Outpost (20 page)

“Then why did you volunteer for this?”

His serious gaze swept me from head to toe, suddenly somber. “Because you made me feel ashamed.”

“Of what?” I held my breath, wondering why. I admired Longshot
so
much.

“The whole damn town.”

Shock rendered me speechless for a while. “You think that highly of me?”

“You fishin’ for compliments, girl?”

I wasn’t even positive what that meant. “I don’t think so.”

“Anyway, that’s not what you came over to talk about. I’m listening.”

In as few words as possible, I explained our nocturnal findings. His reaction to my news defied my ability to interpret. He scrubbed a hand through his shaggy, gray hair, eyes on the sky above. It was a fair day, blue sky and bright sun. Not the sort of weather you expected for such grim tidings. By all rights, it should be pouring rain, booming thunder and lightning.

“I’ll forget for a moment that you went beyond the scope of your own authority,” he said curtly. “You’re positive this was a settlement?”

I nodded. “A primitive one, but yes.”

“You didn’t rouse their attention?”

Remembering the Freak we’d killed, I shook my head. None of the others had seen us. If they found his body, they couldn’t know for sure what had happened, and with any luck, forest scavengers would get at him to make it even more uncertain.

“That much is good. But, thunderation, I have no idea what to do about this.”

It seemed like a bad sign that Longshot would speak so freely in front of me. He was the elder, and he should display certainty to keep the men following him without question. Or maybe that was a trait encountered only down below. Topside leaders might be more honest about their lack of knowledge. If nothing else, it made him seem more human. That wasn’t necessarily a comfort in times like these.

I ventured, “You said we could leave them alone, as long as they don’t attack. Has that opinion changed, now that you know they’re building nearby?”

“I’m not sure,” he admitted. “Really, I just want to survive the growing season, bring in the harvest, and get behind those walls. When I’m traveling the trade routes, I don’t stay in one place this long and it’s making me jumpy.”

“The men too. If they knew what we do—”

“They’d light torches and burn the forest down,” he finished. “We need that wood, not to mention all the game they’d scare away. We can’t tell them until I make up my mind how to handle it … and that means I need some thinking time. Will you tell your friends to keep quiet for now?”

“Of course. We already agreed we wouldn’t say anything until we talked to you about it.”

He touched two fingers to his forehead. “Appreciate it. As for the matter of you three roaming at night, don’t do that again. Since you didn’t get caught, I’m going to pretend it didn’t happen.”

I smiled at him, despite my general exhaustion. “So that’s the rule? No witness, no crime?”

Longshot laughed. “You’ve got guts, girl.”

Belatedly, I remembered to warn him about the ease with which we’d sneaked out of camp last night. A Freak following that same route could get in unseen. So I summarized the path we took and told him how distracted the guards were. “Anyway,” I concluded, “it shouldn’t have been that simple. Someone should’ve noticed and stopped us.”

A deep breath escaped him, not quite a sigh, more of a huff of exasperation. “I try not to get agitated, but you’d reckon these morons might get better, the longer we’re in the field, but they seem to imagine this is a family picnic.”

“None of them are soldiers,” I said quietly.

“True. But that’s no excuse for simple incompetence. I’ll have a word.” Longshot made a shooing motion. “Get out of here. Go toughen up those muscles.”

Obediently, I went back to the drills that increased my stamina and strength, and then I worked with Frank a little, keeping my promise. Once I finished, I sat down, waiting for Stalker and Fade to complete their classes. They each met my gaze and came over as soon as they could. Stalker sat to my left and Fade placed himself on my right. For the moment, the lingering tension between us had gone, banished by the dangerous situation.

“What did he say?” Fade asked.

I filled them in, and Stalker shook his head. “So he’s going to do nothing?”

“Nothing right now,” I corrected.

“I don’t think those were all hunters,” Fade said. “They might be the Freak equivalent of women and children.”

I considered. “That would explain why they’re leaving us alone.”

In the past, Freaks had shown no signs of specialized behavior. They all attacked; they swarmed and ate and moved on to the next kill. In the tunnels, I had noticed different sizes, but I hadn’t thought anything of it. It never occurred to me that the smallest ones could be Freak brats.

Stalker drew a pattern in the dirt, something abstract and complex. “I don’t like leaving them so close. They might have sent for reinforcements.”

I reminded him, “We don’t have the numbers to take them on.”

“If they’re not fighters, we do,” Stalker argued.

Fade seemed troubled. “But should we attack them unprovoked?”

“Damn right, we should. If we fail to strike now, we’ll regret it.” Stalker couldn’t take any other stance; life had taught him to fight hard for his territory, and though he was learning other ways in Salvation, he still had wolfish tendencies. “And it wouldn’t be unprovoked, anyway. Remember, they hit us when we were trying to plant the first time … and don’t forget what they did to our dead.”

“It’s not our decision.” And I felt grateful about that. “We pushed Longshot as far as we can regarding the recon mission. If we do anything else without his approval, he’ll send us back to town.”

The three of us shared a look of mutual horror at the idea of being stuck inside and forced to do chores. While living rough had its disadvantages—no proper baths for instance—at least out here, we had the possibility for excitement and that something we did might make a difference. Plus, it would be beyond shameful to be sent back as unsatisfactory when these other guards were still on duty. None of them fought half as well as us.

Shortly thereafter, a runner came from the settlement. The Salvation guard rummaged in his pack and produced two stunning, supple pairs of boots. “Edmund sent me with these for Fade and Stalker.”

The boys took them with awed expressions, for this was some of my foster father’s finest work. For my part, I was astonished he’d found someone willing to journey out to the outpost. I watched as they donned their new gear quickly and I beamed at the messenger in thanks.

“Tell Edmund I appreciate this,” I said softly.

“Me too,” Fade put in.

Stalker looked as if he didn’t have words, but he finally muttered, “This is really something. Thank him for me.”

The guard tipped his hat and headed back toward Salvation. Longshot sent a couple of men to see him halfway back to town and they reported no problems on their return. I could tell the rest of the guards envied our fine, elegant footwear; they should all be lucky enough to have Edmund care about them. He was a good man, and I felt proud to be his foster daughter.

Later, I patrolled with Hobbs, checking the outlying fields for damage. The rest of our squad kept in touch via hand signals Longshot had devised; they were simple, like need help, all clear, and immediate danger. We noticed signs of rabbit infestation, nibbles at the green shoots, but no hint that the Freaks had been here since we found the severed heads on poles. Hobbs was a trustworthy companion who kept his mind on his business and didn’t waste time with inessential chatter.

“It’s time to get the growers out here,” Hobbs said. “They’ll spread stuff to drive away pests, discourage weeds, and nourish the plants.”

“If they gave us the supplies, we could do it. Lessen the risk.”

Hobbs was already shaking his head. “The growers spend their whole lives studying the best ways to do things. If we try their methods and the crops fail, we’ll be responsible for people starving.”

Put that way, I decided I’d rather perform escort duty too. Maybe Tegan would come out with the growers to take care of the pests. I missed her and my foster parents more than I’d expected. I had put down roots in Salvation, though I didn’t love all of the rules. One day, maybe I could do trade runs with Longshot, if I wasn’t destined for a permanent role in the town guard. It was a dream worth keeping close.

As we returned to the outpost, I saw the site with new eyes and realized it was starting to look official; Longshot forced the men to work even when they weren’t drilling. Consequently, a low stone wall surrounded the tents, set up around the watchtower with an area set aside for exercise and training.
Not bad,
I thought,
for such a hurried effort.
The men glanced up as I went past, but most had grown used to me. At least, they no longer muttered just out of my earshot or made rude gestures they knew I could see in my peripheral vision. Likely Fade’s temper had something to do with their courtesy. He might be young, but he could slit them throat to thigh before they found their knives. It didn’t bother me much; people—like the girls at school—usually disliked me for reasons more compelling than my gender.

Hobbs made our report to Longshot, who nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll send a runner to town to get the growers out here to tend the crops.”

“Glad it’s not my job,” I muttered.

Longshot flashed me a smile. “Me too. From what I can see, your skills tend toward killing things.”

The boss called a briefing thereafter. “We’re starting furloughs tomorrow, as promised. I’ll draw lots to see which squads go first. Then you can vote amongst yourselves as to who goes first. You’ll go off duty in pairs, understand?”

That sent a wave of excitement through the camp. Many men had families in town, and they weren’t used to being away from them. As for me, I longed to see Tegan and the Oakses, but I could wait. To my surprise, our team came up in the second round. My crew appeared delighted with our good fortune; the other guards liked Hobbs and Frank well enough not to complain too loudly.

Just before dark, the last patrol returned, carrying an unexpected boon. They’d shot a deer, already field dressed and cut into manageable chunks of meat. It smelled delicious roasting on the fire, and everyone was glad to wait a little longer to avoid more hard tack and dry meat. I joined the food line near the end, and took my plate over to where Frank sat, devouring the juicy venison with obvious relish.

For a few moments, we ate in silence while I tried not to notice Stalker and Fade arguing on the other side of camp. Their faces bore twin scowls, and Fade had his hands curled into fists. Now and again, they glanced at me, which made me think they were fighting about me somehow, but they weren’t speaking loud enough for anyone to overhear.

It isn’t my business,
I told myself. I wouldn’t go over and intervene.

“What are you going to do in town?” Frank asked, distracting me.

“Take a bath.”

He laughed like I was kidding. “I’m gonna eat all the cake I can hold.”

Sweets were off the menu out here, so I could understand his craving. I listened with half an ear as he yammered on about how well his mother cooked. While I watched, the boys concluded their argument and Fade wheeled away to queue for some roast venison. The blond boy followed with a surly expression, chin up in a way that said he was spoiling for a fight.

Stalker hadn’t been pleased with our plan of inaction in regard to the Freaks. I didn’t blame him. The Huntress in me fought the urge to resolve the threat, but I respected Longshot’s orders. Yet that village in the forest bothered me—not just because it meant Freaks were acting counter to my expectations.

“This seat taken?” The question came from the man I’d guessed least likely to seek my company, Gary Miles. We had tangled twice, first with his stupid joke about me, and then over his failure on watch. Consequently, he’d loathed me ever since. Miles had a rat-faced look with a long, pointed nose and a nonexistent chin. Graying hair fell in lank locks down to his shoulders, and he reeked like a bucket of vomit. None of us smelled great, granted, but he didn’t even do spot washes.

I didn’t want him to join us, but I couldn’t conceive a way to refuse without being churlish. So I said, “Suit yourself.”

“What are we talking about?” he asked, once he made himself comfortable. His smile showed brown-stained teeth, some broken and black at the roots. There was no way around it; the man made my skin crawl, almost as bad as the first time Fade and I came upon a Freak feeding in the dark.

“What we’re going to do when we get our furloughs,” Frank answered.

Miles tightened his mouth into a bitter white line, but the look was gone before I could be sure of it, replaced with false friendliness. “Isn’t it
lucky
you get to go so soon?”

“Longshot drew for it,” I pointed out.

His amiability cracked. “And you’ve got him wrapped around your little finger, don’t you, puss? There’s no fool like an old fool. We all saw how you stood by him, exchanging soulful glances, while we busted our asses to learn fighting techniques that we’ll never use.”

Surely he wasn’t implying I garnered special treatment by breeding with our commander? That was utterly disgusting
—
not because Longshot was old and horrible, but because he’d never do something so blatantly unjust and immoral. I eyed Miles with open dislike; he had a mind like the latrine he’d dug for punishment.

Evidently, Frank came to the same conclusion because he shook his head. “You’re talking nonsense.”

“It was her idea that we all get posted here, and now she struts around like she owns the place.” He put a dirty hand on my thigh. “It’s only fair she gives me a little consolation, ain’t it?”

With my left hand, I whipped my knife from its sheath and I pricked him between the thighs. I knew exactly what I was doing when his face paled, throat working with sudden fear. Frank looked as if he feared to intervene—and well he should have. If he’d touched me, I might have castrated somebody.