Afterlife (A7X)

Chapter 22: All That Remains

~~~~CHAPTER 22~~~~

All That Remains~~~~

~~~~Brian's Point of View~~~~

"You think we're even gonna find anything?" I asked as I trekked along behind Jimmy who'd decided the best option was to go look inside the barn; I wasn't too sure on that idea, but it was almost too late to turn back now.

Jimmy shrugged, glancing back at me as he scoped the area.

"Dunno," he admitted. "But we've gotta keep looking."

I just sighed and looked back over to the front of the property, seeing Zacky and Nero watching us from where they were over with the car.

"Jimmy, I think going into the barn's a bad idea," I said, finally speaking up and knowing I had to say it soon or he'd just go in without thought. "I think it's the only place we should stay out of."

Jimmy halted; we were directly outside the barn now and I was starting to feel a bit uneasy about the whole thing. Jimmy looked me over, clearly summing me up like he did when he was thinking; he could be so demeaning sometimes.

"You can stay out here if you don't wanna come in," he simply stated, looking back to my face.

I just sighed, knowing there was no point in arguing with him now that he'd made up his mind about going into the barn to see what he could find. I just shook my head as he looked at the massive barn doors; there was a padlock and chain tying the doors together, but I knew that wasn't about to stop him.

"There's gotta be another way in," he said, already beginning to make his way around the barn. "There's always a ladder going into the loft, right?"

"You're the expert; you tell me."

Jimmy just continued on his way and I glanced back over to the gate before following him around the back of the barn, seeing Matt, Jessie and Johnny a bit further down at the back of the property. I shook my head again as Jimmy found what he was looking for and gave me a smile.

"See Brian? Can't keep us out for long, hey?"

I shook my head once more as he gripped the old wooden ladder and began climbing.

"You nuts, you know that Jimmy?" I called as I watched him climb up.

Once he was stable on the dilapidated wooden landing, Jimmy looked down and indicated for me to follow him up.

"C'mon then; whatcha waitin' for?" he called, making me sigh. "I can wait; take your time. Unless you're too scared to come find something in the barn."

"Fuck you."

Jimmy just laughed as I regretfully grabbed the ladder and began climbing up after him, Jimmy just watching the entire time. The ladder felt rather unsteady as I climbed up to the landing, Jimmy holding his hand out to me as I neared.

I grabbed his hand and he hauled me the rest of the way to the landing. Once I was up, Jimmy was already making his way to the open part of the loft, leading into the barn. I tagged along behind, still not too wrapped in the idea of this entire thing.

Jimmy looked back to me as he slipped into the barn, me a few paces behind him.

"What're we even looking for?" I asked as I followed him in, looking over the inside of the barn as Jimmy looked for a way down; there was a hole in the roof, letting a bit of light into the overrun barn.

"Anything we can find," was Jimmy's response. "Honestly Brian, I have absolutely no idea what we're looking for."

"Somehow doubt we'll find anything in here," I muttered, seeing Jimmy wasn't even listening. I raised my voice a bit more so he'd hear me. "All he did was kill his victims in here; he died inside the house. You should already know that; you've read everything there is to know about this guy."