Don't touch me

r weight, echoing through the otherwise silent house. It wasn't the fresh start she had imagined, but then again, she wasn't entirely sure what she had been expecting.

"You're just tired," she whispered, rubbing

There was no honking of car horns, no chatter from neighbors, just an eerie, unsettling stillness. Sarah had always thought she would ap

mind. As she stepped outside, the cool evening air hit her, bringing with it the scent of wet earth and something else-something metallic that she couldn't quite place. The streets

buildings. She passed a small grocery store, its windows dark, and a diner that looked like it had been c

h a mix of canned goods, dusty shelves, and an assortment of items that seemed to belong in another era.

an said, her voice

offering a small smile. "J

leaving Sarah's face. "You'll be stayi

"Yes, that's righ

quite a smile. "Quiet's one way to put it. Not many p

rced herself to laugh it off. "Well, I'm hoping fo

"Peace is hard to come by, especiall

f of canned soup. How could this woman possibly know anything about her? She hadn't even spoken to an

o stock up the kitchen," Sarah

wly, almost methodically. Sarah felt her nerves start to fray u

again, her voice barely above a whisper. "Be care

led in her chest only grew as she left the store and headed b