Read Online The Society (A Broken World Book 1) by Dean Murray - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Dean Murray
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unsure how close they dared get to the gates.
It wasn't until I got closer that I realized they weren't just scared—they were also keeping a respectful distance from the trio of corpses resting less than a dozen feet from the gate.
All three of the bodies were covered up. Part of me wanted to go check them for a cause of death, but that would just draw attention to me. Attention that would probably result in me joining them under a similar shroud before I ever got a chance to finish my mission.
"I'm looking to fill five positions this morning. Which of you are looking for a job?"
While I'd been staring at the three shrouds, the gates had swung open with a soundlessness that would have been enviable even back home. The man who stepped out of the compound to address us looked like he was in his late forties. He had dark hair and the slight build of someone who survived based on his wit rather than his fists.
This was my chance, but I knew that I couldn't just volunteer without asking about the deaths. Even the most desperate of volunteers would be concerned about the mortality rate inside the compound.
"What would I be doing?"
The man—the foreman—shrugged. "It depends on your abilities. Everyone starts at the bottom of the food chain unless they enter with some kind of specialized skill. You'll probably start out doing manual labor."
"Dangerous manual labor?"
The question came from someone deeper in the crowd which was good because it meant that the foreman's attention shifted away from me.
The foreman shook his head in response. "Everything about our lives is dangerous. Do you see that building looming behind you? It's more than two hundred years old and it hasn't seen any kind of significant maintenance for at least the last century. The superstructure has been exposed to the elements for decades now. Honestly, I'm surprised it hasn't already collapsed—probably killing hundreds or even thousands in the process."
More than one person in the crowd looked up at the buildings around us in fear—as though they'd never considered the possibility that our very surroundings might turn against us. The foreman wasn't done though.
"That's just the start of the risks we all face. Even if you didn't have to worry about being mugged or murdered in some senseless turf war, your life expectancy isn't much past forty-five. The water supply is contaminated. Not with bacteria—we could deal with that. It's got a thousand different chemicals in it that would have caused riots in the street back before the breakdown. Back then drinking water this filthy would have killed millions, but there aren't millions of us left to kill anymore. The Desolation saw to that, and those of us who are left have developed tolerances to the toxicity of our environment.
"There are a thousand different ways that you could die, most of which you've never even stopped to consider. Starvation, exposure, disease, they are all just warmup shows for the main event. Even if you do everything right, you're still going to be killed by the ants."
A low rumble of anger greeted his words, and I joined the nodding I saw all around me. That drew a smile out of the foreman.
"That's right. It doesn't matter how smart you are, how hard you work, in the end they hold all the cards. They fly in with their fancy planes and they drop bombs that we can't even see coming. These cities are kill zones, but there is no leaving them. We can scavenge within a mile or two of the city, but if you stay out past dark their drones will get you. They'll sniff you out in the darkness, see the heat coming from your body, and execute you from a mile away. We're here in this hellhole because the ants—the Society—don't give us any other choice."
"What are you saying? Do you think you can stand against them? It's been tried before and it never works!"
"You're right. It has been tried before, but this time we have something that those others didn't. We have a secret
It wasn't until I got closer that I realized they weren't just scared—they were also keeping a respectful distance from the trio of corpses resting less than a dozen feet from the gate.
All three of the bodies were covered up. Part of me wanted to go check them for a cause of death, but that would just draw attention to me. Attention that would probably result in me joining them under a similar shroud before I ever got a chance to finish my mission.
"I'm looking to fill five positions this morning. Which of you are looking for a job?"
While I'd been staring at the three shrouds, the gates had swung open with a soundlessness that would have been enviable even back home. The man who stepped out of the compound to address us looked like he was in his late forties. He had dark hair and the slight build of someone who survived based on his wit rather than his fists.
This was my chance, but I knew that I couldn't just volunteer without asking about the deaths. Even the most desperate of volunteers would be concerned about the mortality rate inside the compound.
"What would I be doing?"
The man—the foreman—shrugged. "It depends on your abilities. Everyone starts at the bottom of the food chain unless they enter with some kind of specialized skill. You'll probably start out doing manual labor."
"Dangerous manual labor?"
The question came from someone deeper in the crowd which was good because it meant that the foreman's attention shifted away from me.
The foreman shook his head in response. "Everything about our lives is dangerous. Do you see that building looming behind you? It's more than two hundred years old and it hasn't seen any kind of significant maintenance for at least the last century. The superstructure has been exposed to the elements for decades now. Honestly, I'm surprised it hasn't already collapsed—probably killing hundreds or even thousands in the process."
More than one person in the crowd looked up at the buildings around us in fear—as though they'd never considered the possibility that our very surroundings might turn against us. The foreman wasn't done though.
"That's just the start of the risks we all face. Even if you didn't have to worry about being mugged or murdered in some senseless turf war, your life expectancy isn't much past forty-five. The water supply is contaminated. Not with bacteria—we could deal with that. It's got a thousand different chemicals in it that would have caused riots in the street back before the breakdown. Back then drinking water this filthy would have killed millions, but there aren't millions of us left to kill anymore. The Desolation saw to that, and those of us who are left have developed tolerances to the toxicity of our environment.
"There are a thousand different ways that you could die, most of which you've never even stopped to consider. Starvation, exposure, disease, they are all just warmup shows for the main event. Even if you do everything right, you're still going to be killed by the ants."
A low rumble of anger greeted his words, and I joined the nodding I saw all around me. That drew a smile out of the foreman.
"That's right. It doesn't matter how smart you are, how hard you work, in the end they hold all the cards. They fly in with their fancy planes and they drop bombs that we can't even see coming. These cities are kill zones, but there is no leaving them. We can scavenge within a mile or two of the city, but if you stay out past dark their drones will get you. They'll sniff you out in the darkness, see the heat coming from your body, and execute you from a mile away. We're here in this hellhole because the ants—the Society—don't give us any other choice."
"What are you saying? Do you think you can stand against them? It's been tried before and it never works!"
"You're right. It has been tried before, but this time we have something that those others didn't. We have a secret
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