Lonely Memories
 
As the sun began to set I left my room and made my way to the exit of the hotel. Traversing the stares in the dark had gotten easier with time. As did roaming the cluttered hallways, avoiding hitting the luggage on the floors. When I finally make it to the first floor I preform my evening ritual. I walk carefully through the dark lobby, put on my coat, begin turning on my lights, and proceeding to move the electric doors to the side so I can exit. When I finally made it through the doors the sun still partially lit my surroundings, enough to make out the “Welcome to Greencrest” sign at the on the other side of the street. I had some time to get ready before I could see her again. First stop before I leave for the night is to go to the lodge to pick up my supplies. Main Street is beginning to be taken over by the weeds breaking through the asphalt, it won’t be long before there is nothing but green left.  The buildings aren’t doing any better, moss coats the brick walls, and the windows are shattered or cracked.
 
It is truly sad, when I first arrived here the town was so lively. Back then you couldn’t turn your head without seeing a friendly face, and now all that’s left are empty buildings and my memories. The intersection, I remember Pete the town’s deputy  standing all day in the middle of that intersection directing traffic, he always got nervous when I walked by him on the cross walk. It must have been my appearance, back then I had no clue what I had to look like. Thankfully I learned all I needed from watching some of the more popular girls. After a while it was second nature to catch the current trends as they came out.
The lodge was still a ways away, at least10 blocks down the road. Ill wont rush I still have plenty of time though and reminiscing is one of the only things I can do for fun. Coming up was the house of Mr. Johnson, or at least the charred remains of it. He was such an angry man the slightest thing would send him into an uncontrollable rage. He finally lost his mind and burnt his own house down. I remember him screaming at the top of his lungs as they took him away. Charles was a much nicer man than Mr. Johnson.
 
Charles was the first person in the town who would even talk to me, everyone else was too nervous to look at me, but not him. He never once looked away when he talked to me. I used to believe that it was because of the things he had seen in his long medical career, that in comparison to that I didn’t seem so bad. I soon came to learn that wasn’t true, he was just that kind of guy. He was also an accomplished hunter every week he would regale his fellow hunters with tales of his latest hunting endeavors. Not a single person could help but smile when he began one of those stories, well except mine but if I could move my face into a smile I would have for him.  It always makes me sad when I think about him, knowing he isn’t here anymore. Knowing I’m the only one left here. But there is someone else nearby and I have to hurry up if I want to see her again tonight.
 
There it was, the old hunting lodge filled with “trophies” and the supplies I need. I slowly grasp the handle of the front door. The sound of metal tapping metal echoed through the building. The foyer was still in decent condition all things considered, the wood furniture still mostly intact and the floor I thought would have either rotted away or fallen apart from the bugs. The rest of the lodge however is not in the same condition as a nearby tree had fallen into the lodge taking out the entire second floor and back portion, making it tricky to traverse the area safely. I need to get across to the storage lockers in the back. But I must be careful and not deviate from my path when going by the stairs, the floor boards there are rotted and wouldn’t hold a normal persons weight let alone mine.
 
Slowly I start following the safest path I could see. Stepping on only the boards with support beams directly underneath and climbing over the larger branches I make it through into the “kitchen” where the hunters would clean and fillet their kills. I used to use the rear entrance before the tree had taken it out just to avoid coming through here. It was always filthy with partially rusted tools and stained sinks and being exposed to the weather and all manner of insects made it much worse. The next room was much more pleasant to be in, it was a room full of large recliners and a radio. The older patrons would go to be away from the crowd of loud and rambunctious hunters that lazed about the foyer. They mostly talked about what trips they were going to take or how their children were doing so well at their new job. Charles went in there on several occasions but he never said a word, he would lean back in a chair next to the radio and listen to music and drink coffee. I remember how he liked it, dark with two spoons of sugar.
 
Up ahead I see my goal the storage lockers. I step softly trying to avoid the break in the floor and make it to the doorway. I suddenly feel my right side start to shift downward. I see my foot has begun to sink into the floor. I have to be careful now; if I put too much weight on that side I’ll go straight through the floor. The door frame is close enough I can grab it and pull forward to relieve the pressure. As I try the wood finally gives out and my leg falls through. I caught the door frame just in time to stop. Good thing its sturdy enough to pull me through. The leg that went in suffered little damage a scratch on my thigh and a few scuffs below the knee, nothing that can’t be fixed.
 
The locker room was where the members could store the supplies they used for hunting. They were all packed with guns, bullets, bows, and knives. Anything that they felt was too dangerous or unnecessary was lock away. I know exactly where the supplies I need are. I really should have just emptied out all the lockers my first trip here but there was one I couldn’t bring myself to tear open. Charles’s locker was the last one left, after all that happened it felt wrong to rummage through a friends possessions, but I need the supplies in there for tonight. The locker is made of thick metal with a hefty combination lock on it. The weak point of the door is the hinges; all I have to do is get a bit of a grip into the metal and pull. As door falls to the ground I see what I need, I gather all of it into the small back pack that was hanging on the inside hook. There is only enough for tonight, so I have to do something while I have the chance.
 
Exiting the lodge is much easier than getting in all I have to do is shimmy down a branch and drop a couple of feet, then traverse the branches and larger pieces debris from the lodge without knocking anything loose. I wish the branches were lower so I could have climbed in that way instead of going through the rotted rooms of the lodge. Now that I have what I need I just have to go into the forest and get her. The entrance was not far which was good I spent too much time reminiscing, I’ll have to run to get there with enough time. As I entered the woods I turned off my lights, I don’t want to draw attention to myself while I set up. That was one of the rules Charles would always tell new hunters. “Setting up is crucial, and you might as well pack it in as soon as you’re seen.”
 
Now I just have to find a good spot to set up in. Quietly I searched for tracks or markings she might have left. There is a foot print she left, Ill set up nearby and she should eventually come through. First thing I need to lay out is the bait, several strips of beef jerky. Ok now I need to place the “lure.” Charles would say, “You need a good lure when hunting. Get some interest going about your area so they actually find the bait. Otherwise you’ll be sitting around all day staring at empty cross hairs.”  The deer pheromones should be adequate bait. Everything is set I have to hide quickly before she gets here. I have to be still for now, she’ll be on guard. The slightest movement will send her running deeper into the woods. If that happens she may never come back to this area. I just have to remember to keep looking at the bait and make sure Im not discovered.
 
There is the sound of faint footsteps getting pressing the grass beneath them. Slowly she emerges. Her brown and black fur shakes with each step she takes. Carefully she inspects the surrounding area with her large amber eyes and long snout. She slowly makes her way closer to the bait. She sniffs the air around it and pulls herself back shaking her head in disgust. She does this every time. The taste of the jerky must be very disgusting for her, but that’s the only food I can find anymore the rest has spoiled and there aren’t many animals nearby from all the hunting, especially those she would be used to. Northern timber wolves aren’t native to the area and there isn’t a more stable habitat for miles, I have no Idea how she even survived getting here. Poor thing has to take what little I can give her for now.
 
She’ll wander around a bit more in search for something better and when she gives up she’ll return. She’s quite stubborn that way.  I still remember when I first saw her, it was the end of winter and she had come through the town in search of food. I was able to catch a glimpse of her from my room. She was the first creature I had seen in years and she was such a curious creature sniffing the ground, trying to get into buildings, rummaging through the piles of trash all in the search of food. As she left the town she looked so weak, so sad, and so lonely. I could see that we were connected. I knew then that she would understand me because we share the same defeat, the same loneliness. We are the only ones left here so she has to understand.
 
After that I went and gathered as much food as I could find. Most of it was rotten and would have most likely killed her if she ate it. But after I sorted through all of it and took out all of the spoiled food I placed it near the edge of the woods where for the first couple of days it mostly just sat but after a while she started taking it. After a couple weeks I wanted to start watching her, so I hid near the spot I usually put the food but she caught a glimpse of me and ran away. I couldn’t blame her she couldn’t trust me yet.  After that I had to track her just to leave food for her. It wasn’t long before the food I gathered began to run out, I tried rationing it but there wasn’t much to begin with. I remembered a lot of the hunters kept some jerky and other preserved meats in their lockers and I could also use the hunting supplies to get her to the food more easily. I have gone through so much for her, she’ll have to trust me this time. This time she will know that I am her friend.
 
The sound of the wolf’s footsteps we within earshot again, she came back just like always. She needs to be completely distracted by the food so I can get closer. She began stepping closer to the pieces of jerky surveying the area patiently. Finally she settled down and began eating one of the tough pieces of jerky. This is it, the moment I have been waiting for.
“Hello.”
The wolf was startled by the sudden presence. She jumped backward and got into a defensive stance.
“Oh please, you don’t have to worry. I am the one who has been giving you food. I’m your friend. See here is more jerky.”
The wolf continued to its defensive movements, but now bearing its teeth preparing an attack.
“What are you doing, don’t you understand I’m your friend? Please don’t be afraid. Please.”
The wolf lunged into attack, going for whatever piece it could. The sound of teeth scraping metal echoed through the forest. The wolf’s bite wrapped around the metal arm.
“Why… Why does this keep happening?”
        The wolf released the metal arm to try an escape, but it was too late. That metal arm now held the wolf by the throat, followed by another.
“Every time it ends this way. You were supposed to understand! You were supposed to care! WHY!”
 
As the sun rose the machine stood defeated over the corpse of the wolf. Her body lifeless and broken much like the machine, its arm now crushed and bent from the pressure of the attack.
“Why couldn’t you understand? Why couldn’t anyone understand? This is exactly what happened with Charles. All I did was follow him into the woods to tell him I was his friend, how I knew him, how I knew that we were connected. I told him how much I knew about him and he just stood there saying he didn’t know me and I was broken… And then when I tried to get closer… he shot me. I couldn’t control what happened. And I couldn’t control it with the others, and then everyone else just left me. They left me here all alone. An entire town and not one understood me. You were my last chance here.”
“There is no point in staying here anymore, no one is coming back.” The machine said as it stood up.
“I should go somewhere new… After all somebody out there will understand me.”