Monday, July 8, 2013

#7

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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