Chapter 5

Pale light filtered in around Sam as he raised his head from the cold ground. He looked around at his surroundings trying to figure out what had happened to him and where the hell he was. Mist floated around low to the ground as he stumbled to his feet. He caught himself on a gnarled tree as he steadied himself hoping the world would stop spinning.

After several minutes, Sam opened his eyes to find things had settled down and he was looking out across an open field with sparse, brown grass growing in random clumps here and there. He thought hard trying to remember the last thing he was doing before ending up here. He didn't remember being attacked and his body didn't feel like he had any injuries. Sam was perplexed with his situation. He pulled his cell out and held it out trying to get a signal.

Sam began to walk across the field looking for higher ground hoping he could pick a signal up there. The air felt heavy and pressed in on him as he continued to walk trying to find a sign somewhere noting where he was.

Sam came to the edge of the field and stopped trying to decide which way to go. He headed to the right since that seemed to be elevated. Sam panted as he trudged toward the crest of the hill. When he made it to the top, he stopped and gazed down into a valley with a large lake that seemed to stretch out across the land forever, alone with some type of building sitting off to the side. It almost looked like a hotel or a really large house. He began to make his way down the hill toward the valley and hopefully some answers.

He zigzagged down the hill to avoid the loose shale so he wouldn't fall. It didn't look that far, but having to go slow made the trip nearly two hours before he reached the bottom. He was happy to be on level group again and headed down a small trail toward the lake. Droplets of sweat trickled down his face and the middle of his back as the air heated up in the valley. He removed his jacket and slung it over his shoulder.

Something was off about this place, but Sam couldn't put his finger on it. He looked up into the sky, there was light, but no sun. It was hazy, but not overcast like a storm was brewing. There seemed to be an electrical charge in the air, giving it an unusual metal smell.

The glint of light reflecting off the water steered Sam in the direction of the lake. He stepped around the trees and walked to the edge of the water pausing to admire the crystal, clear, beauty of the water. The waves caressed the sandy bank lapping in and out in a steady pace. Sam was almost hypnotized with the movement drawing him closer to the edge. He stopped short of walking into the water as he realized what he almost did. Mystified why he would want to do that, Sam backed away and made his way down the white sandy beach.

The more he walked, the farther the building seemed to be. Sam looked back over his shoulder to see if he could tell how far he had come. He turned back and kept his pace steady moving ever so slowly toward the building. He hoped he could cover the distance before darkness fell, if there was night here. Sam was beginning to wonder if he was still in the real world or some dimension that existed parallel with his.

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As he walked, he had time to think about what happened. The last thing he remembered was pulling the information on the people who had disappeared. He had gone to the last place the last victim went missing from to see if there was any supernatural clues that the regular cops had missed. There had been something or someone there, he just couldn't put all the pieces together yet. Sam rubbed his temple as a sharp pain slowly inched around his head. He tried to push it down and to the back of his mind before it started to take over. The last thing he needed was a mind numbing headache.

It seemed like hours that Sam had been walking before the building seemed to be getting closer. He could make out the color of the walls now. They were a pale, sand color, maybe a shade darker than the sand he was now walking on. The more he noticed the things around him, he saw that color didn't seem to exist here. Everything seemed to be shades of tan, from almost white to a deep burnished brown. Even the sky had no hint of any shades of blue that he could see.

As the building got closer, he could make out a large front porch that stretched the length of the front. It was a three story, wooden structure and looked like architecture from the past. The building itself was a medium shade of tan, weathered, but not rundown. Each story had a balcony, one on top of the other with each room opening onto it. There were lounge chairs sitting along the porch with a swing on either end. Stone steps led up to the front double doors that stood open.

The sand turned into hard packed gravel as he veered away from the lake toward the building that was looking more like a hotel the closer he got. It took him another hour to reach the driveway of the hotel that circled around the front. Sam paused for moment, surveying the area for any people. There didn't seem to be anyone else in the area that he could see. As he looked the area over, he realized what was missing. There were no usual sounds that you would normally hear; no birds, no insects, no animals, even the wind didn't have a sound, well what wind there was stirring. Now that he thought about it, the sound of the water lapping on the shore was barely noticeable. If he had not been looking at it, he would not have known it was happening.

Sam stood at the bottom of the stone steps looking up onto the porch and at the open door. He flipped his phone open again and checked for a signal. He closed it madly and stuffed it back in his jacket pocket before carefully walking up the steps, his senses on red alert. The lounge chairs sat in a row, unused. He paused on the porch trying to see as far in the hotel as he could. He could make out furniture sitting in an entryway, but still no signs of life.

Looking back over his shoulder to be sure no one was around, he made his way into the building. He saw a front desk to the left and a room with stuffed chairs and large fireplace to the right. It looked like a sitting room where guests could gather and relax.

On the desk sat a silver bell waiting to be rung, requesting service. Sam walked over to the desk and tapped the bell twice listening to the echo bounce off the walls around him in a hollow, dull sound. He looked around as he waited to see if anyone would answer the ringing.

"May I help you?" a male voice asked.

Jerking back around, Sam came face to face with a guy, a little older than Dean, dark headed, dark skinned, fairly good looking, causally dressed, about his height that stood behind the desk waiting for him to respond.

"Uh-uh can you tell me where I am?" Sam finally got out after getting over his shock.

"You don't know?" he questioned Sam eyeing him closely. "Wait, something's wrong with you."

"Excuse me?" Sam shot back. "What do you mean by that?"

"You're not suppose to be here, you didn't die."

"Die? Where is here? What the hell is going on?" he demanded.

"Easy there Sam." the guy said holding his hands out.

"How did you know my name? Who are you?"

"I know all that pass through here, look, why don't you go down to the bar and wait for me, I have a few others coming in today and need to see to them. I'll answer what I can for you after they are taken care of."

"Where's the bar?" he asked calming down slightly since the guy seemed to want to help.

"Down the hall on the right." he pointed for Sam. "I'll be down as soon as I can."

"You're not going to disappear on me or anything are you?" Sam asked not sure if he should leave or not.

"Oh course not, I want to get this straightened out too."

Still unsure he should trust the guy, Sam stepped away from the desk and started down the hall. He took several steps toward the end of the hall when a young boy stepped through the door.

"Hello there young Sebastian, please come in, I've been expecting you." the guy said smiling down at the boy.

Sam watched the boy walk to the desk looking up expectantly at the guy behind the desk. Sam watched him take a key from a cubby behind him and hand it to the boy directing him to the stairs behind the desk. After taking the offered key, the boy made his way up the stairs. Sam watched with interest, then continued on down the hall letting the wheels in his brain spin trying to piece together what was happening to him.