Black Box: Book Three

42 ~ The Infected Town (Part Five)

Yet again, I'm posting this while most of the people in America are asleep. Ha, classic Claire...

We are officially here in Oregon, just outside of Infected Town, in the little motel. I know, it took a bit longer than I expected to be able to leave San Francisco. Blake had a hard time getting days off work and I loved exploring the city.

I started getting restless a couple days ago, though. I really wanted to get back to the town. I had dreams about it, like it was calling me. In the dreams the sun shone brightly and everyone was smiling - and not in a forced, monstrous way. There was laughter and the people felt like family. You know how, in dreams, if you meet your brother or parents, they might not physically look like them, but you know they're your family? Like that. It felt lovely in the moment, but when I'd wake up I'd feel sick, unnerved. Lied to. The town is no good, so why is my subconscious trying to make it seem positive?

Anyway, I started pressuring Blake to get going, backed up by Heather, who is interested to see whether or not I'm making shit up. I thought about just driving back there by myself, but I'm also not an idiot. Finally, Blake got some days off, and we set off when schedules allowed.

People keep asking for the town name, or coordinates, or some details as to where it is. I really don't feel comfortable telling you. I apologize for that. For one thing, I'm currently here and I don't love the idea of a bunch of strangers knowing my exact location (however friendly and awesome you seem over the internet). For another, I don't like the idea of endangering people who try to visit the town. I regret even bringing Blake and Heather into this, even though I told them about it before I knew how serious it is. And, to be brutally honest, part of me wants to be the only one with access. At least until I get some answers. I feel like a shithead for it, but that's the truth. Sorry, really I am.

We didn't get to the town until after it was dark, and everyone was tired from the long drive. Heather wanted to just stop at the hotel, but I was eager to do some exploring. Blake, voice of reason, said it was too fucking dark, don't be reckless Claire. We compromised by taking a drive into town, with the understanding that we wouldn't get out of the car.

"Shit..." Blake said, as soon as we crossed the bridge, leaning forward to get a look at our surroundings."You weren't fuckin' kidding about that watched feeling."

It was true. Prickling up the back of my neck. Eyes from all directions. I glanced at Heather in the backseat. She'd gone completely stiff and pressed herself right up against the window, eyes darting in all directions.

I pointed out the apartment building to them as we drove past it, hoping Blake would want to stop and check it out. He didn't. I looked up to that third floor window, the one on the right that had been filled in on that little note. It didn't look any different from the others. I slowed the car to a crawl, craning my head to look at the building.

A movement in a window on the fourth floor caught my attention, but it might have been my imagination. I squinted. Was someone standing by that window? It was hard to tell in the distance and the dark, but for a moment I thought I saw a shadow move behind the moldy glass...

Suddenly Blake yelled and grabbed the wheel from me, yanking it hard to the right. Heather and I screamed as we were jerked by the car's movement. We were only going maybe 15 mph but I slammed on the brakes, my heart pounding.

"What?! What?!"

Blake laughed in relief, slumping back into his seat, passing a hand over his face. "A cat," he said, still laughing. "A fucking cat just shot across the road." He rubbed his eyes.

Heather smacked the back of his head and admonished him on pulling the wheel from the driver. I punched his shoulder gently. He argued that without his excellent reflexes we would have hit the kitty. I was very glad we hadn't. Heather, half-joking, asked if the cat looked moldy or weird-looking. Blake said no, he was pretty sure it was just a regular cat. I assume it's feral, since we haven't seen any people whatsoever. We got to laughing nervously as we continued our drive.