S.W. Tanpepper's GAMELAND: Season Two Omnibus (Episodes 9-11)
Page 118
Sightseers.
That’s what they made Jessie think of. But then she felt guilty for doing so. She knew they weren’t here for the view. On the other hand, what better place might one spend eternity than this?
“Ready?” Her mother handed her the shoe box. Her hands still shook, but not so much anymore, now that she’d fully recovered. And she’d actually put on weight so that she didn’t look so gaunt. “Be careful.”
“You should come with me.”
Her mother shook her head. “I’ll follow after with the others.”
“No killing, Mom.” She gestured at the back of the RV. “Remind them.”
“No promises.”
“Fair enough.”
Jessie clipped the short-range EM transmitter to her belt, then stepped out of the vehicle. She could feel the others watching her as she made her way slowly around the empty cars and wandering corpses. The sidewalk was no better, littered as it was with abandoned bicycles and overturned food carts. The food that had spilled out of them was long gone.
She passed a stroller but didn’t look in. She’d learned a long time ago not to, much the same way she’d learned not to look at the kittens and puppies put up for adoption at the pet store across the street from her old dojang.
The smell of rot was in the air. It always smelled of rot, wherever she went, but at least it wasn’t so strong anymore, now that a second month had passed since the Stream went down. That’s how long it took for the uninfected dead to stop decaying and start petrifying where they lay.
As for the Discorporated, they had never started to rot. They just smelled like burnt plastic. And here, where the air was so moist and constantly churning, neither smell was all that strong.
Her heart was pounding, but the roar drowned it out until all she could hear was the sound of her breathing. It even muted the whispers she’d begun hearing again over the past few days. She didn’t know what it meant, but they troubled her, and though she tried to hide her concern from the others in the group, some noticed. It was one of the reasons she finally decided they needed to leave Connecticut.
That, and the book of code Brother Walter had been carrying when he died.
But the whispers only grew stronger.
She wiped sweat from her forehead. It was a longer walk than she expected. If she’d known it was going to be so far, she might have parked closer.
Finally, she arrived at the overlook. The wooden stairwell was still intact, and it appeared to be unoccupied, so she began to descend. She was extra careful not to fall on the moss-covered boards; she didn’t want to hurt the baby.
She was soon soaked to the bone by the mist from the falls.
Ten minutes, that’s how long she stood there without speaking a single word, alone with only her thoughts and memories. Then she held the box out in front of her. “You were a good brother,” she said. “I miss you so much.”
As much as she missed Kelly.
She pulled off the lid and upended the dust of Eric’s remains into the cataract.
After she returned to the top of the stairs, her mother wiped the mist from her face. “You okay?” she asked, and Jessie was glad they hadn’t seen her cry. They would see her tears and just think it was Niagara water. After all, crying was so unbecoming of a leader.
“You ready?” Reggie asked. He whistled once for Shinji, who was scrounging through a trash bin.
Jessie placed a hand on the slight bump above her belt and nodded. She didn’t know what would happen to them now. All she knew was that they had to keep moving. She wasn’t even sure they were heading in the right direction.
And the whispers kept whispering, telling her to listen, that maybe it was starting all over again.
FOR IMMEDIATE TRANSMISSION
FROM: Qi Jacque Ma, Chairman and Founder, Abalila HG
TO: Edmund Constipole
DATE: November 2, 2043
SUBJECT: RE: Gameland
Dear Mister Constipole;
Thank you for your prompt response to our request for proof in support of your claims. As you can imagine, we were initially skeptical about your proposal, but we have since confirmed its legitimacy. Our board has voted to acquire all assets now in your possession. In exchange, we are granting you and Miss Sandra Abrams full access to our treatment facility and chemotherapy drugs. Travel arrangements to Beijing will be sent once we have confirmed transfer of all assets into our hands. We wish you and Miss Abrams the best of luck and a speedy recovery from her illness.
(signed)
Qi Jacque Ma
Chairman and Founder
Abalila Holding Group, Xanghou, China
DO YOU WISH TO TRANSFER ALL ASSETS TO ABALILA HG?
YES || NO
Thank you for confirming. Transfer complete.
Initiating global network expansion…
Reinitializing system hardware…
Reconnecting to neural implants…
Game program rebooting…
Congratulations. All systems now on line.
Level One Play will begin in…
…3…
…2…
…1…
WELCOME TO GAMELAND
–
NORTH AMERICA
‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡
END OF JESSIE’S GAME: DEAD RECKONING
and Season Two of GAMELAND
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EXCERPT
The Last Zookeeper
The boy pressed his forehead against the paint-chipped railing and stared at the old man as he hobbled along the walkway. He moved with extreme care, avoiding the cracks in the uneven cement. Occasionally, one of them would catch his toe, and he would stumble, let out a pained grunt, then recover and continue on. The dented metal feed bucket in his right fist swung ponderously, banging against the side of his knee. He bore these insults without expression.
The bones in his hand, the gnarled knuckles, ropy tendons and veins, stood out from the effort of carrying the heavy weight. The tissue-thin skin was mottled with liver spots and inhabited by the ghosts of forgotten injuries, wounds whose secret stories the boy would never know.
He wondered what it would feel like to hold that hand in his own, to touch the baggy covering and feel it slide over the brittle bones beneath his fingers. The time-withered muscle. The cables of sinew within their loose translucent sheath.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My thanks to the devoted staff of Brinestone Press, who helped put this book together and get it out to you.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Saul Tanpepper is a writer of speculative fiction for teens and adults. A former molecular geneticist originally from Upstate New York, he now calls Northern California home.
If you enjoyed the GAMELAND series, please try Saul’s other books at his:
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‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡
Signs of Life (Jessie’s Game, Book 1)
Copyright © 2013 by Saul Tanpepper
A Dark and Sure Descent
Copyright © 2014 by Saul Tanpepper
Dead Reckoning (Jessie’s Game, Book 2)
Copyright © 2014 by Saul Tanpepper
All rights reserved.
Jan 24, 2015 by Brinestone Press, San Martin, CA 95046
Cover credit K.J. Howe Copyright © 2013, 2014, 2015
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
LICENSE NOTES
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
http://www.brinestonepress.com
Tanpepper, Saul (2015-01-23). The Season Two GAMELAND Omnibus
Brinestone Press Edition (rv150124)
For more information about this and other titles by this author:
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