The Out-of-Towner

The building that advertises drinks within looks brand new. Then again, all of the buildings in this town do. He tries to ignore that, and to instead focus on finding some way out of there.

He doesn’t know what he’s doing anymore. Can’t even remember how long he’s been trapped there.

Warily, he looks around, but he’s alone. For now. Being alone is better than those things coming back to attack him again. He doesn’t know what they are, and has only ever been attacked during the night so far, but whatever those things are, they’re completely silent until they attack.

They also have very sharp claws. Grimacing at the memories, he ignores his wounds as much as he can, the deep lacerations slowly scabbing over along his right shoulder and thigh. Those damn things were trying to disable him. Or dismember him. Either way, they almost succeeded.

Luckily, he’s carrying some knives and a gun, though he’s out of bullets now. Has been for days. All that he has left are his knives, and his sanity, and maybe not even that last one.

There’s no rational explanation for why he can’t leave this town. Hell, he should be able to just follow the road and end up somewhere else. Instead, he always winds up walking back towards the town again. He’ll pick a random direction and start to walk, run, climb away, but he’s always back on the same road leading towards the town before too long.

There’s got to be some way out, though. He clings to this assertion with all of his remaining mental strength. After all, he got there somehow. He doesn’t remember exactly how, but he’s there. All that he can recall is driving, and then the car wreck, and then…

Waking up there, however long ago. He’s lost track of the days. Knows that it’s been more than a few weeks. At least. He can’t think about that too much, though, or despair starts creeping up on him all over again at his many failures so far.

No, he’ll get out of there. He has to. He has shit to do, and he can’t just die there.

If those things out there don’t kill him eventually, it’ll be because he’s either escaped or killed himself first, and isn’t that a depressing thought.

There’s got to be an exit, though. He just has to find it. That’s the only thought that’s been keeping him going all of this time. He just needs to hang on for a little while longer.

The buildings around him are of no interest. He’s been through them all already. Looking for signs of life, maybe a clue as to where he is and how to leave, but there’d been nothing. The whole town looks brand new, filled with modern buildings and clean streets, like something out of a damn suburb. Or a nightmare. Both, probably.

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This is the town that no one can escape.

He wakes up with no memory of where he is or how he got there, and the town is still and silent. There's nothing but fog in every direction, and no matter how hard he tries, he can't seem to escape. There are creatures in the dark that attack him, and a cemetery that he doesn't want to go near, and all the while, he's trapped in this place.

This is the town that no one ever leaves, and he is the out-of-towner who is about to learn the reason why.

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