The Note

I did love Tom for quite a long time. We had our marriage planned. He was going to ask me when I graduated from college, a year after he did. He was a teacher by trade, and I realized I wanted to be one too.

Midway through my last year of college, we suddenly broke up. The relationship was deteriorating for a while, and yes, he was responsible for some of it, but I had the lions share. I was too young.

Looking back at it, I think of all I would have lost if we had stayed together. I was re-reading my old journals and I don’t know why I wanted to be depressed.

I heard the doorbell ring and I wiped off my pants from all the dust that accumulated in the attic. I climbed down the ladder and my mind continued to drift. I brushed off left over dust as I came down the stairs to the front door. I hesitantly opened the door, as I was not expecting anyone, and she stood there in, 6 foot tall, and hidden in a dark scarf and sunglasses. I croaked “Hello.”

“Here.” She said in a rough low voice and handed me an envelope. Then she turned as quickly as she came and scuffled away. I laughed absurdly and then carefully peered around the house for Protection Guards.

I backed in quickly clutching the envelope and shut the door. I felt compelled to open it immediately. I scattered the contents on the coffee table, and I saw a money chip and a handwritten letter. I wasn't sure if I should store what I found in the vault, until David came home. Leadership allowed each home, one private vault that could not be monitored.

Leadership was our governing body. A council of 12 men and women of various socioeconomic backgrounds and cultures. The goal was that rule under Leadership would be fair and allow freedom and equal opportunities for all. While they monitored all electronic communication, they did allow some privacy by each home to having a built in unmonitored vault.

As the Chronology (the main history book of Leadership) tells it, during the Dark Times many historical records were lost. However, history before the Great Blast had been somewhat preserved by the people who began our society. Leadership predicted the Great Blast and preserved as much early history as they could. Yet, no one was told what really caused the Great Blast. Over the past 30 years Leadership took was left of the grid, and they were able to reestablish communication systems and the internet. I had recently heard that I was being considered for Leadership. I was not sure if I wanted the responsibility.

I shook myself from my reverie and looked at the money chip I was about to insert in the card reader. I slipped the chip into the small machine on the wall. It took a few seconds to load and the amount popped up on the screen. I gasped. It was an amount that would take me 6 months to make, 20, 000 dollars.

I took deep breaths and sat down to read the letter. I gasped when I saw it was from my ex-Tom.

Dearest Nycolle,

I know we have not talked in a long while, but I don’t have much time, so I will get to the point. Something evil is coming. It is worse than the Great Blast. It is coming from inside our Societies. I cannot go into too much detail. I need you to burn this note when you find it and do not trust the vault please.

There is a money chip included here with my life savings. You will need it to bribe guards at the checkpoints, marked on the back of this letter. I heard you are being considered for Leadership. You must trust me on this. Turn it down. You must take your family and leave this place. Go to the Wasteland.

I know you think there is nothing there. Trust me there is. Take your family and leave. Please do this for me. They are coming for me. I must go. I am entrusting this will get to you.

Tom

I put the note down. I was shocked. I know I needed, my husband David home now. I needed to find him, but I instinctively knew I could not trust the communication systems.

Not quite realizing I had come to an action plan I found myself up and moving. I went out into the garage and gathered our camping gear. I was so glad that we had taken that hiking trip not that long ago on the edge of the Wasteland on the west coast, that was formerly known as Montana. The blasts that had occurred had taken out most of the East and West Coasts. It had left most of the central part of the United States map intact. Leadership was located in the Great Republic Control Command, it what was formerly Texas.

I started at a noise from the front door and realized it was just my children coming home. I rushed to meet them. Alyse trembled as she held a sheet of paper out to me. It had a Protection Guard Insignia on it. William had one arm around her and he was trying to calm her. He guided her over to the couch.

I took the paper from her trembling hand and read it.

Remanded to protection guards. Designation Reeducation Center, David Zurrick

Alyse was training for the Protection Guard through a program in high school that started junior year. It was a program that chose only the brightest and fittest. It would develop into a prestigious career.

I realized reading that paper, that in less than 15 minutes I had decided to abandon everything I knew and escape into the Wasteland, with my children no less. I knew they were not really kids anymore. Alyse was 17, and William was 20. They would be able to make this trek and survive it. Quickly I showed them the note I had received from Tom. Alyse had stopped crying, but both her and William were notably perturbed after they read the note. I showed Alyse the back of the note where guard posts were marked.

"Not all of these are accurate," Alyse said and quickly pulled a map from her backpack. She paused to circle a few, not marked on the back of the letter.

Alyse noticed my look of surprise, "William and I have been working on something for some time," she hesitated. "Look mom, it's not safe to talk here. Let’s gather the supplies you packed. We need to head out.”

After William checked that the car was clean of listening devices, we entered the car and drove silently away from the only real home I had known. Alyse began to talk. "When I started in the Protection Guard training, I was pulled into a special unit. They decided to train me for covert operations. They said that I scored very highly on the special tests. I did not even know that this branch of the Protection Guard existed. I started to learn things, that made me question everything that I had learned about the fabric of our Societies.”

William continued, “As I entered community college I was recruited into the Rebellion by Dad and there I started to learn some truths about our great governing body."

Alyse continued “William and Dad brought me into the Rebellion. With my inside connections I was able to help them. That was a year ago.”

William continued, "We think that the Protection Guard found out about Dad. Mom I have a confession to make. Dad knew Tom. He must have had Tom send you that letter to warn you. Tom and Dad were leading the internal Rebellion against the Republic. Tom knew Dad was caught.”

Alyse spoke urgently, leaning forward in her seat. The first check point was ahead. "Mom, give me your money chip. I will talk to them."

When she got us past the check point, she continued "From the intelligence we gathered, I believe the leader is known as Veronica. We have to try to find her. She is probably in the Wasteland.”

“Tom, unfortunately is dead," William continued

I was startled. "How do you know? The Republic does not kill people. They are remanded to the Reeducation Centers. The worst punishment is to go to The Wasteland!" I screeched.

Alyse hugged me. "Mom, there are many people who go to the reeducation center that do not come back. Remember the Boises down the road? The whole family disappeared? There is not much time to go over this now mom,” Alyse continued hurriedly.

She laid out the plan of escape to the Wasteland and how we were to find Veronica. We drove in silence then. We passed check points without incident. When we arrived at our destination, I saw a huge fence with a large wooden gate. Alyse explained, on the other side was the remnants of what was known as the East

As I moved to get out of the car, I realized something was jabbing me in the back. I reached behind me and realized that something was in my back pocket. It was my little black book. I must have stuffed it there without thinking when the doorbell rang. Curiously, I flipped through it and in the back and I found a note, that was not in my handwriting. It was a note from David. It had detailed instructions on how to proceed into the Wasteland. There was also a detailed plan on how to infiltrate the Republic. David stated in the note instructions to deliver the note to a Veronica.

"How did he know to put it there?" I gasped.

"He just knows you really well mom," Alyse said crying. "We will get him back mom, I promise."

William hesitated.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"I am going back to help the Rebellion, on this side of the fence, and free Dad."

I looked at him startled and William put his hands on my shoulders comfortingly.

“Mom I also have to tell you another part of the plan you are not going to like.”

“What?” I asked hesitantly.

“You need to let Alyse go on ahead with the black book and the money chip. We need you to go back and take the position in Leadership. I know Tom told you not to, but you taking that position is key to us overtaking the Republic. Alyse and I lied when we said we did not know what was going on. The East is the key to out freedom from monitoring and will give us the ability to make decisions for ourselves. There was no Great Blast. The country was divided into three sections after a civil war. The section west on Montana is what is left of the United States. The East and the United States have formed an allegiance. A great war is coming. We need people in key places, so that we have less resistance.”

I shuddered, tears in my eyes and stepped back, but I knew he was right. Alyse and William had always been bright capable children. I was stunned, but I realized the truth. I knew that things were wrong for a long time. Many of my neighbors had been exiled to the Wasteland, which meant they were probably dead.

I hugged them both and backed towards the car. I took a breath and realized I had lost everything in a second. I looked at my children and hoped they would bring about the change we so desperately needed. No tears though, I had to keep moving. I started the car and drove off to my uncertain future.