Anno Zombus Year 1 (Book 8): August Read Free Page B

the truth.  Besides, depending on what we find in there, I might be able to set up something really cool!”
     
    “In that case, welcome aboard.”  I told him, shaking his tiny hand.  His grip was quite a bit firmer than I had expected.  “The more, the merrier, really.”  Apocalypse Girl smiled from her corner, where she was catching up on some reading on the most comfortable couch in the city.
     
    noon
    The Scavenger Squad finally arrived, coming to see me shortly after lunchtime.  Six men and women, freshly showered and scrubbed, after delivering a truckload of canned food, bottled water and toilet paper.  After some brief introductions, I told them my idea.  Five of them thought it completely insane.  One, a guy the others referred to by the name Deathwish, chuckled the whole way through their objections, telling them that he wanted out of their merry little band, and signed up for the expedition on the spot.
     
    “Never thought I'd end up a Cleanser,”  Deathwish said.  “But, you gotta do what you gotta do.  Scavving is fucking boring anyway.”  He flashed a toothy grin.  “We heading in tomorrow, yeah?”  I nodded, telling him that this shopping excursion would likely take longer than any other he had ever been on.  “Yeah, I always fucking hated shopping centres.  Kinda wandered around wanting to smash everybody's skulls in.  Hehe, now it looks like I'll get to do exactly that!”
     
    Apocalypse Girl studied him from her couch in the corner, over her book.  Deathwish troubled her slightly, but she could see he would be of use.  The rest of the Scavenger Squad told us that they had a reasonable backlog of places to clear out, as they could only fit so much into the truck at a time, but that they should be ready to start on our target within a week at the latest.  Telling them that we should be done long before then, I walked them outside the Casino-turned-Palace on my way to visit Apprentice with Apocalypse Girl.
     
    My old friend was talking with a couple of farmers, telling them a couple of things about her experiences training in the House-where-no-house-should-be under Healer.  One was staring at her, eyes wide at her description of the first time she had healed a bite victim.  The other was calling her a liar, saying that bites could not be healed.  Calmly, she kept restating her position and, when Apocalypse Girl and I drew near enough for her to notice, she pointed me out, saying that I had been the latest recipient of her aid.
     
    I was poked, prodded and examined, the pair paying particular attention to the chunk that Dead Disciple had taken from my shoulder.  “Yup, looks like a bite to me,” said the initial believer.  The other agreed, though swore it was that of a dog, perhaps.  Apocalypse Dog whined beside me, sitting calmly as we talked.  I assured him that I had been chewed on by a Dead man, Apocalypse Girl backing me up.  Doubter looked doubtful, Believer less so.  I had no time for their argument and told them so, taking Apprentice aside.
     
    She had discovered two things; the first, that there were far more farmers working than was necessary, and the second, that many of them were sick to buggery of farming and were almost ecstatic at the idea of a road-trip through the wastes up to the House-where-no-house-should-be.  There was even a bus depot just outside the farmland area with a few buses that had not been used for the Wall yet, Butler having issued orders for two to be armoured and outfitted with some weaponry.  They would be ready to leave in a couple of days.  Apprentice had given detailed instructions, drawn a rough map and described the location of the House-where-no-house-should-be to enough people that they should find it without much difficulty.  When I asked her whether she would like to take the group back there herself, she smiled sadly and said simply “I would like that very much... But, I can never go back there.  We are trained