You
starts down the road, taking the left fork as Susie (You hopes)
suggested.
The
woods that hid the cave from You wrap around here, and so You is
walking into them. The road is an old dirt one; You remembers that
there used to be a lot of paved roads, but the money ran out for them
and when they started cracking apart, the old asphalt was just hauled
off to be recycled. At least, out here in the “boonies” (as
they're called), that is.
This
area is mostly ruined, but it was never quite “civilized” to
begin with. The proper word would be “natural”, which brings up
images of peace. Still, You's always thought it was creepy.
Especially at night.
The sun
seems to be setting overhead.
You
keeps Your hand on one of the kitchen knives and sincerely hope You
won't have to use it. You isn't afraid of monsters, because that
would be somewhat ridiculous. Instead, there are stories of bandits.
The Fennec Gang is said to be active in these parts, and what they do
to their victims goes beyond simple robbery. They leave houses alone,
of course, mostly because most people these days have guns, but You
doesn't have any such armaments—those went with the people You's
trying to find now. In a car, You notes, the Fennec Gang wouldn't
give them much bother. Which is good, You ponders. You needs all the
assurance You can get right now.
You
walks a little faster, mostly out of fear, but also because You hears
something. It sounds almost like people talking, but their voices
seemed high-pitched. Almost childlike. Could it be a squad of
bandits, masquerading as children to lure You into a trap? Or could
it actually be a kid nearby, which might indicate a household? You
realizes, as well, that it could be something else entirely. Maybe
something from one of the ghost stories Susie liked to tell You...
In any
case, You is being incredibly cautious right now. You realizes that
You's walking on tiptoe, and avoiding any fallen branches. Actually,
You's just trying to pretend that this is just another instance of
You and Susie trying to sneak past her stepdad, to get out of the
house during one of her regularly scheduled groundings. You two got
very good at doing that, and the ability to move silently is always
helpful.
Eventually,
however, You comes across a clearing, and in it, You sees a tall
wooden cabin. The voice sound is coming from its upper floor. It
seems to be abandoned, though, but not because of any sort of damage.
You quickly scans the trees surrounding the house; they appear to be
deserted. But appearances, of course, can be deceiving. You decides
that since sneaking to the house will slow you down, You'll just bolt
for it instead. Unless there are traps or enemies inside the house,
You'd stand a better chance inside than out. You'd be less exposed.
You
slowly psyches Yourself up for the job, and then runs for it. The
door is right in front of You, and You opens it up swiftly, jumping
inside. You waits for a few seconds and hears...nothing. Nothing but
the now-louder sound of a child talking, coming from upstairs.
Still,
You makes a point of inspecting the entire house. It looks like it's
been left alone for some time. There are some old books, but they're
mostly rotten. In the bathroom, the water doesn't run, the mirror
frame is corroded, and the toilet has been removed. In the living
room, where You found the books, there's a small pile of junk
blocking a door, which You finds out leads into an empty bedroom.
There's a strange smell throughout the whole place, and it seems to
be coming through the door that leads up into the attic.
You
decides that even in the face of such a smell, if there is a kid
here, he or she will need help. You couldn't leave a child in an
abandoned cabin by his or herself.
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