I traveled on through the fierce storm. The winds ripped through the trees, felling many branches and the rain came down in sheets. I could barely see a foot in front of the car. The wise choice would have been to pull over, but I was late for an important meeting and could not risk missing it all together. Finally I came to the turn for Big Cedar Mountain, the road that led to the Johnson Research Center and hopefully the rewarding of a large research grant that would keep me employed for years to come. The road was dark and curvy. I slowed the car but still was barely negotiating the curves as I climbed Big Cedar. Suddenly a mule deer jumped in my path. I swerved, doing my best to avoid the huge buck. However it was too late and I hit the magnificent creature a glancing blow and found myself careening over the edge of the roadway. I have no idea what became of the deer. Fortunately, my car managed to avoid the larger trees and the heavy brush brought my now useless vehicle to a gentle enough halt. How I had managed to avoid major injury I could not understand.
I spent the next several hours in my car deep in a virgin forest waiting for the storm to let up. I knew there was no way anyone would find me, so I would be forced to get myself out of the ravine that would be the final resting place of my car. As the hours passed and the storm raged around me I had to fight off a growing since of panic and dread. I had begun to fear that my life would end in that dark foreboding forest. To get my mind off my dire situation and the dark thoughts that were threatening to immobilize me with fear a played an old game I had played with my siblings on long car trips as a child. Admittedly, playing geography by my self was a bit ridiculous, but it did help pass the time and kept some of the dark thoughts at bay.
By the time the storm let up it was late afternoon and the shadows from the mountain and the trees made it seem the sun had already set. I decided to take my flashlight and attempt to walk back to some civilization. I soon discovered that climbing back up to the road was impossible. So I set off in what I figured was the general direction of the highway that had brought me to this remote forest. Having always relied on maps and road signs to navigate my way around, I was ill equipped to find a way out of this situation. As it turned out I had indeed made a wrong turn.
I walked for several hours. I grew hungry and tired as the afternoon gave way to evening. I was now completely in darkness. Thick cloud cover obscured the stars. Even the full moon barely cast light through the menacing sky. I began to fear the storm would start anew and I would be lost forever in the foreboding wilderness. I was quickly beginning to lose all hope of being rescued, and was almost at the point of resigning myself to the harsh wilderness surrounding me, when I saw a flickering light coming from a distance through the trees. It clearly was not a natural light. I moved as rapidly as I could toward the source assuming it was the town I had passed by just before taking the turn for the mountain road. After about a half an hour I stepped into a clearing that turned out to be the leading edge of a vast lawn. At the far end of the lawn was the source of the light I had seen.
Rising in the midst of the forest was a huge Victorian style structure. I was not sure if it was a very large house or a small hotel. It certainly was not a town. However, it had begun to rain again; I was soaked and cared little whether the building was a hotel or house. All I knew was it offered shelter and hopefully rescue from this nightmare. I ran to the building and rapped loudly on what I assumed to be the front door. To my horror there was no answer. After a long time of pounding on the heavy oak door I sank to my knees and crumbled up in the archway. Exhaustion, fear and frustration overcame me. For the first time since I was a boy I cried myself to sleep.
I awoke the next morning in a comfortable beautifully decorated room. The bed was luxurious. The thick cushioned mattress was covered with fine silk sheets and a fluffy down comforter covered in exquisite Egyptian cotton fabric. The room was large and furnished with heavy oak antiques. A fire burned in the huge fireplace across from the bed. The damask drapery was opened slightly revealing it was daylight, a beautiful bright sunny day from what I could see through the small opening.
I tossed back the comforter planning to find my host and discovered that was completely naked. I looked around hoping to spy my clothing, but they were not anywhere visible. I got up and began to look through the various drawers and closets in the large room. Not only did I not find my clothes, I did not find anything at all to cover my nakedness. I decided if necessary I would take the sheet from the bed to cover myself and go find whomever it was that has saved me from the cold, wet night. However, I figured caution was in order. After all, I was naked and in a strange place far from civilization as far as I knew.
I went to the window and looked over an amazing garden. I assumed my room faced the back of the house, as I had not seen a garden when I arrived the previous night. The owner of the house was clearly a person of great means. The garden seemed to stretch on forever. There were all manner of trees, shrubs and flowers. There were fishponds and fountains and even a hedge maze. Several gardeners were out in the warm sun working. There must have been miles of flagstone walkways and all around there were benches for enjoying the beautiful setting. But it seemed no one was there to enjoy the scene. All there was amongst the beauty were workers and stone statues.
Forgetting my nakedness I stepped onto the small balcony that was accessible through the large window. Looking down over the stone railing I saw that the room was at least three stories above the ground. The walls of the house were smooth, offering no means to climb down. One of the gardeners seemed to turn and look up at the house, but quickly looked away when he made eye contact with me. I again was aware of my nakedness and retreated into the room.
I walked to the heavy oak door that blocked me off from whatever lay in the rest of the house. I pressed my ear to the door hoping to hear if there was any activity on the other side. I heard nothing but could not be sure if that was because the hall I presumed was on the other side was empty or because the door was too thick to allow sound to pass through. I attempted to turn the doorknob so that I could open the door slightly to peer out and made a disturbing discovery. The door was locked. I wondered if it was locked to keep me in or to keep others out. Was I prisoner? In any event the door could not be unlocked from the inside.
I returned to the bed and sat down. It was clear I could not get out through the door. It was equally clear I could not climb down the outer wall of the house. I doubted I would survive jumping from the balcony and even if I did I was sure I would break most of the bones in my body trying. There was no phone or other device with which to communicate with the outside world in the room. Of course my cell phone was gone along with my clothes. Not that I imagined it would work in the remote area anyway. It certainly hadn't worked the previous evening when I so desperately needed help. I determined the only thing to do was to try to get help from one of the gardeners.
I pulled the sheet from the bed and wrapped it around my self as best I could before returning to the little balcony. Only two of the workers remained in sight. I shouted a friendly greeting, but received no response. Neither of the workers even turned their head. I shouted louder in a voice I was sure could be heard a half a mile away. And still got not response. I continued to shout, making my throat sore, to no avail. After 15 minutes of so of my shouting the workers stopped what they were doing and simply left without ever looking my way. Fear was rapidly beginning to take over.
I knew I could not give into fear or I would truly be in a hopeless situation. I returned to the room and sat in a large, plush, leather armchair. I needed to gather my thoughts and figure out just what my next move should be. At that moment I could not see that I had many options. I must have been more tired than I thought. I soon fell into a deep sleep in the comfortable chair.
When I awoke the there was a table set with elegant china, crystal and fine silver. Having no options and being very hungry I moved to the table and tentatively tasted the food left for me. The food was still warm and delicious. I decided that if I was to be a prisoner there were far worse conditions I could be held in. Once I finished the meal I began to look around the room hoping to discover something about where I was and who was holding me.
