The old junkyard is one of the few abandoned places in all of Arcadia Bay. It is a place where all good things that came from the town are brought here and left behind. Where one's own junk, is another person's treasure. Stepping foot into the remnants of the area, I scouted the surroundings and feeling the breeze of the soothing air that flows through my hair. I wandered through the dense area of all the worn out vehicles that are slowly left there to rust and wither away. With the rancid smell that fills my nostrils, I decided to go forth and unearth anything useful for me to use for my portfolio. I walked to the area where the old worn out school bus once stood, that is now an empty shell of itself.
"Oh my, they sure left no parts to spare on this one. I remember it once held itself together…. But only for it to be completely dismantled…." I stood all mesmerized as I began to take a quick photo of what was left of the old school bus.
With a snap of my camera, out appeared the clear visual of the skeletal remains of it, however, I didn't stop there…. For I had my eyes set on the little building that once held a fondness of my youth with Chloe. The Place where I tagged my own message, 'Max was here'. I walked careful and avoided any fallen debris or shards that could penetrate my feet. Memories of this area flooded back to me like a hurricane…. It almost felt surreal in a way as if Chloe were here with me….
(Flashback) ….. "Is this a race?" I asked feeling all worried to Chloe after David confronted her for having pot in the room and accusing her for stealing his gun.
Chloe obviously wasn't happy after I failed to back her up between David and her, leading him to hit her unexpectedly…. "Keep up," Chloe replied with a cold attitude
"How many times are you going to get pissed at me this week?" I asked with a worried look.
Chloe redirected her behavior towards me in a semi-mean way, but hiding it with sarcasm as she responded back to me…. "That depends on you. And how well you do in this phase of the test…. Welcome to American Rust, my Home away from Hell."
"Raw and rough. It suits you…" I said trying to keep the atmosphere positive. This of course sparked interest in Chloe's eyes…
"Max, do you know how awesome this is? I get my best friend back and she's also supersized?"
"We don't know for how long…" I responded, feeling all annoyed of Chloe rubbing my special talents the wrong way.
"Exactly why it's time to have fun…" Chloe said while we strolled in between the rubble of all of the old Junk.
We walked for a while….winding up in a clear area near the edge of the forest where some of the vehicles are stacked up and rusting. This left me unease for I had no clue what Chloe was up to, and knowing her…. She is the kind of girl who always gets us in trouble. However, this time, she wanted to test her shooting range with a stolen gun she took from her stepfather's gun storage. Chloe even loves to drink and tried to offer me a sip of her bottle, to which I declined. I never liked the taste of Beer, and especially if it's from Chloe, not to mentioned the alcohol looks and tastes like piss…
"Yuck!" giving Chloe a disgusting look.
Chloe's purpose for wanting to use Stepdouche's stolen gun was to see how I can predict future events before it even happens, and what better way to see how my time reverse powers work is by shooting a couple of beer bottles, and predict the precise aim for her to follow before it even happens. Chloe of course needed 5 more beer bottles, and made me her henchman in search of them….
"Okay, let's do this. Can you find five bottles while I prep the shooting range?
"Beer and guns, nice combo…" I gave Chloe a funny look
She looked at me with wide open eyes of hers and holding on to her bottle like a teddy bear, while acting like a little girl who is begging for something….
"You can handle it. Now go find us five bottles. Pretty please?" she said giving me a smirk….
…. Standing near the remnants of the old boat stood before finally being scrapped away piece by piece for parts. Nothing was left of it and some new junk was added to the old pile where I stand. I didn't waste time and proceeded to snap a few pictures of the areas I once walked in search of the five bottles that Chloe requested of me to find, all those years ago. While snapping some descent photos for my art portfolio, I stopped mid-way when I spotted the old hidden building where Chloe and Rachael once shared together….and left their names behind, a sign of a bond they both shared, until I made it my mission to leave my mark right below where Rachael's name is plastered.
Feeling jealous of all people when I hear Rachael's name being mentioned, and how close she was with Chloe during the times I was in Seattle with my folks. She was gorgeous, and was even popular in school, and people couldn't stop reminiscing about her. With the way she looks, her tender smile, not to mention her gorgeous hair, and the type of behavior she displays that can make anyone feel jealous of her; including Victoria Chase.
Chloe did mentioned plans to runaway with Rachael and leave Arcadia Bay for good, doing road trips, and accompanying her in support of her dream of being a model or as an actress in show business. Sadly, their plan never came into fruition, due to Rachael mysteriously disappearing from school and never informing anyone where she was going…. I look back to that time when Chloe was devastated of wanting to find Rachael, and has even gone far as to create missing poster signs….and had them plastered all over Blackwell. This of course led me to cross paths with her for the first time in five years, leading us to reconnect with one another, and in search of Rachael's whereabouts by scouting the areas she was spotted.
Coming back to the present time, I approached the old semi-torn down building where Chloe and Rachael once hanged. The entry way was blocked, leaving me to search for another alternative route to enter. My ego was to accept the risk and search always for that perfect shot, even if it means….breaking and entering….to some extent that is. Looking around and pressing hard in search of any soft entryways, I spotted a wooden plank that was placed in a upward position where the window ones stood, and the only thing keeping it from falling down was a couple of blocks that were placed there to hold it in place. Not wanting to sit around and wait, I began to lift the blocks one at a time. They were heavy, and I had to be careful when I lift them, and not have my fingers crushed as I moved them aside for me to remove the wooden plank that will give me access to the entryway of the old building.
"Man! I really need to hit the gym soon, or find some sort of 'magical' potion that can give me strength…..because these freaking blocks are extremely heavy" I said while taking precautionary measures of moving the blocks one at a time to the side.
I was able to clear all of the blocks and was able to slowly remove the old worn-out wooden plank that was blocking my access inside. The inside of the building was different as I had imagined, one's I made my way inside. The only things that remained untouched were the old sheet that Chloe placed on the side of the wall, with the image of an Elephant. The image itself was slowly degrading and hard to tell, not to mention the stuff that Chloe had left behind remained untouched but scattered underneath the rubble of the old building. The makeup kits that she and Rachael shared had those old recognizable logos that have been discontinued years ago.
The building was beyond recognizable as I noticed the foundation has crumbled almost completely, with a large canopy sheet that was placed on top as a temporary roof for anyone who is seeking shelter. I spotted the old photo strips of Chloe and Rachael posing, as I carefully picked it up and began to admire it. It made me smile knowing that some of the items that had been left behind are still here, in this room.
I aimed my camera and slowly took a few pics of the old building. Nothing was the same and I want to at least preserve them on my photos before the building is gone forever.
SNAP! SNAP! SNAP! SNAP!
While trying to find another good angle to aim my camera at, I stumble upon an old duffle bag that was hidden away neatly behind a small broken wood plank, near the area where our names were plastered, but had faded away over time and were hard to read. As I slowly approached it, there was a name tag on one of the zippers….
"Zelonsky? Who is that? And why would anyone leave this behind?" studying the bag very carefully as I began to unzip it. Its content wasn't damaged and was in good use.
What stroked my interest is trying to know what's inside the bag, and what sorts of things were left behind by the previous owner. To my shock there was nothing worth of value to take, however, I spotted a couple of boxes full of strawberry pop tarts. Not to mention the expiration dates, meaning that whoever left these items behind….had been here before….but somehow left in a hurry for unknown reasons, forgetting about them.
My stomach was grumbling, with a sweet tooth in mind; I was craving for these. Pop tarts are indeed my favorite kind of snack I would love to nibble on from time to time.
"Well, since no one is here to reclaim you guys, I will definitely take you guys with me to give you all a good home….in my stomach that is…." I was laughing at my own joke, and without a care in the world I slowly pulled the duffle bag out of the old window where I came from and carefully walked out.
As soon as I got out of the old building, the building finally gave out and collapsed on its own….destroying what was left of its foundation that Chloe had left behind.
"Wow that was a close one. If it wasn't for this bag that I spotted earlier and wanting to take them home with me, than the old building would have caved in on me….leading me trapped underneath the rubble…" I said feeling all freaked out, as I made my way to my car with a duffle bag full of pop tarts as a reward.