The Emperor's Railroad by Guy Haley

Author:Guy Haley [Haley, Guy]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, Apocalyptic & Post-Apocalyptic, Fantasy, Epic
ISBN: 9780765389848
Google: Zc8fjgEACAAJ
Publisher: Tor.com
Published: 2015-12-31T13:00:00+00:00

So, that’s how we got to the Winfield bridge, most of the way to Winfort. From there, our troubles were about to begin.

By the time we had set up camp on the bridge, it was getting dark. After a week together my mom and Quinn had fallen into an easy routine. He’d set the fire, she’d find spots for the bedrolls and go about fixing dinner. First we all scavenged about the bridge, gathering sticks from the feet of trees growing out the concrete. He stacked them close to hand, in the spot where the smoke was most like to go, wet wood closest in to the heat. That all took time. When he figured we had enough, Quinn pulled a bundle of kindling sticks off of his pony, built a teepee out of it, lit it with a big-headed match, and coaxed a little fire into life.

A thread of blue smoke rose upwards. There was no wind at all. Past the churn of the weirs made by the broken bridge and the dam further down, the river was as smooth as glass.

“We need more wood. Come on, son,” Quinn said, beckoning at me.

We worked quickly gathering sticks. Night was coming in fast. You could hear the smallest sound, loudest seemed the crack of the fire as the wood took. The sky was getting so dark and deep that I stopped and stared up at it. After near two weeks of traveling I still couldn’t get used to the stars. We kept the lamps burning all night long in New Karlsville, just like we do here, it kills the depth of the night and makes the monsters seem further away. The sky was a deep purple, so full of lights, the wide band of the Milky Way cutting across it.

“It’s something to see,” said Quinn.

“Up on this bridge, floating in the sky, I feel like I could fall into them.”

“Now that is not a comfortable notion,” said Quinn.

“No, sir.”

“Time was, you couldn’t see them. The world Gone Before was too full of light, lights in the houses, in the highways. Like in Charleston, but more of them, and brighter.”

“How’d you know, mister?” I said.

“I know, is all. I read. I’ve been places, and I’ve heard things. Once you get as old as me, you’ll understand.”

I shivered. I wanted the tiny tongues of flame to hurry up, eat the wood and make me warm. Quinn jerked his head back toward the fire. He dropped his pile of wood by its side, took my sticks and put them atop his, then went to Clemente. He yanked a blanket from a pack and threw it at me. It was musty, smelled of leather, saddle soap, and horse. My mother wrapped it around my shoulders with a worried nod at Quinn.

Something crashed through the brush on the far shore. I started at it. My mom shushed me. Neither she nor Quinn spoke.

We ate of the food we’d got in Charleston. It occurred to me then that although Quinn was well equipped, he was poorly supplied.

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