The first day back on the road was uneventful. Now that I knew what made the deadzone dangerous I was able to collect so dry wood and oil that I could use to drive off mosquito swarms if I needed to. Sure they dropped dead when they bit anyway, but that didnt an that was sothing I wanted to encounter anyti soon. I took a brief break about halfway through the zone, and took out so gecko at Id collected the last ti I was through.
I sat down on a stump, and ate. I was still going over everything that had happened in the last several days. Id completed the first set of deliveries on my new route, picked up a new job, and fought 30 raiders and won with that new job. I had always sought strength, and it seed like I'd found it. The new job felt natural, like what I was supposed to be doing. This was perhaps the biggest leg up life had ever given , and I was only just getting started. I bit into another piece of gecko, crunching through so bone and tasting the marrow.
Hows the local fare?
I jumped down, pulled out my pistol and aid it in the direction of the voice. I saw a figure leaned against a tree. She wore a slim black suit that covered her entire body and face, along with a gas mask, thick goggles, and a long brown coat. A rifle, almost as tall as she was, rested on her back and a pistol at her side. Her hands were up to indicate that she wasnt ard, but in spite of that I felt an imdiate sense of danger. Like prey sensing a predator.
I kept my gun trained on her. Who the fuck are you?
Good reflexes. Solid response overall despite the fact you assud you wouldn't see anyone in here with you. She sounded amused. Her voice was like that of a person that blew all their tobacco on themselves, ragged and wispy.
You didnt answer my question.
I dont have to.
I felt a sudden weakness co over . I tried to pull the trigger of my gun, but it was like my finger was stuck. I looked down at my hand, then back at her, and in that brief mont shed managed to draw her pistol and point it at .
You actually tried to pull the trigger. She cocked her head to the side and I heard her neck crack. I like that. Good instincts all around. Not trusting like so of the other idiots Ive encountered.
While she talked I kept straining against my trigger finger. I could feel it slowly giving, letting get closer and closer to pulling it. I kept it aid right at her chest.
You can put the gun down. Its impossible for you to pull the trigger. Its an ability you receive as a Marshall.
That made ease my trigger finger. Youre a Marshall?
She nodded, her body language was relaxed in spite of the fact that she was pointing a gun at . Yes. I work mostly in STAR territory. I ca here to see what had happened to Hammond.
Hammond? I asked.
The one you got your job from. I just finished burying him. What was left of him anyway.
I didnt know his na.
It doesnt matter. He wasnt up to the job he was given. Never was. Her tone was dismissive. You on the other hand. She gestured at with the pistol she was holding, causing to twitch. Seem to have what it takes. Though I cant say you wouldve been my first choice. Oh well, the R.A.S. can be unpredictable sotis.
I took a mont to pull my bandana up and lower my pistol a bit. It was theater at this point. If shed wanted to kill she already couldve. Do you want sothing from ?
She lowered her pistol as well. To et you, and offer a prir on the job I wish Id been given. She holstered her pistol and held out her hand. Im Leah.
I holstered mine and took her hand. I had just a mont that I considered killing her. I was definitely stronger than her, and my teeth would likely reach her throat before she could stop . I didnt like to use my teeth though, and besides I wanted what answers I could get. Donovan. We shared a firm handshake.
Donovan the Deadman? Your parents enjoyed alliteration I guess.
I wouldnt know.
Well Donovan Deadman, welco to the Marshalls. Were not an easy group to join.
I gave an affirmative grunt.
This job is unique. Youll be granted abilities that let you affect others, as youve just experienced. How does it work? No clue, but it does. You can gain PP by completing investigations. Whats interesting is that you can declare an investigation yourself, but it won't always be approved by the system. You can't just say, Im going to investigate where my left boot is to farm PP for instance.
I hadnt thought of that. It was a sha I couldn't exploit it that way.
Youll also be assigned investigations and objectives directly from the R.A.S. itself. Dont ignore them.
I nodded. Id already experienced that.
Finally, so advice. The Iron Horde runs this whole area. Go to them and tell them what you are.
That made nervous. Why?
The jobs we get from the system. Theres only one thing theyve all had in common for . Theyre about ensuring things dont get out of control. Weapons people shouldnt have, upstart nations disturbing an area's stability, individuals with strange abilities appearing. The best way to stay on top of those, is to work with the people in charge.
I dont think theyd be very welcoming.
You managed to kill an entire raider encampnt. Figure it out.
I nodded. It seed like good advice, assuming what she was saying was true. Id had a few encounters with the horde. Gotten spat on and roughed up a few tis, but mostly left alone since I was a postman. Overall Id consider my experiences with them neutral. Anything else?
No. Youre on your own from here. If you get killed, try not to die in a deadzone. Its a pain in the ass to find bodies in them.
I think she was expecting a laugh from that, but I just nodded.
With that she faded into the swamp and left, heading west. I kept my ears and nose on her as she walked, making sure she was gone, but also trying to recognize how I hadnt noticed her to begin with. It was like shed been a blank spot in my senses. I wondered if that was sothing to do with the job, or sothing specific to her.
Once I was certain she was gone, I went back to my stump and finished my al. I'd neglected to answer her first question, but It was good. The sheer amount of rads in the at was satisfying in a way I hadnt enjoyed since Id hunted the northern zone. I finished the one I was eating, and decided to catch a few extras, setting one aside for Tim, the bartender deadman back in Kind. After how things had gone in Boon, I was thinking it may be possible Id been unfair in giving the warning I had to him. There may actually be so places that could tolerate living with a Deadman, and Boon seed like it may be one of them. Maybe a gift of more radded at would decrease the sourness Id left him with.
After I finished these deliveries Id be due to take a break. Id been going non-stop from my last route to picking up this new one. Gus probably needed feeding, Id need to check the power on the boat, and make sure none of my books or tech had been damaged while I was gone. I also may have so ssages from the Undertakers. That could be how I make my way to Fette safely to et with the Iron Horde. The undertakers went from one community to the next to collect any deadn that had been born so that they could be raised at Potts Field. They were one part heavily ard and armored convoy, one part babysitter. Most communities were more than willing to give their mutated spawn over to them. Saved them the guilt of killing them themselves, or the trouble of raising them. If I joined up with a group of undertakers for a while it would be good cover. I knew that theyd let join up too. I knew a lot of them since theyd raised through my teens.
I could try to get a route with deliveries to Fette, but they were competitive. More than one courier had been killed to try and secure it, despite the fact that killing ssengers or caravans was punishable by four wheels and a rope. No, undertaker would definitely be the best cover for .
I finished chewing my al and my thoughts at about the sa ti. It was dark in the swamp aside from a few fat fireflies shining green around . I walked over to my cart and double checked that the boxes and bags were secure. No change since Id stopped. I tightened the straps again anyway and started making my way to the edge of the zone, stopping just before it stopped getting dangerous and leaning against my cart to catch so sleep before I kept going to Kind. I was running late by my own schedule, but that was usually a ways ahead of what people were expecting anyway. I wouldve stayed where I was, but I didnt enjoy the idea of sleeping in an area where soone whod demonstrated the ability to kill knew where I was.
I laid down against the cart, tilted my hat over my eyes, and placed my hand near my pistol. I pictured myself walking in an endless expanse of orange sand, counting the steps as I went. After just a few minutes, I was asleep.
I woke around noon the next day, the sun beating down hard on . If it weren't for the humidity of the swamp Id have felt like I was baking alive. Luckily the swamp helped by making feel like I was baking alive while also covered in sticky water. I did my usual scan of the sounds and slls nearby before standing up and drinking so water. I pulled a dead lizard out of my pack and bit into it. The at was still fresh.
The rest of the walk to Kind was as easy going as a trip between slices of civilization full of radiation could be, and left more ti to think and plan. By the ti Id reached Kind I had an idea of sorts ready, but before I could start anything Id need to finish my deliveries.
I approached the gates with my hands up and my cart in sight, approaching the sa way I had the last ti. I saw a couple of people pop up and point guns at , the sa as had happened before. Then a couple more popped up on the other side, and a couple more stuck guns through the windows of the cars and buses that made up the wall. By the ti I was close enough to really make out faces, I was looking down the barrels of more than a dozen guns. Things had clearly changed since the last ti I was there.
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