“I’m not trying to prove anything.” She pulled the typewriter in front of her. “This isn’t about anything like that. The truth is I’m just tired of running, tired of being scared of them. Right now, I’m more excited than anything else. Those assholes put people through so much. It’s their turn to feel it. Their turn to get a taste of what’s deserved.
“You said people would follow me, that I’m a leader, but it wasn’t until after the vote that I believed it. Everyone kept coming up to me, thanking me, telling me how brave I was. The looks on their faces—I don’t… I don’t doubt it anymore. Danny trained me for a reason. He chose me to have these skills, and I’m choosing to use them to fight back.
“Grant, it’s not just us this time, we have backing. It’s not even close to what it was like with River’s Edge. We have the truth about the S.A. We have weapons, the people, a chance to surprise them. All of it gives us a real chance.”
“I think we’re being smart about this,” Grant said. “You and Xavier’s plan is good. Real good.” He gripped her shoulder and squeezed a couple times before changing the subject. “I still have these.” He took both the Second Alliance letters from his coat pocket and slapped them on the desk. “Figured if you’re pretendin’ to be Haverty, you might want these, right?”
“I’ve read the one plenty.” She took the new letter, the one intended for Griffin, and delicately removed the wax seal from it. “It’s set up similar to the other,” she said while reading through it. “Same format… Same sort of language… Long-winded for sure. You mind checking this out? It’s a draft I put together for Xavier’s new orders. I think it’s pretty good.”
“Yep, I’ll take a look at it.” Leaning back onto Danny’s bed, Grant began to read.
Jenny waited.
When Grant finished, he stood and made his way back over to the desk. “Sounds good to me. Real official, but let Xavier take a look when they get back. He’s prolly seen S.A. orders before and can tell you what’s missin’.”
Jenny eyed Haverty’s newest letter and adjusted the margin on the typewriter to match it as closely as she could.
“Never knew you knew anythin’ about typewriters. Figured it was only computers and phones with your generation.”
“When I was younger, my grandmother let me mess with hers. She liked the clacking of the keys. Told me it relaxed her when she wrote letters to her friends.”
“Great! You guys got it,” Xavier said upon entering the room with Matt and Sherman.
“We were worried Lars wouldn’t be able to find it,” Matt said, as he took Sherman into his kennel.
“You think I’ll be able to make it look right?” Jenny asked. Xavier moved behind her to get a look at what she had started on the typewriter. “Well?”
“You shouldn’t have any trouble making it look right. I’m more worried with how it sounds.”
“She wrote this here.” Grant handed him the draft, and Xavier read over it.
“This is a little too much.” Xavier set the letter on the desk. “I’m not trying to be nit-picky, but the orders need to be a lot shorter. Haverty’s regular letters are long, but his orders aren’t. They’re supposed to be professional, and he writes them that way. You’ll definitely want to throw in some big words like you did in the draft, but there doesn’t have to be a lot to it. Let me see that pencil, and I’ll try and shorten it up.”
“How ‘bout me and Matt leave the both of you to it,” Grant said. “That is unless you need us doin’ somethin’ else.”
“You mind taking Sherman out for a bit? Let him use the bathroom and stretch his legs.”
“Isn’t that what me and Xavier just did?” Matt asked under his breath.
“I don’t think he’ll complain,” Jenny said.
“I got you, girlie. Matt, nab up that rifle and cover me.”
“Sure.” Matt passed Sherman’s lead over to Grant, then grabbed the rifle.
“You two play nice,” Grant said, as he and Matt left the room.
“Okay.” Jenny let the joke slide, focusing back to the letter. “How much do you think they’ll look this over?”
“Not sure,” Xavier said, still ticking through the draft with suggestions. “Sentries are used to taking orders and won’t question Haverty, but you never know. I think so far, this sounds pretty good. These changes will get it close to being perfect. Otherwise… Well, you know what will happen.”
“You sure you still want to do this?”
“Are you getting on me again? I told you I’m not S.A. I don’t wan—”
“That’s not what I meant. It’s just… Going back into River’s Edge is crazy. I’m just worried about you. Even with the uniform and everything, what if—what if someone recognizes you?”
“I’m not too worried about that. Most the S.A. there aren’t going to know who I am. The Guards aren’t going to give a shit. Haverty’s gone. The whole thing with the hanging, with you guys escaping, isn’t likely to be known by a lot of the S.A. that’s there. Things like that, you know, things that make the S.A. look bad don’t get out very often. They change people out pretty frequently to keep it that way. The only people who will care about me being back are our people.”
“You better not get caught sneaking around before you get the chance to set it up.”
“What’s the worst that can happen? They kill me again?”
“Don’t say that,” Jenny said through weak laughter.
“This plan will work. I know you’ll handle your part. Matt and Grant will take care of what they have to do. And trust me, I’ll have no trouble with mine.” He took a crisp piece of paper and slipped it into the typewriter. “Now, right here is how the orders are done.” He pointed to a section of Jenny’s draft he had corrected. “Format the top of the letter like this. If it doesn’t look like that, they’ll know right away.”
Jenny nodded.
“When we take the wax seal from the other envelope and super glue it to ours, then there’ll be no doubting it.”
“I hope so…”
Close:
Two faint lights ahead in the distance. One for each watchtower just as he remembered. Only a while longer and the lamps would disappear with the rising of the sun. It was then he’d approach the gate. Only then. For now, the young man would continue to wait inside the woodline, obsessively tapping the envelope in his front coat pocket. He counted each tap like the ticking of a clock, wishing away what darkness remained of the morning.
Waiting…
Tapping…
Finally, it came—the lanterns pulled from the watchtowers—the gate completely visible in the daybreak. The young man emerged, one hand on his rifle’s grip which hung from its sling, his other hand, swung freely, casually as not to raise suspicion to something more sinister.
One of the Sentries stood, a pair of binoculars to his eyes.
In the other watchtower, a rifle swung toward the approaching stranger.
“Relax!” the one with the binoculars called out. “One of ours!”
“You sure?”
“Yep!”
“What’s he want?”
“How the hell should I know?”
The young man strode toward the gate, each of his steps punching bootprints into the untouched snow. He took the envelope from his coat pocket as he worked his way through the gauntlet of vehicles that surrounded the wall of River’s Edge Academy.
“What’s your name, kid?”
“Xavier.”
“Why you come out here alone?”
“I have orders.” He held the envelope up for the Sentry to see. “They’re from Haverty’s office.”
The Sentry nodded over to his partner and a bucket was pitched over the side of the tower. “Go ahead and put it in.”