Walk Towards Town

I begin my walk toward town with only a few hours of daylight left. I feel like I can hitch a ride with someone eventually. I just want to get home. I follow the road to make sure I don’t get lost. I walk into the night, and as I crest a hill, I pause. Something is wrong.

I look over the city I know is there, yet I see nothing. Not one light is on. A shiver goes down my spine at what this could mean. The only light I could see for miles was the moon high above me. It’s not quite yet a full moon, but it’s close. The lack of light from the city makes me anxious. It seems... dead. This causes me to pick up my pace a bit.

I walked for hours before the exhaustion truly set in. I remember a gas station near this area; I have seen it on this road plenty of times and even stopped there a few times. I walk for another mile before I see it. The place is a pale blue; the paint has faded over the years. The limited light makes the place seem even more faded. It’s desolate. The lights are off, and there are abandoned cars in the lot.

I walk up to the door and see almost nothing. I go to put my hand on the glass, but my hand goes through the door. I lean forward to try to see inside better and make out a mess of items littered all over the floor. I push the door, and it swings open easily. I creep in and check the gas station before feeling confident that it was truly abandoned. There are only three rooms to check, the main area, the bathroom, and the office. There’s nobody in these spaces; the only thing that greets me is weird items covering the floor.