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They encountered the first fence two miles up the road It was a heavy chain-link affair similar to the one that surrounded Mountainside, but it was hidden between ts of thick evergreen hedges that acted as screens

"Sn told the the road

The road led through a complex network of trenches There were rows of trip wires, and deadfall pits covered by ca the road safely ritten on large wooden signs Benny appreciated the strategy Zo defenses that were based on the way people used to protect towns and forts against attacks, these were specifically designed against an unthinking and yet unrelenting enee was unnecessary Benny and Nix peered into some of the trenches and saw heaps of old bones--eloquent proof that the defenses worked

"The way this is laid out," Benny observed, "ten people could hold off a zillion zo about," Nix said excitedly It was true; since last year she had beenjournal notes about how people could take back the zo the path was lined with hundreds of trees, ancient oaks and er trees planted in the last decade or so to reduce visibility In the distance they could seeup above the forest--monstrous sequoias that towered more than 250 feet into the blue sky Then the forest opened up and the big Wawona Hotel rose above them like a promise of warm beds, country breakfasts, civil conversation, and stout locks

"Finally," breathed Nix, exhausted

The Wawona Hotel had a double row of verandas--one on the ground level at the top of a short flight of steps, and the other built directly above it on the second floor Whitewashed colules that, though weathered, looked to be in good repair Tall s blocked most of the view of the upper floor and roof, and these softer trees lent the place a quiet and rustic appearance that was as cal in its way as were the fortifications and weapons Because of the trees, all they could read of the hotel’s nae of the roof

Beside the hotel was a corral filled with horses, reen spring grass; a few stood by the rails, watching with browneyed curiosity Beyond the corral stood ons In the distance, off behind the big building, were party sounds Loud voices and laughter

"If I’d knohat this place was like," said Benny, "I’d have tried to get a job here instead of apprenticing with Tom"

"Really?"

"Sure I’ll bet everyone out here talks about the way things are, instead of always going on about how things used to be You’d have enough stuff to fill up your journal in a week"

She nodded, sht "There seeether some kind of search party"

They were still sixty yards from the front steps when they heard a sound behind the on the grass verge behind them Benny realized that he and Nix had been so focused on the hotel that they ers with the hard faces of bounty hunters--one was a brown-skinned brute with a flight of ravens tattooed across his face and down his throat; the other was a hulk of a whiteeyes They studied Benny and Nix with uns, and he was known to Benny and Nix

"Well, well, if this ain’t cause to say hallelujah," said the man He had eyes the color of deep winter ice, cold and blue As if conjured by the dark ic of thethe leaves and sending the birds shrieking into the air

"God!" Nix gasped, and took Benny’s hand, squeezing it with her usual bone-crushing intensity

Preacher Jack’s pale eyes sparkled with pleasure, and when his lips writhed into their twitchy s tobacco and black coffee "Now," he said softly, "how is it that I’ people here onabout? What do you mean your front lawn?"

Preacher Jack chuckled and lifted his chin toward the house "Funny, you being Tom Iht surprised you ain’t figured things out yet"

Benny turned to look at the hotel The chilly as blowing through the weeping s, lifting the leaves to reveal the upper story, and they could now see with terrifying clarity the words that had been painted there The black W was not the first letter of Wawona Hotel It was the first letter of "Welcome"

Benny’s could feel his insides turn to icyforce as the two of them read the three words painted across the front of the hotel

WELCOME TO GAMELAND

61

CHONG SAT HUDDLED AGAINST THE DIRT WALL THE TWO ZOMS WERE STILL with him Silent and still, and yet the horror of what they represented wasfor hiishly fro to dress the wound He had not done anything at all except to lean his back against the wall and slide down to the floor Above hione There had been so" at the same time; and one of the bettors had told hi

If he turned his head, Chong could see the bite His skin had been caught between the zo teeth, and as the creature had fallen away the pressure had popped the skin, leaving a ragged flap that had bled profusely at first but had now al stared across the pit to the far wall The hard-packed earth was cold and dark and lifeless It seemed to present an eloquentinto his own future The pipe lay on the ground between his bare feet The weapon of the Motor City Hammer A killer’s tool Caked with blood, old and neeapon to murder humans and quiet zombies

He picked it up It was cold and heavy Could such a weapon be used to kill oneself? he wondered What would happen if he tried to bash out his own brains, and failed? What would happen if he did nothing? He could not feel any changes inside He was sick to his stootten yesterday Would he be able to tell when the infection took hold? What would it feel like? How sick would he get?

The pipe felt very solid in his fist, and Chong thuet out of the pit and use what ti

Would Lilah ad as many of his enemies with him as possible?

But he knew that the Burned Man would never let hi knew that he would be left down here until he zoer flared in his chest, and he hurled the pipe as hard as he could It flew across the pit and struck tip-first against the wall, chunking out a lu’s fist Dirt and pipe fell to the ground

So ht bitterly He wrapped his ar

And that lasted for about fifteen seconds Then he raised his head and looked at the pipe, at the clod of dirt he’d knocked out of the wall Then at the divot in the wall