Plague 2 - Plague War by Jeff Carlson

Author:Jeff Carlson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction
Published: 2012-03-10T07:18:49+00:00

* * *

Being with Allison had changed him. His self-image was still shaky, but his confidence was growing again. He wasn’t so bitter or afraid. Maybe he should have been. He’d taken the first hesitant steps toward building a normal life in Grand Lake, only to leave her. Allison had stayed behind and he didn’t blame her.

She had other responsibilities. He’d realized his place was here.

He made a point of finding Ruth that evening in camp. She looked up from her maps and Cam glanced left and right, feeling like he was on stage. The three jeeps sat in an open triangle with firing positions at each corner, in the middle of a long, slanting area of low brush and rock. The space inside was no more than ten yards across at its widest point. Twelve people made for a good crowd, even though most of them were either sitting at the guns or sacked out in their bedrolls. Cam saw Captain Park and another man watching him.

The Rangers were curious. They’d gambled their lives for Ruth and they weren’t quite sure how Cam was attached to her—

and he was obviously with her, no matter that he’d given his oath and wore their uniform. Cam was a Ranger in name only. He was still learning to disassemble and clean his weapon, the 5.56mm M4 carbine. He was slightly more familiar with the older M16, which had been carried by the troops out of Leadville, like Newcombe, but although the two models were very similar, Cam had never trained with one. The difference was unexpected. He knew the plague year had forced the military to draw on old stockpiles and equipment, yet it surprised Cam to learn that rebel soldiers were better armed than the troops had been in the capital, at least in this instance.

Most of the Rangers were friendly, like Foshtomi. They were willing to teach him, but they wanted to know how he fit into the puzzle. So did he.

The look in Ruth’s eyes was wary, though she tried to hide it with a smile. “Hi,” she said.

“How are you doing?” Cam paused at the edge of her notes.

Then he crouched on the far side of the battered sheaf of paper.

Ruth began to tidy up and seemed glad for an excuse to avoid his gaze. She pointed at the map. “We haven’t found anything new yet,” she said.

Plague War

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That wasn’t what he’d asked, but he nodded.

Ruth shook her head. “I didn’t really expect to. We haven’t covered enough ground.”

“We will,” Cam said.

The sunset had that lasting quality he’d only found at elevation. Her hair shone in the twilight, and when she looked up, her brown eyes were dark and beautiful and so very serious.

She deserved better. She should have been able to remain in Grand Lake, and Cam wondered at her insistence that no one else could screen the blood samples for nanotech. Ruth was still punishing herself. Why?

The drive had been tough-going. They had the ability to

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