Red Velvet Fanfic [prototype]

Chapter 25 (part 1)

It was early in the morning, the sun had just begun to poke out from behind the horizon. Seulgi was already awake and walking down the side of an empty road. She was making her way east. The sound of an approaching vehicle caught her attention and she turned around to see a shipping truck coming towards her. She stuck out her thumb in hopes to catch a ride. The truck slowed as it passed her, and eventually came to a stop. Seulgi jogged over to it and climbed inside. 

"Thanks for the lift." She said as She sat quietly in the passenger seat, The driver was an older gentleman. He had a bushy mustache, a green trucker hat was covering his dark hair.

"No problem." He replied as he got the truck back on the road.

The seat of the truck was a bit stiff but seulgi was exhausted from the long walk she had already been on up to that point. She sighed and relaxed in the seat giving her legs a much needed break.

"So, I gotta ask, where are you headed little lady?" 

"Old Mercy. Or As close as you can get me anyway." She replied.

"You're in luck. I'm on my way to Atticus. Old Mercy is only the next town over. Though Curiosity is making me ask, why Old Mercy? Not much out there these days. It's been a ghost town for years now." The trucker inquired.

"It's home." She said simply.

"Oh I see." He said with a bit of shock and sympathy. "So I'm going to assume you haven't been there in a while?"

"Around 7 years."

"Woooo boy. Well I don't mean to be a spoil sport but.. " he paused

"It's okay, I know it's not the same town it was back then." She already knew what he was going to say. 

"You don't need to explain. You must have your reasons." He told her, respecting her boundaries. Seulgi stared out the window watching the scenery pass by until They arrived on the outskirts of the abandoned town. Seulgi grabbed her bag and hopped out of the truck.

"I don't know what you got planned in a place like this but I can't see it being long term.. you need me to wait so I can drop you off someplace after?" He offered.

"No sir, but thank you, you've done more than enough already. I'll be okay." She smiled.

" alrighty then, be careful." He nodded. Seulgi shut the door and he drove off, honking his horn for a final farewell.

Seulgi walked through the empty streets of the rural town she once grew up. Abandoned houses and small business lined the roads, many of them vandalized and gutted by looters. She walked until she came to a yellow 2 story ranch house.

She looked over the empty animal pens on each side where horses and cows once stayed. While the land around the house was long dry and barren, The property around this particular home was overgrown with grass, weeds and other plants. Vines had grown and entangled the walls of the house and the forest that served as the back drop looked denser than she remembered. Seulgi went to the front door, which was left open. Vines had grown not only into the door, but the windows as well. She took a step inside...

"I'm home." She said, for the first time in a long time. She took a deep breath and she wasn't sure if her brain was playing tricks, despite the home being left exposed to nature, the elements and vagrants, the smell in her nose was the same as it was when she was younger. The smell of a fireplace, with a hint of vanilla, her mothers favorite scent.

"Nostalgia getting the better of me." She thought.

She continued to wander the empty house visiting each room and being swept up in the memories she made in each of them. She came to her old room and to her surprise her old desk was still there, as well as her bed and bed frame. A poster of 5 handsome young men still hung on the wall, though it was a bit weathered and faded.