Promised Read Free

“Wouldn’t you know,” he said, his speech slurred. “Now, if only I were pregnant, you’d be a big help.”

 
    CHAPTER 2
    clan nineteen
    P ETER’S MATCH WENT OUT.
    â€œLight another, quickly please,” Gaia said. “It’s my brother.” She was as delighted to find Jack as she was horrified to see him in such dire shape. “Where are you hurt? How long have you been like this?”
    Peter struck another match and kept them coming. Jack blinked slowly, watching Gaia with his oddly lustrous eyes. His shirt was dark with caked blood.
    â€œJust take care of Angie,” Jack said. “She’s had a bad time of it. I’m glad I got to see you once more. I kept hoping I might.”
    â€œTell me how you’re hurt.”
    â€œI got knifed in my side here,” Jack said. “I didn’t think it was that bad, but it’s wiped me out. The blade must have been poisoned.”
    â€œWhen was this?” Gaia asked.
    â€œA couple days back, when we ditched our band of nomads,” Jack said. “Angie’s mother just died, and the kid has no other family. It’s a long story, but her mom asked me to get Angie to the Enclave so she could have a shot at a future, and I owed her, so that’s what I was trying to do. Gaia, promise me you’ll take care of her. You’re headed back, aren’t you?”
    The girl had slid her fingers into Jack’s hand and looked like she would never let go.
    â€œTake care of her yourself,” Gaia said. “We Stones don’t die easy.”
    â€œOdin Stone. Right.” He mumbled his birth name as if it were still unfamiliar.
    â€œWhere’s your tribe now?” Gaia asked.
    â€œThey were two days west of here and heading south. They’re long gone by now.”
    In the poor light, Gaia saw that layers of cloth were stuck against Jack’s wound. Tugging at the fabric would make it worse and start him bleeding again before she could treat him properly. There was no point staying here talking.
    â€œYou ready, Peter?” she asked.
    â€œYes.”
    Carrying her brother back to camp was like hauling a limp block of granite between them, and the going was so slow that the sky was a rich violet by the time they reached the last ridge. Several scouts intercepted them and took over carrying Jack. The campfires of the caravan spread before them in the valley below as they made their last descent.
    â€œYou never said you had a brother,” Peter said.
    â€œI have two, both older,” Gaia said. “We didn’t grow up together because they were both advanced inside the Enclave. Just before I left, Jack helped me escape, and then he left for the wasteland, too.”
    Gaia glanced at Angie and wondered what the full story was there. The little Gaia knew of nomad culture was harsh and brutal, which fit with Jack getting knifed. The girl, still cradling her wounded hand in the makeshift bandage, kept close to Gaia as they wove through the ordered chaos of the camp.
    Eighteen hundred people were noisily settling in for the night. Since leaving their home beside Marsh Nipigon in early September, Gaia’s people had had over three weeks to establish their routines on trail. Each clan had a central hub of cook fires, with clusters of families surrounding them. True tents were few, but dark tarps were rigged over poles to shelter many of the families. Packs, baskets, and cages of chickens added to the jumble. Somewhere a clear tenor voice started up a ballad, and smoke brought the scent of chicken cooking with honey and curry.
    â€œWelcome to our caravan. We’re from Sylum originally,” Gaia said to Angie. “Like it?”
    The girl nodded, glancing ahead toward the men carrying Jack.
    â€œI’ll do what I can for you and Jack,” Gaia said. “Try not to worry.”
    In the center of the activity, clan nineteen was laid out in neat circles around three