Beck hurried out the front door but skidded to a stop, nearly slipping on ice, when she saw the unmanned shovel hurling snow off the driveway. She looked back at Emily who was sitting on the porch steps reading a book. "Since when could you multitask?"
Emily shrugged and turned the page. "Leveled up."
Beck shook her head as she dug through her purse. "I'll be home in time for dinner. Remember to set the chicken out to thaw. If you get hungry there's leftovers in the fridge," she said, pulling out her keys.
Emily didn't look up from her book but waved. When her mother's car was down the driveway her closed her book and looked down at Copper shivering between her feet. "Where's your coat, mister?" she asked standing. The little mutt followed her inside.
Strapped into his coat Copper bound across the yard through the path he'd worn in the snow. Emily followed with a light shake of her head. "Crazy dog," she muttered while opening the barn door. Bessie and Winter were still in their stalls from the night before. She let them out into the pasture and went to finish her other chores.
After they were finished, she sat back down on the steps.
Copper sat in front of her with his tail wagging.
Emily looked around the property at the barren white land scape. "You'd think it was another planet," she muttered. "Not another person in sight."
Copper's tail stopped wagging.
"No offence, but you're not much for conversation." She laid back on the porch. "I'd do anything just to talk to someone beside mom." She shot forward startling Copper. "Hey, what if we and checked out that summer home down the road?"
Copper stared at her.
"Oh, come on, nobody lives there, and we'll be quick."
Copper trailed behind her as she walked down the gravel road. She hesitated at the entrance of the property but pushed the gate open. She checked for signs of people, but the snow there was untouched and pristine. That was until Copper ran through it.
Emily tentatively walked around finding the stillness eerie. She peered through the front door windows. Furniture was covered in sheets, but other than that it was empty. "What? I'm not going to go in," she said to Copper watching her. "You're right. This was silly. I don't know what I was expecting." She sat down on the steps and gave Copper a scratch behind the ears. She looked out at the big red barn across the yard, her curiosity yearning. "Just a peak won't hurt," she told herself standing.
She found a side door padlocked shut. She held the cold metal in her hands working the insides with her mind till it clicked open. "I did it!" Copper wagged his tail his nose at the door ready for it to open. Emily shoved it open against the snow managing to get enough room for her to squeeze through.
Inside smelled to dirt and sawdust and maybe old oil. The breeze whistled through the weathered boards and the only light was coming from the open door and dirty windows lining the walls. Copper ran ahead ready to snuff out any adversaries hiding in the dark. Old farm machinery filled most of the large space and a furnace sat in back. "Must've been some farm," she breathed looking around. In her search she noticed a second level.
She took the steps up slowly with Copper following behind her. This door wasn't locked and opened easily. Inside looked like an office area and unlike the rest of the barn, didn't look abandoned for decades. A fine layer of dust covered the belongings which meant they hadn't been touched in some time. An AC unit was built into the wall and she noticed there weren't any drafts in the room.
Copper roamed the small space intrigued by all the new scents.
Emily looked down at the desk. A computer sat on one side and a toaster on the other. She picked up the appliance seeing char marks and broken pieces. "How do you break a toaster?" She set it down it down and picked up a small notebook. On the inside cover a name was scribbled down. "Donatello?" she said aloud looking over the room. "Whoever he is, he's a mess." She set it back down and walked over to the other table. There were blueprints for some machines. "He's got an imagination, too. A garbage truck with manhole launchers?" She looked down at Copper who was sitting on the futon next to the table. "I think he has a few screws loose. Still. . ." she mused looking back at the schematics wistfully, "it's almost like talking to him."
She looked back over at the notebook her curiosity getting the better of her again. She flipped through the pages surprised. "It's like he's really building it and logging his problems. Why would you need such a thing?"
She sat on the futon next to Copper as she flipped through the notebook reading every word. After reading a few entries she shot forward startling Copper who had dozed off. "What time is it?"
He of course gave no answer.
But her phone told her it was nearly four. "She'll kill me if I forget again!"
She sprang to her feet ready to run home but stopped and looked at the notebook in her hand. "They won't know it's missing. I'll bring it back before summer and they'll never know!" Her smile dropped when she looked down at Copper staring at her. "It's not weird!"
He gave a snort and headed down the stairs.
Emily shook her head and stuffed the small notebook in her coat pocket.
Once outside she locked the lock again, but as she backed away, she noticed a camera attached to the corner of the roof. She yelped, stumbling back in the snow, and ripped the camera a part.
Bits of plastic and wire fell around her as she shook and tried to steady her breathing. She looked around the property noticing three more. "Shit," she breathed kicking herself for being so careless. "I'll just destroy them too."
She walked up to the last one; it was pointed out at the yard towards the trail entrance on the other side. With a wave of her hand it exploded littering the ground with bits of plastic.
As she was leaving, she looked back at the property and then back at Copper. "I hope I didn't just do something bad."
But in her gut, she knew she had.
I cannot express how much I love Emily.
Thanks for reading!
