“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.
