The Black Envelope

Chapter 1: Delivery

Chapter 1: Delivery

Gage walked briskly down the entranceway. The dull thud of his combat boots smacking the linoleum echoed through the empty hall like war drums. The lockers, scratched and graffited, shown with the dim light that descended from the sporadically placed windows in the ceiling. Classroom doors, placed evenly down the hall, were faded and darkened with shadow from being set into the wall. His thoughts wandered as he subconsciously searched for room 410 of Meadow Groves High School. Having just graduated from this same high school, he hated walking down the familiar green and white tiled hallways. It brought back unpleasant memories of being shoved into lockers and tripped as he walked. The kids that had picked on him would be long gone now, but he couldn't help being a little nervous as his eyes scanned the door numbers.

Room 320, 322, 324 ...

He wondered what those people would think of him now.

After spending eight months bulking up and being conditioned for this job, he looked completely different then the scrawny pale kid that everyone made fun of. But after learning that he was going to be working with the Unnoticed, he had been trained in five different kinds of combat, learned four different languages, including the Unnoticeds' tongue, and gained about ten pounds of lean muscle. Not to mention the three months spent specifically for the studying of the Unnoticed.

350, 352, 354 ...

He still hated those things. The way their camouflage looked exactly like human skin didn't help his fear of them. In fact, they looked so much like humans that sometimes it was hard to tell them apart. The only way you could was their eyes. Pure black and shiny as marbles. They say you can see exactly how you will die if you look straight into them. The only time he had ever seen one, though, it was wearing sunglasses.

Eager to get this assignment over with he sped up his pace and turned a corner.

406, 408, 410 ...

Gage brushed his black hair out of his eyes as he stopped in front of room 410. His stomach clenched as he looked through the little window and saw one of his old teachers, Mr. Wilmarth. Mr. Wilmarth was one of Gage's favorite teachers, one of the only ones that stuck up for him. Breathing deeply and clutching the black envelope to his side, he made his face as impassive as he could, grabbed the handle and took a confident step into the room, stopping just inside the doorframe.

Mr. Wilmarth immediately stopped speaking and made no sign that he had recognized Gage, but a look of surprise then alarm had shown up on his face as he noticed the all black ensemble and red and silver crest of the Messengers emblazoned on Gage's chest. Gage took a deep breath and spoke.

"Gage Manson speaking for the Messengers Union for the Subtraction of the Population, henceforth referred to as M.U.S.P. I am here to deliver this envelope." He held up the black envelope in his hand as looks of complete fear moved across the room. Gage wasn’t surprised at the reaction. The teenagers in this room had grown up fearing the sight of Messengers and the omens they carried on their person. He had been the same way.

Mr. Wilmarth started at Gage's name, as his eyes moved to Gage's hardened features and back to the crest. "Oh, Gage..." he whispered, eyes dark with disappointment.

Gage met his former teacher’s gaze and gave a brief nod. Mr. Wilmarth swallowed.

"Class, please give your full attention to Mr. Manson," Mr. Wilmarth paused and then walked over to Gage cautiously like one would approach a caged animal.

“Gage, please tell me you didn’t do this because of what happened here," he muttered softly, his tone pleading, begging Gage to prove him wrong.

Gage’s gaze roamed sharply over the gathering in the classroom. Each student had their eyes trained on the two men and were listening carefully to their conversation.

When Gage spoke, his voice came out steady and his words hit the mark he’d been aiming for. “If you’re referring to the verbal and physical abuse I suffered here for four years, no, I took care of that myself. I became a Messenger for personal reasons that you would never understand.”

Mr. Wilmarth recoiled like he’d been slapped. “Gage, I tried to help-”

Gage laughed softly, but the noise burned like acid. “No one could help, Richard, I was long gone before I even stepped foot in your class.”

Gage didn’t fully understand where the malice staining his words was coming from. He only knew that the darkness in his past had always been intensified in this penitentiary of a school, and being back here after everything he’d been through in the past year was only setting him on edge.

Buzz swept the room like wildfire as the class entertained the thought of Gage somehow knowing Mr. Wilmarth. Finally, they put two and two together and realized that Gage used to attend this school and knew Mr. Wilmarth personally. It shocked them that their teacher knew the Messenger in front of them. However, instead of being relaxed by the knowledge of a familiar person, it only terrified them more.

All talk ceased suddenly as Gage opened his mouth to speak again. Looks of anxiety filled the room.

Gage swallowed. Even with his sudden rage, he always hated this part. Naming the victim usually had different results with the age of the person. Adults usually tried to talk their way out, older teenagers sometimes tried to go out fighting, but anything could happen with under eighteens.

"Is there an Emelia Burns in here?"

There was a collective gasp as the class turned to look at a small blond girl in the back of the room. Emelia’s face paled as she realized what Gage had said. She started sobbing as she collapsed to the ground. There was another immediate uproar.

Shouts of abuse at Gage and outrage among the whole class filled the room with an atmosphere of absolute hate.

Gage tried to keep his face devoid of emotion. "I do not make the rules, I can't change them. She was on the List, I just deliver."

A boy Gage assumed to be a close friend of Emelia’s got up and stalked over to the front of the room. He was a head shorter then Gage, but he stood his ground and fixed Gage with an enraged glare.

"That’s complete bull! You can fix this, you can take her off the List! You're a Messenger!" the boy stared intently at Gage until he saw that Gage wasn't going to say anything. He turned to Mr. Wilmarth, "Mr. Wilmarth! You know him, you can do something can't you?" The boy looked hopefully at his teacher.

Mr. Wilmarth had sat down hard in his chair at the mention of Emelia’s name, "Gage, please. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you but you must be able to do something. She hasn't done anything wrong. Why was she on the List in the first place?"

Gage sighed. This is why he hated dealing with people he knew before he took the job, "I don't know, the people are picked randomly. I can't do anything about it. I'm sorry, I really am."

Emelia’s friend looked ready to argue but finally just went to sit down and comfort Emelia who was curled up on the ground. A hallow feeling blossomed in Gage’s chest and his anger evaporated, replaced by an old exhaustion.

Gage approached Mr. Wilmarth and placed the envelope on his desk, "Please make sure she gets this and goes to her specified place, I don't want her death to be any worse then it needs to be."

Mr. Wilmarth nodded, his pale face etched with pity, "What happened Gage, what happened to the boy I knew a year ago?"

Gage looked at him. "He grew up."

Gage left to the sound of Emelia's wails echoing down the hallway.