Ageless Secrets

Four

YN

It was quiet between Joel and I on our way back to the QZ. We were walking on a residential road. The sun slowly started to go down casting a pinkish orange glow in the sky. I looked up from the road, looking ahead of us. The sky grew darker and darker the closer we got. I turned my head to look at the sky behind us, no sign of rain. The closer we got the more concerned I got. We could hear rumbles of thunder and small flashes of lightning.

I pulled my headphones down around my neck and slowed down. “Joel, I think we should find shelter,” I said, looking over at him. “Yeah, it's not lookin’ good' that way. We'll get as close as possible then find a place to wait it out.” We continued to walk and watch the sky grow darker. The thunder got louder, cracking so loud I thought my bones were shaking. The wind started to pick up, blowing my hair in my face. Then we felt droplets of rain hit our skin. “Alright, let's check that house out.” Joel pointed to a lone house set back away from the road.

As soon as we stepped onto the covered porch the sky let loose. Rain poured down in sheets.  The little bit of daylight we had was now gone. A loud clap of thunder paired with a flash of lightning that lit everything up made me jump. Joel opened the front door and cautiously stepped inside. It was a one story house, so it was easy to check. I took my bag off and sat on the couch. The sound of the rain on the metal roof was really relaxing. “We're gonna just have to stay here until the rain lets up,” Joel said.

I pulled a water bottle, granola bar, and my book out of my backpack, making myself even more comfortable on the couch. I took a sip of water, opened my granola bar and took a bit of that before opening my book. What really sucked was when all this shit happened, I was reading the Harry Potter books. Now there won't be any new ones. The fifth book literally came out three months before the outbreak. There were supposed to be two more books being released. And we would never get the other movies either; we only got the first one.

I was reading Goblet of Fire for what felt like the hundredth time. I never really get a chance to look for books while we're out scouting. But I didn't find all five Harry Potter books in a house a couple years ago. It was the most exciting thing to happen to me since the outbreak at the time. Joel said I didn't need them because they were a necessity. Tess told me to take them. She had seen how detached I was becoming. It was the same with the Walkman and cassettes. They keep me sane in this fucked up world.

“Haven't you already read that book?” Joel asked. I finished the page I was on before answering him. “You know you can read books more than once, right?” I sarcastically asked. I wanted to ask about his daughter. Ask if she liked Harry Potter too. From what Tommy told me she was only a couple years younger than me. But the last time I tried asking about her Joel completely lost his shit.

He lost his daughter, Sarah, on the first day. She had been shot when he and Sarah had been running from infected. They were stopped by one of the men from the military. The guy was given orders to kill them. This was something he and Tess have bonded over, they both lost a child. Chase is probably still in that basement as a clicker now. We had the chance to go back to the house. We could have taken care of it but Tess couldn't do it and I didn't blame her.

“I liked these books before the outbreak. I was excited when the first movie came out. It kind of sucks that we won't get the last two books or the movies to go with them. I didn't have many friends. I was more of the loner kind. I didn't go to sleepovers or birthday parties, I mean I was invited, but I just didn't go. It wasn't my thing. Besides, all the girls were into the Dawn of the Wolf movies and I hated it.”

Joel didn't say anything. Hell, I don't even think he was listening to me. I went back to reading my book and listened to the rain. A few hours later I was walking around the house. It was evident whoever lived here didn't have children and probably lived by themselves. There were no pictures around the house of a family or friends. No evidence of the former owner. I was startled when I walked past a door. A loud banging on the other side had a small scream escape me.

The banging got louder and I backed up. My back hit the kitchen counter and I stood frozen. It's like I was back in 2003, standing between the kitchen and living room, Tess’ back pressing against the basement door while loud banging went on behind her. I screamed again at the loud banging that drew me out of the past.

“What's wrong?!” Joel came running into the kitchen looking around. I couldn't even speak to tell him what was wrong. All I could Do was point to the door and when I did another loud bang pierced the air followed by a rumble of thunder and a strike of lightning lighting up the sky, illuminating the kitchen. Joel walked in front of me, “Go into the living room.” I would have listened but I could move. The same image of Tess came back. The banging from Chase echoed through the house.

It switched to the time I snuck back to the house when we were back in Detroit trying to get into the QZ. We had stayed not far from where we used to live. Tess and I talked about going to the house and giving mercy to Chase. She couldn't do it but I thought I would be able to. I didn't tell her that though.  She went off on a run with a few people we were traveling with. So  I snuck away and went back to the house.

The place had been picked over and trashed. Andy's body still laid where he had fallen a few years earlier. I slowly walked over to the basement door and knocked. There was nothing at first, just silence. I thought maybe someone found him and did it for us. I knocked again, louder and waited. There wasn't anything. So, I took a deep breath and tried to sike myself up to open the door.

Just as my hand wrapped around the handle and loud bang vibrated the wood on the other side. I yelped, stumbled back and tripped, landing on my ass. He was still there and I couldn't even help him. I got up and ran; I ran as fast as I could back to the camp, getting there twenty minutes before Tess got back from her run. I never told her that I went back. And now here I am bw shook by Joel and hum telling me to get in the living room so he can take care of the infected.