One Rotation

The Letter that started it all

The mailbox creaks as I open it for the fifth time that day.  I peer inside and see nothing.  Sighing, I close the door and look at my watch.  It said 2:37, and that means that the mailman is late, and of course it is today, I mean it is just the most important day of my life.  I walk back to the door of my apartment and walk in. I walk over to my table, and sit down. I move the NASA papers off one side and lay my head down.   I stay that was for about ten minutes and relax.  When I raise my head off my table, I move my blonde hair out of the way so I can check the time again.  I look at my watch, and it says 2:50.  The mailman should have been here a good half hour ago.  I set my head back on the table, and drift off, half sleeping, and half awake.  I lift my head off my table, as I hear the distinctive squeal of the mailman’s breaks.  I look outside, through my window, and see the mailman put a few envelopes in my mailbox.  Then he closes my mailbox, and drives off. I fling open my door, and run out.  I skid to a stop by my mailbox, and open the door.

Inside the mailbox, there are four envelopes. Three are bills, and one is what I was hoping for.  I pick the letter up gingerly, and flip it over. I see that the letter is sealed with the NASA stamp. I gently run my finger over the letter.  I leave the rest of the envelopes in the mailbox, and close the door. I then walk back into my apartment, and close the door.  I sit down at my table, and look at the letter.  I pick the letter up again, and slide my fingernail under the lip, and open it.  I take out the crisp letter, which is folded in three sections. I unfold it, and begin to read.  “Dear Molly,” it says, I continue to read, getting excited.  “We regret to inform you,” I let out a sigh, and my letter down.  I rest my head on my hands, and sit.  I look out the window, and something catches my eye. It is the mailman, again. He drives down the street, and stops at my mailbox and mine alone.  He opens the door, and puts a small padded envelope in it.  He sped off, and I stand up. I walked down to my mailbox, and take the padded envelope out.  On the front, it has the NASA symbol.  I then take it inside for examination.  I walked into my apartment, and kicked my door with my foot.  It doesn’t close all the way, and I tell myself that I will close it after I look at the envelope.  I sat down, and examine it closely.  I notice that the edge of the NASA logo has peeled back a little bit.  I grip it between my fingers, and pull.  The sticker peels off easily, and I look at the back of it.  In tiny print, I see some words.  It has two sentences on it, and I squint to read it.  “Molly,” it says.  “Read the letter again before opening this package.  Tell no one about the mission, or it will be compromised.”  Read the letter again it says.  I pick the letter up again, and read it.  I skim the letter, looking for clues that I may have missed.  A few of the words on the page appear different.  The words look like they are a size smaller.

I grab a piece of scrap paper off of my table, which is covered in papers.  I grab a pen from the top of a stack of papers, and look back at the letter.  I write down the words, and look at them.  They don’t seem to be in a specific order, and I write them down. We, Like, Would, 313, Molly, You, To, Come, Room, To, Wednesday, Chosen, Been, For, Have, You, Zero, On, Mission.  I skim over the words again, and re-arrange them.  It takes me less than a minute to put them in the correct order.  I then read them in the correct order.  “Molly, we would like you to come to room 313 on Wednesday.  You have been chosen for mission zero.”  I now realize that I have gotten picked.  I open the padded envelope, and look inside.   The box is empty, except for one note, which says to destroy everything. I then stand up, to go close my front door, which I hadn’t closed earlier.  

I hear a knock on my partially opened door, and walk over.  I open it the rest of the way and see a man.  I have seen this man before, but not for a long time.  His face is older, but I know that it is him.  It is Mike Sherling; he is the world’s biggest killer.  He has been in jail for a long time now, but he just recently escaped.   He was the person who dropped the energy bomb on China, killing 13.7 million people.  He was also the man who shot at president Obama back in 2016.  That was ten years ago, but not one person has forgotten.  When I see him, it brings back memories.  My hand flies to my arm, and I feel my scar.  I remember that day, back in 2016.  I had become a member of the FBI right after I graduated high school.  I had completed basic training during the summer, and was put on the team of 15 people who protected the president.