Some doorways seemed in relative decent condition while others were destroyed and were indistinguishable from other collapsed walls and piles of rubble. Clothing, home appliances and other belongings were left lost and broken outside some of the homes. They were of no use to anyone anymore.
Hartlepool, once rich with life, hopes, dreams and aspirations was now a mere shadow of its former glory. The creaking of wood and grinding of metal on metal were the only sounds in this town now. They were disturbing noises in a disturbing environment.
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 couldn’t help but feel lost in this town now, even if you knew exactly where you were. It was a lonely place with only distant memories of what once was. But there was something oddly poetic about nature reclaiming what was once theirs to begin with.
Some doors had collapsed or were perhaps destroyed by looters or animals as time passed. Either way they left a welcoming entrance for animals. There were signs of fires, in some cases it was merely a trail of soot and smoke above a window pane, in others it was a pile of ash where once a building stood.
Ironhaven, once a major hub for new businesses and young families had become nothing more than a painful memory. The air which was once filled with the many sounds of a growing community had grown eerily quiet. The silence was only broken up by the occasional animal sound and gust of wind.
Collapsed wooden walkways and a few sunken boats littered the relatively small docks. Some of the sunken boats had bird nests in them, but most were simply covered in shells and slowly reclaimed by nature.
The town was truly an eerie sight. So many lives forgotten and whatever was left to show for it is slowly withering away as time goes on. But even when all the buildings are finally taken by nature there was at least the knowledge that the animals wouldn’t have to leave and could continue their lives in peace.
