The Palace in Spruce Pine

The day John Stourton’s life changed started as a normal day at home. He taught all of his classes at home, so his usual routine was to get up, feed the dog and cat, make coffee, and wait for the coffee to finish. Once finished, he would sit in his recliner, drinking his coffee and watch the morning news. When 8AM arrived, he would step into his office and start his class. This was a normal day. And when the mailman was spotted, he would go outside and wait for Jeff, the mailman. 
Jeff arrived with a small bundle of mail, wished John well and went to his next stop. John, with coffee in hand walked up the driveway and thumbed through the mail. He had just reached the garage when he spotted a letter that looked aged. Like a forgotten letter of many years. He put the other mail down and proceeded to open the letter. Five minutes later, he was in total disbelief. He looked at the envelope, the postage and the return address. The envelope confirmed that it was dispatched out of Athens, GA and that the letter originated from his longtime friend, Steven Drake. 
John read the letter again. He noticed movement as two individuals walked up to him. In the distant were black Chevy Suburban’s rolling down the hill. John realized at that very moment; the letter was real.