Page 1 of Two Wrong Turns

Chapter 1

Barrett

“Turn left at the next intersection.”

“There is no fucking intersection, Barbara!!” I screamed at the British voice calmly directing me through my phone’s GPS. While I normally loved her soothing tone, it was no longer a relaxing guide.

At some point after exiting the highway, she’d stopped being accurate. I didn’t know it was possible for that to happen, but I was the lucky son of a bitch who got to experience it firsthand.

This particular path of roadway was nothing but trees. Large, deep green trees that stood far taller than I thought possible. This was the kind of place people filled their Pinterest board with. The kind of place they wrote fairytales about.

If a castle popped up in the next five miles, I wouldn’t have been surprised. It was that damn majestic.

With the sun going down far faster than it ever had, I was running out of time to find a place to lay my head for the night. While I didn’t have a specific destination in mind for this journey, I had picked a town to stop in to ensure I could gas up and eat before getting to a hotel.

It didn’t look like I’d be lucky enough to get any of those things. My tank would be fine, but the lack of food and my exhaustion were a problem. Sleeping in my truck would take care of one part at least. Though it was going to be cold tonight. There was already a bite in the air that crept through the doors of this old truck.

If I’d known how bare bones the thing was, I might not have bought it. Sadly, I was in a rush to get out of town and there was no rationalizing the car buying process.

My life had been based on public transportation. What use did I have for a car other than when I was on vacation and needed a rental? Sure, I kept my license up to date and everything just in case. It wasn’t a necessity really.

Not until I decided to flee the city in a search to find myself.

Or more accurately, to find that spark.

The thing that lit me up inside and inspired me. Some called it a muse. I felt the word was too tame for how it made me feel.

Along with my lack of creative inspiration, I was so sick of the dating scene in the city. The men there were absolute trash. My last six dates had been nightmares.

Three of them were either married or in relationships, two had lied on their profiles, and one was so aggressive I had to sneak out the back door of the restaurant. It made more sense to leave everything behind for greener pastures, as my grandpa would have said.

He was born and raised in the country. From the stories my mother told me, he lived, breathed, and bled for their family land. She would have done the same had she not met my father while away on a school trip during her senior year of high school. The rest is history.

“Wish you were here, Grandpa. Maybe then you could give me some advice.” My voice trembled as fear began to take hold.

I had zero survival skills. Like absolutely none.

If it came down to protecting myself and weathering through it, I might not make it. I needed to find help, and I needed to find it soon.

Another thirty minutes and a dark sky later, I finally saw a glimmer of hope. A light shone in the distance. It flickered through the thick swaying branches of the trees.

Was it a figment of my imagination? Had I finally gone too long without food that I began hallucinating?

That was a thing, right? I’d seen it in movies about the desert and stuff. This was close enough, so I figured it counted.

I sped up a bit, my eagerness to find the light urging me forward. The clearer the area became, the more I realized it wasn’t a single light, but an entire barrage of them.

It was a… village. A town. I still couldn’t tell.

When I finally came upon the area, I realized it was actually a small town. Or at least, the outskirts of one.

Collier Cover. Population 621.

I stared at the sign, a sense of peace moving through me. 621. That was Grandpa’s birthday. Was this Fate’s way of giving me a hint I’d found a safe place for the night? Could I trust something so outlandish?

Whatever the case, I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to find a place to stay. I drove down the road taking in the dimly lit storefronts along the way. A hair salon. A bank. A post office. It was all so quaint and simple.

The only odd thing was how abandoned it all seemed. It was only eight at night. Where the hell was everyone at? Did this town really shut down this early?

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