Beauty and Dread

by Nicki Huntsman Smith

  ###

  The small man nodded and selected the empty space on the bench next to Cate. Pablo saw the burly woman’s eyes narrow as she watched the new arrival; she continued to study him long after the attention of everyone else had returned to Steven.

  Pablo studied him too. He pondered the coincidence that Tung and Amelia had both disappeared about the same time. Amelia had been back for a while, and this man had just returned, but the timing of their departures and the vague reasons for going AWOL in the first place were puzzling in their similarity. Was there a connection between them? It seemed unlikely, and it might be worth the risk of annoying Amelia to find out.

  Chapter 14

  “Are we going to visit Thoozy today?”

  Jessie was attached to the old man. Ever since Amelia had taken her to the hospital, she hadn’t gone a day without seeing him. Now that he lived in the house next door, she could visit him as often as she liked.

  “We’ll see. I’m not sure if he went to the town hall meeting. It must be running long tonight since Pablo and Maddie aren’t home yet.”

  Amelia stood in the living room of their house, stirring something in the big pot that hung from a metal stick in the fireplace. She said the pot was called a Dutch oven and the metal stick was an andiron, and that people had used them for cooking before electricity. Jessie thought it looked fun, but she wasn’t old enough to get too close to the fire. Amelia said in another year or so she could. Everything the grownups cooked tasted delicious compared to the stuff she had eaten back at the Circle K where she had been all by herself for so long. She especially liked something called hominy. She had never eaten it before in her life because her dad never made it for her. Maddie said it was something southerners ate, and since she and her father were from Arizona, she figured that’s why. Pablo had found tons of it – pallets they said, whatever that meant – and everyone in town was eating a lot of it.

  “What are you cooking?” Jessie asked.

  “Spaghettio Stew.”

  “You don’t like Spaghettio Stew? You’re making that face.”

  “No. I think it’s quite revolting, but it has calories, and I’m tired of hominy.”

  “Can’t we mix some hominy into the Spaghettio Stew?”

  Amelia laughed. “How about I put some just in your bowl?”

  Jessie nodded with a grin, then asked, “How old do you think Thoozy is? He says he’s the oldest man on the planet. Do you think that’s true? I saw people on TV...before...that looked older than him. Do you think all those old people are dead now?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s likely. He is not the oldest person alive, but he is quite ancient. You know that word, yes?”

  Another nod.

  “He is one of the oldest people I know. He was born before me, and that was a long time ago too. But there are people at my home who are even more ancient than me. More ancient even than Thoozy.”

  “You mean your home under the ground?”

  “Yes.” Amelia sighed.

  “Do you miss your home?”

  “Very much so, but the work that must be done here is more important than missing my home.”

  “Keeping me safe?”

  “Yes, and getting you ready to go below when it’s time. There’s something else that’s also quite important.”

  “What is it? Killing the Smiling Man?”

  “We just might have to do that. You didn’t dream about him again, did you?”

  A shake of the dark head.

  “Good. Yes, if he comes here, we’ll have to kill him. Killing is a terrible thing, Jessie. Do you understand that?”

  “Yes. Daddy said so too. He had to kill that man back at the store. The one that I piled rocks on top of. But only because the man was going to kill us first. He said that made it okay.”

  “That’s why we must kill the Smiling Man if the time comes, only because he is bad and will kill everyone else if he gets the chance.”

  “I think that too. His smile isn’t the good kind. It’s the kind that looks like there might be worms crawling around in his head, and the worms are itching his brain, and that tickles him and makes him smile.”

  Amelia stared at the child for a long moment, then continued. “Anyway, there’s another even more important task I must do before we can go below. I have to convince those very ancient people, the ones that are more ancient than Thoozy and me, not to destroy the world.”

  ###

  “Julia, I’m sorry,” Steven said. “It was a last-minute decision. Everything is going so well...I just couldn’t bring myself to watch all that progress go sideways. Think about what we’ve accomplished in such a short time. It’s remarkable.”

  She was giving him ‘the look.’ He had hated that look when they were kids and he hated it now. His big sister disapproved. No matter how he might try to dismiss the qualms the disapproval evoked, he couldn’t get rid of them altogether. He had sought her approval his entire life, whether consciously or subconsciously.

  “Please don’t look at me like that,” he continued. “You know I can’t stand it. We’re rebooting civilization...no minor task. Let’s just get a little further before we risk crashing the hard drive.”

  “Nice analogy.” Julia shook her head and sipped at her scotch. Even after weeks of being in Steven’s home, she still marveled at the ice cubes in the glass. Her little brother was extraordinary. “Fine. But for the record, I don’t know how much longer we can keep a lid on it. Thoozy knows.”

  “Yes, but you made him promise not to tell anyone.”

  “That doesn’t mean he hasn’t. I don’t think he has though, or we would know by now.”

  “Yeah. We would know because half of the town would want to put the other half in padded rooms.”

  “Your numbers are off, but yes.”

  “And we couldn’t blame them,” he said, glancing at the top of the stairs where his son slept down the hall from Logan.

  The meeting had run long, and as soon as they had returned, Jeffrey had passed out from exhaustion in what was now their shared bedroom, since Julia and Logan occupied the other two bedrooms. His son’s full-time job with the security crew, plus the training with Sam, was a man’s workload. Steven was damn proud of him for taking it all on.

  The other person sleeping upstairs was a different matter. When Logan was in the house, he felt on edge. Despite Julia’s claims that the young man was harmless, Steven didn’t trust him.

  “I’ll talk to Thoozy again,” she said quickly, following her brother’s gaze. “I doubt he’ll approve. He’s one of those straight arrows.”

  “Yes, I got that impression as well. How is his health? Is it time to assign him a job?”

  “Not yet. He’s quite elderly. He won’t give me the exact number, but I suspect he’s in his late seventies, early eighties. You need to give him something easy.”

  “No problem.” He would do just about anything to erase that disapproving expression from his sister’s tired face. “How are things going at the hospital?”

  “Cate is working me like a field hand. I have to say, I’m not terribly fond of emptying bedpans and changing linens. I’m not trying to shirk my blue-collar duties, but perhaps I could be put somewhere better suited to my talents.”

  “The molecular biology lab down the street is on hiatus.”

  “Right, smartass. I was thinking of setting up a clinic. I’m no shrink, but I did a lot of reading on psychiatry during my down times at the university, and of course I did tons more after the Chicxulub DNA test results came in. I know some of these people are struggling with depression, mood issues and other maladies, and there’s no medicine to alleviate their symptoms. Maybe I could help? We could have group therapy sessions. Letting people talk about their anxiety and stress is better than nothing.”

  Steven snorted, imagining the old Peanuts cartoon where Lucy sat under a scrawled sign that read ‘Psychiatric Help 5¢, Doctor is IN.’

  Julia frowned.


  “I’m sorry. I wasn’t laughing at you. Actually, I think it’s an excellent idea.” He paused. “Do it. You’re hereby relieved of bedpan duty.”

  “I don’t want people to think I’m not carrying my weight.”

  “Can you put in some extra hours at the commissary? Marilyn is struggling a bit. She has a demanding job, but she’s averse to letting too many people get their fingers in the commissary pie. Something tells me she wouldn’t have a problem with my sister, though.”

  It was Julia’s turn to laugh. “Oh listen to you, you smug bastard. You’re so convinced of your own appeal. Have you seen all that gray hair sprouting from your ears? Good grief, you look just like dad.”

  “Shit, I thought I was doing well just keeping up with the nose hairs. Nobody told me staying this dead sexy would take so much work.”

  Steven rubbed his bearded jaw, smiling at his sister. He thought about his son sleeping upstairs, about Julia who was finally safe after all those months alone in California, and finally, he thought about the date he had scheduled with Marilyn the following evening.

  Life had gone on for a handful of people...would continue to go on. How fortunate that two of his loved ones were here with him now, sharing his journey. He took another sip of whisky and tried to stay focused on what Julia was saying, but his mind kept wanting to contemplate tomorrow night.

  ###

  Three people stood in a bedroom with pink walls and frilly white curtains. The blinds had been drawn. It had hosted a child at some point but was now the setting for meetings nobody else in Liberty knew about. Candlelight flickered on the faces of Amelia, Thoozy, and Tung. Those weren’t their real names, but ones they had chosen for themselves because their actual names would have raised eyebrows, and the last thing these three wanted was to stand out. As an additional safeguard, they spoke in a language no one else could understand. It was the dialect of their home, and these clandestine gatherings were the only time they allowed the indulgence of speaking in their native tongue.

  “How are you feeling, old man?” Amelia smiled at her friend. She had come close to losing him on his road trip from Colorado. Weeks earlier, he had shared the details of Logan’s attempted murder. She still found it abhorrent to be in the young man’s presence even now, despite her friend’s return to good health.

  “I feel like a puppy with two peckers.” Thoozy grinned.

  “You sound like Fergus,” she said with a sigh.

  “You’re missing that rascal, aren’t you, my dear?”

  “More than words can express.”

  “Me too,” said Tung. “I think he’s in Pensacola now. My scythen sent me an image. He looked happy.”

  “He had probably just bedded some female.” There was no trace of anger or animosity in her voice – only warmth and love. The concept of jealousy was one only the surface dwellers embraced. Those who dwelt below did not subscribe to that destructive construct; did not allow that negative emotion in their consciousness.

  “I suppose we should get to it,” Amelia said. “The child is everything we thought and more. If the Ancients want confirmation that there is worthwhile life here on earth, hers is the brightest star amongst all the other stars I’ve seen.”

  “From what you’ve told us, I tend to agree,” Tung said. “Her langthal alone makes her perhaps the most valuable human left on the surface.” There was no translation for the word. It conveyed an ability to heal or cure...a dynamic force which abided, inert, until it was stirred to life by the touch of an afflicted person. A handful of Japanese Reiki masters could produce a similar effect, but on an infinitely smaller scale. If Reiki were a lit match, langthal was a flamethrower.

  “It’s what saved Fergus. And Maddie too, of course,” she said. “But is one extraordinary child enough to stop the Ancients from another earth cleansing?”

  “While there are surely other societies forming around the world, this place...these people feel exceptional,” Tung said. “Perhaps that’s why our scythen drew us here. And the location so near our home cannot be a coincidence. I suspect an energy conduit.”

  Both the braided head and the white cotton-tufted one nodded.

  Tung continued, “I know time is short. I just wish we knew how short. Will you be making another journey below soon?”

  “I thought I would try to gather more evidence first. Also, Pablo gets grouchy when I disappear,” Amelia said. She had become quite fond of her new little family. They were all gifted. Not to the degree that Jessie was, but in their own right. She loved them. More than anything, she did not want to see them perish in a great flood or die of starvation as a result of an artificial winter.

  Thoozy had grown quiet during the exchange. In unison, the two others turned to him and waited. He liked to take his time with his words. It was his way.

  “I know how you both feel about another earth cleansing, but I have to admit, I have my doubts about the people that remain. That Logan fellow is downright scary. I’ve also caught glimpses with my scythen of that other one. The Smiling Man, as Jessie calls him. And what about all those bad people in that little town? You know, the ones that the ‘good people’ destroyed,” Thoozy said.

  Tung nodded. He remembered a conversation with Steven prior to the rescue mission in which they had discussed the justification for committing murder.

  Amelia frowned. “You know what those terrible men were doing. They needed to be exterminated, just like one would put down a rabid skunk or a mad dog.”

  “Your reference is charming and smacks of this world. No point in getting all worked up about it though. We’ve had the same conversation a thousand times over the millennia. All I’m saying is I’m not as convinced as you two that these people have earned a reprieve. I would like more time to study and watch. For now, I’m sitting on the fence.”

  “You’ve picked up some interesting jargon yourself this time.” Amelia said with a grin.

  “And you are just as beautiful as you always were.” Thoozy kissed the brown cheek. “Now, about that Smiling Man business. What’s the latest news?”

  “Neither Jessie nor Maddie has dreamt about him in a week. Perhaps we’ll get lucky and he’ll head off in another direction.” She spoke the last words without conviction.

  “Not likely,” Tung replied. His was the strongest scythen of the three. “I received an impression a few days ago. I think there’s no deterring him. I believe he is bent on revenge, if I’m reading him correctly. I think he also would like to be king of the world. It’s not the first time we’ve seen that.”

  Tung’s smile was bitter. The other two nodded. Three pairs of eyes filled with sadness, evoked by ancient memories.

  “It will be difficult for us not to interfere, if that’s what the residents want to do, but we must remember to let them initiate. We are not vigilantes.” The last remark was directed at Amelia. She didn’t respond.

  “Do you have any sense of when this monster will make his appearance in person?” Thoozy asked.

  “No. The images are amorphous. Perhaps your prodigy can help, Amelia?”

  “I’ll see what I can do. I don’t want to expose her. That creature will be even more determined to get here if he knows about the child’s gifts.”

  “Agreed. Is there anything else?”

  “No. I’m exhausted,” she said.

  “Me too.” Thoozy yawned as he stood and stretched. “Thankfully, I only have to walk down the hall to crawl into my bed.”

  “Yes, and I have to sneak past two dogs, a cat, and several humans to get to mine.”

  Tung smiled at his friends. He doubted sleep would find him that night. He had much to think about.

  Chapter 15

  A small house sat apart from its neighbors on the outskirts of town. The peeling paint looked gray in the moonlight, but had been many colors at various points in its lengthy history. The wraparound porch had entertained seven generations of iced tea sippers, beer guzzlers, rambunctious children, and white-haired old peo
ple who rocked away their final years on its wood plank flooring.

  It was the women who lived the longest. That’s because the familial gifts were passed from female to female. Theirs was a matriarchy, and for good reason. The power resided with the women; always had. Even during the dark tumultuous years of burnings and hangings, when it had been especially dangerous for mundane types to discover their secrets, the legacy had endured.

  Until now.

  Cate worked in the cellar by the light of a single fat candle. Even in the summer, the cinderblock was chilly to the touch. Now that winter had arrived, the temperature in the room hovered just above freezing. Perfect for the items that were stored there, and not uncomfortable for the woman who spent much of her time in the large space; its subterranean walls extended well beyond the perimeter of the house overhead. She rarely felt the ill effects of extreme heat or cold. It was one of the gifts she had received from her mother, passed to her mother by her grandmother, and her great-grandmother before her, all the way back to Constantine, so the story went. It weighed on her that the end of the bloodline was her fault. Her supreme failure. After all those generations, hers would be the last. She hadn’t menstruated in months, and male suitors weren’t knocking on her door asking to fertilize any remaining eggs her ovaries might have hoarded.

  Even before the plague, boyfriends had been a rarity. She had always loved growing herbs and reading medical books and honing her craft, much more than kissing boys and allowing their rough hands on her body. As a teenager, she was ridiculed for her weight – the result of a minor thyroid issue, but also, if she were honest, an obsession with sweets. It wasn’t until her late teens that she realized she liked girls in the way that most girls liked boys, a fact she had never shared with her mother. It was fine that she did – there was little bigotry in her family in matters of race, religion, or sexual orientation – but it was unacceptable not to procreate. Just prior to Chicxulub, the pressure to become pregnant had reached levels that rivaled living on the bottom of an ocean. She often wondered if she had known then what was going to happen, would she have done anything differently. And while the loss of her mother still felt like a hot stone in her belly, she didn’t miss the tight-lipped frowns of disappointment.