Second Chance

Chapter 65

I walk through the front door of the decrepit farmhouse, feeling a sense of dread wash over me. How had everything gone so bad so quickly? There's nothing I could do about it now though. Morgan is gone, and I am totally completely alone now.

I shuffle further into the room and look around. It seems as if I'm in the front hall, and to my left is a living room sort of thing. Further down the hallway is a kitchen to the left again, and to the right is a staircase leading up to probably bedrooms.

I walk into the kitchen, hoping there's some food here that's not completely rotten. There isn't much on the counters, just some moldy bread and fruit. I hesitantly open the fridge, but to my surprise, there's barely anything in here. Just a few eggs, corn, expired milk and cheese, and a few water bottles. The only thing I take is a water bottle, since everything else there has all gone bad.

I walk into the living room, and see a few couches, a coffee table, and a tv in the back corner. The remote is on the table, so I decide to be stupid for half a second and attempt to turn the tv on. Of course, it doesn't work.

I decide to walk up the stairs and see if there's anything useful up there. When I start to climb the stairs, the wooden planks beneath my feet start to creak and groan. I'm a little worried I'm going to fall through, but I slowly make my way up to the second floor without anything bad happening.

The second floor is basically just one long hallway with five different doors. The first one I open looks to be the master bedroom, with a large bed and closet, and another door that leads to the master bathroom. The next door leads to a room that looks to be for a teenage girl. I don't walk into that room, because even though it appears that no one is here, I'm still not super big on being a perverted creep. The next room looks like it belongs to a young boy. It has a bunch of different posters plastered onto the walls, and there's also a bunk bed with the top bunk filled with stuffed animals. The room after that is a small bathroom, nothing too fancy or special. The final room looks to be a nursery. I suddenly start to feel a little sad. That baby may never have been born, and that's absolutely terrible and tragic.

In a way, it doesn't feel right to be staying here. This used to be someone else's home, and here I am invading their space. Although, I don't have anywhere else to go, so if I am to stay here, maybe I'll just sleep on the sofa in the living room.

I wander back into the kitchen, and realize there's a door to a back patio to the left. I go over to it, open it, and walk outside. It's probably late afternoon by now, so either way, I'll be spending the night here. I walk further onto the patio, and from this angle, I can see the back of the barn. There's a wire fence circling the parameter of the back, and contained in the fence is about eight horses.

I smile slightly, then make my way over to the back of the barn. If I can train one of these horses, then maybe I can ride into the sunset and travel the world. Okay, maybe that's a little far fetched, but maybe I can at least make a place for myself here.

I make it to the barbed wire fence, and gaze at the horse closest to me. It's mainly brown with some white patches on its face and legs, and a dark brown tail and back. I try to reach my hand through the fence, but the horse backs away from me, making a whole bunch of disgruntled noises.

I'm about to try again, when I hear a noise from inside the barn. It's sort of like a metallic grinding and clanging noise. My heart starts to pick up speed as I stalk towards the back door of the barn. I don't want to stay here if there's someone else here that can pose a threat. Although, they could be living here, and I'm in the wrong for trespassing. Still, I want to know who I'm dealing with.

I quietly open the door and slip inside. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust in the dark interior, but eventually I can make out a line of cages against the right and left walls for the horses. The barn is pretty huge though, and as I get closer to the main barn door, I can see a small tractor in the left hand corner. The noises are coming from that, and the engine suddenly roars to life, making me jump a little. I glance at the cage to my right, and see a shovel leaning against it. It's not much of a weapon, but it's better than a pocket knife.

As I'm inching closer to the tractor, someone comes out from beside it and gets on it. Testing the different controls or something. Apparently the person can sense me behind them, as they freeze for a moment, then whirl around in the seat.

I start back in surprise, then realize who I'm looking at. She has long blonde hair tied in a loose messy braid, pale blue eyes, and a fierce expression I haven't seen since Juvie.

I finally open my mouth, saying. "Alex?"