There was a knock on the door. The professor looked towards the door and sighed. He was currently grading the essays they had received.
"Come in."
He said in a tired tone. Bags formed under his eyes as he sipped his coffee. A student with light skin, emerald eyes, and raven black hair down to their shoulders that seemed to cover their face walked in. They wore a black hoodie, green sweats with white stripes running down the sides, and sneakers.
"Sorry to bother you; I'm just bringing in the final documents before I leave. I also wanted to see how exactly my essay did."
They set the documents on one side of the table, and from behind them, they brought out a bag and set it down in front of the professor. They opened it to reveal a donut, a burger, and some fries, slowly sliding it over to the professor. The two locked eyes briefly before the teacher sighed tiredly, took the bag, and began rummaging to grab something to eat.
"B+ is the best I can do for you."
He said tiredly as he scanned a few of the documents; they were mostly consent forms and a few detailing their stay at Sable, the expenses, and the location of their residence. He gave a few nods and set them down before looking back at him.
"Everything looks good; try not to cause any trouble, Avery…I still don't understand why you would pick such a desolate town."
He spoke in a slightly worried tone as he ate his donut. Avery's eyes practically shone excitedly at his question, and they slammed their hands onto the table, nearly spilling the coffee.
"I have been dying to talk about this with someone; thank god you asked! So, this town is practically a historical ghost town. This town has been around since 1620, and yet despite that. That town has no noticeable historic moments. Not a damn thing, no actors, politicians, landmarks, Nothing at all. It's like the town was formed and just stayed in stasis; it ain't a small town either. Well, it's around three thousand people, and Nothing happens there."
The professor raised his hand, making them stop. He rubbed his brow and shook his head.
"Alright, alright, I get it. You have too much passion for someone as tired as me, so get out of here."
They jokingly saluted them before laughing and walking out. When they saw the professor unwrapping their burger, they gave a half-assed wave as they closed the door. Avrey began heading to their dorm room, a bit exhausted as they rubbed their shoulders. Despite the cheerful attitude they had displayed earlier, they were a bundle of nerves. Other than living on campus, they hadn't ever left their city. So, although they were excited, their hearts were racing, and they felt sick.
"Calm down, Avrey…if you throw up, I'm gonna slap you silly."
She told herself quietly and harshly to motivate her stomach to contain her lunch. As soon as she reached her dorm room, she grabbed her briefcase near the door and let herself have one final look around her room. Her room didn't have much; a few posters hung on the walls, mostly landscape shots, and one cat poster told her to "hang in there." that one was a gift from her mother. Her sheets were relatively soft and thick and had a koala on the front, which she had bought since it was on sale. She spent most of her time taking photos or hanging out at the library on her laptop, so she didn't decorate it much.
Despite spending little time here, she felt strange, almost like she was leaving her home. However, she would be coming back. She nearly tripped over herself as she began leaving and quickly returned to her dorm room to pick up her camera. She put the camera strap over her neck and carried her briefcase out. She sat on the bench, waiting for a bus to drop her off at the airport. It was still six hours till her flight, but from what she heard about others. Getting there hours earlier is better, or you might miss your flight.
The bus took around forty minutes to arrive; she had done a last few minutes check. She ensured she had her laptop, charger, power bank, phone, and compass and checked her flight and the weather. The longer she waited on that bench, the more paranoid and worried she got. She only got a compass because her father warned her that if she got lost in the forest, it could be helpful to find a way out. She didn't see how getting lost in a forest would happen to her; she wasn't stupid enough to wander into a forest…again.
It took around two hours for the bus to arrive at the airport. She spent her time listening to music while looking out the window and daydreaming, mostly thinking about imaginary situations and how to deal with them. What if the airport got attacked? She could use her camera to blind and take them out, with the nonexistent karate she knew. Occasionally, she thought about a story, something with dragons. Those were popular, right? Maybe they were zombie dragons?! That sounded stupid and awesome; she quietly laughed, enjoying the silliness of it all.
By the time she got to the airport, she had made up a little silly story of a couple of zombie dragons trying to decide on dinner; one wanted elves. While the others kept complaining, all brains tasted the same.
She smiled as she waited in line to go through the procedure to get on her flight finally. She did not have to use her nonexistent karate and the flash of her camera to fight off any attempts to disrupt her flight; she did have to deal with the slowest airport security line ever. When she finally boarded her flight and got to take a seat, she dropped like a sack of potatoes. She was exhausted, or at least she felt tired, especially after waiting for so long.
She was lucky enough to sit against the window on her flight to Maine, which would last around eight hours. As more and more people got into the seats, she eventually got smooshed against the window. It was uncomfortable, and someone was trying to get her attention. They sounded like they wanted to switch seats, but even as awkward as it was. She tried to keep her window seat. She hadn't gotten a seat at the window in a long while, and she wanted to enjoy the sight.
When the flight took off, she was slightly spared from being squished as someone switched seats with the person beside her and freed her. It was still a tight fit, but now she could properly enjoy the view. She photographed the view and rested her head against the wall.
She didn't know when she passed out, but at some point, she had. She had drool going down her face. She woke up in fright, but it was already nighttime, and the person beside her was asleep. She quickly cleaned the drool off her face and used the restroom.
When she cleaned up and returned to her seat, the other passenger leaned into her chair. She didn't know what to do. Pushing them off seemed rude. With some effort and crawling on the ground, she got on her seat and gently tried to nudge them the other way. They were leaning against her now, but at least she was in her seat, so it wasn't so bad.
She didn't feel like sleeping, and checking her phone revealed she still had three hours left on her flight. She couldn't call or text anyone on her phone, so she began checking her old documents on "Sable." There wasn't much, just when it was established, a few photos of the first few people who established the town. Anything relating to the town made it seem like an average town, but the most awkward thing was the lack of noticeable crimes or issues. She wasn't the first person to notice this; Someone else by the pen name "Abraham" wrote a few articles about it, but the articles didn't say anything new. Abraham just talked about the peaceful and extraordinary community in Sable. One detail that stuck out to her was the mention of the town being lively at night; the atmosphere was the same as the day. It was almost like they didn't sleep. Of course, that couldn't be the case. It did make her curious, though; why even mention it? Was it just something they felt was important enough to mention?
This was the focus of her investigation: the nightlife of this community. Of course, she couldn't precisely question the people there about the nightlife; she would have to be somewhat subtle in her investigation. She had a few ideas of what could be happening, the most extreme being that perhaps a cult was present in the town. Of course, that would most likely be impossible and even silly…Best be prepared just in case!
She scrolled through her phone till she found the app she used to read; she had downloaded a few books, specifically one called "How to Spot a cult for Dummies" and another called "How to Spot a cult for Special Dummies." She was by no means a dummy, but she hadn't ever encountered a cult and wouldn't have the first clue on what to look out for. Luckily, both books mentioned one thing: isolating members from their family and friends, as well as love bombing new members to try and make them dependent on the cult. Of course, there was more to it, but she could specifically look out for that first part; if she were getting too much praise and approval from the community, she would have her answer…and probably try to leave as soon as possible.
She planned to finish these books before her flight ended; they had around a hundred pages combined. With three hours to go, she could do something productive.
That was the last thing she remembered before waking up. Her face squished against the seat before her as she felt someone nudge her, trying to wake her. She jumped back to her seat and wiped her mouth in case she was drooling; the flight attendant kept smiling as she moved to the front of the airplane with the other passengers.
She wanted to hide in shame as she took the few belongings she had with her and quickly left. She kept her head down and tried to leave as fast as possible. This was not a good start to her little journey. She must have been more tired than she expected. She went through the airport and eventually picked up her suitcase as she headed outside.
A few cabs were being boarded by people or dropping off people before another took place. Luckily, she didn't have to fight for the cab. She sat down on a nearby bench and pulled out her phone. She had forgotten to turn off her phone, so she had run out of battery as she dug out her battery bank and charged her phone. Her phone took a few minutes to turn back on as she checked her messages. Almost immediately, a message appeared on her phone by a contact named "Chauffeur."
"I'll be fifteen minutes late; sorry for the inconvenience; the traffic is awful."
Her response was a casual "It's okay." She was okay with waiting, as it allowed her to enjoy light reading after dozing off during the flight. Despite this, she still felt embarrassed, particularly after drooling during the ride.
Most of the things mentioned in the cult were extreme belief, isolation, and a lot of dependence on the cult for self-worth. The good news for her was that she had no self-worth to speak of, so she didn't have to worry about them trying to make her dependent on them for it.
Her reading was interrupted by her phone ring, and she quickly answered. The voice on the other end sounded rugged and tired, although they were very polite.
"Where are you- Oh, are you on the bench with the long hair and black hoodie?"
They looked around and eventually spotted a tall, rugged man approaching them. He wore a flannel shirt and was noticeably well-built; he made the shirt appear tight. He wore jeans and brown working boots. He had slicked-back brown hair, matching brown eyes, and a slight stubble. Something was strange about them. It wasn't the old flip phone he had. It was something about them specifically that struck them as odd.
"You're Avrey, right?"
She nodded, stored her battery bank in her bag, and tucked her phone into her pocket before standing to shake his hand.
"Nice to meet you. I didn't know who would pick me up; they just gave me your number."
He shrugged and quickly picked up her briefcase. He didn't even use the handle; he carried it over his shoulder. She was impressed; she had brought a little, but the suitcase wasn't light. She followed him as he led her into his car, which looked like a hybrid.
He placed her suitcase in the car trunk, and she entered the passenger seat. She was half expecting the man to struggle to get into the car. It was so quickly done when he finally got into the driver's side that it disappointed her. The car was bigger than she thought, or at least it felt that way for a few seconds before she realized how small it felt with him beside her. She should have sat down on the back.
She had been struggling to converse with the man while he drove, partly because she didn't know if he would react negatively; the other part was because she felt a bit intimidated. She nervously tapped her legs, humming a melody she couldn't remember the name or where she had heard it from.
"You seem very nervous. Was that your first time riding an airplane?"
The man spoke up, his gaze never looking away from the road. Once again, she felt uneasiness. Something was off about the man, but she couldn't quite place it, which bothered her.
"No…that's not the reason I'm nervous. I haven't ever actually traveled outside the state in which I live. Especially going somewhere as far as this, I can only hope Sable is as pleasant as I hope."
She chuckled nervously and smiled as she gazed at the scenery outside her window. It was markedly different from her usual view. She was accustomed to wide-open spaces with miles of empty farmland, occasional trees, and small hills. Here, trees enveloped them on both sides, and it felt like a rainforest surrounded them. It wasn't bad at all; it was merely different yet peaceful.
"You don't get much to worry about; Sable is quite pleasant. The thing you have to worry about the most is the people being a bit loud at night."
There it was, the exact thing she wanted to ask about. It wouldn't be weird to ask, right? She couldn't back out now; this was the perfect opportunity.
"Why is that? Do they like to throw parties or something?"
He seemed to laugh for a moment at her question, shaking his head as he scratched the back of his head.
"Nothing like that; we don't exactly have a police force…Some folk stay up at night and keep the town safe; it's like a neighborhood watch. If that makes any sense."
She nods her head, making a mental note about it. So, did they have people keeping a watch out in the night? If so, they might not react kindly to seeing her walking around at night. She was going to have to dust off her old stealth skills.
"Sounds dangerous; I mean, what if they have a gun or something."
He scoffs and laughs a bit before seemingly realizing something and coughing.
"True, but we haven't had those issues since the town was founded. I doubt it will be a problem now. That is unless you plan to be the first person in our town's history to cause issues?"
His town had a joking tone, but his face remained as stoic as ever, making her nervous that she might have misunderstood.
"O-of course not; I don't even have a license to carry such a thing."
She quickly responded as she fiddled and looked down at her hands. She would love to jump out of the car to avoid embarrassment, but she probably wouldn't survive. They were going fifty miles per hour, and if the research she had conducted beforehand was any indication, they still had at least two more hours before they arrived.
"S-so, why did you come to pick me up? When I talked to the mayor of your town, he made it seem like he was going to come pick me up."
She changed the subject to move on and get more answers about the town and its people.
"He probably wanted to, but remember that neighborhood watch I mentioned earlier? He is usually active around the night, so he sleeps most of the day. If your plane had landed closer to the evening, he would probably be the one to pick you up. Besides, I owe that old man a favor, so you're my ticket to be debt-free."
The man's face changed into a smile for the first time in their conversation, which only fed her uneasiness. But what was the cause of it? Why did it bother her so much? What was off about the man beside her? It was on the tip of her tongue. She was so caught up trying to figure out what was vexing her that she failed to realize how long she had just stared at him.
"Do I have something on my face?"
He massaged his neck before exploring the rest of his face while she finally shook off her stupor and coughed.
"N-no, sorry, I just got lost in thought. I'm a bundle of nerves right now."
He nodded but pulled the sun visor down and used the mirror to glance at it. It seemed to her she had made him a bit paranoid about having something on his face, and she was feeling bad about it. It's not like it was her fault; it's his fault for having something strange about him!
She spent most of her time trying to convince herself not to feel bad, holding back the urge to apologize to the man. He glanced at his face on the sun visor for a few minutes before eventually putting it back and focusing entirely on the empty road.
She decided to focus on the scenery as she pulled out her phone and decided to record the trees as they drove past them. Next to no cars passed by the two as they went deeper into the forest. It was almost impossible to see through the tree line at this point, but it didn't frighten her. If anything, it was exciting, almost like the forest could hold anything.
Eventually, she grew bored of the sights; it would have been easier if the man had played music on the radio. Sadly, it seemed he enjoyed the silence, and she didn't want to be rude by putting on headphones and listening to music. Luckily, her boredom wasn't meant to last, as the car slowed down.
They stopped near a bricked path that slowly led upwards. It continued for a while, and she could see a few houses. Flower gardens were positioned a few feet away from the bricked path as some parents and their children tended to them. Lamp posts were on both sides of the bricked path leading up to the town. It didn't look like they had cars here…that would make it difficult to leave the town quickly unless she was willing to hitchhike, and even that seemed doubtful with the lack of vehicles that appeared to take this road.
"Well, we're here. Are you already getting cold feet, little man?"
She was initially surprised by his speaking and when he called them a "little man."
Did he perhaps think they were a guy? That was insulting; she wasn't wearing something feminine like a dress. But still, was it because her hair hid her face and clothes or lack of outward assets…She wanted to say something, but she honestly couldn't bother. His comment had cleared her head; it was so wild and abrasive that it had reset her. She might as well use it for as long as it lasts!
She shook her head and quietly got out of the car. The trunk door opened as she slowly pulled her briefcase from the back. The man had gotten out and was looking at her as she set it down and held onto the handle. Her entrance hadn't gone unnoticed, as she could feel the gazes of a few of the children and parents.
"Well, Avrey, talking to someone outside this town was nice. I hope you have a good time here."
He didn't smile, so she couldn't help but feel he was just being formal. She did, however, stop to ask a question gnawing at her.
"Where exactly do you live?"
He didn't react, but she felt she had asked something he hadn't expected. His silence madthe situation all theat more worrisome.
"I live down the road, just a mile or two away. We are still considered part of Sable, but I wouldn't say we are the same. I come here on a few occasions to talk to the mayor. Now get home safely, unpack, and don't forget to enjoy your stay."
He seemed hurried as he got back in his car. As soon as he finished speaking, she didn't even get a chance to ask a follow-up question. She turned around, and although she didn't see any of the people staring at her anymore, there was no doubt they still kept their gazes on her. It was to be expected they probably didn't get many visitors.
Walking towards the town, she felt herself standing up straighter than usual and holding her head high. As silly as it sounds, she was trying to live up to the expectations they might have of her. Perhaps they thought she was some sort of mysterious investigator or maybe a model? That last one was unlikely, but she could dream, damn it!