Chapter 3 – Lost

It was the cold water that woke her up, otherwise, she could stay there forever, just resting. The come and go of the little waves made her breathe in a little bit of water and sit up coughing hard. At least it was fresh water.

Meg finally opened her eyes to look around her, and the image before her took her breath away. It was early morning by a lake, an immense lake, surrounded by snowy mountains. No wonder the water was so cold, although there wasn't any snow falling at that moment. She didn't remember seeing that landscape in the Entity's realm. That was new and mesmerizing.

"You are going to freeze in there." A growling voice sounded behind her, and she turned fast to search for the source of it.

It was the Trapper, undoubtedly. He had his mask on and his trademark overalls, except it hung on one side, where it was supposed to be attached to the metal bar coming out of his back. The metal was gone, so was his cleaver. His skin was dirty with dried blood, but it looked normal, without all the burns and markings it used to have.

Unarmed, he still looked terrifying. Meg didn't move, but all her muscles were contracted, ready for a fight, for a quick escape. It would work if only she wasn't shaking so badly.

He let out an annoyed breath and turned, walking away from her. It was then that she realized where he was heading. There was a big house by the lake, two stories. By the door, stood a man who looked frail and past his sixties. He looked at them with interest, holding a cup of tea that he sipped at slowly.

Meg had a weird feeling of being alive. Alive after so much time. Cold, hungry and afraid. But alive.

"Come inside. I don't want to drag your frozen ass myself," the man yelled loudly at her, and his voice sounded high-pitched but hoarse from many years of smoking.

He waited until the Trapper was inside to take his eyes off her and get in as well. Shaking terribly, she thought that there was no other choice than to follow him.

She couldn't feel her feet as she walked into the house. As she stepped on the carpeted floor, she saw little puddles forming under her.

"Who… are… you?" She spoke with her trembling voice as her whole body convulsed by the cold.

They gathered in the living room upstairs, where a big window faced the lake and the surrounding mountains. Meg thought that she was either walking to her death or she was already dead and that place was a little piece of heaven. Of course, she imagined that heaven would not accept killers and monsters, but she had seen stranger things in her life.

"The man that will give you the answers once the blood returns to your extremities. Come, sit here," he pointed at a sofa near the fireplace. "And don't worry about the big guy, he's just a big guy here, with inhuman features."

The Trapper stood by the fire as well, opposite her. She could tell he was staring at her, and she wished he could stop. Or that she could wake up from that weird dream where all the human sensations she hadn't felt in ages came back at once and a literal killer stood so close to her, even if the man told her not to worry about him.

Meg didn't know how much time she spent there, waiting for her brain and limbs to unfreeze, but she was almost dozing off when the man's voice shook her from her haze.

"Welcome back to your reality." The ironic smile in his voice sent a chill in her spine, as he was saying a bad omen or something like it. "Well, maybe not for you, killer, but we will talk about it later."

"What do you mean?" She spoke finally feeling some warmth surround her body. It had been a long time since she had felt so cold. In the fog, it was never cold or hot.

"You are back to your world, Ms. Thomas. Aren't you so happy?" He said emotionless.

If she was back, then where was her mom? Why was she in a strange place instead of her home? He was probably a trick from the Entity, a new killer, ready to sacrifice her.

The Trapper stepped closer to the man and grabbed the collar of his shirt. He brought him up to face him closely as he spoke in a voice so low and menacing that Meg's heart started to beat fast and her legs tensed up ready to bolt away from there.

"You are going to tell us right now who you are and what happened to us. Now!"

The man gulped, with his eyes glinting. He was both the image of fear and sarcasm.

"It is very interesting to meet you, Evan MacMillan."

The Trapper dropped the man at the mention of his name, as he had touched a live wire.

"You know me. But who are you?"

The man stood there, getting serious now. Without the ironic smile or the curious eyes.

"I'm the Observer. It's my job to watch you, decipher your memories and build the Archives."

"The Archives? What?" Meg asked.

"It's a long story," the Observer dismissed her question with a hand and went to sit in an armchair in front of the fireplace. "For now, just know that I'm here to help you transition from the Entity's world to our world. I'll shelter you and give you the information needed for you to move on with your life," he said looking straight at Meg, then he turned to the Trapper. "But you, killer, you weren't supposed to be here."

"Why not?"

"Killers don't come back, they pass on to the void after the Entity is done with them. I don't know what to do with you. I will have to check with the others." At that, the Observer stood up and walked out of the room lost in thought.

"Wait!" Meg called but he was gone already.

The Trapper stood in the middle of the room staring at the place where the man had gone. Meg looked at him, expecting to see any emotion at all, but his mask covered it. She was nervous to be left alone with the killer, but he had lots of chances to hurt her before and hadn't taken it, why would he now?

"Do you think we can trust him?" She asked.

He turned slowly to her, and she could see his chest going up and down with forced breaths. She took a minute to analyze him and saw that all the metal protruding from his skin was gone, in the place of it there were open wounds, bleeding lazily along his arm and back. She thought that he must have been in pain.

"We?" He forced the word out through his pain and mask.

"Well, yeah. We got out together, and this man…"

The Trapper stomped out of the room before she could finish her sentence. Meg felt lost and oddly without a purpose. She always thought that if she got out of that horrible place one day, she would be ecstatic and would finally do all the things she missed doing. But now, Meg couldn't even remember those things anymore.

She wrapped herself tighter in the blanket and sat there, with her eyes glazed on the opposite wall. A million things rushed through her mind: was she really back to the real world? Was that man trustworthy? What did he mean by transition from one world to another? And who were the others?

Time passed and she didn't even know how much.

Finally removing herself from that internal debate she stood up and walked around the room, inspecting it all.

The decoration was sober. There were no hints of emotion expressed in portraits or paintings. It looked like a rental house. Maybe it was.

She walked toward the big window and intended to go outside to the balcony but refrained as she still felt the cold reaching her bones. Instead, she stood against the glass watching the sun come up from behind the mountains. It was breathtaking.

She was so entranced in the view that she almost didn't react when a memory came back to her mind at full force. It showed a sunrise she watched with her mother when she was little.

"Mom!" Meg said loudly as she turned around looking for a phone. "Come on, where is it?" She searched the walls and the side tables, but there was no sign of it.

When she was about to walk down the stairs so she could go look for the old man and ask for the phone, she heard footsteps.

"Good, at least one of you is still here."

He said as he saw her waiting for him at the top of the stairs. He was carrying a tray with tea, crackers and jam.

"I need a phone. I need to call my mom."

The Observer put the tray on the coffee table and reached into his back pocket. He unlocked the device and handed it to her.

"Good luck remembering the number."

Of course she knew the number of her home. The difficulty was figuring out that weird phone.

"What kind of device is that?" She asked with annoyance.

"It's a phone, didn't you ask for one?"

"Yeah, but it's weird. Where are the numbers?"

"Right, sorry. You stopped in the two-thousands, I forgot." He tapped the buttons on the screen and the numbers appeared so she could dial home.

"What year we're in?" She asked absently, as she listened for someone to pick up the call.

"Two thousand and twenty-three." He said casually sitting down in the armchair.

"Hello?" Meg turned her back to him. "Who is it?"

A man's voice sounded on the other side, telling her that she was the one who called, so she should know who she wanted to talk to.

"I'm looking for Naomi Thomas."

The man went silent, then when he spoke again his voice was shaky.

"Meg?"

"Who is it?"

"Derek, your neighbor, remember?"

"Oh, of course!" Another memory came to her mind of a barbecue with the neighbors, but she put that aside for now. "Hi, Derek. So, can I talk to my mom?"

Another pause, until he said the words she dreaded the most. "Naomi passed away, Meg. Shortly after you disappeared. Sixteen years ago."

Meg turned to look at the Observer who chewed on his cracker without a worry in the world.

Meg dropped the phone and asked, "What year did you say we're in?"

"Two thousand and twenty-three, Meg. For everyone you know, you've been missing for sixteen years."

Her knees felt like jelly, and she had to reach for the back of the couch to regain her balance. The Observer watched with curiosity but never said a word as she breathed in and out rapidly.

"Sixteen years…" She mumbled and her eyes found his. A simple nod was his response. "Then I missed all of my twenties."

"I'm sorry, Meg." The man said, but his curious eyes seemed too entertained for her taste.

"Are you really?"

The Observer put his teacup down and rose to his feet, then he circled the couch and stood by her side after picking up the phone she dropped and pocketing it. A tentative hand reached her shoulder.

"My job is to observe. And to organize the memories as they escape you. Dealing with actual human beings… That's still something I'm working on. So yes, I am very sorry, although I have trouble expressing it."

His eyes were the lightest shade of blue she had ever seen in her life, or that she remembered seeing. They glinted with the satisfaction of having her there, rediscovering life just before him, but she could easily recognize how truly sorry he was. So she nodded, accepting his apologies, and his hand dropped from her shoulder.

He smiled kindly and signaled with his head so she could follow him. He led her through a long hallway, with closed doors on both sides. He opened the third door to their left and moved inside, waiting for her to do the same.

"This is your room for now. Until you're ready to go back to the real world, you stay here."

Meg looked around. It seemed normal to her. Again, no decorations on the wooden walls. There was a big and comfortable bed and a wardrobe. On the opposite side, there were glass doors to the balcony, where she could watch the sun come up every morning if she wanted to.

The Observer showed her the door to the bathroom and explained how the shower worked. There was a trick to make the water get to the perfect temperature.

"There's some clean clothes in the wardrobe, although they might be too big for you. They'll do for now, just until I can make a run to town and get you some new ones."

"Thank you." He bent his head and moved to the exit. "Wait!"

The Observer looked back before crossing the doorframe.

"Yes?"

"What's your name?"

The glint came back to his eyes as he answered.

"Travis."

As soon as she was alone in the room, Meg crossed the space and turned the key to make sure she remained alone. Tears started to pool in her eyes and her breathing was shallow. Her knees still felt weak, so she sat on the edge of the bed and braced for what came next.

Meg couldn't even recognize herself, as tears flowed down and hiccups shook her body. It was a desperate cry, the way she only recalled having once. It was when she found out her mother was sick. The memory was faint in her mind, but it was there. She went for a run as usual, through the woods, but as she ran she felt her chest tightening unusually. Meg stopped and leaned against a tree. It was when she let it all go. The same sensation of being encaged, trapped. Of being powerless. As she looked around in that room, she remembered how she looked around in the woods of her memory and felt lost. And how she would look around the campsite in the Entity's realm and have the same feeling.

It didn't matter how she felt. She had to keep running, or that nightmare would never end.

A second call to the place she once called home was all that Meg didn't want to do that day, but she had to. She had to hear from Derek about everything she missed during the years she had spent in that crazy dimension, and he had to hear about her as well. After a long shower and a change to clean and dry clothes she made the call. She was back in the living room, sitting on the couch, as Travis sat in his armchair, watching her with attention. The phone barely rang when he answered it, already calling her name.

"Hi again," she said, with a faint voice, hoarse from crying before.

"Meg, how's this possible? We've been searching for you nonstop and never found anything."

"I… don't know."

"Where have you been all these years?"

Her eyes met the Observer's, and even though he wasn't listening to the other side of the conversation, there was a clear warning there in his expression. She should never talk about the Entity with anyone.

"I don't know, actually." It wasn't a lie. Meg still had trouble placing the realm on the map.

"You don't know where you've been?"

"I really don't. There's a lot I don't remember." That too wasn't a lie, since her mind had been betraying her ever since she was abducted. So far so good.

"Well, we will figure it out in time. Where are you now?"

"I… don't know that either."

"Meg," Derek started cautiously, "are you in trouble and can't talk right now?"

Was she? Perhaps she was, with a killer roaming around so close by. But she was sure it wasn't the kind of trouble he was referring to.

"No, I'm just really confused. But I can ask. Hold on."

Travis didn't even hide the fact that he was prying her conversation. He seemed amused by her confusion.

"Where am I?"

"Lake Tahoe. Northern California."

That surely put her on planet Earth, not some other world where nature worked differently.

Meg put the phone back against her ear and said, "I'm in California."

"That's far. Okay, I can go get you to bring you home."

"Home?"

The Observer shook his head and motioned for her to put Derek on hold.

She did as he wished. "What?"

"You're not ready to leave yet. You need time to transition. At least a month."

"Transition?"

"I'll explain it later. Tell him you'll go home when you can. That he doesn't need to worry, that you're safe."

Meg wanted to fight him because she felt like a puppet, dancing accordingly to someone else's song just when she served the Entity's purpose, but she didn't have the strength to protest. Repeating everything that he told her, she made Derek pause for a while.

"Meg, how can you be safe if you don't remember where you've been for sixteen years?"

"I'm with… friends."

She sighed and the conversation reached a tense point. Did he believe her? Did he have to believe her? As far as she knew, she was a thirty-something-year-old woman, with no family or ties to anyone. She didn't owe him any explanation. A few seconds went by when Meg realized that it was weird to have her neighbor of sixteen years ago answer the phone at her house. If someone owed anyone an explanation it was him.

"Derek, what are you doing in my house?"

His breath hitched as he felt a painful blunt to the stomach.

"I'm not in your house. I just had the phone number transferred to my name. I made a promise to your mother. That I would keep this landline active in case you called. I've been wanting to disconnect it for a while, Maggie's been telling me to, but I guess your mom felt that you'd come back one day, so I never did."

"I wish I hadn't taken so long."

Derek sighed and paused again. He was a dear friend to her mother, and losing her must have been hell.

"Thank you for being there for her, Derek. I want to know more, but not over the phone."

"Of course. I'll tell you everything once you come back home. Just promise me you're safe and you're coming home as soon as you can."

"I promise."

Evan walked the long road alone. His rhythmic steps were the only thing he could hear. That and the rustling of the wind agitating the leaves on the tall trees. There were so many of them that he wondered if he wasn't back in the Entity's realm and the Observer was only the result of his desperation.

His feet took him to a crossroads and suddenly it came to Evan that he had no idea where he was and where he was supposed to go from there. If his deduction was right, he wasn't even in his time.

A vehicle he had never seen in his life came fast down the crossing road, only stopping to check if it was clear to go, and then it went away just as fast. Evan's jaw dropped to see the shiny silver thing disappear in the distance in the blink of an eye. He felt his heart pounding in his chest. He was lost. Truly lost. Lost in space and in time. He wasn't supposed to be there, the Observer said it.

Feeling his head light and his sight dim, he had to sit down by the road. His shallow breaths came strained through the mask so he had to take it off. As he tossed it aside, Evan heard another vehicle approaching from the road he had come from. It was bigger and louder than the shiny one that had passed before. It seemed like a working vehicle, made to carry heavy loads. On the driver's seat, he recognized the Observer, old and perceptive.

The man pulled the machine over to the side of the road and motioned for him to get in the vehicle. Evan was frozen, paralyzed.

"Come on, get in the car!" The Observer yelled.

Evan shook his head, as his heart was still pounding in his chest. The door opened and the man jumped off.

"Evan?" He called with a firm but tired voice as he stood in front of him.

Evan stared back at him, and panic hit him at once, as he looked around searching for his mask.

"It's okay, you don't need it anymore. You're out of there, and I suppose you don't want to kill anyone anymore, do you?" He said and sat by his side on the road.

Staring at the Observer, he felt even more lost. If he wasn't the killer he once was, then who he was supposed to be now?

"No," he stated simply.

It was enough for the old man to smile kindly, relaxing his shoulders. It came to Evan that the Observer and probably the Thomas girl were still afraid of him, after all, he was known for hanging people on giant meat hooks and leaving them to die at the hands of an evil force.

"Good," the man looked behind his shoulder at the car that was still running, then back at Evan. "We need to go get you and Meg some new clothes. But before, you should take a shower and have something to eat. Why don't you get in the car so we can get back to the house?"

"Why are you doing this, helping me? Didn't you say that I don't belong here? That I should get back?"

The Observer breathed in deeply and looked away.

"You are both back in this world, but she just found out she doesn't have a home anymore. And I suspect that you just realized the same thing, didn't you? I sympathize with you two and how you feel."

"And how do I feel?"

"Lost?" He questioned, but Evan knew it wasn't a question at all. That old strange man really knew, and like it or not, they were all together in that crazy new reality.