Chapter 19: The Curse

Two days later, the morning before Mineral Town's yearly Cow Festival, a ferry arrived at the Mineral Town dock. A single passenger stepped off the boat; a young man with windswept brown hair and coffee colored eyes, dressed in simple yet sophisticated attire and lugging a large black briefcase of his belongings.

The young man stood on the dock and looked around, observing his surroundings: the ocean waves, undulating around the wooden posts of the pier and continually rushing toward the shore; the beach, coated in layers of sand that glittered in the sunlight; the pair of small buildings to his left, one white and one brown, paint stripped away in some places by the salty ocean air.

A slightly older man stood outside the door of the brown building nearest the dock, leaning against the wall with his large, burly arms crossed in front of him. He looked menacing, but anybody who knew Zack knew that he meant no harm, despite his huge, beefy figure. Zack watched as the young newcomer made his way down the pier, heading straight toward him. He was obviously a bit unsure of his surroundings, but didn't let any sign of uncertainty enter his expression as he calmly approached the older man.

"Excuse me, sir."

Zack greeted the young man with a smile. "Hello."

His friendly greeting went unreturned.

"Could you tell me how to get to," he paused to read the small slip of paper he held between his fingers, "Sunshine Farm?"

Zack nodded, not at all discouraged by the younger man's rather unfriendly attitude. "Of course… Are you looking for Claire, then? Do you know her?"

"Yes…" His face revealed no emotion, no extra information. "We know each other. I've come to Mineral Town to visit her. She lives at Sunshine Farm?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. Here," he turned to point out the stone staircase that led up from the beach. "When you leave the beach, just keep walking down the main road, past the church and the supermarket and the clinic. The road veers left at the library, so just keep following it, straight down. Sunshine Farm is right at the end; there's a big sign by the front gate and everything. You can't miss it."

"Thanks." The man turned to leave, and Zack waved after him.

"Enjoy your stay in Mineral Town!"

The young man sighed to himself without glancing back. Maybe.

Claire had just finished up her farm work, and was settling down at the table to watch reruns of "St. Emerald Academy" on the television set she barely had time to use, when there came another knock on the front door.

But this time, she was expecting it.

Claire slowly crossed the room (though not before shutting her overexcited puppy in the bathroom), and cautiously opened the front door to find herself face to face with a tall, brown haired young man in his mid-twenties. Her brother.

"Hello… Jack."

Jack narrowed his chocolate colored eyes at his younger sister as he nodded at her, running one hand through his tousled hair. "Claire."

"When did you get here?"

"To Mineral Town? The ferry just arrived about half an hour ago. Had to get directions from some big guy at the beach. He told me where to go."

"Oh," Claire nodded knowingly. "That must have been Zack."

"Probably. I didn't ask him his name."

Claire rolled her eyes. "Goddess, Jack, you're so rude sometimes."

Jack glared at her. "More rude than leaving your family behind, without so much as a single note? Not even bothering to explain where you went, or what your intentions were?"

The blonde farmer sighed. Should have known it wouldn't be long before he started with this.

"Jack-"

"Do you even understand how worried our mother was? How worried Jill was about you, how worried I was? Nobody had any idea what had happened to you... you just up and left! You weren't returning any of our calls, and so we came to your apartment only to find it empty! You were gone without a trace!"

"Jack-"

"Giving up your dreams, your savings, your schooling all those years for a rundown farm in the middle of-"

"Jack." Her brother finally went silent, and Claire had the chance to quietly explain.

"Jack, you never had the faintest idea of what my dreams were. This is my dream." She gestured vaguely around the farmhouse at their surroundings. "This was my dream, all along. I always wanted to be a farmer, to escape the city for a world full of peace and nature, to make my own living off of the land. But you wouldn't listen to me. You would never understand."

Her eyes pleaded with his. "Please, just give me a chance here."

Jack sighed, breaking their eye contact to stare down at his feet. After what seemed like an eternity of awkward silence, he finally spoke up again. "...Quaint little town, this is."

His sister nodded in acknowledgement. "You know, I'm sorry I didn't come meet you at the dock… I was held up here."

"Yeah… you sure looked busy." His eyes trailed over the crumb-laden plate on the tabletop and the flashing television screen in the background.

Claire knew what her brother was thinking. She folded her arms across her chest with indignation. "Actually, I really was busy. Living on a farm isn't all fun and games, you know."

Jack snorted, though he tried his best to disguise it as a cough. His sister glared at him.

"Here, why don't we go outside, if you don't believe me? I can give you a tour of the farm. Show you what I have to do every day to keep this farm running. Maybe then you'll understand."

Her brother nodded, although his face remained expressionless. "Let me just stop in the bathroom, first. I'd been cooped up on that boat for nearly an hour."

Claire's eyes widened, and she tried to pull him back by the arm, away from the bathroom door. "Um, you might want to wait a second…"

However, Jack easily escaped her grasp and pushed past her toward the bathroom, despite the girl's faint protests.

"No-"

"Argh!"

An energetic puppy immediately bounced upward as the door swung open and tackled the young man eagerly, knocking Jack to the floor as he pounced on the man's chest and immediately set to licking his face, coating Jack's cheeks in a layer of canine slobber.

Claire was torn between amusement and horror as her brother pushed the dog off of his chest, practically yowling with rage. I did try to warn him…

Bailey always got a little too excitable around strangers.

Ten minutes later, after calming the situation and giving Bailey enough treats to settle him down considerably, Claire and her brother crossed the yard into the fields where the farmer girl's vegetables were growing. Jack was still fuming slightly.

"I can't believe you bought a dog!"

Claire whipped around to face him. "Why? This is a farm, after all. Farms have dogs. And I know Bailey is still a puppy, so he's really excitable right now, but when he grows up a little he'll be very useful around here!"

"Besides," she added, "it's not like he's expensive to take care of. Not any more than any of my other animals. In fact, I didn't even have to buy him – he came as a gift!"

"Whatever."

Rolling her eyes at how stubborn her brother could be, Claire went on to give him the grand tour of Sunshine Farm.

First she showed him the chickens clucking in their henhouse, scooping each chicken up into her arms and gently stroking her feathers and asking Jack to do the same. However, he refused to touch the birds as they pecked warily around his feet, and Claire gave up on trying.

Next, they entered the barn, where Claire showed Jack her prized cow, Clementine, as well as her trusty horse. She scratched each animal behind the ears as Jack allowed them to sniff his hand, and was pleasantly shocked when he reached out to give Clementine a pat on the head, earning himself an appreciative moo.

Lastly, the siblings went into the fields again, where Claire pointed out each type of crop to her brother. Bulbous tomatoes on the vine, many of them already scarlet and ripe for the picking; plants with long, stick-straight green leaves, the onions growing underground virtually unseen to the pair; leafy stalks of corn that towered over their heads, almost ready for the harvest.

After the tour, Jack glanced around once more with an air of disapproval. "You know, this farm could use a lot of work. Look at the paint job on that barn, all faded and peeling… And those fields look like shit, why is it so cluttered?" He turned toward the blonde girl. "Claire, you need to seriously clean this place up."

"Hey…" Claire said indignantly. "I did clean up."

"Really." Jack gave her a look that plainly said, I don't believe any of it.

"Yes… You should have seen it when I got here. This entire field was covered in weeds and rocks, you could barely even see the soil. Now only about... two-thirds is covered in weeds and rocks."

Jack sighed. "Do you even have enough money to fix this place up? How much do you have left...?"

Claire bit her lip nervously, unsure of how to respond to her brother's inquiry. Oh, she did not want to answer that question.

"Um-"

However, the farmer was spared the embarrassment of confessing just how poor she was now, as their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a man in uniform who approached them from the farm gate.

"Officer Harris!" Claire cheerfully greeted the policeman, grateful for the welcome distraction. "How can I help you?"

"Hello, Claire… and guest." Harris nodded at each one in turn. "I came with a message from the mayor, to be sent out to all the villagers of Mineral Town."

"Why..." Claire asked, a hint of suspicion in her tone, "what's going on?"

"Hmm… I'm very sorry, but I am afraid I cannot disclose any great details, on the mayor's orders. Mayor Thomas has requested that every citizen of Mineral Town be at Rose Square at exactly five o'clock this evening for an important speech he has prepared for the townspeople. I believe it is related to the… events that have occurred in town somewhat recently." Harris smiled apologetically. "Sorry I can't tell you more."

"No… No, that's all right. Don't worry, we'll be there. Thanks for the heads up."

Officer Harris nodded and turned to leave. As he marched away, presumably on his way to alert the next villagers on his list of the mandatory town meeting, Claire looked back at her brother. Jack had the faintest expression of confusion etched on his face.

'What does he mean, Claire?" Jack raised an eyebrow at his sister. "What events have been going on here?"

Claire froze, at a total loss for words. How could she explain to Jack the creature she had seen, early on in her move to Mineral Town? The gruesome scene she had witnessed in the Poultry Farm's henhouse? Or the attack that one of her new friends in town, Ann, had suffered?

I can't tell him. If Jack finds out the weird things that have happened in Mineral Town since my arrival, he might try to make me come back to the city. For good. Either that, or he wouldn't believe a word I say. He might just think I'm crazy. Honestly, I'm not sure which reaction I'd prefer.

She decided to tell him nothing, yet. "You… Well, you'll hear all about it at Mayor Thomas's speech, I presume."

Jack still looked unconvinced, but pressed Claire no further as the pair returned to the farmhouse for lunch.

At five minutes to five o'clock that evening, Claire and Jack entered Rose Square in time for Mayor Thomas's mandatory town meeting, making their way through the throng of people that were gathered around a podium that had been set up in the middle of the square. Claire met eyes with Popuri across the crowd, who grinned and waved to her friend cheerfully. Her brother Rick, however, who was standing at his sister's side, ignored Claire completely. Their mother was nowhere to be seen, probably too sick to go out for the day.

Behind Claire stood Cliff, who gave the farmer a shy smile as she turned around. A little further away, she could make out Elli and Doctor Trent, who bore serious expressions as they whispered to each other at the edge of the crowd. I wonder what they could possibly be talking about...

Elli's younger brother was standing near his sister's other side, giggling with little May, though the siblings' grandmother was understandably absent from the scene, seeing as how she could barely walk.

The gentle murmur of conversation could be heard as the people of Mineral Town made small talk and questioned the intentions of the meeting, shooting glances at each other as they waited for the mayor to finally show. Time was passing quickly, with no sign of the mayor. It was already after five… Where was Mayor Thomas?

They didn't have to wait long after all, as at exactly five minutes after five, the mayor came strolling into Rose Square in his scarlet suit and top hat, followed closely by Officer Harris.

The short man waddled up to the podium and hopped onto a wooden box that was set up behind it, so that he could actually somewhat see beyond the crowd gathered in the square. As he cleared his throat, his observers quickly quieted down to listen, and with a final nod at Harris, Mayor Thomas began his speech.

"Citizens of Mineral Town… You may be wondering just why I have brought you here this evening."

From somewhere on Claire's left, Duke nodded and exchanged a look with the innkeeper, Doug. "That's for sure."

"I have called you here together so that I may finally and officially address an important issue that Mineral Town has faced in the recent months."

"It's about time," Duke mumbled again. His wife, Manna, quickly shushed him, and Claire giggled at the irony of the exchange.

Thomas cleared his throat again. "Ahem… As you all know, almost a month ago, one of our own was brutally assaulted on her way home one evening. The innkeeper's teenage daughter, Ann, known by all as a friendly, bright, outgoing young lady, was attacked by an unknown assailant, resulting in serious injury on her part. Ann has been treated for her wounds at the Clinic by our own Doctor Trent and his assistant Elli, and she is expected to return home in a matter of days, without any further complications."

A polite round of applause rung throughout the square for Trent and Elli's fine medical skills in helping Ann return to health. Strangely enough, the pair did not seem to enjoy the praise they received, but rather glanced around with a sense of unease.

Mayor Thomas continued, "And before that, the Poultry Farm suffered their own loss, as a henhouse of their prized chickens were brutally massacred."

At these words, Claire noticed a shadow pass over Popuri's face, and her brother focused his gaze on the ground as Thomas went on, "By an animal or human being, we are not sure, but there is one way to keep our animals safe: please lock your doors at night, to your home, barn, and workplace, just as a necessary precaution."

The mayor smiled. "However, you have no need to fear. For I am certain that the danger has now clearly passed. There have been no signs of any attacker for nearly a month, and I sincerely doubt that he will show his face in this town again."

Mayor's Thomas's words were immediately met with sounds of mixed uncertainty and dissent.

"How do you know?"

"Are you sure?"

"Have you caught the culprit yet?"

People in the crowd glanced around at each other, exchanging confused looks, unsure of themselves. A few meters away, Claire could hear Manna whispering loudly to her friends.

Mayor Thomas raised his arms to quiet the crowd. "Please, listen up… We have not caught the culprit, nor discovered any possible suspects, but I firmly believe that the danger has passed. Again, I repeat: the danger has passed. You are safe to go about your usual business. Mineral Town is completely safe, I assure you, and you should never feel too afraid to leave your home alone."

He smiled again. "Besides, tomorrow is our annual Cow Festival... I want you all to enjoy yourselves."

Claire blinked. This was… unexpected, to say the least. Especially considering how Mayor Thomas had been the one to warn her against leaving her farm at night in the first place. He must be hiding something… Right?

The mayor waved a hand to his right, gesturing toward a man with light brown hair that had gone unnoticed by Claire for the duration of the meeting. "Pastor Carter also has a quick something to say on the matter..."

Carter nodded and clasped his hands together in front of him, though he looked nervous. "I believe... that the Harvest Goddess has granted us her protection throughout these difficult times, and will continue to protect us as she has always done in our time of need."

Some people looked reassured at the pastor's consolation, although many were still not so sure. Trent and Elli looked at each other with unveiled disbelief, the kind of meaningful look that made Claire feel uneasy, and Cliff had a distinctly worried expression on his face as he muttered to himself, words that were not at all comforting to overhear.

"Mineral Town must be cursed... A curse so ancient, that even the Harvest Goddess herself is powerless to prevent it."

"Thank you." The mayor bobbed his head in agreement and clapped his hands together at Carter's words. Another round of polite applause from the crowd, and the meeting was adjourned.

As Mayor Thomas stepped down from his podium and the crowd began to file away, a hand clamped down on Claire's shoulder, causing her to jump.

"Oh!... Jack?"

Jack was staring at his sister, looking unexpectedly concerned. Claire had a feeling she knew what the problem was, even before he said anything.

"Claire... What's going on? What was the mayor talking about...? Who was attacked? What...?"

"Jack..." the blonde girl's eyes darted about as she struggled to find the right words, "Trust me... It's all right. I-I can't tell you about it now, I-"

"Claire!"

Claire and her brother quickly turned around to find the librarian, Mary, running after them in a state of frenzy. The girl's ebony hair was coming loose from its braid and whipped around her face in freed strands, and she didn't even stop to adjust her glasses, which were slightly askew.

"Wait here," Claire told her brother. Luckily, he complied, and Claire gestured for Mary to come sit beside her on one of the benches at the edge of the square.

Claire paused in thought as the librarian took a seat beside her, panting slightly. Mary wasn't at Mayor Thomas's town meeting, she realized, recalling the faces of all she had seen in the crowd. Mary was the only one missing, save for sickly Lillia and elderly Ellen. Where was she in all that time?

"Claire, you must come quickly! There's something vitally important that I have to show you. Please, come and see!"

Her blue eyes were wide behind the lenses of her glasses as she added in a frantic whisper, "I think I uncovered the curse!"

With an uneasy glance at Jack, who was staring at the two girls intently a few meters away, Claire responded.

"What? What are you talking about?" Though she had a feeling that she already knew.

"The curse that has been affecting Mineral Town! I didn't believe the rumors at first, but..."

Turning back to her brother, Claire called out firmly, "Jack… You go on without me. You know how to get back to the farm. I'll be back home in a few minutes, no need to wait for me."

Jack nodded, though he looked immensely suspicious, and left down the road that would lead back to Sunshine Farm. Though they had been interrupted, the siblings' conversation was far from over.

Claire, meanwhile, looked Mary straight in the eye. "Now, what is this all about?"

Mary looked a nervous wreck as she responded, "I can't tell you. Not here. Quick, come down to the library with me, please!"

Claire now had no clue what Mary could possibly be going on about, but she followed the other girl back toward the library, anyway. Mary went on a few feet in front of Claire as they hurried down the empty street, hitching her long blue skirt above her ankles. Within moments, the pair arrived at the library, and after Mary unlocked the front door, Claire followed the young librarian inside.

"Where were you?" Claire questioned the dark haired girl as she closed the door behind them and went rummaging around for something in her desk. "I didn't see you at the square during Mayor Thomas's speech."

"That's because I wasn't there."

"Well… What were you doing?"

"I was in the library, poking around some of the older books upstairs, when I found… this."

From behind her desk, Mary lifted up a thick black leather bound book. It looked old; the front cover was worn, with chipped corners and faded markings, and the pages were yellowed with age. Claire carefully took the book from Mary and began to inspect it, running her finger over the tome's spine. It smelled musty, just like your average old book found in any library, but there was definitely something different about this book in particular...

A shiver crawled through her body as her fingers brushed over the cover. The book was more than simply old. It seemed… ancient.

"It was coated in dust when I found it, but… look."

Mary pointed to the small picture on the front cover, just below the title. Claire bent forward to get a closer look, noting that there was only a single phrase printed on the front of the book, written in such a faded font that she could barely decipher the words.

"Cruentus Luna."

Claire read aloud slowly, and looked up at Mary in confusion. "What does that mean? I know 'luna' must mean 'moon,' but…"

"It means 'blood moon,' more or less," Mary explained. "It's Latin."

Claire's spine tingled at the translation. The picture on the cover was also difficult to make out, but from what Claire could see, it looked like some sort of animal. A wolf, possibly…?

"And take a look at this."

Mary took the book from Claire and flipped the page to what Claire assumed to be chapter one, before the librarian handed it back to her. Another presumably Latin phrase was printed at the top of the page. The words below were written in a language Claire couldn't even hope to understand. She had never seen anything like it before.

"Where... where did you find this book?"

"Here, I'll show you."

Mary led Claire up the creaky wooden stairs to the upper, less frequented portion of the library, where most of the older books were kept. Claire followed the librarian to the end of the row of bookshelves. Here, Mary stopped and pointed toward a row of books on the top shelf, which she could barely reach.

The blonde looked around in confusion; all the books in this section were in complete disarray! The shelves were half empty, but books were stacked on the floor in messy piles, some with their pages flipped open. Surely Mary wouldn't allow her library to get this cluttered? All the other bookshelves Claire had seen in the library were organized in perfectly neat rows and meticulously dusted, treated with the utmost care.

"I found it up here, at the end of the very top shelf. It was hidden behind some other books, so one wouldn't notice it had they just been glancing at the titles. I was merely dusting off the bookshelves, and decided to stop over here, since I hadn't been in this section in quite some time. This is where some of our oldest books are kept, mainly on the history of Mineral Town, and some spiritual and supernatural books. But they all relate to Mineral Town and its surrounding areas in some way or another."

She paused. "...I was planning on attending the mayor's meeting, I assure you, but then this strange feeling came over me as I approached the final row..."

A worried look came over Mary's face. "I don't know what got into me, but I suddenly had the urge to search the shelf for something... I didn't know what. It was an overwhelming urge, and so I just started taking the books off the shelves, looking, looking. Scanning titles, flipping through pages. The mysterious urges ceased, however, when I discovered this book hidden behind the others."

Mary took the book back from Claire. "The book is partially written in Latin, but most of it is in a language I can't quite make out. However, from what I can decipher... it's talking about a curse. A curse that deals with the moon..."

She shrugged. "I'll have to continue studying the book for clues... see if I can make any sense of it."

Claire stared at the young raven haired librarian in disbelief. "The curse on Mineral Town... Is this it? Because that's what Cliff was saying! He told me that he thinks Mineral Town is cursed, too."

Mary shook her head. "Not quite... If what I can understand from the book, this curse, is exactly what Mineral Town has been dealing with... I don't believe that the entire town itself is cursed. Rather, a certain someone... someone, something, poses a significant danger to all of us here in Mineral Town. But the question is, just what, or who, could it be?"

Claire glanced back at the book in Mary's arms in shock. "But why? What do you think it is?"

Mary stared back at her from behind her wire-rimmed glasses, a grave expression on her face. The kind that told Claire she wasn't willing to share all her information just yet. "Not anything good... I can tell you that much for certain."

Uneasily, the pair stepped back down the staircase. As Claire turned to leave the library, Mary bid the farmer farewell with a worried frown. "Please be careful, Claire... If this book contains the truth, we are all still very much in danger. This time of peace will not last forever, and I believe that it has lulled us all into a false sense of security."

She shook her head ominously, while Claire listened on in surprise. "Mark my words... something bad is about to happen... very, very soon."

A/N: I don't know any Latin. Any Latin-based phrases used were found on the Internet. Anyway, the story is picking up from here! I've noticed that my writing quality and style has definitely improved quite a bit since I first started writing this fic. It's amazing, really.

Hope you enjoyed this update, my longest chapter yet, without a doubt. Reviews would certainly make my day!

-CCM