Author's note: Whoooo over 100 reviews! Thanks to everyone who took the time to review!

Chapter 11

Lost. They are hopelessly and completely lost. Something that Peter Callahan hates above everything else. This road trip wasn't his idea. In fact, he is more of the luxury cruise type. But it was his wife's turn to choose their vacation, and a road trip was what she wanted. In fact, she'd been quite insistent on it.

"Daddy, I'm hungry." Comes the voice of six year old Chloe from the backseat. She is clutching her bear under one arm and her thumb is in her mouth.

"Ok, princess." Peter says absently. "We'll get you some food. Something that tastes better than your thumb."

"Baby." Ten year old Jake says rather nastily. "Still sucking your thumb." He puts down his video game, reaches over, and snatches the bear out of his sister's arms. "What's wrong, baby? Can't live without your bear?"

Chloe immediately starts to argue back in her high pitched voice, and soon enough the car is filled with shouts, cries, and tears.

"Enough!" Their mother, Jessica says impatiently. "Jake, give your sister back her bear." She looks down at the faded, worn map on her lap; they are a bit on the old fashioned side, preferring paper maps to smartphones. "If we take this road we should be there…" She frowns worriedly. They seem to be in the middle of nowhere. One moment amidst a rush hour traffic jam, and suddenly nothing. There is a strange absence of life.

Just then, they pass a sign. Welcome to Storybrooke.

"Huh." Jessica comments. "That's odd." She squints down at the map. "It's not on here."

"Doesn't matter." Peter says as he turns off the highway. "We'll stop here for the night, get some food, and ask someone for directions."

The Callahan's red minivan slowly rolls down the street. Argument forgotten, Jake and Chloe press their noses against the window, clearly intrigued. This town, Storybrooke, has a small town vibe. Charming looking buildings, locally owned businesses.

However, the further the Callahan's minivan goes into Storybrooke, they begin to discover that this place is quite odd.

"Hmm…" Jessica says as she peers out the window. "Where's everybody?"

There is a strange absence of people. Jessica checks the clock; it's only 7. Still pretty early. Most of the shops are closed, curtains drawn, lights out. "It's like a ghost town."

"A ghost town?" Jake looks up from his video game. "Cool." He turns towards his sister. "Hey Chloe. Bet it's haunted."

"Don't be ridiculous." Peter snaps. "Look, there's someone there." He points out the window at a small man, leaning heavily on a cane. He seems to be staring straight at them. "We'll go and ask him for directions."

He pulls over, stopping in front of the man, rolling down the window. "Hey, excuse me?" He calls.

Slowly, the man looks up at him. Strangely, this man has an odd look of grief about him. Peter can see the remnants of tear tracks on his heavily lined face.

"Yes?" He asks. He has a peculiar accent, something that Peter does not recognize.

"Uh…we're a little lost. Can you point us in the direction of a hotel or something?"

The look on this man's face can only be described by shocked. He stares for so long Peter is tempted to just drive away. It seems as though the man is trying to place them or something. As though he is trying hard to remember them.

"Why?" He says finally. He seems abashed that they would ask such a question.

"Why what?" Peter asks.

"Why do you need a hotel?"

What an odd question. "To stay in for the night." He says. "We're a little lost so…"

Another long stare. Weird. They must not get very many visitors.

"All right." Jessica pipes up. Clearly, she has picked up on the tension. "Sorry to bother you. We'll just be on our way."

"Nonsense." The man says. "Let me give you a personal tour of our charming little town."

"Oh no, that won't be necessary." Peter tries to decline politely. "We're a little tired."

"I insist." The man grins, revealing a row of yellowish teeth.

Peter shrugs. There is something about this man that makes it impossible to say no. "Ok. Thanks."

The Callahans exit their minivan, leaving it parked on the side of the street. There doesn't seem to be any other cars on the street, so he figures it should be fine.

"This way." The man holds an arm out.

As the Callahans follow the man down the street, Peter notices a young boy, about Jake's age, peering curiously at them. Most of his body is hidden behind a tree, leaving only part of his face exposed. The expression on the boy's face is clearly one of fear.

Peter is about to go over and investigate, but the man seemingly catches on and suddenly turns to face the family.

"Welcome to Storybrooke." The man says. Peter gets the feeling that this is meant to distract him from something. But what?

Just then, the man does something so quick and fleeting that Peter would've missed it if he hadn't been paying attention. The man casts a furtive, yet pointed look at something behind him.

Or maybe someone.

Out of curiosity, Peter turns around, but the boy is gone.

Author's note: Sooo who do y'all think the Callahans are? A random road tripping family or...? What do you think they are up to? And what about Henry and Gold? What will they do to keep the family from finding out the truth about Storybrooke? Review to find out!