Carp Lake Beekeeping Society

The following is the first chapter in a short fictional story written by yours truly.

Copyright 2025. Olive Barker. All Rights Reserved. This story is a work of fiction. That means all names, characters, organizations, places, events, and incidents are all used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is coincidental. No part of this work may be reproduced, stored, or replicated in any way.

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ONE

Teagan Hingsley hadn’t been in Carp Lake long. She was a 30-year-old freelancer writer from Detroit who, just last year, made a spontaneous decision to move up north and escape the evolving smart cities that surrounded her.

While working her dream job, Teagan was able to save up enough money to buy a small piece of land in the middle of the woods. Paid in cash with no mortgage to hold her back. She wanted a clear break between her new life and her emotional past, while attempting to flee from what had become societal norms.

Apart from her eyebrows, which were thin and seemingly non-existent, Teagan presented an otherwise very attractive appearance. She was curvy but not fat, with very long legs and shiny curly brown hair.

At work, she was known as a reliable go-getter. Some of her clients could depend on short notice. But the tables didn’t always turn in her favor. When she needed them the most, whether it be more money or more work, Teagan found that most of her clients were nowhere to be found, often leaving her in the dust.

That’s another reason she made her way to the countryside of northern Michigan. To escape debt and the $1,400 rent she was working tirelessly to pay.

When she told one of her clients the news on a weekly meeting, they followed up with her later that afternoon via email letting her know that 50% of her job was going to be taken over by AI and her hours would be cut in half.

Rage built up inside her as she snarled under her breath, “One day, I’ll quit without a moment's notice. Good luck finding someone to replace me!” And just like that, the life of Teagan Hinglsey changed forever.

One day, after spending hours cleaning up her yard and auguring with the county zoning department, Teagan decided to go to a local café for lunch. She went to the Mackinaw Bakery and ordered an Asiago bagel with bacon, egg, and cheese along with her favorite - a Matcha latte with grass-fed milk.

The weather was nice, so she took up a table outside at Wawatam Park on the lake so she could watch the boats go by and dream about her next visit over to Mackinac Island.

She reached into the bag to grab her bagel and pulled out a small flyer instead. “Carp Lake Beekeeping Society Welcoming New Members. Join Our Hive Today!” It read.

She had always wanted to get into Beekeeping. In fact, it was on her to-do list to start her own hive in the woods. It would be good to get out of the house a bit and join a community, she thought to herself, and so she texted the number on the flyer.

“Hi! My name is Teagan Hingsley. I just found your flyer in my to-go bag from the bakery, and I wanted to reach out to see if you’re still looking for members to join the Beekeeping club?”

“Hi Teagan! It’s nice to meet you (virtually!), my name is Emily. We are still looking for members if you’re interested. Can you meet me at the address on the flyer tomorrow at 3PM to discuss?” Emily replied within minutes.

“Absolutely. I will see you there!” said Teagan.

The following morning, she awoke early to do her morning chores before her afternoon meeting with the Beekeeping club. She started with a hot cup of coffee and then headed outside to turn on the sprinklers to water the grass and feed the puppies who were out in the kennel.

After a few hours of cleaning and writing, it was time to take a shower and head over to the clubhouse, where she would meet the rest of the beekeepers.

At 3 PM promptly she pulled into a dirt lot over off Mackinac HWY where she spotted a bright yellow shed and a field full of bee hives. She reached over to grab an old water bottle out of the passenger side door and a baseball cap out of her glove compartment, when suddenly there was a knock on her window.

“Sorry, If I startled you. I’m Emily. Emily Brickerville.” Said the woman. “I’m the one who responded to your text message yesterday. I am captain of the Beekeeping Society.”

“I’m an easy scare,” Teagen said softly. “It’s nice to meet you, too. I’m excited to be here.”

“We’re excited to have you! It’s just the four of us for now. Me, you, Aubree Mason over there in the green, and Michelle Lofter in the purple.

“Just the four of us?” Teagan confirmed. “That’s a small group!”

“Yeah, we’re a rather new group in town. Got together as a support hobby after Michelle’s husband passed away last year. But now we want to have the best hive in all of Carp Lake. We’re even building a farm stand to sell our finest honey.” Emily said excitedly.

Teagan followed Emily to the back of the field, where she was introduced to the two other members of the club, Aubree and Michelle. The group spent some time showing her all the ins and outs of Beekeeping, from safety 101 to harvesting her first hive.

They each had their own row of hives, the fourth being the newest row, would fall under Teagan’s responsibility. Emily pointed her to the yellow shed and told her where she could find the new hives so that she could set them up and get them ready for their new bee colonies.

As she walked over to the shed, Teagan began to notice a foul odor that appeared to be coming from the inside. When she opened the door, the stench hit her so hard in the face she almost puked, but she didn’t see anything inside.

She grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her nose so she could investigate further. She spotted the hives lined up on the right side of the shed and a few garden tools to the left of the shed. Each step she took inside made her feel even more nauseous than the last.

Her first thought was a dead animal. But the smell was far too strong to be a dead animal. It smelled like decomposing flesh. In the corner of the shed behind the hives, she noticed a barrel with a sign on it that said harvested 10/24. She walked over to the barrel and the smell got stronger.

She lifted off the top of the barrel and discovered the decomposing body of a small woman, covered in honey, with her mouth and hands wrapped in duct tape.

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