>>5448120 >>5448241 >>5448419Your major, that is... slightly awkward. "Still undecided. Figured I'd just do gen eds for a while and see if there's anything that called to me. Since I don't have anything I want to do, any degree is alright as long as I can get a job with it, right?" Jason shrugs. "I guess." A moment passes. "Your uncle's place is right up here, right?" "Should be. Hang on, I have the address."
The van slows to a crawl as it turns onto a road on the edge of the town, bits of both wilderness and suburbia visible. Glancing out the window, you can see a small collection of two-story homes on both sides of the road. Picking out your late uncle's house from among them turns out to be a rather easy task- your dad said it would be the "gated house with all the hedges" and, yeah, there's only one of those.
In the middle of a street of near-identical homes manufactured to store the American Dream sits an oddity that is several decades older. A tall, sturdy wooden fence with several metal gates surrounds the property, whose overgrown gardens and hedges resemble a maze more than anything. From the top of a slight incline the house seems to stare on, chipping paint and other signs of wear showing the venerable ruler of the block's age. The more you look at it the more it seems to give off a feeling of... suppression, if you were to describe it. Clouds and gloom seem to gather around it, telling you that you shouldn't be here.
It's not until the van comes to a halt that you realize that you were unconsciously holding in a breath. "Is that gate open?" Jason points to a large, slightly rusted gate, that blocks the road from a gravel path leading up an odd, wall-less fusion of a porch and a garage. "If it's not I'll have the keys. Let me check." You jump out and give the gate a push with which it creaks open. The van is ushered forward with a thumbs-up while you walk up to meet it. A bad feeling wells up within you as you approach the house, but you do your best to ignore it and examine the yard in more detail. While the larger plants are overgrown, the lawn looks in pretty good shape. It seems one of the neighbors has been helping out- you should thank them later.
Just as you reach the van, the trunk creeps open with a click. You crouch down and peer under the door, in a hurry to check that your... well, everything you own really, is still in good shape. Your eyes first pass over your guinea pigs- one of them stares back, somewhat blankly, before whistling and moving closer to you. Fortunately they seem not to have minded the ride too much after you strapped down their enclosure. After that you survey the rest of your possessions. Books, clothes, et cetera. Besides a few things having fallen over, it all seems fine. You guess it's time to get to work then.
