Deadland's Harvest (Deadland Saga, #2)(55)

Until the zeds left, there wasn’t much we could do besides quietly get the Aurora back into shape. It was too foggy to go ashore or even down the river on any scouting runs. We’d used up a ton of fuel putting out fires and making repairs. The herds would be passing through any day now, so we couldn’t go in search of any livestock. Thank God we still had the grain, though the lack of complete protein this winter would be hard.

“Hopefully we don’t have to worry about the Lady Amore any time soon,” I said. Immediately after Sorenson’s death, Tyler had organized a truce with Sorenson’s men. He’d offered them full pardons in exchange for no more attacks. He’d even offered another chance at the trade agreement, which they’d quickly accepted. However, many of us weren’t nearly as confident as Tyler was that they wouldn’t seek revenge or try to steal from us again. The riverboat had left minutes after we’d returned Sorenson’s body back along with his two men, and the boat hadn’t returned.

“I still think we should’ve gone in and hit them hard. They know they’re outgunned and they wouldn’t try something stupid again,” Clutch said. “It all depends on Sorenson’s replacement. They could be smart and know the value of working together, or they could be idiots. We’ll have to stay on our toes until we know. It’s too bad Sorenson killed himself. He was easy to figure out. He was a straight shooter, except that he let his heart get in the way. Whoever replaces him could be more of a challenge.”

I nodded and then smiled. “At least we have his speedboat now. I’m looking forward to going for a ride.” Tyler had given Sorenson’s men one of our deck boats in a “trade” for their speedboat. He wasn’t about to let them leave with our .30 cal again.

A light breeze blew through, and I shivered. My clothes were damp from the fog and offered little warmth. I held the thermos against me. “I need to start wearing a jacket.”

“Here,” Clutch said as he wrapped an arm around me.

I leaned into him, savoring his warmth and the closeness. We sat and watched as the sun burned through the fog. A low haze sat just above the water, but I could see the land over it.

“Look.” I pointed to the riverbank. “The zeds have cleared out on the east side. You’re right. They’re leaving.”

Clutch twisted his neck to take in the landscape. “Yeah, but they’re still on the bridge and on the west side.”

“Hopefully just one more day of us laying low and they’ll leave like the others.”

“Hey guys,” Wes said through a yawn as he approached.

“Mornin’,” I said, climbing to my feet.

Wes took a seat on the deck behind the rail where I’d been sitting. The boat was angled in the water in a way that allowed us to watch the bridge and see land from every direction without being seen by the zeds. “Man, I’d rather still be asleep.”

“That’s all everyone does anymore,” Clutch grumbled. He used his cane to push himself to his feet and looked at me. “Feel up to some sparring?”

“You bet.” I turned to Wes. “Don’t have too much fun.”

He scowled, and I headed off with Clutch.

Clutch had a point. Once the critical repairs had been made to the Aurora, there was little left that could be done quietly. It didn’t take more than a couple days of relative safety for laziness to set in. Hell, if I didn’t have Clutch’s persistence at having me spar with him and Jase’s contagious energy, I’d be heading back to bed right now out of boredom.

As we walked across the deck, I watched Clutch’s legs as his stride nearly matched mine. “You’re healing really fast now. I can already tell a huge difference from yesterday.”

“Doc said that healing would happen in bursts. All I can tell you is that it can’t happen soon enough. I’m sick and tired of being a cripple.”

I rolled my eyes, because Clutch may be a lot of things, but he was no cripple. He proved it during our sparring session in the towboat’s engine room. Even though his legs were weak, his upper body strength more than made up for it. I almost got in a high kick once, but he’d taken me down with him. I imagined it would always be that way: Clutch the master, me the student. He had too many more years of experience.

After a day of doing little, as the sun began to set, we headed to the commons area in Barge Two to meet Jase for dinner. The area was already filled with people. I stepped into the line while Clutch spoke with Tyler. I looked for Jase, but he wasn’t at our usual spot on the floor yet.

I grabbed a tray, and Vicki, Fox’s best cook, slid chunks of white meat onto my tray.

My eyes narrowed. “Fish?”

Vicki nodded. “They finished the nets this morning and fished off the south end of the island so the zeds wouldn’t see. Fish for everyone tonight!”

I grinned. “Awesome.”

Normally, the fishermen caught no more than a dozen fish using fishing poles. They figured the zeds rotting in the shallow waters scared them off. The livestock from the fire was being dehydrated for the winter, so we’d been living on canned meat, beans, and grain. As I worked my way through line, I noticed everyone was in a better mood. The fresh fish, the zeds starting to disappear, and the repairs to the Aurora relatively complete gave everyone hope.

I sat down on the floor and dug into the fish.