The Blackstone Twins Face Off vs. Destiny: The Blackstone Twins Saga, #1

By TA Gaylord

Late in the 22nd century, twins Zoe and Zachary Blackstone are born into a world of nightly madness. Having lost their mother, they are dependent on their grandmother to guide them and a misfit band of wishful dreamers, as they journey hundreds of miles, in hope of finding a cure for the Night Madness, the mysterious affliction that takes all men. Zachary is doomed to share this fate, but for a rumor, a possible cure. Struggling against the odds, and against dangerous wild animals, wild men, treacherous terrain, and a maniacal psychopathic woman, his twin sister Zoe is determined to help him discover this one hope of relief, so they can possibly return to a normal life, a thing of which they've only read about in books.

• Language: English
• Publisher: TA Gaylord
• Release date: Feb 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223443537

TA Gaylord

T.A. Gaylord writes for both young adults and the young at heart, transporting them into a dystopian future world without technology, where the world of today has blown away, like dust from the high desert. Growing up in northern California, T. A. Gaylord has hiked miles of that terrain, and knows it's possibilities and it's dangers. It's beauty and amazing variability has always been an inspiration. As both a nature photographer and later as a caregiver for the disabled, T. A. Gaylord is familiar with both nature's beauty and nature's injustice, including it's unexpected and miraculous possibilities.

Book preview

One

The Blackstone Twins, Ritual

Zachary

---

It was a quiet, cool, foggy morning, perfect for a duel with my sister. We’d been dueling since daybreak, and were working up a healthy sweat. Even though this was our daily ritual, and even though she was my twin, and even though I recognized her attack, Zoe having used it before, and even though I knew I shouldn’t duck; I ducked.

I hurled myself lower, and to the left, dodging as Zoe’s quarterstaff swiped towards my head. I felt that familiar wrenching in my gut, that microsecond’s regret. Ahhrg! Why had I fallen for it again?

I tried a last second blocking maneuver, but the cold, hard wood of her quarterstaff struck my leg, stinging worse than a wasp. Ouch! That would leave a welt! I collapsed onto my back, tasting bilious defeat.

By the mothers! Why had I ducked? Why hadn’t I just parried?

We were having our daily match in the exercise yard, a hundred feet from a groaning pair of wrestling Amazon guards, the only others using the space this foggy early morning hour.

Zoe walked over and took my arm, helping me to my feet. She didn’t have to glory so much at my defeat, I thought bitterly. She sat beside me on the bench. As sweat dripped through my hair, over my face and down my neck, I let my head slump into my hands. My heart was a pounding hammer. I closed my eyes, overwhelmed by the leftover effects of nightmares I’d had last night.

What is it, Zachary? Zoe asked. You didn’t do that bad.

How could I tell Zoe what was bothering me? Heat radiated from her as we sat side by side, breathing in the smell of each other’s sweat.

It’s just... It’s just... You know... everything, still. How could I express it? "We’re turning fourteen, and everything’s going to change. What can I look forward to? Huh? Losing my mind every night? That sounds fun. To leave home? That sounds great too, doesn’t it?

Like those men outside the walls. The Madness. To go mad every night, like them. That’s my future. I just... It’s... Urgggh! I threw my head forward, into my hands again.

A coarse animal gurgling drifted from the wall above us, where a scraggly old raven perched, interrupting the uncomfortable silence, along with my self-pity. The fog chose that moment to start its daily surrender to the sun. I saw my shadow coalescing before my eyes and felt the sun warming our backs.

I felt Zoe’s eyes measuring me. My stomach churned. I hated complaining to her, and I regretted the sarcasm. It was so petty. It wasn’t fair to pester her with my worries. I turned, trying to express my remorse with my eyes.

I don’t want to leave. I don’t want everything to change. I said, sounding pitiful in my own ears. I... I don’t want to be one of those men outside the walls. Every time... Every time I think of it... I bent over, holding my stomach, swallowing hard.

I tasted terrible sourness haunting my taste buds from when I threw up first thing this morning. I’d read of people having meltdowns back in the high-technology age. Was I having one now? My forehead was wrinkling so deeply it ached. My jaw clenched so hard my teeth felt as if they were collapsing.

In the High Technology age and before, most children looked forward to puberty. At least that’s what I read. It was a transition to adulthood, the worst effects being skin problems and a cracking voice. Now, we called it ‘the weaning,’ and it was horribly different, and it filled me with dread.

I’m sure Zoe was as worried about the weaning as me. Right now, she was more concerned for me, though, I could tell. As she stared at me, my neck muscles were like taut ropes and I once again rubbed my churning stomach. I never could disguise my emotions, especially from my twin sister.

Zach... Listen. she said, with folded arms and her head cocked to one side, a perfect imitation of our aunt. You aren’t the only one who’ll... Who’ll be... She apparently couldn’t continue. A heavy sigh escaped her lips.

With clenched fists and a determined look, she said, I’m every bit as worried about the future as you. Honestly. I just don’t let it get to me. These daily matches are my release.

I dropped my head back into my hands. My body was tense as a drawn bow. Zoe reached out, putting her hand behind my neck, squeezing, pulling me closer.

You might not believe this, she said. The other week I woke up in a cold sweat. I had the worst nightmare. The Night Madness had taken me. I didn’t know where I was or why, or how I’d arrived there. In the dream it was morning, and I’d awakened, alone, disoriented, and with a wild dog over me, growling. I was sick with fright. It was so real. I’d never been so scared in my life.

What did you do? In the dream, I mean.

What do you think I did? she playfully punched my shoulder. I called my brother for help.

---

I grinned at the thought. She had always been my protector, and I thought she was teasing, but maybe…

I wiped sweat from my forehead. We were both still drained. It had been a vigorous match, and she made me work for the loss.

I could see sympathy in her eyes. She’d be facing the same thing, but... Zoe was so much better at taking everything in stride.

I could tell she was studying me. We were twins, and although fraternal, looking at Zoe was like gazing into a mirror. Our dark hair was short, and we had similar ruddy complexions. We inherited our blue eyes from our mother and our grandmother, and our stature. We’re tall, both of us, well over five and a half feet, and we’re strong for our age. Although I’m more muscular, my sister has a hardier constitution, and moves much more gracefully and confidently.

Both of us have high cheekbones and symmetrical features. I’ve heard whispers that some of our peers consider us attractive, but I don’t know about that. I know I’ve heard a few of my friends mention how appealing they think Zoe is.

Her eyes narrowed, as if she’d come to a definite conclusion.

Listen Zach, we’re both facing the unknown. Our great grandmother faced an even bigger unknown when founding the coven. It’s difficult to live up to her reputation, I know, but we have her blood running through our veins. We have to survive, otherwise there’s no sense in living.

The comment had me smiling at first, then it’s absurdity hit me. I shook my head and frowned. That made no sense. You realize that, don’t you?

Did it need to? We will survive, brother mine, no matter how scary the weaning is. I know you’re frightened. I’m scared too. Is this why you let me beat you so easily?

Hey! I could feel my face turning red. It wasn’t that easy... was it?

Smiling, she said, I know it’s not the same for girls. Once I get pregnant, I’ll return home to the coven. But... Honestly? I don’t think I want to be a mother. We both helped raise our nephew. Between the two of us, you were better at being a mother, much better than me.

What do you mean? I asked. Don’t you want to avoid the Night Madness? Having a child has got to be better than losing your mind every night!

Maybe... I don’t know. She shook her head, as if trying to wrap her mind around a concept. "Getting pregnant every seven or eight years to keep producing milk, having multiple children using up all my time? You aren’t the only one facing a horrible future. It’s like I’m being forced to carry a heavy burden, just so I don’t have to carry a different one, just as heavy. It’s giving away my say, my options, how I want to live my life.

I don’t want to lose my mind, of course, but I don’t want to be pregnant either, or spend all my time raising children. I want to train as an Amazon, or become a researcher. Motherhood holds no appeal, outside avoiding the madness.

She sat with a dazed look on her face. Motherhood was assumed in the coven, but this... I now understood how Zoe’s dread of motherhood might be as extreme as my fear of the Night Madness, or worse.

She stood and started pacing. She walked out and back, then grabbed up her quarterstaff and started doing practice moves and attacks. Were my worries regarding the future overwhelming her now? Were they a contagion?

I watched the wrinkles on Zoe’s forehead, showing how worried she was. As I watched... Her face transformed... Her eyes widened as realization dawned.

My fists tightened. Ugh! I could kick myself. Why had I brought up this subject?

The noisy gurgling continued from above. There were two ravens above us now. I took their raucous calls as a response to me, a rebuke, for doing such a terrible job of handling this.

I tried to ignore them. I continued to watch her excited eyes as I caught a whiff of the nearby marshland at the edge of the lake and wrinkled my nose. This situation stunk as much as those marshes.

At least you have options. I continued. As a man, I can’t get pregnant. I’ll have no choice. I’m destined to lose my mind, every sunset, with no relief… None.

The exercise yard grew silent apart from the ravens. The wrestling Amazon guards were retreating inside as I dropped my face back into my hands again, acting more distraught than I was, hoping to distract Zoe from her own worries. I never expected her to react this way.

I peeked through my hands and saw her face. It was a vision of sympathy. As I watched, she blinked, her eyebrows raised. Her blue eyes sparkled with purpose. I raised my head, curiosity triggered.

She looked me in the eye. I’ll tell you what, brother mine, I won’t let you go through the Night Madness alone. We both assumed the Night Madness would affect me first, because it usually affects boys at a younger age than girls.

I felt the color drain from my face as a chill descended my spine. Mouth dry, I said, You can’t leave the coven. It’s too dangerous.

I can, and I will. We’ve always done everything together. We’ll meet this challenge together, too.

I hated it when she got taken by an idea, excited to the point of trembling. There’d be no stopping her. I closed my eyes and inwardly groaned.

Do you remember what grandmother told us? she asked. About the White Mountain? Let’s find it. If you and I find a cure, then we can live however we want, without worrying about the Night Madness, or getting pregnant, or being a mother, endlessly.

What? Those were just rumors. We can’t find it.

Her eyes hardened, and she set her jaw. I’d seen that face before. She would have her way!

Grandmother is an historian, Zoe grinned. She says rumors and legends are most often based on truth. Human beings didn’t get the Night Madness before the transition. Maybe the Night Madness can end, and nobody else will have to suffer.

Wait. What are you saying, Zoe?

I’m saying,—she gave me another fist to the shoulder—"our great grandmother took an idea and made it real. She founded our coven and started our calendar, taking Oakland’s Main Public Library, and the other buildings, turning them into the coven complex, our home, a fortress where mothers and children can be safe.

"Now it’s time for the next generation. You and I are about to turn fourteen. We will go through the weaning within the year, and we’ll have to leave, just like we’ve seen happen with dozens of others.

Only two years remained until we reach sixteen, and our majority. As recognized adults, we can plan a journey to this White Mountain. Maybe we can talk a few Amazons into coming with us. She was so excited that her words started tumbling over each other.

I can, can and will, brother mine, help you survive the next few years. Then we can journey together to the White Mountain. Her eyes flashed with conviction. If there is a cure, we’ll discover it.

Her enthusiasm was infectious. I started believing it might be possible. D’you really think we can?

As I watched, her face became etched, a clear sign.

Zoe’s eyes crinkled, and I felt encouraged for the first time today. All we need, she said, using her lecturing tone, as grandmother has taught us, is determination. I’ll tell you what... She grabbed my collar, drew me close, and shook me, blue eyes twinkling. Let’s have another match, brother mine. I’ll show you what determination means.—She pushed me back upright, releasing me, flashing a huge grin—by whipping you again.

Smiling, I groaned as we stood, shading my eyes from the now brilliant sun. The two scraggly old ravens, startled into flight by our motion, voiced their gurgling complaint as they disappeared beyond the walls.

Two

The Blackstone twins, Regarding Zachary

Zoe

---

In the greatest upheaval of our lives, our mother, Penelope, died while giving birth to our little sister, Anielle. Zachary and I were almost three. Our mother filled our world; then she was gone, like the saddest sunset.

Our aunt Rachel, who was there helping the midwife until mother died, took us in her arms and cried with us for the rest of that terrible morning.

Along with our grandmother, Diana, we built a new family, with love and a sense of rightness. Grandmother and aunt Rachel cared for us and our sister, doing their best to raise us as their own.

Although mother and aunt Rachel were very close, they were not very much alike, physically. Our late mother was slender with dark hair, but her sister Rachel, is relatively stout and short, and her hair is blonde.

Our grandmother, Diana, is tall and slim and graceful as a willow sapling. I think she favors our great grandmother, Sarah Blackstone, founder of the coven, more than any of her other daughters.

Our grandmother, Diana, is a wonderful author and storyteller who told us amazing stories of our great grandmother, Sarah Blackstone. Our grand-aunt, Maria, is even more skilled at telling stories, especially when speaking to crowds.

When telling us the story of the Great Transition, she explained how the Earth’s population was drastically reduced, leaving only one human in a thousand left alive. The population went completely insane, burning cities and exploding leftover bombs. On the East Coast, several states were consumed by nuclear winter. We were lucky on the West Coast, having avoided nuclear disasters.

She told us terrifying stories of large overpopulated cities across the world burning for weeks, and of nuclear meltdowns that killed millions. Aunt Maria’s stories gave me nightmares. I much prefer grandmother’s stories.

I especially remember her telling of the birth of the coven. When Sarah lost her gentle friend, Lily, she was still in her twenties, said grandmother. It was the most painful experience mother ever endured. Incredibly, it inspired her to build something positive from the pain.

Then she quoted her mother, Sarah Blackstone. ‘After losing so much, I had to make a haven for all mothers and children, a home which no brutal man could defile.’ She and her new friend, Diana, for whom I eventually was named, envisioned the coven complex, and started construction on the walls.

Our aunt Rachel was everything a loving mother could be, always encouraging us, You can do anything, she said. You can be whatever you’re inspired to be. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. She was our shoulder to cry on, our rock upon which we always depended, and our guide through tough times.

After a couple of years, although still angry and struggling with the grief, Zachary and I had grown up enough to accept our mother’s death. That’s when our mother started appearing in our dreams. These dreams included nothing else, no action, no context. They were just visions of our mother against the backdrop of a blue sky, speaking directly to us, advising us, giving us hope.

The first time Zachary shared that he, too, was dreaming messages from our mother, I didn’t react very well, I’m sorry to say. We still weren’t very close, and I was jealous of my connection to mother. That night, I had another dream. Mother told me I was being unreasonable. She said my job was to encourage Zachary in every way I could.

Whether you like it or not, mother told me, a serious look on her face. The two of you are a team, and you’ll always achieve the best results when working together. You have a destiny, and only as a team will you succeed.

But, but... He’s just so… pitiful.

All the boys are worthy of our pity. Unless a miracle happens, your brother will lose his mind every night. How would you like that? It wouldn’t be fun, would it?

I guess not. You’re right. Guess I hadn’t thought about it. I’m sorry, mother. I will try to be a better big sister to Zachary.

I took her words to heart. I realized I had been antagonizing my brother without reason, and he had it hard enough, being a boy in the coven. In my mind, I declared a truce, and Zachary acted like he understood, even with no verbal declaration. I started regarding him as my little brother, my charge, and anyone who caused him trouble had to go through me. It was us against everyone else.

---

We lived in our imaginations, Zach and I. During school breaks, I’d cry out, Raise anchor and set sail, on the exercise yard where the children played, most of them ignoring us. I would point into the distance, toward far destinations, intoning lines from Long John Silver and Blackbeard. En guard you motherless dogs. My crew, Zachary, was always the selfless hero, diving into the sea to save many a wretched victim.

A red rag around my head was my captain’s hat, and we fought mighty sea monsters with our swords of willow grass. We shouted our challenges to the sea monsters and our battle cries echoed off the buildings of the coven as the other children snubbed us.

Those who didn’t snub us, ignored us, at least until the class began learning the history of the coven, then the other children began actively shunning us.

No one understands how difficult it is, living in the shadow of a legend to whom we owe so much. We are very proud of our great grandmother, but the other children believed we were privileged somehow, so the few who’d treated us normally stopped speaking to us. We realized we could only depend on each other.

Zachary grew fearful because many other students, both boys and girls, pushed him around when the school mothers were not looking. While I might welcome such a challenge, and beat my opponent senseless, Zach has always been a kind soul, preferring not to engage in physical altercations.

One of the primary things we learned was how the high-technology age ended with human evolutionary changes, making us dependent on the sun. We learned how the sun isn’t just a light, but our biggest source of radiation. The biggest firelight has no effect on the Night Madness, no matter how bright.

We also learned local and world history, math, and grammar. Later, science and nature, and finally, self defense. Most importantly, we read books. With our home originally being the main public library, it spoiled us for choice. As most children did, we began with Dr. Seuss, Beverly Cleary, and Louisa May Alcott.

Zach soon discovered J. R. R. Tolkien, and as he ventured deeper into science fiction and fantasy, I followed, reading most of his choices, plus finding my own. Everything we liked, we shared with each other. By the time we turned fourteen, we had both experienced, in our imagination, the wonders of faster-than-light, or FTL, spaceflight, the Elven lore of Middle Earth, and how to get a baby dragon to choose us on Pern.

We read other things to expand our minds. Zachary grew fond of physics and chemistry, reading everything he could find about science. Richard Feynman especially impressed him, from back in the twentieth century.

I grew interested in philosophies and