The rest of the journey was easy, at least for Sampson and me, though dull. We weaved through idyllic well tended forests and passed through multiple villages smaller than the town we went through, all populated by a mix of deadmen and humans living in seeming harmony. I noticed one night that we weren’t traveling in a straight line, but were instead taking a more weaving path toward a central direction. At first, I thought it may be to avoid hills and other topography that would slow us down more than a slight change in direction, but as I paid closer attention I realized that wasn’t the case. I also noticed that where we weaved, there were other paths continuing in the straight direction. We were on the most well-worn of them, but it was clear that there was frequent travel along the straight line as well, not to mention multiple paths deviating from the one we were taking. Joseph and Sampson were hiding something from me.

The next night when we made camp, I feigned sleep for several hours waiting for them to sleep, and when they did, I went to creep out of camp.

“Going somewhere?” asked Sampson, sitting up so quietly I hadn’t noticed him.

I nodded. “Gotta drain the lizard. Be right back.”

He nodded, and laid back down.

Caught before I could make it out of the camp, I did the business I told Sampson I’d been planning on, then made my way back. I was on his good side, but it was clear his job was to make sure I didn’t wander off, at least not until I’d met their leader.

The next morning we had a light breakfast, and then continued on. As we moved I felt the telltale tingle of radiation wash over me as we entered what I could tell from my mental map was the furthest deadzone from the entrance to Eden. It was welcome. The heat that I’d been living with was easier to endure when I was surrounded by radiation.

We moved maybe a mile or two in when we reached a clearing. Inside was not a town like I’d seen before, or a village, but instead a single massive building. It was almost an exact replica of the Mausoleum in Pott’s, but built of stone and wood rather than the clay domes of the city. This one was also more ostentatious with stained glass windows and intricate patterns carved all across it.

“Takes the breath away, does it not?” asked Joseph.

“Sure.” I agreed simply, which led to Joseph making a face. I noticed a number of deadmen milling about, all with different armbands and clothes that I imagined described their jobs. There were also a number of hulking deadmen similar to Sampson and the Butcher, all wielding the same massive axe as him, and patrolling, though their movements seemed to be more ceremonial than practical.

A woman clothed in green and hooded came up to us, flanked by two of the larger deadmen, one of whom was a woman as well. The woman in green gave off a scent of ozone and blood that reached me before the sight of her had.

Joseph bowed, “Mary.”

She removed her hood, and I was surprised to see a pair of glowing green eyes looking at me over. Mary was tall, almost my height, and had enough hair to put into a ponytail. Her skin was a dark burgundy. “This is the one who claims to have come from the East?” she asked, her tone imperious, in sharp contrast to the pious calm I’d heard in the inflections of the other deadmen in Eden.

“This is the one,” I answered before Joseph could speak.

Our eyes met for a moment, and I felt as if she was trying to discern something from me through my eyes. I met the stare, letting my red eyes meet her green ones.

She looked away from me, nodded, and turned to Joseph and Sampson.“You two may go. Rooms are prepared for you to rest. The First himself will honor you with his presence later.”

They both bowed, and left without a word.

“Follow me,” said Mary, turning to walk into the cathedral without waiting for a response.

I obliged. The massive front doors were opened by two of the large deadmen, revealing a large anteroom filled with multicolored light from the stained glass windows above it. It was in many ways a match for the church I saw in the earlier town, but on a far grander scale. It could easily fit a thousand. I wondered if it ever actually did. I’d seen many deadmen in Eden, but I hadn't counted so many that the building could be filled by them. Either there were far more deadmen around than I’d realized or it was all an exercise in pomp, built to inflate the ego rather than serve any actual purpose.

We walked straight back, between all the pews, and up onto the altar in the back. There was another large door, maybe half the size of the one at the entrance, and they were flanked by more guards.

Mary turned to me. “Please, surrender your weapons before you proceed. You will have no need for them.” She gestured at one of the guards to approach me, and he did so with his hands outstretched and ready to receive my kit.

I raised an eyebrow. “No.”

Mary looked back at me. “Excuse me?”

“No,” I replied simply.

She bared her teeth briefly, and bit back a response I was fairly certain would’ve been anything, but holy, before regaining control of her expression. “You have nothing to fear here. You are among your people. Please, let us take your weapons, and we shall return them once you are done meeting with the First.”

“Trust is a two-way street. You say I have nothing to fear, well, you have nothing to fear from me and my guns as long as that’s true.”

She grimaced, and opened her mouth when she was interrupted.

“Mary, allow him in. I don’t believe he means any harm.” said a voice from behind the door. It was warm, and sounded slightly bemused.

Mary bit her tongue and nodded, signaling for the door to be opened to let me through.

I entered, with Mary close behind. It was a simply appointed room, with a desk, some tables, a few piles of books, and at the far end of the room, a large wooden chair, painted black. As I entered, I felt a fresh, powerful wave of radiation wash over me, and suddenly I was no longer dealing with the heat I’d been feeling, as the radiation outside of me, matched whatever heat was within me.

In the chair, sat a tall deadman, wearing a simple black robe. His eyes, like Mary’s, were glowing bright green, as was the rest of him. The radiation that I was feeling was coming from him. He looked at me, with a discerning stare very similar to Mary’s, but his was accompanied by a warm smile.

He looked over at Mary. “Leave us.”

She blinked, surprised. “First?" she paused, looking at him questioningly.

“I am sure Mary. Go in peace, and seal the door as you leave.”

She hesitated, but eventually got herself to move. “Yes First,” she said, bowing. She then did as she was told, and left, closing the door behind her and leaving me alone with the First.

His warm smile evaporated the moment that the door was closed, and he stood up from his chair. “I will ask you questions. Lie, and I will kill you.”

I tensed, readying myself to reach for my weapons, but also realizing that if he hadn’t been worried about me entering with them, it likely meant he had no reason to fear them. “Shoot,” I said.

“Did you come from the East? Across the Cut?”

I nodded, “Yes.”

He took a step toward me, and I moved my hand an inch closer to my gun.

“Did Pott’s send you?”

“Partially.”

“Who else?”

“The Remnants. What’s left of the old US Government.”

That gave him pause, but he pressed on. “What did each of them want?”

“The Remnants want information from a nearby bunker, and Pott’s,” I reached into my pack.

Suddenly The First was in front of me, he was fast, had I been drawing my pistol, it would’ve been a close thing if I’d been trying to fire at him before he could close the gap, instead, in my hand was the letter I’d been given. “Wanted me to bring you this letter.”

He leaned back a little, and took the letter, breaking the seal with his forefinger and pulling out the stack of papers inside. He slowly walked back to his throne, leafing through each page and dropping them casually to the ground as he finished reading each one. When he was done, he laughed and looked up at me.

“I guess my friend really had a lasting impression on his little settlement. You’re all still an enormous bunch of pussies.”