Song of the Badlands by Joshua Guess

Author:Joshua Guess [Guess, Joshua]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-01-30T22:00:00+00:00

Later that night, he watched the stars.

It was far from the first time he’d done it, but Eshton couldn’t help but marvel at the freedom of it all. Just knowing he could wander out into the fields and not have to worry about a sudden dust storm or a Pale attack was almost impossibly beautiful. He stood among the rows of crops and took in the rich, earthy scents and the cool breeze blowing in off the river and stared up at the twinkling expanse above.

“It’s nice, isn’t it?” asked a voice softly from behind him.

He didn’t look. There was no need. “I used to do this as often as I could when I was a kid,” Eshton said as Beck moved to stand beside him. “Back home in Rez Zamek, before I lost them.”

Beck let out a soft sound of surprise. “I didn’t know you were from Zamek. That’s where Wojcik is from. Funny, you don’t look Polish.”

Eshton chuckled. “Nah. My family is Nigerian and Irish. But I was born there. Mom and Dad moved to Zamek just before I was born. I always thought it was funny that so many Rezzes were eventually settled by big groups of people whose parents or grandparents came from a single place. All those years stuck together in Manhattan didn’t break those bonds.”

“Suppose it’s because people cling hard to what they know when things get tough,” Beck said. “Well, usually. I chose the Watch because I needed a hard break from everything that happened.”

And like a bolt of lightning, it hit him. “That’s what the Cabal was counting on,” he breathed. “They’re keeping the Protectorate stagnant while pretending it’s order. They’re not letting us grow.”

“Maybe they think they’re just keeping us safe,” Beck said. “I’ve looked at the numbers. Awful as what they’ve done is, seems like they weren’t just picking random targets when blooms took out whole settlements. It’s population control, first and foremost.”

Eshton sighed. “I can always count on you to depress me. Sorry, I just can’t see any good in killing so many citizens just to keep things the way they are.”

Beck punched him in the arm, probably harder than absolutely necessary. “I didn’t say it was good. Just logical given the ends they wanted to achieve. I actually agree with you. I think they’re too afraid of losing power by letting us move past the need for all the harsh restrictions the Tenets put on us. It made them sure the only way to keep control was…extreme measures.”

Eshton nodded agreement, but was happy to let silence reign.

Did the members of the Cabal ever do this? Just take five minutes out of their day to stop and truly take in the world around them? Did they sit on a market street and watch the vendors hawk their wares, or watch the new mothers cooing to their children haggle for better prices? Did they make any sort of effort to really see the society they were ostensibly protecting with their hellish actions? Did they try at all to understand the people who made it up?

No.

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