Numbered

Chapter 19 - Jake's Confession

Zeke took a deep breath, a sudden feeling of nausea washing over him. It was one thing to be home. It dawned on him that it was an entirely different matter to return to some of these places. All the memories he had, good and bad, though more of the latter than the former. He felt unsure if he should even go through with this. Turning around and dying in the middle of nowhere sounded like a better idea at the moment. Sure, there might be no one alive in the town, but then again, there was the possibility that there could be. What the hell was he thinking? He never cared what anyone else thought or might say; why should he even care now? Besides, the chances of him actually running into someone were slim to none, especially since he was heading right to Jake's. He did not know why, but he just had this urge to go there.

Balling his hands into fists, he marched over the boundary and began the small walk to Jake's house. Ironically enough, it was on the other side of town. Mother nature now decided to play her cards against him. If he were on the track team, he would be there star player right now. He was fairly certain no one would even attempt what he had accomplished. As he walked though, he could not help but look at what was left. Cars were strewn just about everywhere, some having flipped over onto the hoods. Others were left on lawns or the middle of the road, happily rusting away. Houses were in disrepair, the wood starting to rot away, while paint was tarnishing. Everything looked like a piece of shit. Zeke hated to think that, but it was the truth. The place looked like total shit. Though, it was made worse by the people laying here and there, their eyes glazed over just like all the others. The dead people reminded him of the Rocky Mountain scene; the strewn cars brought a flashback to California, minus the earthquake of course.

Zeke usually heard people say that time flies when you are not focused on it. The same had to apply for distance because he found himself already half way through town. He stopped at the water fountain, built way back when he was a toddler. He almost drowned in it once, but his mother saw him fall in and immediately pulled him back out. She smacked him a few times for scaring the hell out of her, but she wrapped him in a tight hug right after. Letting the scene flee from his mind, he sat on the edge and scooped some of the liquid into his mouth. Unlike the water from the roadway, this water was completely crisp and clean. It seemed to be the only thing that was untouched by all the chaos, a sign that hope still existed. He scooped up some more water, this time splashing it over his face and neck to relax himself a little bit.

A creak from behind made him spin jump to face the sound. He scanned the area, but nothing caught his attention. He might have imagined it, but he was so sure it was real. His nervousness must have just got to him or it could have been the wind. It did not matter. Turning away, he walked past the fountain, his sights now set on Jake's house. The whole town centered around the fountain, like it was its life force. Technically, you could see almost everything from it if you knew where to look. As Zeke walked away, he set off in his desired direction, he could see Jake's house in the distance. From here, it looked perfectly fine, but he knew once he got closer, it would turn out to be like all the others.

By car, it would take only a few minutes to reach the other end from the fountain. By foot, Zeke thought it would be more like half-an-hour. Wanting to test this theory, he counted the time as he walked. After fifteen minutes, he believed his timing to be right because he was already halfway there. He could also tell from this distance that the house was actually a little worse off than the rest. Most of the shingles had fallen off the roof, no doubt creating a pile in the front yard. The bright green color it had once been was now extremely faded into what he thought was a puke green. Weeds were growing up the side of the house, cracking the stone framework and pushing through them. It did not seem that long before Zeke stood on the front steps of the house. He had no doubt the place was going to reek of Jake's father's dead body. It was the one scent he could not stand.