Dear Faber,
What an adventure it’s been! I hope things are well with you, and that you got out of the city
safely. I did, but only narrowly escaped.
My
adventures continued when I left your house with a suitcase full of your clothes
and the hope that I would make it out alive. I madly dodged through the
streets, heading towards the river. As soon as I got into the river, the
mechanical hound had reached the edge of the water. There were many helicopters
and police buzzing around, all searching for me. After they got tired of
waiting and left, I floated peacefully downstream, hoping to end up somewhere
far away from the madness of the city. I assume that you saw part of this chase
on your little television, but hopefully by that time you were on the bus out
of the city. If you did happen to see the end of the chase, you probably
realized that they faked finding me, instead targeting an odd man who happened
to be out for a walk. I made my way along the rusty, old railroad tracks,
heading towards a fire in the distance. There I met the “hobos”, part of a
group of thousands, who are determined to keep the books alive and in tact by
memorizing them, in whole or in part. The leader of this particular group is
named Granger, and I think that you would really like these men. They are all
very intelligent, like you, and have a great love for books as well. I hope
that one day we will reunite and I can introduce you.
I am sure
that you are aware of the bombs that targeted the city. It is very lucky that
we were both out of there before they hit: I, having escaped into the country
and you on an early bus out of the city. The city was completely demolished by
the time the bombing had finished. When they start to rebuild it, I hope that
they consider rebuilding the structure of our government system as well.
As for my
plans for the future, I think I am just going to get out there and experience
the world as it really is, uncensored by anyone. Soon we will be heading to the
city, to rise again from the ashes.
Sincerely,
Guy Montag