“You have a cut on your neck.”
“Got it from a pointy tail. A doctor looked at it earlier—it’s healing fine.”
I don’t understand how a pointy tail could have reached his neck. “Can you tell me what happened?”
He leans back and crosses his arms. “My squad was about to take down a small group of Raiders. We tracked them for hours, then we found out too late that their leader was a mutant.”
I frown. “Isn’t that something you figure out the second you see one?”
He shakes his head. “He seemed human until he decided to reveal himself. There’s no way we could’ve missed his tail and scales for over an hour.”
I’ve never heard of a mutant who could grow a tail at will, but our knowledge of mutants is limited at best. There used to be more of them during the decades following Doomsday, butthe purification of our air by the Semi-Humans caused fewer of them to be born.
I listen closely as Caden shares the sequence of events that led to the brutal death of his squad, including the mutant’s warning about a coming plague and the demand for us not to travel armed. To do so will be the equivalent of committing suicide. I feel numb as Caden tells me about the lizard men rising from the grass after butchering his squad.
“I’ve never heard of mutations like that,” I say. I’ve spent almost my entire life—seventeen years—living in the wilderness of Colorado, and I thought I’d heard of every possible mutation by now. Some are more severe than others, but they never result in a full-body transformation like Caden is describing.
“What was the last thing that man told you?” I ask.
“To pass on his message. He seemed to be acting as a representative of the Raiders. Have you heard of someone like that? He said his name was Hector.”
I lean with my elbows on the table. “I’ve never met him, but I know of him. He’s the one who united the old ruling houses in Denver and became their leader. It happened right before I escaped Derek and his gang, so I don’t know what happened since then. I just remember how odd it was.”
“Why?”
“Well, he wasn’t a part of any of the ruling houses, so why would they decide to support him?”
“With the way he commands those creatures, I can imagine how he got everyone to obey. But he wasn’t anywhere near Denver when we met him.”
“That is strange.” Was it so important to him to personally deliver the message to a Defender, or was there more to it?
Caden sighs. “If that guy is the ruler of Denver, it makes his warning all the more serious. You’d better tell Dino what you know of him.”
“Hmm, okay.” I move to stand, but he catches my arm.
“I didn’t mean now. It’s late.”
“Oh.” I sit back down, and he lets go of my arm.
We remain silent for a while until Caden asks, “How are things around here?”
I tell him about some of the discussions I’ve been a part of with our allies. In some I was only present as a listener, but in others I had a more active role.
“You love those boring things,” Caden says.
“I do.” For years, I witnessed conflicts solely resolved by violence, and I’m eager to be a part of any peaceful alternatives. “I got a new letter from River,” I say. “I can let you read it.” Some of his letters are personal, but the latest one reads like a short story about what he and Josh were up to.
I have a new adventure for you, Finn! But first say hello to Nanny Spider for me.
Caden nods. “I’d like to read it. How many letters have you gotten from him so far?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Damn, that’s a lot of words.”
“He loves to share.” And he knows I’ll never get bored of his stories. It makes me feel good knowing there’s someone out there who spends time writing to me.
I meet Caden’s eyes and gather the courage to ask, “Is it okay for me to say that I’ve missed you?”
