“My name’s Joshua Perrin-Rogers,” I said and offered my hand for him to shake, which he did efficiently and without much warmth. “Thanks for the incubator, by the way. I’m sure we’ll get good use from it. So, what would you like to see first?”
Jeremiah shrugged and looked me over again, head to toe. I couldn’t tell if it was to intimidate me or if he was simply curious. I got the impression that this man was an outsider. He didn’t seem to have the same social graces as other members of the Fellowship.
“It’d be good to stretch my legs,” he said in a voice that was slightly hoarse, as if it didn’t get much use. “Let’s take a walk.”
I decided to recreate the tour Juniper Jenkins had given us when we’d first arrived here a couple months ago, pointing out the various landmarks along the way. Jeremiah was mostly silent throughout, but his eyes roved over everyone and everything as if trying to assess what Cipher called their “threat potential.”
“So, where are you from?” I asked when I had nothing more to say about the town.
“From around here.”
“Promised Land?”
“Not exactly.”
“Are you part of the United Forces?”
“I was, but not anymore. I do odd jobs now, sometimes for the military, sometimes for private parties.”
“What kind of jobs?” I asked.
He cocked his head, looked me dead in the eye, and said, “The kind you don’t talk about.”
Goosebumps broke out on my arms, and I decided I didn’t want to know any more about what Jeremiah did for a living. He had found us an incubator, so there was that. Hopefully no one got hurt in the process.
We were back in the center of town, and I was thinking about how I might excuse myself when Jeremiah lit a cigarette, the store-bought kind, and offered me one from his pack.
“No thanks. I have asthma.” Cipher would have a fit if he caught me smoking, even though he smoked all the time. The rules were different, as he’d said. I tasted the bitterness on my tongue whenever I thought about how Cipher was allowed to do whatever the hell he wanted, even if it was dangerous, while I had to stay within the boundaries he’d created for me.
“So, you like living here?” Jeremiah asked.
“Yeah, it sure beats being alone.”
“You were alone?” he said in a tone that suggested I was lying.
“For a while, until Cipher, my boyfriend, and our other friends, found me and invited me to come along with them.”
“Boyfriend,” Jeremiah remarked with a curl to his upper lip. I waited for him to say something more about it, but his gaze swung back to the goings on of the town. “So, what do you all do for fun around here?”
I listed out some of our regular activities–bingo night and movie night, game night and the talent show we’d just hosted on the new outdoor stage. “And I heard they’re starting a drama club, so maybe there will be plays soon too.”
Jeremiah chuckled, but it didn’t seem friendly to me, more like mocking. “Cute.”
I swallowed down my nerves and dared to ask, “What do you do for fun?”
He licked his teeth and spat on the ground. “I kill Rabids.”
Chills ran down my spine. It wasn’t the same as when Cipher said it, as if he were almost reluctant to admit it. Jeremiah was boastful.
“That must keep you busy,” I said, stepping back.
“Sure does.” He surveyed the town again and said to me with a sneer, “But I can see the appeal of playing house. Do you like playing house, Joshua?”
I blinked, trying to understand what he was really asking me. Jeremiah glanced over my shoulder and instead of answering, I turned away and stumbled into the arms of Cipher who must have approached us without me hearing him.
“Hey, babe,” Cipher said with a tight smile, then turned his attention to Jeremiah. “Who’s this?”
“Jeremiah,” the stranger said and held out one hand. Cipher pumped it once and shot me a questioning look. Maybe he saw something in my expression.
