The road that led to and from Murkwell was now a network of vines, grasses and roots that had taken hold of every bit they could get. Gardens once looked after and trimmed to perfection were now rough and overgrown, returning back to their chaotic natural state.
Some doorways seemed in relative decent condition while others were destroyed and were indistinguishable from other collapsed walls and piles of rubble. A few rusted cars still stood in their driveways, though most were stripped of all their spare parts.
Murkwell , once rich with life, hopes, dreams and aspirations had been forsaken and left to rot alone. Silence had taken hold and would’ve been deafening were it not for the many animals that had made this place their home. Bird songs, rustling bushes and the occasional howl filled the air.
The main hotel has had a few esteemed guests over the years, but it was now decrepit and starting to collapse bit by bit. A few animals still dare to wander here, but most wisely stay away from the fragile walls.
Street after street of abandoned homes made for a terrifying thought. Each house was once a home, a home belonging to a family and now there was only emptiness. But despite all the decay and destruction at least there was happiness among the animals. Most had found a relatively safe haven to live in.
What was once a wide avenue that led to Langdale was torn to pieces by the elements. Grass filled the labyrinth of cracks and sand covered whatever was left. Broken branches and leaves cover the roads inside the town while the tall grasses of the unkempt gardens sway in the wind.
Most doors were either completely gone or mere remnants of rotten wood and rusty metal. The open doorways looked eerie as only darkness showed within. Broken roof tiles lay in the streets and gardens and crusty, dry paint faded from walls and fences.
Langdale, once nothing more than a simple, quiet town was now a mere distant memory of better times. The sounds of insects, winds and creaking wood of trees which were once drowned out by the sounds of cars and people had returned as the dominant sounds once more.
The clock-tower was somehow still rich with sounds, but it wasn’t its bells and gears as those had stopped working a long time ago. It was a flock of crows that had made this once great pillar their new home.
You could go anywhere in town you wanted, walk into any home and visit any previously private part of town, assuming it hadn’t been destroyed by nature already. But there was an odd sense of harmony as nature reclaimed what was theirs and resettled an old balance.
