Amber Fallon [Fallon - The Warblers

THE

WARBLERS

AMBER FALLON

Eraserhead Press

Portand, Oregon

ERASERHEAD PRESS

P.O. BOX 10065

PORTLAND, OR 97296

WWW.ERASERHEADPRESS.COM

ISBN: 978-1-62105-240-1

Copyright 2017 by Amber Fallon

Cover art copyright 2017 by Erik Wilson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written consent of the publisher, except where permitted by law.

Printed in the USA.

ONE

It was early on in the summer when Pa finally saw fit to do something about the warblers what had taken to living out in our back shed. Hed been putting it off all spring while we were getting the crops ready for planting, tilling the soil and the like. Not just by cause of the expense, you understand, although Im sure that played a part in it. No, Pas real hesitation came on account of the cure for warblers being damn near as bad as the disease, or at least thats what Id heard tell of.

Before that summer, Id never seen a Warbler for myself, lessn you count the dead ones they showcased during the county fairs over to Montgomery. Let me tell you, those dried up old shells were frightening enough without coming face to face with the live article when you went to the outhouse to do your business. Ma had that experience all to her lonesome but I reckon everyone in Hussock County heard her scream that morning. I never will forget the chill it sent down my spine to wake up in that fashion - hearing your own dear Ma scream fit to rattle a banshee. But even that wasnt enough to force Pas hand. It wasnt until after my old sheepdog met her fate at the claws of the cursed beasts, leaving me to find what was left of my friend and companion that Pa finally agreed to take action. I do believe it was Mas insistence at the end of things what caused him to respond and not so much the death of my dog, much as Id like to think different. Womenfolk have a way of convincing the men in their lives to do whatever it is they want of them. Its the damnedest thing, really. I wonder what a wifell get me to do one day what I dont have aim to.

The warblers had been a real nuisance before they had got to my dog, Ginger, but afterwards it was closer to home and heart. Ma was awful scared for my little sister Mabel, as she liked to go out back of the shed to pick wild flowers and chase butterflies all by her small self. I didnt like to ponder what could happen if she went out there and one of those things was waiting for her. My sister was young and sweet and didnt yet know the ways of the world. I dont believe there was a trace of fear in her pretty little head of those beasts or anything else. It was up to us, her kin, to protect and preserve her. It was a duty I took damned serious. As long as I was living, not a one of those things would come near to sight of her, let alone lay a claw on so much as a single blonde hair.

I know that Pa felt the same, and Im sure that had some sway on his eventual decision, as well what Ma had been up to. All things spoke for, I did have cause to wonder just what it was my pa was fixing to do what had set his back up so hard in the corner. I knew that were it something effortless hed have done it on the double back at the end of autumn when I first found trace of the beastly infestation. Not much more than scat and discarded bones back then, but I knew what it was clear sign of. Pa did, too. The day Id taken him out to the back shed and shown him what Id seen, I saw the careworn worry lines in his face deepen as he frowned. Hed tried hard to put it away in his mind like it was a light summer shirt, not needed until the air grew hot again, but try as best as he could, those things were still out there, still a menace to our farmland home and all who might come calling.

After months of fighting and cajoling the likes of which Id never known my parents to do, it looked as though Pa would have to give in to Mas insistence that he rid our farm of the warblers lest she pack up and take herself and Mabel to our relations out of fear of the dangers alone. Pa tried to convince her that they werent that bad, really. Misunderstood, he called them, but from his own tone of voice it didnt ring true. He knew they were awful mean and nasty and he knew that sooner or later one of usd find ourselves laid up injured or worse. Still he tried to fight it, but eventually he gave in. With a sigh and a scowl he turned his back on Ma and Mabel as they finished their breakfast of molasses and oats. He didnt glance in my direction as he passed by. He simply said, Come on, boy, were off to town.

TWO

Pa and I rode with Ben and Larry Scullory in the back of Bens old clunker of a pickup into town to make the necessary arrangements. We didnt have a telephone at the house. In those days, few did. They were a modern convenience and quite the expense, or so Id heard. Ma was none too keen on the idea, said itd cause the neighbors reason not to come around to visit if they could just pick up a fool contraption and send word that way. And so the call would have to be placed at McRorys General Store. It would cost two cents, something Pa was already complaining about as we bounced along the pitted dirt road. I listened to the pattering sound of gravel being thrown by the tires and felt the warm touch of sun on my skin.

Larry Scullory had a son, Nathan, who was near to my own age but we barely knew each other on account of him being military bound and me being nothing more than a simple farm boy. What I knew of Nathan could just about fill one of Mas thimbles, but none of it was good. Id heard he was mean as a junkyard dog and liked to pick a fight whenever the opportunity presented itself. Clyde Evans had lost his eye that way to Nate, or at least thats how the rumor went. I could recall seeing him a few times when we were younger, as the Scullorys did live on the next farm over from ours, but those memories were hazy with childhood. People liked to talk, and those tales may or may not have truth to them, I knew. But even as little as I knew of him, I had no love for Nathan Scullory. Ma had taught me from the time I was small not to be impolite or disrespectful at all, especially when a person wasnt present to defend themselves, so I always held my tongue when it came to news of Nathan Scullory and his accomplishments in the military. We saw his pa fairly often, my pa and I. At that time, community meant something and a man had to help his neighbors as they helped him, it was expected. Larry Scullory had been nothing but kind and helpful to us, and so I repaid that favor.

THREE

Larry mentioned our errand only once. Just before he started up the truck, the turn of the key making a noise like shaking a can full of rocks. Hed looked at my pa, real serious, and said in a low voice, You know, Lang, you dont have to do it this way. My boyll be back any day now. Hes bound to have some rifles with him. I bet he could take care of your whole problem in a matter of hours. Be proud to do it, too, helping out his neighbors with his military ways and all.

My pa only shook his head in response.

Larrys face fell and he seemed to deflate like a balloon with a hole in it. After a minute he perked up and continued on as if nothing had happened.

FOUR

I could tell by the signpost on the corner that we were getting close to town. I was fit to bust with excitement at accompanying the menfolk on important business such as the matter of ridding our farm of the infestation of warblers. I had only been to town a few times in my life what I could recall and I felt the same sort of jittery excitement each and every time. I could not imagine what it must be like to live in a real city like Nathan did. I thought it must be the most glamorous and exciting thing in the world. I told Larry as much and he took his eyes off the road long enough to beam at me, swelling with pride at the mention of his son and the great honor that came with being a Military Family now. It pleased me to see that my talk could have such an effect on a grown man. I did not ever intend to mention my true feelings toward his son.