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  History of a Changed World, Angus T. Moss

  NICK REMAINED IN HIS office after the meeting. Tilly ran off grumbling about being late for her rounds. Angus had a meeting, and Wisp was joining Martin to canvas another road for any hidden residents. That left Nick here with a stack of contracts to go over. A groan escaped him as he scowled at the piles of papers on his desk. How had it come to this? When he had started traveling for High Meadow, he had never expected it to turn into a desk job.

  He leaned back in his chair rubbing his face. Just looking at the papers made him tired. A knock at the door drew him out of his doldrums. Jean marched in and sat in front of his desk.

  “We need to talk,” she said. She had combs pulling back her short curly hair and an air of frustration about her.

  “What’s up?” he asked.

  “I can’t work for you and Angus at the same time.” She looked away when she spoke making Nick uneasy. He wasn’t sure if she was scolding or demanding something from him.

  “Well, Angus wants us all to work to our strengths,” Nick said evasively.

  A frown creased her forehead. She suddenly looked exhausted, making Nick feel somehow responsible. “I have no idea what that means,” she mumbled.

  Nick grunted an agreement. “We need some more bean counters in here. This paperwork is going to kill me.”

  Jean smiled. Her almond-shaped eyes crinkled at the corners in a way that tugged at Nick’s heart. She met his eyes, searching them. “We never have time,” she said softly.

  It was on the tip of his tongue to say that they’d make the time, but he knew that would be a lie. Then he started to say, “When we get through this.” And realized there would always be a new crisis to deal with. He reached across the desk, holding out his hand. She slid cool, thin fingers into his palm. “What works best for you?”

  “If I work for you, will I get to see more of you?” she asked with a teasing smile.

  “I’d like that,” Nick said, knowing he was avoiding the real answer.

  “But you’re still going to be traveling,” Jean finished the thought.

  “This,” Nick let go of her hand to gesture to the papers, “Is not my forte.”

  “I think it might be mine.” Jean lifted a shoulder in a questioning shrug.

  “You are more than welcome to take this over.”

  “Are you sure?” Jean bit her lip.

  Nick could see the interest in her eyes. “Absolutely. Do you want to do some traveling, too?”

  She shook her head. “I like the paperwork.”

  “Bless you, child,” Nick said with a grin.

  “I’m not a child,” she snapped back. The fire in her eyes startled him.

  Feeling very bold and a little shaky, Nick walked around the desk to stand in front of her. “I know that.” He pulled her to her feet and into a hug.

  She chuckled against his neck. “I wondered.”

  Chapter 4

  There is so much that we take for granted in the modern world−clean water, sanitation, manufacturing. Modern systems rely on the society that drives it. Adequate workforce and maintenance are essential. Once abandoned, even the best-designed system will coast to a halt eventually.

  History of a Changed World, Angus T. Moss

  WISP KNEW THE MAN WITH the shotgun wouldn’t fire at him but sensed that Martin had his doubts. They’d been searching along the road for hours, but this was the first group of people that Wisp had located. “He won’t hurt us,” Wisp murmured. Despite the frown narrowing Martin’s brown eyes, he lowered his own weapon.

  “Sorry, neighbor,” Martin said in a calm, soothing voice. “You understand that we meet all kinds.”

  The man hesitated to lower the shotgun, but his face showed his willingness to listen. A big black van full of armed men was enough to alarm anyone. “I don’t have anything for you,” he said firmly.

  Wisp could taste the sharpness of his fear.

  “We’re not looking for anything but information,” Martin said. He waved at Tall Joe who brought one of Tilly’s Greeting Baskets. “This is a token from us at High Meadow. We are putting together a coalition of everyone in the area. There’s an army forming to the west of us.”

  “Slow down,” Wisp said softly.

  The man’s eyes got larger, but he stood his ground. Wisp could feel at least three other people, two of which were very young, hidden in the old farmhouse further up the lane.

  Martin walked forward slowly and placed the basket on the ground between them. He gave the man a courteous nod before returning to his previous position. “We all want the freedom to live our lives as we wish. But it looks like we can’t do that without joining together for safety. There’s a flyer in there about a meeting. It’ll happen two days after the next full moon at High Meadow. We’d like everybody to attend.

  “We’ve got food and medicine up there. Anyone is welcome,” Wisp added. He knew the man didn’t believe them. He could only hope that they wouldn’t throw away Tilly’s food for fear it was poisoned. There was a wedge of cheese from Creamery, a sack of oats from Holly Hill farm and Eunice’s bread from the High Meadow kitchen. It wasn’t that they had food to spare, but it made a very convincing gift.

  The man watched them as they returned to the van and drove back up the overgrown driveway. Martin grumbled under his breath, but Wisp knew he was pleased to have found another family. They pulled out onto the main road, mud fanning off the tires. About a mile later, Martin stopped the car.

  Wisp got out to scan the thickly forested area. They had been doing this on and off for weeks now. Seeking out anyone hidden in the area that Angus now claimed as part of the Survivors’ Alliance. Every couple of days he was needed back at High Meadow, to vet the latest group of refugees that were filling up the storm shelters. High Meadow was growing at a much faster rate than Angus had foreseen. When Wisp finished helping out with the refugees, he was back out on the road mapping and cataloging with Martin and his men. A part of him wanted to disappear. Just vanish into the woods with no trace left behind. He’d done it before. But a greater part of him was starting to become attached to these people. If he walked away, he knew that he would disappoint Tilly and Angus and Nick. And his brothers were here now. It was so hard to be around so many people and yet despite the discomfort, he stayed. The situation had become extremely complicated.

  He hurried up the road away from the van as if he could leave those clamoring thoughts behind. As he opened his senses, a faint ripple of pain teased at him. Wisp concentrated, searching for the source, but it feathered away as if the person had fallen asleep. He opened himself carefully. Martin and Tall Joe were familiar bundles of emotions behind him. The man and his family, simpler blots further back. The pale flickers of animal minds showed him a healthy population in this section of woods. Two, no three people were up on a ridge watching the road. He narrowed his focus on them poking through their emotions searching for ill intent. There was a jumble of feelings among them, and he realized they were probably teenagers. Hunger was the top note for all three of them. More refugees desperate for food and shelter. Wisp gestured to Martin for a food basket. Maybe they could coax them down. In another place, at another time, he would have hidden from them. Now he sought them out.

  Chapter 5

  I have tried to document the changes evident in anyone born after Zero Year, but the statistics are mostly anecdotal. Children have often lost parents, siblings, a variety of caregivers. Their knowledge is limited and they have little interest is figuring out where they were born, to whom and when.

  History of a Changed World, Angus T. Moss

  TILLY WAS IN HER OFFICE sipping a fabulous cup of black tea, thanks to Nick when Lily blasted into her office chattering about the horses. “Slow down!” Tilly said firmly.

  “It’s all golden,” Lily continued at a slightly slower pace. “But it has scratches on its legs and Harlan wants to catch it.”

  “Catch what?”

  “The new
horse,” Lily said with a stamp of her foot. “You should come see!”

  Knowing that she should put her head down and finish her paperwork, Tilly chose to follow Lily out into the sunshine. She took a final gulp of tea before hurrying after the rapidly fading sound of Lily’s footsteps. The main doors were propped open by the press of people coming out to watch. The porch was crowded with people jockeying to catch a glimpse of a couple of men trying to surround the strange horse.

  Mary sidled over to Tilly, baby Teresa on her hip. “It’s a palomino.” She pointed across the field.

  Tilly shaded her eyes against the sun which was just beginning to heat up the day. A flash of creamy gold caught her eye. “She’s gorgeous!”

  “He,” Mary corrected. “Everett said Molly’s in heat.”

  “What about the other horses?” Tilly asked. “Is Harlan going to breed them?”

  Mary gave her an odd look. “Jelly, Blaze and Socks are geldings.”

  “Oh. So is this a good thing?”

  “Molly’s not too old to bear. It could be a good thing. Depends on how they all feel about this new one showing up. Everett’s trying to get our team out of the way. Beauty’s not in heat, and I think Champ would drive off another stallion.”

  Tilly shook her head. She had enough people problems without adding any animal problems. The audience whooped, and she looked out in time to see someone dodge out of the way as the palomino charged at him. Harlan was advancing on his horses, clucking and whistling the way he called them in at night.

  None of the horses were in the mood to obey. The palomino galloped through the vegetable beds, leaped a row of squash and charged over to the horse meadow. Everett and Joshua had long, slender wands of willow they were using to make a funnel into the meadow. It worked, and a cheer went up. But the palomino seemed to have other plans. He circled the meadow as if building up speed. The rest of the horses followed his lead. Before Tilly could yell a warning, they’d all jumped the fence. Seven horses were a stampede, and everyone got out of the way. They thundered down the driveway giving Tilly a chill. The power of those animals was awesome. She backed away from the steps, even though she was perfectly safe on the porch.

  The palomino’s pale mane and tale streamed behind it in the wind of its passing, making Tilly think of Wisp. Another soul that wouldn’t be tamed.

  Everett whistled loudly for the team. Harlan called to his horses, even though they were already gone up the road.

  “Oh, no,” Mary said, a hitch in her voice. “We can’t lose them. They’re all we have left from the farm.” Baby Teresa starting fussing in reaction to her mother’s emotions.

  Tilly rubbed Mary’s shoulder. “Maybe they’ll come back on their own.” She didn’t think that the loss of the horses was a big deal. They were helpful for some of the scouts, but not essential. Although Martin had been talking about needing sleds for the winter. If they had a lot of snow this year, travel by the new vans would be restricted unless they found some plowing equipment, and people who knew how to use it. Last year, they didn’t have enough snow to worry about, but the year before they had almost run out of train food after back to back snowstorms had dumped a couple of feet on them. She shook her head. Too many things that needed planning before they got there.

  Chapter 6

  The flu of Year Ten was especially bad. Many communities failed when the personalities holding them together died.

  History of a Changed World, Angus T. Moss

  WISP SLOWED THE VAN to go around a small but deep pothole. They had found a few more people, and filled in a bit more of the map. Every day they pushed out a little further, and now they had reached the point where commuting back and forth to High Meadow took too much time. They’d had to quit in mid-afternoon to get back before dinner. The next trip out they would need to spend the night on the road. Wisp looked forward to being away for awhile. Martin wanted to put together a larger group for that trip, with guards and extra vans that could ferry back anyone needing immediate attention.

  The radio buzzed as soon as they came within range. “Martin here.”

  “We got word from one of the Travellers about trouble at Creamery.”

  Despite the possibly dangerous situation, Martin’s emotions tipped towards excitement. “Send the Ready Team.”

  “Will do.”

  The radio clicked off. “Now we get to see how well this works,” Martin said.

  He’d been training the Ready Team for weeks. They were a small, well-armed team prepared to go at a moment’s notice. The National Train Authority was part of the information relay and would reroute a special train car to get them wherever they needed to go. The car was packed with weapons, first aid and food.

  Wisp reached out his senses toward Creamery, but it was too far away to feel anything. “I hope they get there in time.” High Meadow had been getting regular shipments of cheese and butter from Creamery. There would be a hole in the food supply if they lost the dairy.

  “The relay is working.” Martin waved the radio at Wisp as if to underscore the point. “If the train is waiting for them, they should be there in a matter of hours. It all comes down to whether Creamery has been able to protect the vehicles at their station. If they’ve been stolen and Ready Team has to hike the five miles out to them, it’ll change things.” Martin’s words were laced with concern, but there was still a strong sense of pride underneath. The recent influx of people had given him a lot more choice for the Watch. He’d found some people with law enforcement experience who were glad to protect something as precious as the Alliance that Angus was building.

  That odd sensation of pain nagged at Wisp again, but he couldn’t concentrate on a thorough search for it while he was driving. When he nudged his senses out to his limit, he found something much closer. “Somebody hurt up here,” he warned Martin.

  Just as he spoke, a man dashed into the road to flag them down. Wisp hit the brakes jarring all of them. A feather of adrenaline ran up his spine before he recognized the man.

  “One of the Hunters,” Martin said, a curl of suspicion in his voice.

  Wisp scanned the area. With a possible attack on Creamery, this could be more than it seemed. He could feel the Hunters, but searched beyond them. He’d been pretty sure of them and yet, maybe he’d missed something. People’s emotions changed all the time. He couldn’t say without any doubt whether a person was good to their core. Everyone had a certain level of kindness and meanness in them. It worried him that some day he might miss a thief or a killer hiding among them. But this looked to be a simpler situation.

  “All of the Hunters are here. One is hurt,” he reported to Martin. “They’re up that ridge.” He could feel the concern of the other five. Despite their rough appearance, this group of men had become fiercely loyal to Angus. They preferred their own company, staying in a house by the train station. But they readily supplied meat for the kitchens at High Meadow and in return ate most of their meals there. They were also working with Claude to utilize the hides.

  Martin was out of the van the minute it stopped with Tall Joe right behind him. “What happened?”

  Warren jogged toward them, waving bloody hands. “Brad’s hurt.” He squinted up the ridge. “We were packing out a big load. Found a herd of elk. Ground gave way on him. He broke his leg. Bad.”

  Martin gave Wisp a questioning glance. He felt Martin’s suspicions mirroring his own. It made him double check the area. “Nobody unexpected,” Wisp murmured.

  Martin gave him a slight nod. “What do you need?” he asked.

  “We need to get him to the doc right away. We hiked out here following a trail. Our vehicle is a couple miles off.”

  “Should I call for more men?” Martin asked as Tall Joe retrieved a litter from the back of the van.

  Warren shook his head, before leading them into the brush. “If you’d take him in, we’d be grateful.” He took them up a game trail. Wisp shut down his senses before they got much closer. Brad was in severe pa
in. Even with his barriers up as tight as he could get them, the pain leaked in. They walked into a rough clearing. Brad was lying on a couple of jackets, his leg splinted with branches. Six loaded packs were lined up behind him.

  Martin grunted a greeting before taking control. “Who’s steadiest on their feet in this terrain?”

  Three hands went up. Martin glanced at Wisp. “Which do you want?”

  “Dead meat doesn’t hurt,” he said with a nod toward the packs.

  Martin picked out two Hunters to carry Brad. “Wisp, take point. I don’t like having us all tied up.”

  Wisp walked clear of the men, blocking out their fears and Brad’s pain. He worked his way down the hillside parallel to them. Delicately extending his senses, he checked the vicinity for anything dangerous, keeping in mind the strong scent of the bloody meat. A few small flickers of animal minds scurried away at their approach. The men carrying the litter made no pretense at stealth, crashing through the undergrowth to find the easiest path down to the road. Brad grunted at the movement. Wisp saw his white-knuckle grasp on the litter’s sides. The pain pressed against him like heat from a furnace. He walked across the hillside as the men with the litter worked their way lower.

  Wisp couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something he was missing. Reaching a bit further, he sensed something at the edge of his sense. He stopped where he was to concentrate on the feeling. At first, he thought it might be the elk Warren mentioned. Then he knew it was a press of human minds. It wasn’t in the right direction for High Meadow, and it was too large to be the Watch. Very large, now that he had a hook into it.

  He headed for the van, skidding down through wet leaves and loose detritus. He hit the shoulder of the road with a wake of leaves and twigs. “Martin.”