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“We’re fucked,” said Mayor Coke. “Time to roll up the sidewalks and head back east.”
“Isn’t that somewhat premature?” asked Nancy.
“We’ve lost seventy per cent of our population to that damn disease,” said the mayor. “We’ve only got 80 people left, Nance. We can’t sustain the settlement with those numbers.”
“We could send for more colonists,” said the blonde Vampire.
“Who in their right mind is going to want to move to a plague town?” shot back Mayor Coke.
“Marielle’s got a point,” said Norman. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t try to sustain the town, but we have to be realistic. No warmblood in their right mind is going to move here in light of recent events.”
“Don’t forget the Wolves,” said Hempstead. “Their presence will put people off as well.”
Nancy shook her head. “The Wolves aren’t a problem. They’ve been good neighbors so far.”
“They aught to be,” murmured Hempstead. “We’ve been giving them a virtual banquet since the plague hit.”
There was some uneasy shuffling around the table. The plague had pushed the settlement’s small crematorium beyond its limits. Eventually, it had given up the ghost and the settlers had had no choice but to abandon the bodies in shallow graves beyond the wall. Eventually, even the graves had been abandoned when it had been discovered that the Wolves weren’t going to let a good source of meat go to waist. The realization that the dead were being eaten made everyone, warmblood and bloodsucker, uneasy.
“We should send word back east,” said Nancy, calmly. “Appraise them of our situation and see what they suggest. They have just as much invested in the settlement as we do.”
Mayor Coke looked unhappy. “They know what’s been going on. Belasco and I have been sending them reports every week.”
“And what have they said?” asked Nancy.
“The usual placating bullshit,” said Coke. She waved a hand, dismissing the platitudes that their eastern brethren had spewed. “Tough it out and we’ll send help when we can.”
“If help comes now, it’ll be too damn late,” said Hempstead.
“What about the other settlements?” asked Nancy. “Has the Lament hit them as hard as us?”
“Worse in some places,” said Belasco. “Charlottesford is a ghost town. Barely a dozen people still alive.”
“I heard Newtown was hit just as bad,” nodded Mayor Coke. “And those are just the settlements near us.”
Norman leaned forward slightly. “Does anyone know if the Lament has hit back east yet?”
“Isn’t that somewhat premature?” asked Nancy.
“We’ve lost seventy per cent of our population to that damn disease,” said the mayor. “We’ve only got 80 people left, Nance. We can’t sustain the settlement with those numbers.”
“We could send for more colonists,” said the blonde Vampire.
“Who in their right mind is going to want to move to a plague town?” shot back Mayor Coke.
“Marielle’s got a point,” said Norman. “I’m not saying we shouldn’t try to sustain the town, but we have to be realistic. No warmblood in their right mind is going to move here in light of recent events.”
“Don’t forget the Wolves,” said Hempstead. “Their presence will put people off as well.”
Nancy shook her head. “The Wolves aren’t a problem. They’ve been good neighbors so far.”
“They aught to be,” murmured Hempstead. “We’ve been giving them a virtual banquet since the plague hit.”
There was some uneasy shuffling around the table. The plague had pushed the settlement’s small crematorium beyond its limits. Eventually, it had given up the ghost and the settlers had had no choice but to abandon the bodies in shallow graves beyond the wall. Eventually, even the graves had been abandoned when it had been discovered that the Wolves weren’t going to let a good source of meat go to waist. The realization that the dead were being eaten made everyone, warmblood and bloodsucker, uneasy.
“We should send word back east,” said Nancy, calmly. “Appraise them of our situation and see what they suggest. They have just as much invested in the settlement as we do.”
Mayor Coke looked unhappy. “They know what’s been going on. Belasco and I have been sending them reports every week.”
“And what have they said?” asked Nancy.
“The usual placating bullshit,” said Coke. She waved a hand, dismissing the platitudes that their eastern brethren had spewed. “Tough it out and we’ll send help when we can.”
“If help comes now, it’ll be too damn late,” said Hempstead.
“What about the other settlements?” asked Nancy. “Has the Lament hit them as hard as us?”
“Worse in some places,” said Belasco. “Charlottesford is a ghost town. Barely a dozen people still alive.”
“I heard Newtown was hit just as bad,” nodded Mayor Coke. “And those are just the settlements near us.”
Norman leaned forward slightly. “Does anyone know if the Lament has hit back east yet?”
