Rough Road Ahead (In Progress)

Chapter 9

            I saw the town as we approached, it was very quaint. There was a huge sign hanging over head as we drove that read, "Gold-Town." It looked old; half of the sign was broken, hanging on an awkward angle.

            There were people clad in old-fashioned attire walking the streets, kids running busily to schools, small patchwork bags flung over their shoulders carelessly.

            I saw an older man with a top hat and a long white beard that almost reached his waist wave to us as we passed him, waving back I doubted he had seen me. We were moving much too fast for that.

            "Ugly people." Brad scoffed from beside me. Having not seen him approach I had been taken by surprise, but decided that I should continue to ignore him as he had me, watching the houses pass us in a blur of colors.

            My eyes zeroed in on a small wooden farmhouse, a sheep-hoarding dog tied to a post in the front yard started to bark, running after our trailer for a few moments before his leash ran out and he lay panting on the dirt road, giving up.

            Our trailer was kicking up a lot of dust, the red dirt sticking to the windows, clogging the view. People were starting to notice us, staring out their windows, their eyes following us as we past them. My hand flew into the air, waving again, but no one returned the courteously. Their eyes just stared blankly as if they had never seen another human before.

            "Creepy." Brad declared, looking at me, but I continued to ignore him, my eyes glued to the slowly-growing opacity of the once transparent window, watching the glass shimmer in the daylight, hitting at strange angles and causing the light to disperse into an array of colors.

            The houses looked dirty, flies buzzing around people's heads, I realized after my eyes had time to lock in on a few details. These people really needed a shower. In this day and age, it was an odd occurrence, especially for a family of our stature to see such poverty.

            "What are we doing?" Max asked, looking at my father whose eyes were still stuck to the road, making sure he didn't hit any dogs or any other family pets.

            He paused, "looking for a place to park." He said, turning the steering wheel roughly around a sharp corner.

            "You can't be serious!" My mother complained, "we can't stop here! They probably won't even speak English!"

            My dad sighed, "Honey, it will only take a second." He said, stopping the car and unlocking his seat belt.

            My mother looked appalled, crossing her arms over her chest in a pout, "I'll wait here." She announced.

            "Suit yourself." My dad shrugged, motioning for us to come with him. It was an odd occurrence to see my father stand up and take charge for once, and maybe that was why my mother was acting so childish about it. It was foreign to her, and she didn't know how to handle it.

            Shrugging my shoulders; the town would be fun to explore, I surmised. Popping the door open I hoped out of the trailer onto the dusty ground. Brad followed and so did Sam. Max, however sat in the car, not saying a word. Then he looked at us, sighing as he unlocked his seat belt, snapping off and retracting into the car.

            "Where are you all going?" My mother whined. Her voice like a child's who wasn't getting her way. I guessed that was where Brad got his attitude from.

            "To explore." I gibed turning on my heel and walking away towards a shop named General Store. You didn't see this everyday, I thought, walking up the creaky wooden stairs.