By Chance

ch5

We finally reach the building after 20 minutes of driving and listening to music.

It looks even worse than the picture. None of the windows are in tack all shatter leaving only little spikes around the edges. The doors are made of rotting wood and are boarded up. Twisted metal and broken glass litter the ground. I'm grateful I wore sneakers.

Gabriel stops the car. I step out, putting my phone in my back pocket.

I walk up to the front door, Gabriel falls into step behind me. I look at the lock. It's rusted and bent. I finger at it for a couple seconds then yank on it as hard as I can. With a satisfying crack it breaks and opens.

I pull off the lock and wrap the bottom of my t-shirt around my fingers. I start pulls off the rotting wood that crosses over the main doors. Gabriel realizing what I'm doing, starts on the other side of the door.

A couple boards later I'm able to reach the handle of the door. I try pushing it open but it's stuck. "Wait, try this." Gabriel says. He kicks the door hard and it flys open. "We could do that to." I say.

I step over a board near the bottom and duck to keep from hitting one on top. Gabriel follows. "You do know breaking in here is probably illegal, right?" He asks. I shrug. It's pitch black. "We need a flashlight." I say looking around. "I have two in the truck, let me go get them. I'll be right back." He says walks back to the car. I stand near the entrance waiting. He comes back handing me a flashlight.

I start shining it around all the walls looking for a light switch. I can't find one.

There's a second story to the building. "You search around here. Look for anything useful. I'll check the second floor." I tell Gabriel. I start up the e creaky stairs. "Hey." He says from behind me. I turn around. "What?" I ask. "Be careful, okay?" He says. "Yep." I say turning around and continue walking up the stairs again.

The second floor is darker than the first because there aren't any windows. I shine my flash light around. The beam shows dusty, half finished couches, broken chairs, and rotting tables. The floor is covered in dirt and dust.

I shine the flashlight to the right. A shine bounces off and reflects back. Momentarily blinding me because it shines in my eye. I walk over to the area. "What the..." I say to myself. It reflected of a chair but I don't know why. It's all wood no metal. I turn it on it's side. I see what reflected the light. A silver chain is hanging from the bottom. I try to yank it free. It doesn't budge. I look around for a tool. If all this furniture is here that means they left in a rush so they could have left something that could help me. I find a screwdriver. Not ideal but it should work. I walk back over to the chair. I wedge it in the gap between the wood and chain. It brakes a little. I push harder and a square piece of wood falls off the bottom of the chair.

It reveals a stop watch. I open the cover. The time frozen to 7:26. A picture of another clock with the same time is typed to the back. That's really weird. I hear a creak behind me. "Hey, look what I found Gabriel." I say turning around. It's not Gabriel.