The first attack against February
occurred directly under where Thaddeus had
seen the two holes in the sky. Thaddeus, Selah, Caldor Clemens, and
the
members of The Solution had devised a
plan to trick February by pretending
it was summer. The men had taken off their shirts and
rolled their pants to
a ring at their kneecaps. Selah wore a thin summer dress, the one
she wore
while on her first balloon trip with
Thaddeus.
The war effort spent the day smiling
and complimenting the beautiful
weather, imagining beams of
unfiltered sunlight striking their backs as they
tended to the crops.
Caldor Clemens pretended to pick
berries and flick the sweat from his brow
before diving into a pile of snow and
swimming.
At the end of the day, the group
struggling to smile, their bones frozen,
they walked into Thaddeus's and
Selah's home and waited for the boiling of
the tea kettle. Everyone looked tired, their faces
beaten red by February.
-We can only continue with this
tactic until we see some progress, said
Thaddeus.
Everyone nodded, tipping their tea
cups.