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“Shhh. I’m not going to hurt you. I want to explain, and I don’t want to wake anyone.”
“And I’m going to trust you not to kick in my ribs because?” he said. The benefit of the doubt better not have him coughing up blood.
Mike stood and backed off but there was a long pause before he said anything, during which Zeke got free of the sleeping bag and reached for a shirt. He’d been sleeping on his own on the floor in one of the half-completed cabins. It wasn’t much different from the two nights he’d spent sleeping on the floor of the cabin he shared with Cadence.
“Because I’m dying,” Mike said finally.
Zeke put his shirt on and added boots to the sweats he’d been sleeping in and followed Mike outside. They walked a good ten minutes away from the others with the moon as their light before Mike spoke again.
“I had cancer. My colon. Ten years ago. Thought they got it all and I was clear for life, but I’ve got all the symptoms back.”
“Sorry to hear that.” Sorry he believed it. Mike had blamed bad water for a stomach upset and he’d noticed the crew boss wasn’t eating and his pants were loose, extra holes drilled in his belt. He was also first to leave the campfire and last to arrive on-site in the morning, a change in his behavior.
“I’ve been a Continuer since the beginning. You just arrived. Is it as bad as what Orrin and Spencer say out there?”
Ah shit. This could be some kind of test. The excuse everyone was looking for to make life harder for him. “I can’t help you, Mike.”
“I thought you might say that. We beat that into you. Made you worry for Rosie’s safety. I’m sorry for that. And then you went and did the wrong thing by Susan, so we’ve put you in the doghouse again.”
“All of that is to help me fit in, right? To teach me the Continuer ways. You were only trying to make it easier for me.” What a good little recruit he was.
Mike took his battered Cattleman off and scratched his head. “I used to think that’s why we treated newcomers so mean. That it was for their own good. I’m looking death in the face and I’m wondering why we’re so scared of anyone who thinks differently. Why we try to make sure they keep those different thoughts to their damn selves. Can’t fault you for not wanting to talk straight with me.” He put his hat back on and tipped the brim. “Sorry I disturbed your sleep. I’d be grateful if you kept this little chat to yourself.”
As Mike turned to leave, Zeke blew out a stream of air. He didn’t like to think himself a sucker, but this assignment was testing that self-image something bad. “What do you really want to know?”
Mike stopped and about-faced. “We can’t treat serious illnesses. We can’t treat much of anything. I’m trying to work out if I should accept my fate or take a risk on the outside.”
Mike was maybe early fifties, a hell of a lot of living left to do. This could still be a trap. “I can help you, but I need something in return.”
“I can have you assigned to a different crew. You won’t have to work so hard.”
Tempting, especially a trade that meant he was closer to Rory, but not good enough. He needed something he could use to shut the place down. Mike was a member of Orrin’s inner circle. Zeke just had to play this right to get him to talk. “I don’t mind the work.”
“I can get you certain freedoms.”
He stayed silent, let Mike fill in the knowledge gap. “You could have a laptop with books on it, or one of those tablet things with games on them.”
Aha, so there was an illicit trade in devices. That was why Rory hadn’t been able to find a treasure chest of them. “I need answers more than I want to play games. For one, how well armed is this place?”
“You and that question. Dog with a bone.” Mike put a hand to his gut. “If I answer your dang questions I won’t need to worry about dying of cancer. You think this place doesn’t have its secrets? You think Orrin treats anyone who talks out of turn, steps out of line, kindly?”
He’d made Mike angry. He could use that. Show me where the bodies are buried, and this will all be over. “Why do you keep Orrin’s secrets?”
“Because it would be chaos. Same as the outside.”
“Except it’s not like they’re telling you out there.”
Mike looked away. Zeke let him weigh the consequences of trading information for a chance at life.
“We have enough weapons to defend ourselves when it comes to it. You don’t need to be worried about Rosie’s safety.”
He shook his head. Not enough give in that answer. C’mon, Mike, cough up something I can use, make me feel like less of a sucker when I tell you everything is A-OK in the big bad decay.
“We have the right gear to equip an army,” Mike said.
“If I wanted to shoot down an aircraft?”
“Now that would depend on how steady your aim is, but we could kit yo
