“It’s affected all my crops, not just certain strains.”
“I’ve found the same thing, and our farms are miles apart,” Roger Schultz said. “All our carrots and potatoes—completely rotten and withered.”
“And our apples,” Elijah Visser chimed in. “Shriveled and black, just when they ought to be at their peak.”
I hated to hear that. The Vissers’ orchard bordered the southern edge of our property, and the bees loved foraging through the apple blossoms. Could this rot affect them? I glanced at Sam to see if he was as concerned as I was, but his face was turned from me.
“The cold snap?” Matthias asked.
The farmers shook their heads.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Asher added. “I don’t know how my family will make it through winter without the harvest. We need to try another supply run.”
“Well, with rationing—” Leland began. “We’ll all have to tighten our belts a bit.”
Asher’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t think you understand the full scope of the matter. Even a strict ration won’t make up for losing half my crops. And it’s not just my family who count on that harvest. Folks like you, without fields of their own, depend on us. What will you do come February, Leland Schäfer, when your storeroom is empty and your children are crying? You can’t eat boiled wool.”
“It’s not just food we need to be worried about,” Dr. Ambrose said, rising to his feet. “I’m gravely concerned about our medical supplies. They’ve never been so low.”
“Not all of us subscribe to your practices, Doctor,” Letitia Briard said, choosing to remain in her seat to hurl her obvious derision at the doctor. “Clemency had that terrible cough last winter, and nothing you gave him helped. I applied a poultice of fried onions, and he was up and about in no time. I see no reason why we need to risk men’s lives for more of your snake oils.”
Dr. Ambrose’s cheek tightened as if he was biting his tongue. “I have a great deal of respect for home cures, Letitia, you know I do. But fried onions and wives’ tales will not set a broken femur or assist in a blood transfusion. Medical supplies are necessary for the continuation of this town!”
“Let’s not lose our heads here,” Parson Briard intervened. “Perhaps, in light of this new trouble, we ought to rethink a run before winter sets in.”
Calvin Buhrman scoffed. “We’re weeks away from the first big snow, and you want to talk about a supply train? The pass will be blocked before they can even fill the first wagon.”
The parson searched the room, and his gaze landed on us. “Samuel Downing, that new trapper helped your folks out of the pass with a shortcut he found, right? Perhaps he would be willing to guide another party?”
“Haven’t seen him in a week or two,” Samuel said, rising off the bench. “He’s checking traps along the western ridge. Don’t know when he’s expected back. Ellerie?” he drew out testily, looking down at me.
I folded my arms over my chest. “I don’t know anything more than you.”
Samuel and I had been butting heads since Whitaker’s return. Sam assumed he’d easily slide into Papa’s shoes, looking after the farm and hives. Had my brother been remotely competent at either, I’d have been content to let him, but it was as though he’d suddenly stepped foot on a foreign shore, and was completely unaware of how anything worked.
Just that morning I’d caught him whistling his way out to inspect the hives. I lit into him with a fury I’d never known was in me. He could have easily killed off half our bees, opening the boxes with frost on the ground. Even worse, when I asked what he’d been thinking, Sam said he wanted to harvest a bit more honey—he was eager to make some money, since Papa had taken most of the family cash to the city.
After a volley of heated words, Samuel slammed his fist against the new supply shed door and stormed off. He only joined us at lunch to announce that an emergency town meeting had been called and attendance was mandatory.
“This isn’t something we can afford to wait around on,” Asher said, taking control of the situation. “The snowfall is coming. If we’re going to send out a run, we need to do it now.”
“Today?” Leland blinked. He was notoriously slow at making decisions.
“Tomorrow morning at the latest.” The farmer looked about the room. “We’ll need several wagons—who will join me?”
“What about those things in the woods?” Prudence Latheton asked, standing up. “Isn’t that why we delayed all this in the first place? There was a Deciding and everything.”
Amos held up his hands and spoke, fighting to be heard over the murmurs in the hall. “We have it on good authority that the threat of the creatures has passed. Only days ago, Ezra Downing returned to the Falls, bringing with him the body of one of these…aberrations. Ezra?”
I glanced to the front row, where my new uncle and cousin sat. We hadn’t seen them since the day they’d arrived, though I’d heard they were staying at the Buhrmans’.
After a beat, he rose reluctantly and faced the town, fidgeting with the hem of his vest. “It’s true. We’ve been traveling throughout the woods for several weeks, and…that was the only one of them we crossed.”
Prudence’s nostrils flared. “But Gideon said—”
“I’ve no doubt my…brother…saw what he saw. I’ve never known him to lie or exaggerate. There well may have been a pack, but you all saw the remains. These mutations weren’t meant to be. Animals so badly…changed don’t usually live long lives.” He took off his glasses and polished them earnestly.
“Even still, we will take an abundance of precautions,” Asher said. “Torches, firearms. Perhaps we ought to light the Our Ladies tonight to drive back any creatures that might still linger in the area.”
“I’ll go with you,” Jonas Marjanovic volunteered. “I have a cart we can use, and my parents’ horses are some of the fastest in town. They’ll get us up and over the pass before the snows.”
“I’ll go as well,” said Joseph Abernathy, the store clerk, jumping from his seat. “Asher is right—the store is nearly emptied clean. We won’t last a winter without more supplies.” He glanced down at his mother, as if seeking permission. After a pause, the older woman nodded.
“Who else?” Asher said, stepping to the front of the room.
“Wait just a minute,” Matthias protested, realizing control of the situation had slipped entirely from the Elders’ grasps. “Prudence is right—we cast a Deciding against another run, and that vote ought to stand.”