Read Online Zomblog 05: Snoe's War by T. W. Brown - Free Book Online Page A

former administration there were deals in place that asked for any community receiving help to offer up recruits for the NAA. But my mother told me that those recruits were voluntary. And at any time, a community could opt out of the deal. Assistance would cease, but we were within our rights to withdraw from the agreement.”
    I was mostly telling the truth. I had learned that there was more to it than that. I had also learned that I had been kept out of the lottery that our community held to determine who was sent when the requests came, but that was my problem, not theirs.
    “If you think that Dominique will simply stop,” I continued, “then you will be thinking that all the way up until she comes rolling in to your homes and scoops up all she sees as useful and uses the rest as hostages to ensure that those she captures will do her bidding.”
    I shot a look at the woman and saw her lips curl in a little smile. She motioned for me to follow her and she walked out of the gathering. I had to pull my coat tight against the wind that was starting to whip up pretty fierce. I hate wind. I can deal with rain, snow, or hot sun, but wind serves no purpose in my opinion other than to make a person miserable.
    I took a moment to get a better look at her now that we weren’t running for our lives. She had a pretty face, but there were lines etched in it from hard living. Her hair was dark, almost black, and her eyes were a deep brown that still seemed to sparkle despite how darkly colored they were. She was a little taller than me now that I got a better look at her, and even dressed in furs and heavy clothing, you could tell she was stout; not fat, but sturdy…that was the word that came to mind when I looked at her—sturdy.
    “You really Snoe Gainey?” the woman asked once we were alone.
    I sighed. That was not what I wanted to talk about…not how I wanted to be known. I had given up long ago on the notion that I would ever be treated like a normal person in the Corridor. I guess I was hoping that it wouldn’t be as bad around the tribes.
    “Yes.”
    “I bet you get really tired of that question,” the woman said with a smile.
    “You might say that.”
    “Well, the only reason that I know is because I overheard some of what went on during the interrogation. I don’t imagine too many others have a clue.”
    “I guess I was hoping that I could be someplace where nobody knew who I was…or more importantly, who my parents were.”
    “A lot of people would trade places with you in a heartbeat,” the woman said. I could hear just a hint of something in her voice. It wasn’t like she was scolding me, but she had something on her mind.
    “So is this what you wanted to ask me?” I wasn’t in the mood for a lecture on how great it must be to have such famous parents. I have no idea why people think that sort of thing has any meaning. If anything, it puts a lot of pressure on the child to live up to some mythological idea that outsiders have no clue about.
    “Actually, what I wanted to do was thank you.” The woman seemed content to change the subject. “I owe you a debt that can never be repaid. You saved my children from a life that I shudder just thinking about.”
    “Yeah…” I decided that maybe she should know that it wasn’t just her children on the line. “Well, according to the orders we were given, you would have been taken as well.”
    The woman nodded, no look of surprise crossed her face. “Yes, well, if Dominique is really building an army, then I imagine that she has need of any able-bodied person that she can scrape up. I just wish I knew what she really had in mind.”
    “Can I ask you a question?” I wasn’t really interested in trying to guess what Dominique’s plan might be. All I wanted to do was stop her…permanently.
    “Sure.”
    “You now my name, but I have no idea who you are. Do I just call you lady?”
    The woman actually blushed. Her face turned a bright red and the smile on