Copyright 2011 by Michael A. Losh. All rights reserved. Please contact me for permission to republish.
Prologue - This story begins in the year 2053 and is set is a rural community in the fringes of the former Detroit metropolitan area. Back in 2028, after years of severe worldwide energy shortages, deepening social division, and increasingly transparent corruption, the federal government lost legitimacy to such an extent that most local governments canceled the general presidential and congressional elections. People now considered the union of the United States dissolved and November 5 became known as Dissolution Day. Over the next decades, Dissolution Day has taken on the significance of the former Thanksgiving and Independence day combined, and is a time of harvest festivals and special events within many local communities.
Part One
Sarah Holdings deftly lead a horse from the shade of its stable into the hot, hazy late-August afternoon and latched the half-door shut behind her. She lead the horse to the water well pump and filled a canteen. While she takes a drink of the cold, sharp water from the canteen, she felt flies biting her ankles with extra intensity. When in afternoon the flies do bite, watch for thunder before the night, she thought automatically. She brushed the flies away, topped up the canteen and packed it in the horse's saddlebags. Just then, a tall blond adolescent boy rode up to her on a bicycle.
"Hi there, Darling. Want to come swimming with us? You'd look awfully good in the water!"
"Stop it, Magnus! That sounds good, but I can't. I need to collect some stuff for my mother." Sarah had a short list of herbs to gather jotted down on a slip of birch bark.
"Your loss. Of course, Crystal will look pretty good next to me in the lake too...," Magnus said as he looked off to the group of two other older teen boys and two teen girls on bicycles waiting for him fifty yards away.
"Mags!"
"Oh, don't worry. Too much. You're still my favorite. You're still going to bring some mead to the campfire later, right?"
"Yes, my Father should be out checking the shared fields after supper," replied Sarah quietly as she looked down and blushed.
"Good. You know, we are going to have a great time tonight," Mags leaned in, touched the bottom Sarah's chin and gave her a conspiratorial wink. Then he spun his bicycle around and pedaled off to join the other teens.
Sarah watched the lanky eighteen-year-old depart through the thin cloud of dust his bicycle tire lifted and tried to sort out the visceral feelings around her stomach. Desire? Sarah patted the horse's neck and spoke to it, "Yes, Logsdon, that Magnus Corver is a fine-looking boy indeed." Then she closed her eyes and said more softly, "But Father is going to whip me if he finds out I stole mead from the Community Store. What am I doing?" She opened her eyes and looked into the horse's, but Logsdon mutely shook his head slightly before ducking down to scratch an ankle with his muzzle. "OK, work first. Let's go." Sarah swung herself into Logsdon's saddle with practiced grace and they trotted off toward Oaktown's southern gate.
***
Sarah approached the sturdy wall that surrounds the Oaktown compound on three sides. She tries to picture the hasty construction of the thick earthen base, which is at least eight feet high and half-again as thick, with huge earth-moving machinery burning some of the last few precious gallons of diesel fuel, but cannot; she was barely a toddler then, and the machinery was now mostly dismantled and recycled into more useful things like farming tools. The wall is topped by a solid log barricade reaching another six feet high, which was the product of tremendous hand labor. The wall encloses an area about a quarter-mile on a side. The eastern edge of Oaktown is defined by Big Seven Lake, and a smaller six-foot wooden fence set back from the water along the shoreline completes the town's physical defenses. She smiled and waved to the gateway guards, a tough-looking Oaktown citizen she had known her whole life and two young men, barely older than herself, who must be Oaktown associates. They offer a respectful wave back. She is accustomed to such attention, since her father James manages the community food store and granary and her mother's family is married into the ruling Clark family. Of course, she knew any pretty young citizen woman on a horse would command a lot of attention from the local young men, more so the associate men trying to find a easier path into citizenship.
Sarah's Mother Joyce tasked her with gathering milk thistle, ginseng, and St. John's wort to make a tincture to treat a man with an ailing liver in the town. Sarah was also trying to find some ginkgo, devil's claw, chamomile, and blue vervain to give to Logsdon's stablemate, Berry, since he was aged enough to be slowing down and less mobile now. Sarah especially loved Berry, for all the interesting places he took her, and the things she learned from him. She hoped he would live many more years and help other young riders learn to navigate the tricky paths and inspiring places among the landscape. But Logsdon was her horse today.
Farther up the trail, Sarah saw a young man she did not recognize. He was not especially tall, but looked strong and fit. His clothes were old and obviously mended, and he carried a old synthetic-type fishing pole and pail. Sarah had Logsdon trot up beside the young man. He stopped walking briefly and looked up at her. His blue eyes looked intensely at her and she realized that he must be a few years older than her.
"Hello Miss Holdings. You are the older Holdings daughter, aren't you?" he asked.
"I am. And you are..." Sarah responded.
"Luke Comstock. Originally of Clarkston. My father is a lumber scout for Oaktown now."
"And you are a fisherman?" Sarah asked, smiling in an effort to lighten the young man's serious expression.
"I am tonight if I want to eat supper. I helping my father on the logging trips, and we won't be paid a food allotment for a few more days."
"I see. Well, I've heard the fishing is still good up at Little Seven Lake. And the elderberries are nicely ripe, of course."
"Thank you Miss Holdings. I will try that." His eyes, while not staring, gazed intently throughout their conversation, but seemed to be holding back back something.
"Did you also hear there's going to be a beach party at Little Seven tonight? You going?" Sarah asked.
"No Miss. I need to get to sleep early tonight. The logging wagons leave tomorrow before dawn."
... and I don't have time for such foolishness, is what Sarah imagined him thinking. After an awkward pause, he asked her, "Are you riding out here alone, unprotected? It's not always safe, Miss."
"Don't worry. I'm a good rider and Logsdon is a sensible horse. He keeps me out of trouble." At that, Sarah patted Logsdon's shoulder while he raised his head a few times. Almost as if nodding yes.
"Well, do be careful Miss. You don't know when something bad will happen," Luke added,without further elaboration.
"I will. Good fishing to you, then." Sarah said, a bit perplexed whether he was trying to sound threatening himself or whether he knew of something evil lurking nearby. Sarah started off in a fast trot to get ahead of him. After a minute or two, Sarah found the side-trail she wanted and turned onto it.
Along the side-trail, the woods grew much thicker and more marshy, good for ginseng. She dismounted Logsdon and tied him to a small understory sapling. She calmed her mind, closed her eyes, and silently recited, Creator God, giver of life and all you make, show me the gift I am to take. She opened her eyes and slowly looked around without focusing too much on any one plant or object. Insects buzzed, but no gift presented itself. She moved a little further off the horse trail, and silently repeated the same words. This time, as she opened her eyes, a blue jay flapped over to a small sapling, squawked, and then flew off. Beneath the sapling was a patch of ginseng. She thanked the Creator with a whisper and dug out some of its roots. She returned to Logsdon and wrapped the ginseng with a piece of rough cloth and placed the bundle in a saddlebag. She tried the procedure again and the blue vervain presented itself in ample quantities, which she collected thankfully. Then she rode back into a sunnier location with scrubby vegetation. She respectfully sought and collected the milk thistle and St. John's wort. She also found a ginkgo tree and some chamomile flowers and harvested a modest portion of both, but the devil's claw was not to be found anywhere. With the precious bundles, she returned to Oaktown.
***
Magnus was still dripping wet. He hauled the swing-rope out onto the lake shore and up to the roughly-constructed platform. He gripped the rope tightly then called out, "Hey! Watch this one!" He swung from the platform down toward the lake's rippling surface then up almost to a stand-still. His almost-impossibly long arms released the rope while his knees tucked in, resulting in a slow back-flip. He entered the water still in the tucked cannon-ball position, resulting in a loud and widely scattered splash. His fiends howled in laughter.
"Ow! I think I just sat on a fish," he said after coming to the surface, making his friends laugh even harder.
Suddenly the laughter stopped and the five friends in the water looked to the shore where a young man with a fishing pole stood looking at them, shading his eyes. After a few moments, he said, "Sorry to disturb you all, but I hear there is good fishing around here. Do any of you know a good spot?"
"Up around the west side, there is a shady spot. Might catch something there. Would've been easier this morning, though," replied Magnus's friend Stone.
"I know," replied the man, frowning.
"I could show you," said Stone, "if you need me to," suppressing a smirk.
"I could show you something else," said June, one of the teen girls, quietly, so only her friend Crystal could hear.
"Slut! Shut up!" laughed Crystal and splashed June.
The man on the shore wrinkled his brow a bit but didn't seem to understand what the girls were fussing about. "Thanks, but I can find it," he said, then added "Carry on," waved, and headed up the shore towards the west side of the lake.
June asked "What's his problem?"
Stone shook his head and answered, "That's Luke Comstock. Peter Comstock's boy. He's the one that tried to take his mother and his girlfriend or fiance or whatever to Calvinville and got ambushed. The women were killed but he got away. Some people say he bolted at the first sign of trouble. His dad is supposed to be a bad-ass though."
"Seems to me he could handle a tussle," said June sideways at Crystal, who simply rolled her eyes. "Like you, Mags," she added more loudly, batting her eyelashes in an obviously over-flirtatious way.
"What? Oh yeah, I can. But that guy, whatever," said Magnus. "Calvinville used to be called Clarkston, remember? Before Dissolution, my family had a big business based there. We had restaurants, where people paid money to get their food cooked for them. And to get sweets you can't even imagine now. My family was a bigger deal than even the Clarks back then. But then the riots and looting ruined everything. We all know people who lost a lot in Clarkston. But I, for one, still know how to have fun." Then he grabbed the rope, hauled it back out and up to the platform. "Who thinks I can do a double back-flip?"
***
After taking the saddle and saddlebags off Logsdon and putting him into the paddock with fresh hay, oats, and water, Sarah brought the bundles of herbs into her mother's workshop, which was attached to the house. There will dozens of bundles of various herbs hanging from the rafters, others sitting in piles on a workbench. Along one wall were racks of small bottles of various sizes and holding differing powders and liquids. A still was configured along another wall, with a large metal pot with a small fire beneath it, with pipes culminating at a spout emitting sweet-smelling vapors and drops of a nearly colorless liquid dripping into a small glass jar. Her mother looked up at Sarah and smiled.
"Excellent! You will be an even better herbalist than me!" her mother said.
"Unless I become a vet," Sarah countered in reply.
"But vets are herbalists now too. Yes? Some of these are for Berry? This will make a fine infusion. Anyhow, I think the still is almost empty, but hasn't made enough for the tincture yet. Can you fetch me another jug of mead?"
"Sure. Be right back."
Sarah walked to the Community Store just up the roadway from her home. The clouds where uneven, and a sporadic wind gust pulled on her long hair. To the north, a dark thunderhead rumbled. She soon reached the Store. Her father was not there, nor his security guard. She unlocked the heavy wooden door and closed it behind her. She found the Store tally papers and added another mark next to the marks already logged for her mother earlier that day. She went to the shelf with jugs of mead. She took two of them to the back loading bay door, unlatched it from the inside and peered out. No one could be seen. She ducked back into the Store building and exhaled deeply. I'm being so stupid! she thought. Why let this boy get to me? This better be worth it!
Sarah took the two jugs out the back loading bay door and quickly placed them in an outside tool shed behind some rakes and brooms. Then she hurried back inside and latched the loading bay door. She returned to the remaining mead jugs, grabbed one more, and headed out the front door. Her hand was shaking as she locked the door. Thunder rumbled again and the air seemed charged. Calm down before someone sees you! she scolded herself.
Back at her mother's workshop, Sarah delivered the jug of mead. Her mother opened the top of the boiling vessel and used a funnel to pour in the fresh jug. This always seemed wasteful to Sarah, but many herbal tincture potions worked best in an strong alcohol base. But Sarah also new how much honey went into making the mead.
"Are you staying in for supper, Sarah? I've got zucchini soup simmering."
"Um, no, I'm not hungry yet. Also I know some kids are having a corn roast up at Lil' Seven. I'm taking Logsdon up there soon."
"Okay, but help me tie up these extra herbs into drying bundles first. That should give the storm clouds a chance to blow over."
Sarah helped her mother tie the loose bunches of herbs with twine into neat bundles that could be added to the drying hooks along the ceiling rafters. She had to conscientiously steady her hands while she worked.
"Good, thanks. Now I can get that tincture made for Old Man Zynder. We can't afford to loose him yet. He still hunts better than anyone else here. More importantly, he teaches hunting better than anyone else, according to your father."
Sarah nodded in agreement. "Who was he training before he got sick?" asked Sarah.
"He told me about Goose Jones. And Dirk. You know Dirk. And Luke Comstock. Tragic case that one. Zynder says to not believe the rumors. That he is actually a good young man."
"Luke Comstock? What rumors? I just met him today."
"That his fiance and wife where killed and he did nothing to stop it. Zynder says it isn't true, they were overrun and overpowered." Sarah remembered the look on Luke's face when they talked, the concern he had for her safety. Suddenly she understood the source of the concern. A wave of sympathy welled up. Then the smell of the boiling mead brought her thoughts back to Magnus and beach party tonight.
"Anyone else he was training?" Sarah asked. "The Dissolution Day hunt is not far off."
"No, I don't think so. He didn't mention anyone else."
Sara frowned a bit, then said "I think the weather is clearing. I'm going now."
"Please be home before the Moon sets. All's-well." said her mother gently.
"Yes, all's-well, Mother."
***
Sarah rode up to Little Seven Lake in the growing dusk. Sprigs of lemon balm in her hair and attached to her saddle helped to drive off the mosquitoes. The jugs of mead she hid earlier were strapped over Logsdon's back now. She rode up close to the swimming beach and found the campfire. There were at least two dozen young people there, aged sixteen to their early twenties. Sarah at seventeen was younger than most. Magnus was in the middle of a loud story.
"And then he's so, 'If you can't swim faster than this boat, you ain't no son of mine!'. So I go 'Uhhhh'..." and Magnus freezes for a few seconds then pantomimes swimming really fast. The others around the fire burst out laughing. "Ooh, lookie here. My favorite girl, bringing something to raise our spirits!"
The group turned toward Sarah, who hitched Logsdon to a tree. She untied the jugs and brought them over close to the fire. She placed them on the ground and and attempted to say "Mead's here. Enjoy!" with a steady voice, but didn't quite succeed. She went over to Magnus, looking a little flushed. Magnus wrapped is long arms around her in a big bear hug, lifted her, and spun her around. He put her down and said to the crowd, "What a good girl! Now pass me a jug."
The group passed the jugs of mead around. They ate corn on the cob after roasting the unhusked ears in the coals of the fire. Someone had skewered some crayfish and roasted them as well. A few melons were cracked open and greedily eaten up.
When a jug of mead come around to Magnus again he took a big swig then held it to Sarah. She shook her head and said, "Actually, I don't like mead."
"Really?" Magnus questioned then shrugged and took another big swig. After smelling it for so many years in her mother's workshop, she found she couldn't really enjoy it as a drink.
People were in a silly mood now, and song broke out. A citizen man named Reed, one of the oldest there, had a guitar and started to play along. Someone started singing this nursery rhyme and others joined in:
Go eat acorns little Sue, but boil it twice, before you chew.
Go eat apples little Kurt, but from the tree, and not the dirt.
Go eat sunfish little Kate, but you need many to fill your plate.
Go eat cattails little Jack, but from the swamp, or they'll bite back!
Magnus pulled Sarah by the hand to a spot on a log next to June, sat down next to her and motioned to Sarah to sit down on his other side. Reed played next a few fast, punchy songs, and everyone clapped along and tried to keep up with the vocals. Then he played some softer, slower songs. Magnus put his arm around Sarah then moved to hold her hand with the other arm. He looked down into her eyes and smiled slowly, then pulled her in even tighter. Sarah leaned her head onto his shoulder and felt his warmth and the strong pulse in his chest. The music and fire and Magnus's embrace made Sarah feel very special. She squeezed his hand back.
The sky had mostly cleared and the Moon was still visible above the tree line, and some cooler gusts of wind whipped past and fanned the campfire alternately bright and dim. Reed took a break from his guitar playing to load some more wood into the fire, and Magnus took the opportunity to head to a privy. June scooted closer to Sarah and said to her, "You are so lucky. Magnus is a stud." There was a strong emphasis on that last word. Sarah's eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly, but no words came. The word 'stud' was not lost on Sarah; she had helped breed several of Oaktown's horses; she new what studs do. Sarah looked back toward the fire as June continued, "He'll be picked by the Committee for sure. Then you will be all set up for life. You and a few little Mags."
Sarah regained a little composure and said to June, "Creator willing, Committee willing, yes that would be a great, I think. But I'm not ready for it to happen all at once."
"But you need to take your opportunities when they appear. Or make them."
"I know. 'Accept the gift that is given.' I hope he is the one. Father and Mother will be devastated if I don't marry the right boy, but enough about me. I think you have an opportunity you don't realize," said Sarah.
"What are you talking about?"
"That guy playing guitar, Reed, is very interested in you."
"Nah-uh. He hasn't said one word to me. Ever," June insisted.
"That's because he's incredibly shy when he isn't holding a guitar. Although he's five years older than me, but I've known him forever. I keep see him looking at you and asking about you when you've been inside the town. But I don't think he wants his parents to know he is interested, so he hasn't let you know either. Because, ... you know."
"What am I supposed to do? Change who I am? Ask for a different mother?"
"Well, no. But you could reign in your words and your attitude a bit. Act more modest. Maybe start going to church. Reed will be there, singing. Go over to him tonight and talk to him," Sarah said. Then added, "Nicely."
"About what?"
"I don't know. Tell his music is good. Maybe he can help you learn a church song or two. Go on."
June got up and wandered over to Reed. June's problem and solution seemed rather simple to Sarah. Don't force the world to give you what you want; don't degrade yourself to make something happen; recognize the real opportunity and be willing to meet it at least half-way from where you are. And if Reed finally acted upon his interests, June wouldn't be disrupting everyone else's oppurtunity either. But her own life didn't seem so simple. Was she doing some wrong things for the right reasons? Or were the reasons not even right? But then Magnus put his attention on her and things just felt... different, and exciting! But confusing.
Sarah could see June talking to Reed. Reed looked a bit uncomfortable but kept talking. June looked back at Sarah with a slightly dismayed look, so Sarah gave her an encouraging little nod. To her credit, June stayed there and kept talking to Reed without making a fuss.
Magnus came back and sat down beside Sarah. He said, "Hi, Darling. Tonight you look like the most beautiful girl in the world."
Sarah heard her horse snort behind her. Sarah said, "Come on. There are lots of pretty girls. Some of them are even here tonight."
"True, but you are the only one that is special to me. I'd do anything for you." The campfire crackled for a few moments before Sarah heard the unmistakable sound of horse droppings hitting the ground. Magnus didn't seem to notice. "Look, the Moon's out. It would be shining really beautiful on the lake if we walk along the shore around to the other side. How can you resist moonlight? Come."
Magnus stood and held out a hand. Sarah rose and took hold of it. As they started walking along the beach, they could hear Reed starting to play again. As they walked on, the sound of the guitar grew fainter, but then she heard Reed's voice. And before Magnus and Sarah reached another little beach on the east side of the lake, Sarah could just barely hear June's voice join Reed's. Sarah and Magnus held hands and looked back over the lake. The Moonlight reflecting off the rippling waters did look beautiful, as did the flickering campfire where the group was still mostly gathered. The music stirred up even more emotions in Sarah. Magnus said, "Sarah, you mean everything to me," and raised his hands to her neck and leaned in and down and kissed her. "I want this to be a night we remember forever. Don't you feel the same way?"
Sarah replied, "Oh Magnus, I will remember tonight. But what are you saying?"
Magnus said, "I want this to be our moment. To be really together. For this moment to be extra special." The stress was heavy on the word 'extra.' Sarah turned her head and placed it on Magnus's chest. His heart was pounding. Was this a gift for her? It would be so nice to give in and accept what he offered. Suddenly, she heard Logsdon whinny loudly across the lake. She could see the waxing moon was getting close to the tree line.
Finally, Sarah said, "Mags, I don't think I can do what you want. Not tonight. If you'll truly do anything for me, you will wait for the right time. And to impress the Committee. Then we can be together and you can have everything you want." Sarah gave Magnus a short kiss then pulled away from his embrace. "I promised Mother I would be back by Moonset. Let's head back." Sarah held her hand to Magnus. He looked a bit crestfallen, but took her hand and started back with her.
When she and Mags got back to the campfire, it had burned down to glowing embers. Reed was still strumming the guitar softly, and the conversation among the group was fairly quiet, with occasional giggling. Sarah walked over to Logsdon who fidgeted more than usual. Sara turned to Magnus and said, "It will be harder for me to see you in the coming weeks. The hard part of the harvest is coming in, and I need to help Father mind the Community Store and I'm trying to keep all the draft horses in town healthy. But I will remember tonight. And I hope you remember what I said."
"Darling, you are going to be amazed at what I do."
"Goodnight Magnus, All's-well."
"All's-well, Darling. All's-well."