When I asked what that meant, the Rovers told me that there was a special arrangement for anyone who wanted to live there. They had to agree to do manual labor—cleaning, farming, basic repairs, trash collection, and so on—in exchange for being able to live inside the walls. These workers also had to turn over their own supplies and needed to earn them back before they were allowed to leave. Or they could leave with no supplies at all and maybe some consequences.

“Those fuckers in there are all about consequences,” said Diver.

“What kind of consequences?” I asked.

Loki said, “You been to the grove?” He nodded in the general direction of the clearing where I’d found the corpses tied to posts.

“You’re saying the people of Happy Valley did that?”

“You see one guy with a big black beard? That was Buckeye. He was one of us. He was sent in as a, you know . . . spy and shit. We wanted the lowdown on the place ‘cause we heard some shady stories. He went in and for a couple of days was able to get word out to us. Wrapped notes around rocks and used a sling shot to send them over the walls. And then, poof—nothing. Messages stopped. We didn’t hear a peep for over two weeks. Then Snail and his crew found him dead in the grove. They’d tied him up and left him to starve to death. That’s fucked up.”

“And you didn’t take him down and bury him?” I asked.

He looked at me like I was from Mars. “Why? He was dead as shit.”

Nice guys. They said Buckeye managed to get a rough guess as to the amount of stores and supplies. There was a lot, but not enough for all those people. Maybe three months’ worth at half rations. And the workers were being fed quarter rations with a promise of thirds if they worked extra hours to earn it. Also, the residents were raising livestock in there. Rats, which were the principle source of protein for the workers, and dogs to feed the residents. There was a big kennel attached to a slaughterhouse and kitchen.

Not exactly sure which part of the story punched the worst buttons in my head—slave labor or dogs as cuisine. It was at least neck and neck. Maybe a little more the dog thing for me.

“What was your game plan once you raided the place?”