Dark Times

by Rob Reger

ME: C’mon, Lily, you’re living in the time of some of the greatest rebels history has known. Can’t you take some inspiration from them?

  Lily: I suppose you’re referring to the revolutionaries? They may have rebelled against King George, but I doubt they contradicted their mothers.

  Clearly, we are not making much progress, so we’ll have to put this lesson aside and revisit it tomorrow. Draxty halfbacks! I really wanted to get back onto a nocturnal schedule tonight.

  Later

  One sit-up. Progress.

  Later-way past Lily's bedtime

  Focused meditation (though NOT in vulture pose). I asked Lily to lie on her bed, close her eyes, and imagine she was with a dying person. Then she was to visualize saving their life. She lay there perfectly still for twenty-three minutes, then her eyes snapped open and she jumped up and grabbed my arm.

  LILY: I can’t summon the dark elixir, Cousin Emily! I can’t!

  Me: Sure you can! I know you can do it!

  L: No, you don’t understand. I had a vision of myself in the basement, where my fountain used to be. And I was filled with that wonderful feeling of wanting to heal the sick with the elixir. But then I saw the fountain bubbling up again, and all I felt was terror! Because Boris will take it away from me again! I can’t summon the elixir just for him to take it!

  Me: [Thinking of Blackrock, coming unmoored in space and time.] I hear you, Lily. Hey, what if we tried to summon the black rock somewhere else? I mean, wouldn’t it be cool if we could make a new fountain somewhere Boris couldn’t find it?

  L: That would be very . . . “cool.”

  Me: K, I know this great warehouse . . .

  Later

  We are still in Lily’s room. She has made some progress, but not enough to leave the house in the middle of the night without her mother’s permission. Oh well. Baby steps, man.

  Tuesday, August 1O, 179O

  Today's assignments:

  • Persuade Lily to leave the house with me-13 points

  • Remain patient with Lily's "I'm just a girl" attitude- 33 points

  • Guide Lily toward new attitude of Dark Girl Pride- 113 points

  • Get hands on Fever Reliever (LATE!!)-313,131,313 points

  Pearl came knocking at the door shortly after sunrise to see what was keeping her two slugabeds. I groaned and buried my head under Mystery, but could still clearly hear the following exchange:

  LILY: Cousin Emily and I are sleeping late today.

  Pearl: [Sharp intake of breath.] Lily! Are you poorly?

  L: No, Mother, we’re just tired, and we’re sleeping late today.

  P: Why, Lily, I never . . .

  L: Please close the door on your way out.

  Later-Noon-thirty

  Could have slept another four hours, myself, but am very proud of Lily, who has said no to her mother AND slept past noon for the first time in her life. I admit I was nervous for her when we finally went into Pearl’s room for lunch, but Pearl was her usual sweet self and said nothing about her daughter’s outrageous rebellion.

  Finally, Lily finished her hominy, put down her spoon, took a deep breath, and announced her plan to start sleeping all day and staying up all night.

  Pearl immediately started to cry.

  LILY: Oh, Mother! I am so sorry! I didn’t mean—

  P: Oh, it’s just like Aunt Millie said it would be. You’re becoming a young lady! Ohooohhoooohhhhhh! [Sobbing into her handkerchief.]

  Opal: Motherrrrrrrrrr?

  L: What on earth do you mean?

  P: Oh, Aunt Millie told me that this would happen to you. I’m just so proud of you, my dear. Ohhoooohhhhhoooooohooo!

  ME: [Silently sneaking away from this emotional family scene.]

  Whew! Did not expect THAT reaction. Hope Lily is up to the strain of it all.

  Later

  Was able to catch a delicious catnap (with two cats piled on me) while Lily and her mother had their little heart-to-heart. Finally Lily returned to her bedroom, a strange new look in her eyes. It looks a little like . . . confidence, I think.

  ME: So Lily. How’d all that go?

  Lily: Oh, very well, thank you. Mother always knew I would eventually go nocturnal.

  Me: Great, so, not much of a beating, then?

  L: Tee hee! Only a very mild beating today!

  Me: Ahhahhahhaahhah!!!! Lily, my friend, I think you just made your first joke. And seriously, good work. I was getting really sick of this up-at-sunrise routine.

  L: Yes, well, I still feel like a slovenly slugabed, so let’s get back to the lessons.

  Later

  Lily and I spent most of the afternoon discussing girl power, brainstorming ways of summoning the dark elixir, and working on that difficult third push-up. Also, had our first lesson in Introductory Slingshottery. Lily has a long row to hoe when it comes to slingshot mastery. Half the time she ends up hitting herself in the head with the slingshot or the projectile. Luckily we are using balls of paper instead of rocks, or she’d have a concussion by now.

  Later

  Was having a grand old time laughing my cheeks off at Lily’s comic efforts with yon slingshot, but eventually noticed that the afternoon was wearing into evening, and decided the time was ripe for a second visit to Uncle Boris’ caravan. Am in the tunnel now. About to head outside. Will write more later.

  Later

  Ugh! Tunnel not so dry today. Must have been those early- morning rains. Am very mucky. Seems to be less muddy further on, at least. Am glad Lily’s clothing is already black.

  Later

  SUCCESS!!!!!!!! Have managed to swipe a bottle of Fever Reliever using a clever diversion to distract the guards from the merchandise. After standing around outside the medicine show for nearly an hour trying to figure out a plan, I suddenly spotted that gang of junior roughnecks ambling down the street. Promptly recalled Caleb’s lie about street youths attacking the medicine show. Well, when inspiration hollers, Emily listens! I whipped out my slingshot and let fly at the leader and his upper echelon of child thugs. They came roaring across the street at me, but I led them into the crowd and disappeared around the other side of the caravan. Townspeople immediately started to whack the ruffians about the head and shoulders with their newspapers, satchels, bindlestaffs, what-have-you, and with just a few more well-aimed missiles from my slingshot, I was able to cultivate a small-scale riot. AHHAHHAHAAAHAH! I LOVE small-scale riots!!! I crawled under the main wagon and waited for the guard to leave his post, then gaffled a bottle of medicine and bailed as fast as possible. Am headed back to Lily’s for some testing.

  Later

  FAILURE!!!!!!!! Should have known Boris couldn’t still be selling the real stuff. Sad to say, whatever’s in this bottle won’t make my Time-Out Machine work, and it won’t heal this blister I’ve got on my toe, and Lily has pointed out that it smells like moleasses. HUGE disappointment! No time to dwell on that now, though. I have to get right back out there and forage for our dinner.

  Later

  Evening at last. Have just come back from disheartening food run. The market I’d been to on Sunday was closed, with a sign on the door:

  Could not find any other markets, so I had to settle for some sprouty potatoes from my favorite warehouse. Y’know, now that I’m thinking about it, Seasidetown is looking a lot less bustling than it did two days ago. Epidemic is taking its toll, apparently.

  Later-finally dark

  We have just finished eating a dinner of sprouty potatoes and the rest of the hominy. Am getting tired of 1790s food. Am having tantalizing visions of big, squashy avocado sandwiches full of horseradish and black pepper. Must get back to my own time soon. Must get T.O.M. running. Must encourage Lily to summon dark elixir!

  Later

  Am encouraging Lily to summon for all she is worth. This consists mainly of her lying on her bed, meditating on all the sick people in town and how much they could use her healing abilities. Am still mixing this up with cardiovascular exercises, strength train
ing, and the occasional martial arts technique, just for the confidence it seems to give her. But overall, I think the way to inspire Lily’s successful summoning is through her tender little heart.38

  No dark elixir yet, but Lily is clearly benefiting from the effort, based on her improved posture and that happy gleam in her eye. That can’t be hurting our chances, right?

  Later

  Hunger has given my arguments a little more urgency, I guess, because I have finally talked Lily into leaving the house tonight. I painted a very enticing picture of “my” warehouse: its privacy, its security, its foodstuffs . . . Eventually Lily broke down and agreed to accompany me. Not without some terror, mind you. Am excited for her to get out and about and enjoy the night for once. OK—gotta go get my 1790s gear on. More later.

  Later

  I am incredibly proud of Lily for A) folding herself into the tiniest ball possible and getting into the dumbwaiter; B) sneaking past sleeping henchmen and into the pitch-black hole in the basement floor; C) traveling through mucky tunnels, up a creaky ladder, and out a cobwebby trapdoor; and D) slinking around town with me in the middle of the night, when no respectable young lady would DREAM of being outdoors. We are now hanging out, UNCHAPERONED, in the warehouse, poking around in the crates and having a good old time. We will probably need to settle down and get to summoning in a bit, but I want Lily to get a taste of her freedom, so she will know that it’s . . . well, tasty.

  Lily is much more fun without her corset, her mother, and her inhibitions!!!

  Later

  Had hoped that Lily would try to do some summoning in the warehouse. Had thought she might feel less constrained here, less threatened by Boris and thugs. Would like nothing better than a big old geyser of molten black rock to burst through the floor and sweep us off our feet, screaming and laughing with joy. I WISH! Instead, she is absorbed with poking through the crates and loading up a basket with foodstuffs. Have decided to leave her alone and let her summon where and when she wants to. This is her summoning, not mine!

  Later

  Back at home. Almost dawn. Lily and I are pooped. No black rock yet. Hope we have better luck tomorrow.

  Wednesday, August 11, 179O

  Today's assignments:

  • Encourage summoning-13 points

  • Catch up on sleep-13 points

  • Explore opportunities for extended learning and discussion on Dark Girls-163 points

  Lily and I were allowed to sleep all day (YESSS!) and woke up just in time for dinner. I took the opportunity to quiz Pearl a bit on A) exactly how she recognized me as a Dark Girl, and B) what Great-Aunt Millie told her about raising a Dark Girl. She told me that she knew beyond a doubt the moment she saw me that I was like Lily and Millie. She said it was a little in the set of my mouth, and how I move, but mostly it’s in my eyes, and their special kind of . . . dark quality, I guess. And thinking back to the first time I saw Lily, I kind of know what she means. I didn’t question it at the time, but I knew for sure that the girl in front of me was one of my Dark Aunts. And now I guess I know why.

  Pearl also told me that Millie gave her the following guidelines:

  Mothers of Dark Girls are advised to give their daughters free rein in all matters pertaining to their dark elixir.

  Ditto for nocturnal habits.

  The wearing of black clothing is to be expected and allowed.

  Any feline companions are to be respected and cared for like members of the family.

  Attendance in regular school can be encouraged to the degree that the Dark Girl accepts it.

  Ditto for various social activities (organized religion, organized sports, organized socializing . . .).

  However, SOME kind of education is to be pursued.

  And strict instruction in family history, with special emphasis on the lives of other Dark Girls, is MANDATORY.

  Collections of unusual objects are to be tolerated. In fact, outbuildings may need to be rented.

  The occasional trance, reverie, daze, sleepwalking spell, or episode of speaking in tongues is to be humored without summoning a doctor.

  The occasional unexplained (or poorly explained) absence from home is to be tolerated without alerting the authorities.

  Once The Talent emerges, it is to be cultivated, no matter how odd.

  Any negative attitudes toward things supernatural had best just be thrown out the window. In short, be prepared for the weird stuff!

  Welly welly welly welly welly welly well!!!!!!

  CLEARLY, my mother has some explaining to do.39

  Because CLEARLY, she knows perfectly well what I am.40

  Later

  There was quite a surprise waiting for me and Lily when we returned to “our” warehouse this evening for summoning practice: a family of five, huddled among the boxes, and just as surprised to see us as we were to see them.

  They are John Ebenezer; his wife, Hannah; son James (age eleven); other son Matthew (age nine); and daughter, Deborah, called Sweetie-Pie (age three). Their home caught fire today and the fire brigade never came. Mr. Ebenezer says most of the members of the fire brigade are sick, dead, or at their summer homes, waiting out the white fever. Same goes for the police. The doctors are dropping of exhaustion, and storekeepers (as I well know) have closed up shop.

  ME: Can’t they bring in help from other towns?

  Mr. Ebenezer: Who would come here? Everyone fears the white fever.

  Am now kind of wishing I brought more vaccine. Having met Mr. Ebenezer and his family, I feel pretty uncomfortable knowing their chances of survival depend on whether or not they’ve had any mosquito bites in the past week.

  ME: Hey, have any of you had any mosquito bites in the past week?

  The Ebenezers: [Looking at me as if I am insane.] Certainly. Perhaps. Not me. I don’t know. ’Squito?

  ME: Well, don’t get any more, OK? Cover yourselves up, stay inside, whatever it takes.

  Hannah: What in heaven for, Miss Emily?

  Me: Oh, well, your doctors don’t understand this yet, but it’s the mosquitoes that spread the white fever.

  Lily, John,

  Hannah, James,

  and Matthew: [Laughing heartily at me.]

  Me: No, seriously . . . Oh, never mind. Just do me a favor and avoid the suckers.

  Later

  After questioning the Ebenezers, I think it is safe to say that no one else has visited this warehouse since I discovered it. They were pretty sure it was abandoned when they chose it as their shelter for the night. Am starting to wonder if perhaps the owner is lying in his house somewhere, drinking toxic medicines, and wasting toward death. Or has he gathered up his belongings and family members and skipped town completely? Then again, maybe he just took a few days off and will be back in action tomorrow. The town is noticeably quieter than it was even yesterday. There’s kind of an ominous, silent feeling everywhere. Of course, with the white fever epidemic killing dozens of people every day, there’s not much of a party atmosphere. People are probably just staying quietly indoors, hoping to ride it out.

  Later

  While the cats are busy patrolling the warehouse, and Lily is off enjoying her first three human friends,41 I have been doing my best to get a history lesson out of John and Hannah Ebenezer. They are both children of former slaves (!!!!!!!!!!) who fled to Seasidetown years ago. Have not yet managed to get the topic of conversation around to the fact that I’m From The Future, but when/if I do, I look forward to letting them know that slavery will indeed (eventually) be abolished, and that their children’s children’s children’s children have a decent shot at equality. Oh, wait. Make that grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren. Oh, wait. Actually, considering my general low opinion of Humanity, I had better stay off the topic entirely, or I will crush their courageous, optimistic spirits.

  Later

  I eventually realized that the Ebenezers are not nocturnal like us, and have had a long, sad, and exhausting day. Have had to br
eak up Lily’s Social Hour so that we could say our goodbyes. The conversation was going a little bit like this:

  MICHAEL: When I grow up, I’m going to be the chief of police!

  James: Oh? When I grow up, I’m going to be the head of the fire brigade!

  Sweetie-Pie: When I grow up, I’ma be the mayor!

  LILY: [Looking shy.] When I grow up, I’m going to be that weird old lady that all the kids are scared of!

  Me: [Interrupting.] If I grow up, I’m gonna be the Evil Overlord of the Universe, and if you’re nice, maybe I’ll let you visit me in my Magical Floating Palace in the Sky.

  L/J/M/SP: [Hushed silence as everyone contemplates such intriguing accommodations.]

  Later

  Lily and I are in the tunnels again. It’s still mucky down here, even muckier than before, though mostly just outside my little doorway from the basement. Must be a leak around here. Oh well. Enigma and Mystery have been having themselves a fine friskabout in spite of the mud, and Lily and I are thoroughly enjoying The Exploration Effort. We’ve been trying to figure out what the heck these passageways were built for. (No sign of dead Dark Girls—more’s the pity!) As well as who built them, and when. So far, no clue. I mean, based on the dust and cobwebs, it seems like no one’s been down here in decades, yet it’s not like the tunnels are crumbling either. They’re definitely not for sewage. Seasidetown is still decades away from any concept of plumbing.42