Chapter 1: The Announcement

Wednesday, December 6, 1995

---

It's pretty late when Henry, accompanied by Fru Lindberg, is finally able to leave the school. He's been caught misbehaving - he didn't even do anything bad, but Järnek seemed like he was just looking for an excuse to punish him - and forced to stay longer for extra work as punishment.
The strict teacher leads him all the way up to the front door, then she stops. "Look, Henry," she says. "I don't want to have to keep punishing you any more than you want to keep being punished. But if you don't start changing your behavior, we'll have to talk to your parents soon. All this vandalism and petty lashing out..." With a sigh, she shrugs. "If you have any trouble you need to talk to someone about, you can come to me. But if you keep acting out, you'll get in real trouble sooner or later." Her offer for lending him an open ear sounds like she means it but he also has a feeling that she's hoping he won't take her up on it.

When Henry walks away, she turns back into the school and closes the door behind herself. Henry meanwhile is greeted by Kris as soon as he steps out on the street. Kris is smoking his cigarette and sitting on the hood of what Henry believes is Fru Lindberg's car. He smiles wryly when he sees Henry. "Kept me waiting, didn't you?", he asks as he jumps off the car and points to his own next to it. "Want me to drive you home? I've been meaning to talk to you again."

---

After the assembly, Stina and Håkan, together with Henry, went to the school nurse and tried to ask her about the Ugliness. Unfortunately, she either did not know anything. Or at least, didn't admit to knowing anything. She only told them that some students seem to have fallen sick and stayed away from school but that any rumors about a disfiguring illness are just that - rumors.
Dissatisfied, they had to put their investigation on ice for the moment.

It's the next day now and after school, Stina accompanied Håkan home to take a look at the tractor. Håkan's mother helped them set up a bit. The tractor is put out in front of the farm and Britta has set up a radio which is currently playing some music for them as well as put out some fresh juice to drink. It's pretty cold in the snowy December afternoon but otherwise, it's a nice setup for the two cousins to work. Or rather, for one cousin to work while the other watches in order to not break anything further.

---

Tuesday evening, Sabine received a call from Leo, letting her know that the potential new bassist for Osunga Räddare will be available to introduce themselves the following afternoon and they agreed upon a meeting at Hål i Öronmask late that day.
She immediately let Mikael know first thing Wednesday morning when she found him at school and both of them spent the day looking forward to meeting this mysterious bassist.

They get to the store in the late afternoon, just as it's closing down for the day, and settle in the backroom to wait. There's some music playing on the radio as they wait. Eventually, about fifteen minutes after the agreed upon time, the doorbell to the store rings. When the two of you open the door, there's an attractive blonde girl waiting there, a large guitar case on her back. "Hey," she says with a smile. "I'm Courtney. Or Hare, if you prefer. You must be Sabine and Mikael. My father said you're looking for a bassist? Mind if I come in? It's really cold out here."

"Nah. That’s okay. I’ve just been stuck with Lindberg. I want to get some fresh air on the way home."

It’s a weak excuse and a bad attempt to get out of the conversation that he knows Kris wants. He’s going to ask Henry to sell some product on school grounds. The kind of trouble Lindberg was just referencing. And Henry had blown him off again and again. Figured he’d ask again tonight.

"I think I’ll walk. Thanks though!"

Stina ignores the cold, enjoying the challenge of taking parts of the tractor engine apart, studying how they fit together, and admiring the ingenuity of it all. She diligently checks components, cleans and greases them if needed, and reassembles them.
"This old boy has got some great engineering, inside..."

Methodically, she keeps everything tidy by laying out a tarpaulin where she puts all dismantled parts and nothing else. Stina hates losing bits when she works. Bolts and screws are collected in some glass jars and lids that she asked Britta.

She always zones out while working on engines, and after a while stops hearing the radio - and her cousin. She has to make a real effort to tune back in when Håkan occasionally says something.

Hare

Sabine grins and shares a glance with Mikael. "Hare. Yes. Do come in out of the cold. We are definitely looking for a bass player." She moves aside to allow the blonde girl into the store and then closes and locks it once she's in. "Leo didn't tell me his secret prospect for the audition was his daughter. He's mentioned you of course, but I didn't know you were local. He also never mentioned you played. That's so awesome!"

Mikael stands at the door, slightly behind Sabine, his mouth agape. After what feels like forever, he catches himself. "H-hi," he says, "Yeah, come in, sorry." He steps aside and helps usher her in from the cold. "Hare, huh?" he asks, "Awesome to meet you. I'm Mikael, this is Sabine." He follows the girls back inside so they can talk and get to know their potential new bassist. Mikael's heartbeat seems determined to match the tempo of many of their songs. "So, how long have you been playing," he asks, trying to mask his nervousness.

"Its freaking December," Kris says. "Its snowing. Why would you want to walk?"
He walks over to his own car and gets inside, rolling the window down and waving for Henry to come and get in. When he doesn't, Kris starts the engine and begins to drive up next to Henry, going down to walking speed and staying right with him. "Come on, man," he says over the sound of his radio playing some pop song. "I see the ratty old clothes you always wear. I just want to help you out a bit. Hop in."

---

---

"I wasn't local," Hare replies. "I had some trouble with my mom and just moved here from Amsterdam."
She comes in and immediately holds her hands up to the closest radiator to warm them as Sabine closes the door. Now that they know to listen for it, there is a slight accent in her voice, but it's barely noticeable. Her Swedish is practically flawless.
"I've been playing pretty much forever. I started with guitar in primary school, then later took up keyboard and bass as well. I brought my bass with me. Well, one of them. What do you play?"

Henry stops walking, and turns to look into the open window of the car beside him. He does pull his jacket in tighter around him, but he almost doesn’t want to give Kris the satisfaction of being right.

"Help me? I can imagine. Just a ride, or do you have another business venture for me?"

Sabine hops on the counter while Hare warms herself up from the cold. "Family problems. Yeah. I can relate. I only a few months back stepped out of a bad situation myself." She swings her feet and tucks her hands onto the pockets of her hoodie. It is easy for her to read Mikael's interest in the cute blonde. "We've both had our share of family issues." She says, nodding to Mikael.

"I play some guitar. I got a used Gibson only recently, to replace the guitar that my father gave me. I lost a couple years of practice when it went mysteriously missing." She shrugs. "I'm still working the cobwebs out, but I'll get there. I also sing..."

"Business venture, that's a good way to phrase it," Kris grins. "I would have just said 'earn some fucking money to buy a proper coat'." He reaches over and pushes the passenger side door open without slowing down. "Get in, idiot. People will think we're scheming something if I'm driving next to you like this."

---

Stina has no trouble with the tractor. It's mostly just some careless use. She only needs to clean out something here, put something back into alignment there, put some oil here... Just a whole bunch of little things that should have been done over time instead of letting them accumulate this far.

---

"So you're the guitarist," Hare says, pointing at Sabine. She turns her finger on Mikael. "And you..." She thinks for a moment. "You're the drummer? You don't look like one."

"Hmm?" says Stina, coming back from her bubble of transmission gears and cylinder heads. "You're right, she should be well informed about what's going on, that's what I thought too. But why would somebody hide it? I mean, if there is some epidemic going on... even a regular one, let alone one that deforms you... the longer they hide it, the more it spreads, right?"

She scratches her chin with her thumb, leaving a greasy smudge there. "Of course, it may be as the Lundmark said. It could be a common winter bug, and the rest is just... some stupid gossip, or a rumor to spook kids..." she shrugs.

Mikael winces in surprise and feigns being upset. "Hey now," he says, "it may not look like it but these hands can work magic." He holds his his hands up, fingers splayed, as if to demonstrate. "On drums, for drumming," he clarifies quickly, turning red. oh God. idiot!, he thinks. "I have to admit, you're not what I was expecting for a bass player either," he says trying to change the subject, then realizing the trap he set for himself. He looks at Sabine, pleading in his eyes for her to step in.

"Well, there's one way to demonstrate each of our talents." Sabine pipes in. "We have a small practice space set up in the back room." She hooks a thumb toward the door across the store. "It's not much, but we don't have to worry about someone telling us to stop playing or turn the volume down." She hops off the counter and takes a couple steps toward the indicated door. "Sound good?"

Henry rolls his eyes, and crosses to the passenger side.

He’d have to treat lightly here. Work in a good enough excuse to turn down the offer of money for drugs, but also stop Kris from turning on him and making his life hell.

Well, sh*t…"

He climbs in, and closes the door after him. When Kris closes the window on his side, Henry slumps into the heat of the car for a moment. Quiet.

"Yes!" Mikael says with a mix of genuine relief and excitement. "Let's see what you've got, Hare," he says with a smile, "It's gonna be great practicing with a bassist again."

Continuing into the back room, Sabine grabs a beat up guitar case standing against the wall and sits down in a worn chair to open it. In contrast to the rather scuffed body of the case, a glossy image of a crow in flight, a sticker from The Crow movie that came out last year, is prominently displayed on the upper body on the case. She carefully opens it to reveal an '84 Gibson Corvus II, left-hander in black. She pulls it out and gives it a wipe down, as Mikael and Hare follow and make ready to play themselves.

"I guess we will be seeing you at school soon then, since your moving in with your Father." Sabine directs the question to the blonde girl. Her accent noticeable on the more German familiar for Hare's male parent. "I wouldn't be in a hurry to enroll at ... though. Rather odd things are amiss there at present. There's this popularity contest for the school's traditional St. Lucy's day celebration...and strange rumors regarding missing students and a disease that makes its victims ugly."

"Its being called the Ugliness." She says, strapping on her guitar and moving over to shelf to retrieve the small case containing her personal vocals microphone head.

Mikael positions himself atop the throne behind a rugged, well-worn set of Pearl drums. What it lacks in shine and polish, it well makes up for in fullness. He picks up a notched-to-hell pair of wooden sticks with the comforting words 'Vic Firth' down the sides and feels them balance in his hands. "Yeah, school is shit right now. More than usual," he says, playing a light roll over the snare, then toms, and ending with a thud on the bass. "This Ugliness, are we even sure its real?" he asks, looking to Sabine, "Not that it really means anything, but none of the adults seem to be taking it seriously. Have you actually seen anyone with it?" He lifts his foot off and on the hi-hat pedal at different intervals, testing the tension and feel.

Kris lets the engine of his car howl for a moment before driving off in the direction of Henry's home. "Finally we can have a proper talk," he then says to Henry. "Look, I know you're scared of getting in some real trouble but look at me. I've been working this little side job for months now and haven't gotten caught. And I'm not asking you to do anything dangerous. Just give some packages to the right people and take their money. If that makes you feel better, you can pretend..."

He stops when the song on the radio suddenly breaks off right in the middle and the announcer's voice speaks up loudly:

---

Just as, coincidentally, Stina and Håkan's conversation moves to the Ugliness, the song on the radio playing next to them cuts out and instead, an announcement begins:

---

"The Ugliness?", Hare asks. "Sounds creepy. Makes me almost glad I'm not in school here yet. My dad wants me to wait for the start of the next semester. Gives me some time to get used to Sweden, I guess."

She puts her guitar case on the counter and unzips it, taking out a large and slightly beat-up looking bass guitar. "I didn't bring my amplifier," she says. "Too much to carry. And I assumed the shop would have one." With that, she turns to the radio to turn it off but stops mid-movement when the song playing there cuts out to be replaced by an announcement:

Stina stares at the radio for a long moment after the announcement is finished, to let it sink in.
She looks at her cousin. "What was that about? Chemical weapon testing? Peace fighter saboteurs??... Seems odd that Krafta wouldn't use the schools to announce something like this... a quarantine camp would be something the Lundmark would know about..." her voice is doubtful, puzzled.