The Art of Death Vol I

Chapter 8

I walked to the right. There were a lot of abandoned cars, but I saw no Beasts. They could be anywhere, and come out of hiding instantly so I tried to stay alert. They were attracted to my scent, and the sounds I made. I was sure to encounter another one soon. I always had to be prepared.

I passed many stores and hotels which were all abandoned and destroyed. I came across one store that had many clocks in it. I peered inside the darkness of it, and could see some of the clocks somehow still working. Then, a white, misty hand touched the window. I jumped back as it started to disappear. The thing is, I was paranoid; like something bad was going to happen all the time. It wasn't anything to do with the Beasts or Dusks. It was something else.

I cracked open the glass with my gun. I stepped inside, and saw many clocks, watches, batteries, and more. A watch was still ticking. After all this time. It said, "5:15," on it. I was off. It turned five as soon as we got there, basically. The weird thing about this was the clock had a black spot at 7. I had no idea why. I picked it up, and it was connected to a charger.

"Weird," I whispered. I unplugged the charger and put it in my pocket. I turned the watch around, it had writing on the back. It said: "The most accurate watch EVER! This watch not only tells time, but shows when the sun rises and sets." This was perfect. I snapped the watch on my wrist. I didn't have to estimate time anymore, but how was it charging? This confused me.

I made my way through the store, and I saw two doors; one leading outside, one leading somewhere else. I opened the outside door. I saw solar panels and I went up to them. They were new, like someone just set them up. I looked down, and they were clean. I looked under it. There was a key. Thinking I might need it, I picked it up. I wondered who, or what set these panels up. I should tell Elias. I went back in, and went to the other door. It was locked. I put the key in and it opened up into a big hallway, with three doors; one straight, and one on each side. I went straight and opened the door. It opened up into a big kitchen and living room area. Someone was living here, or maybe someone still is.

I got excited at the thought of it. There was a freezer and fridge too. By the sounds it made, it seemed like it still worked. I opened the fridge and all it had was water. I opened the freezer, and there was meat; recently frozen. Someone used to live here. They probably left in a hurry by how it looks. There was a couch, and even a TV. I was excited; we had plenty of food and water here to probably last the rest of our journey, let alone having another person to travel with. I checked the room to the left of it back in the hallway to see what else there was in this place. It had empty cans, and a bed on the floor. That was it.

Then, the smell of dead meat and urine filled my nose. I went back out. It was coming from across the hall.