Book 2 Chapter 40: A Mirror Darkly

Book 2 Chapter 40: A Mirror Darkly

The human man waved, and I kept walking, not returning the gesture, though Joseph and Sampson both nodded in his direction. As we got closer, I realized that nearly the entire town was human. I saw one human fixing a roof, another hauling crops in a wheelbarrow, and yet another working as a cooper, a profession I only knew of through the fantasy books Id read. There were deadmen spread out among them as well, maybe one for every five or six humans. I noted that they were all wearing the same dark brown with white armband as Joseph, and while the humans were all engaged in some form of hard labor, none of the deadmen appeared to be carrying anything heavier than a stack of papers, and wherever they walked, the humans would move out of their path, often with their heads bowed, or with a friendly complacent smile.

Joseph turned to me, I must request lodging for us from the local preacher, I believe weve traveled enough for one day.

I myself had walked easily thrice the distance Joseph had that day, on top of the shootout Id been through so recently, and was more than willing to continue onward, but I nodded. My curiosity had only grown since wed entered the village. Eden was growing stranger with every step I took inside of it. Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

At the far end of the village was a large building that had the same curved ceiling as the outpost Id been brought to when Id first entered Eden. Sampson opened the door for us, and I followed Joseph inside. Unlike the outpost Id entered, this building was much more open, with a wide open space filled with long wooden chairs that made their way all the way to the far end of the building. At that end was a dais, with a small podium. At that podium, writing something, was an older deadman with short white hair. His clothes were an almost neon green, the color of which reminded me of the strange green lightning I sometimes saw in deadzones. He looked up as we approached and moved down to embrace Joseph.

Joseph! Welcome, I wasnt expecting to see you again for some time.

I was not expecting to be here brother Mark. We had a new deadmen brought in by the Shepherds and its my duty to take him to meet the First. He gestured to me.

Mark broke away from Joseph and offered a hand, Welcome to Abbey, and more importantly, to Eden.

I took his hand, gave it a firm shake, and let go after what I gauged to be an appropriate amount of time. The people in Eden seemed to enjoy touching quite a lot, I was quickly becoming tired of it.

Where are you from? One of the settlements further north? Maybe out West?

East actually.

He paused, and glanced at Joseph.

While my question of what had happened to the people the Shepherds had taken was answered, I found myself with dozens more.

Why? was the first one I managed to ask.

Joseph looked at me confused. Well, we needed to grow the herd of course. Once she gets fully integrated Id guess shell be a fantastic source of labor and numbers. She may even be blessed enough to bear one of us.

Wont she just run? I asked.

Joseph chuckled. You really might be from the other side of the Cut. She cant. Eden is sanctified on three sides, the only way in or out for a human is through the gate, any other path is death. Though, very few ever blaspheme once they realize what an honor it is to be here to serve Eden.

I put together the mental map I had of Eden in my mind, and added in the direction Id remembered them taking away the human prisoners. Sanctified areas must mean deadzones, which made Eden a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by radiation strong enough to kill a human. The Shepherds were like our own Undertakers, but instead of bringing back just deadmen like myself they also captured humans to grow the settlements and used them as both a work force and a source of new deadmen. Id guess the deadmen were heavily outnumbered, but what humans are raised in Eden likely never considered leaving, and those that are brought in seemed to have no choice, but to conform, probably even encouraged by those humans that were already here to simply give in. It was so like Potts, but so different at the same time. In some ways the humans that the deadmen had control of were better off, but the situation set my teeth on edge. Id been a slave, I had little love for humans, but less for slavers. I brought myself under control. This wasnt the time, at least not yet.

Mark left the podium, still wearing the same serene face he had all throughout his conversation with the woman that had been brought to him.

Sorry about that brothers, a preachers work is never done. He gestured for us to stand. I will guide you to your rooms.

We all stood and started to follow him into a corridor off the main portion of the building. I moved at the rear, taking note of entrances and exits as we moved. I noticed very few security precautions or concerns, reminding me of the lack of locked doors in Potts, though in their case it seemed more foolish, as they had a servant population working for them just outside their doors. I knew from firsthand experience how dangerous it could be to assume safety when it came to slaves. We were shown three doors at the end of the hall.

Those three should suffice for the evening. Normally I would invite you all to dine with me, but Im afraid this is a time of fasting for me, so I will have meals brought to you.

Sampson made his way to the room on the right, ducking a bit to get under the doorway, and Joseph took the one at the end of the hall, leaving me the one on the left. The first thing I noticed was that the door didnt lock. The room was simple: bed, table, chair, small chest. All of it looked to be hand made with the same type of wood as the building itself. I guessed that Abbey had some competent carpenters. I took out my equipment, and went into my routine of cleaning and inventorying my equipment, making sure my mental count matched up with what I actually had. It always did, but I did it anyway. After a few hours I heard a knock on the door, I grabbed my pistol, hiding it behind myself, I smelled food. I opened the door slowly, seeing a massive form in front of the door. It was Sampson holding two bowls of food.

May I join you for dinner? he asked.