After leaving Hillwood city 10 years earlier in the middle of his Sophomore year, Arnold returns only to find it a crime-ridden, decaying shadow of the thriving metropolis it once was. What has become of his friends during his absence? What will Arnold learn about the city of Hillwood and how it came to be the wasteland it is?

Very dark story. In the first chapter there's only one swear-word, but I imagine once I get rolling, the content will go up, so be warned – if you can't handle language, go ahead and put this one away.

Inspired by a comic written by MarcosBnPinto. It can be found on DeviantArt. Check it

out if you get the chance! It's very well done, if I do say so myself.

Review! There will be multiple chapters, so be ready for some reading.


Chapter 1.

As I looked up at the rusting, faded street sign on the corner, it all came back to me. All of the games of baseball and football, the steep hills and bike rides, the snowy winters, the urban legends and the bus rides to school.

But none of that was here anymore.

It wasn't necessary to decipher the illegible white print on the ancient street sign to know that this was the place. Even through the boarded-up windows and grimy brick walls, I could tell that this was the building I wanted.

"This used to be Sunset Arms..." I muttered to myself.

I wondered what had happened to bring it to this state of decay. It was still habitable, but it looked as if it hadn't been taken care of for quite some time. Most likely not since...

I pushed the thoughts from my mind, hiding them under a dark blanket of suppression. Of course, I knew it wouldn't be the last time the thoughts surfaced, but for now, I'd hold them back. This wasn't the time.

I climbed the five steps to the rotting green door. I half expected a slew of small animals to come rushing out of the doorway as it creaked open, but there was nothing except for dust and darkness beyond the threshold. I reached up and lifted my worn blue cap from my head and clutched it tightly in my left hand. My eyes slowly began to adjust to the gloom in the entry hallway. Time had not been kind to this building.

I called out, not particularly expecting an answer.

"Hello?"

The only reply was the settling of the stairs and the cobwebs gently wavering from a draft originating from somewhere unseen. I slowly ascended the stairs, taking care not to step on a rotten board and fall through. The second floor of the building was just as ravaged as the first seemed to be. There were several doors that had been torn from their hinges and thrown to the floor, some were broken into several pieces. As I passed the rooms, I remembered the boarders that once inhabited them; Ernie and all of his cornerstones, Mr. Kokoshka and his wife Suzie, Mr. Hyunh, and even the recluse, Mr. Smith. The shattered remains of his keypad still hung by the door of what was his room. I didn't even want to think about what might be in the secret compartment in the floor in front of the door.

I reached the end of the hall and looked up the stairway at the door to the room I'd lived in for so long. This was a moment I truly dreaded. I had no idea what had become of the room I called home after I left Hillwood all those years ago. I lost touch with everyone by my fifth year of absence. Surprisingly, Sid was the last to vanish. I guess he still felt some obligation from the time I saved his life. Regardless, he'd disappeared just like the rest. I'd heard rumors of what went on in the boarding house and throughout Hillwood after I left. None of them were good...

Each stair creaked as I climbed the stairs for what seemed like an eternity. I extended my trembling hand and grasped the tarnished doorknob. Slowly, I opened the door to the shadows within. To my surprise, it was in better shape than the rest of the building. Granted, it was still in a rough state. The stained carpet was peeling from the floor at the corners and the wallpaper was faded and covered in filth. Thankfully, the previous proprietor left a bed frame and a mattress in the room, however disgusting they may be. At least it gave me a place to sleep for the night.

I laid down on the mattress, the frame groaning from the stress of my body weight. I sighed and let my thoughts begin to wander. I couldn't help but wonder where everyone had gone. As I'd walked to the boarding house earlier that day, there had been no one in the streets, no faces peering through the windows. Hillwood had been such a lively place... Where had it all gone?

A lot can change in ten years, that much is for sure. I rummaged through the bag I'd brought along, bringing a flashlight and a small pink book to the surface. After all these years, I'd still never opened it. When she gave it to me so long ago, I vowed never to open it until I returned to the city. I supposed now was as good of a time as ever. The spine cracked as I pulled open the cover. Inside were poems and musings written in handwriting that began as juvenile chicken-scratch, gradually evolving into the eloquent, flowing cursive of the girl I knew when I was 16. I couldn't believe what I was reading - had she really felt all of this? How could I not have noticed it?

"Damn, I was dense..." I thought, "She must have felt absolutely terrible..."

We'd become such good friends in the year or so before I had to leave. Why did she never say anything? The more of the book I read, the more I remembered the way she was that last year. She'd become rather attractive in her adolescence. I could only imagine what she looked like now. The only way to know was to find out what became of her. Right now was not the time for searching, however. The sun had gone down since I'd entered the dilapidated building and I didn't want to risk wandering these streets at night, even if I did know them. They weren't the same as they used to be.

Nothing was.

Even this boarding house – the only place that really felt like home during my childhood, the only place where I really felt like I had a family – was nothing but a ruined temple designed by dark worshipers of the past. It had been destroyed by the very city, and for all I knew, the very inhabitants, that once held it together. All that remained was a hollow shell resting a few feet back from the cracked asphalt that cars no longer traversed. Not even the bus routes were active anymore. Traveling through the city would prove to be difficult.

I laid back down on the mattress and turned off my flashlight. Even through the cracked and crusted panes of the glass ceiling, I could still make out the moon and a few stars. At least I still had my view to comfort me. I drifted off into a dreamless sleep, the small journal held close. She meant more to me than I had realized. I had to find her and let her know. I had come back with the intentions of finding everyone, rediscovering the past and tying off loose ends, but this little pink book had changed everything entirely. Another goal had been added to the top of the list.

I had to find Helga G. Pataki.