Fallout day trip
Take a stroll through the abandoned town next to the nuclear plant. You know, the one that had the meltdown in the mid eighties. All the residents were evacuated briskly in the days after the catastrophe. They left behind just about everything including radios, books, stuffed animals. The garbage cans on the street remained half-full because the garbage collectors were a part of the escaping caravan.
Watch where you are stepping on the crumbled sidewalks and don’t trip on the roots growing out from the cracks. Notice how nature has taken over all the structures. On your left is a 30 foot tall tree sprouting out of chimney! You probably shouldn’t touch the mossy stump by the fire hydrant. Though it looks so soft and inviting, it’s likely still not safe.
There is something missing as you gaze down the row of park benches. Listen closely to the wind blowing through the fence and the dreadlocked hedge. Do you hear any birds whistling? You don’t even hear the leaves rustling along the ground. There aren’t any.
Be careful as you enter the brick school house. Half the windows are broken and the other half are missing. You ask yourself “When did vandals make their rounds here? Was it worth it?” Peer into a few classrooms. This one must have been a chemistry lab. You notice several sinks along the perimeter of the room and lots of broken beakers and test tubes on the floor. Good thing you wore your boots today!
You walk down the long corridor to the swimming pool. There is only a few inches of muddy water in the bottom. You definitely don’t want to dive into that! You imagine the echos of children splashing and screaming and the smell of hot chlorine, but when you open your eyes again, all you see is stillness, grime, and crumbling wall tiles.
Your day is winding down when you reach the reason you came to this cursed town in the first place. The abandoned amusement park! This is surely on the top of your bucket list! You tilt your head up toward the rusty ferris wheel. You hear the creak of the bench seats when a gust of air rises. Most of the seats are frozen solid on the frame of the wheel, so the two or three moving parts give a distant and lonely groan.
A few yards past the faded park map sign you see the bumper car pavilion. The pastel colored cars appear to have no wheels anymore. The steel antennas rising from the backs of the pods reach up to a ceiling that isn’t the anymore. You aren’t sure that the cars would be able to make it through all the weeds growing up through the metal floor now, even if they could still roll.
When you finally wander to the back of the park, you feast your eyes on the decrepit steel roller coaster. Your excitement can’t be contained. You have loved roller coasters since you were scarcely tall enough to ride. You can even remember your first ride on a real roller coaster with your brother’s friend’s step-dad, Dave.
Tracing the winding path of the ride, you count all the places where the track is disconnected and smirk as you imagine the screaming riders flying off the rails into the pit of fire at the nuclear plant. You have always had a sick sense of humor.
Before you are aware, the sun begins to set, and a darkness slips over the houses and shops of the main strip. No lights awaken in this forsaken town. You need to hop in your car and scurry off before you are engulfed in darkness. You fantasize about the devilish mutant creatures that must emerge from the forest and roam the streets looking for victims at night. You must not become a treat for them!
You peek in your rearview mirror as you drive through the gate at the town’s entrance, feeling mildly relieved that you made it out in time. Then you exhale in a long gasp, because you were holding your breath the whole time. You didn’t want to inhale any potentially radioactive air!