¡¯s from my pack and handed them to Julian, who I could tell was resisting leaping over the table to grab them from me as soon as he saw them. ¡°The Remnants gave me these to store data at the R.A.S. bunker, but they gave me extras in case I lost them or they were destroyed. I figured Pott¡¯s should have them first.¡±


    Julian nodded. ¡°We recently discovered these object¡¯s designs in the factory bunker. We can pull the information with little difficulty. I¡¯ll have these taken to-¡±


    ¡°Priorities Julian,¡± said Mama.


    He let out a breath and nodded. ¡°Across the Cut, did you meet any other Deadmen? Our former Pott¡¯s Fielders or otherwise?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I did.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you open with that? That¡¯s wonderful news!¡± said Solomon in a rare flash of joy that was shared across the table.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t¡­like us. They kept the attitude of those exiled from Pott¡¯s. They don¡¯t have Undertakers who visit human settlements and keep to themselves, they have Shepherds that kidnap men and women and force them to live on a piece of land surrounded by deadzones on three sides, and a massive wall on the fourth that doesn¡¯t let them in or out. They enslave people, worship the deadmen that first crossed the Cut, and even¡­eat them. They¡¯re not like us.¡±


    Kit frowned. ¡°How did they treat you?¡± she asked.


    I thought of my time in Eden. The rank and file Edenites had been kind, but the First¡¯s reaction to me and my origins when I¡¯d first met him were still clear in my mind. ¡°With contempt. They have no love for Pott¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°They let you leave in one piece though?¡± asked Solomon.


    ¡°Yes,¡± I lied. ¡°But they destroyed the letter you had me carry.¡±


    I watched the Honored Dead¡¯s faces turn concerned for a moment. Even Solomon and Jim¡¯s. The thing that united them, that made them work for Pott¡¯s future as leaders, was the goal of uniting and growing as a people. Hearing about Eden was likely hard for them. They had to know though. It had been a perversion of everything that Pott¡¯s was. Cruel where Pott¡¯s was kind, Parasitic where Pott¡¯s was symbiotic.


    I didn¡¯t want them to know the actions I¡¯d taken against Eden either. Pott¡¯s needed to worry about itself, especially given the hostilities growing between the Horde and the Remnants. Besides that, I wasn¡¯t sure how they¡¯d react to me waging a one man war in their name. I knew it was the right thing to do, but that didn¡¯t mean they¡¯d share my opinion.


    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you start from the top?¡± said Solomon.


    I broke down everything I¡¯d run into on my journey. I described my trek across the early portion of the Cut near Pott¡¯s and running into the mutated Coyote that could make itself invisible. I described the black sand, and the bunker within it that had once contained a weapon capable of destroying civilization itself. Then I went on to describe the Cut itself, and the man-wyrms that lived within it. I left out the part about them recognizing me as one of their own. After that I spoke about the Metal Wastes, the graveyard of Russian and Chinese planes, and finally I described the hunger of the Forest of Teeth. After that, I glossed over my travels up until I reached the bunker itself, only mentioning my early encounters with the Edenites and the horrors I¡¯d discovered when scouting around them as well as the first encounter with the strange human tribes and their odd ritual combat. When I mentioned the First, Solomon cut me off.


    ¡°One of the original founders? That¡¯s madness, he¡¯d be ancient.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just telling you what happened.¡±


    ¡°Are you? I¡¯m having distinct memories of watching accused thieves attempt to lie themselves out of trouble.¡±


    ¡°Solomon!¡± snapped Mama. ¡°Let Donovan finish. We are all aware of your feelings about him, and I know you''re disappointed to hear about who these Edenites seem to be, but he risked his life to bring us this news, so let¡¯s let him finish giving it to us!¡±


    Solomon gritted his teeth, but leaned back in his chair without another word.


    I felt some sympathy for him. He was right, of course, but I still appreciated the assist from Mama. I moved on to talking about the bunker, avoiding any in depth discussion of the gas and its effect on me. I didn¡¯t think they needed to hear about it, nor did I want to talk about it myself.


    ¡°The bunker housed three projects. The R.A.S., and the Citizenship Registry, as well as Operation Phoenix which seemed to be based around using narcotics as a form of mind control. I wasn¡¯t able to withdraw any information from the latter two,¡± I lied. I¡¯d chosen not to save the data from operation Phoenix. I didn¡¯t think Pott¡¯s would use it for ill, but that project deserved to be buried.


    ¡°From what I was able to determine, the R.A.S. is only partially complete, and what exists is flawed. The update has to be spread from person to person, and from what I can tell, the only thing it¡¯ll activate is the ability to choose a President. That person would have the ability to actually change the system, but how they¡¯d be able to¡­ I couldn''t figure it out. It may be buried in the technical data I saved though.¡±


    ¡°You say it spreads person to person¡­did you bring it with you?¡± asked Julian.


    I looked at my system display


    Advanced R.A.S.patching in progress [99/100]


    ¡°Yes. The patching is at ninety-nine percent. Not sure of exactly the distance it needs to spread or how long it¡¯ll take to activate in other people¡­ It hurt like hell when it first started though.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t think that maybe you should wait before doing something so reckless?¡± asked Solomon.


    ¡°I activated it behind glass I thought was sealed. By the time it hit me it was too late.¡±


    ¡°Maybe you should have considered staying on the other side of the Cut then,¡± he responded.


    ¡°Too great a risk he¡¯d spread it to the humans there,¡± said Julian, his eyes squinted in thought. ¡°This was the right call. By coming here we can control the spread¡­ We can use this.¡±


    ¡°And risk antagonizing the Remnants?¡± asked Jim. ¡°They¡¯re already pushing us to pick a side between them and the Horde. This is only going to make neutrality harder.¡±


    Kit nodded. ¡°He¡¯s right. We should discuss where to go from here.¡±


    Julian looked to me. ¡°Donovan, would you remain in Pott¡¯s until we can figure things out. Avoid contact with too many people if possible.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re  just going to let him wander freely? Knowing what he¡¯s carrying?¡± asked Solomon.


    ¡°You suggest we restrain him? This is Pott¡¯s, he¡¯s his own person,¡± said Mama.


    Julian surprised me, and everyone else, by chuckling.


    ¡°Something funny?¡± asked Jim, being offended in the place of Solomon who was still attempting to appear neutral.


    Julian smiled lightly and looked across the table. ¡°After everything he just described. I don¡¯t think it would be a good idea to try and restrain him.¡±

 Book 3 Ch 4: Family Reunion

    I walked out alone and was worn out by all the conversation. My travel back across the Cut was hard, but it also gave me solitude, and time to breathe. Two things I¡¯d been sorely lacking since I¡¯d taken on the role of Marshal.


    I walked through the streets toward Nico¡¯s house. I found my feet draggin a bit, but there were things I needed to hear from her, and things I thought she may need to hear from me. I¡¯d left her, in a sense, in charge. I¡¯d deputized her, granting her some new abilities and skills that I hoped would allow her to act in my place while I was gone. She could likely have done the job even without what I¡¯d given, but every bit helped. I knew that as well as she did.


    Any hesitation I felt as I walked was wiped away by the muttering, pointing, and stares of my fellow deadmen as I walked through Pott¡¯s winding streets. I was used to those, but I had a feeling they might result in conversation if I stayed still for too long, and that was something I preferred to avoid.


    I made it to Nico¡¯s house. It managed to be distinct by being undecorated, while all of the domes around it had been painted or carved into intricate designs, patterns, or pictures. One particular standout was right next to hers, with a full scale family portrait on the front of it. Hers however, sat in plain orange-brown. The same shade as the material it had been built with.


    I approached the door, and gave it two firm knocks. I heard motion on the other side, and smelled Nico as she got closer to the door, her scent so similar to my own that I¡¯d often been unable to notice her approach when I wasn¡¯t paying attention. The fact that I hadn¡¯t questioned the reason for that up until this point surprised me.


    She opened the door, and looked up at me. She was around six feet tall, so I stood a fair bit higher than her. She looked much the same as when I¡¯d left her, but I noticed a fresh scar on her left cheek that hadn¡¯t been there before.


    Before I could say or do anything, she wrapped her arms around me and gave me a squeeze hard enough to hurt.


    It surprised me. She¡¯d usually given me my space. I wasn¡¯t very good at reciprocating physical affection, and she wasn¡¯t usually the type to give it out, but I did my best to return the gesture.


    She stepped back and gestured for me to come inside. ¡°I knew you¡¯d be back safe,¡± she said as I walked in.


    ¡°That makes one of us,¡± I replied as I moved into her house. It was much the same as I remembered it. A wall of classic books, very different from my own collection of sci-fi and fantasy paperbacks, and art she¡¯d looted from museums on a few of the walls. They¡¯d been shifted slightly, and I noticed a few new books and pieces of art here and there, but it was much the same. The only major change was the massive Ursan fur carpet that now covered the majority of the floor.


    She noticed me looking. ¡°I had a trip to the Black Woods. Helped them figure out why the ursans had grown so aggressive. Wound up killing this one in the process.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°They aren¡¯t easy to kill.¡±


    ¡°They are when you drop a heavy enough rock on them.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Good strategy. Why were they more aggressive?¡±


    ¡°Their food source was dying. There are massive pits of flesh. They smell a bit like pigs, taste like a mix of things. They grow and spread in the deepest parts of the woods. The ursans rely on them as their primary source of food, but they started dying, and appearing less.¡±


    ¡°Did you fix the problem?¡±


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. She shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no ¡®fixing it¡¯. The solution is to kill them until they¡¯re all gone or learn not to attack people.¡±


    ¡°You sound like me.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes¡­your solution is the best one.¡±


    I nodded and sat there awkwardly for a few moments. I wasn¡¯t sure of how to bring up that we were siblings.


    ¡°Coffee?¡± she asked.


    I squinted at her. ¡°Where¡¯d you get it?¡±


    ¡°From Deux.¡±


    ¡°Of course you did.¡±


    ¡°Do you want some or not?¡±


    I sighed. ¡°I do, thank you.¡±


    Nico walked into the kitchen, and I took a seat where she could keep talking to me from the kitchen.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to be here in a short while. Wanted to hear about my last trip out. I¡¯ll wait until he gets here for you to tell me what happened to you, and for me to tell you what¡¯s been happening here. I know you wouldn¡¯t enjoy having to tell me twice, and I don¡¯t want to tell you, then Deux about my last trek to Medina.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m your brother.¡±


    There was a brief pause, I heard water start to boil, then a packet of instant coffee was opened, followed by the pouring of two cups.


    Nico stepped out of the kitchen, handed me a mug, and took a seat across from me. ¡°How did you find out?¡± she asked.


    ¡°You knew?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t surprised, necessarily. I¡¯d had a long time to think about all of our past interactions while I made my way back across the Cut. She¡¯d been one of the first people to speak with me when I¡¯d arrived in Pott¡¯s. One of only two to take the time and get to know me. I didn¡¯t blame the other teenagers, they¡¯d lived in Pott¡¯s their entire lives, and been raised with one another. I was a stranger, and while they were friendly, I wasn¡¯t exactly making an effort on my own to be amiable. Nico had simply started being in the same places I was. Eating at the same table, sitting with me when I went to watch the undertakers leave, practicing shooting and fighting with me. Deux had followed shortly after, but in his case it would appear that was more because he had a weird taste in friends rather than being a secret sibling.


    ¡°I did. Mom had told me about you. Asked me to keep an eye out. When you first arrived and I heard the rumors about you, I thought it may be you. Then I met you, and I knew right away.¡±


    ¡°She asked you to keep an eye out¡­ how kind of her,¡± I was surprised by the amount of malice dripping from my voice as I spoke.


    ¡°She talked about you a lot. It didn¡¯t come easy to her, but she made sure I knew who you were. Leaving you behind broke her heart.¡±


    ¡°Her poor heart¡­ I guess that¡¯s more important than the scars on my back.¡±


    Nico shook her head, her expression a lesson in neutrality that every member of the Honored Dead could take a lesson from. ¡°You can think whatever you¡¯d like about her. Say whatever you want. She¡¯s dead. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d rather you say whatever makes you feel better.¡±


    I made an effort to unclench my teeth. Nico was right, It didn¡¯t matter. She was dead, and what had been done couldn¡¯t be undone. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure how to. I was a kid. I did my best.¡±


    I nodded, I didn¡¯t need my lie detector ability to know that was true. In the end, Nico being my sister didn¡¯t change anything. I already would¡¯ve done whatever I could for her even before I knew we were blood. And if she¡¯d died before I knew, it would¡¯ve had the same result as now. A trail of dead and a river of viscera.


    I took a long sip of coffee. It was nice, and I paid attention as the heat of it traveled down my throat and into my stomach.


    Nico did the same, taking a long sip and looking at the wall where one of her paintings hung, one of a still pond with lilies sitting on them. The silence wasn¡¯t uncomfortable, just full of thought and weight that we were both working our way through in our own time. By the time I was at the last sip of my coffee, the reality of how our relationship had changed had seemed to settle on each of us. I took that last sip and savored it, enjoying a flavor I hadn¡¯t been able to experience since I¡¯d begun my journey.


    I looked up at her as I finished. ¡°I could do much worse for a sibling.¡± I managed to say.


    She nodded, and I saw a smile touch the corner of her mouth. ¡°That¡¯s true. What if it had turned out that Deux was your brother?¡±


    I stared into my empty coffee cup, pretending as if the thought was doing tremendous damage to me, then managed to look up at her, a smile peeking through my expression to match hers. ¡°In that case, mother almost certainly wouldn¡¯t have taken him with her.¡±

 Book 1 DEADMAN: WALKING is out on KU and Audible!

    Hey everyone, I''m happy to announce the Amazon release of book 1!


    Here''s the link: DEADMAN: WALKING</a>


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    The audiobook is narrated by Heath Miller, who narrated my first book ARMOR, but is better known for He Who Fights with Monsters!


    And if you have the time and a reddit account I''d appreciate it if you could upvote and comment on these posts:


    ://www.reddit.com/r/litrpg/comments/16gr5xs/deadman_walking_a_post_apocalyptic_litrpg/</a>


    https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/16gr3q0/deadman_walking_a_post_apocalyptic_litrpg/</a>

 New story announcement!

    Hey everybody,


    I started posting a new story for free here on RR!


    Here''s the blurb:


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Betrayed by his former gang and thrown into the Rendhold Underprison, Dantes has spent the last five years scraping by. A whoreson of orcish, human, and elvish blood, he''s lived on the periphery of the periphery, lying, cheating, and stealing to survive. After a run of bad luck, he''s made a powerful enemy. Luckily, he''s also gotten all the tools he needs to turn things around.


    A slow burn progression fantasy focused on rising through the criminal underworld of a city-state using newfound powers and quick wits.


    MC''s powers will develop slowly, but he will use them in creative ways to get ahead, and in the meantime he''s not above just braining someone with a club.


    Anti-hero MC with a code.


    1500+ words per chapter


    Daily updates for now, eventually switching to Tues-Thurs-Sat


    It''s available HERE</a>

 The Deadman Trilogy is complete on KU!

    Hey everyone,


    Before I get into the usual rigmarole of self promotion that all authors are bound to do by the chains of wanting as much money as possible, I wanted to just say thank you. I really appreciate everyone who read Deadman. I like reading everyone''s comments, theories, and jokes quite a lot and I am grateful so many of you enjoyed reading Deadman as much as I enjoyed writing it.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Anyway, all three books of the Deadman trilogy are now out!


    AMAZON</a>

 Downtown Druid is Complete and a New Story!

    Hey everybody,


    I just wanted to take a moment to announce a couple of things starting with my new story Penitent</a>


    Here''s the blurb:


    Michael didn''t want to die. He didn''t deserve to die. After a lost battle with cancer that started only a year after he retired, he''d lived what many people would call a full life, but it wasn''t enough. He wanted more time. Time with his wife. Time with his kids. Time with his grandkids. When he found himself drawn toward the light, he fought his way away from it. Unfortunately, that didn''t take him back to the life he wanted to live.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Reincarnated in another world, Michael is forced to be a Penitent, a soldier in the country he was reborn into in order to pay a debt to society he owes for taking the life of the child whose body he inhabits. It''s not the life he wants, but it''s the only one he has.


    An Isekai with light litrpg elements


    MC will gain powers similar to those of a paladin


    Book 1 spends a lot of time in a military academy. MC does not stay a child for very long.


    Daily updates for now.


    I''d love if you could give it a shot, but if it doesn''t sound like your kind of thing I completely understand.


    You can find it on the link above or HERE</a> if you don''t feel like scrolling up.


    My other story, Downtown Druid, is now complete and available in its entirety here on RR until it''s stubbed in mid April.


    You can read it on RR HERE</a>


    I''ll be doing another post when the story is out on Amazon and Audible if you''d prefer to get the best, most polished version of it.


    Thank you all for reading!


    - Seer