Ghost Town

The silence was deafening and yet blaring at the same time.

By Rebecca Lynn IveyPublished 3 years ago • 5 min read

You have been chosen to participate in "Rebuild America" a government financed program encouraging the rebirth of forgotten, abandoned towns all across the United States of America.

By observing and participating in this program you will be granted specific privileges and offers to help secure and safeguard your future as a cherished and prized American citizen.

It is mandatory that you spend six months living in the unoccupied town. You will be provided shelter, food and necessities during your endeavor. During this time you will be required to spend 8 - 12 hours a day helping others to reconstruct and refurbish the uninhabitable region.

Upon completion, you will be awarded permanent, tax-free citizenship to the town that you helped rebuild. Your current bills, accounts, checks, invoices and statements will be paid in full. Most importantly the Department of Treasury will award an additional $500,000 in recompense for physical pain and suffering during your time not connected to or served by publicly or privately managed utilities (such as electricity, gas, or water).

What would you do if you woke up one morning and found this letter tidily placed in your mailbox? It bears all of the official seals and stamps, every last detail is in perfect order. It appears to be genuine and officially approved. On the very bottom of the letter you notice some small, vague print. It's directions to a location in the far western regions of the country. You also find a bus ticket, $500 in cash and a fascinating photograph of the town that you have been summoned to.

It was October, 20th when I stepped off of the harsh, discomforting bus. I stretched, every bone and muscle in my body was aching and on fire. The bus ride was long, sweaty and excruciating. I felt sunbaked and dehydrated. I had a distracting urge to turn away from whatever I should be doing and find something to drink.

I looked around, "shouldn't someone be here to meet me?" I thought out loud. The old, abandoned, western town looked as if it had just materialized and come into existence straight out of one of those old television shows that my grandpa used to watch relentlessly.

"Alright Little Joe' Cartwright...where are you?" I quietly wisecracked as I took in the period-specific architecture. I was awed and dumfounded to say the very least. "It's amazing how ghost towns like this seem to have been frozen in time and somehow manage to withstand age and era.

As I walked up and down the dusty, powdery-dry road there was not another person to be found. "Maybe they just haven't arrived yet." I attempted to comfort myself and calm my nerves.

Harsh sunlight, cacti, tumbleweeds, dust devils, cracked land, crumbing rock, and deserted, old buildings was all that I could see. The silence was deafening and yet blaring at the same time.

My mind had already began to play tricks on me. In the distance an unexpected mirage caught me by surprise. I gasped at the illusion of ghostly people walking betwixt the buildings. I could assuredly distinguish their vestments from the 1800's. For a moment, I could even hear the faint murmer of conversations taking place between them as they gawked and questioned my appearance.

I quicky shook my head, trying to wiggle the phantasms out of my brain. "They exists only in my mind, they are not real." I repeated to myself. I knew that I needed to find some water, I was delusional. Everything around me was quickly becoming surreal and deceptive.

One thing that I did not expect was the sudden drop in temperature as the sun went down. All day, I had anticipated the coolness of night, yet I was shuddering and trembling as cold, icy shards belted me with a strong vigorous manner. "How is this even possible?" I questioned as I wrapped my arms tightly around myself. It was now completely and entirely dark, still nobody else had arrived to the ghost town. I found myself subjected to anxiety, hunger, thirst and isolation.

I decided to take shelter inside of the old saloon. In the very least I would be protected from the harsh, cold winds. I contemplated on finding an old horse blanket or possbily some burlap to wrap myself in.

As I entered the saloon, I was startled and alarmed as I found myself stepping into a never changing, completely static reality that was abounding with life and realism. - Everyone stopped, all eyes were on me.

Frightened and horror-struck, I turned and sprinted back outside into the cold night air. "It's not real, it's not real!" I frantically suggested to myself. I slowly turned to face the abandoned saloon, sitting in the middle of a ghost town, unattended by humans since the 1800's.

Just as I knew, The Yellow Rose Saloon was completely unoccupied, condemned and depraved. The only sound was the rumble of tumbleweeds and my own heart pounding within my chest. I had been rendered completely delusional and delirious.

Had I entered some type of time warp? Had I just witnessed a real, bona fide haunting? I had no clue, I had lost touch with reality, I didn't know what was real anymore. I could literally feel reality evading me...it was painful, forbidding and yet strangely inviting.

As I made my way back inside of the saloon, the bartender jovially extended an ice cold, well blended drink. I couldn't help but to admire his regal bearing. As I sipped the drink, the cool, refreshing liquid was absolutely invigorating and strengthening. I could feel my parched body responding to the jolting libation.

In the corner, a saloon girl exuberantly and giddily danced and sang. The scarlet lady was clearly trashy and lewd, yet her beauty instantly mesmerized me. I was unsure if the rosy, flush color in my cheeks was from excitement or embarrassment as she motioned for me to join her. The bartender beamed and grinned agreeably.

We danced and gavotted all around the smokey room. The sound of laughter and the clinking of glasses filled my senses. Her strong perfume sent me reeling and feeling light-headed. I had never felt so much excitement and avidity. - I wished for the moment to never end. - I never wanted to leave. Like no other place that I had ever known - I belonged here.

I suddenly jerked when a buzzing sound - like a bee with laryngitis pulled me from my slumber. A low, labored, groaning "zzzzzzz" sound brought me back to reality. I found myself laying in my own drudging bed, inside of my own unexceptional house, facing my own mundane life once again.

I groaned as I made my way outside and stumbled toward the mailbox. I was positive that a mountain of unpaid bills awaited me. I delineated visions of the vivid, lifelike dream. A pang hit me in the chest when I realized that none of it was real. It was all simply an artificial simulation. I paused for a moment as the wind swept past me carrying with it a familiar, intimate scent. I closed my eyes and was taken back to the smokey saloon, the smell of cheap whiskey and overwhelming perfume hung heavily in the air around me.

I pulled open the screeching, squeaking mailbox.....

I stepped back....

It was hard to even breathe....

I reached inside and pulled out a well pronounced letter. My hands began to shake and tremble as I began the rendition of last nights events.

You have been chosen to participate in...................