A Fresh Start

Chapter 22

I continued. Stopping for a few minutes when my ankle couldn't take it anymore. I was resting by a tree, drinking some water and eating bits of a granola bar. I looked over to the right and caught something that made my heart jump. I put away the granola bar and the water bottle and got back up. I made my way further to the right, hoping that I wasn't hallucinating. When I got to the edge, I moved a branch out of the way to reveal a cemetery. At the far end of it, there was a little house. A funeral home maybe? I smiled.

"Thank you," I said.

I limped over to it, passing the numerous tombstones that were damaged in some way. Suddenly the house seemed so far away. I was beyond ecstatic that I had found something that I didn't let that stop me. Onward I went. When I had finally reached the front door, I caught my breath. I went up to the door and opened it. It was unlocked. I banged on the door frame before going any further. Silence. I made my way inside and shut the door behind me. I looked around and noticed how clean the place was. I went off to the left and ended up finding the kitchen. I placed my backpack on a table in the middle of the room and began opening the cabinets. There was nothing at first but when I opened up the last door, I'd hit the jackpot. Bottles of soda still sealed, peanut butter and jelly, pig's feet and few gallons of water. I laughed at the realization that I would be okay here. The place seemed safe enough for me to relax a little. I headed out of the kitchen. I closed the door and decided to look around some more. In hopes of finding a way that I could wrap my ankle. I pulled out my knife and made my way back into the main hallway. There was a second floor but there was no way I was going up there. Not right away at least. As I made my way further into the house, there was a room that was entitled, "Morgue". If that didn't scream funeral home, then I'd be strongly concerned about the previous occupants of this house. I was relieved to find out that it was in fact a funeral home and not some lunatics' place. There was a body that was lying on a gurney. I took a closer look. It was a walker. Someone was dressing them up. I stopped to think about that. Someone still remembered that these things were people once, before all this. They hadn't forgotten that. After all this world had made us, there were still some people out there that still had their humanity. There were still some good people out there. I then started to wonder if the people that lived here were still around. There was hardly any dust on the bottles and cans in the kitchen. Someone must still be tending to this place right? Well, if they came along, I'd figure out a way to come off as peaceful as possible. I turned away from the body and started rummaging through the cabinets that were on the other side of the room.

"Yes! Score!" I exclaimed.

I had come across a bandage wrap. Just what I needed. I sat down on the floor and carefully untied my boots. When I took off my sock, I was glad to see that it wasn't as purple as I had anticipated. I moved it around making sure that I could still do so. It hurt but it was a bit more bearable than when I first messed it up. I wrapped up my ankle as best I could. There was no way I could take off right away. I needed to rest this ankle. At least for a little while. I placed my sock in my boot and picked myself up again. I looked around once more hoping to find some crutches. Unfortunately, I wasn't that lucky. I made my way back to the main room. I wanted to see what was upstairs but at the same time, I knew I needed to rest my ankle. But what if there was a comfortable bed up there? Wouldn't it be logical to hold up in a bedroom for the time being? I placed my thumb and index finger on the bridge of my nose. I limped to the kitchen and grabbed my backpack off the table. I slung it over my shoulders and made my way upstairs. Making the decision of checking it out now in case something or someone was hiding up there. I was grateful to have the railing to balance myself as I hopped up the stairs one by one. I had reached the top of the staircase out of breath. I took a moment to catch it before continuing. It wasn't much different from downstairs. Extremely clean as well. There were only three rooms. I went to the one closest to me. I turned the knob but it wouldn't open. I knocked on it and waited to hear growling. There wasn't any. No point in trying to get it open. Whatever was in there, there had to be a reason for it. So I went to the next door. It too was locked. I was starting to believe that no one was meant to come up here. That these rooms were off limits or something. Either way, I kept going. I came across the last room. I was hesitant to try the knob. But I did and to my surprise it open. My knife at the ready, I opened the door a little more until it was wide open. There in the middle of the room was a bed that screamed at me. But I had to be sure it was safe first. There was nothing out of the ordinary. A few shelves with meaningless papers on them. A few books. A harmless looking room. As I got closer to the bed, I noticed a string that was almost invisible just above the headboard. I followed it and cupped my mouth at what I discovered.

"Holy shit," I said.

The string led to some sort of booby trap. An ax and multiple sharp objects hovered over the bed. Whoever laid down on this bed, they'd die instantly. What kind of sick people lived here? I looked around and found a permanent marker on a shelf. I slowly made my way to it, keeping my eyes on the trap above. I quickly took the marker and went out as quickly as I could. Someone else could stumble upon this place like I had.

I opened up the marker and in big words wrote, "Don't open. Death trap inside."

I looked at the door. People would be able to see it. Hopefully heeding to my warning. I slid the marker under the door and backed away. I turned and made my way downstairs once more.