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 I’d 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 a 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 we’ve traveled enough for one day.”

I myself had walked easily thrice the distance Joseph had that day, on top of the shootout I’d been through so recently, and was more than willing to continue onward, but I nodded. My curiosity had only grown since we’d entered the village. Eden was growing stranger with every step I took inside of it.

At the far end of the village was a large building that had the same curved ceiling as the outpost I’d been brought to when I’d first entered Eden. Sampson opened the door for us, and I followed Joseph inside. Unlike the outpost I’d 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 wasn’t expecting to see you again for some time.”

“I was not expecting to be here brother Mark. We had a new deadman brought in by the Shepherds and it’s 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.

“I have no reason to not believe him. Apparently, he appeared in the middle of a firefight and slew a score of Hawks and Panthers by himself. Whatever the case, his meeting with the First is the priority. “

Mark nodded, casting a wary eye toward me at the mention of those I’d killed. It was a positive change from the smiles and handshake. “Agreed,” He looked up at where the sun was going down through the windows. “I assume you need lodging for the night?”

Joseph smiled, “Yes, if you’d be so kind.”

Mark nodded, and started to gesture when the main door opened again. I turned back to see two deadmen, wearing the same green as the preacher. Between them was a human woman who was soaking wet, covered in bruises, and wearing a short skirt and crop top painted with the imagery of a panther. She was one of the ‘Leaders’ I’d seen when I’d encountered the humans in the woods.

“Ah, excuse me for a moment,” said Mark gesturing for us to wait at the pews.

I moved over and sat down along with Sampson and Joseph.

Mark moved back up to his place on the podium, looking down as the two other men dragged the woman across the floor until he was looking directly down at her. “Miss Reba, how are you feeling?”

“C…Cold,” she managed to say through chattering teeth.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, as you now know, the long baptism is a requirement for those who are brought to join our flock, and it only grows longer when people are needlessly defiant.”

She kept her eyes down. She may have been defiant before, but I saw no sign of that in her, nor did I see the sureness and strength she’d had when I’d seen her belting out orders to the other panthers earlier that day.

“Well, it doesn’t seem to be much of a problem now. We are going to have you brought to a warm room, with fresh clothes, a fire, and hot food. You may rest the next couple of days, then we will discuss how you can contribute to Eden. Your struggle is over, breathe easy and know that you now have a place in paradise.”

She didn’t respond, and Mark nodded to the deadmen on either side of her. Their initial posture, where they’d dragged her in and handled her roughly, changed immediately. One of them produced a dry blanket which they wrapped her in carefully, then they lifted her carrying her gently, as they moved off toward other rooms.

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 I’d guess she’ll be a fantastic source of labor and numbers. She may even be blessed enough to bear one of us.”

“Won’t she just run?” I asked.

Joseph chuckled. “You really might be from the other side of the Cut. She can’t. 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 I’d 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 workforce and a source of new deadmen. I’d 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 Pott’s, 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. I’d been a slave, I had little love for humans, but less for slavers. I brought myself under control. This wasn’t 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 preacher’s 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 Pott’s, 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 I’m 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 didn’t lock. The room was simple: bed, table, chair, small chest. All of it looked to be handmade 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.