Sanctuary
Ch1.
In the early hours of dawn, the moon rests in the West while the sun rises slowly to start a new day. Most people, if they wake early, can see the pigments of the clouds change as the moon and sun greet each other and bid farewell for another day. They watch the colors fade from dark navy, skylight blackness, to warm orange, reds, and soft lights that fade into the morning's rays.
The early morning not only brings light, but shows the beauty of what the night has left behind for morning to see. The forests stand still as crisp cool air caress all in its path. The soft earth where acres of green lands glisten with fresh dew, feel the presence of mornings kiss. Trees from Oak to Elwood, ground themselves for those who need them, all while basking in the early rays. Birds awaken from slumber and sing their songs for all to hear, while animals that live on the earth walk another day.
The town of Midgrid is home to hundreds of acres protected under Nature Reservations. It is also located near the main rivers that flow towards Trost City and out to the oceans of the Atlantic. Midgrid is where many travelers from near and far visit as they make their way towards the city. With a travel time distance of an hour from the towns, tourists are surprised how both locations can be so different from each other.
Midgrid resides farther away from the main interstates, but interferes with a straight path towards Trost City. Regardless, hundreds of people visit the quiet town of Midgrid and began to fall in love with its natural parks. The town provides small shops, an inn, schools, rivers that connect to the Atlantic, and a view of the Appalachian Mountains. While there have been some new developments leading towards the forests, most people reside in the town. Even with the limit capacity of the visitations, locals are not bothered by questions from the occasional hiker about the possibility of living farther out.
In Midgrid, in the center of town near the main square, stands a building built of strong bricks. It stands over three stories high, the highest a building can reside here except for the bell tower, with warm, reddish-browns highlights caked over the stones. Inside a middle-aged man in his late fifties, arranges his lounge and chairs for guest to sit in. The stair case aligned beside the wall to the left upon walking in, is dusted and cleaned from the day before. The colors of warmth and calmness match the overall tone of the village with greens, browns, and blues. The desk to check in customers stands to the center, with a black rotary phone resting on it.
The man, named Daniel, has been the innkeeper for over twenty years. His middle-aged body shows the long-built muscles and wrinkles, with leftover calluses from manual labor. His thinning hair shows strands of grey upon his white skin, but regardless, Daniel does not slow down his work. Upon checking the morning mail and managing the books, the day progresses into the afternoon, where a family had taken their stay three days prior.
"Good Afternoon!" Daniel greeted the guests, "Did you have a wonderful time?"
"We absolutely did!" Answered the mother, "The Nature Preserves are so beautiful, we were sad we couldn't spend the rest of the afternoon up there! The children loved running on the trails and seeing waterfalls, rivers, and the outline of the mountains!" Her husband nodded in agreement while escorting tired children to their room. "We leave in a few hours, but next time we want to try to get farther than we were today! The people here are so kind!"
Daniel chuckled as he nodded his head in agreement while passing the check-out paperwork. "We try to be! We don't mind travelers, because it helps bring in revenue and donations to keep the Preserve thriving. "
The woman laughed and went on her way once finishing up the paperwork. As she ascends to the rooms, the front doors burst open, causing the woman and Daniel to look up. A young man no later than early twenties, stood wobbling on his feet. Gashes on his sides were shown, with his clothes torn, and bruises appearing on visible skin. As the man entered in slow steps, Daniel rushed forth to grab him.
"Sir, what happened? Are you alright?" The man moved his head weakly and Daniel shouting for his wife, "Laura! Call the ambulance!"
The woman from earlier ran down the stairs, and the innkeeper place the man in one of the chairs.
"I was hiking out on mountain grounds, and I tripped over one of the rocks in the path. Next thing I know, I fell over the side of Gorgers Cross and fell down the slopes." The man winced and clutched his head.
"That's awful!" The woman whispered. Laura approached after calling for an ambulance. Laura grabbed an ice pack for the man and gave it to him.
"What worse was I couldn't stop falling further down, I tried to grab anything. Next thing I knew I collided with a tree, I must've hit my head, its hurts badly."
"I've called an Ambulance, just hold on a litter longer." Laura softly replied, as Daniel helped the man sit up better on the chair. "Anything else you can remember?"
"I blacked out" the man stated, blinking a couple of times to see the trio of people in front of him. "Next thing I remember, I woke up at the outskirts of town miles from the preserve, and tried to get help." That's all the man said before clutching his head and slouching back into the chair.
Daniel sighed and rubbed his neck, looking at his wife of fifteen years, her smooth black skin with few wrinkles reached for his face as her nimble fingers caressed his jaw line. Daniel leaned into the touch and stood up. The woman looked between the injured man and the Innkeeper. "What can we do now?"
"All that matters now is to get this man to the hospital in Midgrid." Daniel replied and helped his wife gather the man in his arms. "Dr. Vexen, our town head doctor, can take a look at him once safely there."
"Come on, lad." Laura told the man, helping her husband out the door and onto the waiting doors of the ambulance who had just arrived. The man obeyed and just as all three walked out on the steps and into the van, he paused. "Wait!"
The couple looked at him as the man tried to turn his head. Looking at Daniel, the man uttered out a few words. "There was a girl."
"What?" Laura questioned.
"A young girl," the man answered, "No more than seventeen, she was there! I saw an outline of her when I crashed." The man looked down at the ground as he was ushered in the van. "All I could see were blurred figures, then…blackness. Ugh, my head."
The man was finally placed into the vehicle and rushed towards the hospital, the couple walked back inside as the tourist watched by the door.
"Maybe it was his sheer luck that got him to town?" the woman guest suggested, heading back up the stairs to her waiting family, "A park ranger or a group found him mostly likely…" she trailed off as she left, but neither Daniel nor Laura said a word.
A few hours went by and the family left, giving the couple a few moments of peace and quiet before more of their guests arrived for the dinner. Daniel sighed as he lounged into the chair behind the desk, Laura looking on with a sense of knowing. "That's the third one in the past six months." Daniel said. "I'll have to phone him again."
Laura said nothing and walked over to her husband, she picked up the phone and handed the black object to Daniel. "It's not their fault if hikers go off the trails; Gorgers Path is strictly off limits."
"I know, dear." Daniel replied as he turned the rotary to the correct positions of the numbers. "I know."