Yours Truly

Dearest Marianna,

It is with deep regret that I must write the following words. Your father has passed on. I was there when it happened, and I promise you there was nothing in my power I could do to prevent it. I would have gone in his place, if that were possible.

Your brother will return with your father’s material possessions. The military will be in touch regarding any compensation your family is to be owed.

Again, I apologize with my whole heart. And I hope to be released home soon so as to comfort you in any way I am able.

Yours truly,

Lawrence

Dear Lawrence,

Please tell me how it happened. My brother arrived home yesterday and won’t speak a word on the subject. My mother is worried he is in shock. He barely talks at all, really. And he’s always staring off into the distance, his face pale, and his skin clammy.

Please. I need to know. With as much detail as you can include. Spare me nothing. I’m strong. I can handle it.

I wish this war was over and you were home. Mother fears you won’t make it back safely. And honestly, I think she’s more about what that will mean for me than for you. Because without you here to marry me, I’ll have to go work as a maid or some other job to help her make ends meet. She can’t afford to care for me much longer. Not with father dead.

Again, please tell me everything. I await your next letter.

Love,

Marianna

Dearest Marianna,

This is going to be a very hard letter for me to write. And I hope you will forgive me in advance for how much longer it will take me to send this. This is just not something I ever thought I’d have to write down. It was bad enough that I had to witness it first-hand. But I would do anything you wished of me, so I will try my best to describe it for you.

We were stationed in a swamp to the west of camp. It was only supposed to be a security mission. There’d been no sign of the enemy in that area the entire time we’d been out. I can’t stress this enough. We were supposed to be relatively safe out there.

It was on the third night. We were due to return to the camp in the morning and had already packed up most of our gear. Maybe that’s why it struck. We were only armed with our basic pistols. Our big gun was already in the box. And it was right as the sun went down, so our area was a weird green color with the light reflecting off the trees and the swamp water.

I’m stalling. I don’t want to get to this next part.

Your father always took first watch. There were five of us in total. I went to my tent with the rest of them as your father sat down with his book and a flashlight. It had been quiet the entire time we’d been out there, and we had no reason to believe that night was going to be any different.

I woke to take the second watch. I opened my tent and stretched. And I saw your father, right where he’d been when I’d gone to sleep. He sat in his chair with his book and his flashlight.

Only he wasn’t alone. But he hadn’t noticed yet. There was an enormous shadow directly behind your father. That is the only way we’re able to describe these creatures we are at war with. Because anyone who has gotten close enough to see their features clearly hasn’t lived to tell about it. From where I stood, I could only tell that it was vaguely man-shaped.

Your father looked at me. He saw me standing outside my tent and waved with his book. I don’t think he could see my expression from where he sat, or maybe he thought it was because I had just woken up. But either way, he didn’t act with any kind of hesitation or worry. He closed his book and stood up, ready to walk to his tent to sleep.

It was then that it happened. The creature folded in half and whatever they have that we would call a mouth opened above your father’s head.

I screamed. Even though I shouldn’t have, because the creature might not have been alone. If that had been the case, none of us would have lived to tell about it. In any case, I screamed. And your father turned around to see what was about to devour him. And he screamed too.

But he also did something strange. He tossed his book to the side — I’ve included it in my next package home; I didn’t have the postage to send it along with this letter — and then he drew his gun. That wasn’t the strange part. Anyone faced with a dangerous creature might have done the same if they had enough wit. But instead of firing upon it, your father put his hands over his head and jumped.

He jumped right into the creature’s mouth.

And then the creature straightened up and walked away.

My scream woke the others in the camp and I told them what happened. We decided not to wait until morning and we started our march back to the main camp at once.

And that is all I can tell of how it happened. It’s in my nightmares. But please don’t make me tell that story again.

I hope to see you very soon.

Yours truly,

Lawrence

Dear Lawrence,

Thank you for telling me in so much detail. I know it must not have been easy for you. In my heart, I knew my father faced his end with courage. And I can sleep peacefully knowing it to be true.

I eagerly await your package with the last book he was reading. I will cherish it always.

I hope you are well. I hope you are resting and recovering from this ordeal. Come home to me soon.

Love,

Marianna

Dearest Marianna,

I don’t know how I can write this, but I know I must. Your father has returned.

He walked into our camp last night. His uniform was in tatters, and he had several cuts and bruises, but he was alive.

From his story, we learned he shot the creature from inside. The book he’d been reading was a fantasy where something similar had happened. And when he came face to face with the creature, he thought he might give it a try.

I’m in shock. But your father is alive. I imagine you’ll be hearing from him soon yourself. He should be released home in the next few weeks. But the military needs his intel now more than ever.

The war should end soon, now that we have a way of fighting these terrible beasts. But I fear this means it will be even longer before I return home to you.

Yours truly,

Lawrence

Dear Lawrence,

I apologize for the amount of time before I could answer your letter. A lot has happened since we received the news. And I’m not sure how to put any of it into words.

I fear I will never see you again. I fear for my life, and that of my mother and my brother.

Please believe me when I say… the man who returned is not my father.

This will most likely be my final letter. Please tell someone the truth. My father did not beat that creature. The creature beat my father and became him. Don’t let men do what my father did. This is what they want.

I must end this now before it’s too late.

Love with all my heart,

Marianna