To Die Unknown

I quietly stepped into the small abode before me. The door lightly creaked, announcing my presence to whoever rest inside. The inside was small. There wasn’t much of a foyer. Walking in, led me straight into the living room. The sound of my sneakers dimmed from the rough looking carpeting. The walls were a muted shaded of mahogany. Antique looking candle holders aligned the walls. A dim lighting made everything just barely visible.

In the middle of the room, a large suede couch was stationed before a wooden coffee table. The couch overlooked a bookcase. On either side of the bookcase, small windows decorated with thick cream colored curtains. The curtains were drawn shut.

Two matching suede chairs were located, one at each end of the coffee table. Both turned facing the couch.

A brown head perked up above the back of the couch. Victoria smiled lazily at me.

“I can’t remember the last time I read. It was a little hard when I first looked at the words. But I seem to be getting it now.” She gestured toward the coffee table. A large candle dripped wax over its holder, nearly landing on the open book resting beside it.

“How are you?” I asked, walking to one of the chairs and resting my tired form in it. Victoria turned her body so she was facing me. She folded her pajama clad legs under her body. Her hair was pulled back in a fancy twist.

“Coping.” She shrugged, playing with her fingers.

“Have they been treating you alright?” I questioned, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. I couldn’t help but allow the feeling of guilt wash over me. I’d left Victoria on her own, in a place we hadn’t come to know. I’d left her with people who has treated us as criminals. I left her in danger.

“Oh. They’ve all been very nice to me. They told me about some of the rules.” She trailed off, a small smile on her face. I raised my eyebrows.

“What kind of rules?”

“Well no one is allowed outside of their homes after nightfall. The infected are more active at night, and they don’t want the living to attract any unwanted attention. Makes sense if you ask me. Oh! And we’re only allowed to use candles and do something silently inside. Again, attention. The only ones allowed out at night are the Guardians, and those on patrol. “ A full blown grin crossed her lips. “It’s nice here. I feel...safe.”

Safe. Something I’d tried to make her feel for so long. I hadn’t succeeded. But could feeling safe even be a smart thing to consider? When you thought you were safe, you let down your guard. You were caught off guard.

I shook my head to rid myself of such negative thoughts.

“How was prison life?” She asked, laughing lightly.

“It was fine, nothing exciting came to pass.” I lied, not wanting to mention the mysterious man I’d spoken too.

“Well, I’m glad you’re back.” Victoria stood up, raising her arms above her head in a stretch. “But I’m going to go to bed. Can you imagine it? An actual bed.” She pulled at her hair, sending bobby pins flying. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders. She ran her hands over her scalp in a light massage. She stood up, a light sigh escaping her lips.

“Goodnight.” I laughed at her excitement. Her body disappeared as she walked down the hallway. Reaching out, I picked up the book she’d been reading. To Kill A Mockingbird, was printed in a black swirling text. The book was in relatively good condition.

I precariously flipped through the pages, reading of the adventures of six year old, Scout Finch.

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My eyes snapped open at an alarming noise. I glanced around me. Some candles had gone out, and others were dwindling flames. The novel had slipped from my hands to the floor. I must have dozed off.

I listened silently for the noise I’d heard before. I could here nothing. I walked to one of the windows, peeking behind the curtain. Two people were walking, whispering to one another. Their bodies soon faded into the darkness.

I thought no one was allowed out after dark. An idea crossed my mind. And although I knew that I most certainly shouldn’t, I was going to. Darting across the room, I jerked the door open. I grimaced at the creaking it made. The sound much louder than I would have liked in the eerie silence.

Turning around, my eyes landed on the discarded bobby pins on the floor. I ran back, leaving the door ajar. I picked up the three bobby pins that I could see, shoving them into my pocket.

I walked out the door before I had a chance to change my mind.

I let the door close behind me as I ran in the opposite direction the two figures were heading.

Something about all of this wasn’t quite right. The man in the cell beside mine, had more than added to my suspicions. If I wanted answers, I was going to have to find them. But where?

I continued running straight, my sneakers making very little noise against the cobblestone path.

A door shot open and a figure stormed out, another closely following. Gasping, I backed myself to the side of a house, shadows hiding my form. I held my breath.

“Robert. I think we need to stop. This is getting hopeless.” A voice whispered angrily. The voice was vaguely familiar. I refused to peek around the side of the house. I don’t know what would happen if I was caught.

Two people stopped in the path, close to where I was standing. I shrank back against the wall, trying to make myself invisible. I could make out my Uncle Robert. The other was hidden in the darkness.

“Brian, don’t you start this shit again. You know we’re getting somewhere.” My uncle’s voice rang out.

“We’re always getting somewhere. But never where we want. I don’t know if I can live with this on my conscious anymore.” My Uncle startled me by grabbing the other man by the throat. A choked gagging noise sounded loudly around us.

“You better fucking bury that conscious back wherever it came from. You were fine with this in the beginning. I don’t want you making a mistake you’ll regret.” Robert, let go of the other man, pushing him away from him. The man nodded in response, staring at his feet.

“I don’t know why you act like this. Matt never does. He know’s what we’re doing is right. Let’s go.” Robert walked away, the man lingering for a moment. He raised his head and I saw it was the very same Brian I’d come into contact with previously. The man by the name of Synyster Gates. He sighed and followed after my uncle.

I shakily released the breath I’d been holding. I lightly massaged my temples, trying to calm myself down.

I stood there in silence, waiting until I was sure they were gone. When I peaked around the corner, there was no one in sight. The night seemed to have grown darker. I stepped back out onto the back, much more cautious than before.

I walked a little further, stopping in front of the building they’d left. It was Uncle Robert’s office. I frowned. What would they have been doing in here? It was only his office and a couple of regular rooms.

I had to at least look, I tried to convince myself.

I grabbed the doorknob, it refused to turn. It was locked.

“Shit.” I mumbled. It must have locked when then door closed behind them. I groaned. This was just what I needed. Maybe it was a sign. If only I had something to-

“The bobby pins!” I exclaimed aloud. I glanced around quickly, making sure no one had been alerted of my presence through my loud mouth.

I kneeled down in front of the door, pulling a pin out of my pocket. I tried my best to bend the pin as straight as I could. Carefully, I slipped it into the lock, shifting it around.

“There.” I whispered, jerking it a little harder then I’d intended to, the pin snapped under my hands. I took it out, putting the broken pin in my pocket and grabbing another. After I’d gone through the same procedure as before, I slid it into the lock. Shifting it around, I came to the same place as before. Pushing with little force, I heard the lock click.

Putting the pin in my pocket, I opened the door. It opened quietly. The hinges were recently oiled with the smell it game off.

Walking forward, I lightly closed the door behind me. The room was shrouded in darkness. I couldn’t turn a light on, they were conserving electricity, and it would draw attention to me.

A groan slipped my lips when I stumbled into a table, something clattering to the hard floor. I got on my knees, feeling around with my hands for what had fallen. My hand grabbed onto a little box. I shook it. It sounded like matches. I opened it, grabbing onto one of the sticks inside. I lit it.

I couldn’t believe my luck. I walked around with the tiny flame in search of a candle. I pulled one from its holder on the wall. Igniting it created a much larger light.

As I wandered around, I couldn’t help but feel my suspicions dimming. I wasn’t coming across anything out of the ordinary. I suddenly felt very silly. I was being abnormally skeptical.

The door to my Uncle’s office was ajar. I pushed it open. Maybe there would be something in here. Anything to show my intuition wasn’t failing me.

Searching his desk, I found nothing. Pens and paper, sticky pads, a stapler. Classic office things.

There had to be something. Anything. I glanced at some of the books along the wall of shelves. There were only regular books. Not anything that would hide secrets.

I went to the lone bookshelf on the far wall. I ran my fingers over the spines of some books. Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, A Farewell To Arms, The War of The Worlds-

“The Time Machine.” I whispered aloud. My skimming finger stopping along the spine of it. I ran my finger over the imprint the words left in the thick leather of the novel.

The Time Machine by H.G. Wells stared back at me. What was it that man had said? He’ always like this novel? Or something along those lines. Maybe I could take this book back to him. Would he appreciate that?

My hand tightened around the novel, as I attempted to pull it. The book refused to budge. I grabbed at it a little more forcefully. The book jerked but did not give way. The bookcase shuddered in response, making a sort of clicking noise.

Bewildered, I walked to the side. The bookcase was jutting out from the wall. With both hands, I heaved on it. The bookcase swung open like a door. Dumbstruck, I stood for a moment. All I could do was stare.

Now that I’d determined that I was actually right – that there was something here. I didn’t know if I wanted to go forward. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. I wiped my sweating palms on my jeans.

“Come on. Don’t be a pansy Hayley. You can do this.” I muttered encouragements to myself, as I tried to muster up the courage to do find out what was behind the hidden door.

Walking forward, I pushed open the heavy metal door. Fluorescent lighting flickered on above me. I took the steps down one at a time. My nerves getting the best of me.

Infected. I could handle the infected. But humans, they were unpredictable. They were dangerous.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I didn’t put much thought to it as I quickly opened the last door.

More lights flickered on around me.

My body froze in shock. My eyes widening as I took in the scene around me.

"Oh my God."