HSA-17: Harvest

Ben didn't understand Anders's point. The other man didn't sound jealous or left out. Anders was stating facts as though demonstrating some obvious logical puzzle. Ben had noticed Chuck hanging around with Beth, and it sort of made sense that Beth's twin and Chuck's shadow, Norman, would start spending time together. The two waitresses at the boarding house, Kathy and Betty, had been fawning over Jimmy and John since the first morning. It all seemed a little quick, but otherwise not alarming. "So, what's the big deal? The girls were hard up for some attention, maybe. We all come along, and it's a matter of supply and demand. I haven't seen any other guys our age, have you?"

"No," Anders answered quickly, his eyes brightening. "That's another part of it, don't you see? The men are all old. Not forty or fifty, but ancient. Willard might be the youngest one of the lot. And you know what else? We're different too. Before this week, how many times had you shaved in the past month?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" But Ben knew the answer to his own question. Careful, he warned himself, these are questions that might ruin everything.

In answer, Anders rose out of bed and pulled off his night shirt. The once narrow shouldered, almost sickly young man had transformed. His chest had rounded out into a muscular barrel. Hair had grown in like a pelt that turned into a narrow line of fuzz leading down his stomach, a solid cord of muscle that heaved in and out as he breathed. His shoulder muscles arched into his neck, twisting as he moved his arm to show off round and defined biceps. "It's happening to all of us."

Ben shook his head dismissively. He knew, like a rotten seed in his mind, that these were topics better ignored. Admitting them would risk everything. "I mean, what do you expect. We've been busting our asses all day for a solid week. We've been eating like horses. All of it has to go somewhere!" He could feel the anger rising up his throat. Why was Anders challenging a good thing? Wasn't everyone happy? Weren't they all enjoying the work and the food and the girls? So what if it meant having to ignore a few odd things here and there. The bitterness filled his mouth with an acrid taste, "You're just jealous."

Anders had been expecting the words, but still he winced at them. "In a way, yes. Maybe that's all it is, really. Blind jealousy. There's no girl here for me. But I'm not the only one. Nathan doesn't have an opposite either."

"Why does that sound like a threat?" Ben bristled.

He pulled his pajama top back on and went back to his bed. "Things are not right in this town. For some reason, I'm the only one that sees it easily. I thought about trying to tell Chuck we should go, but figured you'd be easier to convince. I was wrong." He rolled over.

Ben mused on his roommate's words, something nagging at him that he finally couldn't let go any more. "Anders, how come you've moped around since the moment I met you? What'd you mean by saying there wasn't a girl here for you?"

Anders didn't turn to face him. "I left home six months ago. There was a girl there, Elizabeth. She was my sweetheart from the time we were old enough to know what sweethearts really were. I enrolled in a technical college upstate, promised to get my degree and come back and marry her. When I went back for winter break before my last semester, Elizabeth and I went out for a walk. Another fellow comes up to us and starts saying all this nonsense to me. He tells me that my girl is a whore. That she'd fucked half the town and had a waiting list for the other half. He said she'd fucked him too. Said that if she wasn't fucking me then I was a fool, and if she was fucking me then I should make sure to go to the doctor when my dick started to burn or itch. She said he was crazy, but I could see it in his eyes. Pure truth, rage, embarrassment, and hate. Part of me thinks he followed us hoping to somehow prove he was better than the others to Liz. The other part thinks that he wanted to pick a fight so he could lose.

"My dad taught me to fight when I was little. I scrapped with other boys same as you most likely. Not this fella. He'd grown up soft. Maybe that's why he took it so hard. Even though I knew she'd done it, I wanted to show this guy some manners. I warned him off once, and then I clocked him. He got up. I warned him off again. He pulled a knife." Anders raised the back of his pajama shirt and showed a two inch scar along his lower flank. "I hit him again, caught him in the temple, and he crumpled like a dropped cloth, whacked his head on the street like a ball bouncing."

"Did it kill him?" Ben asked.

"Not right away. I told Elizabeth to go to hell and turned myself over to the police the next day. They didn't lock me up. Said it was self defense, and that they'd heard about Liz. The way that cop looked at me, I knew it about him too. She'd bent over for half the town, why not that cop? Saw her once more after that. Told her that if she wanted to get screwed by the whole goddamn world then she should at least start charging for it. Better to be a whore than a slut, I reckon. Packed up my stuff and left town three weeks later. Didn't see much point in staying around cause everywhere I looked I saw what she'd done to me. She'd caused me to rot from the inside out. Cause even after all she did, that level of betrayal, I still loved her. I still love her."

The tremble in Anders's voice both frightened and saddened Ben. "So what's that got to do with Ulster Rock?"

"That same drifter, the one who found you and all the others, found me in a dive bar where I was busing tables. Came right up to me with this wicked smile on his face. Said I was the right kind for some work in a town during harvest season. I called the number, talked to Willard, and here I am same as you. And everything went on fine and normal until breakfast that first morning. Couldn't get my coffee filled. The girls kept walking past me until I tugged on one of their sleeves. No one noticed, not really. Same thing happened at lunch that day. Molly handed me a sandwich, but it was like she was looking right through me. They all barely act like I'm even there. Thought it was just me for a while, but as the week's come on and all the other stuff started happening, I began to wonder. I don't think they can see me, it's like I'm a ghost walking around."

"And you think that has something to do with how you treated, Liz?"

He rolled over and met Ben's gaze, no hint of joke or falsehood in his eyes. "I think it has something to do with love. I think they need you to love them. I'm not asking you to believe me, but keep an open mind. Can you do that?"

Ben felt the coldness of the town flow into him. Molly went out of his head, and all the strange things about Ulster Rock piled up. "I'll think about it."

***

The work went on. At the end of the first week, a little over half of the fields had been cleared. They worked through Sunday morning, but Willard told gave them the afternoon off. Molly and the twins planned to go into town to help with decorations, and it was decided that a group lunch would be had at the boarding house. The time for pretense had passed. After the talk with Anders, Ben couldn't put aside the obvious strangeness of the town any longer, but he still saw nothing sinister in it. Isolated towns develop their own habits and customs that can seem peculiar to outsiders. Many such places struggled through the war years going a little leaner and a little crazier than the rest of the country. To get out of that, the local men signed up for the army and many had not come back. It sufficiently explained the girls' interest in the migrant workers. Molly and her friends were all of marrying age yet lacking prospects, which Ben knew could create a desperation that otherwise wouldn't have crossed their minds. It even explained why she'd been so forward with him, making love on their third encounter. Ben did not deny the fire he felt between them or the madness that took them both when they were alone together, but surely that fire could have been stoked by years of fearing becoming a spinster.

With the morning's field work done, they put away their tools and headed back into town. As it turned out, there were other citizens of Ulster Rock after all. Chuck and Ben stood outside smoking while lunch was laid out. They watched a few other girls that looked close to their age as they hung streamers and banners down the street. Some older, yet still remarkably beautiful, women directed another squad of old timers in constructing booths. Up the street, the black stage cast a shadow across the square, even at midday. Ben found himself looking at Chuck, sidling closer to him to try and measure his height. "The heck are you doing?" Chuck asked, scrambling back.

"Have you gotten taller?"

Chuck looked back and forth conspiratorially. "Why? You want a turn on my stretching machine?"

"I'm serious," Ben barked. The nearest group of workers looked up, giving him the empty stare that seemed to follow him around the town.

"Betty said they shrank in the wash is all," he shoved his hands in his pockets and pulled his pants out flat. The hem of his pants reached an inch above his ankle. "She said she didn't have time to fix the hem, but she'd get it next laundry day. To be honest, I don't think she has much experience washing men's clothes. Some of my shirts have shrank too. She's putting them in too cold water or something."

Shrinking clothes. Another oddity whisked away by a somewhat plausible explanation. Ben changed the subject, "So what's the ruckus this evening? First time we've had more than twenty minutes to ourselves all week."

"The girls said we should go down to the bar. Play cards, have a few. Beth and Ann are going to be helping with the decorating until this afternoon, but after that they said they'd come round. Molly too, I'd bet. And that'll keep us out of sight lest Willard regrets his decision and puts us to work building some other damn thing. Come on, let's go in."

Chuck ground out his cigarette and tossed the butt in the trash. Ben did the same and followed him inside. Mira and her two serving girls had whipped up another miraculous meal for them. Baked chicken with smashed potatoes, peas, corn on the cob, okra, squash, and bread with butter. The aroma made Ben salivate as he took his spot at the table. Molly slipped in beside him, her hand going down to his thigh and giving him a playful squeeze under the table. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek before a shock of nerves burst in his stomach. He looked around, hoping no one had seen. Friendly conversation was one thing, but stealing a kiss in front of everyone could ruin them. Chuck had his arm around Beth, his lips near her ear whispering jokes. Norman and Amy, too, were deep in private conversation. Ben looked around the table and saw quickly that no one cared. They were all too absorbed in their own romances to notice. All except one.

Nathan sat at the end of the table, alone. His head hung down, staring at his plate. Fists rested on either side, still protecting his space like a starving man. Dead eyes bored into the plate as he gnawed at his food, contempt oozing out of him like oil into water. It was clear that he was apart from the rest of the group. Isolated and miserable for it. For a brief moment, Ben pitied him, but as Nathan's head rose to look down the table, the two men's eyes met and Ben saw nothing in those eyes but pure hate. Ben pulled back from Molly and turned his attention to the food. A few minutes later, Nathan got to his feet and went upstairs. Other than the moment of fright when the burly man stood up, Ben and the others were relieved to be free of his company.

The food went quickly. Even from half a day's work, they were still starving. As Ben shoveled the rich tasting vegetables into his mouth, he relished the feeling of Molly being closed to him. As their hunger slowed, the men made conversation and before long, the table turned into a rambunctious group of friends. The girls shared stories from their growing up together, each trying to out embarrass the other. Chuck led the way telling about his own younger days with the others joining in with their most outlandish tales whenever they could. Ben noted the competition among the men, each trying to outdo the other, but the women only tittered. The pairs became more forward with each other and more comfortable expressing it around the other couples. Norman's arm drooped from Amy's shoulders to rest on her lower back. Jimmy didn't seem to care that others could see his hand groping the side of Kathy's breast. Nor did the girls seem ashamed. They encouraged it, Molly most of all. She took Ben's hand and pushed it to her thigh where she'd hiked up her dress under the table. She guided his hand up until he found her sex, hot and wet. Molly smiled and kissed his ear and went right back to chatting with Beth about how many flowers they would need to make harvest bouquets.

The party broke up when Mira and Hank sneaked off to Mira's office. The landlady ordered her staff to clean away the dishes and their beaus insisted on helping, intending to spend a little alone time with Kathy and Betty in the kitchens. Molly, Beth, and Amy left their other halves much worse for the hour of teasing to go continue decorating. Molly promised to find Ben later and alluded to a few secret spots where they could be alone. Ben guessed Chuck and Norman received the same promise. In the end, the four in Ben's original group found themselves sitting at the table. Norman brought up the girls' suggestion of going to the bar and the group, even Anders, quickly voted in favor. Chuck and Norman wanted to go upstairs for a while. Ben and Anders decided to head on to the bar themselves rather than wait and listen to Mira moan and squirm in the next room.

Between the boarding house and the bar were two alleys. It was a stretch to call them alleys at all. In truth they were mostly poorly planned gaps between the buildings, narrow paths that could fit one man comfortably down them at a time. The first went by with Anders and Ben glancing down it to see a stray cat looking contemptuously at an empty can. They passed two more buildings before they crossed the next. In that short spate, the nigh familiar chill returned to Ben's core. Anders walked on his left and he to right, closer to the street. They stepped from the porch of the Ulster Pharmacy to the dirt track in front of the alleyway. Ben paused, knowing something he was seeing was wrong.

In the alley was a shape, obscured by the building's shadow. He thought it was a heap of trash until he made out the eyes, the slack jaw, and that hungry look. Nathan crouched, his weight resting forward on his knuckles, and stared right back at Ben. Anders wheeled on his heel to see why Ben had stopped. Seeing the brute move out of the corner of his eye, Anders yelped and tripped, falling luckily out of the way.

Nathan stormed out of the alley, swiping his arm at Anders in a mad grab. The smaller man dodged the lunge, but took a kick to the ribs, knocking out his breathe and leaving him gasping on the ground. Nathan gave him no more notice, his eyes turning to fix on Ben. With a speed that defied his size, Nathan slashed upwards with his left hand. Ben danced out of the way, but not before the cutting glove's scythe sliced up his arm, sending a flash of blood into the air. Ben scrambled back, looking wildly for anyone to help him. Another slash, but Ben had his balance and dodged. It wasn't good enough though, Nathan shifted his weight and brought his right hand around, landing a blow to the side of Ben's head.

Ben saw stars and a ringing pain shook his head. He went down to a knee, but knew that collapsing would mean getting his guts pulled out by the blade. Nathan was too big to fight one on one so Ben did the only thing he could think of, "What? You're here to win Molly from me? You're too late, bud. She already gave it up for me. I gotta tell ya, I didn't think I wanted a tramp that would have spent more than a second looking at your ugly ass, but once I had her bent over and begging for it, she wasn't that bad. Her real talent is in licking my cock clean though. What do you think we do during lunch every day? I give her a quick fuck and eat my fucking ham sandwich while she cleans my balls with her tongue." Blood trickled down from the wound on Ben's arm as he danced back on lighter feet than he knew he had, narrowly missing Nathan's lunge. "You thought she'd give a shit about a pea brain like you? Mouth breathing shitpile who can barely tie his own goddamn shoes?"

The bigger man sliced again and again, driving Ben back until he fumbled to keep his feet. The blade swept higher, and Ben ducked right as Nathan's right hook planted into his gut. The wind went out of him and stitches of hot pain went up his side. Ben fell to his knees and waited for the sickle to slam into his neck. Nathan opened his mouth to say something, but instead made a wet gurgling noise His eyes lost focus and rolled up in his head. His hands went limp, and he fell over like a chopped tree, creating a plume of dust in his wake. Ben's eyes focused to see Nathan on his side, the old blank stare in his face once again, blood trickling down into his eyes. A gash had been opened up in the side of his head, the skull caved in, and brain matter sprayed out from the crevice. Nathan's lower lip trembled, and he spoke in a whisper, "It didn't want me..." Shocked and confused, Nathan died.

Standing behind him, holding a hammer smeared with gore and hair wedged between the claw, was Mira, naked as the day she was born. Specks of red blood had splattered on her stomach, and her eyes blazed with fury. She looked terrifying and beautiful, her full figure the first fully naked woman Ben had ever seen. The young man looked at her with a stunned silence, wondering what he should say and feeling he should offer some explanation. Mira said nothing, but dropped the hammer, turned and walked back toward the boarding house. Hank appeared, stomping outside in his boots and underwear. Others appeared in the street, Molly among them. She went to Mira, throwing a blanket over her and guiding her back inside. Beth and Amy followed. Ben crawled back from the corpse in the street as Anders came over to him and helped him up. They waited. The old men working looked at them with those empty stares, but no one made a move to help. Chuck and Norman came outside, but were as dumbfounded as Anders.

After an eternity, they heard Willard's familiar shuffle. His good eye looked at the two boys standing by Nathan's body. He sucked his teeth and spat. Grabbing hold of Nathan's collar, Willard dragged him from the street, leaving a puddle of blood in the dirt. "Aight then, I called the sheriff. You two cocksuckers go on in and get a beer. This part is done."

The builders went back to work.

***

Harry stood up from his chair. He paced back and forth during Ben's final descriptions of the scene in the street. Ben stopped talking and looked expectantly at the older man. Harry didn't notice when it started, but as he stretched his legs, he realized a pit of dread had formed in his stomach. It wasn't the first time an investigation made that ball of dread wake up. As the hours ticked by with Ben laying out his tale, they had come no closer to answering Harry's basic question. Harry decided to press harder, "So did the sheriff show up?"

"Yes," Ben answered. "A fat man with horrible body odor from several miles away showed up with two deputies. They collected the body. They talked with me and Anders. We told them what happened. Why he'd attacked me, or why we thought at least. They took down our names and told us not to leave town. After that, they had a long conversation with Willard and Mira. Then they were gone."