Fallen

Chapter Twenty-Two

The gates were as tall as the wall and made of the same weather-worn wood as the fence. "What do we do now?" Alec asked. "Knock?"

The men at the gate stations on the towers saw us coming. Before we got too close for them to notice us, we hid our communicators down the road. We kept an old two-way radio in Ben's backpack. It wouldn't be strange for travelers to have radios to speak to other travelers, but most two-way radios cannot reach York like how ours did. Though we hid our communicators, we didn't hide our weapons. It was expected for travelers or refugees to have at least one gun to protect themselves. My fingers itched to grab mine, but my hand stayed at my side.

There was shouting on the other side of the gate. Chains rattled. We stood still as the gates swung back and before us was a cluster of people. There were men, women, and a few children running about. The clothes were the first thing that caught my eye. The men wore high waist pants that were brown, black, or tan, and they wore white shirts with suspenders.

The women. Oh, this was a bad idea. They wore white blouses with different colored long skirts. Some were plaid while others were solid colors. Their hair wrapped up in big buns. These people looked like they walked out of the damn Wild West.

A tall man, with greying hair and the only one wearing a vest and an overcoat, walked to us. He didn't have a gun. No one had guns as far as I could tell, only curious glances.

"Welcome," he smiled under his grey, well-trimmed mustache that matched his short beard. "I am Morgan, Keeper of the Settlement." He seemed pleasant enough, he looked over each of us with his light hazel eyes.

"We heard the rumors," Ben said, "We didn't believe this was real." The shock on our faces at the people standing before us was not fake. I had expected the Settlement to be – well not whatever this was.

Morgan laughed. "We have very few visitors, but when they arrive, it always surprises them. We have food and rooms on stand by for visitors. We can speak after you washed up and slept." Morgan's smile was easy, comforting in a way.

"We would appreciate that," Ben said.

"Follow me," Morgan stepped back inside the Settlement and we followed him through the gates. The people who watched us turned away to go about their activities. More than one glanced over their shoulders at us. Scanning their faces, Audrey's face was not among them.

We walked down the main street. Past the people to the left were streets with houses in neat rows. Not old houses from years ago before the Great War that nearly ended civilization. No, those houses were built out of wood with shingled roofs and they had a fresh look to them. They were the same down the row. Each house had a small porch. Some held rocking chairs as others had a clothesline with clothes hung to dry in the cool air.

Continuing down the street, buildings rose on either side. It looked like a normal small village with the wooden buildings touching each other. Unlike the houses, these buildings were painted dark browns and greens. Women stood on the porches of the buildings. They too watched us curiously as we walked behind Morgan who nodded to the ladies in a pleasant welcome.

Behind the women were storefronts. I read the name of the stores above the door. There was a pharmacy, a fabric store, general goods, a handy store. Through the large windows, the merchandise was displayed.

This place, whatever it was, felt strange. Glancing back to the dirt covered road, it felt like I had fallen into a vortex and really was in the Wild West. Half of me was expecting to see a tumbleweed to roll across our path.

We passed the last storefront and there were two buildings standing alone on either side of the road. To the right was a long white church with a tall steeple spearing toward the heavens. The other was a boxed building. A red cross painted above the door indicating it was a hospital. Further down the road was a long building painted red with several large open doors. Beyond the road was a field. Men were out working the ground with hoes and shovels.