East of Nowhere - Introduction
Summary: You and Sam are strangers who are trapped in a desolate mountain town where you live alone, isolated from the outside world, for five years.
This is the introduction to a five part series entitled East of Nowhere, each chapter detailing the events of one year.
Warnings: Language. Smut in later chapters.
Word Count: 1090
Your first memory is that of lying on the musty bedspread in the dingy Pines Hotel room with Sam looking down at you. You don't know where you are, and you blink again and again trying to wink some memory of the previous events back into your head.
You try to speak but your throat is too dry, instead you sputter and cough.
Sam (you don't know his name yet) is sitting up on his elbows and from the looks of him, he's just as disoriented as you are.
"Who are you?" he chokes out, "where are we?" Sam doesn't trust you that first day and the feeling is mutual. Waking up to next to some giant stranger isn't exactly your status quo.
You're still having trouble talking, so you adamantly shake you shake head.
Sam rolls off the bed with a grunt, rubbing his lower back. You know how he feels, your whole body aches, your muscles feel weak. You imagine this is how chronically ill patients feel when they take their daily stroll down hospital halls.
He brings a small paper cup of water back from the bathroom and hands it to you, making no attempt to hide a skeptical look. The little nagging part of your brain tells you not to drink it, you don't know what's happening or who this guy, but the burn in your throat wins over logic.
You swallow, then cough, feeling that you could drink another gallon and still not be quenched.
Sam glances out the window, carefully pulling back the yellowing curtain. He doesn't seem to like what he sees.
He turns back to you with narrowed eyes, "You know where we are?"
"Did you bring me here?" You choose to ignore his question and push your own, of which you have many. "Because if you did and you just let me go, I won't tell anyone. I promise."
"I didn't fucking abduct you." Sam twitches, clearly agitated. There's a scared desperation in his tone that mirrors your own. You believe him.
"We should call 911, do you see my purse anywhere?" There's a sinking feeling inside you as you say the words.
"I can't find my cell phone and I'm guessing yours is MIA too." He pats a pockets for a second time.
"What the hell is happening?" You can feel the panic rising in your chest.
He picks up the phone at the side of the bed and curses, placing it back in the cradle. "Damn it, it's dead."
"What do we do?" You're brain isn't work yet. This is all too much to process. The last thing you remember is going to sleep next to your boyfriend.
Sam searches through the small closet just inside the door and finds a metal bar, the kind that's used in a sliding window to jam it from opening.
"Come on." He hooks his head.
You follow close behind him, stepping timidly out into the dimly lit hallway. There's room after room, every door standing wide open. It doesn't look anyone else has been here, each bed is made, still in pristine condition.
At the end of the hallway there's a staircase. When you hesitate, Sam reaches back and grabs you hand, pulling you closer to him. "It's ok, just stay right by me okay? If we get separated for any reason you run back to the room, lock the door and wait."
"Why would we get separated?" You insist, refusing to move any further.
"I'm not saying we're going to, just in case." Sam pulls at your hand and you hold your ground.
"You're not going to leave me, are you?"
"No, I'm not going to leave you."
"But…I'm just asking, under what circumstances would we split up?" You bite your bottom lip, you don't like the sound of any of this. This guy has made the world's fastest transition from possible kidnapper to the white knight. You don't know much right now, but you don't want to be separated from him.
"Look," Sam turns to you, placing a hand on your shoulder. "Until we have some idea of what's going on here we have to be ready for anything. So I'm just trying to have a little foresight okay? You stay right here, behind me. If - and I'm not saying it will - but if something crazy happens, what do you do?"
"I run like hell back to the room." You whisper shakily, grabbing a fistfull of this shirt sleeve. He seems to know what he's doing or at least faking it rather well. You wonder if he's a police officer or maybe a soldier and make a mental not to ask him later. "I got it."
"Good." He confirms already exasperated. You tip-toe down the stairs and into the small lobby of a hotel. All the lights are on, even a fire roaring in the ornate sitting area, but there's no one at the front desk. No guests. Nothing.
Sam glances back to you as he pushes the front door open, tacitly asking if you're ready. You nod, puffing out an anxious breath and stepping onto what appears to be an idyllic mainstreet.
It's beautiful. Clean, well maintained pavement that leads past shops and restaurants. The only thing missing is the people. It's the middle of the day, but there are no cars, no one bustling from shop to shop, no one sitting in the window of the cafe across the street.
Sam steps out into the sidewalk, looking one way, then the other. He yells at the top of his lungs, "Hello! Is anyone here?"
The lack of response is bone chilling.
Sam pulls you from the toy store, to the grocery, to the pub.
Nothing.
No one.
The two of you appear to be the only people in this small, mountain town. From what you can see, the whole damn place has been abandoned, everything left in perfect order. There is food on shelves, working electricity and running water.
And no one else, just you and Sam.