My Appalachian Alpha

5

Emma POV
Where the hell am I? I've been driving for an hour and these directions make absolutely no sense. I'm fairly sure I'm lost. My GPS is zero help and everything just looks the same. I'd turn around and head back but I have no idea which direction "back" is. Whatever I'm driving on wouldn't be considered a road but maybe a trail if I'm being generous. I guess I just keep going and hope it leads to an actual road or something identifiable. Worse case scenario, I do have flares and my cell phone with me. It would be just my luck to get lost in the middle of no where the very first time I try to be social. I'm pretty sure this is the universe saying this was a bad idea.

I drive forward slowly, trying to look through the dense trees ahead to make out something, anything. My front tire hits a tree branch and then slides into a ravine of mud. I try to drive forward but my wheels are just spinning and flinging mud everywhere. I'm stuck.

"SERIOUSLY!?" I scream out loud. I slam my head back against my head rest and close my eyes. I take a deep breath. It's okay. I can handle this. My Jeep has a wench and I vaguely remember how to use it.

When I moved up here, I traded in my car for this Jeep and the man who sold it to me demonstrated how to work the wench. He said it would come in handy when storms rained out the roads. Apparently it also comes in handy when I try to be a stalker and crash a family barbecue hoping to see Eli, who happens to be a complete stranger that I can't stop thinking about.

I get out of the Jeep and drop down. I walk around and examine how bad it is. The mud doesn't actually seem that deep, and mustering all my self confidence, I grab my wench and set to work. I can do this.

I find a nearby tree and wrap my cable around and secure it. I say a silent prayer as I turn it on and hope for the best. With a loud crack, the tree breaks and my cable slips off. Great. Just great. No matter, I just need a stronger tree. I grab my hook and as I walk toward a larger stronger tree, I slip in mud and fall, coating my boots and jeans entirely.

"Mo%#^!£>!£€*+'^%#*! Why!?" I yell out to the universe. As I attempt to stand up, I slip again and crash even harder back into my mud pit of doom.
The sound of laughter erupts from behind me and with wide, panic filled eyes,  I quickly turn to see who is there.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," the young man says as he continues to laugh to the point of tears. "Do you need help? I mean, you obviously need help."

"And who are you?" I ask as I mentally determine the probability of him being a serial killer.

"I'm Avery, and you are?"

"I'm Emma," I say as I stand back up and try to brush myself off to no avail.  Avery grabs the hook from me and secures it to a tree. He walks back to the Jeep and turns it on. The Jeep lurches forward and clears the mud. He unhooks the cable and attaches it back to my Jeep.

"That ought to do it," Avery says. "So, what are you doing out here in the middle of no where?"

"I could ask you the same thing," I say, reevaluating his murdering ability.

"This is my land that you are trespassing on," Avery says matter of factly.
"You're land?" I ask. Damn it Crazy Tom! I will never ever get directions from a less than sane person ever again.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to follow these directions to a family bbq I was invited to and I'm lost. I didn't mean to trespass."

"Let me take a look at your directions. Maybe I can help," Avery says kindly. I pull out my directions and hand them to him.

"Who gave you these?" Avery asks seriously.

"A patient of mine from last night. I called to check on him and he insisted that I come. I'm so sorry. If you could direct me on how to get back to town, I'll get out of your hair," I say apologetically.

"You're a doctor?" Avery asks.

"I am. I work at the emergency clinic in town."

"Your patient last night, was his name Tom O'Malley?"

"Yes, you know him?" I ask, feeling hopeful and also a lot less fearful for my life. You gotta love small towns and the fact that everyone knows everyone.

"Yes I know him," Avery says as he rakes his hand down his face. "Hold on one minute, okay?"

Avery runs into the trees and leaves me completely stranded and alone. I hear something behind me and turn to see something run by. It was too fast to make out but whatever it was, was big. Frozen in fear, I just stand there looking around, my heart pounding in my chest. I hear more rustling and turn to face it when Avery emerges from out of the trees.

"There's something over there," I say as I point toward where the giant animal ran past.

"What is over there?" Avery asks with an eyebrow raised.

"Im not sure, it was too fast. It was huge though. Maybe a bear?"

"Bears aren't that fast. Maybe a deer. There's lots of things in these woods," Avery says.

"Well as reassuring as that it is, I'm hoping you can get me pointed in the right direction. I need to get home." I've had enough adventure today.

"Actually, I'm here to escort you to the barbecue," Avery says with a smile.

"What?" I ask shocked. You're going to the barbecue too?"

"I am. Tom is sort of my grandfather."

"Sort of?"

"Yeah, sort of," Avery smiles. "Mind if I drive the rest of the way?"

"Oh, um, I don't know if I'm —" I begin to say, gesturing at my mud covered jeans.

"It's just a little mud. You're fine. Come on, there won't be any food left if we don't hurry."

"Oh, okay. Yeah. The keys are still in there," I say as I walk around to the passenger door. I look at my jeans and boots which are completely covered in a thick layer of drying mud and shake my head. What the heck, let's go crash this barbecue.