Deathlands 86 - Eden's Twilight by James Axler

Author:James Axler [Axler, James]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance, Fiction, General, Action & Adventure, Men's Adventure, Science Fiction, Adventure
ISBN: 9781599506005
Google: MklnSh85YaoC
Amazon: 0373625960
Barnesnoble: 0373625960
Publisher: Gold Eagle
Published: 2009-06-08T05:00:00+00:00

160

DEATHLANDS

As the external temperature dropped, the vents opened by themselves, admitting a wealth of cool air carrying the rich smell of green plants. Bushes laden with berries covered both shores, and the trees were heavy with ripe fruit, the branches bowing down to nearly touch the ground.

“Bear!” Jak cried in delight, grabbing a recently cleaned M-16 rapidfire and working the arming bolt. “Stop and I get dinner!”

“And then we’d have to skin it, cut out steaks, make a campfire and cook the bastard,” Ryan replied gruffly, the disappointment thick in his voice. “Sorry, we can’t spare the hours.”

“But bear in apple orchard!” Jak admonished, rubbing his stomach. The backpacks they’d rescued from the redoubt had been full of MRE packs, but each Mylar envelope had been riddled with tiny corrosion holes, the dehydrated food as inedible as dung.

“And a bear in an orchard is good?” Mildred asked over a shoulder, dodging a small boulder in the stream.

The teenager scowled in disbelief. “Not have bear and apple stew?” He snorted. “Thought came from civilized time!”

“So did I, once,” Mildred said with a sigh, shifting gears.

The creek flowed to a delta, where it joined over waterways to become a shallow river, clear water slow and stately. The rad counters read clean, and fish could be seen swimming in the shallows, along with crabs and some black eels.

Moving onto a grassy bank, the companions soon saw signs of a nearby ville: a torn fishing net tangled in the branches of a submerged rock, a crude attempt at plowing a field, a bloody rope dangling from a tree limb where a deer or some other animal had been gutted. Then, following a gentle curve, there was Newton.

Low tree stumps dotted the ground for a hundred feet before reaching the outer wall, clear ground for the people inside to easily pick off invaders. There was a path to the front Eden’s Twilight

161

gate, but it curved several times before reaching the entrance.

Obviously it was designed to slow an enemy charge, making it easier for the sec men to aim.

Unless you were stupe enough to go over the tree stumps, Ryan noted. He felt certain the field was filled with pits, traps and buried explosive charges.

The wall itself was the usual mixture of red bricks, cinder-blocks, sidewalk slabs, logs and concrete, with large boulders being used as sturdy cornerstones. Smart move. The top of the barrier was studded with sharp sticks, broken glass and a few rusty strands of barbed wire. The gate was more impressive, overlapping sheets of metal from whatever could be found—

stop signs, billboards, car hoods, manhole covers…

The hodgepodge was dented in numerous places and streaked with the telltale gray of countless ricochets. Clearly, the imposing barrier had withstood numerous attacks. Several wooden guard towers stood tall behind the wall, in the distance fluttered a flag of murky colors and off to the side was a tall gallows, the dangling noose empty. It was a message any outlander could easily understand.

“Good wall,” J.B. said in admiration.

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