Outpost (Razorland, #2)

by Ann Aguirre

As for me, I took a long look, for this was the new face of an old enemy. As warnings went, this one was masterful. Not only did it instill terror and revulsion, it also told us there were more Freaks hidden nearby. Watching. Waiting. And we had no idea of their numbers. Longshot thought we got most of them, but some had clearly hung back, then crept out after we left and eaten our dead. Horror crawled up my spine like a many-legged insect, insidious and inexorable. “They’re trying to starve us out,” I said softly to Fade. He nodded. “That’s not simple instinct. That’s—” “Strategy,” Stalker finished. It was the first time he’d spoken to me since he came in my window, but apparently he judged this situation worth setting aside his personal grievances. “I don’t like this,” I muttered. “It’s a caution,” Stalker went on. “The gangs post similar messages, just not with heads.” He didn’t elaborate on the difference, and I was glad. Genuine fright flared. Though there was plenty of food now, one bad growing season could destroy Salvation’s prosperity. Momma Oaks had a small kitchen garden for us to augment the crops planted for the whole town—and of which each family received a share—but it wouldn’t be enough to last the winter. Other families didn’t have the space or inclination to plant anything at all. “What do we do?” a grower asked Longshot. “Do we clean up and sow a second time?” It was an excellent question. But now that the Freaks had worked out the importance of this sit...