Bluerock Peaks

The Accident

"Dad, Samantha won't leave me alone!" shouted Alex, trying to listen to her music in peace.
"Pipe down, you two" Marcus replied, already annoyed because his children are arguing.
"Not long now until we get to the hotel, thank god. It'll be nice to be away from that stupid old house for a week" Mary whispered to her husband. They smiled at each other. They pass a sign that reads "Bluerock Peaks Population: 36,000" in the distance they can see a steep but beautiful mountain blocking out the sun. Suddenly, the tire burst and the car spirals out of control and flips into a ditch, everyone is knocked unconscious.
30 minutes later...
Marcus is awakened to the sound of a couple police cars and an ambulance driving towards the car, he looks around the car, he's the only one conscious. He grabs his wife and begins to shake her to wake her up.
"Mary. Mary! Wake up, please!" he shouted loudly. He hears the sound of doors being slammed shut and feet racing towards the car. Marcus is pulled out of the vehicle.
"No! What are you doing? Save her, not me!" Marcus yells as he is pulled out of the car. The paramedics pull his family out of the wreckage. They check for a pulse... they feel no heart beat. The paramedics speak for a moment, inconspicuously looking up at Marcus. They slowly walk towards him, worried looks on their faces.
"Mr. Richmond, we have some bad news. You are the only survivor of this crash, your family didn't make it" the paramedics told him. Marcus feels his heart sink into his chest and his whole world crumbles, he begins to tear up.
"We will take you to the nearest hospital to make sure you're ok, and then we're going to run some tests." the sheriff told him. Marcus nods and they drive him to the nearest hospital. The paramedics rush Marcus up to an empty hospital bed.
"Stay here, we're going to be right back, and we'll run some tests, if that's fine with you" the paramedic walks over to a woman in a long white coat. She walks over and sits down next to Marcus's bed. The woman smiles at him and grabs a pen from her pocket.
"Hello, my name is Charlotte. I'd like to ask a few questions, if that's alright with you?" she asks, Marcus notices that she feels his pain, but he can't tell why.
"Uh, yeah that's fine" Marcus responds.
"Ok, you have no reason to worry, these are just questions to make sure you don't have a concussion. Let's start off easy, what's your name and date of birth?" Charlotte asks, looking at her notes.
"My name is Marcus Richmond and my birthdate is the 19th of November, 1993." Marcus stutters, he still can't believe what happened to him.
"Ok, and what is your address?" she writes down something on her clipboard.
"My address is 173, Burchgrove Road, about an hour and 45 minutes away from here" Marcus replies, trying not to sound as upset as he really is. Charlotte writes down a few more notes.
"Ok, that's all we need. I'll be back in an hour to check on you" she smiles and walks away, leaving Marcus alone.
He hears a voice coming from the left of his bed.
"Hey, your name's Marcus right? I'm Harry, they're letting you out later on aren't they?" Marcus turns around to see a man with a cast on his arm.
"Uh, yeah, I mean I don't have an injury or anything, they have no reason to keep me here" Marcus replies to the man.
"They're letting me out today as well, I heard what happened to you... I'm really sorry about that. Do you want to get a drink later on?" Harry says to him. Marcus nods and wipes his tears away.
"Yeah sure, I'd like that. You said your name's Harry?" he answers with a weak smile.
"Yeah man, so you staying at the Bluerock Hotel?" Harry asks.
"Yeah, that's where me and my family were heading before... we go on trips like this every year, it would've been our first time coming to Bluerock Peaks" Marcus responds. He looks down at his wedding ring, his mind is suddenly filled with memories and flashback of his family, it feels like the memories are fading now. Charlotte walks into the room and looks at Marcus and Harry with a smile on her face.
"We've checked our tests and everything, so you two are free to go!" she says excitedly. The police men walk into the room as well. They look at Marcus and slowly walk towards him.
"Marcus, I know this is a hard time for you, we went back to the crash site, and we have your bag which is the only other thing that survived. We'll be searching the site for the next day or two. We'll give you a moment to think" the policemen and Charlotte leave the room, Harry closely behind them.
"I'll be waiting outside for you" he smiles at Marcus. Marcus opens his bag and sees a picture of him and his family. He takes off his ring, puts it in his bag and leaves the room. He feels like he has nothing left to lose now and he leaves the room and meets up with Harry. They walk to the hotel and check in.
"Hey, your room is right next to mine! That's crazy man!" Harry laughs and they walk to each other's rooms and exchange phone numbers.
"I'll meet you down in the lobby tomorrow and I'll show you around. Sleep well, Marcus" Harry smiles and enters his room. Marcus enters his, puts his bag down and turns on the TV.
"In other news, a tragic car accident killed a family driving down to Bluerock Peaks. The only survivor has been taking to hospital, and is now staying in Bluerock Peaks" Marcus shuts off the TV and looks out the window. Outside he can see a large neon sign flickering outside by the wide narrowing road. The sign reads: BLUEROCK HOTEL. It seems to be old and the O and T in HOTEL are switching on and off repeatedly. Marcus opens his bag and grabs his sleeping pills. He falls asleep and dreams of his family. It seems like he's never going to let them go.