The Restoration Project

1.09 - Lovely

Lovely led Ludwig down the main street of an abandoned town. Boarded up shops and homes lined the streets. Trash collected in the gutters and flew across the cracked asphalt in a gentle breeze. Holy Holly hung over her shoulder, nestled under her left arm. It was comforting.

"You know, it makes you wonder, what with everyone gone and all, at least around here, why there's so much trash? You think the ones that left put garbage bags of their shit out on the road, thinkin' someone would pick it up?" Ludwig asked as he struggled to keep up with Lovely's pace. "And what about their homes? Y'know? You think they locked the doors in case they wanted to come back? Or just left 'em open? What did they do with their money? What did banks do? It'd all be useless, right? Should use it as toilet paper, really," Ludwig pattered on.

"Do you ever stop?" Lovely asked.

"It's usually better with Sanchez. He just kinda grunts. I wouldn't mind some back and forth though, you know. Good for the soul," Ludwig replied.

"He's not wrong, honey." Kyle suddenly appeared on the far side of Ludwig, squinting into the sun. Lovely shot him an accusatory glare that, surprisingly, made him disappear. She turned her attention to Ludwig; his nose was scrunched in confusion.

"Fine then. Where do you have to go?" Lovely asked.

"Not far from here, really. Could get there by myself now. I've got a little tracker-blood in me, you know? My pa used to hunt deer. Got a sense for sniffin' out trouble and knowin' where to go," Ludwig explained.

"That doesn't answer my question," Lovely replied.

"Right. Well, I don't know you that well, not really. 'Bout as much as you know me. But from what I've heard I'm not exactly comfortable divulging the exact whereabouts of my future rendezvous," Ludwig explained.

"What have you heard?"

"I'm not exactly comfortable divulging that either."

"Tell me," Lovely ordered.

"It's just...I've heard you talk to people who aren't there," Ludwig cracked.

She stared him down, not because she intended to do anything to him—he wasn't worth her time—but because she thought she heard something. A rumble in the distance.

"What? Is it—" Ludwig started, until she clamped one hand over his mouth and held up the index finger of her other for silence. The rumble grew into a low hum, echoing off the buildings. Lovely removed her hand and words tumbled out of Ludwig's mouth. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it, you're not a crazy lady. I just thought that if I put it out there it wouldn't be awk—"

"—Shut up!" she whisper-shouted at him.

The rumble grew in intensity. Lovely surveyed their position. They were standing in front of an old grocery store, its windows broken, door open, and leaves scattered about inside.

"Get inside. Be quiet," Lovely ordered, racing toward the building. 

Ludwig reluctantly followed. The aisles had been picked clean, at least of the non-perishables. A few cans of cleaning supplies remained on one shelf, while lightbulbs and laundry detergent occupied others. Lovely dragged Ludwig toward the back.

"It stinks in here." Ludwig plugged his nose.

The stench came from the open refrigerator doors in the dairy aisle. Congealed milk dripped off the shelves and pooled on the floor. Flies buzzed around the greenish liquid. Lovely directed Ludwig behind the meat counter.

"Yuck. I'm gonna puke," Ludwig said, holding an arm over his mouth as he stared at a rotten steak in the display counter. Maggots crawled over it in a writhing mass. Following his gaze was a bad idea.