Diersville
Chapter 1
“Riley, so good to see you!” A man waves the large woman over with a smile. Riley offers a polite wave in response, shouldering her bow and pocketing the keys to her bike. The chain attached to her belt is comforting, a promise that they couldn’t be pickpocketed by any quick hands. That won’t be a mistake she makes again soon.
“Cliff,” Riley nods amicably, “How has it been this side of the road? Quiet, I hope?”
“Not too quiet, but nothing we can’t handle,” Cliff agrees, clapping her on the shoulder and guiding her further into the settlement past the guards posted. She nods a greeting at Frannie and Paul when they pass. Good kids.
They chat about nothing of importance as they weave through to the inner circle of the town, only pausing to wave hello to the locals before continuing on. Diersville is the biggest settlement this side of the highway, a good midway point between the wastes for drifters to stop before heading on to Phoenix.
She’s never understood the allure, but folks travel their way through the desert from miles around to see the “oasis of the wastes” despite the fact she’s heard mixed reviews of the different factions that rule the city.
Last she heard a group called the Kings were in charge, but that was weeks ago and the politics are so tentative that it’s probably old news. She’ll get the latest gossip from Beth sooner or later. Not because she really cares for that sort of thing, but because she knows information like that is almost as valuable as bullets to Lou at the trading outpost. The last outpost before the wastes.
“And Katie?” Riley asks as they shoulder into a shaded building, pale slats of light shine in through the holes in the boarded up windows.
“Doing well, healthy, the baby is too. She had her, God… two weeks back? No complications, strong kid just like her mother,” Cliff assures her after thinking a moment, “How’s Lou?”
“Paranoid like always, but he’s doing well. Thinks there might be a hoard coming soon but I don’t know if another one will come around so soon after the last one. There’s usually a few more months between packs that big,” Riley replies as they make their way around to the stairs, offering a polite nod to Declan as she passes. He barely looks up from the papers he’s shuffling through on his desk. She doesn’t take offense, bookkeeping the supplies for a settlement as large as Diersville is more maths than she’d be comfortable with.
She’s content sticking with more tangible numbers. Like zombies killed and feet of lumber needed to build a wall to keep them out.
They pause at the door at the top of the stairs for Cliff to knock, “Mayor, she’s here.” In an instant the door swings open to reveal a woman in her late forties, her sharp cheekbones are particularly gaunt and her hair is completely shaved, but otherwise she looks the same. Her square jaw relaxes as she realizes who Cliff brought with him, breaking into something more friendly.
“Riley, it’s good to see you,” she repeats Cliff’s greeting with the same tone he had and Riley can’t help but think that she hadn’t been gone that long.
“Alexa. Good to see you as well,” Riley replies stepping into the bedroom converted office that is now the single governing building in town. She’s pleased to see that the back wall she’d reconstructed was still holding up well. When she’s in the room fully Alexa thanks Cliff and sends him on his way, asking that he close the door on his way out.
“Yes ma’am, come see us before you leave, Riley?” He calls back.
“Of course, tell Grey I said hello,” Riley agrees mildly, and then the door clicks shut and it’s just her and Alexa. Visibly, the older woman relaxes, turning to Riley with a smile.
“Do you need anything to drink? We’ve got water from the well, and greenthread tea,” Alexa says, making her way around to sit at the desk, gesturing for Riley to sit. She does, shaking her head.
“No, I’ll get something at Sloan’s.”
“How long will you be here?” Straight to the point, Riley has always liked that about her. She can appreciate the no nonsense attitude of a woman who helped build a settlement from nothing but an abandoned patch of a pre-infection neighborhood. She had been too young when Alexa and her ilk had settled here years ago, but the way the town prospered under her steady hand was one of the reasons she continued coming back.
“Perhaps a week, there are some things I need and I was hoping to get them before doing some trading for Lou.” Also she didn’t want to leave him protecting the homestead alone for much longer than a week. Even if he was just paranoid, the idea of him being left out there all alone during a hoard made her stomach knot.
Realistically, she knew that it’s more likely that he had drifters staying at the old storage container turned outpost, but that’s almost even worse than the zombies. Humans are much more unpredictable.
Alexa frowns at the news, but nods, “Only a week? Alright, well there will be plenty for you to do to earn your keep while you’re here. You have somewhere to stay?”
“Cliff and Grey have already offered,” Riley waves her off. She remembers like yesterday the first time she’d stumbled into Diersville with nothing but a meager ration of hardy roots, an empty canteen, and a knowledge of carpentry beyond her years. The folks she had grown to love were nothing but dangerous faces of people hardened by years of living in the unforgiving desert.
She had nearly been shot over a bar room brawl over the price of a can of potted meat. Her life has come a long way from that girl she had been before the homestead.
“Alright, I trust you’d ask if you needed a cot to sleep. We have two new families and a wall on our south east end needs repairs before you leave. We’ve already scouted an appropriate house on the block and began fortification but we’re in need of roofing supplies and nails,” Alexa moves on, Riley is already nodding, she’d seen the place that Cliff had pointed out on their walk here.
“I can work on the wall, but I’ll need to start tomorrow. You have scrapers looking through the other houses on the block?” Riley confirms.
“Of course, but there’s only so many we can let out of the walls at a time. We need people for the hunting parties and scrapers aren’t hard to come by,” Alexa replies. She isn’t wrong, there are scavengers, scrapers, that make their livings off of scraping through the old pre-infection buildings in the wastes for supplies of any use.
They usually stop by Lou’s before making their way to Diersville. It’s unthinkable what people would be willing to pay for a safe place to sleep for even one night out that close to the wastes.
“Right, well I’ll ask Declan for supplies sheets and I’ll get back to you with a timeline. I’ve got some things I’d like to trade, before it gets too late,” Riley says, standing.
“Alright, stay safe out there. I expect you to get back to me by morning,” Alexa agrees before waving her off, “Close the door on your way out.”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Cliff,” Riley nods amicably, “How has it been this side of the road? Quiet, I hope?”
“Not too quiet, but nothing we can’t handle,” Cliff agrees, clapping her on the shoulder and guiding her further into the settlement past the guards posted. She nods a greeting at Frannie and Paul when they pass. Good kids.
They chat about nothing of importance as they weave through to the inner circle of the town, only pausing to wave hello to the locals before continuing on. Diersville is the biggest settlement this side of the highway, a good midway point between the wastes for drifters to stop before heading on to Phoenix.
She’s never understood the allure, but folks travel their way through the desert from miles around to see the “oasis of the wastes” despite the fact she’s heard mixed reviews of the different factions that rule the city.
Last she heard a group called the Kings were in charge, but that was weeks ago and the politics are so tentative that it’s probably old news. She’ll get the latest gossip from Beth sooner or later. Not because she really cares for that sort of thing, but because she knows information like that is almost as valuable as bullets to Lou at the trading outpost. The last outpost before the wastes.
“And Katie?” Riley asks as they shoulder into a shaded building, pale slats of light shine in through the holes in the boarded up windows.
“Doing well, healthy, the baby is too. She had her, God… two weeks back? No complications, strong kid just like her mother,” Cliff assures her after thinking a moment, “How’s Lou?”
“Paranoid like always, but he’s doing well. Thinks there might be a hoard coming soon but I don’t know if another one will come around so soon after the last one. There’s usually a few more months between packs that big,” Riley replies as they make their way around to the stairs, offering a polite nod to Declan as she passes. He barely looks up from the papers he’s shuffling through on his desk. She doesn’t take offense, bookkeeping the supplies for a settlement as large as Diersville is more maths than she’d be comfortable with.
She’s content sticking with more tangible numbers. Like zombies killed and feet of lumber needed to build a wall to keep them out.
They pause at the door at the top of the stairs for Cliff to knock, “Mayor, she’s here.” In an instant the door swings open to reveal a woman in her late forties, her sharp cheekbones are particularly gaunt and her hair is completely shaved, but otherwise she looks the same. Her square jaw relaxes as she realizes who Cliff brought with him, breaking into something more friendly.
“Riley, it’s good to see you,” she repeats Cliff’s greeting with the same tone he had and Riley can’t help but think that she hadn’t been gone that long.
“Alexa. Good to see you as well,” Riley replies stepping into the bedroom converted office that is now the single governing building in town. She’s pleased to see that the back wall she’d reconstructed was still holding up well. When she’s in the room fully Alexa thanks Cliff and sends him on his way, asking that he close the door on his way out.
“Yes ma’am, come see us before you leave, Riley?” He calls back.
“Of course, tell Grey I said hello,” Riley agrees mildly, and then the door clicks shut and it’s just her and Alexa. Visibly, the older woman relaxes, turning to Riley with a smile.
“Do you need anything to drink? We’ve got water from the well, and greenthread tea,” Alexa says, making her way around to sit at the desk, gesturing for Riley to sit. She does, shaking her head.
“No, I’ll get something at Sloan’s.”
“How long will you be here?” Straight to the point, Riley has always liked that about her. She can appreciate the no nonsense attitude of a woman who helped build a settlement from nothing but an abandoned patch of a pre-infection neighborhood. She had been too young when Alexa and her ilk had settled here years ago, but the way the town prospered under her steady hand was one of the reasons she continued coming back.
“Perhaps a week, there are some things I need and I was hoping to get them before doing some trading for Lou.” Also she didn’t want to leave him protecting the homestead alone for much longer than a week. Even if he was just paranoid, the idea of him being left out there all alone during a hoard made her stomach knot.
Realistically, she knew that it’s more likely that he had drifters staying at the old storage container turned outpost, but that’s almost even worse than the zombies. Humans are much more unpredictable.
Alexa frowns at the news, but nods, “Only a week? Alright, well there will be plenty for you to do to earn your keep while you’re here. You have somewhere to stay?”
“Cliff and Grey have already offered,” Riley waves her off. She remembers like yesterday the first time she’d stumbled into Diersville with nothing but a meager ration of hardy roots, an empty canteen, and a knowledge of carpentry beyond her years. The folks she had grown to love were nothing but dangerous faces of people hardened by years of living in the unforgiving desert.
She had nearly been shot over a bar room brawl over the price of a can of potted meat. Her life has come a long way from that girl she had been before the homestead.
“Alright, I trust you’d ask if you needed a cot to sleep. We have two new families and a wall on our south east end needs repairs before you leave. We’ve already scouted an appropriate house on the block and began fortification but we’re in need of roofing supplies and nails,” Alexa moves on, Riley is already nodding, she’d seen the place that Cliff had pointed out on their walk here.
“I can work on the wall, but I’ll need to start tomorrow. You have scrapers looking through the other houses on the block?” Riley confirms.
“Of course, but there’s only so many we can let out of the walls at a time. We need people for the hunting parties and scrapers aren’t hard to come by,” Alexa replies. She isn’t wrong, there are scavengers, scrapers, that make their livings off of scraping through the old pre-infection buildings in the wastes for supplies of any use.
They usually stop by Lou’s before making their way to Diersville. It’s unthinkable what people would be willing to pay for a safe place to sleep for even one night out that close to the wastes.
“Right, well I’ll ask Declan for supplies sheets and I’ll get back to you with a timeline. I’ve got some things I’d like to trade, before it gets too late,” Riley says, standing.
“Alright, stay safe out there. I expect you to get back to me by morning,” Alexa agrees before waving her off, “Close the door on your way out.”
“Yes ma’am.”