Jason Gravely
Story for January.
To Whom It May Concern:
I never imagined that this would be
how it ended. People like to cling to greeting-card-ready affirmations like “It’s
never over until it’s over” and “Tomorrow is another day”, but I’m afraid that “Our
days are numbered” is the only clichéd phrase that really holds any weight.
When they came for my family I was creeping around in the shadows trying to
find us a potential way out, but that glimmer of hope came too late. Now I’m
sitting in an empty freight car alone, listening to the steel rumble beneath
me. I keep trying to drown out the screams that circle around my head like
demonic apparitions calling out for my soul, but it hasn’t worked.
I don’t know how they found us, but I
have an idea that it had something to do with that stupid phone my sister,
Collette never wanted to put down. She said I was just being paranoid and I
wanted to believe her, but something kept telling me that I was right. Now I
feel certain that we were being monitored. I always felt it suspicious that
shiny, new technology was always made readily available, but the maintenance of
our health and well-being was a crap-shoot. Even when basic necessities like
food and clean water were becoming scarce, a brand new phone could be yours for
almost nothing.
In hindsight, I realize that it was
entirely my fault that my family was taken away. I never should have used that
stupid phone to search for like-minded individuals, but I had to try and find
people who saw the change coming. I can only hope that you are one of those
people. The last I checked, thousands of people were waking up and working
towards change, now I can only hope that it isn’t too late for you.
The only thing I have to keep the good
memories alive is a single pearl that broke from my grandmother’s broach as
they drug her away. Collette didn’t make it to their van. Ever defiant, she
scratched and kicked at the goons in black enough to frustrate one so much that
he shot her point-blank in the chest. Then the screams from my mother and grandmother
intensified to a level that brings me chills every time I think of that moment.
I saw all this from behind the bushes on top of a hill behind our house. If I
had gotten back one minute sooner, you wouldn’t be reading this. I’m certain I’ll
never get those images or sounds out of my head. Since that night, I’ve been on
the run; hopping from one train to another wishing that I’d either find a way
out of this country or out of this life.
I’m not evil, in fact I don’t recall
ever wishing harm upon anyone. However, in the eyes of the law, I’m the worst
kind of criminal. I only tried to get people to become aware of the evil
lurking behind closed doors. Incredibly powerful men who crave total control
and the death of free will sent their goons out into the world to round-up
anyone with an opposing view, but they never found me and I hope they never
find you. From where I sit, my view is the fields, forests and freeways of this
once great land, but all I see is the end. I once saw visions of this horrid change
which has befallen us as a people; now I have visions of a Glock 9mm fixated on
my forehead as I stare into the eyes of what used to be a man, but is now just
a tool of destruction.
I can almost smell death in the air
around me when I roam the train-yards at night ducking between and under
freight cars avoiding detection from the police on patrol. The streets at night
used to glow with the headlights and store-fronts of bustling cities, but now
it’s dark in every town I’ve seen. I don’t know what lie they tell people now,
but before I started running, the news said that it was for our own safety. How
can someone expect to be safe in a world where the enemies of humankind are in
charge and the only comforting thought is that death is just a moment away?
Every time I feel this pearl in my
pocket, I think of how strong my grandmother was at her husband’s funeral. You
could see the pain in her eyes, but her sorrow was outshone by her calm
demeanor. When she was asked to speak at the wake, she only said: “This isn’t
goodbye, Carl, I know I’ll see you later." I don’t know if she was right,
but I know that you have to stay at least half as strong during these times. I
don’t know what you can do to change what has happened, but I know you have to
keep fighting until the bitter, inevitable end.
When they finally gave up on the dog
and pony show and told us that the new regime was for our own good. I swear I
heard the cackle of a destructive beast. Maybe it was just death himself
finding pleasure in an increased workload. You may remember when the news
blamed all the suicides on drug-use, gambling debts and whatever else they
could think of, but I knew it was just people who couldn’t bear to face the end
of life as we once knew it.
I’m writing this in the hope that someone will
find it and at least know that they aren’t alone. I like to think that there is
a group of people hiding somewhere planning the coup that we so desperately
need. Maybe you will be the one to take the reigns and lead us in the right
direction. Then again, maybe my words will be twisted and used as propaganda to
further tighten the iron grasp of tyranny. Positive thinking was never my
strongest attribute, but I’ve tried really hard to believe that things would
work out.
I hope that whoever you are, you’re
fighting the good fight. I hope that you can go on for much longer than I did.
I haven’t eaten in many days and I can feel my grip on reality loosening. I won’t
let them take me alive and I don’t have the strength to outrun another cop and his
dog. Please don’t think of me as a coward or a fool, I did the best I could and
I just can’t go any further. I’m sure you’ve taken everything from my bag and
out of my pockets, all I ask is that you cherish the pearl as much as I did. I
hope that you can find happiness and accomplish what I couldn’t. Please take
care of each other and never stop fighting those bastards
