The Intruders

Chapter Three

I drop that letter and pick up another. It's addressed to me too, and another, for me. I keep picking up letters, trying to find one that hasn't got my name scribbled onto the white.

I end up with my arms full of the letters. I turn back to the Bonnie and Clyde, everyone is in the doorway. I drop the letters and pick one final envelope up.

I tear open the back and pull the luxurious piece of paper out.

'From the desk of Veronica Blanchard; leader of the Resistance.'

I gulp, letting myself fall against the floor of letters, as I read the words.

'Dear Mavis Sterling, I hope these letters find you well. I write to you with urgency and help. There has been a recent attack in Saxet, one that I had not anticipated and did not know was possible. An Intruder broke into Saxet and killed a young lady in the dead of the night.'

I thought Intruders were extinct.

'I do not know where the Intruder is hiding, why or how they did it, but I want these questions answered and I want them killed. I need your help Miss Sterling. I understand what happened with Ronan,'

Seeing his name brings the lump back into my throat.

'and I will not convince you, and you may think against helping me. But I have you a deal. Meet me at the gates of Saxet tomorrow at noon. I will make my offer and you will then have the choice to accept or decline. Come alone. I hope you make the correct decision this time. Kind regards, Veronica Blanchard.'

My eyes roll over the letter again and again, and I hear footsteps against the envelopes behind me.

"What is it?" Cassie asks.

"A letter from Veronica." I say, handing the letter behind me and to Cassie. I pick up another envelope opening it, and reading it. It's exactly the same as the other. I can imagine all the letters say the same.

"How far do the letters go out?" I ask Cassie.

She looks up from the letter in her hand. "Erm, our entire patrol route."

I push myself off the ground, counting to three. The world spins slightly, but only just. I walk towards the house, stopping at Mikko and Luka.

"Light all the letters up. I want to see this city rain ash." I tell him, and they nod between each other.

"What was it?" Sam asks.

"A letter from Veronica," I say. "she wants to make me a deal for my help."

"What are you going to do?" Sam asks me as I walk past grabbing my arm.

"I don't know." I say.

"Maybe you should meet with her and see what she has to offer." Sam says. "It may be beneficial to us."

"Beneficial?" I ask him. "We have been doing perfectly fine without Veronica's help. How can this deal possibly be beneficial?" I ask him.

"I don't think it would hurt to see what she has to offer." Sam says.

"Sam," I swallow, "she ruined my life, took away the people who I care about the most, took away most of my life. There is nothing she could offer that I would help her." I wipe against my cheek. "She can never make it up to me."

"Mavis," Sam says, his voice pleading. "Just try."

"Why are you so bothered about me meeting with her? Still got an underlying loyalty to The Resistance?"

"No Mavis," Sam shouts.

"Do you want me dead, as well?" I ask him, feeling the anger inside of my boiling. "Cause she wants help finding an Intruder, and I don't know if you remember but they are killing machines."

"Of course not, you're my sister."

"Then why?"

"Because if Intruders are in Saxet, there isn't much time until they reach us, and they want to kill, it will lead to a fight. And not all of us can survive everything." Sam declares.

"Mavis, listen to your brother." A voice from inside joins us, and I step into the main room seeing my father at the stairs. We still haven't spoken much yet. I know he is begging to sort things out between us.

"I'm eighteen now, I don't need you telling me what to do." I tell him.

"You're right." My dad says. "You're all grown up, an adult now. But you don't know two shits about this world. You don't know how to be a grown up. Yes, you got hurt, but you're letting that blind you, whatever Veronica has in store, could help us all, just for your help." My father says. "But no, you're letting the fact that she killed someone, stop you from even considering it. You don't want a war Mavis, trust me. You may be an adult, but I'm still your father, and you're going at noon." He declares. "Whether you like it or not." He says. He turns back upstairs and I wait till I hear his door close firmly shut.

Now I have no choice.

"Well, at least I know where Mavis gets her cut-throat attitude from." Luka says.