American War(61)

In a while the door opened and Albert Gaines entered the room. He stepped over the broken bookshelves and around the upturned table and sat on the floor opposite Sarat. He appeared as though from another world, his prewar suit immaculate, untouched by dirt or blood.

“I came as soon as I heard,” he said. “Did your family survive?”

“My mother’s dead, but I can’t find her body,” Sarat said. “My brother’s dead, but I can’t find his body.”

“They call themselves the Twenty-first Indiana,” Gaines said. “They’re a militia, not enlisted, but there’s no doubt the Blue commanders knew what they…”

“Stop talking about them,” Sarat said. “I don’t wanna hear about them anymore. I don’t wanna read about them or memorize their capitals or learn how they did us wrong.”

“Then what do you want to do?” Gaines asked.

“I want to kill them.”

Sarat buried her head in her hands. She never saw the faint smile that, in that moment, crossed her teacher’s lips.





Excerpted from:

WAR OFFICE—FINAL COMPENSATION RULING ARCHIVE


Case Number: 091682


Applicant Name: Chestnut, Martina (Deceased/NOK Application)


CASE SUMMARY:


A) Claim Agreement


The Final Compensation Ruling issued by the Condolence Payment Department of the Joint Compensation Office (hereinafter referred to as “Payer”) is issued under the Domestic Claims Act in the case of MARTINA CHESTNUT and 3 dependents (1 FA Male; 2 Pre-FA Female) (hereinafter referred to as “Payee”). The Ruling is accepted by both parties and constitutes final and irrevocable settlement in relation to the incident outlined in Section B. The Ruling and claim payment determination are made at the sole discretion of the Payer and are nonnegotiable.





B) Incident Details


Payee was impacted by an incident at a Red Crescent–administered Mississippi refugee facility (“Camp Patience”). As determined by the Investigation Office, the incident is classified as Class 2—Serious; Contained. Incident Attribution is Other/Undefined.





C) Nature of injuries


Chestnut, Martina (FA Female): Deceased

Chestnut, Simon (FA Male): Displacement; Class 1 Injury (Head) Chestnut, Dana (Pre-FA Female): Displacement

Chestnut, Sara (Pre-FA Female): Displacement; Class 4 Injury (Left Hand)





D) Payment Schedule


Payee is hereby granted residence allotment (Charity House 027, Lincolnton, Georgia) for Displacement (3 or more). Payee is also granted $5000 for Death. Payee is also granted $2500 for Class 1 Injury. Payee is also granted $100 for Class 4 injury.





E) Release and Withdrawal


This Ruling implies no admission of fault by any arm or agency of the Federal Government (See Appendix A “Gesture of Regret Policy: Terms and Conditions”). The Payee hereby relinquishes any right of recourse in relation to this matter.





III


October, 2086

Lincolnton, Georgia





CHAPTER NINE


There was a mark where the devil left him. They came from miles to touch it, to kiss and caress the fissure in the forehead, to see the broken Miracle Boy. Sometimes they sat in silence, the only sounds coming from the kitchen, where the caretaker Karina Chowdhury hummed ancient gospels as she worked. Other times the men and women who came to see the boy prayed, and other times they too sang. And sometimes in the grip of paroxysm they cried and called him by their own children’s names. The boy let himself be their vessel. He sat unspeaking, the shivering hands upon him, serene as a cloud.

The house was built by the river, near where sunken Joy Road once met Chamberlain Ferry. There were others like it, northwest as far as Elijah Clark and southeast almost to Augusta. They were simple ranch houses of cheap wood and vinyl siding—prefabricated homes: the material brought in on barges that floated down the Savannah. Only thirty had been built since the start of the war, and in the years that followed, one had burned to the ground at the touch of lightning and another was erased when a war Bird fell from the sky, defunct but still deadly. The rest of the Charity Houses were occupied by refugees from the furthest reaches of the Southern State—winners of a dark lottery; survivors.

In the spring, when the storms were weak, the Savannah ran brown with mud. Although Augusta marked the last deepwater port along the river, often the smaller carriers went as far inland as Hartwell. They moved upriver in the shadow of the quarantine wall that sealed off South Carolina. The ships moved slowly, their cargo of grain and solar panels and smuggled weapons guarded by Mag soldiers or rebels or freelance arms.



KARINA ARRIVED in the morning, her Tik-Tok bouncing along the dirt road that led from Lincolnton to the edge of the spit where the Chestnuts lived. She arrived at the house to find its occupants still asleep.

She turned off the television and cleaned up the plates from the previous night’s dinner, then she went to the kitchen. Everything was in its place, just as she’d left it the night before. A dusting of sorghum flour lay on the island counter. Every night she sprinkled a little on the counter and memorized the shape in which it rested. And every morning she checked the landscape of the flour against her recollection, and in this way was able to deduce the passing of ghosts. She looked at the flour; none had come.