Paradise (1)

I heard the sounds of the gate that the guards were talking about, it slowly opened as they announced every moment they were attempting as if they were being thoughtful for my handicap.

"They seem nice enough." I thought as I heard the clinking of chains distinctly bang on metal.

"You guys are going to give me a hand right?" I asked the guard as I heard deep footsteps hit the floor.

"Do you have any weapons on you?" The guard asked without answering my question.

"Yes, I've got a blade and a ton of beef jerky." I responded as I tried to imagine the contents of my bag.

"Looks like you were telling the truth about Domingo. He's the only one in these parts who ration beef jerky and swears up and down that he perfected some sort of recipe." The guard said with a neutral tone.

It seemed as if the guard was trying to hold back his emotions as he brought up Domingo. I told the guard what happened to us and it's not a bad assumption to see a stranger with most of his belongings and think of the worst. Still what happened to Domingo is going to shock the settlement to its core. He was entrusted with a very important job as the head chef.

The guard approached me slowly. His footsteps were slow and carried a hollow bang against the floor that we stood on.

"I'm going to reach for you. I don't know how Domingo was able to lead yah but I'll be grabbing your backpack and have you take point." The guard said.

Now that I realized it the guard had a hidden accent deep inside the many words he confronted me with. It seemed as if he was originally from another state but made his way to the city of New York and found himself in this lucky position.

"Yeah that's fine. If you can take me to some place to clean up that would be appreciated. I smell like rotting death and a hint of vanilla." I responded.

I thought of the blood that was being poured onto me not that long ago. I wanted to make light of the situation. I was finally in a place that was more safe than a boarded up gas station. It was comforting to know that a place had guards in the beginning.

"Well I won't be able to do that immediately. Under normal circumstances you would be free to come and go, but I know you can imagine we aren't in the state to be so carefree anymore." The guard said as he reached for my backpack with a loose grip and commanded me to move forward through the gate.

"So then where are you planning on taking me?" I asked as I tried to gauge the safety of the scene.

"Our mayor wants to see any newcomers before we try to integrate them into our lovely estate." The guard said with such a lovely vocabulary.

We walked a little while through the echoing tunnels and through another gate that sounded just the same as the first. The guard didn't talk much, it seemed like he was able to discern any danger I might have posed by noticing that I really did have Domingos belongings and had been genuinely handicapped.

"We're here at the mayors office. I'm gonna have to stick by you and make sure you don't try to pull anything on our beloved leader." The guard said as he directed me to stop as he opened up a silent screeching door.

"Yeah sounds about right to me." I responded in a neutral tone.

I was starting to feel a large amount of fatigue dwell in me. It started as soon as I entered the settlement and was able to relax my shoulders, it was like my body was able to finally relax and yell at me to try to get some rest.

"Please inform the mayor that we have a visitor trying to join us here." The guard said from behind me as he released the grip on my backpack.

We stood in place for a few minutes before the guard returned his grip onto my back. I guess the Mayor must have made his appearance because I heard three sets of footsteps slowly approach.

The sounds of the footsteps sounded light but carried a strong appearance because how slowly and confident they sounded.

"I see, so you're here to join the settlement. It looks like to me that you had a long journey getting here, you're covered in blood." Someone I assumed to have been the mayor because his voice was steady and energetic, so I thought there could only be one person this charismatic and that had to be the mayor.

"Haha- well I asked to visit a room so that I can clean myself up first but the guard here insisted on having me meet you first." I replied as I felt the tension of the guard and his grip on my backpack release.

"Well, is there a reason as to why the guard here is walking you around like that?" The mayor had responded as his the three pairs of footsteps got closer.

"I have a problem with seeing. It doesn't like me and I don't like it." I said as I briefly thought about the problems that arise at the cost of not being able to see.

"Okay, that takes care of everything. I think I got everything I needed. Welcome to paradise settlement. I'm gonna have the guard take you to a free room that you can have and clean up. Please get some rest. I'll have a guard come tomorrow morning so that we can have a nice chat when I'm not busy." The mayor said

"Please prepare the sunrise apartment number 3D. Thank you Kathy." The voice who obviously had to be the mayor said this as his volume of voice seemed to turn behind him.

"It will be done Mayor."

I was very relieved to have heard this Kathy lady respond that way, because now I can for sure know that this voice was in fact the mayor.

The mayor had a very steady voice that seemed energetic in his syllables. There was a slight husk in his sentences as if waxed metal was grinding along cement, it was rough but not unpleasant.

"Guard, will you be the one taking me there?" I asked the guard that was barely holding onto my backpack.

"Yeah I believe I will be the one." He replied.

"Terri, here are the keys. I hope you don't mind taking the lady there. Also please try to get some more personal information about her. I don't think the mayor even got her name." The voice that belonged to Kathy ordered as a clink and jingle was thrown.

"No problem there, ma'am." The guard who was behind me said.

I learned a small bit about the people here in the settlement so I was more than happy. I also got the chance to finally rest and clean up after myself. I had only hoped that the room that I get will be easy enough to maneuver around. I never got to live in a room with my eyes the way they are now, so this will be a new experience.

"Same thing as before, let me guide you with my hand on your backpack and we should be there in a couple of minutes. You're gonna love the apartment that the Mayor picked out, to be honest ma'am I'm pretty jealous. The mayor must see something good in you." Terry replied as he put more tension on the backpack and lead me out of the door.

As the door closed it made the same silent screech as before. Terri led me straight ahead for a few minutes before having to stop and tell me that were going to be going through a couple of doors and up an elevator.

The most surprising thing about this was that they still had a working elevator. The fact that we had to even enter into an elevator was surprising too.

"Terri, please describe to me the apartments that I'm living in. I want to know what the lobby looks like." I said as I wanted to imagine the scenery and keep it as a memento.

"Well I guess I can start with the doors. They're real simple like, they're clear with a black border. When we entered there was a bright gold like light that sort of makes everything in the lobby shine. I don't know if you can tell, but we stepped on two different kind of carpet. They have the regular red carpet on the bottom and a more fancy looking type on the top. Besides all that I really wouldn't know what else to describe it like, it's as simple and fancy as I have ever seen before." Terri replied as his voice seemed to have turned back and forth from looking around and describing the details to me.