Impaired

2 - Colonial

Carl

I climbed the creaky staircase to the second floor, finding my way to the nearest bedroom. With my strength I kicked the door open with my brown boots, I crept into the room with Judy perked on my hip. The room seemed to be cleared of those things. Yet the feeling seemed so unsettling and surprisingly unfamiliar. I took in the scenery of the room noticing how clean it looked to be. I lingered over to the bed and placed Judy carefully under the blanket. I made sure she was comfortable before locking the door behind me and retreating to the first level.

I carried myself over to where my bag sat on the kitchen table and snatched it up. lazily I plumped myself down into the rugged sofa across the room and emptied my bag of its contents beside me. Sat beside me was a map, a worn out and broken flashlight, an extra gun with some rounds neatly closed in a box, a bag of carrots and few other snacks and along with that was a fragile golden compass that I found in the street. The compass felt so agile in my own hands I so desperately wanted to know the story behind it and how it meant ended up with me.

I traced my finger over to the map once again picking the crumpled sheet up and unfolding it. the map on one side read in bold letters 'Georgia State Map' once I flipped it the whole entire country was printed on the backside. I kept this map with me since day one of this thing, always marking where we stopped and were our next stop would be. I had no clue where me and Judith we're currently held up, since the burn down of Alexandria I forgot to keep track of which way or which street we came down.

I studied the map over for awhile then found myself edging over to the kitchen. I stood before myself tracing my long dainty fingers over the doors taking in their faded appeal. I began picking the cabinets clean of what was left behind. Each cabinet had its own trace of cob webs and musky dust, making me gag a little.

I would give anything just to be back in the world that I was familiar with. the one where your life didn't depend on the whole damn human races survival. And most of all the ones that I loved deep down inside this black whole in my heart. If only I could just be back in that perfect world for just another second but my memories faded so lightly that I could no longer envision that "perfect" world. How everything was so simple and easy.

~ the next day ~

I woke up from the light night sleep I had and rubbed my eye lids before my vision could become any blurrier. I stretched and groaned my way off the couch I had ended up falling asleep in. just then I found myself gazing at the window covering, I wanted desperately to know what time it was and to know what trouble that had come my way.

I cuffed the side of the couch with my grasp and lifted off the couch once and for all. I marched up stairs and barged into Judith's room and she woke at the sound of the door hitting the wall behind me.

"Sorry Judy but its time to get up, we gotta get moving can't stay here for long" my voice hung low and sounded husky from my previous rough night sleep.

She cooed and I tranced over to the bed and took her out from under the covers. I fixed her things up and put them in my back pack and carried her down stairs.

I did one last circle around the house and made sure I didn't forget a single thing. I fixed the strap on my chest that holds Judith, like pregnant women used to do. then I pulled my back pack on and put my gun in the holster on my belt. a machete was planted tightly into my right hand and I took the scenery of the house in one last time before walking out and shutting the door behind us.

I looked back to Judy and she looked into my icy sky blue eyes and I smiled, with all I could bare. I moved my feet against the pavement once again inching down the street, keeping my pace till we got a few streets ahead, I began to huff and puff. I didn't have a lot of food to spare Judith or even myself, food is very sparse these days. So was weapons, but I could handle with what I have.

I looked up to see that we made it to a small town, buildings were scattered everywhere, random trash was hanging from trees and telephone poles, especially all over the road. this street didn't have a single walker in sight. the scenery in front of my eyes reminded me of a New York setting. Standing at the end of the street a Victorian style, almost colonial, building sat. It looked like a massive museum maybe. My feet moved in sync towards the large white building.