Chapter 3
Chapter 3
The sky outside is grey as if trying to mock our laughable destiny. It feels strange? Seven unknown strangers wake up in an abandoned house not remembering parts of themselves, fragments of memory, and have to figure out why they were sent here because all we know is someone is coming for us and we need to FIGHT. All this may sound absurd to a normal person in a normal world. But then what do I know of a normal world? I don’t even remember any strange world I might have lived in.
This is why all of us are out today - try to find out what is out there and get some answers.
It has been about an hour since we all left the so-called comfort of the abandoned building I have started calling home. I have been walking since then looking for something around me that would make sense. The part of the town we are covering is abandoned, like people just vanished from there. Empty streets, unattended shops and vehicles is what greets us out there. ‘Us’? I laugh a little at that thought. To say, I do have a teammate along with me but he has been silent the entire time we have been out here. He is walking behind me, the noise of his footsteps, the only indication of his presence which tells me I am not alone here.
For a long time, it’s just the sound of the wind, occasional thunder sounds at a far away distance. I feel a shiver run down my spine every time the loud voice of thunder is heard. Maybe I am supposed to be scared of thunder? This is not the right time to be scared, I constantly tell myself. It is the sound of Ray’s footsteps all around us that gives me comfort. But then I hear a cry, a whimper maybe, someone is crying for help around us? Is there a person around for answers? I frantically look around trying to figure out the source of sound. Ray must have also caught the sound as he appears right beside me. “There”, he says pointing towards an abandoned car. At first glance it seems like a normal abandoned car, but if you look closely, there is someone under the car.
I walk closely and it’s not a person, it’s a dog, no not a dog, it’s a puppy. Labrador? Pomeranian? What breed is it? What are the different breeds of dogs anyways? That is not important right now. The puppy is scared, wet, shivering. And I do the first thing that comes to my mind. I put on my piece of clothing, which I think people call jacket, on the puppy. I try my best to sooth the puppy with the words of comfort I can think of, what do words of comfort actually sound like? Has anyone ever comforted me?
And before I can spiral further, I feel a drop of water on my face. But I am not crying, am I? And another drop on my face and another and it starts raining, it’s a downpour. Ray clutches my hand, I am clutching the newly found puppy in my arms and he leads us into the nearest closed shelter we can find. It is what appears to be an abandoned house. Someone’s house which they might have called their own home someday. Maybe like the blue ocean I think is my home.
It’s not until we are inside this building, no this someone’s home that I realise that Ray has been holding my hand. And the realisation hits me hard. He is holding it tight as if he lets go, I will be gone from here. Suddenly he is looking at me, is he trying to say something? His eyes glimmer, the blue of his eyes visible in slight gloomy setting we are in. Maybe some realisation dawns upon him and he lets go of my hand. “Err.. I am sorry.. it was raining and.. we had to.. get inside”, he says while rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s fine Ray”, I tell him.
“I think it’s best we stay here until the rain slows down. Walking alone in this weather in the unknown place is not the safest bet.”, Ray sounds calm as he talks to me. “Yeah, I get it.” Is what I manage to speak.
I place the newly found puppy on the floor as he is still clutching on to my jacket for the warmth it can get. The house does not have any furniture so to say. Just a table kept at the centre of the room. Ray pushes the table to the side of the wall, so that it acts as a makeshift shelter for the three of us. The two of us sit there under the table, in silence with our backs against the wall. My hair still tied in my French braid is wet now, my clothes which are merely a black tank top and khaki pants are not that much wet. Luckily my white tennis shoes and socks are dry, not giving me a cold. I turn around and look at Ray, really look at Ray for the first time and then I noticed that his nose is slightly crooked. His eyes are closed as he rests his head against the wall. He is wearing a blue jacket over his black t-shirt and blue pants. His black boot shoes are pretty though.
A gush of wind blows through one of the cracks in this house, and a shivering sound leaves me and the feeling of cold flows through me. In that moment a big palm places a jacket over my shoulder. As I turn to look at him, his eyes are closed again and his hands resting on top his knees. I don’t know if I can figure out this person.
I try to take this moment in when suddenly it resurfaces, the memory I try to keep locked away flashes before my eyes. I try to lock it away but it doesn’t go. A boy, dimples, headphones, black shirt, walking, smiling – all these images appear before me. I shut it down. Not because it is not appealing, but because it doesn’t make any sense in my world. Not here, not anywhere. It’s probably a wrong memory, a wrong moment left behind in me. Wish I had nothing to remember.
I reach out to the now calm puppy. He feels just like me. Lost trying to be found. How did this sweet little boy end up here? Who left him behind? I run my hand through his white fur which is somewhat dirty now. I realise that it has a collar on, suggesting that it has an owner. I check out it collar and I feel something. There is something stuck in its collar. Maybe an insect or a fly.
I put the puppy down to retrieve the fly from the collar. No, it’s not a fly, it’s a piece of paper? A paper stuck in a puppy’s collar? I slowly take it out. It’s folded. Is it a chit? Maybe it’s information about the puppy’s owner. Maybe it will help us out with contact with people outside this place.
I open the chit and it feels the ground beneath me shakes. No, I start shaking. No, I rather start trembling. This is not happening. This feels like a prank. Beside me, Ray comes up. “Nika, are you okay? You are trembling.”
I pass him the chit I was holding and he goes silent. The chit falls from his hand and I look at it again.
“HELLO NIKA & RAY, WE KNEW YOU WOULD COME”