Enslaved Heart (A "No one lives" fan-fiction)

Things Change

The car ride was tranquil for once, Simon curled up against the door and staring out his window while Donna drove on through the highway which was surprisingly barren. Besides the occasional car or truck passing by there was nothing and no one. An eerie feeling began to settle upon them and a fog rolled in from the East covering the roads with mist thick enough that it was impossible to see three feet ahead. Driving in these conditions was difficult as it was but something felt inherently off about the area. No words could be placed as to why but an instinctual feeling of dread clawed at her stomach only subsiding when she heeded the bad conditions and turned off onto an exit simply driving forward until tires hit gravel and then pulling over near a group of cabins.

They were encircling a large stone fire pit in the middle and an archway with a dangling wooden sign that read 'Camp Ruby Lake'. A little snort came from the woman reading the emboldened crimson letters but pushed open the car door and approached a post with a stapled label sheet reading that they were shut down for the Summer until next year due to a moss infection in the lake. Good news for the two of them, it meant the place would be abandoned and empty cabins could yield supplies. Behind her the passenger door clicked and there was a crunching sound of boots on gravel than the warm brush of Simon gazing over her shoulder at the sign.

"Why'd we even pull off here? I mean shouldn't we keep going straight on ahead?" He mumbled clasping a hand over his nose.

"We could.. But I have a bad feeling about the highway so we'll just camp here for the night. Besides with all that fog it'd be impossible to safely navigate the roads and I worked hard enough to get here. I'd rather not die in a car." She kept her answer short and to the point turning back with a look that said 'don't push it' before approaching the cabins their bag hunched over her shoulder.

There wasn't much to comment on the cabins themselves, it's what you'd expect from any summer camps little set up. Except these had a bit more of a modern look to them, painted with what appeared to be a cedar brown but almost darker and smoky with bright red doors and a white highlight around the door frame and windows. Clearly remodeling had been done recently as the stairs were well sanded and noticeably missing any wear that would suggest children had spent a considerable amount of time hopping and scrapping their feet across it. Still well painted and stained with the paint fresh and cool against her outstretched hand. Surprisingly the first cabin door that was labeled with a metal 'one' gave way without much of a push. There had been a golden lock on it at one point but someone had unlocked it recently and neglected to replace it allowing entry.

Inside there was a group of four bunk beds two line up side by side against each corner of the room and two large closets up against the farthest wall from the front door. Overhead was a dangling lamp with a metal cord swaying beside it but pulling on it just made the bulb flicker momentarily than burst with light spreading an amber glow around the room. She could smell the recent use of bleach on the floors but prayed to get lucky, kneeling down on hands and knees to feel under the beds but other than a few dust bunnies coming up empty handed. Disheartened she went to exit until one of the floorboards right next to a bed creaked, a loud empty sound. She pulled the tips of her sneakers off with an inquisitive stare then pressed again only to warrant the same sound. Crouching low to the ground she felt around the grooves of the wood and suddenly her fingers slipped into a small crevice and with a small tug the floor board pulled back to expose underneath it a secret cubby.

Donna hesitated staring into the darkened empty area and then reached inside pulling out a small bag of cash, candy, and a phone. Probably hidden awhile back from one of the campers, their secret stash that they had to abandon on the last day. No damage was done to the items inside due to the plastic and pulling out the older flip phone it almost instantly turned on with a battery life only halfway drained. Her heart soared with the possibilities but placed it to the side for now pulling out a few wads of cash kept bundled by a rubber band and only finding at least forty dollars worth but enough money to keep them going at least. Tucking each of the valuable items into her own navy drawstring bag before pushing open the cabin door and calling out to Simon who was sat atop the hood of the car with a bored expression.