Jessica came to in a very warm place wrapped in a thick blanket.
'Alive, I'm alive, and I have all my limbs thats a start.'
Glancing around she took in a small room sparsely but tastefully decorated in comforting brown woods set alongside grey and tan stone, a fireplace crackled along the adjacent wall to the cot on which she found herself, Several windows admitted the glow from moon outside. Three doors lined the walls around her, by the fireplace, the opposite wall and to her right. rising up to her elbows the blanket slipped down past her breasts which she now noticed were bare... as was the rest of her body she realized with a start.
'What the actual fuck?'
The door in the corner by the fire place opened and admitted a man just over 6 feet in height and wirey of build wearing a button down shirt with the sleeves half rolled tucked into a pair of dark jeans over a pair of dirty boots with higher riding heels. Dark brown almost black shaggy hair which curled upwards at the tips framed an olive face with a pair of plastic framed glasses perched on the not-quite-large nose, behind which the blue and brown Star burst eyes took in her frightened face as he pulled over one of the overstuffed leather chairs and sat.
"I see we are awake, how are you feeling?"
The man's accent was bizarre to Jessica who normally prided herself in her ear for them, no outstanding sign of the usual drawl that marked the locals of the region, however at the same time she could sense it there mixed with a fathomlessly deep sea of other lilts and brogues, seemingly coming from everywhere and nowhere.
"Where the fuck am I, who the fuck are you, and why the fuck am I naked?"
Spitting the words out with as much venom as she could manage, something dawned on her.
"Did you...."
Before she could finish the thought the man raised both hands in surrender and shook his head.
"I didnt do anything, I swear. Your clothes were soaked and I didn't want you getting hypothermia, I didn't look more than I had to. You fell and hit your head after the boar attacked. Are you sure you're okay? Seeing double or anything?"
Jessica had a hazy recollection of falling but something didn't line up.
"No the hog gored my leg and I passed out."
'Surely he saw the wound?'
Without thinking she cast the heavy blanket off and looked at her leg expecting to see the nasty tear in the flesh of her lower leg left by the wild pigs cutter, however she saw nothing but the smooth skin of her calf.
'What the hell? I remember the blood gushing from the cut, Was I imagining things?'
It only took half a moment before she realized what she had done, when the warm albeit cooler air of the room hit her most precious place which even the well groomed triangle of dark hair above couldn't shield, it dawned on her. Quickly she covered herself up with the blanket hoping the stranger didn't see the closed slit that lay between her firm legs, she glared at the man who's eyes never left her face.
"What the hells your problem, and again who are you?"
the man finally let his eyes fall from her face before saying in that bizarre everywhere-and-nowhere accent.
"You can call me Ryan, and I swear I didn't see anything I'd want, as to your earlier question of where we are this my home not far from the White oak creek wildlife management area, which is where I assume you started out the day. I think you took a good blow to the head when you fell, the hog didn't get to you at all."
Jessica noticed something as he spoke the last few words, a flutter of the eye lid behind the glasses.
'He's lying, but about what? Did I really just imagine the whole thing, or is there more going on here?'
"Well Ryan, do you still have my clothes or...?"
Ryan stood, nodding as he turned and walked over to a couch and picked a pile of clothes up to hand to her.
"I will leave you to get dressed, once your ready let me know and I'll take you into town. your phones over on the table charging, you should have probably done that before going hiking."
Jessica quickly got dressed after Ryan left the room, crossing to the table she found her smartphone and turned it on. After the start up screen it began buzzing repeatedly from receiving a flood of texts and voice-mails from both Will and some of her other friends.
'Oh God Will is going to kill me, assuming this weirdo doesn't first'
After typing out a quick message to Will about where she was and telling him to contact the authorities if he didn't hear from her, Jessica crossed the room and knocked on the door Ryan had went through and opened the door.
"Are you ready to head back into town? Is someone going to be waiting for you?"
'totally not a serial killer question'
"yeah my friend I was out with, Will, he called the wardens, they're looking for me now, I sent him a text to wait for me in Mt. Pleasant"
Ryan nodded and gestured towards the door "After you."
Stepping outside Jessica could see the full moon peaking out through the clouds. The pair made their way to a large 90's Era pick-up of which her apparent savior opened the passenger door for her before letting out a low whistle. As a large Fawn colored Akita jumped into the bed of the truck Ryan made his way around to the driver side and got behind the wheel before putting the key in and waiting a moment for the diesels glow plug light to go off and started the truck. The inside of the truck was immaculate despite its age, the leather of the bench seat was free of cracks or damage and smelled of earth and leather.
'This thing is older than I am but at least he takes care of his things'
Ryan turned the truck around and started out onto a dirt road flanked on both sides by old growth trees, driving for several minutes before turning out onto a paved road and pointed them towards the north and continued for several more minutes before turning onto the access road heading south-west on I-30, never saying a word.