Glassing the Orgachine

by David Marusek

  “We’ll have to get in some firewood too, I suppose.”

  THEY DIDN’T TALK much during the long ride, each lost in his own thoughts. Between Palmer and Glennallen, most of the traffic was coming west into Anchorage. Overladen cars, campers, RVs. Whole bug-out caravans passed them by. These were the preppers from the Lower 48 who’d come up the Alcan to ride out the Apocalypse in Alaska. Rory had to wonder if the last days wouldn’t be more tolerable on a beach somewhere warm.

  And then an entirely different kind of caravan started passing them, a military convoy. At first there were Humvees and troop carriers. These were followed by fuel tankers, ambulances, trucks towing howitzers, and flatbeds hauling M1 Abrams tanks. They came in groups of sixteen vehicles with large gaps between the groups.

  Refugees and soldiers, all headed to Anchorage.

  IN GLENNALLEN, THE Hub of Alaska was open for business, but only the convenience store, not the gas station. This didn’t sit well with all the preppers showing up. There’d been plenty of fuel for sale in Canada, but once they crossed the border at Beaver Creek, supplies seemed to dry up. By the time they reached Glennallen, their reserves were gone and their tempers hot.

  At the far end of the expansive Hub parking area, the Thai Truck had been opened up and was doing banner business.

  “Feel like dinner?” Rex said.

  “Sure.”

  They parked, placed their order at the window, and then crossed the lot to use the Hub toilets. When they returned, a pickup with Utah plates had backed up next to their trailer, and two men were releasing the tie-downs to their fuel drums. Without saying a word, Rex walked past the men, unlocked the passenger door of the Ford, and retrieved his handgun from the glove box. He went over to one of the men and pointed the barrel in his face.

  “Whoa, hey, man, whoa there,” the guy said, backing up and raising his hands. “We don’t mean no harm.”

  Rex didn’t say a word, only cocked the hammer.

  THE PAD THAI and Tom Kha Kai were surprisingly good for a food truck. They sat in the Ford and watched the highway as they ate. The moon was full, and a frozen haze hung in the air. A convoy of five 18-wheelers approached from the direction of Anchorage. They must have been chasing the Lawthers the whole way. Their air brakes rumbled, and two of them pulled into the lot. The others continued to the intersection and turned south, toward Valdez, the same direction the Lawthers were headed.

  Rory’s dad sounded spooked. “I don’t know,” he said. “What do you think?” The bodies on the Fred Meyer parking lot back in Wallis should have been a clue. Or the amount of military traffic on the Glenn. But it took jamming a pistol into a strange man’s face to finally tip the scale. “Should we go back and get your mother?”

  Rory wasn’t sure what to say. On the one hand, they were right there, just another 150 or so miles (240 km) from McHardy. They could scoop up Ginger and scope out the mine and be home in two days. On the other hand, if something happened in that time and they weren’t able to get back to Wallis . . .

  “If we go back now, we won’t have Ginger. And we may never have another chance to get her.”

  “That’s true,” said his father.

  “I think we should go for it, as planned. I also think you should call Mom and tell her to start packing for real. Maybe even rent a U-Haul and make a Costco run. If it’s not too late already.”

  Which is what Rex did.

  Back on the highway, heading south on the Richardson, Rex caught up with the three tractor trailers below Copper Center. They had collected a dozen overburdened vehicles in their wake, stacked up behind them, unable to pass. These were preppers who must have chosen Valdez over Anchorage for seeking refuge.

  “Don’t worry,” Rex told Rory. “We’ll lose them at the Edgerton Cutoff.”

  So they were surprised when they reached the cutoff, still eighty miles (129 km) shy of Valdez, and the semis and most of the preppers turned east toward Chitina, just like they did. After a few more miles, Rex slapped the steering wheel.

  “They’re heading to McHardy too!”

  “Why?”

  “I heard they’re putting one of those emergency stockpiles out there.”

  ‘The RACs?”

  “That’s it. All these Outsiders are planning on eating on our dime.”

  At Denny Lake, most of the refugees pulled off the road to try their luck at the gas pumps. Rex told Rory to try calling Ginger, but all he got was a mailbox-full recording.

  RR2 1.0

  AT SOME POINT during his cruel exile to the prayer cabin, Poppy started talking to himself. One time, after a satisfying pee in the honey bucket, a sigh escaped his lips and was followed by, “That was a good one.”

  Soon he was audibly commenting on all sorts of things: “It’s cold in here!” “What’s for dinner?” “What now? What now? What now?”

  It was cold in the cabin. The thermometer on the wall never rose above chilly, no matter how many logs he tossed into the barrel. To stay warm, he started swaying from side to side as he stood in front of the stove. It helped keep the blood flowing and was good for the joints. Soon he found himself swaying side to side just for the comfort of it. Swaying like that was a very satisfying activity all by itself. It was calming, like talking to himself, and it helped keep him warm.

  Adam and Hosea walked in on him once while he was swaying from side to side in front of the stove and popping off with a long, embittered tirade against the treason of these very sons.

  Adam said, “Can we get you anything, lord?” He set down a picnic cooler they’d brought.

  Hosea said, “How are you doing out here, lord? And why’s it so cold in here?”

  “That’s what I want to know. Why am I out here in a freezing cabin when I spent my life making us a safe refuge?”

  Neither son took the bait.

  “You know your mother isn’t the same woman she was before her visit to Heaven. You must see it yourselves. She used to be meek and obedient, the very picture of a Christian wife and mother. Now — well, you’ve seen her, an armed hellion, a mouthy hag who lies about her husband and traffics with demons.”

  Still no reaction from the boys.

  “Yes, you heard me, demons! You don’t believe me? Ask your brother. Proverbs seen her feeding those demon ravens from her own hand. Ask him; he’ll set you straight.”

  Adam had but three words for his father, the same three words he’d used each time his father pressed charges against his mother— Chapter and verse. All Poppy had to do for them to believe him and take his side against Mama P was show them the Bible verse that authorized him to defile their sister. Citation please, or silence.

  Hosea said, “In the meantime, lord, here’s why it’s so cold in here. This wood is damp. Here, feel how heavy.” He passed a piece of split spruce to Adam, who weighed it in his hand before passing it to Poppy.

  Adam said, “Is this the sort of firewood Proverbs is bringing you?”

  “It’s practically green,” Hosea added.

  “And you want us to take his word on demon ravens when he can’t even be bothered to bring his father seasoned firewood?”

  Poppy wasn’t ready to be sidetracked by these two. “At least your brother is trying to help me. At least your brother still respects me.”

  “We all respect you, lord,” Adam said. “I’ll send Corny and Solly down to deal with the firewood situation. But first . . .” He nudged the cooler they’d brought with his boot. “Here’s some warm meals your daughters, who also respect you, put together.”

  THE NEXT DAY was when the barrel stove began speaking. NJB took advantage of the fog of war in Heaven to claw his way up Hell’s chimneys. He enjoyed a temporary residence in blazing comfort inside Poppy’s stove. Now Poppy was swaying from side to side, talking to the stove, and the stove was talking back! Dear Father, never let the boys see me thus. Poppy started locking the cabin door. Let them shiver on the porch and knock for entry.

  Corny and Solly did stoc
k the cabin with dried and seasoned firewood, but they raced to finish the chore as quickly as possible, and they left without spending any more time with their father than necessary, as instructed by both Mama P and Adam.

  No matter, Poppy had his damned friend to talk to while swaying from side to side.

  THE FIRE FLARED up, and the barrel stove bellowed, Incoming.

  Poppy, who had nearly dozed off, jerked awake and cried, “Take cover!”

  Not that kind of incoming, Marvin.

  Poppy plumped his pillow and resettled himself under the covers. “Then what?”

  Lawther and son are camping on the parking lot outside McHardy tonight. They’re coming here by sno-go tomorrow.

  “Rex Lawther?”

  Affirmative.

  “Why? What does he want?”

  The girl, Ginger.

  “She went home.”

  Apparently, she never made it.

  Poppy let that sink in. “She left here. What she does after that is no business of mine.”

  Sure it is. Your family was the last people to see her, and Lawther thinks she’s still here.

  “Let him. We got nothing to hide.”

  Is that a fact? No one will tell him about how you locked her up? Mama P won’t fill his ears with poison? I already warned you about your wife.

  Poppy hadn’t thought about that. It had been easy to keep Bradd Tetlin from talking to anyone in the keep, but Lawther might prove to be more persistent.

  I’m right, ain’t I? Now, you listen to me, Marvin Johnson, and I’ll tell you the truth. You ought to take care of her now, once and for all. You’ll have to do something about her eventually. Do it now before she ruins you and your whole family.”

  “Who are you talking about? The Lawther girl?”

  You know who I’m talking about — Mama P. She’s off her nut. She’s one with the ravens now. They all share the same demonic nature.

  The man burning in the stove was right.

  Did you use napalm on those birds like I told you?

  “Yes, we did.”

  Did it work?

  “Yes, it did.”

  Well, it’ll work on her too.

  Poppy flinched. “You’re saying I should light up my wife with napalm? In front of the kids? Are you crazy?”

  I’ve been called a lot of things, friend, but never crazy.

  “I won’t do it. It’s too much. We’ll take authority over the demons and chase them out of her.”

  How’d that work with the ravens? Not so good, as I recall. How’d that work with Ginger?

  If you shoot Mama P, she won’t bleed blood. She’ll bleed tiny black snakes. There’s only one way to stop her, and that’s with fire. Take it from a junior fire expert.

  “IT’S ME!” HE shouted at the open sniper port. One of the middle boys was on watch up there, but it was too dark to make out which one. “Open the door!”

  “I know it’s you, lord,” the boy called back. “But I’m not allowed to open the door.”

  “Yes, you are. I’m ordering you to open it. Now! This second! Or you’ll be down for four stripes.”

  “No, Poppy, please.”

  “Six stripes. Want to go for eight?”

  “We can’t, lord.” It was another middle boy, maybe Corny. “Mama gives stripes now too. Even more’n you.”

  That was new. She used to be opposed to corrections. Poppy banged on the sally door in frustration. “Go get Adam. Hurry!”

  AFTER TEN MINUTES of foot-numbing delay, the bolt clanked and the iron sally door creaked open. Adam, Hosea, Corny, and Solly stood there, bathed in lamplight. Poppy made to enter, but his firstborn blocked the way.

  “Step aside, son.”

  Adam held his ground. “I’m really sorry, lord, but I can’t, and you know it.”

  “Can’t? Can’t? Your mama got you by the balls?”

  “No, lord, she hain’t, but I agree with her on this. And you know how to fix it.” He pointed at Poppy’s Bible holster. Chapter and verse.

  “Are you still harping on that? It’s there, just like I told you.”

  “Then quit being prideful, lord, and just show it to us.”

  Solly, the eighth born, said, “Show what? What are you talking about?”

  Hosea gave the boy a little shove. “Hush,” he said. “It don’t concern you.”

  “Nobody tells me nothing.”

  Adam said, “Don’t talk back. Now git! Go on back to your post. Now!”

  Aggrieved, Solly returned to his sniper nest in the gallery. Adam looked at Corny, the sixth-born, deciding whether to send him away too.

  “Hold on,” Corny said. “I’m old enough. Besides, Cora’s already filled me in. And I want to see the verse as much as you do.” He looked defiantly at his father. “She’s my sister too, lord.”

  But Poppy ignored him and addressed Adam. “You’re going to make me stand out here in the cold? I have urgent news for you.”

  “It’s cold in here too, lord.”

  That was true, but at least inside the keep it was above freezing. Adam relented and let their father in. Poppy shut the heavy door behind him and looked around the entrance area.

  “Proverbs isn’t here?”

  “No, lord, he isn’t. I haven’t seen him in days. My brother keeps his own hours and answers to no one, except maybe you.”

  “Just as well he’s not here.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I got word that Rex Lawther, Ginger’s old man, is in town, and he’s coming here tomorrow.”

  Both Adam and Hosea asked, “Why, lord?”

  “Because, apparently, Ginger never made it home, and he’s out looking for her.”

  They all stood silent for a moment letting the news sink in.

  “Well, she ain’t here,” Adam said.

  “I know that! But he don’t. So, tell me, boys, why ain’t she here?”

  “Because she escaped,” Hosea said.

  “Bingo!” Poppy said, jabbing his finger in the big man’s belly. “Is that what you’re going to tell her father? That she escaped? Escaped from what? Why did she have to escape? You think that man is gonna accept the truth about his only daughter, that she was riddled with demons? That a demon was riding her even while she lived under his roof? That we had to keep her away from the little kids until we could restore her soul? You think?”

  No one thought.

  “Tell me,” Poppy asked Adam, “if we let him take a tour like the governor’s husband, would you be able to keep him from talking to anyone?”

  Adam scratched the back of his head. “Well, it was pretty hard keeping Bradd away from the cottage. I imagine Lawther might be even harder. We could order the kids not to talk to him, even if he asks them questions, but I don’t know about Mama.”

  Hosea said, “Besides Mama, there’s no telling what Sarai would tell him. She and Mama are keeping pretty tight company lately.”

  Poppy said, “So how’re we gonna convince Lawther to give up and go away?”

  No one had an answer, but Corny said, “What’s the good of having a keep if you can’t keep people out of it when you want to?”

  Adam said, “He’s got a point, lord. Why don’t you tell him that Ginger’s not here and send him away? What’s he going to do?”

  “Send the Troopers with arrest warrants. And I’m a sitting duck out in that cabin. What good is owning a keep if you keep me out of it?”

  Adam and Hosea looked at each other, and Adam said, “I suppose we could let you in for a couple of days if you stayed here in the entrance area. We could fix you up a little bed in the west gallery. Nobody needs to know you’re here.”

  No sooner had he made this offer than they all heard the sound of a rifle levering a round, and Mama P entered the fringes of their lamplight.

  “I’m gonna count to three,” she said. “One . . . two . . .”

  Poppy gave her the stink eye, but he opened the sally door and was through it before she reached three. H
e pulled Hosea out with him.

  “Listen, son. I want you to come down to the prayer cabin tomorrow morning and stay with me until Lawther leaves.”

  “Yes, lord. I can arrange it.”

  “Come early. I don’t know what time they’ll be here.”

  “Yes, lord.”

  “And tell Adam to man the gate himself tomorrow but keep all the gun ports shut. When Lawther comes, pretend there’s nobody at home. And whatever you do, don’t let him in. Got that?”

  “Yes, lord.”

  “Good. And one more thing. Have you seen your mama cut herself?”

  “Cut herself, lord?”

  “You know, like nick a finger while she’s chopping food, or scratch herself, or maybe burn herself?”

  “I can’t say I have, lord. Why?”

  “Never mind, but tell me this. Does she eat regular meals? I mean, you know, as much as a woman her size would be likely to eat?”

  “I don’t know, lord. She doesn’t heap it on her plate, but she eats everything she takes.”

  “What about her poop?”

  “Lord?”

  “You ever look in her honey bucket to see if there’s shit in it? Piss?”

  “Honey buckets are a middle-boy chore, lord. I can’t say I ever looked.”

  “I want you to be sure to look tonight, or tomorrow, before you come down to me.”

  “What exactly am I looking for, lord?”

  “Tiny black, wiggly snakes. If you can find Proverbs, he can help you. But don’t tell him about Ginger’s father.”

  “IT WAS A couple of weeks after the New Year,” Poppy said. He turned to Hosea who was sitting on the bed. “That sound about right?”

  Hosea nodded. “Yes, lord, it does. Ginger left on the seventh day of Firstmonth.”

  Rex and Rory Lawther were warming their backsides next to the barrel stove. Rex said, “So it was before the Skyburn?”

  “The what?”

  “The Skyburn. That super bizarre aurora we had? You don’t know what I’m talking about?”