Phantom

Chapter Five

     I woke up ten minutes before reveille. There was a small letter on my shelf, addressed to my alias. It was a long, heartfelt letter, that I thought was from my mom, but the handwriting was different. I reread it a couple of times until something caught my eye. In the middle of the letter, it said that my brother, Fredrick, wished he could see me. The letter, which was signed Mom, was clearly a call for debriefing. The only question was of how I could meet up with him.

     After I got dressed, I walked down to the mess hall to meet up with Wence. He was at the doors, arms crossed. "Good morning." He summed me up. "They're serving oatmeal with fruit in it for the early birds."

     "That's much more appealing than regular, cold oatmeal."

     "Actually, this stuff is going to be warmer."

   "Lukewarm. Yum, yum." I smiled and walked through the door, Wence following. We each grabbed a cup and chose a table far to the back.

     "So where did you come from?" I asked.

     Wence stuck a spoonful into his mouth. "I lived in what used to be New York City. Then I came here about eight and a half years ago. The Eventide drafted me last week. I would've run away, but... Let's just say I have nothing to run for." I looked at him. Despite his gloomy attitude, he still looked ready to pull a prank. "How about you, Leslie?"

     "Oh, me? I've lived here my whole life, in the upper east side of the city." I hated lying.

     "Why did you sign up?"

     His eyes bored into me. I blinked and sat rigid in my seat. "My brother joined a few years ago. We hadn't heard from him, so I thought I could get in here and find him. Make sure he was OK."

     "You must really care for your brother."

     "Yeah," Images of that night flashed through my mind. "Speaking of outgoing communication, do you know any way to get letters or anything out of here without it being monitored?"

     "Well," Wence looked to make sure there was no one around us. "I heard that there's a trail in the woods that leads to an abandoned suburban area. Why?"

     "I want to send my Mom a letter, but I don't want other people to read it. It's a little personal."

     "I see," Reveille burst through the air and Wence finished off his oatmeal. "You ready for Teeter?"

     "Sure," I stuck my spoon into the cup and walked towards the doors, trashing the cup on my way. Wence rushed forwards and opened the door for me. "So where do you think you're going to be assigned when training is over?"

     "Dunno. I don't like to predict my future. It leads to nothing but heartache and disappointment."

     People passed us on each side, making their way to and from breakfast. I squinted at the sun. "Really? I've always found it pretty exciting."

     "Futures are like families. You only get one. If you don't like it, sucks for you, it's already been decided."

     "I can almost see the optimism running from your mouth."

     "You'll get it when you grow up."

     I glared at him as he held open the door for me. Sergeant Teeter looked surprised to see Wence early, but quickly put his scowl back on. "Morning, Teeter. How's it going?" Wence ambled up to a front seat, but didn't sit, and sincerely peered a few inches up into the Sergeant's dark eyes.

     "Can it and take a seat, Douglas. You two are early."

     Wence looked over at me as if to tell me to choose. I picked the seat next to him, in the very front. He looked betrayed. "What?" I needed to have an open ear to the Sergeant's words so that I could put them in my reports. "Remember? I'm a volunteer."