The Aggregate

There is dust on the horizon and dust in the fields. The sky is a burned out shade of white and cicadas haunt the trees and rooftops. It is late September, and Lucy Ashwood has just finished the last unremarkable day of her life. By morning, Lucy finds herself lying in a puddle of gore. The dead number three: two men from the MontVida Corporation and one sheriff's deputy. They came to serve notice of genetic patent violations, and to evict the Ashwoods. When the Ashwoods push back, the end result is an accidental bloodbath. Lucy's contribution involves feeding the dead to her pig, Wilbur. The contribution of her cousin, Arthur, involves his connection to a criminal collective known as the Aggregate. They say they will help the Ashwoods...for a price. Subject to waking nightmares and crippling guilt, Lucy goes on the run. As her visions grow ever more vivid, Lucy begins to suspect there is more to what happened at her home than simply murder. Meanwhile, the Aggregate has decided to call in its favor for assisting the Ashwoods, thrusting Arthur into a world of violent revolution. Neither Lucy, nor Arthur, nor the Aggregate realize there is something else at work, something malevolent that has sprung from the very soil beneath their feet. It speaks through Wilbur, through the drone of the cicadas, through the hot dry wind. When it finally gains a foothold it will force its way through the veil between worlds, Lucy and the rest of humanity be damned.