Celestia

2

My eyes open wearily, dark spots blurring my vision. I have no idea where I am or how long I've been out. It takes a minute for the spots to fade enough for me to see. I glance around the room I'm in. It's dark, but there's a dim light coming from somewhere. I'm staring at the ceiling. It's wooden. The crash, I suddenly remember. I'm in a hospital! What kind of hospital has wooden ceilings?

I observe that there's no audible sounds of medical equipment, no squeaks of shoe soles, and not a healthcare worker in sight. It's unsettlingly silent. The smell in the air isn't of antibacterial cleaners and latex, but...dirt. Pine. Earthy. I sit up as I realize that I'm not even in a hospital bed. I'm in a normal, full size bed fitted with white sheets and a green patterned overthrow, in a normal bedroom that looks to be in a cabin because of the wooded walls and ceiling.

"Where am I?" I wonder aloud, feeling incredibly confused. Have I been kidnapped? Is this my long lost dad's house? Is this a dream?! I pinch myself on the arm. It hurt. Wait, am I hurt? I check to make sure I can move everything. Arms - good. Fingers - good. Legs and toes - bueno. I feel absolutely, impossibly fine, despite having been in a head-on collision. And where's Sawyer?

"Okay," I whisper to myself as I throw the covers off my body. I've got to figure out what in the world is going on. I notice I'm still wearing my black leggings and sweater with the pink, white, and black stripes that I had on in the car. My converse and socks have strangely vanished, though. The hardwood floor is cool on my feet. I exit the bedroom and walk into a large, open concept living room and kitchen. The sight leaves me taken aback. They are nice - like luxury nice. This is one of those expensive log homes.

All the furniture looks brand new and untouched. There's not a soul to be seen. As I stand here and look around, I come to two conclusions: I've either been kidnapped and drugged for an extensive period of time or I'm dead.

"Hello?" I call out. No response. Idiot, I think to myself. Well, it's a nice place, but I don't care to stick around. I escort myself out the front door and stop in my tracks upon what I see outside.

Trees, trees, and more trees surround the sides of the house. Forest-covered hills roll on in the distance. This cabin is sitting smack in the middle of the wilderness. I notice there's no driveway or road for passage of a car. The twilight sky above me, milky purple and dotted with stars, looks like a painting it's so surreal. It's beautiful.

What's really weird though, is some fifty feet in front of the cabin, the trees open up and there's a pure blue lake. A dirt walking path leads from the front porch steps all the way down to a dock. Sitting on the wooden dock is a familiar brown-haired boy with his back to me, still wearing the blue and gray letterman jacket with his last name, Stephens, in white cursive. "Thank God," I breathe and run to him.

"Sawyer!" I yell. "Sawyer!" He turns around and watches with a small grin as I run to him. "Am I glad to see you!" I sit down next to him and give him a tight hug.

"You're finally awake?" He asks.

"Why didn't you wake me up?!"

"You were comatose. I was too," he says simply.

"Where are we?" I ask as I look around, bewildered.

"I don't know. Nowhere," he shrugs cluelessly.

I scoff. "Somewhere in the middle of it, anyway. We have to get out of here."

"I don't think that's possible."

"There has to be a way out somewhere," I insist, but my visual on the surroundings tell me otherwise. "Maybe we're somewhere in the Ozarks?"

Sawyer huffs. "We could be in China, Autumn."