[untited] - Chapter 1 - Recession Fears

Peter woke to the unusual sound of a fire crackling in the room next to him. Panicked, he sat up in his bed and let his mind filter in the air, through the door, and into the next room where the image of his wife Jessie sitting by their tiny heart calmed and warmed his very soul. Grunting slightly with the effort, he slid out of bed and pulled his slippers from their place by the nightstand. Feet now covered and warmed, he strode purposefully, if a little off balance, out of the bedroom to be greeted by one of Jessie’s more worried expressions.1

“What’s wrong Hunny?” Peter asked as he stretched, trying to work out and uncomfortable kink at the bottom of his back.2

“It’s been on the news all morning,” Jessie replied, pointing toward the television in the corner where the headline “Severe Magic Shortage Causes Chaos” scrolled across the bottom of the screen in alarmingly large lettering. The rest of the screen was taken up by a man of medium built standing outside the HMD (Headquarters for Magic Distribution) hurriedly reporting on the magic shortage. From what Peter could digest, the CMD (Council for Magic Distribution) had been handing out large quantities of magic over the past few years as part of loans for housing developments but, with rising house prices and lowering sales levels, wasn’t seen much of the magic being returned. All this was leaving the CMD drastically low on magic and thus the entire world was facing a magic shortage.3

“…leaving many residents of Bloomton regretting that there’s no such thing as an anti-recession spell,” the reporter finished just before Jessie turned the television over to standby.4

“What will we do,” se asked, turning her head once more to look ad Peter, “we don’t have much magic left ourselves after we spruced up the house last month. We barely have enough to last the week without using these basic utensils.” A wide sweep of her arm took in everything from the television to the dishwasher and she sighed audibly.5

Peter however wasn’t as perturbed as he had a fondness for ‘basic’ utensils. Casually, as if he hadn’t just heard about the magic shortage he strode over to the counter top and filled the now antique kettle and set it on to boil. “We’ll get through this dear,” he said with his head buried deep within the press, “we’ll have to. Sure, everyone will have to come to terms with it.” He emerged from the press with two teabags and dropped them into a pair of mugs that were already sitting on the counter.6

“I know we’ll have to get through it,” Jessie answered, almost biting the ends off her words, “It’s just going to be awkward.”7

“You mean it’s going to take a bit of extra effort,” Peter chided as the kettle came to the boil. Picking it up he poured a sizable measure of water into each mug and, using a spoon, squeezed the teabags against the side of their respective mugs before removing them and placing them in a little pot on the draining board. Opening the fridge he retrieved a half-filled bottle of milk and filled both mugs to the brim. Satisfied, he replaced the milk and carried the two mugs over to the sofa where Jessie sat and handed one to his wife. “As I said, we’ll get through this.”8

Jessie burrowed he shoulder deep under his arm once he sat down before switching on the television once more so that they might hear the latest updates from the HMD. The man from before was no longer there, instead replaced by a young looking woman who continued to bring updates on the magic shortage. Seemingly, the levels of magic held within the HMD had been decreasing at a rate of seven per cent a year for the last six years as the Bloomton suburbs had been growing drastically. The use of magic in the construction industry was nothing new as it allowed hoses to be completed in a matter of days for what was assumed to be a much lowered cost. Now however, things could be seen to be much different, and the cost of the housing developments was not as clear as first thought.9

When the report ended, Peter got to his feet, placing the half drank mug of tea on the ground beside the chair, and returned to the bedroom to get dressed for work. Once ready he picked up the mug again and had to stop himself short of using a bit of magic to re-heat the now cool mug. Sighing to himself he drank the rest of the tea in one go and walked back to the counter with the mug. “Could you wash this please?” he asked Jessie as he placed it in the sink. Without waiting for an answer he headed for the door, ready for another day of work at the HMD.10

***11

The uncommon sound of car engines drowned out the usual background noise of the HMD as Peter arrived. Many of the institutions employees had obviously decided that using more ‘archaic’ forms of fuel and transport were the wisest option in the current magic loss climate. The company’s car park attendants were struggling to cope with the increasing volume of traffic and Peter found himself having to weave his way past them in order to reach the large, glass doors of the HMD central offices.12

He had barely gotten into the building when his secretary Ms. Thompson spotted him and rushed over, a neat bunch of manila files tucked under her left arm. “Rita, good morning,” Peter exclaimed cheerfully.13

“Morning sir,” the five foot ten inch brunette replied, “though I wouldn’t use the word good to describe it in fairness. Here are your assignments for today,” she continued holding out the files so that Peter could take them. “All big clients with even bigger debts; you’ll have your work cut out for you today.”14

Peter smiled at her as he accepted the files, flicking the first one open: Reginald Huffman, 42, Contractor by trade, Owes 436 units of magic. “Nothing major in this one,” he said, looking back to Rita, “surely one of the biggest contractors in the city has to have borrowed more than 436 units of magic?”15

“Yes, sir. Mr. Huffman and a few of his colleagues agreed reduced repayment plans on their overall borrowings with the CMD just last week. The initial repayment of 436 units should have been received three days ago but nothing was lodged in any of our accounts. That’s why you’re going after Mr. Huffman.”16

“So none of these guys,” Peter questioned holding up the files, “have even paid a unit of magic back to the HMD?”17

“No, sir. A few of the smaller companies have made their repayments, and it’s purely because of these repayments that the HMD is still in operation today. The magic is needed now, that’s why these files are being handed out to all our recollection agents. The world’s on the brink of financial collapse and it’s down to your office to dig us out.”18

Peter shut Huffman’s file as he and Rita strode down the short corridor to his office. It looks like it’s going to be one hell of a day, he mused.