The Chardon Chronicles: Season One -- The Harvest Festival

by Kevin Kimmich

  They paid the bill and went out in the parking lot. Jacob sat in the back and watched. When it was done he whistled. “Holy fuck. I see what you mean.”

  “About what?”

  He put the camera down. “Well this, it’s astounding. I’ve heard audio before, seen grainy pictures before, but never have I witnessed such clear footage and audio of them setting up the horrors for these children.” He paused and continued on with emphasis, “What I’ve presented to date, is largely based on rumor. I believe it to be true, and it is corroborated by some evidence, but nothing like this… When it’s just rumors, they can pretend it doesn’t matter… and frankly so can we.” He remained silent for a second. “But with this…” he pointed at the camera, “not only the footage that captures the crime, but then the start of some type of vigilante attack… well, that’s a whole different ball game, isn’t it?”

  David said, “Yes, we believe this really could be a game changer.”

  Jacob asked, “What was the fallout from this, do you know? Are the kids alright?”

  Robbie answered, “As far as we know, the children are fine. Not one news mention or police report. Like it never happened.”

  Jacob said, “I guess that’s not so surprising.” He clasped his hands together. “How to use this…”

  Robbie offered, “Well, how about just going with the audio… It’s useful information for the audience, but still keeps it more in the realm of rumors than fact.”

  Jacob nodded. “I was thinking something similar. In fact, how’s this. Here’s my address,” he handed them a card, “Mail me the audio on a thumb drive in a plain envelope, no return address from the location of your choice. That’ll keep you anonymous. I’ll refer to you as trusted sources. We can go from there.”

  Chapter Ten

  Girls were permitted one bag of personal items, and that bag was provided by Tweedy Pines. Tracy stared at it as it sat open and empty on her bed at home. She knew that somehow this bag, a leather trimmed canvas bag with the school’s logo was meant to be very significant just as the pile of branded uniform clothing was supposed to be significant. Her mom treated it almost reverently and was very wrapped up in the ritual of preparing Tracy for leaving home. Telia kept sniffling. Tracy was resigned to going, but the only emotion she felt about the experience was dulled anger.

  “Mom, I think you want to go to Tweedy Pines.”

  Her mother smiled and wiped her eye. “I know you don’t like this right now, but someday, I hope soon, you’ll thank me for being such a bitch.”

  The word ‘bitch’ shocked Tracy. Her mom usually didn’t swear like the rest of the family did. She was usually relatively reserved and proper, especially in front of her. Tracy felt her mom was dropping her guard.

  “Mom, I’m going for this year, then I’m going to Chardon.” She said matter of factly. She started to pack underwear and socks.

  Telia sighed. “I know. I just hope you can give it a chance. take some opportunities to explore a different way of living, experience more of the world. The girls go on trips all the time.”

  Tracy groaned, “So do Robbie and Dad.” she shrugged. “I am sure I could go with them.”

  Telia stood up, “Maybe someday. I’m just hoping you can see there’s more to the world than just this place. Our family can be, well, overwhelming.”

  “Mom, I’m not dumb. I get what you’re saying. I don’t want to do it, but I’m going to try.”

  Telia gave her a big hug. “That’s all I ask. Besides, it’s not like you’re going to a different planet. It’s not even ten miles.”

  “I’m going to miss my friends, like Morgan.” she said.

  “Well, he can come over and visit when you do. Honestly, it might not be a bad idea to give him some space. His family has a lot going on right now.”

  “I think I should be there for him. We should.” Tracy said emphatically. Telia rubbed her daughter’s head.

  “You’re a really good person.” Telia beamed at her. She wiped the corner of her eye. Then she became all business. “Now finish packing. Remember toiletries!”

  Tracy finished filling up the bag. There was only enough room for clothes, a journal, and she shoved the sparrow hawk sculpture into the center of the bag.

  Chapter Eleven

  Her dad drove them to the Tweedy Pines campus. The new students entered the campus on a service road then went into a recital hall, which was a replica of a gothic church. The recital hall was a few hundred yards from the main cluster of school buildings. The girls turned over their bags, like they were checking in at an airline counter, then they were to walk across the green with their new “sisters” and leave their parents behind.

  “Well, I guess I’ll head over there.” Tracy said to her parents.

  Matt let out a long sigh and crouched down. He hugged her and put a phone and charger in her hands. “Can you stash that? I’m not sure how strict they’ll be.”

  Telia said, “Matt, they’re not supposed to…”

  He held up his hand and smiled at Telia, “It’s Tracy’s first lesson of the real world.”

  Tracy stashed the phone in the waistband of her skirt. “Can you see it?”

  Matt smiled, “No. You can text us any time.”

  Telia hugged her. “I’ll be happy to hear from you, I admit.”

  Tracy waved and walked across the grass.

  They watched her until she merged with other groups of girls and they milled into one of the red brick buildings.

  Chapter Twelve

  The Flying Fox received her finishing touch--a logo of a Fox with wings flying above a crescent moon.

  Johnny loaded their equipment into the cargo bay. They converted the bus into an RV. The Flying Fox was about the length of two full sized cars. The interior space felt snug and homey with almond colored leather, walnut wood trim, and pistachio carpet. Dana could easily walk the length of the bus without stooping over, but Johnny had to keep his neck bent. Two monitors were mounted into the wall near the front of the bus, and a fold-out desk was attached to the wall beneath them. The Flying Fox was their nerve center and communication station.

  Kenny stood out on the concrete driveway waving goodbye as the bus rolled out of Star Chariots. They started north on I-65 heading back to the Wells Farm.

  Autumn was already kissing the leaves as they entered Summit County and crossed into Northeast Ohio. Dana was behind the wheel and Johnny was sketching out antenna designs on a piece of paper. She called back to him, “I never noticed there’s an actual difference in the trees and landscape when you hit this point.” she pointed out the window as a sign demarcating the Great Lakes basin rolled past.

  He was lounging on a couch in the back deeply absorbed in his work. He put the papers down and stood up. “You’re right, I think. Seems more green. Must be from being so close to the Lake.” He watched the road rolling underneath the nose of the bus.

  Dana looked back, “Dude, I have to warn you, sometimes Matt’s wife and I don’t get along so well.”

  He raised an eyebrow, “Whaaaaaaat? I find that hard to believe.”

  “You know how Matt can be?” Dana said.

  “You mean bossy?” Johnny asked. “He’s not that bad.”

  “Right, he’s not that bad, because he’s really all about the knowledge.”

  Johnny nodded. “Yep. That’s about right.”

  “She’s got that queen of the world quality, and is not about the knowledge. As long as I’ve known them, she’s just ignored this crazy shit we’re into.”

  “To be fair, it’s a total accident I found out about this stuff. Maybe Matt protects her from it. I can see that.”

  “She just doesn’t fit in with us. I don’t trust her.”

  They got to the farm in the early afternoon, but the shadows were already long and the sun was just above the trees on the Western horizon.

  Matt helped them carry bags into the house. “You guys want a drink? It will be a while until dinner’s read
y. Tee’s at the store ‘til six.”

  “Sure, anything would be good. A beer?” Johnny said.

  “How about whisky? I’ve got some really good stuff. Really smooth and smoky.” Matt said.

  Dana put an arm around Matt, “Where’s your bright shining star of a daughter?”

  “She’s actually away at school. Too bad she’s missing that bus!”

  Dana furrowed her brow, “What? How away?”

  Matt frowned, “It’s not far. She’s just down the road at a boarding school--Tweedy Pines.”

  “Wow… I never expected that. She wanted that?”

  Matt held up both hands, not wanting to rehash all the summer’s arguments. “Not exactly. It’s Telia’s idea. It might be good for Tracy… but if she doesn’t like it, next year she can go back to Chardon High.”

  Dana harrumphed and went back to the Flying Fox to unload more bags.

  Johnny and Matt went into the library. Matt had a big corkboard that was filled with notes, articles and photos. He said, “it’s amazing there’s a certain, logic, that pervades all this religious ceremony; dancing, chanting, singing that I never noticed before.”

  “Matt, I gotta say, I’m still not convinced yet, but it’s an intriguing theory.”

  Matt nodded, “Frankly, I’m not either. I’ve been at this for years now and the progress has been incredibly slow. Could all be my imagination.” He took a long pull on his glass of whiskey.

  Johnny asked, “Do you worry that the peyote might just be causing hallucinations?”

  “My theory’s been that shamans used hallucinogens not so much as a bridge to cross over, but as a type of inoculation against what was there. But yeah, I do worry it’s all just a figment of my own mind.”

  Johnny drained his glass, then put a sketch of his device on the corkboard.

  “That it?” Matt asked.

  Johnny pointed at it, “this is the first one. This is a reflector, not an antenna. We’re not plugging it into your brain. See how I used different shading on each segment?”

  Matt nodded, “Yeah I was wondering about that.”

  “It’s actually encoding the three dimensional position of the sub-units of the reflector. It will take a while to fabricate, but it’s made of cheap materials. Just copper and some inexpensive electronics.”

  “How do we aim it?” Matt asked.

  “It will be gimbal mounted, with a chair in the center at the focus of the reflector. It’ll be about 20 feet in diameter. You’ll need a ladder to get in.”

  Matt sat down, “Damn! 20 feet. That’s not exactly portable!”

  “I guess we need to build it somewhere near people.”

  Matt walked over to a corner of the corkboard. “I hoped we’d just drive it around in a box truck, but we’ll have to put it in a warehouse. Right here…”

  Chapter Thirteen

  It took about a month to build the reflector. They built it in a warehouse near the mouth of the Cuyahoga River. From the perspective of the chair at the center of the gimbal, the the reflector looked like the Occitan Cross, but from the side, it looked like a giant mesh ball that was suspended in a large wooden frame. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead and cast a wirework shadow on the floor. Sunlight filtered in from dirty frosted glass windows and cast rectangular boxes of yellowish light on the slate gray concrete floor.

  Matt took a hit of the peyote tea, and offered it to Johnny, too. He sniffed it and frowned. “Nah, I’ll pass this time.”

  Matt said, “for the first time out, let’s aim it at the sun.”

  Johnny said, “Seems appropriate somehow.” He typed in the coordinates and the controller swung the gimbal mounted reflector around.

  Matt climbed up a wooden ladder and took his seat. He barely closed his eyes for a moment when the now familiar feeling of his consciousness opening up struck him, this time with clarity and power. He mumbled, “holy shiii…….”

  A feeling of stately power washed through him with the force of a tidal wave, but Johnny broke the connection by moving the reflector and Matt came to.

  Matt asked, “Whoa! What happened?!”

  “Dude, that did not look healthy. Think ‘Scanners’. That reminds me, we probably should hook up some heart rate monitoring at least. I didn’t think this could be physically dangerous. Frankly, I didn’t expect anything to happen.”

  “Yeah, that was intense. I still feel it. Wow… Alright, see that book I left on the table?”

  “Aha. Yeah, Pi To 1 Million Digits. I hear they’re making a sequel.” Johnny held it up and laughed.

  Matt groaned, “Very funny. Pick a random spot and highlight 7 digits.”

  Johnny flipped the pages open and highlighted a segment. “Alright. Do you want me to memorize the digits?”

  Matt shrugged, “Yeah, maybe, why not? Couldn’t hurt.” Johnny gave him a thumbs up after a few seconds. “Try aiming me at the city.” Matt said.

  “OK. I’ll aim it at the terminal tower.” The gimbal spun around.

  Matt said, “We should sell tickets to this thing. Fun ride!” He settled down again and in a few moments, the connection was made, except this time instead of gray amorphous shapes the black faded to a twilight landscape beach.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Matt focused his mind on the book and the digits of Pi. He saw the numbers clearly “525-637-5679“ and saw a fuzzy ghost of Johnny shimmering in mid air. He memorized the numbers, thinking of them as a phone number, then he turned his attention the landscape.

  The twilight illuminated a pebble covered shoreline. The sky was featureless and gray as if it were a cloudy November evening. He moved away from the beach, climbing up a gentle slope to a grassy plane. He felt the presence of the sun. It was the same sensation he experienced a few minutes before, but much less intense. He also felt the earth, which produced a distinctly different sensation. The sun was like a surging beacon of majestic power, while the earth exuded solemn solidity.

  He felt a gaze fall on him from above. He saw a crow circling overhead. Then, a man appeared a few paces ahead of him.

  “Whoa!” Matt thought.

  “Hallo.” the man hailed him and held out a hand.

  Matt felt a friendly presence, a jocularity. Matt shook the hand. “I’m Matthew Wells.”

  “You can call me Montigo--that’s what I’ve been going by lately. You, sir are very interesting. I see a thing glowing around you, like a cross, and a drunken feeling pervades.”

  “Aha. Very interesting.” Matt thought, “the cross is actually a metallic reflector I am using to cross over, and the drunken feeling is a drink I take to protect me.”

  “I have never heard of this!” Matt felt a sense of excitement flow from the man. “You sir are like me, a man of natural philosophy. Such a rarity! It’s almost always men of business, politics, and of course, religion. They are often the worst.”

  “How so?”

  Matt sensed a feeling of questing curiosity. “Well, I assume, like me you have been driven to see what is over here by a thirst for understanding. A sip from Mimir’s well, you know that story? Anyway, the men of religion come here and are always, ‘Take me to see the heavenly father!’ and are so disappointed. They are so easily duped, fall in with the worst of the worst.”

  Matt was excited, “I am very interested to know of the others who cross over.”

  Montigo held up his arms and gestured around. “Crossings have been going on, well, for as long as it’s all been here. Even before the first man, there was a correspondence between this place and the Earth. Certain animals perceive this place as you are doing now. You saw the crow?”

  “Ohhhh, that was on my side. Fascinating.” Matt thought.

  “However, I suppose you are interested in other men who cross over. Formerly, it was all types, farmers, musicians, priests, men and women, children, slaves and kings. Now, though it’s almost always men on official business, just the cold business of empires and enterprise. Nobody with just love of knowled
ge, nor poetry, nor love. Now it’s always just business.”

  “Business?”

  “Yes, the nations and empires of earth have their seats here. The horse trading deals that one might make on Earth--you get what you want when I get what I want goes on all the time.”

  “Amazing. We’ve always suspected that.” Matt thought. Matt felt his concentration start to ebb. “Montigo, I feel pulled back to the other side. I hope we can talk again soon.”

  “Matt, it’s been a true pleasure. Before you go, might I ask a favor?”

  “Uh sure.” Matt thought.

  “When you open your eyes over there, I will actually see the real world.”

  “It’s a pretty disappointing view, I’m sorry to say.” Matt thought.

  “No matter! Maybe next time, do something different. Do you have a cat? I would like to see a real cat.” Montigo said.

  “OK. I am going.” Matt opened his eyes. For a moment he felt Montigo’s presence, then was back to himself.

  “Hey! There he is.” Johnny said.