A Reason to Fight | Schofield

4 | The Farmhouse

We left the garden and headed for the dilapidated farmhouse. It looked as if it had been a while since it had been cared for. The roof was caving in on itself and the walls were battered with holes. There was a barn just past the house that looked no better. Schofield and Blake stopped at the edge of the garden, looking anxiously across the valley at the structure.

"I think it's abandoned," I said.

"Let's hope so," Schofield replied.

"We have to make sure," said Blake.

The two raised their rifles as they moved cautiously down the hill toward the house. We dipped into the valley, Schofield leading, followed by me and then Blake. My eyes scanned the house, and its surroundings, but everything was still. No movement or signs of danger.

But still, there was something unsettling about the place. An ominous feeling that something terrible awaited.

We rounded back up the hill and approached the farmhouse. Schofield instructed Blake to go around back while he took the front. Then he turned to me.

"You're unarmed," he said, thinking out loud. "Stay right behind me."

Blake moved off toward the other side of the house. I followed closely behind Schofield, keeping my eyes and ears peeled for any potential threat. My heart raced inside of me as we traveled up the side of the house. A horrible smell hit my senses like a truck, and I found the source seconds later. A dead dog on the edge of the stone pathway. My heart broke a little, and I turned my head away as we passed it.

I sensed unease in Schofield. He gripped his rifle tightly in his hands, sucking in a breath as we approached the front door.

"I'll go in first," he whispered. "I'll wave you in if it's clear."

I nodded, and he gently pushed open the door. I waited at the doorway as he slowly entered the hallway, holding my breath as he walked. It was silent except for the sounds of his footsteps as the wooden floor creaked beneath his weight. Schofield swept the hall with his rifle, checking the room to his right. After verifying that it was clear, he turned to me and waved me in from down the hall.

I stepped inside the farmhouse, and eerie feeling settling into the pit of my stomach. I didn't need to see much more to know that I didn't like it here.

I joined Schofield at the opposite end of hallway as he was peering out the window at Blake, who was in the yard.

"Anything?" Blake asked us.

"Nothing," was Schofield's reply.

Schofield moved into the kitchen, and I followed unobtrusively. The room was mostly vacant, trashed, and dull, except for one eye-catching object. A child's doll laying on the floor. I stepped closer to get a better look. There were cigarette burns on its eyes. I felt as though the empty holes were staring back at me, boring right through my soul. A shiver ran down my spine, only making me more uneasy. It looked like something out of a horror movie.

"Did you find any food?"

Blake's voice made me jump, and I turned to see him standing at the back door.

Schofield shook his head in response. "I don't like this place," he told us.

"Neither do I," I agreed. "The sooner we can leave, the better."

"Let's just make sure there's nothing useful left here first," Blake suggested. Then he and Schofield left the building. I followed them out into the yard, where they exchanged a few mre words before parting. Schofield walked toward the barn while Blake decided to go back into the farmhouse, checking for anything Schofield and I might have missed. I stood in the grass outside, unsure of what to do. I tried to think of a way to be helpful, so I started following Schofield into the barn to help check it out.