Ep.#9 - "Resistance" by Ryk Brown Read Free Book Online Page A

her eye… footprints. They were all over the place. There were even some dried up muddy prints on the back deck of the building. Someone had been here, and recently. They were smaller than Jessica’s feet, and her feet were of average size for an adult female. She decided they had to be made by a teenager or a smaller than average adult.
    Jessica’s movements became more careful and considered. The situation had changed. She had to strike a balance between caution and remaining true to her cover as a young woman traveling alone. She stepped up onto the back deck, moving across slowly. The old deck boards creaked with each step. If there was someone inside, they knew Jessica was out there for sure now.
    Jessica reached for the doorknob, then hesitated, remembering her cover. Although it seemed to go against every instinct, she instead knocked on the door several times with her knuckles. “Hello?” She continued knocking even harder. “Hello?! Is anybody home?”
    The force of her knocking opened the door slightly. She looked down at the door jamb, which was splintered away on the inside. The door had been kicked in. The splinters did not appear fresh, with some degree of weathering. At the very least, they were a few months old. “Don’t shoot me!” she hollered as she pushed the door open. “I’m not armed!”
    She pushed the door open and stepped cautiously inside. The room was of modest size and appeared to be some sort of an entryway or a storm porch. She moved through into the next room, a large kitchen. It had an industrial feel to it, with multiple oversized, stainless steel sinks; large, two-door refrigeration units; an eight-burner range; and a flat-top griddle. Oddly, the inside appeared better kept than the outside. It wasn’t clean, but it was at least tidy, with nothing left out on the counters. She opened a few of the cupboards, all of which were empty. She found the refrigerator empty as well. She flipped the light switch, but nothing happened.
    Jessica moved into the next room, a large empty dining room, big enough for several tables at least. The next room was even larger and emptier, with a large natural rock fireplace at one end. There were several doors as well as a staircase leading up to the second floor. One door had large glass panes through which Jessica could see another storm porch on the front side of the building.
    She opened the other doors, finding a small bathroom that was in need of cleaning, a closet, another empty room with an empty bookcase covering one wall, and another set of stairs, this time leading down into a basement. She stood there for several seconds, contemplating which direction to explore first. She pulled out a small flashlight that was no bigger than her thumb. She pointed it down the stairs and squeezed it between her thumb and forefinger. A bright beam of light pierced the darkness below, revealing a basement flooded in about a half meter of water.
    Jessica spent the next fifteen minutes searching the upper floor of the house as well as the attic space. The upper floor had thirteen rooms and seven bathrooms. Oddly enough, one of the upstairs bathrooms was relatively clean, enough that Jessica felt more than comfortable using it. There was no running water, but the bathtub in the clean bathroom was full of dirty water, and two large buckets sat on the floor next to it. A little water in the tank of the toilet, and it worked like a charm.
    Other than a single mattress that had seen better days and a few ratty old blankets, there was nothing of value left in the old house. The mattress and the blankets had been assembled in the corner room adjacent to the functioning bathroom. The two large windows offered an excellent view of both the road leading in from the forest and the meadow Jessica had crossed to reach the building.
    The sun was beginning to set. In another hour, it would be dark. She had no doubt that someone had been living here recently. The questions were