I have never realized how messed up our world was until I read the letter I am not supposed to read. Why is this happening? Why now?   I can feel my warm breathe against the cold November air as I am running home. My name is Liz UnderWood. I am 16 years old. I have long brown locks of hair and big green eyes that everyone envies. I usually wear my hair in up in a messy bun or pony tail because I hate my long hair. If I could, I would chop it all off but our city demands all woman have long hair. So it is extremely rare to see a woman with short hair.  When I was younger my father passed away. So now it is just me and my mom. We live in Cerulean City. Cerulean City is one of the three cities in our society. The other two are Cornerstone City, and Celsius City. They each sit ten miles apart from each other. As I begin to think longer about the war that may be uprising, the fear of losing my life grows and grows as if it were cancer.
I swing the back door to my home open with a lot of force. Before I burn the letter, I first check the kitchen to see if anyone is home. As I walk into our tiny neat kitchen, I can smell my mother’s apple pies cooling on our granite countertop. She is making them for the homeless because that is just who she is; a nice caring woman who always gives to others in need. I admire her for that. Just as my mouth starts to water for the delicious pies, I spot a note on our granite island. I quickly walk over to it and read it:
Liz,
Sorry I missed you. Went out for dinner. Will be back at 7:00pm. Feel free to heat up the noodles from last night for your dinner.
Love,
Mom.
Perfect, I think to myself. I have a whole two hours to myself. I run out the back door but not before grabbing our lighter. As I sit down on the log surrounded by our campfire, I pull out the crumpled letter I was supposed to deliver to Cornerstone City today. No one really is certain why in each city there is such a drastic climate change; for we are only ten miles apart. Cornerstone City is rocky and has lots of woods. Celsius City, is very dry. It is a desert. But my city is very different. We have lots and lots of bodies of water. Therefore our crops are usually the best out of all three cities. One very special thing about our society is we have no sicknesses. We have a cure for everything. I am told disease was cured by eliminating all pollution like cars, planes, and trains. We also take these pills at every meal to help prevent disease because we simply do not have time to be sick, especially me. That is why I run everywhere; I am The Messenger. If you are The Messenger you have to be very strong in running for the job. Every day I run to Cornerstone City to deliver letters that have been delivered to me from Celsius City.  I have never read a single letter in my four years of being the messenger; it is forbidden. But all that changes tonight.
I rip open the most fearful letter no one wants to open unless you want war. As I run my thumb across the bumpy paper, I realize Celsius City must have made the paper from scratch. My eyes dance around the letter re-reading certain sections. The letter is about a plan for war. Celsius City and Cornerstone City are plotting a war on my city. I don’t know why yet; it doesn’t say in the letter. They want something… I can tell by how furious the anonymous writer is writing. But why would they want war? We already share everything with them. I flick the lighter on and wave the flame towards the paper. I move quickly because I don’t want my neighbors to see this and question my actions. Our first rule is if you see any suspicious behavior, you are required to report it right away to the government; and we definitely do not want the government knowing what I am doing right this second.
As the paper catches fire, I examine how fast the flame moves along the homemade paper, and then I throw it straight into the fire and add wood to it. I need it to look like I just wanted to have a bonfire before my mother returns home.
  As I eat my heated up noodles at our table alone, I try and think of a plan. How am I supposed to explain that I didn’t give Cornerstone City their letter today? I should be getting a call any time tonight from Cornerstone with frantic voices starving for their evil letter. While I’m finishing my last bite of noodles, the front door swings open. My heart races and my mind goes wild. They know I read the letter. They’re just going to kill me now.
“Did I scare ya?” Grayson smirks at me sitting down.
“Yes! You have to knock first, Grayson,” I say with a mouth full of noodles while giggling. Grayson has been my best friend since first grade when he moved to our city. He is truly a handsome guy. He has dark brown hair with a little highlight of blonde that sits perfectly on his head. His eyes are chocolate brown, and he is very fit. All the girls like him, including me. I’ve always had a crush on him since we were young. But I will never admit it to anyone… ever. The first urge I have is to tell Grayson everything. But I just can’t bring myself to even mouth the words to him.  He goes on and on about how his father won’t buy him this… jacket? At least I think that’s what he’s talking about. It’s kind of hard to focus when you just found out less than an hour ago that your city could be ruined and killed off who knows when. I have to stop it. And stop it I will. I have to tell Grayson, I just have to. But how can I?

“Are you feeling ok Liz?” Grayson asks with concern in his eyes.
“Oh, yes, of course I am!” I try to say as chipper as possible but I can feel my face redden because I’m lying. I move uncomfortably in my chair from his gaze straight at me.
“You’re lying and you know it. Even I notice it,” Grayson says in a surprisingly calm voice.
“Is it really that obvious??” I say, annoyed with myself.
“Yes. Now spill it.”
I tell Grayson everything then and there. I can see him getting more and more nervous as the story continues. When I am finished, he doesn’t say anything; he just scoots over and gives me a big bear hug. I really needed this; the feeling of being safe. I cannot stop stressing about the death that is creeping upon us. As Grayson hugs me, I whisper to him, “Please help me stop this war. They don’t understand what they are doing.”
“I will do anything to help you. I’m always here.” He hugs me tighter and let’s go of me just as my mother walks in and greets us. Little do they know…little does everyone know. It’s hard for me to keep the tears in; I feel as if I might break down any second now.
  When I finally start to get tired, my mind decides to go berserk. Here I am, lying in my bed. Possibly the very last time I am in my bed. My heart races a million beats per minute. I suddenly wish I didn’t burn the letter. I could’ve used the letter almost as a reference to the letter I am going to fake. I could’ve used it to mimic the anonymous handwriting. But I’ll just have to make do. As I drift off after hours of trying to sleep, I think I may know what my letter is going to be.  
The morning sun brightens up my room at 6am. I moan, realizing it is Sunday and I have to go back to school tomorrow. As I pull my warm sheets off of me, I am exposed to the freezing air. Unusually freezing… why is it so cold in our house? This is not right. I get out of bed and immediately throw on a nice fuzzy sweater. My wood floor is ice cold. It has never been so cold in my home. I am shivering beyond description now. I cannot get over how odd it that my house is this cold, I am shocked. I try to go quickly out of my room, but my limbs are not working like my mind is. When I finally get out the door I ask my mum why it is so freezing in here.
“Mom!” I yell.
“Shh it’s 6am. If you’re wondering why it is so cold, the government turned off all the heat last night; no reason as to why yet.” How odd. I think to myself; How extremely odd. I can’t help but think it might be related to me not delivering the letter.
I wait for my mother to go to work before I write a fake letter. I can’t take any chances on my mum walking in on me writing a fake letter to Cornerstone City. I am breaking the law in one of the worst ways. Actually, in multiple ways I am breaking the law. The first way is I am forging someone’s handwriting and that’s a big deal. If I get caught I am in big trouble. Secondly, I read the letter. That is big time prison right there. And lastly, I am interfering with someone else’s plans. I have never understood that law. What If they’re doing something bad? Like this situation? I would have to interfere. But I guess not according to the law; I guess they don’t want anyone in someone else’s business unless they’re involved. In a way, I am involved because I am the messenger. But I’m not involved enough or else they would’ve had me in on the plan. When I start writing I realize I literally have no plan on what I am going to do, so I call Grayson. I mean after all, he is planning on helping me stop this war.
I’m deep in thought when Grayson bursts open my bedroom door causing me to throw myself on top of my letter desperately trying to hide it. But when I see the familiar brown, perfectly done hair, I relax.
“So you can’t think of anything to write, eh?” he says a little bit too cheeky.
“No, I can’t. I need your help,” I say almost as if I am annoyed. Grayson dismisses my attitude luckily.
“I say we should try and post pone the war. Say you don’t have the right tools or something yet… or maybe that you are trying to harvest more crops before going into war so you have food. Then, you could run the letter to them. The next day we attack. You would run at your normal time to Cornerstone acting as if you are giving them another letter, but you aren’t. We are going to attack their governor. It is the only way to stop it. I could run a mile behind you as back up,” he says very pleased with himself. I am beyond amazed by his plan. He has obviously put a lot of thought into it. But I have to agree, he is right. There is no other way to stop the war other than to assassinate the governor of both cities. I don’t want to do the killing… Grayson will have to do that. I cannot possibly imagine murdering someone.
“That’s brilliant, Grayson.” I say astonished.
“Don’t you run at 9am?” he asks.
“Yes.” I glance at the clock, its 8:03am.
“Perfect, we will start in a few more days so we can plan a little more, like what weapons to bring, Grayson says, as he starts to push out his chair to leave as if we are done.
“Wait! We must do it tomorrow. The letter I read said they are both ready to attack. So that could be anytime. I will run our fake letter today and then they will suspect no attack from us the next day since their battle is post poned.” I am gripping his arm now; almost his hand. Almost instantly I want to grin. I truly do love Grayson, not in a friend way. I love the feel of his skin; it makes me feel safe. I just want to stay in this moment forever. He looks down at my hand almost on his and I let go in embarrassment.
“No, it’s ok,” he says grabbing my hand and not just my arm this time. This action makes me blush even more. And just like that, he kisses my forehead and walks out the door.
Tomorrow couldn’t come any slower, I think, as I’m lying in my bed. I don’t want to kill anyone, I don’t want to fight, I don’t want there to be war. My eyes spill tears that are uncontrollable. I cup my hands over my eyes trying to stop my silent sobs. I am experiencing so much at just sixteen; too much. Why? I think to myself. None of this is fair. A sudden fire builds up in my body. My sadness turns into anger for Celsius and Cornerstone City. I know why they want to have war. They want our bodies of water for crops; how selfish of them. How dare they?! We share everything with them. Of course we get the larger amount of crops, but that’s because we work extremely hard for months to harvest everything. Before I know it, I am out of my bed and exposed to the freezing cold air. I hate the government; no, I despise them. They are so selfish. They have their own crops; I hate them. The freezing air in my room reminds me of how cruel the government is. How horrid of them to turn off our heat in the winter, for absolutely no explanation. My fist makes contact with the vase full of fake flowers from the government. It was a gift for being The Messenger. Fake, just like them. My hand stings from the glass stuck in my knuckles, so I turn on the light. I am horrified at the mess I have made of the vase and my hand. I want to cry out in agony and tell my mother everything, but I can’t. My hand is oozing blood as I sit in the broken glass on my floor. I feel completely broken; almost as if I have been torn apart piece by piece. In a way I am torn apart. My father was killed by the government. An “accident” they say; but honestly, how could murdering an innocent soul be an accident? I am torn apart because I feel lost; so very lost. I was so close with my father for such a short period of time. Now, I might even lose my mother if I’m not careful enough.
Finally the cold makes me give in and I get back under my warm sheets. There I just lay there because I have cried all my tears.
I wake up an hour before my alarm goes off. I just lay there until my mother comes into my room to wake me up for school.
“Liz, it’s time to wake up,” she whispers.
“No mom, I’m sick. I can barely speak.” I lie to my own mother, I couldn’t feel guiltier. Even though we have cured all diseases, we still every now and then get the common cold.
She pushes open my door rushing over to feel my forehead to see if I have a temperature. As her small cold fingers touch my forehead she informs me I am fine and don’t have a fever.
“No mom! Please just today; let me stay home,” I plead.
“No Liz, you have to deliver the letter and then go to school. You best be going now.” She states as she is turning around. Fine I think to myself. I guess I’ll just have to skip school. You have complicated my plan; but not ruined it.
It is 8:08; almost time for Grayson to show up. My mother has left me for work so I can now sneak out of the house and not go to school. I feel guilty about sneaking around, but there is no other way to stop this. I truly have no one else who loves me except for my mother. Well, I guess you could count Grayson, but he may only love me as a friend. I sit down on the wooden chairs where mother and I eat dinner every night. This may possibly be the very last time I sit in these chairs, the last time I will ever be in my house. I am preparing to die. I honestly have no clue how only Grayson and I are going to take down two governors and actually win. But I promise myself I will try my hardest. I think of my lovely mother next. She has no one else except for Grayson’s parents. Ever since my father died, she has never been the same. She is no longer chipper, or willing to do things. When we lost my father, she was eight months pregnant with my soon to be sister. But she lost her only a few days after his passing. It was hard for both of us, the mourning of losing two loved ones within a couple days really messed with our minds. Although I was only six years old, I still remember that day more clearly than any other day.
I hear a thud at my front door. I rush to open the door and squeeze Grayson; he hugs me back hard. He tends to do that when he is nervous, but who wouldn’t be nervous?
“You have to go now. I will start behind you fifteen minutes after you start. I need to stay behind you as a backup,” he states his voice shaking more than I imagined.
“Okay, but Grayson?” I ask him. He looks better than ever today. I don’t know what it is, but he just looks so… handsome. I don’t want to die and never have Grayson. I have always dreamed of him.
“Yeah Liz?” you can tell he’s nervous about my question.
“Please promise me you’ll meet me there. I don’t want to go in alone,” I state sounding like a child. What he does next is a surprise to me. He motions me to come over to him, so I do. He places his hand on my waist and leans in for a kiss right on the lips; not just on the forehead this time. I can feel my cheeks redden as he does this. The butterflies in my stomach are going crazy! I’m so happy I can almost forget the war around us.
“I promise,” he says stopping our kiss.
Before I know it I am running out the front door to deliver a “letter”; it’s more like I’m delivering my attack. As I am running I have so much on my mind. Grayson kissed me. I can’t help but smile. But right when I think of the amazing life I would have with him, my heart crumbles. There will be no life after this, I am going to die. And I could never live with myself if I survived and Grayson didn’t. My breathing is growing heavier because I’m speeding up my pace; I just wish there didn’t have to be war. I am going to die. I can’t even comprehend the words. A tear rolls down my lightly reddened cheeks from the cold air. I wipe it immediately; I cannot show signs of weakness. While I’m sprinting up the big rocky hill on my way to Cornerstone, I realize I am almost there. Where’s Grayson? I should probably slow down, I mean after all he wasn’t chosen the messenger for a reason. As I start to turn into the woods on the trail, I get this horrible gut feeling. I’m not sure what it is but it is bad. I don’t feel safe here—before I can even finish my thoughts, something hits me to the ground from my back; and it’s big.
I hit the ground with so much force I could feel all the air in my lungs puff out. I groan in pain but not before I am kicked in the ribs; I squeal not knowing what is happening. As I struggle to turn around I feel the biggest hands I have felt on my waist. The hands turn me around so my back is on the ground, and so I’m looking at the worst possible thing. Above me stands a guard for Cornerstone city. I know this because his uniform has a “CS” for Cornerstone on it. We have guards for every city and quite frankly, they terrify me. They always have facial hair, at least 6’5” tall, and a deep raspy voice. Me being only 5’3”, it only makes sense for me to be afraid.
“Where are you going little girl?” he sounds mischievous almost like he has a cruel plan ahead.
“I- uh I am- the messenger and I am delivering my letter sir.”  I try to say this with as much confidence as possible but I know my voice is trembling.
“I don’t think so.” He says pounding his foot into my stomach. I gasp for air. I can taste the blood in my mouth and it threatens to spill out. I can’t see out of my left eye because blood is pouring out of my head.
“Cornerstone is not stupid my darling. We know that the handwriting was not the governor’s handwriting. And the paper was not homemade. Therefore, it was you. Yesterday we called Celsius City to see if they were serious about post-poning the war and they stated they had said no such thing.” My heart stops; this is it. This guard is going to kill me right here, right now. I will never see my mom or Grayson again. He is bends down by my ear and whispers “I am going to kill you and your mother.”  Before I know it I am punching him off of me, only it doesn’t work. The man is too big. He slaps my across the face as I try to crawl away. I am so light headed I can barely think. The guard picks me up by my stomach with just one hand and tosses my back against a tree; I scream in agony.
“Please stop!!” I beg even though the guard does not stop. My ribs must be crushed because I am struggling to breathe and I cannot move at all. Just before I black out, I see Grayson run up and punch the guard. I hear his heavy breathing from running as he scoops me up. I want to flinch from how carelessly he picked me up but I can’t.  I can’t do anything, I am hopeless, broken. I failed.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
My eyes flutter open and the very first thing I see is Grayson hovering over me. As start to mouth the words he puts his finger over my lips. My head has a massive ache so I can barely see where I am. I move my finger along the soft fuzzy sheets, in my bed. I am in my bed… why am I here? The last thing I remember is the guard beating me up.
“You have 3 broken ribs, a major concussion, and stiches on your head where the guard kicked your temple, and your back is thrown out beyond measures. You can’t walk for a while, but everything is okay. I know what you’re wondering, did we kill the governors? No, we didn’t; but I have even better news. I told our governor about what was happening and he reasoned with the two other cities while you were out for 2 days. Liz, there is no war. They aren’t going to have war. Our governor promised the cities we would share everything with them as long as they shared everything of theirs with us. You’re safe now.” Grayson says smiling at me. I am astonished, and over joyed. A tear of joy slides down my face and Grayson wipes it with his thumb.
“I seriously don’t know what to say, except for thank you Grayson.”
“You’re welcome Liz…” he says trailing off, almost like he has something else to say.
“What is it?” my heart beating faster.
“I love you, Liz. I always have,” He says staring straight into my eyes.
“And it kills me to see you in this much pain.” He finishes. My heart melts; I cannot believe he loves me… I love him too, so much. I motion for him to come under the covers with me and he does. I rest my head on his chest as he puts his arms around my delicate body.
“I love you too Grayson, so much.” I repeat back to him, and I mean it.