BADLANDS

hurricane

"and there's a storm you're starting now..."

9:38 AM

she sifts through the drawers of the apartment hopefully, rummaging through drawers full of clothing. a layer of film and dust cover the surface of the room. the clothes are thick, wool, and traditional; nothing in this place is modern.

"there has to be people here," she mutters, staring at the dresser in disbelief. the room seems recently lived in. they've only made in a quarter way into the city, but she's beginning to lose hope. this city was large enough for thousands of people, but it was deserted. why?

the arid wind seeps through the open window. she's already hungry, but she knows she can't break into the scarce supply of food they have.

she opens the window further, prying it open with her finger tips. suddenly something darts into her vision- someone's out there!

"stop," she shouts, trying to crane her neck to see them. she can make out someone with bubblegum pink hair and jet black clothing walking down an alley.

it's her, but she's alive. "elyisum?" she mutters confusedly. she suddenly feels dizzy, black spots dotting her vision. but when ashley blinks, her friend is gone.

"did you see someone?" peter bursts into the room, breathing hard.

his gaze is focused and heavy. "uh.. i..." she traces the outline of the scar on her stomach, like she always does when she's anxious. "i just thought i did. nevermind."

she's going insane. she's seeing shit and she's going fucking crazy, her brain a hurricane of emotions.

his face falls for a brief second as they mumble goodbyes and continue searching. their hope is slowly fading away from both of them, just out of reach.

they decide to switch buildings, sun rising into the sky as they step outside. the pink and white mountains stretch into the clouds behind them.

she shuts her eyes, swaying as she tries to remember which way the girl went. she doesn't care if it was a hallucination. she follows her heavy heart and heads towards a tall, black building.

the room is dimly lit and abandoned, powdery darkness hanging in the air around her. cobwebs spread across the walls. she feels as if she's being watched, a feeling that claws underneath her skin.

peter is off in the building next to her. she takes a deep breath, and begins to search for anything. she finds jewelry, a battered wedding ring, and water. she slips the ring and the water into her pocket.

a sudden dripping sound causes her to whip her head to look behind her. her eyes can barely make it out at first. but then she sees it, the jarring red smeared across the walls.

"ashley! i found someone!" she hears peter's muffled yell as he bangs on the door.

she gasps, looking back at the walls. something is smeared across them in fresh, dripping blood.

"TURN BACK."

X

"im a wanderess, im a one night stand."

10:41 AM

she doesn't tell him. she doesn't tell him about the writing because she has a childish fear that he'll decide to leave, that she'll go back to her own life.

she's also afraid that it might not be real.

so she opens the door quickly, slipping out and muttering, "there's nothing in there. what happened?"