The Broken Age

Decency

We had walked for a bit of time, it had become much greener, and foggier. No one talked, we all just followed, lost in thought. 'But as always. You had questions, to bother people about.' This could be a trap. She looks to be an adult, she's tall, Confident, probably has some kind of ego. I think its crazier not to be suspicious of her... But i don't have a choice but to follow either. "Um, so. What's your name?" I mumble which, snaps everyone else from their thoughts. She looked at me more suspicious then i felt of her, she wasn't grinning like before, but instead serious and focused. "Lilith, Komarova." She says, turning to face us "What are yours?" She continues "I'm Zack" I say, "This is Maggie, and I'm Sam" Sam points to her sister as she drags her along, Alice just shrugs "That's Alice, and the one without eyes is Silah." I say "What brings you all to Moscow? Crossing to get to Daleville i assume." What's in Daleville? Wait. Were in Moscow! "What's in Daleville?" Sam says before i could ask "Word, around town is that a group found something very special, and everyone wants a piece of it." She answers, "What did they find?" Sam asks "I'm not sure. But i plan to head back there when the storm is over." 'Back?' A gust of wind hits my face, making me shiver. It was getting colder. Makes me wonder how she's walking about barefoot. When the rest of us are freezing with what we're wearing "Aren't you cold?" I ask looking at her. She looks back at me, and shrugs "Not particularly." She speaks. I bump into something and turn to look at it. What i see makes me stumble to the ground in fear, the skull of an animal hanging on a wooden spike! Lilith lets out a laugh, "Were here!" She says pulling me up with ease. 'How does she keep doing that?' Ahead of the skull was an apartment surrounded by other hanged skulls and piles of bone scattered on the ground. 'Red flag' Most of the entry ways were boarded up. Even the front door. Lilith takes us to the side of the apartment, with stairs going up to the windows, all the way to the top. At the bottom was a raised metal ladder, high up, and out of our reach. She jumps up grabbing the ladder, and pulling it down with her, as it gives a grinding sound of old rusted metal. "How are we supposed to get Maggie up this?" Sam Complains. "I have a pully we can use." Lilith points to a small platform at the top of the stairway, swaying from the wind "We are not putting her on that!" Sam yells hugging her sister "I've pulled up heavier things than her with that." Lilith answers back. But Sam still didn't budge. "Fine. Let's just-" Lilith walks to Maggie and starts lifting her up from her chest and forcing the reptile onto her shoulder. Sam screams trying to get her to put down her sister, and Maggie whines and try's clawing at her back, which did nothing because she didn't have any nails. As the awkward struggle happens and me and Alice quietly watch it, Lilith lifts Maggie up to the ladder. Enough for her to crawl up to the metal flooring, and the screaming to end "Now, was that so hard?" She asks, dusting off her hands. "How did she lift the other one like that?" Alice whispers to me, I shrug in response.

The inside of the building was surprisingly clean, besides the window entrance, and torn walls revealing exposed cabling. Lilith dusts off her feet and starts walking to one of the rooms. We start following only for her to give a sharp disagreeing sound "Take off your shoes." She complains 'isn't it the apocalypse?' I shrug and take off my shoes. Alice and Sam do the same. Silah just watches us, until it's his turn. We hold him down as Lilith watches in amusement, and Silah screams at the top of his lungs. His ears flinging in every direction, making him scream even louder. I pull off his boots, from his feet. As the others let go of him, he snatches the boots from my hands and throws them outside the window, vanishing among the green fog.

All of the rooms were filled with boxes and cheaply made bags, that had random junk in them. But the main room we follow Lilith to is carpeted. She flicks the light switch and the fairy lights attached to the exposed wall cables, give off a yellow glow. We enter the room one by one, as Lilith waits at the door, then when we are all inside, she grabs a bat, with long nails sticking out of one side of it, that was hidden behind the door. We all jump at the quick movement, but she doesn't face us, with it. She looks outside into the hallway and says with her strange rough voice "Stay out! And take off your shoes, zmeya." 'Huh?' What was that? She swings the door shut and turns to us staring at her. She doesn't say anything about it. Just drops her bat, where it was, and heads for the window in the room. We watch as she slides the window up, and crouches onto the metal bar balcony, messing with a large machine, attached to the cables sticking out of the walls.

The building itself was pretty cold, not much warmer than outside. But there was no wind, and the fuzzy carpet was comfortable to sit on. I was starting to get bored, but i didn't really know what to do. Am i a guest here? Am i not allowed to look through the stuff here? What should i do, just sit in the cold? Sam was busy dumping all the towels we were carrying on her sister. And Alice was watching Sam. Then there was a strum that catches my attention. Silah was looking through one of the boxes, 'How come he gets to look?.' and he gently pulls out a guitar, giving it another gentle strum. As his ears shake along with the chords. This catches Lilith's attention who pokes her head in from the window 'You're in trouble.' I felt worry, rising up from my stomach. We're going to get kicked out into the storm, aren't we? "Do you know how to play?" She asks, Silah gives a weak smile, and strums the guitar again, sitting down with it. I don't think I've ever seen him smile before! He plays something with the guitar, as Lilith crawls back in and locks the window shut. "Are there any towels we can use?" Sam asks, "And food to eat?" Alice adds "Right! What a bad host i am." Lilith smiles, and rolls up, a small portion of the carpet and lifts the floorboard under it. Revealing a small pocket filled with, containers and opened bags of food. "Take what you like." There were Cans of soups, beans, even bread. Opened bags of chips, plastic sealed sausages, and even an untouched jar of peanut butter. "How do you have so much food?" I ask as the others pick what they want, revealing even more stuff underneath. "I scare a lot of people, and they leave their things behind." Lilith answers leaving the room and closing the door behind her. A moment later she comes back with a tower of old looking blankets and towels and places them, next to us. Sam rushes to grab them wrapping them all around her sister until all you could see was her head, poking out. "So, what do you do to pass the time?" Lilith asks crouching down to our level "We tell stories." Alice blurts out, looking surprised and proud of her answer. "Really!" Lilith answers turning her head towards me. There was a second of silence then "Yeah, Zack. It's your turn." Sam growls. My stomach sank, at the thought "I-" 'Shush.' A feeling came over me. Bits of memory, enough to make me shake, they all seemed so disconnected. But it's like i could feel them, happing to me. The tubes in my skin, the shocking, the scraping, that constant heavy feeling. So, i kept my mouth shut. Hoping they would stop asking. And eventually they did. Falling asleep one by one.

I still couldn't sleep. It was morning out, but you couldn't see anything outside besides a green fog, and snow hitting the window. Everyone else had managed to sleep, wrapped up around a blanket, except for Lilith who was laying in some kind of chest, with her hands behind her head, watching the snow fall. I was wrapped up too, but i couldn't sleep. I pull Cactus out from my pocket, as he lets out a hiss, I show him my finger covered in peanut butter, to which he lowers his quills and happily starts licking my finger. "Can't sleep?" Someone whispers, i look up, the only one awake was still Lilith. I just give a low nod in response. Then a question popped up in my mind, so i asked, "Why do you speak weird?" I whisper. 'that's not polite to ask.' She turns her head towards me in a somewhat upset face and responds, "Do you mean my accent?" She asks, 'Now were just making up words.' I nod pretending i knew the word "I never got used to the English language." She whispers. So, she's not from America? Then another question, showed up in my mind, this one bothered me as soon as i thought of it "Who were you talking to, by the door?" I ask, she only gives a confused look as her response "You- you told them to take off their shoes and slammed the door." Did i imagine it? 'Yes.' Her confusion vanishes, replaced with a more serious look "Something was following you." I knew exactly who she meant! but how did she know she was watching us? Then i realized, she's met them too. She's like Silah, and Maggie. Only she seems a bit more... Human... "What did they do to you?" My voice shakes. There was no confusing this question, we both knew what i meant, "You still need to tell Sam a story, first." She smiles, as i stare at her large white fangs, poking out from underneath her lips. 'You can't hide from what surrounds you.'