The Web of Loki

by Carla Reighard

  “Please, Ingrid. It will only take a few minutes,” Hilde pleaded.

  “Okay, but make it quick.”

  Ingrid crawled out of the window, and they ducked into the food cellar where no one could see or hear them. Ingrid had brought the lamp from her bedroom so it wouldn’t be pitch-black.

  Hilde pulled out a brown, leather-bound book from her skirt pocket. “I found this in my parents’ pile of volumes to rewrite. I don’t think it has ever been copied by any depository overseer. It is one of a kind.”

  Some of the original books Hilde’s family had were between leather covers. The ones they reproduced didn’t have covers. Hilde’s family had been in charge of books for as long as Ingrid could remember, so Ingrid found it odd that this one had never been seen by Hilde.

  “Why are you showing it to me?” Ingrid asked.

  “It has your name in it.”

  “I’m sure my name isn’t unique. Why is that such a big deal?”

  She shook her head, “No, it has you in it. Not just a girl with the same name. It isn’t a fictional story – it’s a history.”

  “How is that even possible? I’m not as old as this book.”

  “Here, take it. I didn’t have time to read it too much because my parents took it away from me. I found where they hid it and I brought it to you.”

  “Will they notice it missing?” Ingrid inquired.

  “No, they said it was too old to copy and that we shouldn’t waste our time with it. They put it in the pile of books that we won’t ever copy or lend to the villagers.”

  “I thought that all the books were duplicated for our people to read.”

  “There are some books of history that no one would care about and that we can’t even confirm are factual. No one can be certain of what happened during the days before the Web because all those living at the time are dead. Our ancestors decided long ago it wasn’t helpful to read the histories written about that time period since it was only based on verbal accounts that could be inaccurate.”

  “Why not let the people read them and decide for themselves what to believe or not? We have multiple stories that we read, and we know the difference between fact and fiction.” The news shocked Ingrid.

  “I would have disagreed with you until I started reading this book. I think our elders are keeping secrets from us or they have no clue what is going on in Tuntre. Well, I better go before I’m missed. See you tomorrow.”

  Under the winter’s darkness, Hilde was able to sneak back to her home unnoticed. Ingrid returned to her room through the window and opened up the seemingly ancient manuscript.

  Chapter 4

  Whoever finds this book, please bring it to Ingrid Hansen, the girl with the web-shaped scar.

  When Ingrid saw her name in the supposedly ancient book she underwent a wave of emotions. She assumed the book had to be older than her. Also, she wasn’t sure if she should be excited or nervous about the discovery. Who wrote it, and why did that person know her name and that she had a scar? She was the only Ingrid Hansen with a blemished face that looked like a web. The author had to have meant her. Which meant it wasn’t a history book as Hilde originally led Ingrid to believe.

  A knock came at her door. “Ingrid, you need to stop reading and come out for dinner.”

  Ingrid had lost track of the time examining the book. She hurriedly looked for a place to hide the tome. She remembered the loose floorboard under her bed; she gingerly lifted it to put the book underneath without her parents hearing her movements. After she finished, she took in a gulp of air in relief.

  As Ingrid entered the kitchen, her dad instructed, “Ingrid, you’ve been reading too much. You’re going to hurt your eyes. Next Sunday, I want you to come outside and help me with the animals. It is too cold for me to stay out so long, and with your help, we can make quicker work of it.”

  “Yes, Father.”

  She had no choice but to do what she was told, even though she thought that his statement was absurd. She could never read too much. It was like telling a starving man he’s eating too much. She couldn’t get enough books. Ingrid had borrowed most of the books from the depository multiple times. She read stories over and over again because there weren’t any new ones to devour. Her dad only cared about work and had no imagination. Now that Ingrid had something new to read, she was anxious to get to it, but it would be trickier to do if she wanted to keep it a secret.

  While the family ate, Ingrid asked her parents, “Does anyone know why the Web exists?”

  “That’s an odd question since you already know the answer. No one knows why it invaded Tuntre. It just appeared the night before you got that scar,” Her mom replied.

  “Why would you ask such a question?” Her dad seemed annoyed.

  “I don’t know. I was reading some of Tuntre’s history and it never talks about the Web. It just makes me a little curious.”

  “You need to stop being curious. You’ll never get an answer, and you’re just wasting your energy. We do hope that someday one of our people finds a way to safely lead us out, but we’ve survived so far.” Ingrid’s mother looked perturbed.

  “And we will continue to live despite the things that are beyond our control. Now stop talking and eat your dinner,” Ingrid’s dad curtly interjected.

  Ingrid felt an uncomfortable silence fill the room. She kept quiet the rest of the meal as she was told to do. Ingrid slowly ate the small portion of venison her mom put on her plate, along with the green beans and potatoes they had preserved in the summer when the plants had grown. The supply was getting low on meat, as it usually did in the winter. Fewer animals found their way inside the village during the colder months. Everyone conserved their meat consumption in anticipation of the dwindling resource.

  Ingrid’s parents had always provided for her, but there seemed to be an emotional disconnect with them. When she compared her family to Hilde’s, Ingrid realized that Hilde’s parents were more loving and supportive. She’d tell herself that her parents weren’t the type of people to be demonstrative, but in truth, she didn’t remember even one hug or kiss from either of them. Hilde’s mom always showed affection towards her children; as they got older, they pretended they didn’t like it as much, but they allowed her some hugging in order to humor their mom.

  Ingrid thought to herself, Truthfully, who would want to kiss the face that carries a horrific image on it? If I were my parents, I would probably act the same way.

  Chapter 5

  Present - Monday

  Ingrid never had the chance to read the anonymous book before she met Hilde for school the next day, but she had hidden it in her book bag for safekeeping before she left home.

  “Did you read the book?” The frosty air made Hilde’s breath visible as she spoke.

  “I read the first sentence where my name was, but then it was dinner time, and my dad said that I read too much. There wasn’t any other opportunity to look at it.”

  “That was the only sentence I read, too. What do you think about it?”

  “I won’t know until I read more. Who would write something for me, and why?”

  “The more I thought about it last night, the more I think it isn’t a history book. I know my parents treated it as one by putting it in the pile of books we won’t copy, but how many history books tell you who to give the book to?”

  “Exactly what I was thinking; I have no clue what it is, but you’re right.”

  “Well, I’m anxious to learn more about the strange thing.”

  “I brought the book with me because I didn’t want my parents to discover it. Maybe I can find some time at school to read it.”

  “It is the oddest thing for me to find in our depository. Why was it there? Why didn’t the person just give it to you?”

  “Give you what?” Hilde and Ingrid jumped from Bjørn’s sudden appearance.

  “Goddess, Bjørn, stop sneaking up on us like that!” Hilde scolded.

  Bjørn laughed, and soon Stein was
standing near him with his uncomfortable gaze. He didn’t look at anyone but Ingrid. She moved her hair to block his view of her scar.

  “Hi, Stein! How was your Sunday?” Hilde broke Stein’s concentration on Ingrid as she blocked his view of her friend.

  “I-t-t was fine,” Stein stammered.

  “So what was it that someone was supposed to give you?” Bjørn asked.

  “Never mind. We need to get to class so we aren’t tardy.” Ingrid spoke quickly as she grabbed Hilde’s arm.

  The girls walked away from the boys, and Ingrid dropped her friend’s arm once they were going in the right direction. The rest of the day was uneventful, but Ingrid couldn’t focus on anything but Stein’s unnerving stare and the mysterious book. There were too many unanswered questions found in the first sentence of that thing, and she couldn’t imagine how many more would pop up within the strange manuscript.

  Ingrid wanted to skip the rest of the school day and read. The trouble with living in a closed community was that it was hard to be truant from school without someone noticing. Ingrid’s parents would ground her for life if they found out – that was unless she got married before she died.

  Instead of leaving school and risking their wrath, she plotted ways to sneak a peek at the book without anyone noticing. Ingrid didn’t pay attention to any of her classes, but most of the material was a review for the winter finals anyway. Instead of cramming in the tests before the holiday break, their teachers gave them extra time to study and have the tests afterward. Ingrid felt more than prepared for them, so letting her mind wander wasn’t going to hurt her.

  She finally got a brilliant idea during study hall period. Since she always had time at home to complete anything she hadn’t already finished, she didn’t need to worry about completing any school work here. Ingrid carefully took the diary out of her bag and put up other books around it to hide it from nearby students. No one seemed interested in her because she was the scary girl who sat in the back row. She imagined people avoided her just in case her scar – her curse – was contagious.

  Ingrid began reading the second page of the journal, and her heart raced like she had been running for miles.

  Ingrid Hansen is both the cause and cure for the Web that plagues Tuntre. We won’t be rid of the lethal thing until she leaves the village and finds Loki – and has him put a stop to it. The only problem with this is that Ingrid’s memories have been erased, as has everyone else’s in the whole village. I know all of this because I’m Loki’s brother. I’m writing this before my memories will be deleted as well.

  Ingrid was so engrossed in the words written about her that she emitted a small scream when the study hall teacher alerted, “Class, we are doing a fire drill now.”

  Some students looked at Ingrid, because of her accidental outburst, but they quickly averted their eyes. Ingrid didn’t want to stop reading but she didn’t have a choice; the drills were mandatory. A few years ago there had been a fire in school and a little girl died; there had not been any kind of evacuation plan and she had gone the wrong direction. Since fires were used to light every room, there was always a potential that the wooden buildings could become death traps in the wrong circumstances.

  The drill rules had to be strictly observed, which meant students left all their belongings behind and moved in an orderly line to the designated safe place outside. Ingrid didn’t want to leave the book exposed to anyone walking by, so she tried to cover it with another book. She wanted to take it with her, but, even though it wasn’t very big, she couldn’t quite hide it under her clothes. Everyone had to be quick in their response time and there wasn’t an opportunity for the class to take anything but their bodies outside.

  When the drill was over, Ingrid returned to her desk, but by then, it was time to leave for the day. She gathered up her things and hid the tome away among her other books.

  Hilde met up with her and they walked home together. Before Ingrid had a chance to tell her friend what had happened, Hilde started talking. “Freya’s gown, Stein stares at you a lot! Why do you think he does that?”

  “I haven’t a clue. Maybe he’s morbidly curious about my disgusting scar. I’m just glad that you manage to distract him sometimes.”

  “Well, he’s a little freaky acting so I just want him to stop. Did you think any more about that peculiar book?”

  “That’s all I could think about today. I decided to hide it in my textbooks and read it during study hall, but then there was the drill and I didn’t get very far.”

  “What did it say?”

  “It talked about me and our village – ”

  “Freya’s gown!” Hilde interrupted.

  “What?” Ingrid looked towards the direction Hilde was staring.

  “Is that your mother?”

  “I think so.”

  “I better go a different direction so she doesn’t see us hanging out together.”

  “Hilde, that’s crazy. We’ve been together since practically birth. My mom was probably just in a bad mood when she told you she didn’t like us hanging out together.”

  “I don’t know about that, but I know I don’t want to anger your parents.” Hilde frowned and, for the first time, Ingrid saw her in a different light. She wasn’t the carefree, confident girl Ingrid had always admired. It seemed odd that her mom and dad could be the cause of her friend’s changed personality.

  Before Ingrid said anything more, her mom boomed, “Ingrid, I need you to come home immediately! Stop dawdling!”

  She sounded angry, but Ingrid didn’t have a chance to do anything to upset her today; she had been at school all day long. She didn’t understand her mother’s moods. Sometimes Ingrid’s mom tried to be pleasant with her, but for the most part, she acted like it was an inconvenience to be kind to her own daughter.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Bye.” Hilde looked downcast.

  Ingrid ran towards her mom and felt the burning in her lungs as the cold air reached them. Her mom may have thought it wasn’t lady-like to run, but Ingrid thought that she would let it slide since she wanted her daughter home so badly. Ingrid wished she could be free from the control her parents were allowed to have over her. She wasn’t a spoiled teenager who thought she knew more than anyone, but she hated that she had to live with them until she got married. That meant she would never leave them. All the available property was for married people to use for their homes, and it didn’t seem fair that exceptions couldn’t be made for the few who never found a spouse.

  When Ingrid reached her mom, she found she wasn’t happy at all. “Ingrid, I want you to stop hanging out with Hilde. You both need to find husbands, and boys don’t like to be a third wheel when they’re pursuing a girl.”

  “I would be the third wheel for Hilde. There won’t be any boys wanting to be with me.” Ingrid slouched in shame.

  “Nonsense! Your father has been inquiring among the widowers of the village. There are some men who won’t be too picky about their wife’s appearance. They only care that they have a strong girl to raise their kids, cook, and keep the house clean. After graduation, you will be getting married.”

  Ingrid felt angry and anxious over her mother’s announcement. She wanted to tell her mom that she wouldn’t go into a loveless marriage, but Ingrid didn’t have the luxury of hoping for love anyway. She suspected that her parents were as eager to get her out of their house as she was to leave, so of course, her dad was looking for suitors. There hadn’t been a need for arranged marriages for centuries, but when it came to Ingrid, she supposed that was the only way for a union to occur.

  As she got ready for bed, the thought of being stuck to serve some older man and his kids infuriated Ingrid. She couldn’t do it. She wouldn’t do it. She needed to figure out a way to go into the Beyond before graduation. There were no reasons for her to stay in the village. If she found a way to escape, she may have the freedom to choose her own path for the rest of her life.

  Since her pare
nts required lights out at a certain time, Ingrid wasn’t given any time to read the strange journal. Sleep seemed impossible with thoughts that she was the cause of the cursed Web, as well as the even worse idea, that her parents were arranging for her to get married. Then there was the name Loki. It was familiar to her; she believed he was one of the Viking gods. Books about myths and legends had always fascinated her. Maybe Loki wasn’t really a god, but he had the answers she needed according to the tome.

  It was hard to decipher between fact and fiction in her mind. All she knew was that she couldn’t stay with her parents much longer. Ingrid felt it in her inner core that she was meant for something more than what her parents had planned for her. She let her mind scheme the future until she could no longer stay awake.

  The moment Ingrid left consciousness, she began to dream. The Sacrifice ritual happened every three years. Anyone who gave up their lives to enter the Beyond was marked as a hero forever, so their name was engraved on the pole near the Tuntre tree. A ceremony was performed to honor the brave people and to wish them well on their journey. Sometimes more than one entered the Beyond together but in Ingrid’s dream, she was going in alone. The goal of the Sacrifice was two-fold: to prevent Tuntre from becoming overpopulated and to give people something to hope for – a chance to discover an escape from Tuntre through the Beyond.

  The elders didn’t forbid any young women or children to offer themselves for the Sacrifice, but it was an unwritten law that everyone followed. It was only logical because females in their prime insured their population would be maintained through their childbearing, and children were too inexperienced in survival skills to make it past a day in the Beyond, so they would just be like lambs going to the slaughter. In Ingrid’s dream, it seemed the elders were willing to make an exception for her, and she knew it was because she was the town freak.