Wasteland Omnibus by Kyle West

Author:Kyle West
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kyle West

***

That night we camped north of the ruins of Flagstaff. We went off the road a fair distance to avoid the town, since we didn't know what might be waiting there.

We found the perfect hideout – a shallow cave inside one of the rocky hills below the base of a tall mountain, the cap of which was lost in red cloud.

The landscape had changed greatly with elevation. Besides the drastic temperature drop (the thermometer in the Recon read 24º Fahrenheit), I saw my first trees – at least, the first trees that hadn't been turned by the xenovirus. They were pines mostly, and most had been long dead. What few were left alive had the barest tufts of green needles on their branches, indicating that soon they would be joining the rest.

After we stopped, we collected a lot of wood for a fire. Once we had the fire roaring, the warmth felt good.

Though the fire was warm, the night outside was bitterly cold. Anna cooked the evening meal – the same stew we had eaten last night, with the veggies, potatoes, and camel meat taken from Raider Bluff.

She came to sit near me, but we didn't speak. Everyone was watching the fire and looked exhausted. Lisa had already wrapped herself in her blanket with her back to the flame.

"Got cold, didn't it?" she asked.

"We climbed a lot in elevation," I said.

"The air does seem thinner," Anna said. "Or maybe I'm just imagining it."

We watched the fires, as one of the logs split and sent a shower of sparks upward. Makara was sharpening her knife, while Samuel, as usual, was poring over his map.

"What's your story, anyway?" I asked.

Anna shrugged. "It's not really worth telling."

"Somehow, I doubt that."

"Well, that's code for I don't really want to talk about it."

"Ouch."

"Yeah," Anna said. "I guess you could say there's a lot of ouch in it."

"I guess this is the kind of world where you can't really ask that question and expect a fairytale."

"I don't think the world ever worked like that. People like to talk about the Old World, especially the old people, like it's this magical place." Anna shook her head. "I don't believe it."

"We can see the ruins, though," I said. "They built some amazing things."

"I believe there was a world like that," Anna said. "It was only thirty years ago. Even men like Char can remember back that far. But it's amazing, really, how everything fades. How long until we believe gods made those buildings instead of men?"

I didn't know why, but the thought chilled me. "There might not even be time for that."

Anna looked at me for the first time. "Because of the xenovirus?"

I nodded. "If it's anything like what Samuel thinks it is...we probably don't have long."

Anna looked away. "That serious, then."

I nodded. "I think Samuel's right. My dad..."

Anna was listening, but I stopped myself. I didn't really want to talk about my dad.

"I should check on that stew."

She got up and lifted the lid, giving it a stir before coming to sit by me.

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