Memories

The train horn was the first sign of things to come. The whistle woke Baker up as if it had been right in his room with him. Jumping out of bed, he alertly looked around the room until he realized where the noise originated from. Relaxing, he thought to himself, I came to live here because it was quiet, so I wouldn’t be on edge all of the time. He looked at his watch. Seeing that it was 4 am, he realized he might as well begin his day, as he would have to wake up in an hour anyway. But, after making his morning cup of coffee and sitting in front of his computer, he saw that work was cancelled due to a pipe burst.

Due to the nature of his unnatural feeling desk job, Baker had some work he needed to catch up on because of his lack of efficiency while at work. However, after many hours, he thought he’d take a walk as he hadn’t been outside all day. Setting a timer to make sure he’d be home by 5pm, Baker set off on his walk, moving towards the park on Only Way street because it would be less crowded than other parts of the city. Strangely, the train was stopped nearby, but this only deserved an acknowledgement in the mind of Baker; he just wanted to enjoy his walk through the dense fog, as it was just him alone with his thoughts, nothing else in sight to distract him.

Walking through the park, Baker was startled to see an old man and a child sitting together on a bench. Walking closer to the pair, he began to hear noise coming from the man's mouth, and saw duct tape over the child’s face. Upon hearing footsteps, the old man yelled out, “The truth with all its power lives inside me!” This stopped baker in his tracks, as he only had one secret that only he knew; He hadn’t even told Rory, the only person he conversed with in the whole city. There’s no way he could know that. He’s just a crazy old man. Making eye contact with the child before turning away, he began walking home. But through the fog, he could have sworn he saw a person running around, lit on fire from head to toe. Baker flashed back to 3 years ago, in some unknown Province in Iraq, watching as his squad was engulfed in IED flames. That was the final straw that caused his desertion after his leader left them for dead in some small town.

There’s no way this has anything to do with that old man, it can’t be. And with that image in his head, Baker ran back to his apartment as fast as he could, trying to figure out how someone knew his most private secret; the truth about why he was in this no name city.

Finding a Friend

This sucks.

For what felt the the millionth time that day, Baker complained to himself about his current situation. He was stuck down at Rainbow river, washing his clothes along with many other residents of the city. Some he recognized from the lobby of the Victorian, but most were just faces in the crowd. 

The water situation in the city had become worse over the days following the disappearance of the mayor. It was almost as if he knew the problem was unfixable, so he left while he still could. What a good leader he is, leaving us all to fend for ourselves. With the lack of water becoming more and more of a pressing issue, many of the restaurants and businesses throughout the city were closed down, waiting for water prices to fall so they could resume business. This included Empire offices, but Baker wasn't that concerned. He'd saved up a little bit of money incase of an emergency like this, and as the city's previous power outage showed, anything could happen, so it was good to be prepared. 

However, with this opening in his schedule, Baker was finding it hard to keep himself occupied. Usually, he worked all day, but now without this, he didn't have anything to do, and loneliness began to mount on his shoulders. Looking around at all of the other people near him, he felt like there wasn't anything he could do to start a conversation, as the common theme was how irritating the water problem was.

Sighing as he rose with his washed clothes, Baker began to walk back towards the Victorian. Unbeknownst to him, he was dropping a few of his clothes as he went down Simone Boulevard. 

"Excuse me sir!!"

Turning around, Baker saw a dog and a woman chasing after him, the dog holding his socks in its mouth and the woman holding a couple of his Shirts.

"I believe you dropped these while you were walking" the woman said.

'Oh, thank you. I didn't even realize. I'm Baker by the way"

"Rory. Nice to meet you. And this right here is Peter" she said while patting her dog on the head.

"Well, thank both of you for giving these back to me. I was just heading back to the Victorian"

"Oh really me too! Let's walk together." Rory replied.

This is Home?

Looking around at the new accommodations in his living room, Baker was finally beginning to feel welcomed in his own apartment. A tall lamp rested in the corner of the living room, shining light over a newly purchased ikea couch. The rest of the apartment was filled with cheap, but surprisingly nice looking furniture purchased form the pawn shop and ordered from online bargain sites.

After looking for a job for weeks, Baker finally got his chance at empire offices'. It was a basic desk job, but it was better than nothing, and it definitely afforded Baker luxuries that weren't at all possible before. His new couch was a prime example of his hard work, the upgrade from the almost rotting piece of fabric he had before astonishing to him. It was perfect timing too, as he had read that the Magazine Southern Living was coming to The Victorian. Baker shook with excitement. He couldn't wait to show off what his hard work had accomplish and was beginning to evolve into, and this was a prime opportunity to share his story.

Outside his apartment, he could hear many footsteps and voices moving rapidly through the building. That has to be them he thought to himself. Stepping out of his kitchen, he slowing walked toward the door, preparing himself for the inevitable knock that would soon come. Suddenly, he heard a woman yelling, followed by a loud bang.

"What the hell was that?"
"She has a gun!"
"If you've got a reporter in there, send it home!"

Baker could barely comprehend all the screaming before it was once again silent, all of the footsteps he heard gone with their frantic owners. There will always be another time. he thought to himself as he returned once again to his brand new couch.

A night with no power

The day was finally coming to an end. The bright, vibrant colors that were present throughout the afternoon were transforming into a dull gray as the sun set. Baker was walking home, dejected as he was going home yet again without a job. After spending the past few days in the town looking for a job and still not having had an offer, his hopes were turning into despair. Walking through the park, looking at all of the people out and about, he couldn't help but feel bitter towards them all, as they had the luxury to spend their free time as it is called: free.

Looking up with heavy eyes, he saw his apartment building looming in the distance. It wasn't the greatest place to live, but in this rundown town, it certainly wasn't the worst. His gait lessened when he heard a loud pop from somewhere unseen down the street. That's unusual, he thought, even for this area. Upon coming to the intersection outside of his building and City hall, he could see a truck for the electric company working on what looked like a blown out transformer. Realizing that this meant he wouldn't have power, Baker shrugged and stepped into his building, unprepared for the commotion inside. 

People were running around the lobby in a frenzy, while the clerk, Ellen Davis, worked to calm the residents and direct them to the flashlights and bottled water in the corner of the entrance. Not wanting to get caught up in the ever-growing mess, Baker saw a flashlight strewn on the floor near the elevators, so he grabbed it and headed up the stairwell. Luckily, his apartment was on the second floor, so he didn't have to lug himself all the way up the building with only a flashlight to guide him. Opening his door, he shined his light across his cheaply furnished apartment to the clock, which read 7:35 pm. Well, since I had no luck today, I should get ready to do the same thing tomorrow. Throwing his resume on his desk, Baker prepared to wake up and repeat his whole day one more time, indifferent to the situation unfolding around him.