Free Tower in the Woods by Tara Quan Page B

the fire, adding more water as the stew thickened and slowly chipping away at it over time. Nel had started a pot just the other night, and typically, it would easily last her an entire week, if not more.
    But Nel quickly realized Dane consumed an extremely large quantity of food, especially compared to her, so much so she simply laid her fork down and watched him eat in dumbstruck silence. She had no idea how so much food could even fit into his body, as large as he was.
    Clearly noticing she had stopped eating and was simply staring at him, Dane looked up and sheepishly said, “I’m sorry. Am I eating too much?”
    Nel shook her head. “There’s plenty of food here, as you can see. I just have never seen anyone eat quite the way you do.”
    Dane’s smile made him seem a great deal younger. “You’re an awesome cook, especially considering the limitations you work with. This might be the best-tasting meal I’ve ever had.”
    Curious, Nel cocked her head to the side. “If you don’t cook, what do you eat?”
    “Where I come from there’s a main cafeteria that makes three square meals a day. The grub tastes atrocious but eating there means all I need to do is show up at the right time,” Dane answered, eyeing the stew that was left in Nel’s bowl. Already quite full, she handed it over for him to demolish.
    “And where do you come from?” she asked. “According to Mother, there are no other human enclaves other than the WITCH.” Before he could make a snarky comment, Nel held up her hand. “I was pretty certain she was lying. It’s just that I’ve never heard of another colony before you came here. What’s it like? Where is it?”
    Dane’s eyes were guarded as he replied. “Washington, D.C. is to the north of here, about a five-day walk if you know the way. It’s a fully functioning city of approximately fifty thousand people. What about your church? Where is it and how many people are there?”
    The question seemed innocuous enough so Nel didn’t mind answering. “When the storm clears, you should be able to see the WITCH if you look to the northeast past the woodlands. It’s difficult to miss from this high up—all three border walls are surrounded by barbed wire and there are piles of rusting cars blocking off all the access roads. Eleven years ago, there were one hundred and thirty-seven members, but the population was steadily growing. We get at least one new recruit every month, although the older members were beginning to suffer from illness and death.”
    “If there are new recruits,” Dane pointed out, “isn’t it obvious to everyone that other human enclaves exist?”
    Nel shook her head. “Not to everyone. All the new recruits are extremely young, and none of them have any memory of life before they arrived at the WITCH. The explanation given is that Mother, and I mean the god and not the prophet, leads those worthy of saving from the zombie wastelands toward the church’s borders to be taken in and trained.”
    Dane looked extremely interested in what she told him. “How difficult is it to enter the borders?”
    Nel furrowed her brows as she thought back to her childhood. “There are soldiers patrolling all the walls and checkpoints along the two roads that lead to the fort. Only the prophet and scavenger parties are allowed to drive in or out of the compound. I don’t know if the security has gotten more lax since I left. I usually eliminate all the zombies heading toward the WITCH from here.”
    Dane gave her another probing look. “Have you ever considered that your cult leader is concerned about enemies other than zombies?”
    Nel shrugged. “It’s possible, but you’re the only person who has made it this far into the WITCH’s borders. I was able to tell immediately you weren’t a zombie, and I can safely say I have never killed a human.”
    “Why didn’t you kill me?” Dane asked, his eyes suddenly very intent. “Why did you save me before you even knew if I