Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
JULES COULD HEAR A banging sound reiterating against the house she was moving towards, quickly learning that it was Scout pounding on the front door, since he had been a few steps ahead of her.
"Hear anything?" she asked as soon as she was close enough, moving over a window and cupping her hands over her eyes to peer into the house. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and she couldn't see any living . . or nonliving, for that matter.
"Besides your breathing? No," Scout answered, flashing her a cheeky smile. She frowned as she looked at the side of his face, taking in just how hollow his smiles looked. "I think it's safe to go in. If something were mobile, it would have came out by now."
The brunette nods her head in agreement and acknowledgement, her thoughts returning to the current task at hand as she positioned her body in an offensive position behind him as he reached for the doorknob. The door was by no means quiet as he slowly pushed it open, releasing creaking noises that made Jules wince. They slowly stepped in, trying their hardest to muffle their movements as they infiltrated the once beautifully decorated home. It seemed as though people have been inside before; already looted anything that was useful.
Nonetheless, they wordlessly split up, Scout heading up the lone flight of stairs, while Jules stayed on the bottom floor. She moved to the kitchen, pursing her lips as she allowed her body to relax slightly. There was definitely nobody or nothing inside. She would have been able to tell by now.
Jules turned the first floor upside down, coming up empty handed aside from a few books that seemed salvageable. She ended her search by what seemed to be an old fireplace, family pictures hanging nearby. Her fingers traced the unfamiliar smiling faces, some of them cracked, wondering where they were now. If they were somewhere, that is. Jules glanced to the side, eyes catching on a picture frame that had yet to be cracked. Inside, a photo of two girls laid. One was much older than the other, and the brunette had an inexplainable urge to take the picture. She flinched when footsteps sounded behind her, only for her shoulders to sag with relief with she turned her head to see her blond friend.
"Any luck?" the girl asked softly, her voice no higher than it needed to be. She found herself doing that more often, knowing there weren't any other sounds left in the world for her to speak over. The boy shook his head, signaling a no. Jules carefully set the picture back down on the fireplace, straightening it and brushing the dust off. The two girls in the picture weren't posing, rather they were sitting on the couch together, the older girl seemingly reading to the younger one. Jules's heart tightened in her chest as she forced herself to look away.
