Solomon Garrett's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Solomon Garrett was nailing down floorboards when the stranger collapsed in the doorway. The man left a blood trail across the threshold. Solomon set down his hammer and crossed the half-built classroom. The stranger clutched his side, eyes wild, and said the words that made Solomon's chest go tight: he knew who burned the last reform school. The stranger pressed something into Solomon's hand before he could ask questions. It was a jacket, green with embroidered patterns, scorched along one sleeve. Solomon recognized the emblem stitched over the breast pocket. It matched the one he'd drawn up for his own academy, the one he hadn't shown anyone yet. The stranger coughed blood and said a name Solomon hadn't heard in fifteen years. Someone from the old days. Someone who knew what Solomon had been and wanted to make sure no one else got the second chance he did.