Megan stretched as she woke up. She had a smile on her lips for a moment, but it quickly faded. She sighed.
“I was having the most lovely dream...I was on holiday, somewhere hot...I was drinking a cocktail.”
Jake didn’t want to hear about the dream. That dream would never be a reality again. He helped Megan onto her feet.
“We need to keep moving.”
Megan looked a little hurt at the way he’d brushed her off, but he didn’t have the energy to apologize. He just wanted them to keep going. He set off without waiting for her to get herself together and she caught up a moment later. They continued on in stony silence.
Jake didn’t like the man he was becoming. He could see the ways in which he was becoming colder, harsher, out of sync with his old self. He’d always been patient with Megan before and now it was like he couldn’t even hack a few minutes with her. He wished he could offer her some comfort, but his whole self seemed intent on rejecting any kind thoughts that came his way.
And he knew exactly why. It was because Aby was gone. It was because he had no idea when he’d see her again. It was because he was terrified that the best thing in his life was over now. If she was dead, then what was the point? What did he have to stay alive for?
He was nothing without her.
Megan couldn’t possibly understand that. She’d never known true love. She had only just escaped an abusive partner. How could she understand how it felt to be away from the one you love and feel like your soul is gone too? Jake shook his head to himself as he continued downhill in the direction of the lake. He had to carry on, even if his heart was ripping in two. He had to believe that carrying on was worth it.
They’d been walking for an hour when Jake spied a beacon of hope in the distance. There was still no sign of the lake, and they were moving at a sluggish pace, but there was a house nestled on the hill. It looked like nobody had been there in some time, but maybe it would hold something useful for them...some food, maybe even a weapon or two...Jake knew it had to be worth checking out. He grabbed Megan’s arm and pointed out his discovery.
“We should go there,” he said. “It’s only a small detour from the direction we were heading...what do you think?”
Megan bit her lip. “I don’t know...I have a bad feeling about it. Isn’t it likely it’s been ransacked anyway?”
“We need to try...it’s the only house we’ve seen for miles. Come on. Let’s go.”
Megan looked ready to argue, but as Jake headed off, she reluctantly followed. Jake felt confident that they were about to find something of use. Maybe their luck was about to change...it always seemed to. Jake’s old confidence was returning all at once.
The house was quiet as they approached. It seemed like it was completely abandoned, but Jake felt a chill down his spine as he headed for the door. Megan’s doubt was making him anxious, but he opened the door anyway and stepped into the dark house.
It smelt dank inside the cabin, but Jake didn’t let that put him off. As they entered the living area, he immediately began to look around for something of use, eagerly pulling open drawers and peering in cupboards, but every single one of them was empty.
“What the hell…”
“Maybe whoever was here packed up and left,” Megan said. She wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t like this place, Jake...it’s giving me the heebies.”
Jake tutted and waved her away. “Wait outside then. You can be a lookout.”
Megan pursed her lips in irritation, but nodded and headed back outside through a side door. Jake couldn’t understand what her problem was. The house was their only chance to find supplies before they arrived at the lake. If they just moved on, they’d go hungry and thirsty. He was doing this for them.
Jake continued on through the house. It was so eerily empty that it was like no one had lived there even though the furniture was all set out, like a show home.
But then Jake’s nose caught on to a stench that seemed to be coming from within the house. He wrink;ed his nose, but followed the scent. It felt like a clue to whatever might be going on within the house.
He stumbled upon a man sleeping on the floor and gasped. On the cold tiles of the kitchen, the young man lay sprawled. His breathing was ragged and loud. Jake didn’t want to startle him, but he figured if the man woke up and saw him there he’d probably panic. Jake considered waking up. He then considered stealing from his sleeping body, but he decided against that quickly. The man was very pale and scrawny. It seemed wrong to take from him.
Jake considered for a minute what to do. He could go and get Megan, but he suspected she would try and make them leave. The pair of them had entirely different views on how to function, and he couldn’t risk her forcing them out of the mysterious house. He decided to continue looking around the house and come back to the man when he was done with his search. Perhaps the house would offer up some answers about the man and who he was.
Jake’s heart was racing as he walked around, searching every room meticulously. It seemed to have been stripped bare. He looked in places that he thought others wouldn’t think to, but he still didn’t find anything of note. Just dust. There were no personal items in the house either, oddly. Jake could understand someone stealing everything from the house but where were the photographs? Where were the general ornaments that people tended to collect over a lifetime? He found the whole thing
