By late morning we were on the road. The wagons moved at a steady pace, kicking up only a bit of dust, and the warmth of the sun was slowly dispelling the chill of morning. At the first fork in the road one of the wagons broke off, and at the second fork the other did. I stayed in the one with Deux, and alternated between sitting up front at the reins with him and finding a corner in the wagon between cribs to read. Our wagon hadnt picked up any little ones yet so I wanted to enjoy the relative quiet while I still could.
The others, aside from Deux, left alone and played cards or chatted with one another. I had the impression that it was a closely knit group. I rembered the brief ti Id spent with an Undertaker caravan before Id decided to leave Potts for good. Hard not to develop a little closeness after all that ti in close quarters. Well, it was hard for , but for the average deadman? Seed to co naturally to them.
When Deux wanted to jump into the card ga I took over the reins for a little while. Id driven a cart before, but walking had always been my default. Made the most sense for , I always had my legs with after all. After a couple of hours I got a notification.
Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in Driving! From wagons moving us toward our manifest destiny to the model T, Arican progress is always driven forward.
Not the most useful skill for , but since I was heading into Iron Horde territory it had a much higher chance of proving useful than usual. I was getting nearer to the first settlent stop on our trek, Tilly. I knew the area pretty well, so I didnt need Deux to tell which roads to follow. When the town ca into sight I gave a solid knock on the bench to call let them know. Deux, and the woman that had spoken up when I was introduced ca out to the front.
See that big wooden box over there? Deux pointed at what looked like a long wooden box that had been painted black.
I nodded.
Pull up right next to it.
I did and everyone slipped out of the caravan, guns ready, and took places all around the wagon and the box. I took their cue and slung my rifle down, sweeping around for any potential ambush. Whats with the box? I asked taking position next to Deux.
Rather than answer he opened the box. It was lined with blankets, and inside was the naked form of a baby. He already had a mouth full of sharp teeth, and when the light hit him, he opened his yellow eyes and let out a kind of whimpering cry. He was emaciated, and I could see a few small cuts on him. The woman reached down and picked him up, rocking him gently while making soft soothing sounds. She made her way straight to the safety of the wagon with him.
Seeing the state of the child made grip my rifle so tightly it made a kind of straining sound. I looked up at the walled off settlent and took a step toward it.
Deux grabbed my shoulder before I could take another step.
I whipped around to face him.They put babies in boxes? They cant even be bothered to take care of them until you get here? I asked. Id never seen a situation like this when I was with the Undertakers.
His grip tightened on my shoulder. They used to just kill them. You go over there and start sothing, and thats what theyll go back to.
I gritted my teeth. If I do what I want to do right, the ones that are left wont ever hurt one of them again.
Deux looked surprised, but shook it off quickly. Im not risking it. You want to get you to Fette? You drop it. He stepped up and looked up at . He was tall, but not tall enough to et my eyes directly.
I let out a breath. Fine. I made my way back to the wagon, but took a mont to commit Tilly to my mory. I was rembering why I left the Undertakers in the first place.
When I entered the wagon I saw the woman holding the deadman baby, now swaddled in black cloth, and feeding him from a glass bottle filled with a reddish brown mixture I knew to be blood and milk. I returned my rifle to my back and approached her. Hows he doing?
She looked up, a little surprise on her face. Hell be okay. Hes hungry, but our young are stronger than theirs.
I nodded, went to my pack, and pulled out a little hunk of lizard tail I had left and walked back to her. Give him so of this. Its deadzone at, Im sure hell enjoy the rads.
She gave a sharp toothed smile and took it. Unlike the child, her eyes were black, and I could feel them look up and down. Youre not what I expected.
I shook my head. I promise I am. I started walking back to my corner of the wagon.
Im Rhea by the way.
I turned and gave a little tip of my hat in acknowledgent before sitting down and putting my face back into my book. Eventually everyone else filed in and the wagon started moving again, familiar noises of the horse trotting and the wagon shifting now broken up by the soft snoring of the deadman baby sleeping in its crib.
It was late evening when wed arrived at the next settlent. I could tell even at a distance that this was the wild settlent Deux had told about. Dead trees covered the area, and tied to them were massive tarps that acted as roofs for the community. I saw large ga being cleaned, furs being tanned, won working with cotton to weave clothing, and n with tattoos of radiation symbols on their necks wielding everything from heavy clubs to street signs sharpened to spears.
When our caravan ca into view I saw the village stir, and a number of the people began moving very quickly around. I could hear whistling and other noises that I assud were being used by them to signal our approach.
Deux stopped the caravan and about half of us hopped out. I considered staying with the caravan, but I was curious. Id not encountered a lot of wild settlents, and each of them tended to be very different from the others. Everyone removed their face coverings, and Deux indicated I do the sa so I pulled off my goggles and bandana.
As we approached the settlent, we were ourselves approached by a number of the n with nuclear symbols on their necks that was led by a man with the sa symbol across his chest, and wearing headdress made of what looked like the skull of so massive beast where all the teeth had been carved out and replaced with bullet casings. He himself was almost tall enough to look in the eye, but also nearly three tis as wide as I am.
I expected them to approach Deux, but instead they made a beeline straight for . They bowed and the man in the lead spoke a string of words that sounded like english mixed with chewing mud. I had no idea what he was saying. I looked over at Deux, who was smiling, amused at what was happening.
He spoke in their direction, using the sa language and they gestured to . The leader nodded and sent two of his n back toward the settlent. After they left, he and his n began a kind of low chanting, creating a deep reverberation in the air. When the other n returned they each were carrying two deadman babies, one in each arm. They knelt in front of us and presented them.
I took the nearest one, careful to support its head. Unlike the one wed picked up in Tilly these were all well fed, clothed, and content. I flashed my teeth at the one I was holding, which prompted a kind of giggle growl from him. After that Deux turned us around and we left, as the n behind us continued their chanting.
I turned over the babe to another man who was headed into the wagon and turned to Deux with a raised eyebrow.
He turned his smiling face to . Those were the Kaijin. Their language ischallenging.
And the chanting?
They think we guard their afterlife. When deadman children are born they consider it a blessing and believe that they were born to protect them from demons after they die. They have a high rate of them too. The chanting is them praying.
Whyd they talk to ?
They said youve got the bearing of a chief.
I shook my head Not very good judges of character.
He nodded. No, but their virtues definitely outweigh their faults. No more stops today. Were going to et up with another of the wagons and from there well keep going south.
After a few more miles of driving we set up camp. After a few hours of waiting for the other wagon to join us I could feel a kind of tension from the others. I managed to pick up by eavesdropping that the other wagon usually beat this one to the rendezvous. One of the lookouts pointed in the direction the wagon wouldve been coming.
Smoke and dust. Sothing is coming our way!
I pulled out my rifle. Seed like it was ti for to earn my keep on this trip.
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