Abandoned (Chapter One)

Chapter One

On a miserable evening down a secluded urban street, a man walked slowly his head and shoulders hunched, growing steadily damp as a light rain fell, his breath fogged in front of him. Apart from the soft sounds of rain, all was strangely still. No other sounds at all, no whirring from cars, no hum from street lights, no dogs barking. Nothing. Nothing at all. The houses to the left stood abandoned. Crazed, wild looking trees to the right. Neither are as the man remembered, in his mind the trees should be well-kept, the houses should be lit up and bear the obvious signs of being loved. He knew he shouldn’t have come to this place, there was nothing here for him now.

Slowly he walked up the street, keeping his head down, trying desperately not to let his tired, lonely eyes absorb too much of the once familiar surroundings and with them the echoes of the past. He was still young, taller than average, hair becoming saggy and unkempt with a patchy beard. Dressed in comfortable loose fitting clothes but wore a curiously expensive watch, the likes of which few people of his age could have possibly been able to afford. Despite his youth, his mind was ageing very fast, demons beginning to infest and take over leaving deep, ugly, un-healing scars.

He reached the point in the street where he should turn right into a close, he hesitated unsure whether he could go on. He hadn’t been back to this house for well over a year but this day was different, on this day he couldn't resist the urge to go back. He steadied his nerves and made the turn, walking even more slowly. The inside of the close was small, only three houses stood, the two houses on either side had gardens at their front and the house straight ahead was further removed, gated off. The gardens had become as barbaric as the trees in the street behind. Only the house to the left held interest, it was fairly large, the bottom floor with exposed brink the top half white stone work. A blue car still stood in the drive way, but now it was covered completely in dust, entirely unloved.

The front door was still locked, he had the keys as he’d never lost the habit of carrying them with him. Finding the right key he put it into the lock but completely froze where he stood, unable to move an inch. This had been his childhood home, a place of happiness and love. The memories of the family he knew he would never see again overwhelmed him. He stood frozen on the spot, desperate to enter and wake from this nightmare but he couldn’t, he knew he wouldn’t wake. He would never wake from this nightmare, as this was no dream, this was his reality. Opening that door would do nothing, there was no loving family to greet him, no one to laugh with and love. There was nothing. On the other side of that door was just another empty building and memories of a better life.

He turned on his heel, away from that house, he was desperate to be here no longer. He hastily walked to the end of the street, to his car, an extremely expensive sports car. The type of car he should only have been able to fantasise about owning. Like everything else in the world now he could have it, he could have as many expensive cars as he liked. He drove away dodging the occasional stationary car which still stood in the street. He began to wonder how he’d gotten here, one minute about to begin his life, excited for the future and the adventures it was sure to bring, then nothing. Just nothing. It happened around five years ago. On a normal weekday night he had gone to bed, only to wake and find himself abandoned, marooned on the planet. He woke to his family gone, their neighbours gone, eventually he realised that everyone had gone. Just gone as though hiding from him. There was no one left, no animals, no creatures at all, other than him. The power had gone too, there was no electricity, no internet, and no phone signal. The world as he knew it had just ended, leaving him completely and utterly alone.

Eventually his mind turned to more pressing matters, where he should sleep that night. Since all of this had begun he had had the rule of the land, he was able to stay anywhere he pleased. Which he had, he had stay anywhere and everywhere he desired; expensive hotels, mansions previously belonging to extremely rich people. He had even spent a particularly strange evening wandering the halls of Buckingham Palace drinking Gout de Diamants from a novelty mug. Tonight however, he planned on staying in his favourite haunt, the football stadium of his favourite team. He liked it there because although the riches of fancy hotels and regal buildings had their appealing, they’d never been what he desired when the world was normal, it was here he always wanted to be. It was here that he planned his weekend around coming to, it was the events that took place here that he would excitedly discuss all week long. This was his Mecca, his spiritual home.

When arriving at the stadium he found the entrance he had pried open with a crow bar, initially he had felt bad about this, as though he had defiled a religious site. Inside the stadium, he made his way to this favourite section of the ground and its bar where he had stashed all kinds of expensive alcohol. Tonight he was in the mood for something a little more normal than Macallan Whiskey, so made himself a Jack Daniels and Coke. He turned away from the bar and made his way towards the corridor leading outsides towards the hallowed football pitch and the tens of thousands formerly ludicrously priced seats around the pitch.

Sat in the middle of the stadium, he looked down at the grass, still filled with the same sense of wonder and excitement. If he closed his eyes he could still hear the sounds of tens of thousands of angry, testosterone filled middle aged men, he could still smell the unique smells of the fresh air flooding in from above and the hope or misery or delight radiating from the crowd depending on the match and as always sweat. Some days he would enjoy himself here, some days he would don a real football kit, wore by the professionals that he had found in the changing room and kick a proper premier league ball up and down the pitch. Although it was pointless and childish, he enjoyed it, for a few hours he could lose himself in the fantasy he had spent much of his childhood in. For that short period of time he was not stranded in an abandoned world, for that short time he was all of his footballing heroes. Scoring breath taking goals, making brave last ditch tackles, winning all of the do or die games against all of his footballing rivals. It was a good fantasy, he enjoyed the escape but it didn’t last, it never lasted. Eventually he would look to the empty stands above, expecting to see tens of thousands of his friends, it was then the hopelessness of his life would come crashing back to him.

As he sat in his plastic seat sipping his Jack Daniels and Coke emotion came flooding back to him, not even this place could lift him from his agony, five years without speaking to another human being, five years without the embrace of another soul. Most nights this kept him awake for hours and hours on end however he already knew tonight would be worse. If time meant anything in this world, that day would have been his birthday, a day where he was supposed to be surrounded by family and friends. Night had just fallen properly, at this time he sound be looking at the business end of a crate of beer trying to keep everything that sound be inside him, inside him before making his way to a nightclub. The next morning should be a morning of headaches, shame and wondering where the second chicken kebab had come from but this was not the case, he would wake alone. His mum would not be there to comfort him, to make him a fry up and bring him glasses of water.

All he had every properly wanted was freedom, the freedom to do whatever he wanted, the freedom to travel, freedom from money worries, freedom from stress. Now he had it. Now this freedom had trapped him this silence was becoming deafening.