Page 3 of Purgatory
And what in the world would you talk about? Raid any good houses lately? There was this one I found that had an inground pool that was the loveliest shade of swamp green. Oh! And I foundanotherhouse with the biggest flat screen I've ever seen, it’s a shame we don’t have electricity anymore, am I right?
“I could’ve actually finished the series I started.”
I’m still pissed about that. How am I supposed to know who the main character ends up with? I mean, the show was originally a book so I could always just read it to find out but good luck finding it in this wasteland. So. Frustrating.I hope it's Ryder.
I stop in front of an olive green, 2-story house with a wrap-around porch, and a fenced in backyard. The wordssouthern charmcome to mind, complete with the Spanish moss hanging from the trees on either side of the walkway leading to the front door and the magnolia tree peeking out from behind the fence. I smile at its simplistic, natural beauty.
“Ah, here we go. This is more like it.”
Looking around one last time, I bound up the porch steps and knock, just in case the residents decided to stick around. No answer. One more time.Knock, knock, knock.Nothing.
“Seems empty enough...”
I pull out the baseball bat from my bag and, cautiously, head inside. A girl can’t be too careful. I’ve seen enough horror films to realize that the dumb blonde is usually the first to go. Let’s face it. I’m already blonde, I’m not about to let myself be dumb, also.
“Hello?”
Silence. I walk in and shut the door. Glancing around the house, it doesn’t look too out of shape. The bottom floor seems to be an open concept, with the living room area taking over the space to the right of the entryway and the kitchen over to the left. There’s a large set of windows with french doors in the center over on the far living room wall and at the very back of the house is a staircase which would lead to the second floor. There’s a bit of dust, a couple of turned over chairs, and the fridge is open and empty but there’s no broken windows at least. Plus, it looks like whoever used to live here hasn’t beenback in a while, which suits my needs, and it looks cozy enough for little, old me.
Officially too tired to tour the rest of the house, I slump onto the sofa in the living room, throwing my head back and releasing a deep sigh. I’ll explore the rest later.
“Finally,” I say on a gust of an exhale.
Walking for days on end, by myself, looking for this town was not exactly a relaxing day at the park. The potential for danger lurking anywhere, scorching temperatures, as well as the distance traveled, made the journey exhausting. Finding this place and the promise of safety is a giant weight off of my shoulders. I can already feel the tension melting from my muscles as I sink further into the cushions, taking in the sturdy walls surrounding me, my temporary sanctuary from the evil that lurks somewhere outside.
“Just an hour or two, then I'll check out the rest.” I groan, as I shift my position to get more comfortable, lifting my feet up onto the couch and curling into myself. I reach for the abandoned throw pillow on the floor and shove it under my head, officially done. I submit to my fatigue, my eyelids drooping as my consciousness slowly drifts away.
∞∞∞
It’s still sunny out when I wake up from my nap. I stretch my aching limbs over my head and twist my neck back and forth, popping my muscles and releasing some of the ever-present tension. The sudden grumble of my stomach reminds me that it’s been at least a day since I'd last eaten anything. Searching my bag, I dig out a smooshed granola bar, the only piece of food I have left, and down it in 3 bites. My water bottle is equally depleted, almost empty, but I take a few sipsanyways, making a mental note to find more supplies later today.
“It’s a good thing we got here when we did or else we’d be stuck eating grass or risk starving... knowing me, I’d probably starve if that’s the case...”
I sigh and shake my head of its pessimism.
“Ok, let’s see what this place has to offer.”
I push off the raggedy couch and look around. My focus goes straight to staircase on the back wall so I head there to start on the second-floor first, exploring the house top to bottom. Rounding the landing at the top, I see four doors. I open the first which turns out to be a linen closet.
“Nothing to see here folks. Moving on...”
I open the next door to see the master bedroom. A queen size, four post bed takes up the majority of the room. Blue comforter and sheets thrown haphazardly over the mattress as if someone had just woken up and was getting ready for their day. I bite my lip when I see the pictures of the happy couple on the dresser vanity. They look so young. One picture shows them embracing after, what looks like, a marathon race, holding their well-earned medals high and smiling at the camera and each other.
“What happened to them?” I wonder.
“The same thing that happened to all of the others, so far...”
They were here, in this house, at one point, living just fine. Was this town overtaken like the others? Did they leave to find and help loved ones and are ok now? I scrunch up my nose as my thoughts overtake me. The dozens ofwhat-ifsbombarding my brain to the point I’m paralyzed staring at the photos, willing them to come to life and tell me what happened.
“They seemed healthy, active, and fit... if they didn’tmake it, how the hell do I expect to?”
“Made it this far, though...”
Sigh.
“Barely...”
Shaking my head, I make my way to the closet. The couple seemed to maintain an active lifestyle so I wonder if they have any hiking boots. The cute, pink Converse pair that currently occupy the space on my feet are still in decent condition but they weren’t exactly made for long hikes. I, also, take the time to look through their clothing to find some replacements, but have no luck. Unfortunately, this is just a Goldilocks situation without the baby bear. Everything is either too big or too small, and nojust right. And the search for any boots comes up empty, as well. With a frustrated sigh, I turn and shut the door.
