Honor in an Age of Metal and Men by Anthony W. Eichenlaub

Author:Anthony W. Eichenlaub [Eichenlaub, Anthony W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Oak Leaf Books LLC

14

“Well where the hell did they come from?” My voice rumbled just shy of a yell, and Legs winced at every word.

“I told you,” he said. “We had eyes on all the locals. They didn’t pick these folks up when they stopped.”

Trish cut me off before anger boiled out again. “He’s right.” She sniffed the air. “You smell that?”

“What?” All I smelled was the sour stink people got before they gave up all hope. Then it clicked. “How long have you people been here?” I asked.

Not a damn one of them responded. They didn’t even bother looking up at me—not even a glance. As the train sped across the Texan landscape, they stood there like cattle awaiting slaughter. Maybe that’s what they were.

“Get Reginald on the line,” I said. “He knows something he’s not telling you.”

“I’ve tried.” Trish gripped the bar of one of the cages, her artificial muscles flexing their furious strength. I’d never seen her so frustrated. Every attempt to open the cages had failed. Even my big metal arm couldn’t tear these bars free. “We don’t even know if these people are infected.”

But something was wrong with them. They looked like common folk: tan-skinned farmers and brown-skinned bankers. Young and old stood crammed in cages that ran the length of the train car.

“Did we find the crates?”

Trish peered closely at me. “Six total.”

“We need to talk to Reggie, goddamnit,” I said, almost to myself.

“Can’t get him, boss,” Legs said from the other end of the train car. “Francis tried.”

“Have you tried?”

Legs shook his head.

“Try. And have Rosa try too. I don’t trust Francis.”

“I can hear you, you know,” Francis said over the train’s speakers.

“I fucking know you can. Something’s rotten out here and I’d like to know what. How long till we get to Dead Oak?”

Trish’s eyes flashed with the data. “Not much longer.”

“We’re stopping there,” I said. “We need to get these people to safety.” I tried the lock again, but it resisted. Somebody really wanted these people locked up.

Rosa said, “You want us to destroy the crates?”

“Yeah,” I said. “When we get stopped, stick them in a hole and use one of those bombs. Trish, make sure that happens.”

Dead Oak was always a small town situated at the ass end of nowhere. It was far enough from everything to be something, but close enough to Austin to be nothing. Dead Oak had the unfortunate situation of being in the middle of the worst when anything bad hit. Its domed buildings withstood every storm, but its people never thrived. I’d once dragged justice kicking and screaming to this hellhole of a town, but the work I did had been nothing compared to the hardscrabble everyday lives of its citizens.

That’s why it was a damn surprise when I stepped off the train in the Dead Oak station to find a bustling little village full of commerce and activity.

I strolled into the center of town under the pulsing flow of flying traffic overhead. The massive dead oak still stood in the central square, its knobby branches clawing at the deep blue sky.

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