the words are the usual scramble , spilling out everywhere like a rockslide ( tho i 'm getting better at picking some of 'em out , it 's true ) and my eyes go right to the end , the very last paragraphs , to the very last things she ever wrote to me- and then suddenly , almost before i 'm ready- this war , my dearest son- ( there she is- ) this war that i hate because of how it threatens all yer days to come , todd , this war that was bad enough when we were just fighting the spackle , but now there are divisions forming , divisions twixt david prentiss , the head of our little army here , and jessica elizabeth , our mayor , who 's been rallying the women and many of the men to her side , ben and cillian included , over how the war 's being conducted .