The once jam-packed roads that led to Arbington was barely detectable beneath layers of dust, sand, shrubs and leaves. The occasional animal can be heard rustling in the tall grasses of the unkempt gardens or hiding in the wild overgrown bushes.
Most doors still stood sturdy in their frames. They were a little dirty, but if you only focused on the doors you’d expect people to come out as if nothing had changed. Window panes hung perilously from their hinges and here and there drapes had been flung out by the wind.
Arbington, once a growing town on the rise to a better future had been forsaken and left to rot alone. Were it not for the occasional bird call the only sounds in this town was that of the wind. The sounds of market vendors, playing families and a loving community were no more.
The animals of this town always had the people of the animal shelter to count upon in times of need. It’s perhaps for this reason that many had made this particular building their home, even if it wasn’t the same as before.
It was a strange feeling to be in the footsteps of so many lives now long forgotten and not knowing what became of the people who once spent their lives here. But there was an odd sense of harmony as nature reclaimed what was theirs and resettled an old balance.
The now quiet road that led to Hullbeck was now indistinguishable from the surrounding landscape. The wind gently sways the tall grasses in the abandoned gardens while wild bushes make their claim on every acre not taken by the grass.
Doors were broken, rotten and in most cases barely a door at all. Whether this was the work of looters, animals or the elements was unclear, but it didn’t really matter. Paint crumbled off of the walls and were slowly replaced by vines that crawled their way towards the rooftops.
Hullbeck, once a growing town on the rise to a better future was now a mere shadow of its former glory. 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 fountain in the town square was still full of water, though without filtration it had turn green and overgrown with algae and other plants. But at the very least the ducks seemed to enjoy it.
Despite the many animals that inhabit this town it was still a very unsettling sight to behold. Nature had taken its toll on the vast majority of town. But not all was lost. In a way the legacy of this town lived on through the animals that lived here now, the spirit was still alive albeit in a different manner.
