May Haven: A Post-Apocalyptic Mystery

THE FACILITY

It had looked so small from a distance, but as he made his way up the dirt path that led to the entrance, the size of the three story building quickly became apparent to Sam. What he had initially thought was a large house turned out to be some kind of office, or so it looked from the outside, one that must have been abandoned and left to the elements some time ago. Many of the windows were cracked with holes or shattered altogether, the metal columns that ran along the height of the exterior speckled with rust, and a number of vines crawled their way up the bricks of the outer walls.

He approached the entrance, stopping to look over a few signs on a wooden post about ten feet from the glass double doors that led inside. The first one was the larger of the two, reading MAY HAVEN COUNTY TECHNICAL RESEARCH FACILITY. Posted directly below were two smaller signs, the first declaring NO SOLICITORS, NO TRESPASSERS in bold red letters. The other simply displayed a few symbols. He only recognized one, the universal biohazard symbol. He stared at it, confused. What the hell is a research facility doing so far from town?

The front doors were locked. His hands on either side of his face, Sam peered through the glass, caked in grime as it was. What looked like a once modern business lobby was now a chaotic mess of overturned and broken furniture, papers, trash, and other items scattered about. The place looked like it had been ransacked by burglars – then left to sit for a year or two. Sam sighed, looking it all over. No sign of Allie.

The panic in his chest was growing worse, and he turned back towards the way he'd come, half hoping to see his little girl somewhere along the dirt path that led back to the lake. From the base of the building atop the hill he could see far. But the dirt path leading below was still barren, the little campsite in the distance just the same. Beyond the lake, the forest swayed in the wind, but otherwise the valley seemed to be still.

Sam brought his attention back to the building, wiping away some of the grime from the glass door and looking in again. Something caught his eye from across the lobby. A small black pile of cloth at the foot of some stairs. A beanie? Allison's beanie? She rarely left the house without it. He squinted through the murky glass, trying to spot the little symbol he had seen on her beanie so many times. What was it again? He closed his eyes, thinking, and the image soon came back to him: the flower surrounded by a circle of text. Yellow flowers? Marigolds. That was it.

He opened his eyes, locked on the beanie across the room. It was face down though, the symbol hidden.

Sam retrieved a rock from nearby and hurled it at the door, shattering the largest glass panel. Hesitantly, he took a step into the dimly lit office, his boots crunching on trash and broken glass.

"Allie?"

He waited. The place was silent.

Sam made his way across the lobby, scanning the mess of things strewn across the floor. He stopped before the stairs, staring down at the beanie, his heart racing and he reached for it.

It was a shirt. Not a beanie. Fucking hell. He threw it back to the floor, feeling like he might hit something in anger or break out into tears.

"ALLISON!"

His voice carried through the building again. As before, there was only silence.

Then a murmur from upstairs. A voice? He couldn't make out words. It was muffled and slurred, but it was definitely someone speaking.

"Allie?" he yelled up the stairway. "Hello?" Sam broke into a run and bounded up the stairs three at a time.

The second floor was as cluttered as the first, desks, paperwork, and equipment scattered about. A microscope lay on its side near the stairs and across the room were several computer monitors cracked and smashed on the floor. But no sign of anyone. He continued on to the top floor.