Removed

29

 "Autumn?"

I halt, glancing up at house before me. The old wood is rotten, and it slightly leans to the left. The windows have been boarded shut, and pieces of glass litter the uncut grass. The neighborhood itself mirrors the same image; broken, rundown, uninhabited. The sidewalk slops at weird angles and weeds grow from the cracks. Not to mention one house has been completely destroyed.

"Where are we?" Jared asks, disgust lacing his tone. "Please don't tell me we have to stay here."

Eva shoots him a pointed look, gently cradling the paper in her grasp. "It says to knock three times, pause, then knock another five."

I absentmindedly nod. How much has changed since I visited this place.

Crisp autumn leaves crunched under Ash's feet. Her laughter filled the air as Teresa, her friend, tapped her arm.

"You're it!" Teresa giggled, blonde braid slapping against her back.

"You better run, Teri!" My cousin shouted, her small legs pushing to catch up to her speedy friend.

I clutched my knees to my chest, idly watching them play. Teri's mother was friends with Ash's. I only came along to this play date because my aunt had to look after me. This was before I liked Ash, so I sat there, sulking, as the autumn wind toyed with my hair and caused goosebumps to rise on my flesh.

"Autumn, are you alright?" Cody queries, staring at me with concern in his eyes.

I nod, watching as Eva raps on the rotten door. I'm scared it might fall off its hinges from the force of her fist.

"You don't look alright. You've been here before, haven't you?"

Again, I nod. "Yeah. I just had a flashback is all."

"Oh," he sighs, bracing himself against the harsh wind. It's become colder the long we've been sprinting, rushing away from our prosecutors.

A young woman tosses open the door, pistol firmly held in her left hand. A blonde braid is tossed over her shoulder, and her honey eyes remind me of Teri, the little girl I met all those years ago. I remember she was older than Ash by a year, so if it's her, she must be eighteen.

"We don't want any trouble, Teresa," I find myself voicing, taking everyone around me by surprise. Slowly, I step forward, my eye contact never wavering. "We were sent here by a girl that works for the Etchers."

She aims the Gun right at my heart. "Who told you my name?"

I take another daring step towards her. "You did. All those years ago, when you thought I was just Ash's dorky little cousin." I wish to tell her off, to point out what I've accomplished since then, the friend's I've made. However, I force myself to bite my tongue.

The corners of her lips tilt upward. "Autumn? Wow, puberty was kind to you."

A chuckle escapes my lips. "Thanks, but that's not why we're here."

"Of course," Teresa nods. "Hey, where's Harper?"

My eyebrows furrow. "Wait, you know her. Was this planned or something?"

"Yeah," Jared cuts in. "What is this?"

Teresa lets out a long sigh. "I met Harper a ways back, when I was part of The Others as well." She opens the door wider, her posture relaxing as she shoves the pistol into a leather holster around her waist. "Come in, first."

I follow a dumbstruck Eva and Jared into the house, Cody close behind me. The floorboards creak under our weight and I grimace. This was never the most luxurious neighborhood, but years of neglect have taken its toll.