The group had witnessed the bright lights of the transformation of the Stadium from afar, and some had wanted to go investigate before Allistor’s ambassador had shown up. A few were so anxious to get to safe shelter that they didn’t wait for a vehicle, they simply packed their belongings on their backs and began walking. Though they were armed, Allistor tried to talk them out of it. Lang reassured him that his people had been foraging in the area, and knew the risks.
The rest of the group packed up their belongings and piled up everything of value they’d foraged. When a convoy of nearly thirty vehicles arrived there were cheers, and more than a few tears. They quickly loaded up the supplies, and as many people as possible piled into the vehicles. The rest walked alongside for the mile and a half trip.
When they arrived and the gates opened, every single one of Allistor’s Laramie people were there at the gate to welcome the newcomers and help get them situated. There were more cheers, lots of handshakes, crying, and hugs. Allistor beamed with pride.
Through the day, the other groups showed up. One by one, they gathered outside the gate and took the oath, then were welcomed inside. Another two groups had arrived as well, recruited by friends in the first six groups.
All told, by the time sun set, Allistor had more than seven hundred new citizens.
There were two other notable arrivals that afternoon. The first was a small convoy led by Nancy and George that included a panel truck full of fresh fruit, vegetables, and meat, and a flatbed covered with saplings and seedlings for the greenhouse. They instantly became the most popular people in the Stadium.
Meg and Sam were there too, Sam insisting that they organize the kitchen. When Meg saw the size of the crowd, and the size of the kitchen, she went after Allistor with a frying pan, threatening to put a lump on his head if he didn’t add two more kitchens immediately. Laughing, he did as she asked, saying he’d meant to get to it, but had been a little busy.
Ramon had accompanied the others, bringing along bags of scrolls for the basic spells; Light, Restore, and Ignite. He also brought a supply of skill scrolls which he entrusted to Helen for distribution to folks who wished to begin crafting, or to further crafts that they’d already begun to pursue.
That night there was a celebratory feast. Canid and turtle steaks, chicken soup and rabbit stew, along with freshly steamed vegetables and sweetened fruit preserves for dessert. For the first time in a long time, the survivors laughed and joked, sang and danced without fear of monsters rushing in from the dark. Their bellies full, the aura of joy and contentedness was heartwarming.
Allistor was considering heading to bed when Nigel alerted him to the other notable arrival. Unfortunately, about half of those gathered heard the alert as well.
“Lord Allistor, a humanoid approaches the gate.”
Allistor and many of the others jogged to the south wall and climbed to the top. Looking down, they saw a woman in dark clothing stumbling toward the gate. Allistor scanned the horizon as best he could in the dark, but saw no other movement. And Nigel wasn’t detecting anyone else within two hundred yards.
“Hold it there, miss.” he called down when she was within about a hundred feet. The woman stopped walking and wobbled slightly on her feet. Then she simply gave up and plopped herself down on the ground.
Her faint voice drifted up to them. “Please… help.”
One of the children, upon hearing the voice, screamed, “Mommy!” and tried to jump over the wall. The nearby adults restrained her, but she kept trying to break free. “That’s my momma! Momma!”
Allistor picked up the girl and jumped off the back of the parapet, his enhanced Strength more than enough to absorb the impact. “Nigel, open the gate.”
As the gate opened, he carried the child out and dashed across to the woman, who was struggling to her feet after hearing her child’s calls. “Lacey? Is it really you, baby girl?”
The child struggled even harder, and Allistor let her go, setting her on her feet whereupon she promptly sprinted toward her mother. “Mammaaaa!”
Allistor walked slowly, allowing the two of them to embrace, the mother sobbing in joy as she wrapped her little girl in her arms. “It’s me, baby. I’m here. It’s gonna be okay. Everything’s gonna be okay.”
When he reached them, Allistor introduced himself. “I’m Allistor. And you are…?”
“Her name’s Moira.” Lang’s voice came from right behind him. “She was one of the ones taken on that first morning.”
Allistor was instantly suspicious. “So, you’ve come from Barden’s camp?”
Moira nodded, tears still streaming down her face as she gripped her daughter tightly. “I escaped. The camp is tearing itself apart. Some of the fighters came back yesterday saying Barden was dead, along with most of his men. The ones that are left have been fighting over what to do and who’s in charge.”
“And you just walked out of the camp?” Allistor’s tone was suspicious, and Lang noticed.
“Hey, she’s one of mine. They took her at gunpoint, she didn’t volunteer.”
Allistor looked at the man, then stepped closer to him and whispered, “I need to do this. For all of us. Just be patient.”
Lang glared at him for a moment, thinking. With a nod, he stepped back. Allistor turned back to Moira. “I need you to let go of Lacey for a minute. We’re going to take you inside, but we need to search you first.”
Moira began shaking her head, holding tight to the little girl. “What? Search me for what? I don’t have any weapons.”
Helen stepped forward, her rifle slung over her shoulder and both hands up. “That’s great. We just need to check that to be sure. Then we’ll take you both inside where we can talk. We need to do this quickly, as you may have been followed.”
Moira was still shaking her head. “I ran. Ran the whole way here. They were chasing the others. No way they followed me.”
Now it was Helen’s turn to shake her head. Her tone hardened. “If you believed that, you wouldn’t have run yourself into the ground. Which means you’ve just lied to us. Now, let me explain this clearly. You are going to let go of your daughter and be searched. The only question is whether that happens with you alive, or dead.”
Moira glanced over her shoulder into the darkness. Her eyes wide, she nodded once and let go of Lacey. Lang stepped forward and scooped up the crying girl who immediately began to scream and reach for her mom. Lang hugged her to his chest, mumbling into her ear to try and calm her. Moira held out her arms to the sides. “Fine. Get it over with. Just hurry.” Her gaze darted to her crying daughter, then back to Helen.
“Are you carrying any storage devices? A ring, maybe?” Allistor asked as Helen stepped forward and began to search the woman, quickly and efficiently.
Moira shook her head. “No. Nothing. I ran with just a canteen, and I dropped that along the way. And-” she stopped mid-sentence, then cursed. “Shit, I do have a weapon. A knife in my boot.”
Allistor raised his shotgun and pointed it directly at Moira’s face, the end of the barrel less than a foot from her nose. “You said you had no weapons.”
Lang put a hand on his shoulder. “Easy, Allistor. She’s scared. She just forgot.”
“Or she realized Helen was about to find it.” Allistor kept his weapon leveled.
Helen had just bent down to retrieve the knife from Moira’s ankle when a shot rang out. Moira grunted, falling backward as the others all ducked instinctively. Allistor heard sounds of a struggle behind him, then a scream that cut off quickly with a thud.
Helen called out, “Moira’s hit.” She and Allistor both cast a heal on the woman, as did at least one other unseen person. The round had struck her shoulder, blasting away a large chunk of meat. Allistor didn’t spend time watching the wound close, turning instead back toward the wall.
He heard Austin’s shaky voice up on the wall saying, “I didn’t push him. He jumped. I…I tried to stop him.”
Leaving Moira with Helen, Allistor
jogged back to the wall. Laying on the ground not far from the base was one of the men he’d just taken an oath from earlier in the day. The man was dead, his neck snapped. A rifle lay next to him. Looking up at the faces on the wall above, he asked, “What happened?”
Virginia’s voice answered. “That man took a shot at you. Austin and a few others grabbed him, but he broke loose and tried to jump off the wall. Austin got ahold of his foot, and it tripped him up so that he fell face first…”
Allistor looked again at the man, who had clearly landed face first. He skull was partially caved in, and his head rested at an impossible angle. Looking back up at the wall, he said, “Austin, come down here and loot this man. A couple others come down here with him. Drag the body a hundred yards away from the wall and leave it.”
Walking back to Helen, he saw that Moira was fully healed. The skin visible through her torn shirt sleeve not even showing a scar. Helen held up a sheathed knife and said, “I didn’t find anything else. No ring, or any jewelry at all.”
Moira mumbled, “Assholes stole everything I had before they…” She just hung her head and didn’t finish. Allistor nodded to Lang, who put down the little girl. Lacey ran back into her mother’s arms, still crying. He felt sorry for the girl and the woman, but he needed to be sure.
“Before we walk inside, tell me how you managed to get away.”
Lang and Helen both opened their mouths to object. Allistor held up a hand. “I’m sick of being betrayed by people I’ve put my trust in. We’ve found two of Barden’s spies in two different groups in two days.”
Both Helen and Lang quieted, and Moira swallowed hard. “A few of the guards that were left had been talking about killing us all and moving on. Saying we were too many to control, and feed. A bunch of us decided to run. All at the same time. One of the men said it would be best if we went different directions. We all saw the lights here yesterday, and I decided to run this direction. I waited a few seconds after the others took off. One of them got spotted, and the guards surged in that direction, shooting like crazy. That’s when I ran.”
Allistor watched her face as she spoke. He didn’t pick up any kind of deceptive vibe. Then again, who the hell was he? He didn’t have any training in interrogation or spy craft. He looked up at Helen, who nodded once. She even handed Moira back her knife, which was enough for Allistor.
“Right. Everyone back inside. Moira, I’m sorry, but we needed to be sure.” He held out a hand, indicating she should walk through the gate. Once she and the others were inside, he waited for the body detail to return. Clapping Austin on the shoulder as he passed through the gate, he said, “Well done, kid. You did what you had to do.”
Back inside, he looked around. Hundreds of sets of eyes were focused on him, Moira, and Lacey. He put his shotgun away in his inventory and put a hand on Moira’s shoulder. The woman flinched slightly, but didn’t move away.
“It’s okay folks. Sorry about the excitement. Go on back to your dinners now, and let’s finish this celebration!” he tried to sound as upbeat as possible, but he didn’t think anyone bought it. To his surprise, people turned and headed back toward the tables. The folks on the wall filed down the stairs and joined them. He kept Moira with him as the crowd passed by. Lang and Helen remained with him, as did Meg, who squatted down in front of Lacey and held out her arms.
“How ‘bout we get you some of that yummy chicken soup? I made it myself.” When Lacey continued to cling to her mother’s leg, Meg added, “It’s okay sweetie. Your mom’s safe now. She just has to have some grown-up talk with Allistor and Lang. She’ll be joining you for some soup soon enough.”
Moira crouched down and hugged Lacey again, then kissed her forehead. “It’s okay, baby. Go with this nice lady, and I’ll catch up real soon. Go ahead.” She gave Lacey a gentle shove, and the little girl nodded once before stepping into Meg’s arms. Meg lifted her up with a groan and carried her away.
Looking at Lang, Moira got back to her feet. “Thank you. For keeping her alive all this time. I wasn’t sure…” she broke down and began to cry. Lang reached out and pulled her into a hug, patting her on the back and just letting her cry. Allistor and the others waited patiently. Eventually she got herself composed, and Lang escorted her as they followed Allistor to the nearby first floor conference room. As they walked, Sam, Ramon, Richard, Daniel, Virginia, and Bob joined them. Austin tried to as well, but Allistor gave him a mission.
“You know who the leaders of the other groups are? You’d recognize their faces? Can you gather them up and bring them to the conference room?”
Austin nodded. “I think so. If not, I can ask around. I’ll find them and bring ‘em here.” He took off at a dead run.
Once inside the conference room, Allistor pulled some jerky and a bottle of water from inventory. Handing them to Moira, he said, “Again, I’m sorry about the welcome. This place isn’t exactly utopia, yet. Barden has seriously screwed with people’s heads, including mine, apparently.” He waited as she took a long drink, emptying the bottle, then handed her another one. “Take it easy. Eat and drink slowly. We’ve got a little time before the others arrive. When you’ve answered our questions, we’ll take you to find Lacey and some better food.”
It was only about five minutes before the others arrived, Austin proudly leading them. Allistor took in the boy’s grin and said, “That was fast. Well done.”
Austin beamed at him. “I decided not to waste time chasing them down.”
One of the men walking in behind him laughed. “Yeah, he just stood up on a table and shouted that we should come and follow him.” Virginia snorted, and Bob chuckled.
Austin’s smile faded a bit, and he walked over to Moira. Handing her a bowl of something, he mumbled, “I’m sorry you got shot. I tried to stop him.” Turning to Allistor he said, “I thought he was aiming for you. I bumped him as I reached for his gun. I… think it might be my fault she got hit.”
Moira put a hand on Austin’s arm. “No, he was aiming for me. He was one of Barden’s guys. Probably wanted to shut me up before I said anything about the camp. You saved my life. Thank you.” She patted his arm as he blushed and backed away. Bob caught his attention and pointed to the door, giving him an approving grandfatherly smile.
When the door closed, Allistor said, “Please, eat up. When you feel up to it, tell us all you can about Barden’s people and the camp.”
Austin had forgotten to bring any silverware, so Moira used her knife to stab a piece of meat from the rabbit stew. When she’d chewed and swallowed, she began her report.
“There are about thirty of his guards left. Men and women. Another twenty or so are people who support him. Cooks, scouts, people he uses as spies like the one you just killed. There were more than a hundred of us prisoners. They used us for labor, foraging parties, and… other things.” Her eyes dropped to her hands, which she placed in her lap. Virginia rubbed her back in sympathy.
After a moment, Moira continued. “About thirty of us ran when it got dark. I don’t know how many got away. Or how many others might have run after I was gone. I didn’t look back.”
For the next ten minutes, the members of the group asked their questions as gently as possible while Moira answered the best she could. When they thought they had a good idea of the location and disposition of Barden’s camp, Allistor called an end to the meeting. Before Virginia escorted Moira out, Allistor looked directly at her. “I’m going to need you to take the oath. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you stay without it. Not that it seems to make a big difference.” he added bitterly.
Helen spoke the words for Moira to repeat, which she did without hesitation. And a moment later Moira was off to be reunited with her daughter.
Sam shook his head. “We really need to find that truth spell or whatever. I mean, what’s the point of swearing an oath that’s bound by the system if there are no consequences when you break it?”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Bob mused aloud. Seeing ev
eryone looking his way, he said, “I saw the man fire the shot, and his attempt to jump off the wall. Austin did touch his foot, but I doubt it was enough to flip him the way he did. I think maybe the system stepped in somehow and made sure his fall was fatal.”
Every jaw in the room dropped open as they considered Bob’s words. Sam was the first to speak. “Well, damn. If that’s true… that changes things a bit.”
*****
The next morning was spent getting the large number of newcomers settled. Nancy, George, Ramon, Meg, Sam, Helen, and Allistor all set themselves up on one side of a long table. One by one the new folks were brought to sit in front of one of them. They talked briefly about the person’s skills, stats, what they’d done before the apocalypse, and what they wanted to do in the new world. Lists were made, with notes next to each name.
There was a wide array of professions among them. Teachers, cops, accountants, construction workers, even a professor of mechanical engineering. To Allistor’s surprise and amusement, there was a group of three friends who’d been exotic dancers. They’d asked for space to open a club and continue their professions. Allistor had told them they’d have to wait and see. As a red-blooded young man, he wasn’t opposed to the idea, but he wasn’t sure the others would approve.
It took most of the day to get through all the interviews, each of Allistor’s advisors and himself having to speak with more than a hundred people. There were no breaks for lunch or dinner, they simply had food brought to them as they worked. When it was all done, they had a massive list of skills and desires to sort through.
Worn out from the long day, Allistor decided to stop for the evening, and pick it up again in the morning. They packed up and were about to retire when Nigel sent out an alert.
Shadow Sun Expansion Page 7