“Beans?” Benji asked. “Why beans?”

“Food,” Clutch corrected. “Find any food you can.”

I smiled. “We’re going to need a second Humvee.”

He slowly returned my smile when he realized the meaning of my words. “Yes, we have too many people for one Humvee.”

Several hours later, we were back in Iowa on the first leg of our trip west to New Eden. When the sun crept low in the sky, we set up camp near the Des Moines River for the night.

Charred zeds swayed like totems on the other side of the river, the side closest to Des Moines. They had no eyes or ears or noses, but they remained. They were an ominous reminder of why we kept from crossing the river and nearing the city. I refused to watch them.

I also avoided looking at the skeletal ruins of Des Moines’s tallest buildings. I hadn’t seen my parents since the outbreak, and I’d accepted the fact that I’d never see them again, that they never got out, along with a million other doomed souls in and around the city. At least I knew they were at peace. The bombing had taken out most of the zeds in the city, with the exceptions of the charred zeds—burnt beyond recognition—standing like shadowy guards at the edges of town, always on the lookout for prey.

The military hadn’t bombed a wide enough radius to take out all the zeds, but they had done their job on the central part of the city. Bombs weren’t precise and would’ve taken out uninfected and infected alike. Bombs existed only to destroy and took out anything in their path. They were a bit like zeds in that: they were both destroyers.

After taking a cold-water bath, I sipped some pine needle tea and lay in the back of the Humvee with Clutch and Jase. Our legs tangled around the machine gun, but we’d all slept in more uncomfortable positions before. In fact, having both with me, safe and sound, was the best feeling I’d ever had.

Deb lay awkwardly around the back bench seats, and petite Hali fit comfortably up front. Griz, Marco, Vicki, Frost, and Benji were still working out the sleeping arrangement in the other Humvee, though I suspected Benji would tell them how it’d be. Diesel lay curled in a ball next to the vehicle, outwardly sound asleep, but I knew from experience he’d bolt awake at the smallest threatening sound.

Camp Fox had taken a heavy hit. It would never be the same, but enough of us had survived to continue the effort. Yet, I knew that as long as I had Clutch and Jase with me, things would turn out okay.

“There’s one,” Jase said, pointing to the sky.

“That makes twelve,” Clutch said.

I closed my eyes and savored this moment, knowing that we’d be on the road again tomorrow, running from who knew what and heading toward something I wasn’t sure I trusted. When I opened my eyes again, I relished the night’s peace where there were no zeds and no bandits and no death.

“Another one,” Jase said.

“Eagle eye, I swear,” I said with a smile.

Clutch chuckled. “Thirteen.”

It was probably a meteor shower, and we all enjoyed the distraction. It was by far the best entertainment we’d had in some time. Before the outbreak, I would’ve gotten bored. Not now. Tonight, we were together and safe.

“Oh, there’s one.” I pointed.

“That’s a satellite, silly,” Jase said.

Clutch chuckled, and we both joined in. Lying in the back of that Humvee, without any manmade lights to block the sky, we laughed as we continued to count the shooting stars.

The saga comes to an end

Late 2014

 

DEADLAND RISING

The search for hope, with a shambling twist

 

 

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The Deadland Saga

100 Days in Deadland

Deadland’s Harvest

Deadland Rising (Late 2014)

 

Author’s Note

 

Loosely based on Dante Alighieri’s "Purgatorio" (the second poem of the three-part Divine Comedy), Deadland’s Harvest covers the continuing journey of Cash and her guide, Clutch, through the zombie apocalypse. When this story begins, Cash (representing Dante) has gained experience and confidence from surviving the “Inferno” in 100 Days in Deadland, and is better prepared to handle the deadly sins, of which she and others are found guilty. Since they are the deadly sins, there is plenty of death to be found in each section and chapter (paralleling the poem’s cantos).

As with the first book in the Deadland Saga, Deadland’s Harvest is a tale of suffering and spiritual growth and a continuation of the story of the human condition. As with “Purgatorio”, each terrace purges a particular sin in an appropriate manner. At its heart, Deadland’s Harvest is about penance. Cash and the Fox survivors cannot move on until the sin is recognized and acknowledged. There are implications to each deadly sin, portrayed by either survivors or zeds and often resulting in the deaths of innocents.

At the macro level, Deadland’s Harvest is focused more inwardly than 100 Days in Deadland and you’ll see the main characters evolve in their own way. Cash, like Dante, begins to take accountability for her own life (and sins). Clutch (representing Virgil and later, Beatrice) continues as her guide, but their roles become more balanced through their journey as Clutch morphs from purely her guide to her love. It takes Clutch awhile to transition from the guise of Virgil to Beatrice. He must overcome his PTSD and injuries and open his heart to Cash. Only once he becomes Beatrice can he finally become the leader he needs to be. Similarly, Jase also morphs from a supporting character to a man in his own right by taking on the role of the great Statius.

While there are plenty of “Purgatorio” Easter eggs in this novel, I also intentionally broke from Dante Alighieri’s storyline to stay true to the Deadland Saga. For example, this story does not start on Easter but instead starts exactly six months after Easter. For ease, I labeled the name of the first section “Purgatory” rather than the various levels of ante-purgatory.

I kept true to the themes and symbols in “Purgatorio” as much as possible. Here are just a few images you’ll find similar between the two stories:

In Purgatory, Clutch, Wes, and Cash hide from a herd of zeds (representing the penitent) traveling slowly, “like a flock of sheep.” Later in Purgatory, Cash needs two keys to unlock their path to continue. In this case, one key opens the hangar, and the other starts the airplane.

In Pride, Cash, like Dante, is guilty of the first deadly sin, which others have suffered for.

In Wrath, black smoke erupts on the Aurora when the Lady Amore shoots flares at the barge.

In Greed, the earth trembles as the herds arrive.

In Gluttony, the starving zeds (again representing the penitent) surround the Aurora, which represents the fruit tree forever out of reach and surrounded by a river.

In Lust, the Fox survivors are so desperately eager to be free from zeds, they set a fire that burns out of control and leads to their punishment. The survivors, representing the penitent, walk through flames as they struggle to escape the fire, the punishment for lack of self-restraint.

For the full list of Easter eggs, visit my website at www.rachelaukes.com.

I hope you enjoyed this story. Stay tuned for Deadland Rising, where Cash, Clutch, and Jase journey through “Paradiso,” the final poem of Dante’s Divine Comedy.

About the Author

Rachel Aukes is the bestselling author of 100 Days in Deadland, which was named one of the best books of 2013 by Suspense Magazine and one of the best zombie books by the Huffington Post. She also writes romance under the pen name Berinn Rae, including Stealing Fate, a USA Today recommended read. Rachel lives in Iowa with her husband and an incredibly spoiled sixty-pound lap dog. When not writing, she can be found flying old airplanes and trying (not so successfully) to prepare for the zombie apocalypse.