Dread Nation (Dread Nation #1)(96)

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.





Return to me, Jane. Please. As soon as you are able, come back to Rose Hill. We need you.





Chapter 36


In Which All Hell Breaks Loose Once More


Once we’re back within the city limits, Katherine heads straight for the sheriff’s office. But before we get there we’re intercepted by Ida, her eyes wild as she runs full tilt toward us.

“Did you hear? Did you hear?”

When she reaches us she’s panting, her chest heaving. I shake my head. “No, we didn’t hear anything, what’s happening?”

“A pack, bigger than last night’s, was spotted a few miles off the eastern border once more. The sheriff is sending everyone out to meet them, but the drovers refuse to fight this time, and the sheriff can’t do anything about it. He’s sending just the patrols. We’ve woken the night teams, but there just aren’t enough of us to take on a horde.” Ida looks from me to Katherine. “We’re not going to survive this time, Jane.”

I exchange a look with Katherine. “We’re too late.”

Ida looks from me to Katherine and back again. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

We quickly fill her in on what Gideon told us, her warm bronze skin going gray. “We can’t win against that many shamblers. That man is a monster. He and his boys are going to send us all to die.”

I nod. “Yep, but we intend to stop that from happening.”

Katherine puts her hands on her hips. “Right, I’ll go speak with the sheriff, you go ask the Duchess if she’ll spread the word that everyone needs to fight if we’re going to beat back the approaching horde.”

“Have you lost all the sense in that pretty head of yours? Fighting is suicide. We need to run.”

“Jane, where are we supposed to go? We’re in the middle of the prairie. It’s better to shelter in place here than take our chances on the open range, where they can just run us down.” Katherine flounces off toward the sheriff’s office, and I turn to Ida.

“Don’t listen to her. Tell the patrols to grab whatever weapons they have and any rations they can find and leave. Pretend like you’re going out to face down the dead if anyone asks you. I’m going to take care of the sheriff while you all get out. Half the folks should head north and half should head east. We need to get clear of the wall before the shamblers get into town.” Walls didn’t just keep things out, after all. They also kept folks in. I worry that everyone will try to flee the same direction and the wall will end up a grand choke point, serving up panicked folks to the dead.