The Change of the Seasons: The Long Sweat

Chapter 13
Climbing up Jacob's Ladder

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Chapter Description: In the mind of every father there is the image of the man his son will become. Jacob is about to see that image in an all too real way.

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[size=2]Lowtown Junction was neither low in altitude, an actual town, nor even a completed railroad junction. Instead, the prosperous city rested on top of a natural plateau on the south end of Old Lake Valley. Because of this, the want-to-be metropolis was in fact much higher in elevation than the town of New Springs and Old Lake Beach north of it in the valley. The namesake of its junction comes from the pipe dream of the city’s founder, Richard Ironsworth. The railroad baron was infamous in his absolute antagonism of New Springs that left a bitter animosity between Lowtown Junction and New Springs.

He planned to forcibly eject the proud New Springers out of their town, who had lived there for over a century already, all in order to build a grand railroad through the heavily wooded valley. Heated debate soon spiraled downward into fiery protest and there after exploded into armed conflict between New Springers and Lowtowners. Occurring in the backdrop of the bloody political chaos that was The American Civil War; Ironsworth waged his own private war against New Springs using Lowtown volunteers and mercenaries made up of both Union and Confederate soldiers while simultaneously exhausting slave labor in his mad delusions to conquer the entire valley.

Generations of New Springer men, women, and children waged an effective guerilla campaign against the Lowtown forces for months from the deep forests throughout the valley while hiding away the very young and elderly at the peak of Mt. Longview. No matter how valiantly they fought though, they would have ultimately lost if it wasn’t for the many thousands of Native American tribesmen that flowed into the valley in order to wage a preventative war against the utter damnation that was Ironsworth’s grand railroad. Both groups were aided by the efforts of abolitionists who smuggled in weapons and supplies for the war effort, this was all commanded and organized by Mayor Joshua Medlock who was able to bring together the distraught allies into a collective fighting force.

Despite this advantage however, the war lasted for many months and took far too many lives from both sides of the conflict. The war only came to an end when Ironsworth, filled with immeasurable hatred for the New Springers, attempted to bring down Mt. Longview by filling the natural caves and ravines that honeycombed the mountain with hundreds of thousands of explosives. On the day of the winter solstice, the explosives failed to go off and Richard Ironsworth, in his last bit madness, entered the mountain in order to set off the explosives personally, even if that meant certain suicide. In the end, the explosives never went off and the insane railroad baron turned warlord vanished forever inside Mt. Longview.

Ms. Yong had covered the basics of this history in Jon’s 4th grade class, though she understandably skipped over the widespread torture, mass executions, and racially based massacres committed during the conflict. However, little Jonny had already learned all of that and much more from his big brother James, who told him of the Medlock family’s role in the war that was passed down to James by their father Jacob.

Everything goes back to my so called dad. Jon bitterly thought as he exhaled the smoke from the cigarette held in his hand.

Jon figured he would be feeling really fucking stupid right now if he wasn’t so fucking angry. Just months ago when he was still a kid, the idea to question his own last name was nonexistent in his innocent mind. James was James, mom was mom, and his absent dad was just dad. It wasn’t until Jonathan had started dating Samantha that he realized the importance of names. For Samantha, the awkward but sweet tomboy was absolutely proud of the fact that it was a woman within her family line that was the first to climb the tallest mountain in Old Lake Valley and name it after her family line. It made him realize that both the Longviews and the Medlocks were well known names in New Springs’ history. That was when it finally clicked with him that his mother’s maiden name was in actuality Clarkson.

As it stood, Jon was confused as to why his mother did not change her last name and that of her two sons back to Clarkson after the divorce. He knew the stories of the dreamy romance that existed between his parents as teenagers, but he also was quite aware of the messy divorce that occurred in the aftermath of his birth. As he continued to smoke his cigarette, he pondered the depth of the conspiracy behind this mysterious separation. He considered James’ involvement first; his nerdy little brother was always keeping quiet about secrets, even when he was the big brother in their relationship.

Maybe James’ irresponsibility and his lack of communication with us while he was in college could be explained by something in the family he didn’t want to confront? Jon wondered.

It didn’t much matter anymore though; his former big brother was now the kid in the family and Jonathan suspected that the New Springs water or Facilitation or whatever had long purged his kid brother of any direct knowledge of the family past. In the end, it was his mother of course that was the one that kept the Medlock name. He had been steadily probing her on and off again about his father in recent weeks in the hope that she would at least explain the lack of a name change within the family. That only seemed to drive her further away from him however.

Of course she’s irrelevant too, now that she’s barely older than a child herself, he thought.

The earlier day’s events had been an emotional rollercoaster for the young man. Watching his girlfriend regress into a preteen girl was very hard to do, but he was completely destroyed when he saw his own mother walk out of Old Lake as a young teenager. After everything he lost, after everything denied to him, the one constant in his life was no more. Jonathan Medlock finally had enough of the bullshit. That was why he was here in Lowtown Junction, he was here for answers from the one person that was responsible for everything about his life.

Jonathan was just finishing up his smoke when it was suddenly swatted away from him. “Smoking doesn’t make you into a badass Jonny. It just kills you” said an all too rage-inducing voice.

“Do I look like I care Sarah?” he asked bluntly.

Thus far he had barely tolerated his uninvited guest that was Sarah Longview. In the struggle that took place between them as he hastily drove away from Old Lake Beach, he had been too forceful with his pushing and had noticeably bruised the gothic teenager. It was mostly this guilt of his that allowed Sarah to tagalong on this journey, but it also made him realize just how much he cared for the girl.

“You shouldn’t destroy that body of yours,” Sarah replied while also sensing the deeper question, “Sammy always cared for you Jonny, but not sexually, as much as you wanted her to.”

His confrontation with Samantha on the beach earlier today proved that was true though Sarah’s words also made him accept just how casual his relationship with Sammy was. They kissed passionately and they cuddled but never anything more. The awkward tomboy was beautiful but there was nothing deeper to their relationship. There was always the undercurrent that Sammy had been the mother hen to him when he and James used to play over at the Longview home. In retrospect, after he had driven like a mad man to Lowtown Junction, he simply wasn’t surprised by Sammy’s decision to reject the adventure of adulthood for the comforts of childhood; just like his former big brother had.

“Fuck you,” he still railed at her, “My mom also loved me platonically and that didn’t stop you from turning her into a teenage girl.”

Sarah had never been an imposing figure in his eyes, even when he was a toddler. While her hair was short and lazy unlike Sammy’s and her body was so decisively boyish that she only stood out due to her fashion style. He always loved her cute face, and he was always enthralled by it when she spoke, as if her voice further highlighted this beauty.

“Jonathan,” she said forgoing his nickname in perhaps the first time in the ten years he had known her, “I swear to you that I never wanted to regress your mom. She just happened to grab one of my water bottles when I was busy with Sammy.”

“Then why are you treating my mom like some happy accident?” he demanded.

“Because it is in many ways, it without a doubt proves…”

“That you’re a total cunt.” he finished for her.

“Look.” she started saying, “I didn’t force the water down your mom’s throat. I didn’t make the magical water turn her into a teenager. She just secretly wanted to be one again. I’m sorry if that hurts you Jonathan, I really am. But that’s the will of New Springs for you.”

“My mom was already regressed back 10 years. If what you’re saying is true than why wasn’t she turned into a boy crazy teenager right there and then on the first day of summer?” he questioned. “My brother has also started acting differently ever since you started babysitting him.”

“Alright.” she stammered. “Your brother is mostly putting on an act because I asked him to.”

“So he’s just pretending that’s he is a really a boy now?” he said.

“He is a real boy jackass,” Sarah cursed, “and he truly enjoys being one. What he hasn’t told you is that we accidentally accelerated the effects of Facilitation on him the first time I babysat him.”

“What?!!!” he uttered out while marching towards her.

“Ok hold on! I’ll explain everything!” she yelled out.

Sarah started ranting to him in the middle of the parking garage. About how she has spent the last two years of her adolescence researching New Springs in the library. About how she captured and froze the spring water on the same day it had changed all of the members of his family. About how she had been running experiments on it over the course of the summer and how she accidentally managed to alter the way she and his little brother saw reality. He had a hard time accepting Sarah’s words but he nonetheless found himself taking it all at face value.

“So what’s your endgame here?” he finally asked her.

“Basically what you saw today. I refined the water using the combined notes of Lambert Morrison and Greg Harrison. I theorized that the Native American tribe that lived in this valley was able to alter the water in some small way. They couldn’t tell it what to do but they could suggest appropriate transformations more or less. I was able to prove today that my formula only causes age transformations in people.”

“So you did turn my mom into a teenager.” he accused.

“It doesn’t work that way. It was still New Spring’s will in the end, as well as your mother’s.” she claimed, “People’s desires aren’t static Jonny. All children want to become adults and all adults want to become young again. When the children finally grow up and replace their parents they find themselves wishing for their youth back as they raise the youth that will ultimately replace them as well. That is the cycle of conflict that the disease of aging brings humanity. Jennifer’s desires were modest at first, which is why she was only regressed back into her 30’s. But the last ten years of experience she had in raising you and James was lost on a subconscious level. The feelings from her divorce now felt just as overwhelmingly immediate as they were ten years ago. Her renewed desire for love caused the water she drank to reboot her sexual development from nearly the beginning.”

Everything goes back to my so called dad, Jonathan reflected bitterly on once again.

“If your mom hadn’t drunk my water bottle today she would have eventually transformed into a teenager during the autumn equinox. It was inevitable.” Sarah finished.

Jon felt like he needed another smoke, but decided that he rather not have Sarah hitting him again, “Did you at least pay the parking ticket?”

The teenager nodded, “I did, the car should be good for the rest of the evening at least. Can you tell me now why we’re even here?”

“I’m looking for my father.” he said simply and started walking out of the parking garage.

“Oh.” Sarah responded, a sudden sadness came over her, “I was in kindergarten when the divorce happened…I barely remember him.” She struggled to keep up with his pace. “What are you trying to get out of this Jonny? Do I really have to remind you again that we just abandoned a whole bunch of young kids on a public beach?”

Jon once again fought the overwhelming urge of his adult maturity screaming at him to go back for the kids. “Those kids are all older than both of us.” he reminded her.

“But…” she started.

“I’m serious. I need answers and it’s your damn fault that I have to do this now.” he said as they exited the garage.

The garage they parked in was in the center of Lowtown Junction, which was as close to their destination as they could probably get. While his mom hadn’t conceded to his questioning, her sentimentality eventually did. One night while his mom was being excessively late from work, he entered his mother’s room and began to go through her personal possessions. Just when he thought his efforts were useless, he found a letter. While its contents were missing, the return address on the envelope was covered by a superficial sticker with the name of a fancy hotel on it that was in the city. Jon’s manhunt had begun.

When they arrived at the hotel, Jon had only needed to utter his own last name to get the owner’s attention. Apparently Jacob Medlock had lived like a king for many years at the hotel’s expense. The man had lived in their penthouse living off room service and expensive liquor to his heart’s content. Even with the money, his father still managed to piss them off enough to eventually kick him out.

From there, Jon and Sarah learned that they needed only shout the Medlock name to get pointed in the general direction of his dad’s debauchery. Jacob had made a legend out of himself coasting from hotel to hotel over the years and the owners of those hotels were increasingly less friendly to them. Even though most Lowtowners had no real connection to their city’s dark past, they seemed all too eager to hate on New Springs. Jon had no idea that so many different people from all different walks of life had such great disdain for his friendly middle class town. Only one of them had even mentioned Ironsworth’s war as a reason, most simply thought that New Springers were isolationist freaks, or how much they hated being ripped off by the New Springers that ran Old Lake Beach during the tourist season, or that New Springers were weirdos that believed in magic and the occult. Jon often more times than not found himself defending Sarah from accusations of witchcraft because of her gothic attire. It only served to remind him that his cute crush basically was a witch at this point.

And while the manhunt informed Jonathan of the attitude of Lowtowners towards New Springers, it also told him the story of his father. The hotels he had stayed at steadily became inns and eventually those inns became motels. Several hours later, long after the sun had set under the mountainous walls that surrounded Old Lake Valley, they found it. The latest rundown motel his father had been staying out. Finding Jacob Medlock’s room was easy enough and now they stood outside his door. Anxiety had been creeping into the young man for a while now and now that he was finally here, he was unsure if he was ready to face him. He finally felt a firm grasp on his shoulders.

“You can do this Jonathan, your better than he is.” Sarah told him.

Jonathan took a long breath and knocked on the door. After what felt like an eternity to him the door finally opened. The man that stood before him felt unreal to Jon. In many ways, Jon felt like he was staring right into his own future. Jacob’s dark brown beard and hair matched his own, though it was obvious that it was beginning to grey over. The two men were of a similar height and stature. In spite of the decadence he had been expecting from Jacob, the man seemed to have kept himself in decent shape. Jacob was either a pervert or had a very good memory as Sarah caught his attention first. The man then turned to him and regarded him in a depressingly casual way before he looked Jonathan in the eye.

“The Change of the Seasons?” he asked.

It was Sarah that spoke for him, “Yes Mr. Medlock, if that’s what it’s called.”

“Then New Springs has finally found a way to punish me.” he said and opened the door fully, “Come in Jonathan. We have much to discuss.”

He and Sarah slowly entered the small motel room, despite the raging alcoholism he had anticipated he saw very little that suggested that Jacob was one save for the modest bottle of whiskey on his nightstand. Jacob reached for it and poured himself a glass and then turned to them, “Do you care for some Sarah?” he asked her.

“What?” acting surprised that he had even recognized her. “I’m a teenager.”

“Exactly.” he jokingly replied and shook his head dismissively. “How about you Jonathan, do you want to share some whiskey with your old man?”

Jonathan didn’t know if he wanted to punch Jacob in the face or simply flip him off. Regardless of his intense feelings, he found himself only capable of uttering a single word, “Why?”

Jacob turned and filled up another glass of whiskey for him, “I’m not your father…at least metaphorically speaking I’m not. I’m sure you either hate my guts or simply pity me. Believe me; I feel the same way about my own dad. Do you know that I was the one that named you?”

Jonathan at least knew that much about his dad, “Yes. Mom has told me that.”

Jacob seemed satisfied with that as he continued speaking, “I always wanted to raise a little boy with that name; ever since I was little boy myself. It’s a damn good name in my opinion. I doubt Jennifer said much more to you about it but when we were dating as teenagers we would have the most overblown arguments over what to name our firstborn son. It was kind of ridiculous. Mind you when your big brother was born, he looked exactly like Jennifer so I had to settle for her pick. Now when you were finally...“

“James is my kid brother now.” Jon interrupted him.

Jacob processed what Jon had said and took a long sip of his drink. Jonathan joined him; he hadn’t expected to find the bitterness of its taste to be so appealing. Once they were done, Jonathan and Sarah took turns relaying what had happened to the Medlock and Longview families over the summer. Jacob seemed to accept the regressions of James along with Samantha’s but looked physically shocked when they told him of his ex-wife’s second regression into a teenage girl.

“Age is the source of all conflict.” Jacob finally said.

“Wait, how do you…” Sarah started saying.

“Know that phrase?” Jacob finished for her. “I was the one who first started ranting about it decades ago. I even lightheartedly said it to you once when you were a preschooler. Stacy was trying to put you to bed but you were so determined to stay up with Sammy and James. I guess it stuck with you.”

Sarah had a hard time believing his words. It seemed like Jacob had greatly influenced her life as well. “How do you know so much about New Springs’ power?” she asked.

“I should be the one asking you that Sarah. It’s not every day that a teenage girl uncovers that their hometown is a conduit of magical transformative energy. I’m really impressed Sarah but I’m frankly surprised that the New Springs Authority hasn’t come down on you yet and confiscated your research.”

“Yeah,” she replied nervously “I thought I was doing it secretly.”

“Nothing ever gets by them Sarah. It seems from my limited viewpoint here that this entire thing is a part of something much greater than me. My importance to the community is long over.”

“So that’s it?” Jonathan shouted. “Your perfect son has just been born and you just decide to divorce your perfect wife and leave James without a father through his adolescence? I’m not a fucking idiot; I have seen the old family photos. You and mom were picture perfect and James and you looked like you were best friends. Why the fuck did you just up and leave if it wasn’t my fault? Why did mom keep your fucking family name if you aren’t even a part of our fucking family?”

“It was all for you Jonathan.” Jacob said softly, “I know that sounds incredibly hard to believe but your mother kept my name for you and James’ sake.”

“I don’t think mom gives much of a shit about New Spring’s history.” he said

“She doesn’t that’s true but she’s had a love affair for this valley since she was a little girl. Raising you and James here was a vicarious experience for her own desire to grow up here as a child. But it’s more than just that, the Medlock name is respected by New Springers, Longview too” he gestured towards Sarah, “Along with all the other first generation of settlers that followed the founders into Old Lake Valley over two centuries ago. We’re not celebrities or really all that knowable outside our history, but everyone from New Springers to Lowtowners has a subconscious respect for us, one that we believe is magically driven.”

“How is that feasibly possible though?” Sarah asked. “It altered the way James and I see reality’ but it can only do that four times a year and we were only changed because we drank the water frozen from the summer solstice.”

“You’re right to focus so much attention on The Change of the Seasons. New Springs’ power is at its maximum potential during the seasonal equinoxes and solstices, but you have to realize that its will, its power is constant. The water you drink, swim, and bathe in is always interacting with your body. But it can only do so much at one time. When it’s most powerful, it can physically and mentally warp every single being at will within the valley if it chooses too. It could change someone into an animal or even an object and then alter the memories of everyone connected to that person, essentially altering reality as far as humans are concerned. But on most days its power is greatly diminished. It mostly uses its energy to study our surface level feelings and desires.”

“But what about today? Mom and Sammy just got transformed into young girls in front of a whole bunch of people.” Jon questioned.

“The water that’s already in their bodies helps to ensure that they don’t act radically against New Springs’ will. It can’t control their thoughts but it does guide them. The beach goers were likely concerned about the transformations but no one had the desire to record your ex-girlfriend’s breasts shrinking and then upload it to the internet.” Jacob explained. “But our family name goes further than that. By being my son and carrying the last name of one of the original settlers you have a special right within the New Springs Authority. They would give you an important job working for them and a substantial income.”

Everything Jacob said to Jonathan seemed logical to him. The way the man who called himself Seth approached his family made a lot more sense now with this context. It also helped to explain Facilitation as well as the private words Seth had with his mother.

“So, you worked for them too?” he finally asked him. “Did they make you leave us?”

Jacob downed the rest of his drink and Jonathan once again mirrored him, “Yes they did. My father, your grandfather was one of the founding members of the New Springs Authority over a half a century ago. It’s an official organization of course which helps regulate the town. But its ultimate purpose is to provide a direct, as well a human response to New Springs’ transformations of people within the valley. One of its first grand scale projects was actually the construction of Old Lake Beach in order to increase the valley’s revenue, your grandfather was in charge of that project, but he also had other plans. Against the knowledge of the organization he openly discussed his ideal world to me, one where people could be cured of all diseases and allow all of humanity to live in eternal youth. It was madness, but he thought it was the most benevolent life goal he could set for our family. But that ultimately meant defying the will of New Springs. He tried to covertly upgrade Old Lake Beach’s sewer system into a water treatment plant.”

“He wanted to filter the magic out of the water?” Sarah asked.

“More than that,” Jacob replied, “He desired to turn the entire lake into a giant cure-all fountain of youth. He wanted to control the power of New Springs, completely and utterly. When the New Springs Authority finally discovered his plot, they found his blueprints to create a dam around the delta that flows into the lake as well plans to control the individual sources that New Springs flows out of.”

“What did they do to him?” Jon asked him.

“Nothing, there was nothing for them to do. New Springs got to him first.” he replied. “My dad simply disappeared on the first day of summer. I don’t know what he was transformed into. He could have been turned into my favorite toy or even my pet dog; it could have easily altered my memories to accept something like that.” Jacob poured himself the last of the whiskey and continued his story. “The sins of the father should not affect his sons. That should be a universal truth but it is far from it. After I graduated college and married your mother I was given the position of an enforcer, but I was essentially blacklisted within the organization, I was little more than a paper pusher. I should have been content with that but in the end I had the same foolish dreams as my father. I created a conspiracy among the first generation families to seize control away from the conservative leaders of the Founder’s Council.”

“And your conspiracy was discovered.” Jonathan said, finally understanding after all these years.

“Only I was discovered, I was revealed by a fellow conspirator to the Founder’s Council. I had no real choice; I fled and took enough money with me to convince the New Springs Authority that I had effectively cut all ties with my family. The sins of the father should not affect his sons.”

“But why here? Why stay in Lowtown Junction for a decade when you could have just left the valley and start a new life?”

“Because of you and your family.” Jacob said. “New Springs spared me when my father betrayed it but if I escaped the valley, I believe it simply would have punished you all in my stead, to ensure that no one from our family went against it ever again. Early on I figured the New Springs Authority would come for me and simply force me to face my punishment, however they never actually came. I think they believed that I would eventually get punished by New Springs.”

”I’m surprised you haven’t already.” Sarah said. Jon could tell she was starting to look misty eyed.

“I came to this city purposely.” he elaborated. “Lowtown Junction is a cancer of sorts in this valley. Compared to the rest of Old Lake Valley, New Springs can only affect Lowtowners at all during the Change of the Seasons. So I just hide myself away four times a year and stay away from all sources of water and eat nothing but packaged goods brought into the valley.”

Was this the endpoint of all of this? Jonathan bitterly asked himself. Was stripping my brother and mother of their adulthood all just some attempt by New Springs to goad me out here? Am I only an adult right now to humiliate my own father?

Jonathan felt the worse he could have possibly felt in this moment. It was not a feeling of disdain for the man who had selfishly put his personal ladder to Heaven over his family, nor the sad realization that his father was hardly the villain he had grown up thinking he was, but rather he felt the heartbreaking truth of all that could have been for the Medlock family.

Jon’s melancholy state must have caught on to Jacob and Sarah as well because the cheap motel room fell into a depressing silence. For several quiet minutes, Jacob sipped on the last of his whiskey while Sarah softly cried to herself. Once he had finished his whiskey, with nothing else keeping him from the moment at hand, he looked directly at his distraught son.

“Jonathan.” he began, “I needlessly destroyed our family. I can’t ask you for your forgiveness but I hope that I at least gave you the context you deserved to know from the very beginning.”

Jonathan nodded understandably, “Dad, you are the worst possible father. You abandoned my mother, ignored my brother, and rejected me. But…I forgive you……because of all the things I learned about who you are tonight; the most important one was that you still cared about us.”

Tears broke out on Jacob’s face and Jonathan once again found himself mirroring his dad. In his teary eyed vision he could see his father’s face and there was a slight amusement in finding out where James got his crybaby persona. Jacob suddenly rushed towards Jonathan and embraced his son in their first hug that should have been their millionth. Both men, crying like little boys, refused to let go of one another. They both instinctively knew that everything would end after this first and final embrace. It took Jonathan far too long to realize that Sarah had joined their hug as well, crying her eyes out like the little girl she had been a few short years ago.

When it was all over, the two men stood recovering from the emotional moment. Sarah however, with tears still flowing down her face, was reaching into her all too familiar cooler. “Mr. Medlock!” she cried, “Please drink this.”

“You think I should just face the music? After all these years?” he asked, there was an acceptance to his voice. He had made peace with himself.

“This water is different.” she told him, “I altered it. It should only change your age.”

“That can still kill me Sarah.” he said, “I’ve seen things in my years as an enforcer, things that I am far too much of a coward to face myself.”

“New Springs isn’t evil Mr. Medlock. It changes people for the better. I believe that now more than ever.” Sarah said. “Everything that has occurred this summer with your family, everything that I have just witnessed tonight has proven that to me without a doubt that it only has the best intentions in mind. If you drink this water, I promise that you can be with your family again.”

His father studied the water bottle with disbelief. He turned to his son, “I don’t think you can imagine how terrified I am of drinking that water. I am such a coward but, if this is what you want son. Then I will do it for you.”

Jon wasn’t sure what he should say. This was the same water that had hours ago, regressed his girlfriend and his own mother into young girls. He had barely known Jacob and yet he already feared what would happen if this man drank the water. Jon feared that Jacob could regress into a fetus or age so quickly into old age to the point of near instant death. Sarah though, looked so completely confident in her desire for Jacob to drink the water that it bordered on zealotry. He couldn’t find himself to trust Sarah, but he had a heart wrenching desire to have Jacob back in his life again; in his family’s life again. The Medlock’s had failed at being a typical nuclear family, but if he could bring Jacob back into the fold in whatever age he came out of the motel with them. Jonathan firmly believed that would finally bring peace to his family.

“I want you back into my life dad, no matter what happens to you.” he told him.

Jacob winced at this, the ten years he had eluded New Springs’ power now seemed pointless to the middle age man. Nonetheless, Jacob went to grab the bottle from Sarah’s hand. The poor man’s hand was trembling as he held it before him. It was a pitiable sight. Searching within himself, he found a short series of words that he could say to his father. They were not particularly true, as he had never thought of them before in his entire 10 years of his life. But he hoped that one day he could say them again to Jacob in earnest.

“I love you.” he said to Jacob.

The man that was supposed to be his dad froze, his hand steady as steel, “I love you too.” he said simply.

Jacob Medlock opened up the water bottle and drank its contents. Jonathan knew what would follow, he had already witness it happen with his ex-girlfriend. Just like with her, just like with his mother, just like with his brother, just like with him; a pleasurable sensation would take ahold of Jacob. It soon enough did, and the aging man moaned with absolute pleasure as the power of New Springs worked its way up and down his body. It soon became very clear to Jonathan that Jacob was regressing just like the others had. His greying hair was made vibrant once again, with its dark brown tint matching his own hair. Soon Jacob’s beard began retreating followed by his entire body. Jacob’s surprisingly well-kept body seemed to disappear all at once. He looked like a college student just like Jonathan but mostly unfit. His muscular arms were rendered gangly and his legs looked more like sticks. His own father looked like a dorky high school kid, far younger than Jon was now.

Jacob kept getting younger, his father slipped into middle school and then into his preteen years. His pants had long given way and fell to the ground and the boy was struggling to keep his underwear up. Jon was dumbfounded by how much Jacob now looked like himself as a preteen boy. Jacob exited preadolescence and reentered his childhood. His shirt was now long enough to cover his entire body and so the little boy let his underwear fall to the floor as well. Little Jacob blazed through his elementary years, looking at one moment an eager 3rd grader and then a cute kindergartener in the next. At last, Jacob’s regression seemed to slow down. The preschooler became a toddler and he was finally engulfed by his own shirt and fell onto his adult clothing.

Jonathan walked tenderly towards the clothes pile where his father once stood, careful to avoid stepping on the young tot. He gently fished through the grown man’s clothes and found his mark. Little Jacob was an adorable baby. A healthy spread of baby fat covered the toddler’s body, his dark brown hair was much lighter though still recognizably dark in tone. Jonathan gently wrapped his former father in his own shirt and held him up in front of him. His dad was as cute as could be. Soft, delicate features replaced the hardened ones. It was an astounding transformation to behold. Jacob, still clearly disoriented from his transformation finally made eye contact with his youngest son that was now holding him up off the ground.

“JO-NEE!” Little Jacob cried.

Jonathan instinctively cradled the baby boy closer to him and gave him a tender kiss on his forehead, “I got you little guy,” he hushed his former father and began to gently rock him.

“Jo-nee.” Little Jacob repeated and then tried to form more words with his tiny mouth. It was clear that the mental regression had done a number on his mind. Simple thoughts for an adult must seem nigh impossible for the young baby boy in his hands.

Sarah slowly came into Jonathan’s view studying the baby boy with a delightful fascination, “How old do you think he is?” he asked her, “I’m not really good with ages here besides the fact that he’s a baby now.”

“I would say he’s close to his terrible twos if he isn’t already reliving them.” she assumed, “He’s such a cutie pie!”

“Yeah.” Jon said, “You don’t look like you’ll be so terrible Jacob. Right little guy?” Jon tickled the toddler’s chin, drawing a sweet giggle from the baby boy.

“He’s a keeper, that’s for sure.” she said.

The reality of Jonathan’s situation hit him like a car crash, “I just turned my own dad into a baby.” he said still astonished by the fact as the words came out of his mouth.

“This was his will as much as New Springs’. You only convinced him it was the right choice. He gets the privilege of starting his whole life over from the near beginning. You should be…”

“No!” He said. His voice betraying his worry, “I mean like…my big brother is a kid, my mom is a teenager, and now my dad is a toddler. How am I going to take care of them?”

Jacob seemed to cry at that, as if he was still a part of the conversation. Sarah this time hushed the baby boy by offering him her finger to suckle on. Jacob eyes widened at the notion but nevertheless took her small finger into his mouth.

“Babies are easy to care for if you treat them right.” she said, “But what’s important here is that you’re in charge now. You have the unique opportunity here to re-raise the family you were born into, you should embrace that.”

“I’m talking about money here Sarah! How am I going to re-raise my entire family if I don’t even have a job?”

“Your mom…” Sarah scoffed at that, “I guess it’s just Jenny now.” she snorted.

“Don’t even…” he started to say.

“I just mean that she should still have the money the New Springs Authority gave her for paying off James’ college debt and all that.” she said. “It should be enough for a while and I’ll help you out as best as I can.”

“I’m sure your part time job at the library is going to do wonders for the “Send my Mom back to college fund” not to mention James and….”

“Oh dammit you made your point. I can get my parents to help you out. It’s not like Sammy’s going to college anytime soon. Our families used to be a lot closer back in the day…before you were born…” she mumbled.

Jonathan simply shook his head and looked down at the bundle of joy he was going to be takng care of for the next 20 years of his life. “I’ll make this work Jacob” he reassured his dad.

The journey back to his mom’s car, effectively his car now, was a pleasant one. Jacob found a comfortable position to cuddle against the father figure of his new life as Jon gently carried him across the city. Jonathan and Sarah found themselves discussing nothing particularly important at all, which was a welcome change in pace for the two. Jacob babbled endlessly between them as the toddler was trying to find the limits of his vocabulary until Jonathan reintroduced his father into the habit of thumb-sucking. When the three of them finally reached the car, Little Jacob had fallen asleep sucking his small thumb while in Jonathan’s firm but gentle arms.

“Even in the innocence of toddlerhood that man just forms the worst habits.” a figure said from the shadows.

A small object suddenly flew out from the figure’s direction towards Sarah who barely grabbed it before it touched the parking garage’s floor. When she brought it up to eye level it was very clear what it was.

“A pacifier?” Jon asked incredulously.

“Not just any.” the figure said in return.

As Sarah softly inserted it into Jacob’s mouth Jon felt foolish for not instantly recognizing it, “That was my pacifier” he announced, “and James’ as well.”

“It was also your father’s,” the figure claimed as it stepped into the range of the overhead lights.

“You again.” he accused the man named Seth.

“I just thought Jacob deserved it back and all since it was originally his. Also…you know…to bring all this full circle. I thought you two would appreciate it since you’re being all lovey-dovey and all.” Seth said as he wandered around them.

“How did you know that we were here?” Jon asked.

“My organization knows everything that happens in this valley Jonny. Though I guess I can drop the formalities since you already know about the true purpose behind the New Springs Authority, don’t you Miss Longview?”

Sarah was dead silent, though Seth seemed disinterested in her reaction.

“Don’t worry I’m not really angry or anything,” he continued. “I’m just sour you had to do all of this on my day off.”

“How did you find us?” Jon repeated, there was a strange paternal protection driving him now.

Seth suddenly became aware of the rising tension and seemed to completely change his attitude, “Your little brother James called me. After the debacle you two created at Old Lake Beach, he acted swiftly. I picked the kids up and dropped them off at your house; it’s where I got the pacifier obviously. James is a good kid, a responsible one too. It’s always nice to see people come out of their transformations so positively.” Seth seemed to realize that he hadn’t satisfied them, “We’ve been tracking you. It shouldn’t be all that surprising these days.”

“It isn’t but you’ve been dogging me since I was preteen boy, it’s beyond disturbing.”

“It’s part of the job Jonny, though to be fair you are an uncanny reflection of Jacob. I grew up with him so I guess you’ve just captivated me more than James and Jennifer.” he said.

“So you worked with Jacob?” Sarah asked.

“More than just that, he was my best friend….. I have actually harbored a crush on him since the 7th grade. Years ago, I made a stupid mistake and confessed to him, knowing full well he was married to Jennifer.”

“Are you trying to tell me my dad was gay?”

Seth paused at that, “I guess what I’m trying to tell you is that while Jacob was the architect of his own downfall, I was in fact the catalyst of that, which has led us to our current predicament.”

“You were the one that revealed his plan to the Authority.” Jonathan stated.

Seth solemnly nodded, “I needlessly overreacted to his rejection and I massively fucked over your family as a consequence. If I hadn’t fessed up, you would still be a 10 year old boy with a great older brother and a loving mother and father. I denied you that, which is why I am here now. New Springs seems to have forgiven my sin but I haven’t. I come to you to make amends. My full name is Seth Morrison, and I’m the heir to one of the three chairs in the Founder’s Council.”

“What are you suggesting?” Jonathan demanded.

Seth Morrison walked towards him and looked down at the sleeping toddler in his hands, “May I?” he humbly asked.

Jonathan handed Jacob over to Seth. The exchange stirred Jacob awake and the baby boy starred up at his former best friend whilst he sucked on his pacifier, “You can’t conceive the amount of time, money, and manpower we have put into studying the child psychology of regressed adults. The child psychologists that get too close to finding concrete answers always seem to join the children they’re studying. We’ve mostly figured schoolchildren out. But toddlers? Infants? We have almost no idea how much of their past life they are able to remember. So much of their brain is rewired, we can only assume that even if they possess their knowledge and memories, It must be the most difficult task to maintain whatever sense of continuity with their past lives as they can.” Seth looked down at the baby boy, “If you can understand me Jacob, than I want you to witness this moment as well.”

Seth once again looked back up at Jonathan and Sarah, “I propose we make a pact, an alliance to carry on Jacob’s dream. When I betrayed my best friend, I only revealed him, not our other allies, nor the outside contacts he had already established. The groundwork of his conspiracy lays mostly intact. I was to be the one to assume direct control of the Founder’s Council originally, but I am disgraced now. The New Springs Authority needs a radical change in leadership and I believe you two should spearhead the effort.”

“Me?” Sarah asked completely unconvinced.

“Especially you Sarah, you haven’t uncovered anything in your research that we don’t already know. Though your ingenuity, for a girl of 15, is a godsend; but the current leadership of the New Springs Authority would reject your talents. We are a conservative organization, we react instead of act. Sit on knowledge allotted to us by New Springs instead of using it. I want to reform the New Springs Authority to be a more progressive organization, one that will do more than simply compensate the families of transformed victims. The wave of the future has besieged this valley; New Springs will ultimately lose to the inevitable march of time. I believe it has finally realized this. Working with New Springs’ grace, I want to spread its power beyond this valley in order to ensure its survival and give its gift to the world. We can achieve Jacob’s dream for him, he can grow up into that world instead of creating it himself. I believe Jacob’s dream is a powerful thing. Will you two join me in accomplishing it?” Seth ended his speech, eager for an answer.

“That is my dream too Seth.” Sarah said, “But as you’ve said, I’m just a teenager. I’m not prepared to play at politics and conspiracies with you, and neither is Jonathan. He has kids he has to look after now. We can’t help you.”

“But I can help you.” Seth countered, “Education is not a problem, money is not a problem, and I have just the solution for your families.” he gently raised a single finger and pointed it at the cooler, “Drink from it, both of you. Let us see what New Springs thinks of both of you now.”

A giddiness spread across Sarah’s face, Jonathan could plainly see it. Everything that she had learned tonight, from both Jacob and Seth seemed to justify everything she had preached. The self-satisfaction on her smug face was almost nauseating. Sarah went for her cooler and pulled out the last two water bottles inside. She passed one to Jon and in an almost dreamy stupor he mimicked her motions in twisting off the top of the bottle. Sarah looked directly into Jon’s eyes. The smile on her face was all too alluring for him.

“Bottoms up” she said.

Bottoms up. He told himself.

The Long Sweat will conclude in: All Endings are Just Beginnings

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