The Land of the Shadow (36 page)

Marcus stopped a few yards away from the gate and plunked the box on the pavement at his feet. He walked backward a few paces and held his hands up as he grinned up at the group gathered on top of the wall, his white teeth gleaming against his tanned skin. That grin sent a chill down Carly’s spine. Not of fear, but of disgust.

Carly reached for the chain to open the gate. Pearl shook her head. “No way you’re going out there ’til I check it out.” She snapped a D-clip to a rivet on the side of the freight container that made up the front of the Wall and swung down to drop on the other side.

Pearl’s steps were slow, her hands close to the pistols strapped to her hips as she approached the box Marcus had left in the middle of the road.

“It’s moving!” Pearl called over her shoulder, loud enough for them to hear. After a moment, she crouched down and extended a hand to the lid, flipped it off fast, and backed away. She edged forward and peered inside, and Carly saw her head jerk back on her neck in surprise, but she didn’t recoil. She bent back down to scoop something out of the box and turned to face them.

“A dog?” Kross said. “He brought Carly a
dog
?”

Pearl turned, her arms full of bulldog. “There’s something wrong with her.” Even Carly could see it from on top of the wall. The dog’s sides heaved and her head lolled back. Carly could hear that her breath came in small whines.

“A peace offering,” Marcus said. “I’m hoping you might speak with me.”

“What’s the matter with her?” Carly asked. She didn’t think Marcus could disgust her more, but his unconcern for an animal in obvious distress made her hate him.

“She’s having pups.” Marcus mentioned this miracle like it was incidental. “She’s been in labor since this morning.”

“Oh my God. Stacy! Get Stacy! Let him in.” Even as she said this, she knew Marcus was exploiting what he saw as a weakness. She saw his lips quirk up, and her palm itched for the feeling of her .45. Veronica on the street below turned and bolted for the clinic.

Kross pulled on the chain, and the garage door screeched its way up the tracks. The back of it was reinforced with horizontal metal rods that could function as bolts, but they all knew it wouldn’t withstand a frontal assault. The Wall’s protection was mostly psychological.

Marcus walked inside, still holding his hands aloft. Pearl hurried in, passing him. Carly rushed down the stairs to meet her, and Pearl handed the dog off to Carly, who grunted at the weight. The poor dog looked up at her, its brown eyes full of misery. Carly stroked its ears. Beside her, Sam bounced up on his hind legs to sniff at the creature in her arms. He dropped back to the ground with a huff that sounded like a sneeze, as if the scent of dog had alarmed his nose, and shifted on his paws, looking uneasy.

Marcus approached them, his steps unhurried. In one hand, he held a pistol, which he held out to Pearl, butt first.

Pearl glanced at Justin. He shook his head. She took the pistol and stepped back.

A low rumble came from Sam. His previous confusion was gone, and he shifted to apex predator mode. He dropped his head low and stared up at Marcus, his amber eyes piercing, his paws braced apart to spring. Carly put a hand on his back and Sam fell silent, but he stayed in that tight posture, every muscle tense with restrained energy.

“Welcome to Colby,” Justin said. His face was expressionless, but Carly knew him well enough to detect the subtle tension in his muscles, the hard light in his eyes. He took off the pistol on his hip and held it out to Pearl. A goodwill gesture, nothing more—he was still armed with his knife and the pistol at the small of his back. But Carly suspected Marcus hadn’t given up everything he carried, either.

“I wanted to talk with you, that’s all,” Marcus said. He smiled at Carly. “Nice to meet you, ma’am. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Carly didn’t have a chance to respond to that as Stacy reached them, her forehead beaded with sweat from the run. “Carly, I know nothing about dogs—” she started, so Veronica must have given her the gist of it.

“Just try,” Carly begged. She turned to Veronica. “Will you run to the bookstore and see if there’s anything on bulldogs or dog breeding?”

Veronica nodded and took off again, and Carly silently thanked God for the boundless energy of the young. She carefully transferred the dog into Stacy’s arms.

Stacy gnawed on her lower lip. “I’ll try.” She hurried off toward the clinic, her steps swift but slower because of her burden.

Marcus extended his hand to Carly, and she had to force herself to reciprocate. She shook it and was proud of herself for not grimacing at having to touch him. “Thank you for the dog. Where did you get it?” She wanted to ask him who he’d robbed to take it, but she restrained herself.

Marcus smiled. “Don’t ask me to give up all of my secrets right away.”

“Fair enough. Follow us.” Carly headed for the courthouse, Justin by her side. Pearl followed them, her arms hanging loose down by her pistol holsters. It was obvious she didn’t trust Marcus at all. Sam, trotting beside her, rumbled again but quieted when Carly glanced back over her shoulder.

Inside, it was a bit cooler, the courtroom Carly led them to shrouded in shadow. She opened a pair of the wooden louvered blinds that covered the windows while Marcus took a seat across from Justin at one of the tables. Pearl leaned against the judge’s bench but didn’t get comfortable. She was like Sam, who stood beside her, watching and waiting to be released into action.

Carly gave her a small nod to show she understood. She brushed her fingers against her own gun before she opened the top of the window to let in some air and brought a lamp from where it sat beside the doorway. She lit it and put it on the table before she took a seat herself, beside Justin. The two men were staring at each other, neither threatening, nor friendly either.

“What is it you want, Marcus?” Carly asked.

“I want to discuss the possibility of merging our groups.”

“I didn’t realize it was a possibility.” Justin’s voice was flat. Carly touched her foot to his under the table.

“One of several,” Marcus said.

There was a long pause.

“Justin and I have to think of the well-being of our community,” Carly said. “What benefit would there be to us?”

Marcus sat back in his chair. Though his posture was casual, Carly could see his foot jittering where it was propped up on the opposite knee. “As I see it, you need us. You need my men. You have twelve people guarding your fence.”

Justin didn’t react, but Carly wasn’t as trained in hiding her emotions. She stopped breathing. Justin had told Carly he thought Marcus’s people had been watching Colby, and to have it confirmed didn’t come as a surprise, but it was troubling, just the same.

“Five of them are women. Three teenage boys.” Marcus gave a small shake of his head as though to say those eight people were sad and pathetic fill-ins. Carly felt her teeth clench, but she knew what Justin would say:
Let him think we’re weak.
“You need more men to fully secure your barriers. You need our labor to help build up your—”

“Wait,” Carly said, holding up a hand. “We will
never
be at the point where we need slave labor.”

Marcus huffed out a small sigh. “I think we need to reconsider terms like that now.”

“Let me ask you something. Where did you get them? It’s rare to see the Infected wandering around anymore. Very few of them have survived this long.”

“Some people have been taking care of them.” Marcus waved a hand.

“As family members, or as slaves?” Carly couldn’t quite keep the bite from her tone.

“Forget your notions of legal equality. That doesn’t exist anymore. The only equality you have is the force with which you can meet a challenge. All you have is your strength and your will to survive.”

“Not in my house,” Carly said. “In here, it’s still America.”

“Is it?” Marcus raised a brow. “You vote on everything, I take it? Pure democracy? Then why are your people not here to hear my proposal? Or perhaps, as I suspect, it’s a bit closer to a monarchy?”

Carly opened her mouth to argue, and Justin laid a staying hand on her arm.

“You didn’t come here to debate forms of government.” Justin’s voice was even, but below the table, his fist was clenched.

“No, I didn’t. I hoped I’d be able to convince you of the wisdom of merging our groups.”

“How many are you?”

“Fifteen men. Twenty burn-outs.”

He was lying. Carly knew it. Marcus wasn’t as good a poker player as he thought. His eyes shifted away and he blinked, a staccato flutter of his eyelids. She just didn’t know if the number was higher or lower than he claimed. How was he feeding such a large contingent on scavenged food?

“Fifteen men? No women?”

Marcus gave a small shrug. “A few among the burn-outs.”

“What happened to Megan?”

Marcus’s brow creased. “Who?”

“The woman with Billy.”

“There wasn’t a woman with him when he came to us.” Marcus’s face was impassive. Too impassive. He was lying again. Carly gripped the edge of the table so hard her knuckles bleached. She remembered Megan’s haunted eyes, her jerky, jumpy movements, and the way her gaze skittered around, as if looking for a safe place to hide. What had happened to her? Carly suspected she would never know, but she was certain it had been nothing good.

“Have any of you ever farmed?” Justin asked.

“Ah, no, can’t say that we have.” Marcus took off his ball cap and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “But I’m sure we can learn whatever we need to.”

He really did think they were that stupid. Carly exchanged a glance with Pearl. Out of Marcus’s line of sight, Pearl gave a little roll of the eyes.

“One last question,” Justin said and tapped Carly’s foot with his own, as though reminding her to remain impassive. “If we agreed to your proposal, would you surrender leadership to Carly and me?”

Marcus didn’t hesitate. “Of course. It’s your town. I’d hope I could be one of your council, or whatever you call it, because the men trust me, but the two of you would be in charge.”

Justin gazed at him for a moment and then smiled as he stood and extended his hand for Marcus to shake. “We’ll need a couple of days to consider.”

“Of course.” Marcus extended his hand to Carly as she stood. She didn’t like the way he shook it, as if he were pinching her hand between two fingers before releasing it.

“Thank you again for the dog,” Carly said, extinguishing the lamp on the table. “Does she have a name?”

Marcus gave her a blank look, as though Carly had asked the question about a car or a box of ammo. “No . . . ah . . . I don’t think so.”

“We’ll show you out.” Justin led Marcus to the door and waited for him to pass through it before following with Carly. He put his arm around her waist.

“I hope that you’ll have a decision soon,” Marcus said. “We’ll be moving in this direction. The men are eager to be settled, as you can imagine.”

“I’m sure,” Justin replied. “You’ll know as soon as we do, after we talk to our people.”

Marcus stopped and gazed around. They were in the town common, and he spun slowly on his heel, taking in all the buildings, the plots of vegetables and corn growing by the occupied houses, the residents bustling to and fro. Everyone had been on high alert since Marcus was spotted, but they followed Justin’s order to pretend everything was normal.

“You have a nice setup here,” he said. “Real nice.”

“We’ve worked hard.” Justin’s hand around Carly’s waist tightened slightly.

“Your security leaves something to be desired.” Marcus took off his cap and settled it on his head at another angle. “My men could help you with that.”

Pearl said something, which she quickly covered with a cough. Carly had to bite the inside of her lip to keep from reacting.

Justin smiled, his white teeth flashing in the summer sunshine. “Perhaps, but you might be surprised.”

He started walking again, and Marcus fell in beside him. They stopped again at the gate, and Marcus shook his hand once more. Carly kept hers at her side, and Marcus didn’t offer. She was glad. She didn’t want to touch him again.

Pearl held out his pistol to him, butt first. Marcus grinned. “Keep it. As another goodwill offering. I heard you folks lost most of your weapons in the fire. A goddamn shame.”

Carly’s hands clenched into fists. She had a vision of herself walking up to Marcus and decking him, dragging him by the back of his shirt, and throwing him out the gate, tossing that stupid ball cap after him. Maybe after stomping it in the dirt a couple of times first. But she couldn’t, as much as she enjoyed the fantasy.

Pearl narrowed her eyes a little but otherwise gave away no hint of what she was thinking. “Yeah, it is. Thanks for the gun.”

Marcus didn’t lose his smile. He turned and headed out the gate, between the rows of alligators, whistling as he strode down the road.

And then, without warning, one of the hungry alligators found the courage to charge.

Once it started forward, so did a second and then a third. On top of the wall, Kross scrambled to shoulder his rifle.

“Shit! Justin?” he called, but his assistance wasn’t needed.