To Be A Warrior

Chapter 17: Written In Red

Things are well in the little fenced town I'm in. It's not Arkansas. It's not home, but it's not so bad in Virginia. The name is weird, but I'm sure you'll find it funny. No one could decide on what this place should be called, so one of the children piped up and suggest Stratogale. You know, one of the heroes from the Incredibles movie. And since no could decide, it just stuck.

But here things are peaceful. We do have people who volunteer to go get supplies or trade, but we don't really call them runners like Abel and the A.M.T.B. do. They don't have to go out almost daily, sometimes not even weekly, so they're just volunteers. Because of how well we are with our farming, we usually don't need to go out to get food, and we grow enough in our gardens to make natural soaps and washes.

I wish life had been as peaceful and safe for you as it has been for me, with few people dying and less pain and hurt. But since you confirmed that you are the Runner Five that saved the world from mind control-something I had trouble believing in at first-I know that that cannot have been the case for you. And with having to stop the Minister, I'm sure you're still in danger, which worries me more than you know.

I look forward to hearing from you because it lets me know that you're alive. If Stratogale had stronger radio towers, I would suggest talking to you over that, but we cannot, so I can only wait for your letters. Please write back to me. I don't care if all you tell me about is your day with Sam, or about those children that you said you have... adopted. I don't care if you tell me about the pain of a run or what terrible things you have been through. I don't want you to keep those things from me. And you writing to me, even though I receive these months later, lets me know that you were alive then, so there's a chance you could still be alive now.

I do not know when or if I will see you again, but I pray every day that you will find a way back home, or that I will find a way to you. I miss you and Katelyn both. Tell me if you've made any progress with stopping the Minister. The closer you are to stopping her, then the closer you may be to being safe.

Love,
Mom.

I set the letter down in my lap, taking a moment to process it all. So, she hasn't got my other letters. At least, she hadn't when she wrote this one. Otherwise she wouldn't have referred to Sam as just my boyfriend. I haven't written her anything new since I sent her the letter about me and Sam being engaged, so I'll probably receive another letter in reply to that too.

She'll probably be happy about it, since she told me to latch on and hold tight. I don't think I can hold on any tighter than marrying him.

I'm pretty sure Sam will be ecstatic when I tell him what she said about him. I mean, even though he hasn't met her, and probably won't for a long time, he did say that was one of the things that worried him the most-that they would meet and she wouldn't like him. She's the only parent I have left, I think, since Nicole has no idea where our father is.

I asked if he wanted to read the letter with me, but he refused, saying that this letter was for me and that I should read it by myself the first time. It's special, and I'm lucky he cares for me so much.

Although he did say he expected me to tell him about it later, since he doesn't want me to be hurting alone if there was anything upsetting written.

My eyes scan over the words again, ink blots on the white, pristine paper, probably from dropping the pen or pressing down into the paper as my mom looked for the right word. I should write her back. I should tell her how things are-that the Minister is dead, and now we have to worry about the V-Types and the Last Riders. I should tell her about who we faced in the past, what I did and who I lost while trying to take them down.