Dead and Buryd

Chapter 6: The Kahle in the West

Leaving the tunnels, the morning sun was already high, radiating constant, sticky heat. Despite the fact that Georgianna knew she would be more comfortable in a short-sleeved shirt, one which allowed her skin to breathe, she had pulled on a thin smock that covered her from neck to wrists to protect her from the sun’s rays. The walk from the last tunnel exit over to the camps was long, and she couldn’t risk too much exposure, not in the mid-heat sun.

On either side of the beaten path leading out of the city and into the camps, buildings were being erected under Adveni supervision. Veniche of every race and tribe queued for hours in the early morning to get a place on one of the construction crews. Construction was high-paying work and places were limited and heavily controlled. Anyone with even the slightest mark against their registration was turned away, regardless of their skill.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Georgianna continued down the beaten path to the camps. They built up slowly: first the odd, outlying building, before these became more frequent until you were in the middle of a sea of houses and other small buildings.

While they were officially called “The Veniche Camps”, they were actually split into a number of smaller encampments that bled into each other as space became sparse. The Kahle, one of the largest tribes that used Adlai as a settling ground, were in the north and spread out towards the west, furthest from the city.

The Nerrin had taken over the south-west, and while the east held relatively neutral grounds to allow safe passage between the camps for all, there were a number of smaller tribes and nomad settlers who had taken up their own private space.

Near the main road through the camps, a woman was hanging out laundry while five children played in front of the house. From the fact that the children were all the same age yet looked absolutely nothing alike, Georgianna could only assume that this woman had been asked to look after children by other families while they went to work.

Further in, back from the path, a man was skinning a kill, the thick hairs of the pelt still dirty from the hunt. Beside him, a large dog lay chewing on one of the deer’s leg bones, paying no attention to the large amount of meat only a few feet away. Georgianna chewed on her bottom lip, watching out of the corner of her eye and taking note of the surrounding buildings. Having not been home in a few days, she didn’t want to take a large amount of meat if her family were stocked already, but it was useful to know who had meat in, just in case. Most people probably wouldn’t trade such a large kill so easily, but her medical supplies could prove a worthy trade if they didn’t know someone within their own tribe. Unfortunately, medics had been one of the hardest hit during the invasion, going in to help those injured and then being killed or captured by the Adveni. Luckily for Georgianna, she had been young and inexperienced, mostly kept back to treat the smaller wounds of those who managed to return from the fighting.

Georgianna walked though the neutral safety area and, passing between the buildings, into the Kahle encampments. With every home she passed, and every person outside who greeted her as if she were their own child or sibling, Georgianna felt the familiarity of home. Even before the Adveni had arrived and pushed the Veniche further out of the city by raising prices for land, the Kahle had camped in these spots. Their homes had been destroyed in the first attacks, but that sense of place could not be broken. So when the Kahle moved north to Adlai to resettle during the heat, they returned to the same area they always had. Georgianna was sure that her bed at home was still in the same place it had been when she was a child.

“Gianna!” a voice called, little feet rushing forward until a small body collided with her legs, wrapping its thin arms tight around them.

Georgianna almost lost her balance from the impact. Looking down, she smiled broadly at the ruffled brown mop of hair and the thin, smiling face hidden beneath it. She bent down and wrapped both arms around Braedon’s waist to lift him up against her body.