It had been yet another day of searching. Scavenging what she could, she didn’t even bother to go to the ATC. The weather was too harsh and she more than likely would have been blown into the water. Just walking around in the rain was near drowning her every breath. It had been obvious Chloe had made it home at some point, thanks to her letter, but she went back out braving the storm and was now more than likely at the bar. Ellinor made her way back up the stairs to their place, nearly falling over the rail from a gust of wind. The door was a bitch to get through and nearly soaked everything in the room with a swirling gust of rain that blew in. Once the door was shut she stood dripping looking at the darkness of the room. She had only just managed to snipe a candle from someplace else.. other than that she had one of those tea candles that would last maybe an hour if that at all. Was it worth lighting?

She moved over to the dresser and with a thud set down the larger half candle then peeled off her wet clothing. Even the dry shirt and pants she managed to get on after that felt soaked still. Cold and soaked. Slumped down into the chair she pulled out a small bic lighter. One strike. two. Sparks but very little fluid. Three then four. She tipped the lighter upside down for a minute and shook it. “Come on..” she muttered. Finally a small flame barely produced. she carefully but quickly held it to the candle wick and just before it went out, the candle lit. With a sigh she leaned back in the chair, pulled up her legs and pulled over the slightly damp blanket to cover herself with.

She had been lucky to find a backpack full of lighters on her way to the island. It was a strange horde for sure. She had hoped there would be food or water, maybe even drugs in the bag when she found it. But instead it held several different types of lighters and a few cigarettes. There was some dog food in the bag, but she hadn’t been desperate enough to open that. Tonight she sat holding the bag and running her finger over the zipper.. something she hadn’t noticed before was what seemed to be another zipper along the inside. Pausing she pulled it open and her eyes caught view of a notebook with a couple of not so worn down pencils and pens.

As she opened the note book she was greeted with some interesting and amazing sketches. All seemed to tell a story, but she was more interested in the ramblings of the mind inside. The more she read the more she found the previous owner to be a bit pathetic and woeful. Until something caught her attention, that person lived on this island at some point. Names were written, along with places. Maps drawn.. something she hadn’t expected to find in her temporary bag. More information than she had found out about this place in the three days she had been here at least.

The light flickered as a gust of wind hit and tilted the building slightly. It was already hard to read with candle light and her one good eye. Now with the candle threatening to go out, was possible that it would soon. “idiot.” she said reading the few words she could on the last page. “Who does this? Write all about their feelings fears and their town’s weak points?” she muttered. “One point for us though, Chloe.. I’ll have to show this to you.” she sealed the notepad back up in the bag’s inside pocket and looked over the lighters inside. The zippos no doubt would not work without fluid, though if they had a flint… flints were useful.

Ellinor had been careless using up the bic lighters rather quickly. This only occurred to her when she counted them up this time. Another gust of wind followed by a jolt of the building. The candle flame wavered and dipped down. “Thirteen..” she said testing each lighter to see if it had a flame. “Shit.. we had over twenty to start.” she put all but one back in the bag. A bright yellow one with a bit of grime on it went to her pocket. Meanwhile, the one she had used up she turned over in her hand. Pulling out her large pocket knife she started to pull off the top and break it apart. Taking special care not to allow the spring to jet the flint out into darkness. Luckily she caught it and now had a small flint from the now ruined lighter. She held the flint up just barely able to see it in the dim lighting then dug into her side bag for a bottle. She shook it softly, a small bit of clacking was heard and she opened it putting the piece of flint inside with nearly hundreds of others she had collected. Far easier to carry than a ton of lighters.

Another gust of wind, this time the candle went out and the sound of the building creaking dangerously was followed by the sudden sound of running water patting roughly against the carpet in the room. “Shit.” Ellinor snagged the candle from where she last saw it, spilling hot wax on her hand and wrist as she did so. Hissing she tried to light it up again, pulling the lighter out only to have the wind seem to do a harder more determined gust than before. Hell it was obvious that the cracks in the wall were letting wind in.. and she contemplated moving over at least one room till the storm was over.

Stuck in darkness, she stared. Though it was annoying and difficult to move in the storm, something about it was thrilling and calming all at once. Bored.. Ellinor would start to hum a small tune that would grow louder and louder. If any were in the rooms near her, they might have heard bits and pieces of it through the storm. A normal person might have found it eerie or haunting in a way. A slow, happy song in a carrying soft voice. Ellinor smiled at the thought of other people hearing this and perhaps being put off or frightened. In fact she down right laughed.

“Well.. that killed a couple of minutes.. Fuck this. I’m going to the bar to find Chloe.” she muttered to herself. After stumbling and fidgeting in the dark she managed to slop back on her wet clothing and seal up what she could of her dry. She’d take them with her.. but just in case, leave a note for Chloe.

“C.

It’s fucking cold and boring here without ya. If we somehow pass each other along the way, I went to the bar. This place seems to be falling apart, so watch yourself.

E.Lin.”