The deadman let his rifle dip a bit, his eyes widening. “East? East as in across the Crevasse?”

I nodded, not needing a big mental leap to understand that the Crevasse was what they called the Cut.

The man paused for a few moments, before letting his gun drop to his side and opening his arms wide. “Brother!” He said as he wrapped me in a hug.

I was so surprised I let it happen, for a second before pushing him away. The deadmen all exchanged glances, some smiling, some concerned, and I heard a few of them that were still near cover starting to mutter to one another.

The third of the deadmen in front of me, the one who hadn’t yet spoken, stepped forward. “He’s lying. No one has ever come from across the Crevasse.”

The woman shook her head. “The First did. We wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t.”

The man bared his teeth. “The First is different. We can't compare some stranger to him!”

Nate rubbed his forehead. “Enough! This is pointless. Whether or not he’s lying, it’s one of our jobs to bring our fellow deadmen, our brothers and sisters, home.” He looked up at me, a wide welcoming smile on his face. “Will you come with us? We have a place that’s safe for all deadmen. A place where food is plentiful, and where paradise is assured.”

I noted that they called themselves deadmen as well, and their mission was very similar. That combined with their statements about the ‘First’ and I was quickly drawing conclusions. I nodded. “I’ll come. Need to search them for ammo first though.” I said gesturing behind myself to the dead.

He nodded back, still smiling. “We need to shore a few things up anyway. Once you’re through we’ll lead you to Eden,” The argumentative deadman started to speak up when Nate shot him a look, “as is the responsibility of all Shepherds.” The other man’s eyes turned downward.

I nodded at them, and started to go through the pockets, and guns of the men I’d killed. I found a smattering of ammunition, almost enough 9mm to restock where I’d been before the fight, and a handful of .308 on top of that. I pulled up my notifications while I worked.

Excellent work Marshall! You’ve successfully performed a secondary goal of your job ‘Combat’! You’ve earned 60 Patriot Points!

Excellent work Marshall! You’ve successfully performed a secondary goal of your job ‘Tracking Suspects’! You’ve earned 60 Patriot Points!

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned ranks in Melee Weapons! From Bowie knives to Pickett’s charge, the US may have been too advanced for swords, but it’s spilled blood for freedom!

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in Pistol! Good job exercising your 2nd amendment rights

Congratulations Citizen! You have earned a rank in tracking! Like the brave indian on the fertile grasses of the west following herds of buffalo, you carry on a proud tradition!

Excellent work postman! You’ve successfully performed a secondary goal of your job ‘Protecting the Cargo’! You’ve earned 50 Patriot Points!

While I was in the system I entered two new investigations as well. One into what was going on with the deadmen I’d just encountered, and another into the bunker I was planning to investigate for the Remnants. The system accepted both. Out of curiosity I attempted to send a message to Leah, the same way she’d shown me to before, but I received only an error message. So the rest of the system was working, but something was blocking certain abilities. That felt too specific to be coincidental.

“The system is a distraction from the true way.”

I blinked and looked to see the deadwoman I’d saved looking at me. I must’ve been wearing the same vacant expression I always noticed on others when they were deep into the system’s menus. “The true way?” I asked.

“The First teaches us that the system is not the path we should walk, but we need to instead focus on what’s within in order to improve.”

“Isn’t the system within me too?”

She frowned. “He specifically says it’s not truly a part of us.”

“I think I’ll stick with using whatever helps me to stay alive.”

She looked confused for a moment. “But we are already dead?”

I squinted at her, unsure of whether or not she was joking and not confident about reading her expression to figure out what the answer was.

“Jez, can you take point?” asked Nate, stepping between us as he asked.

“Of course,” she responded, moving ahead of us.

Nate smiled at me and took up the rear guard.

I’d heard something I wasn’t supposed to, and Nate had moved to keep me from hearing any more. I hadn’t heard anything too damning. Plenty of people in the wastes had strange beliefs and clung to charismatic leaders. Sometimes for better, sometimes for the worse. I’d very recently seen worse, so I kept my guard up, but considering the lack of immediate violence, I was keeping what I considered an open mind. That was to say, I counted every person, took note of their guns, tracked where they were taking me with a mental map, chose who I would take out first if they turned on me, and made sure my weapons were as handy as possible.

I noted that around five deadmen had left the group and were moving north along with what smelled like three humans. I’d heard the Hawk’s and Panther’s mention that some of their leaders had been taken. I wasn’t sure of why the deadmen would take prisoners. It could be for an exchange, a threat, or maybe for intel. I didn’t know enough to really make an accurate guess.

The deadmen I traveled with kept quiet and moved easily through the heavy woods. Eventually, I felt us enter a deadzone, the warmth of the rads washing over me and building as we moved. It put me a bit more at ease, the heat that had built up in me since leaving the caves beneath the Cut hadn’t left, but when I was in high rad zones it felt closer to equilibrium and I felt a bit more comfortable. The other deadmen seemed more at ease as well, though I assumed that had more to do with the safety of deadzones for deadmen in general rather than them experiencing my own unique problem. They no longer had any strangely painted and amped up humans kicking explosives to worry about.

I started to hear whispering and muttering as the deadmen no longer needed to worry about being overheard. They kept quiet enough that I couldn’t hear them though, and I found myself impressed by their discipline. They reminded me of the undertakers I’d worked and traveled with.

We eventually reached an area where the forest had been cleared, revealing a wooden outbuilding. It was long, and well maintained, with a small structure on the top that surrounded what looked like a bell. As we approached, I saw a deadmen up in the belltower see us, and ring the bell twice. A door opened, and three deadmen came out. One was just like any other deadman I’d seen before, but unlike the green-clad Shepherds I’d been traveling with, he was wearing dark brown, with a piece of white cloth wrapped around his arm. On either side of him, were two massive deadmen. Standing taller than even me, and incredibly broad. The skin of their faces looked almost stretched taut and their teeth were visible as their lips could no longer contain them. They were like Pete, the Butcher I’d killed back in Pott’s after discovering that he’d been murdering and cannibalizing other deadmen.

I held my expression in check, keeping on a neutral face as the three of them approached. It was possible they’d changed in some way differently from how Pete had. It was impossible to know how many strange variants and changes the rEvolutionary virus had caused. That possibility became less likely as I smelled them. Blood and meat, of a kind I couldn’t fully distinguish. My mouth involuntarily started watering as I remembered biting into Pete.

“Nate,” said the one clad in brown, “You’re back early. Was there an issue?”

He shook his head. “No issue. We managed to herd three, they’re being taken back to the gates,” he gestured to me. “We also found him. His name is Donovan. He claims to be from the other side of the Crevasse, and he agreed to come back here to Eden with us.”

The man in brown stopped, and looked at me with his eyes wide. “The other side of the Crevasse?”

I nodded.

He chuckled, amused,“But that’s…”

“We also watched him kill about ten of the Leaguers by himself to buy Jez time to get into cover.”

That made the two massive deadmen exchange a quick glance, then start to size me up. Their purpose was immediately apparent.

“Nate, you and the patrol go back and continue your work. I will take him to meet the First.”

“The First!? Really Joseph?” asked the loudmouthed deadman.

“All new arrivals of his age must go to see the First. Whether what he says is true or not, The First will be the one to make the decision on whether or not he is allowed to stay, and what is to be done with him.”

The other deadman backed down and Nate rallied his men to leave. Jez gave me a small wave as they made their way back to the treeline. I didn’t return it.

“So, brother…?” asked Joseph.

“Donovan,” I answered, tensing at the phrase, ‘what is to be done with him’.

“Well… Donovan, it’s our duty to escort you to meet the First. Will you come with us?” He gently placed his right hand on my shoulder as he spoke and I resisted slapping his hand away.

I nodded. It seemed like the quickest way to get the answers they wanted back at Pott’s, and to get the information I needed. Besides, I had some mail I needed to deliver.