I’m not certain what else to say. Your silence these past few months has convinced me that either you are deceased, or I have earned your vexation. Just know that no matter how long it takes until you return to Rose Hill, you will always have a place here.
After a sad lunch of stale bread, cheese, and a few berries grown in the lab by Gideon, Katherine and I set out toward her home. Just a couple miles past Katherine’s house is the site of last night’s battle. The sheriff claims the breach in the defenses has been repaired, but with the horde that Gideon described on the way, I want to see for myself. Katherine and I can use the time to lay our plans for the sheriff.
We’ve only gone a little ways when I glance over at Katherine and see that she looks a bit peaked. It’s hot out and the sun is making its presence known in a significant way. I’m sweating under my dress, which is still a mess from last night, and I know that Katherine must be suffering as well, especially since she’s wearing at least three petticoats.
“You going to be able to walk the whole way?”
We’ve cleared the last of the town proper and have reached the dusty road that leads to the barrier fences. Katherine glares at me but says nothing, a thin sheen of perspiration shining on her skin.
“Are you wearing a corset?”
“Dammit, Jane, what is your obsession with me and my undergarments? I’m fine, all right?”
I clamp my mouth shut, because I’ve never heard Katherine swear before, so I know her temper is short. The sound of a wagon trundling along comes from behind us, and I look back to see a drover sitting at the reins. He sees us and stops.
“You want a ride, Miss Deveraux?” he says, a smile on his lips.
“Miss Deveraux would love a ride, you are too generous,” I say before Katherine can answer. She sighs but, with a helping hand, climbs onto the seat next to the man.
I start to climb aboard as well and he shoots me a dirty look. “I think it would be best if’n you walked. The sheriff doesn’t like coloreds in the wagon.”
“Nice to see no good deed goes unpunished,” I mutter. I walk alongside, the big old horse setting a plodding pace that is easy to keep up with.
“I’m Alan, by the way. I brought you a rabbit yesterday for your supper.”
“Oh, yes, thank you, Mr. Alan; it made for quite a lovely meal,” Katherine says, a polite smile on her face.
“It’s just Alan,” he says, face red as a boiled beet. I can barely keep my eyes from rolling out of my head the way he’s fawning over her.
“What are you doing out this far, Miss Deveraux?” Alan asks.
“Jane was telling me all about the battle last night, and I wanted to see the repair of the wall for myself. She said there were at least two hundred shamblers, and that you faced them down all by yourselves! The thought alone is terrifying, and I will not rest well until I see that Summerland’s defenses have been rejoined.”
Alan’s jaw tightens and he looks straight ahead. “It was mostly the colored folks that fought the shamblers. No surprise there. Government pays to send them to those fancy schools while real men like me are left to fend for ourselves.”
Katherine and I exchange a look, but Alan keeps talking.
“If it wasn’t for all that money going to educate darkies, we’d have better weapons to fight the undead, and better training for real men, too. This is why that horde is taking out the East. Like the preacher says, ‘You reap what you sow,’ and the buffoons in Washington have sown this country’s ruin in their experiments with Negro enfranchisement.”
Katherine coughs delicately. “Taking out the East? You mean Baltimore, yes?”
He glances at Katherine in alarm. “I’m sorry, Miss Deveraux. I should have known it would be a bit of a shock since it’s where your people are from, but it’s not just Baltimore County. We received word that all of Maryland and Delaware have now been overrun by undead.”
“My goodness,” Katherine breathes, and Alan leans in just a bit, seeing her distress as an opening.
“Yes, ma’am. They say Pennsylvania is next; heard the rich folks there set out for sea instead of trying to save the city. Haven’t heard word on Washington yet, but the way the horde was heading it shouldn’t be long until it’s overwhelmed as well, despite its strong defenses.”
“Horde? You mean to tell me that there’s a single pack taking out the Eastern Seaboard?” I ask. It’s the stuff of nightmares—and precisely what Gideon had said was happening.
Alan looks down at me. “What, they didn’t teach you about hordes at your fancy government school?”
“No suh, dey only taught me how to keep hapless white folks alive,” I say.
Alan scowls at me, not sure if I’m being sincere or goading him. Katherine pats his arm to get his attention again.
“So what will happen to our little town now? I suppose we’ll all end up at the mercy of these hostile lands. Is there no winning this battle with the undead, even after all these years of resistance?”
Alan shrugs. “Don’t rightly know. Me and a few of the other drovers have been talking about leaving, maybe heading out over the hill to a settlement called Nicodemus. Word is they’ve got plenty of work and food, and even though they’re friendly with the Kansa and Pawnee I’ve heard tell they’ve got a stronger wall to keep the dead out. After last night? Shoot, that seems like paradise.” At this, we’ve nearly reached the inner fence, and Alan sighs and stops the wagon. I raise a hand to help Katherine down and he watches her wistfully.
“Thank you for the ride,” she says, gifting him with a radiant smile. He simply tips his hat in acknowledgment.
“Maybe you should give that boy back his heart before we start poking around at the undead,” I whisper to Katherine.
“Quiet, it’s your fault he’s all twitterpated. I could’ve walked.”
I snort as we cross through a gate in the fence. “That corset will be the death of you.”
The battle site looks much less frightening in the daylight. My memory of the place is painted in flickering shadows and lumbering figures, a chorus of shamblers’ moans ringing out in accompaniment. But now, in the bright sunlight of midday, the place looks like just another worthless patch of prairie.
Well, excepting for the bodies hidden in the tall grass.
“Something’s amiss,” I say to Katherine.
Sheriff Snyder is here, overseeing the removal of the bodies, him and his boys sitting easy in their saddles, joking like they ain’t got a care in the world. He spots Katherine and his face relaxes into a pleasant smile as he rides over.
“Miss Deveraux. Fancy seeing you here.” The sheriff doesn’t bother to get down from his horse, just leans forward and looks down at Katherine.
“Yes, Sheriff. I know it’s highly indecent of me, but I couldn’t help but wonder about the breach in the wall. I just wanted to see for myself that the town was safe once more.”
The sheriff gestures toward a patch of wall in the distance with a group of Negroes and drovers patrolling it. It’s easy to see where it collapsed, a valley betwixt two hills. Nothing about the exterior wall looks repaired, and a chill of apprehension runs down my spine.
Sheriff Snyder lied to us earlier. Who else did he deceive?
The lawman takes out a pinch of tobacco and begins rolling a cigarette. “Looks like my secret’s out. We had more than one breach last night, and it’s going to be a while before Summerland’s defenses are secure once more. You and your girl should really head back to town, seek shelter in your quarters. After all, most ladies like to hide behind closed doors with their Attendants nearby.”
“Perhaps, but I find that I am interested in understanding more about the pitiful creature that is the shambler. How could such a mindless ghoul wreak such havoc? What is the nature of this menace the Lord created to test us?”
“It matters not, my dear. It is God’s wrath for our sins.” The sheriff lights his cigarette and looks out at the horizon. “The dead never walked until brother fought brother. Until we penitent folk betrayed one another.”
Katherine makes a choked sound, but when the sheriff turns back to her she is all smiles. “Yes, sir, thank you for explaining.”
He just nods. “Well, then, enjoy indulging your curiosity. Why don’t you and your girl join me for supper? I know you haven’t gotten your rations yet today, and I’d hate to see a lady such as yourself go hungry.”
“Thank you, Sheriff. I look forward to the company.” There’s not a hint of fear or doubt in Katherine’s words and the sheriff rides off.
I step nearer to Katherine. “Do you think that was wise?”
“I don’t think I have a choice. And besides, we’re looking for an opportunity to take him out, aren’t we? You have your sickles now—”
“Ain’t much use against guns,” I hiss. “Surely, he’ll be armed and probably have a few of his boys in attendance if he knows I’m going to be there.”
“Well, I suppose you’d better think of something else, then!”
I open my mouth to argue and quickly snap it closed. The set of Katherine’s jaw warns that she’s sorely vexed, and I ain’t one to tempt a tiger. I once saw Katherine thrash a girl soundly who had the bad fortune to slander her name. I have no intention of getting on her bad side, especially not now when I’m going to need her help. She might be highly unreasonable, but she’s still my friend and we are in this together.
So I say nothing as we walk through the bodies of the dead toward the outer wall. I move off to examine a pile of them. From what I can tell most of them were recently turned. There’s little of the decomposition you see on most long-dead shamblers, none of the older clothing or loose hanging skin. But I don’t recognize any of the faces, either. Where’d all these folks come from? Gideon’s theory is looking more likely every minute.
“Jane,” Katherine calls for my attention, kneeling next to one of the dead. “Did you know this one? She’s wearing the same clothing as you had from working the patrols.”
I move over to see what she’s looking at, a surprising bubble of sadness welling up. “Well, that ain’t no good. Yeah, I know her. Knew her.”
Lying on the ground, her head a few feet away from her body, is Cora. I didn’t like the big girl, I ain’t never been a fan of snitches, but turning shambler is not a fate I’d wish on anyone, not even the girl who got me whipped.
I look around at this group, and gesture with my hand. “It’s half the fence team, as well as a few folks from the patrols.”
“Oh God, Jane. That’s Mr. Spencer.”
I look over to where Katherine points and swear loudly. Katherine doesn’t reprimand me, just purses her lips.
We keep walking, our hearts growing heavier with every person we recognize. There are a few more white folks in finer clothing, and I’m starting to wonder why they ain’t storming the sheriff’s office, asking where their loved ones are. Sure, no one is going to miss the Negroes from the fence team, but Mr. Spencer and these other white folks? They have families here.
“Kate.”
“Hmm?”
“The fence team was turned and they work out on the fringes. How did townspeople from the good part of town end up out where the fence-mending team usually works? No one would leave the inner safety of the town willingly.”
Katherine’s brows draw together. “What are you thinking? That the sheriff dragged them out to the edge?”
I nod. “Maybe you’re right. Maybe the white folks in the nice side of town were getting restless. Alan said the drovers are looking for greener pastures . . . What if the sheriff had his boys drag a few malcontents out there to the fringe to teach them a lesson and something went wrong?”
“You think they got overrun?”
“If the sheriff’s boys had taken a large group of people to the wall to show them why Summerland was their only hope, it might’ve been enough to make the dead swarm. Like bees detecting a threat, but in this case food. When we patrolled the wall we worked in groups of two, but there are at least twenty well-dressed folks out here.”
“So?”
“That many folks loitering about may have put the dead into a frenzy. What if there’s more on their way as we speak? The prairie looks clear now, but Gideon said the attacks would get more frequent and larger, and we have two unrepaired breaks in the exterior wall.”
Katherine stumbles to a stop. “Jane, this is bad.”
“I know.”
“We need to go and speak to the sheriff, convince him to barricade the town before it’s overrun. Consolidate everyone into a few defensible buildings. We’re too vulnerable, waiting for the next attack.”
“Kate, that’s suicide. Besides, you know there’s no way that he’s going to listen to us.”
She sighs and purses her lips. “Maybe, but we have to try.”
Katherine stalks off back toward town, and I look to the pale blue sky for strength before following after her.