take on me, e.williams

seven

—prettiest
princess—

———bones littered the ditch, items that once belonged to the people that were once alive. odessa had her hand clamped over her mouth, fearing she might throw up if she removed it. ellie stared in shock and joel watched them.

"about a week after outbreak day, soldiers went through the countryside, stopping evacuating small towns. they would tell you that they were taking you to a qz... if there was room," joel shrugged. "if there wasn't..." he eyed the pile of bones, not finishing his sentence.

                   "these people weren't sick?" odessa asked shyly, hiding partially behind joel.

                    "no, probably not." he turned back to look at her.

                      "why kill them? why not just leave 'em be?" ellie asked softly.

                        "dead people can't be infected." joel responded, ellie shook her head sadly. "c'mon now, let's get movin' again." joel pulled the girls away from the bone yard and back to the woods. the hike into the small neighborhood was easy. when they found said town, it was partially barricaded still with barbed wire and fences and other random objects.

                      joel walked up to a house and opened the door slowly, hand resting on the holster for his revolver. it was quiet, too quiet for people to be living there.

                     "bill?" joel called out inside, eyes scanning the well kept house. "frank." he called out again. no reply. joel turned back to look at the girls. "stay here. if you see or hear anything...yell." he told them walking away.

                    "what if they're gone?" ellie frowned. joel said nothing and disappeared around the corner. ellie looked to odessa who shrugged. the two girls wandered the two closest rooms, a dinning room and a room that had paintings and a piano in it.

                odessa dragged her fingers over the keys, notes playing flatly. she had always wanted to learn to play the piano. then her eyes moved to the canvas's that were stacked around. there were several paintings of the same man, and others were landscapes. beautiful ones. painting was on her bucket list. she watched ellie pickup up an envelope with a key to a vehicle next to it.

                   "what's it say?" odessa walked over, leaning onto ellie's shoulder with her chin. ellie felt her heart rate pickup as the other girl did this.

                     "to whomever, but probably joel..." ellie read it. "hey, joel?" she called out for the older man, who came rushing into the room with his gun out.

                    "what? what is it?" joel asked them impatiently, ellie waved the letter and the key for him to see. the trio moved to the kitchen where they all sat down at the dinner table. ellie opened the envelope and cleared her throat to read.

                   "august twenty-ninth, 2023. if you find this, please do not come into the bed room. we left the window open so the house wouldn't smell, but it will probably be a sight." ellie began reading, odessa leaned her head on her hand as she listened. "i'm guessing you found this, joel, because anyone else would have been electrocuted or blown up by one of my traps. hehehehehhehe" ellie made an awkward laughing sound as she read it, odessa chewed on her lip to keep from smiling.