The Scourge

by Jennifer A. Nielsen

  "No, it must be mine," Weevil said, and now his eyes filled with tears. I'd never seen any emotion like that from him before. "It must, Ani. I can't watch them hurt you. Don't make me see it."

  "Then that is how we'll break you both," Gossel said. To me, he added, "Hold out your hand."

  "Striking Ani with that rod will never break her." Desperation seeped through Weevil's words now. "She'll never let you see that it hurts."

  "Let's compromise," I said. "Start by giving Weevil a full meal and a feather bed. I'll be so jealous it will put me into tears. Then, once you've broken me that way, you can give me the meal and the feather bed, which will break him too."

  "Enough!" The lines on Gossel's face deepened. "You'll both get the rod, then."

  "You won't touch either of them." It was Clement, the man from the caves, folding his arms and surrounded by a dozen others his size.

  "Get to your chores!" Gossel shouted at him.

  "My chores are at the treadmill." He pointed to me. "And that girl has treadmill duty also."

  "She is being punished."

  "For violating what rule?"

  "She caused harm to you, or she will."

  "She's done nothing but speak to the Colonists at morning meal. If dumping out the medicine causes us harm, then we did it to ourselves."

  Gossel backed up, clearly intimidated by the many other men who had come to defend me. "All right, the girl can go. But this boy kept back plant leaves yesterday after being ordered to turn all of them in. That is a clear violation of his duties."

  Weevil glanced at me with worry in his eyes. It was a violation. There was no doubt of that.

  Then Gossel smiled as if he'd just had a great idea. That sent a ripple of anxiety through me. Anything that made him so happy was bound to be bad for us.

  He said to me, "Yesterday, you promised to climb a mountain on that treadmill, didn't you?"

  Cautiously, I nodded. "But it's in the water now, doing the climb for all of us. All we must do is keep the mill full of grain."

  "The treadmill can still be climbed," he said.

  "There's no point in it," Clement said. "The wheat will be ground without climbing."

  "That never was the reason for the treadmill," I said, understanding now what should have been obvious all along. "It was there to bring down the strongest people of this Colony, breaking them."

  "Correct," Gossel said. "So you climb that mountain, and your friend here will escape his punishment."

  I couldn't. The effects of the spindlewill leaf were still weighing me down, and I'd eaten so little since arriving that there wasn't much left in me to continue fighting. I knew I couldn't climb a hill, much less climb that treadmill. But that was the point. They still wanted me to have that accident.

  "This grub boy nearly got you killed by giving you spindlewill. That's a terrible crime," Gossel said. "We wouldn't want any harm coming to you, of course. So trust me when I say he is facing a very harsh penalty." He raised the rod. In anticipation of its first strike, Weevil winced.

  "I'll climb it," I quickly said.

  "Until all the wheat is ground for the day." Gossel lowered the rod and his eyes narrowed. "Which I believe we promised would be twice what you had yesterday."

  "Then I'd better get started." For a moment, I considered being sick all over the warden's shoes. If I'd eaten anything that morning, I could have done it. As it was, I could only stand there feeling nauseous.

  The warden's grin turned evil, and he pushed Weevil forward. "He gets a smack of the rod every time you stumble. If you fall, he'll get the worst of what I can do."

  I shook my head. "That's not fair. Everyone stumbles, even when it's dry. Those steps will be wet and slippery now."

  "Well, it wasn't my idea to move the treadmill into the river. Accept this deal, or he'll complete his punishment here, with me."

  Weevil shook his head, but no words came to him. His talk of wanting my punishment had been sincere, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid of what was coming, for him and for me.

  I met the warden's gaze with the most defiant look I could manage. "Let's finish climbing that mountain."

  I walked out with the men who had come to defend me. Weevil and the other wardens followed behind us.

  "I can't decide whether that was stupid or brave," Clement said.

  "For the River People, 'stupid' and 'brave' are the same word," I said. "One is used after a person loses. The other is for when we win."

  "Then we'll call you brave," Clement added.

  Thanks to the river, the treadmill was already in motion when I approached. I started forward but a warden said, "Chain her to it."

  I turned. "What? No!"

  "When you were assigned this job yesterday, you cheated. You got off and moved the mill."

  "She improved on your terrible design!" Clement said. "That isn't cheating."

  "If she doesn't walk according to my terms, then her friend will take his punishment!" Gossel shouted. "The grub can choose."

  "If you fall into the water, you'll drown." Weevil shook his head. "Don't do it, Ani. I'll be fine."

  But the glare in Gossel's eye told me otherwise. Whatever he intended for Weevil, my friend would not be fine when it was over. I stepped into the water in front of the treadmill.

  The chain was already attached to the base of the treadmill. Another warden fastened its other end around my ankle and then shoved me onto the mill, where I was immediately forced to begin walking. Maybe it had been difficult before, with the weight of two other men constantly pulling it down, but the climb was so much harder now. There was no give in the rhythm of the water, and the wheel turned much faster than when the men had walked it.

  Weevil was brought to stand directly in my line of sight with Warden Gossel behind him. At first I glared at the warden, but then my gaze fell to Weevil. He was staring back at me, looking perfectly confident in my ability to climb this wheel. The smile on his face was so ridiculously calm that I hated seeing it. And I loved it too. Without a single word, Weevil was telling me that everything would be all right.

  The steps were even more slippery than I'd expected. If my foot didn't go down squarely on the next step, it would slip. Within minutes, I made my first stumble. The warden noticed, and Weevil received one hit from the rod across his back. He gasped and gritted his teeth for only a moment; then the smile returned, even if it was more forced this time.

  I wouldn't do that again, wouldn't let him receive another lick of pain. So I turned my focus to the steps of the mill and climbed, and climbed. And climbed.

  "You can do it, Ani," Della called.

  I wasn't sure when she had arrived. She hadn't been there earlier. When I looked back, I saw she wasn't alone either. Other Colonists had come to see what was happening.

  After an hour, my heart was pounding and sweat poured down my face, but in a strange way, I was also beginning to feel better too. The exercise was forcing the spindlewill poison out of my system. It was exhausting me, but strengthening me at the same time.

  Until I stumbled a second time and Weevil received another hit. "Don't worry," he called up to me. "These wardens are as weak as my littlest sister."

  His littlest sister was actually pretty strong, but I appreciated his attempt at an insult and so did the rest of the growing group, who laughed quietly and began murmuring. Through this show, wardens were not gaining the people's favor. It felt inevitable now, that there would be an uprising here in the Colony. I hoped I'd be around to see it.

  I stumbled a third time and, above the sound of the water, heard Weevil cry out. I didn't dare look at him this time. I couldn't think about when my feet would fail him again. It wouldn't be long.

  Two men walked forward as if to join me on the mill. At first I shook my head, warning them to stay back. They might have thought they were helping me, but with their added weight, the wheel would turn even more quickly. I'd never be able to keep up. However, instead, they climbed the opposite side
of the wheel, the side that was moving toward the water. It was tricky because they had to step down each time I stepped up, but their weight was also balancing mine and the force of the water. They had slowed the mill for me.

  "That isn't allowed!" Warden Gossel shouted.

  "You have no reason to stop them!" Clement replied with equal force. "Ani continues to climb, as she agreed."

  Gossel grumbled loudly, but he had no argument in return and he certainly didn't have the support of the people. If the wardens tried to pull those men down, there would be a reaction from the Colonists.

  "You can do it, Ani," Weevil called. "It's only one mountain."

  We did this for a long while, so long that I lost track of the time. Hours might've passed, though that didn't seem possible. I saw the ground flour emptying from the mill, so I knew we were making progress, but a slower mill also meant a slower grind. I didn't dare ask how much grain still remained.

  More and more, even the slower climb became too much for me. Dark clouds had begun to gather overhead, which I took as an ominous sign. If a storm came, it would become impossible to finish grinding the wheat. Gossel wouldn't care. He would say that I had failed, and Weevil would pay for that.

  Gossel was sitting now, though he had forced Weevil to remain standing. By the time we entered the afternoon hours, I guessed nearly all the Colonists had gathered here, along with the wardens, who seemed increasingly nervous. Which would happen first--my fall and failure? Or their uprising?

  As the clouds grew darker, I knew it was only a matter of minutes before I would stumble again or even tumble from the wheel. If I fell entirely, the chain would pull me under the water and trap me, beyond the reach of any Colonists who'd try to save me. But even if this wheel defeated me, the Colony had changed now. The wardens would never again have the power they had only a few days ago. Did that mean my time here was a success, even if I failed?

  More than anything, I had wanted to protect Weevil, just as he had protected me so far. He should never have been here, yet he had sacrificed his freedom to be with me. Couldn't I even give him a day of climbing? I looked up to Weevil as if to apologize. Then two more men climbed onto my side of the wheel. I shook my head, too out of breath to speak. It'd kill me if they moved the wheel any faster. But that wasn't their plan. They took each of my arms, raising me into the air to carry me between them, and continued the climb for me. To maintain the balance, others joined the opposite side, keeping the wheel slow and stable.

  I leaned my head onto the shoulder of one of the men. "Thank you," I whispered.

  "When I was a young child, I fell into an old well," he said. "The townsfolk couldn't get me out and had almost given up hope. It was a River Person who finally saved my life. Surely I can help save a daughter of those people."

  The other man said, "My son loved a girl once who came from the river country. I refused to give him my blessing for the marriage and made them separate. I realize now what a mistake that was. If she was anything like you, I'd have been honored to bring her into our family."

  I couldn't say anything in return. Maybe because I was more exhausted than I'd realized, or maybe because I was too stunned at what was happening in this Colony. Sometime in the last several hours, we had at last become one people.

  "What is this foolishness?" a voice demanded.

  Everyone turned. Even I turned, thinking I recognized the voice but unsure of what it might mean.

  Governor Felling stood before us all in a long blue dress, in stark contrast to the sweaty rags we wore in the Colony. She was surrounded by her own wardens and looking perfectly furious.

  Warden Brogg was with her, a deep frown on his face. Even from where I stood, breadcrumbs were still evident on his uniform. Maybe he'd been forced to leave Keldan in the middle of a luxurious lunch. Poor thing.

  The governor pointed to me. "Get that girl down from there. She and I need to talk, alone."

  Once I was unchained, Warden Brogg led me and the governor to a building near the barracks that I had assumed held supplies. Instead, it was empty except for some stools and a table.

  "Will we be eating supper in here?" I nodded at the crumbs on Brogg's uniform. "Can I have the rest of whatever you were eating?"

  "Sit," the governor said. Brogg pushed on my shoulder, ensuring I obeyed.

  Not that I put up any fight. I was grateful to sit on the stool. I was grateful to sit anywhere at all because my legs felt like bags of jelly. Still, I made an effort to sit as tall as possible and look her in the eye.

  Before she could ask her questions, I had one of my own. "My friend Weevil--what's happening to him right now?"

  "They won't do anything until I give further orders." Governor Felling raised an eyebrow. "And what those orders will be depends entirely upon you."

  "I've done nothing wrong, Governor." Since the moment I was put in that isolation wagon, I'd only tried to do what I thought was right, yet my words still sounded hollow. Here in the Colony, right and wrong were all mixed up.

  "I got a letter from Warden Gossel, warning me that you were stirring up trouble. From the looks of things, I got here just in time."

  "You did, but not because of me." I leaned forward. "Do you know the medicine is a poison? It's made from the spindlewill leaf, which in high enough quantities will kill a person. In low quantities, it still kills, only more slowly."

  "Of course I know, but it's all we have against the Scourge!" she snapped. "Do you think you are more compassionate than me, urging the other victims here to stop taking their medicines? Perhaps you believe that you can manage the pain of the Scourge now, but what about when it gets worse? It will, you know. It will get so much worse for you, and for everyone here!"'

  "It doesn't have to get worse!" I said. "If you bring in thrushweed, I think it can help. My people--"

  "Grub medicine is not the answer!"

  "It might be the only answer. If you would listen to me--"

  "There is no cure for the Scourge."

  "When a person is healed, the Scourge leaves a scar behind, up the forearm." I raised my arm to demonstrate where it would be and gasped. A thin red scar ran up my arm. It hadn't been there the last time I'd checked, before getting on the treadmill. I held it up to show her. "This. They call it the scar of health. I'll grant you, it's odd to name a scar, but they have, and it's a sign the Scourge has left the body." When the governor failed to answer, my eyes narrowed. "I know you've seen this before. Some people escaped the Colony and returned to Keldan, all of them bearing this same scar. You had them executed, didn't you?"

  "They violated the law," the governor said. "No one can leave the Colony, ever, whether or not they believe they're cured. The Scourge can always be passed to someone else."

  "Will you leave the Colony?" I asked. "Will you be tested for the Scourge too? Isn't it possible that you're infected now?"

  "I am not infected!" she yelled. "What is it about grubs that compels you to fight everyone and everything?"

  "You should want fighters!" My temper was rising, and I wasn't doing much to control it. "You should want the entire country of Keldan to resist the Scourge, just as we would resist Dulan if they ever invade."

  "Dulan will not invade," she said. "I have seen to that. I have protected us in ways that a stupid grub like you could never understand."

  "Stupid? I turned a human-powered wheel into one powered by water. I probably have a cure for the Scourge. I even found a faster way to collect the laundry here, though I admit, there were some flaws in that last idea."

  A crack of thunder sounded outside and the governor froze. "What was that?" she asked Warden Brogg.

  I already knew. I'd seen the dark clouds before, even if they had not.

  Brogg opened the door, then shut it again. "A storm is coming this way and fast. We warned you not to come!"

  Governor Felling's mouth pinched together. "I only came because Warden Gossel's letter was so urgent." She glared at me. "It's the grub's fault I'm here
."

  Brogg looked out again. "The storm looks pretty serious. The Colonists should be ordered into the prison early tonight, before supper. You should get to safety too, in case this results in flooding. They have a barracks on higher ground that will be safe for you."

  "Not yet," the governor said. "Not until we finish with this grub."

  "Ani," I said. "You keep calling me grub, but my name is Ani."

  Her eyes narrowed and she leaned into me. "Your name is grub. Your name is servant. Your name is Scourge. That is what you must accept while you are here."

  "My name is Ani," I repeated, leaning in toward the governor. "I am one of the River People, and I serve no one but myself. As for the Scourge, I am healed of it!"

  I raised my arm again, ready to give Governor Felling an extra-close-up look at my arm, but Brogg grabbed it, protecting my fist from accidentally hitting the governor's nose. Well, accidentally, more or less.

  Another crack of thunder rolled above us, immediately followed by a flash of lightning. Rain began falling as it usually did in the river country, with no early warnings of light rainfall, but suddenly, with fat, heavy drops. So much that it immediately began leaking through these thin wooden walls.

  Still, Governor Felling ignored all that and only raised her voice above the storm.

  "How can I send more River People here if this one can't even be controlled?" she asked. Brogg shrugged in return. Any other answer would either get him in trouble or get him sent here permanently.

  "There is no Scourge amongst the River People!" I said. "But you don't care about that, do you? You told me yourself, that you believe the River People are the true Scourge of Keldan! You only want to send them here, hoping they get the disease, and to wipe us out that way!" My eyes widened. "That's why the wardens took me out of that tree. I overheard them saying you had ordered them to get five River People for testing. You didn't care which five, any of us would do."

  The governor's eyes narrowed further. "If anything, I've left the River People alone for far too long," she said. "People from all over Keldan are in this Colony."

  "I know that." My mind went back to the physician's office in Keldan. "Sir Willoughby knew it too. He challenged you in the last election, and you got revenge by bringing his daughter here."