Blackberry Summer

She kicked the gravel under her feet, turned her head towards the sky and took a deep breath in. The sun was making its way behind the rubble, before disappearing for the evening. She pulled an old magazine clipping out of her pocket and tried to imagine life then. An ad for The Smoky Mountains National Park from 2019 that showed the sun setting over the mountains which made the sky look like it was on fire. Her grandmother had always told her stories of what life was like before. She would always talk about her mother’s garden and the way the blackberries tasted right off the vine. Yarrow was distracted when she heard her name over the loudspeaker, and it made her jump. She looked up the side of her tower and saw her lieutenant leaning out the window of the 10th floor, waving for her to hurry. Yarrow quickly ran inside to make her way to her post. “What even is a blackberry?” She said to herself as she started to climb the ten flights of stairs.

“I covered for you. Again.” Her lieutenant snapped, as Yarrow rounded the corner to stand watch. “I had to take 15 minutes. That’s all.” Yarrow said as she leaned against the beam and tied the laces on her boots. “Why now? I mean, we’ve been at this post for 5 years, and you’ve never needed ’15 minutes’ before.” Em snapped back again. Em had been promoted to second lieutenant six months ago, after she had reported another officer that was heading up a group planning a takeover. The government had been in a volatile state for the last forty-nine years and The Council would arrest anything that threatened their power. The fear worked for the first few years; most people stayed quiet to stay alive. At some point though, people started rising. There had been many that had turned over the president. In fact, there had been a total of thirty-seven presidents in the last forty-nine years. The people never could stay in control though. The longest a civilian had stayed in office after a takeover, was twenty-six days. “I’m not sure really.” Yarrow said, under her breath as she stared out into the city. She knew why, she knew her reason for now. She just wasn’t ready to share it yet, especially with the power-hungry Em.

The world had been destroyed in forty-nine years of war. The power grids had been broken for much of that time. The buildings had been demolished and nothing was left but ruins and rubble. Food consisted of rhubarb or potatoes; things that could grow in the dark and in cellars. The Council had taken control over all the farmland and livestock. They would open the grocery stores on special occasions, and it would be stocked with whatever they felt like pushing at that time. The last time was a celebration of a new Council president, and the stores were stocked with hamburger meat and cornmeal. Each household could get half a pound of each.

The Council consisted of authorities and their families that were in charge at the time of the fall. In 2023, after a long pandemic, the world had a revolution. Civilians fought the leaders and lost. The worst part of the war lasted about three and a half years and goes on record to hold the most casualties of war in known history. The only survivors were families that fled and hid. Yarrow remembered her grandmother talking about how her mother would sing when she heard bombs in the distance, thinking it was covering up the sound. Yarrow’s great grandmother was one that fled and ran to the mountains with Yarrow’s grandmother with everything they owned in the back of a pickup truck. She had been following the corruption closely and had prepared a place for them in the woods that once was owned by her family. They had a small one room cabin, and a pasture for livestock. She said her mother grew everything they ate, even the medicine they used. She said that it was the most peaceful she had ever felt. She knew what was coming, and knew it would be short lived, but they stayed there for about five years until they were found. The Council had sent surveillance to find anyone still in hiding and offered them comfortable lodging and food to return to the compounds. Yarrow’s great grandmother did not go willingly and was arrested on the spot. Yarrow’s grandmother was taken into custody of the compound and became their property. She never saw her mother again. Every time Yarrow’s grandmother would tell the story, she would start to cry.

“What is wrong with you today?” Em snapped at Yarrow. “You are in la-la land. You didn’t see the men that walked in tower three?” Yarrow looked down to see a couple sneaking past the guards on the ground. She quickly pointed her gun at the men to look through the scope. ‘It’s time for this already? I’m not ready.’ Yarrow thought to herself. “Take them out!” Em ordered Yarrow. “It’s the guards for tower two. They must have been on break.” Yarrow quickly responded, dropping her weapon to her side. “It’s not break time!” Em snapped. “Em, I mean Lieutenant, not everyone has such a rigid break schedule as our Captain.” Yarrow turned around to face the other window and searched the ground. Em huffed but took that reason and turned around with her. Yarrow’s heart was beating out of her chest. ‘This is too soon, why are they here so soon?’ Yarrow was in deep thought, trying to get a hold on her nerves, when the sound system went off. LT. EM LINCOLN, PLEASE REPORT TO TOWER 12. LT. EM LINCOLN, PLEASE REPORT TO TOWER 12. “Please pay attention while I’m gone, and don’t let us be taken over.” Em snapped at Yarrow as she headed towards the stairs.

She watched the ground as Em walked away from their tower. When she turned around, there stood the men she had previously covered for. “Are you ready?” One of them asked her. He was stocky built, with dusty blonde hair, a beard, and the most epic tattoo sleeve she had ever seen. He had a gruff voice and was seemingly terrifying. “I’m not, but I don’t guess I have a choice.” Yarrow responded. He smiled at her and turned towards the stairs. The other man was taller, bald, and didn’t say a word as they descended the stairs to the emergency exit and disappeared in the night.

Yarrow’s thoughts were spiraling, as they were sneaking through the compound and heading towards the fence. None of them spoke, they knew their mission, and there was no turning back now. ‘This seems too easy.’ Yarrow thought to herself. The stockier man held up his hand to stop and squatted down looking back at the compound. Suddenly they heard an explosion and the sirens started going off. “You’re dead now Yarrow.” He said as he turned back towards the fence and jumped off the other side. “That’s oddly freeing.” She said as she followed behind him and the taller man.

They travelled through the night, and well into the next day before they saw their first sign of life. A woman stood post on a front porch of a house that looked like you could have blown on it and it would topple. When they approached, she came running towards them smiling. “You must be exhausted, and hungry. My name is Jen-Jen and I take you from here.” She said as she put her arm around Yarrow and pointed to a Jeep in the driveway. As they climbed in the tall man yelled “A SANDWICH! I’m starving.” He put his gun in his lap, started eating and stared off into the distance smiling. ‘Seriously, too easy.’ Yarrow thought to herself again.

The terrain was rough. You could tell there hadn’t been vehicles on the road in years. “Where are we headed?” Yarrow asked Jen-Jen. “You don’t know?” Jen-Jen responded. “It’s all my mom has talked about ever since my grandmother died, but she’s never told me where I was going. She just told me how it was going to go down.” Yarrow answered, and was feeling homesick slightly, at least for her mother. She latched onto her heart shaped locket; it had belonged to her great grandmother and was all she had left of anyone she loved. “We’re heading to what used to be called The Great Smoky Mountains, in Tennessee.” Jen-Jen replied with a big smile on her face. Yarrow sat up tall in her seat; suddenly this trip took on a whole new meaning. “We’re going to the mountains!” Yarrow told the men in the back excitedly. They both just shrugged. “Try to get some rest.” Jen-Jen patted Yarrow on the knee and smiled. “It’s a long drive.”

When Yarrow awoke, it was dark outside again. The moon was shining brightly, and the air felt different. She took a deep breath in and looked around. They were parked and she was the only one left in the Jeep. Immediately her anxiety kicked back in, and she went into guard mode. She scanned the terrain and looked for any signs of life. She heard laughing in the distance and was trying to find where it was coming from when a dog jumped in her lap. She let out a scream and the laughing stopped. She looked up and there were about four people running towards her. “Are you okay?” The stocky built man asked as he approached her. “I’m fine, the dog just startled me is all. And I don’t know where we are.” Yarrow said, embarrassingly. “We’re here.” He said with a smile. “Come on.” Yarrow followed them into the woods to a clearing, lit by the moon. There was light coming from a window of a nearby cabin and her heart sank as she saw her mother’s figure standing inside. “Mom!” Yarrow yelled as she walked in the door and wrapped her arms around her mother’s neck. “What is going on? What is this place?” Yarrow looked around the small shack and looked back at her mother. “When your great grandmother was arrested so many years ago, the arresting guard knew her; they were friends. She was able to make provisions with him and his family to keep us safe and get us out of the compound before the final takeover happened. They raided the Councils compound last night; they are all in prison. Civilians are in charge now, for good. There will still be war in the compounds for a little bit longer, to arresst anyone who opposes the takeover. So, we are here, with many other people who found refuge in the woods. This was your great grandmother’s cabin and is now ours.” Yarrow’s mother explained while holding her hands tightly. “Oh, try this. This, my dear, is a blackberry.” Her mother placed a bowl of berries on the table in front of them. Yarrow grabbed a single berry from the bowl and looked it over before placing it in her mouth. Her eyes welled up with tears and she savored the taste. “Great grandmother was a bad ass.” Yarrow said to her mother as they started laughing and hugged each other tightly. “Yes, she was Yarrow.” Her mother agreed.