Free Refugees from the Righteous Horde (Toxic World Book 2) by Sean McLachlan

a fire and handed out food.
    The machete men ate gratefully. Jeb’s tension eased somewhat. It looked like he was in no immediate danger. But what would happen when they got back to New City? Judging from what he overheard, he still thought staying with them was less risky than running or trying to get the drop on these folks.
    Not that he’d have much of a chance to do that. One of the posse always kept a gun on them, and they were always made to sit apart from the New City group.
    As they finished their meal and the posse chatted among themselves, Leonard leaned over and whispered to Jeb, “Give me back my knife. Just ease it behind your back a nd I’ll grab it.”
    “Can’t,” Jeb whispered back. “It slipped out of my pants as we were walking.”
    “Bullshit,” Leonard said.
    Jeb shrugged. “Sorry.”
    Leonard glared at him. “Give it back.”
    “What’s going on over there?” Annette called over.
    Jeb called back, “Leonard here is telling me I better not reveal anything about the Righteous Horde or he’s going to smash my face in. He’s still loyal to that crazy preacher. I’ll tell you everything I know. That nutcase deserves to die for bringing war back to the world.”
    Le onard glared at him harder.
    Annette stood up and sauntered over, her shotgun in her hands.
    “What can you tell me?” she asked.
    Jeb’s mind raced. What could he tell her?
    “Lots. I was a servant to one of the Elect, shining his boots and building his campfire and making sure his woman didn’t run away. I overheard tons of stuff.”
    Jeb glanced at the others. The machete men meekly sat and listened to this lie. Leonard eyed him. He looked like he was biding his time.
    “Tell me, then,” Annette said.
    Jeb’s eyes narrowed. “What do I get out of it?”
    “Your life,” Annette said.
    “You already told me we won’t be lynched.”
    Annette snorted. “You’re a sharp one.”
    “How about this? Since you don’t have anything to offer me you can take me to your leader, the one they call T he Doctor. I’ll see what he has to offer and tell him direct. You don’t need to bother with these other guys. They don’t know shit. But you gotta promise they’ll be cared for while me and The Doctor work out a deal.”
    Annette nodded. “All right.”
    Jeb looked back at his companions. They looked absurdly grateful, like children who had their toys taken away from them and then unexpectedly returned. All except for Leonard, who sat there sizing him up.
    They made it to New City around noon the next day. Jeb and th e others were still weak from hunger. While the posse had given them dinner the night before and breakfast that morning, Jeb noticed that it was just enough to keep them going and not enough to give them their strength back. This sheriff chick was a smart one.
    Not a bad piece of ass, either. She was about the same age as Jeb and while he usually preferred younger women, she was still nice to look at.
    A couple of snacks and you’re already thinking like Leonard, he chastised himself. Focus on surviving.
    Someo ne must have been watching from the wall because by the time they got to the edge of town there was a crowd waiting for them. A middle-aged man wearing camo and Kevlar and toting an M16 stood in front. Several others flanking him had guns and there was a mix of citizens and scavengers behind them.
    So easy to tell the difference, Jeb thought. The citizens here are the best-fed people I’ve seen since I was a kid.
    Yeah, remember suppertime in those days, when on good years you went to bed full instead of just satisfied?
    This bunch don’t share much, though. The scavengers here don’t look much better off than the scavengers in the wildlands.
    “What do we have here?” the guy in the Kevlar asked. He had a smile that made Jeb uneasy.
    “Hey Clyde,” Annette replied. “We captured these stragglers from the Righteous Horde. They found the murderer before we did. He’s dead and they’re our