The Event Series (Book 2): The Gospel According to Matthew, Margo & Lance

by Thomas Larson

  “I will listen, and lear….”

  Then behind them both was a light, a bright light! “I am Father Sky, I am the bringer of light, the beginning of all, the trusted one. Stay with me and I will see you safe, and content.”

  The light initially blinded me but as my eyes adjusted I began to see the form of Father Sky, and as he became clearer and clearer I saw, and understood, it was me. The thing, the form, Father Sky I realized that it was not just me, the shifting image was every man, it was all of us.

  I think at that point my mind seemed to just blink out. I saw visions, and heard songs and stories flashing by at what seemed the speed of light; and then, darkness.

  When I woke it was late, we were still by the hibachi but it was long burnt out, and it was light, dawn had come. Tanya lay next to me, and Helen was just sitting on the other side of the circle staring at us, smiling.

  “Good morning, did you sleep well?”

  “I, we, questions, I have many questions.” I stuttered.

  “I bet you do, but I have one first.”, she said

  “Okay, I will try to answer.”

  “Do you see?” she asked.

  “Yes, and understood, I know where the answers are.”

  Tanya who was now awake said, “Within, within us, that is where the answers are.”

  Helen smiled. “Rest now, take the day and build your strength. Tomorrow it is time for you to return to your tribe, and end this quest to begin another.”

  We lazed about for the balance of the day, and talked with each other. Our dreams were very similar, the things we saw might have been a little different, like her changeling was a Jack Rabbit rather than a Raven, and I was the Father Earth, and she was Mother Sky.

  April 29th

  (Lance) Over breakfast we presented Stephen and Heather with a baby monitor, after doing so Del told me that we should have waited and we could have used it as a baby shower gift. WTF, I am a guy, and kind of socially awkward, what do I know about baby showers. In some ways, I guess I am kind of like Mr. Data from the old Star Trek series.

  In the course of the conversation I was telling them about the items we found that could help with our electricity. I mentioned the problem with the wind turbine we had found.

  Stephen suggested that he could lift it off the silo and move it to another location. But we would need to have somewhere to set it down, a new tower perhaps. There is no rush, but that seemed like a workable idea.

  Del and the rest of us runners, I still use that term loosely for me, made the run this morning. After my kill yesterday, actually my first kill using the ninja techniques that Nick had taught me, I was prancing a little prouder and with a little more confidence.

  (Margo) Getting back to normal again today, I feel better, still a little icky but better. I really have to figure this stuff out. If Mom were here I could talk with her about it, maybe Charlene, or Tay can give me some ideas on how to deal with the damn PMS thing better.

  I ran today, with Del and the crew. Lance seemed to be running better and there was something about him today, it was like something happened. He has changed, became more, mainstream?

  (Matt) For the most part of the day Tanya and I really didn’t talk much. I think that we both were sorting through the visions, the vision quest. There was so much that flashed by, yet the message was so simple. Still, I feel like I am missing something.

  In the evening we packed our stuff up for the beginning of the return to Romanica. I am excited about it because I feel that we’re onto something and need to share it with the rest of the camp. It would be a few days before we were back and by then Tanya and I will have had the chance to sort through it all, and compare notes. Although based upon what she did say, we are already on the same footing.

  April 30th

  (Matt) We were off fairly early this morning after spending some time saying goodbye to Helen, she is really a remarkable woman. In the short time we knew her she’s taught us much. It was almost as if she was the embodiment of the knowledge contained in the library. It may have been because she had the time to read and learn over the years, but both Tanya and I felt there was more, there was a connection to the knowledge that lived in that building, a grounding.

  As Tanya and I drove along we talked, and compared notes of our dreams and visions during the ceremony. In talking about it, we found that the roles or players in the visions were similar, but were played by different creatures, or people. That is except for Helen, she was the crone in both our dreams. But the Changeling, I love the Changelings, they were played by different creatures. In my vision it was a Raven, in Tanya’s it was the Jack Rabbit. Certainly the Changelings have their bad moments, but they are the ones who bring the magic, the new ways, the needed changes to society.

  “In a way, Tanya, I think we are the Changelings for our group. It is our task to bring about some new ideas and ways for us to live.”

  “I know, and it’s a little scary, I mean, we don’t even know what we are changing yet, or if the tribe will go with us on it.”

  “I see some folks going along easily with us, it is pretty simple really, much of what we are going to be talking about, and doing is already being done, maybe for different reasons, but being done.”

  She was quiet for a few moments and then said, “Do you think that people like LJ and Langley will go along with it? We, the group, have been together for a long time, but those folks are new.”

  “I think it will all work out, no, I know it will all work out. Everything we have seen and learned on this pilgrimage says, don’t worry, in the end, it all works out.”

  She smiled and took my hand, “You’re right.”

  We continued to work our way east but avoided the major routes, it just felt right to travel on the back roads. It was kind of slow going because in the year since the die-off the roads were still cluttered with broken trees, and potholes. There were also a few cars and trucks along the way.

  We reached Hagaman late in the afternoon. It was a small town, probably akin to Peru. It was northeast of Amsterdam. We checked the place out and scavenged what we could. We found some canned goods, and some fuel for the old truck.

  There was a little inn downtown, had to laugh, The Dew Drop Inn…Seriously!

  (Lance) I looked in the mirror this morning, I like what I am seeing, but I am getting a little nervous, it won’t be long before I am not black-haired anymore. I hope Del will be okay with it.

  I spent much of the day trying to figure out how to build a tower so we can use that windmill generator. I should probably focus on the solar panels more, but that windmill fascinates me. For now that will be on the back burner, solar first.

  (Margo) I’m back, Code is happy, Lucy is happy, I am happy. I am going to talk to Charlene a little about this monthly mental mess I become.

  The weather was awesome; the run was great, as Tom used to say, “It was the best day ever!”

  May 1st

  (Margo) The leaves are all out, and we actually have some flowers in bloom around the place. Chels and Tay got conned into doing some landscaping by Grace. It looks good.

  We did the run this morning, it felt good. Code, Del, Lance and I kind of got ahead of some of the others. LJ and the militants, sounds like a rock band, that is LJ, Langley, Ron and a couple of others also did a run, but those guys are hard core, they carry backpacks filled with like rocks.

  I never thought about it but Lance is losing the black hair, not going bald, but it is changing color, it is getting lighter. Okay, there is not a lot to write about today and I’m just filling space.

  (Matt) Our goal today is to reach Ballston Spa, this will take us along Route 67. It is time for us to return to the camp, so we figure that our best bet would be to take this route and then pick up I-87. We have had no contact with search or better, vengeance parties from Stanwix.

  “When we get back we need to get going with the planting for the spring. There are a couple of things that we might be a little l
ate on, like peas if we decide to do them. But the corn, beans, and other stuff should be fine.” I said as we drove along.

  “Henry would have already been on it if …. you know.”

  “Yeah, he was a good soul, and I miss him.”

  As we drove on, we talked about the planting options and one of those options was creating an herb garden, some for eating, but also to expand our medical base. So many roots and teas could help with the sniffles, or aches and things that we no longer have pharmaceuticals for. I mean we do have some but as time goes on, the drugstores will run out or they will seriously go past their expiration date.

  It was a pretty uneventful trip into town.

  “Wow, I didn’t know that?” said Tanya with a little surprise in her voice.

  “What?”

  “There is the Abner Doubleday House; I didn’t know that he was in the Civil War.” She added.

  “Me neither, I thought his claim to fame was that he invented baseball” I answered.

  “Yeah, he apparently started the Civil War by ordering the first shots fired at Fort Sumner.”

  “Shall we use his house tonight or……..nope!” I started, “We are staying there!”

  In front of us was this huge house, the Verbeck House. It was too interesting not to say there. It was this big Victorian thing that was too good to pass up. We found that it had served as a hotel or inn back in the day.

  The town itself seemed empty, we saw no signs of life, and only a very few signs of death. There were a couple of Changed roaming around, and we put them to peace quickly and quietly.

  The house was roomy, and yet very quaint in a sort of Victorian way. I am guessing Victorian; it was old stuff and old style. It was a nice warm day but the inside of the house still had a little chill to it so we built a fire.

  We checked out the kitchen and found some canned food, some corned beef hash, which works for dinner. We also found bottled water, but it was not just your typical plastic bottle stuff, it was a mineral water that was bottled locally and was in glass. It was actually kind of good. We should probably make sure we take some back with us if we can find some more.

  We talked more about the ideas of the natural state, the going back to a simpler time, philosophy wise. As time passes we and our future generations would find the modern world becoming further and further a thing of the past.

  (Lance) Did the run this morning, did well. I am going to have to find a hat; the true hair color is starting to show.

  Del said she would teach me how to fish.

  May 2nd

  (Margo) Everybody was called together this morning. The Three wanted to give us an update on the state of the camp and the plans for the future. I am guessing that the biggest issue that had been in front of us was since we’re staying we had to get going on food for next winter. .

  They talked about the plans for the gardens. We are going to use the fields over in the area of Peru like we did last year, and Bernie and LJ have scoped out a couple of other farms where we can add some additional area for corn and beans and some other things. They are talking about onions, beets and turnips. I can pass on the turnips, but maybe we can get away from deer stew next winter.

  They talked about medicine, growth, blah, blah, blah…I want to get out of here and go for a little run.

  (Lance) Big meeting this morning the word is officially out we are staying put. I think this is a good place; it will give us the chance to get more and more prepared for next winter and the future. We will never be back to where we were a year and a half ago.

  As I look around the room it appears that most everyone seems good with the idea, although Margo looks a little antsy, and LJ seems a little unhappy about it, but then, I don’t think I have ever seen him happy with anything, except when he was killing Zoms.

  After the meeting it was run time, and it was a good day for it. I snuck away for my afternoon of sword training with Master Nick, the last few days have been spent on learning the sweeping and slashing motions from a standing position.

  Del and I talked a little about the future, not so much our future as a couple, but about the group in general. What can we do to improve the conditions in which we live? The power thing will be big.

  “If we get a good crop in, we should be fine for the winter.” She said.

  Yea, but we need to think about more than just food. We have to consider things like fuel for the vehicles; the longer we go on the more that is going to be an issue.”

  “But what can we do, we can’t make gasoline.” She countered

  “True, but, and this is something I have been looking at, we could make some form of biofuels, kind of a biodiesel. It wouldn’t be a great supply, but we could run a tractor on the stuff and probably a couple of the trucks.”

  “That or we could try to switch to electric cars.” She offered.

  “Not a bad idea, but I don’t think we would be able to get them charged, at least not where we might find them. I mean if we could get them to camp, with the solar panels, we might be able to get them going, but I just don’t know.”

  (Matt) Our goal today was to get to Mechanicville, we followed Route 67 over I 87 and into Malta, New York, and then we headed south. It should have been an easy run but things happened that changed that. The first was that as we neared the crossover of I 87 we found an overheated car. It was blocking the road and that did not seem good.

  “Tanya, get ready, I have a bad feeling about this.”

  “I know, let’s keep the eyes open.”

  As we moved slowly around the vehicle we saw nothing, and as we cleared it and started to pull away I saw someone in the rear view mirror, they were waving at us. I stopped, maybe not the wisest thing to do, but we stopped.

  A guy and a girl ran toward us. He was average sized, I am guessing in his early 40s, she in her thirties. They had rifles on their backs, and packs, but it was clear they were from the car we just passed.

  “Stay sharp, there may be more.” I told Tanya as I got out of the car. She got out on her side and we were both ready for action if it came to it.

  “Hey, no need to run my friend, you have our attention.” I shouted to them.

  They were close now, maybe 30 feet, breathing heavy. “Yes, I know, thank you, thank you for stopping.”

  “What happened?” I asked.

  He looked at me blankly for a couple of seconds, then said, “Oh, a hose, a hose broke, we were hoping to get in Malta and find an auto parts store to get another.”

  “Are you two alone?” I asked.

  “Yeah, just us.” He replied.

  I noticed the girl seemed a little frightened and kept looking around. I had not paid much attention to her at first. She was a five foot five blonde woman, early thirties, attractive, slender, and what is the term FLBP, future lower back problems because she either had a boob job, or was just a very gifted young lady.

  When the guy saw me looking at her he said, “Oh, my name is Keith, and this is Pam. We are a couple, and have been on the road for a while; you’re the first folks we have seen in days.

  Clearly he was staking his claim on Pam, but there was something in his tone that led me to think there was more to this story than a couple of travelers with a broken down car, especially with her nervously looking around.

  “Well, let’s get into Malta and see if we can get a hose and get you up and running.” I said.

  Keith and I rode in the front of the little king cab, Tanya and Pam in the back as we went in search of a parts store. We were able to get the parts we needed, and some coolant and had them back running in about an hour.

  “We are heading down toward Mechanicsville for the night, I am not sure where you’re headed, but we have a little food, and it would be nice to have some company for a change.” I offered.

  Pam and Keith exchanged glances, and then agreed to follow us.

  As Tanya and I drove toward our destination she said, “They are an odd couple, and they are definitely worried a
bout something.”

  “Yep, I am curious as heck about it.”

  “So that is why you invited them along for the night?”

  “Yes, I think they are harmless, to us, but they are, or at least, she is scared that something or someone is after them.”

  Tanya thought for a moment, “Yeah, you’re right, she is spooked, not Changed chasing us spooked, but there is someone after us spooked.”

  “Well, if that is the case, we should probably be careful tonight, ‘their someone’ may be close by.”

  We arrived in Mechanicville about 4:30 and we looked around for a place to stay. Tanya found a nice three story old hotel that gave a good view of the downtown area. It was comfortable, but also defensible.

  We eat cold food tonight, I was going to build a fire, and try some cooking, but just in case ‘their someone’ was close it seemed like a bad idea.

  After dinner we sat down in the lobby of the hotel and just talked, nothing serious, just a little chat. “So before the meteor what did you do” I asked Keith.

  “Ah, well, I had a great little dental practice going, in the area of Rome NY. I was making out very well, and then, well, dead folks don’t brush, and they don’t floss, but they don’t care much about teeth, unless they are ripping you open with them.” He said light heartedly.

  “Nice, I, well, I had a much less interesting life, I was an organic farmer who by some strange series of events has become a sort of…” I looked at Tanya, “What are we now?”

  “I would say sort of a cross between a shaman and a preacher.” She answered.

  Pam has said nothing this whole time. She had maybe whispered to Keith a couple of times, but nothing out loud.

  “What about you Pam? What did you do?” Tanya asked.

  “I am not a nice person, I mean, I didn’t like kill people, or anything, but I am not a person I am proud of. Let’s just leave it at that.” She answered; she looked down the whole time.

  The rest of us talked for a while and then I mentioned that I had been out to Rome, and had seen Fort Stanwix, it hit a nerve and they both kind of reacted, sat up a little, looked around. Ah, bingo now we’re on track.