The Greenland Diaries: Day 56
Today, Snowy and I left our neighborhood. We walked past Rainbow Foods and onto the sidewalks near the lake. A brown sign, completely crisscrossed with vines, had the name “Crystal Lake.” I’m glad I know the name. Not knowing the name of any of the places around me makes this new world feel even more foreign to me.
Why don’t I know anything?
The buildings outside my neighborhood have also been sucked up by the green vacuum. Luckily, they’re bigger and more rounded, the vines and ivy have a harder time conquering the lengthy concrete. It’s nice to see these businesses and their names peering through the rising jungle. Wally’s Carpet Cleaners, the Terrace Theater, Dots, and the New Shanghai Bistro all gleam along the brown strip mall attached to Rainbow Foods. The glass outside each store has been shattered. It looks like someone looted Dots, judging by the trails of weathered clothes outside its doors.
What a strange compulsion for fashion in this new apocalyptic setting.
I was worried there’d be more stray dogs wandering about these untraveled roads. I’ve rigged up an extended leash on my belt, just below my Kevlar vest. Snowy can roam exactly 15 feet in any direction. Before, I’d let her off the leash, but since we’re exploring new territory, I don’t want her distracted or vulnerable. I carried my M16 with me, and on my back, I strapped my 22 Gauge from before. I still think I’m calling it the wrong name, but there is no one around to correct me. I cut the barrel down to a shorter stub. I noticed the last time I battled with one of these faceless monsters the shotgun’s nozzle got caught on the items surrounding me. That won’t be a problem now.
Whenever I would drive by Crystal Lake on 81, the water would look cloudy and dank, with a pinkish chemical tint hanging on its surface. Now the lake has a clear edge and center to it, like I can see completely into it from any angle of the forested shore. The plants have invaded the lake from the banks on down. They’re cleaning the water out, making it more inhabitable.
I filled a couple of gallon jugs with water and tied them to the bottom of my backpack. The extra weight feels annoying, but it’s not unbearable. I need water to shave my face. If I had to drink the lake water, I would, but my supplies are still strong and hidden. My appetite has become based on energy and not taste. It’s consumption and not quality.
At the center of the lake, or at least further out from the shore, I noticed a strange formation beneath the water. It looked like someone had cut a bubble in half, and that perfect rounded piece was glued to the green depths. There are carvings along it, strange twists of clawed figures and fire. In the center of the orb curls is a sideways lip. I wonder if it will open.
I know it must be related to the Drum and the beasts.
On my way back home, I walked behind Rainbow Foods. I figured if there were people still hiding there, I’d either see them, or they’d see me. A hill crawls up behind the building. I walked up it slowly, trying to peer in the sandbagged entrance of the grocery store. Nothing moved, only a few bits of plastic hanging off the sandbags billowed in the wind. I could smell a stale and salty odor of oxidizing food. Nothing could be living in there around that aroma. It made your eyes tear up from just a few hundred feet away.
I wonder if the monsters found them, or if they got in a firefight with some other irritable survivors. I memorized the pattern of sandbags and vines around the sliding doors. I’ll check it out in a few days, and if nothing else moves outside of it, I’ll explore it.
On our walk back home, there were some wall clouds on the blue horizon.
Please, let it rain
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