Who: Sage and Oliver Where: Near the tunnel, then Seaview, then Mercy Hospital When: Morning, May 12 Status:
It was so bright when Sage woke that he thought he must have died, but if this was heaven, then the ground was harder and wetter than he’d expected. It hurt to open his eyes, but the need to crawl to shelter was so strong that he started moving until he found something solid to crouch against, the shadows making it easier to see against the blinding light. Sage blinked as his eyes adjusted and as the opposite wall of the tunnel came into view, a fear spiked inside him so strong that he began to run blindly away from it, not caring where he was except that he needed to be gone from that place. He tripped over the train tracks, but then was up again, scratches on his arms and legs as he sprinted past branches that reached out to grab him. Sage ran until he was out of breath, then collapsed, finding himself just on the edge of a road. Behind him, somewhere in the woods, the darkness called out to him, so familiar, but also foreign. Nothing about this world seemed right, except that it was better than the place where he’d come from--the place where he could not escape the darkness.
Sage closed his eyes and swallowed hard, his throat dry. He needed to find shelter, but he had no idea where he was. The last time this had happened… his mind was blank. Was there a last time? He thought there was. He remembered the need to run and hide. He just couldn’t place why. If there was something else in these woods to be afraid of, some threat that he’d yet to encounter, then he needed to keep moving. He just needed to rest a minute more. Then he’d be on his way.
Since the weather have gotten warmer, Oliver had taken to walking through Seaview, usually into the woods around the neighborhood, sometimes following the tracks, sometimes just exploring. He was always careful not to get lost, but it was nice being surrounded by nature, taking some quiet moments to himself to settle when his worry and paranoia grew to be too much for him. Diego was on his mind. AIR was on his mind. The preacher with the telepathy. Diego's need to do the right thing while Oliver wanted nothing more than to grab his partner, and Haisley, and get out of Point Pleasant for good.
Lost in those familiar thoughts now, Oliver was startled to see another man ahead. He looked... unwell. Out of breath, certainly, but he was dirty and looked like he might need help. Brows drawn together in concern, Oliver patted his back pocket just to make sure he had brought his phone in case he needed to call for help. "Are you all right?" he called out, not wanting to approach too aggressively and scare the guy.
Sage’s head shot up at the sound of a voice and he shifted to a crouching position, ready to bolt. It was an instinctual reaction, one that didn’t seem necessary when he saw the man approaching, but he was still reluctant to relax. “No,” he said, his voice gravelly. “I… I need help.” It was hard to sort out much beyond that and Sage took a moment more before he could decide where to begin. “I woke up. In the woods. I can’t remember… anything.” It was a frightening realization, but not near as bad as the fear he’d felt in that tunnel. “Where am I?”
Oliver's brows drew together in concern. "You woke up in the woods?" Had someone attacked the guy? Left him there? The fact that he couldn't remember anything was definitely concerning and Oliver approached him cautiously. "My name is Oliver Reyes... I work at Mercy Hospital. You're in Point Pleasant, Maine. What's your name?" This guy definitely looked like he needed a hospital but Oliver needed to make sure the guy wasn't dangerous. His confusion seemed authentic enough and Oliver gave him a quick look over to make sure there weren't any obvious injuries.
“I… I dunno,” Sage said, bothered by that fact more than any other. How could he not even know his own name? What the fuck had happened to him? From what he could tell, he was a wreck, and he was probably lucky that this guy had even been willing to approach him. “You’re a doctor?” he asked. “Could you take me to the hospital?” He had to go somewhere, but until he remembered something about himself that was the only place he could think of other than the police station and that didn’t appeal to him in the least. What if he’d done something wrong? He’d like to at least remember what he did first.
He didn't know his name? That was bad. Oliver considered calling an ambulance but it would probably be easier, and cheaper, to just drive him to Mercy. "I'm a tech at the hospital," Oliver explained. "But we can get you a doctor. I'll drive you. I live just down the street." And he had his keys in his pocket. He didn't want to bring the guy into their home, just in case he was dangerous. Oliver motioned for Sage to follow, keeping his hand out to guide him if needed. His gaze continued to study Sage up and down, looking for any signs of blood. "Are you all right physically? Do you hurt anywhere?"
Sage rose to his feet, a bit unsteady at first, but able to walk without issue. Even without his memory, he understood that the guy was doing him a huge favor, that he probably looked like some kind of a vagrant. The worst part was that Sage didn't know if he was right or not. He rubbed his arm where one of the trees had scratched him, but the shirt he'd been wearing hadn't torn and the pain was minimal. "I think I'm okay," he said. "A little banged up, but... mostly, I'm thirsty." And hungry, but his throat was dry and that felt a bit more urgent. “Where did you say this is again?”
"Point Pleasant," Oliver repeated, thinking this guy might be okay long enough to get him to the hospital. Memory issues were way above his paygrade and he didn't have the first clue how to help him. "I'll get you a bottle of water back at my place, okay? Have you eaten? I can grab some fruit too." The stranger didn't look starved or anything, but that didn't mean a thing. "I'm not too far. A few houses down this way. Can you walk okay? No pain in your feet or ankles?"
"Fruit would be amazing," Sage said softly as he slowly pressed up on one toe, then the other. One of his ankles was sore, probably from tripping, but he could walk on it. Even if he couldn't, he was determined to press forward. Oliver was being extremely helpful, but under no circumstances did Sage expect him to physically help him alone, smelling as bad as he was sure he smelled. He couldn't really tell, he'd gone nose blind long ago, but he was sure it must be awful. "I think I'm okay to walk. I just tripped when I was running from... from the tunnel." It sounded weird to say out loud, but the fear had been so real that he hadn't had time to doubt his sanity. Now he wondered what had come over him.
Oliver worked in a hospital, so he was used to unpleasant smells. He held his arm out, just in case the guy tumbled and Oliver would need to catch him. The mention of the tunnel had Oliver cocking a brow. "The tunnel... that's quite a trek you made." Oliver had never actually walked all the way out to the tunnel. He had found the railroad tracks during one of his walks when the weather started to warm up, but he had heard plenty of stories from co-workers about the tunnel itself. Was it possible this guy was someone who had allegedly went missing out in those woods? They were coming upon the small house he shared with Diego and Haisley and Oliver motioned to this car. "That's me. If you give me a second, I can run inside and get my keys and some food for you. The hospital's not too far from here."
“It’s dangerous,” Sage said softly, though he couldn’t explain how he knew that. It was just a feeling so deeply rooted inside him that he knew it had to be true. The tunnel had felt like… like that other place. A memory started to form, but it was so frightening that Sage pushed it away again. If that was what he had to remember, then he’d rather not know. As they came closer to the houses, Sage became even more aware of how he looked. Where had he been that hadn’t afforded him a shower? The hair felt like it hadn’t been washed in weeks and he was in desperate need of a shave. He was once again thankful that Oliver had picked him up because he wasn’t all that sure anyone else would have. He waited by the car as Oliver started towards the house, the thought of food making his stomach churn. “Thanks, man,” he said. “I really appreciate it.”
It's dangerous. Well, he had heard stories. Oliver couldn't help but wonder if something had happened to this guy out there, and that's why he had been running. Oliver hurried into the house, grabbed a bottle of water, an apple and his keys. He quickly told Diego what was going on, but didn't want to leave the guy outside alone longer than what was necessary. Promising to call when he got to the hospital, Oliver walked back out to his car, unlocking the doors and motioning for the other man to get inside. "Is anything coming back to you? Your name maybe? Does anything here look familiar?"
Sage looked around as Oliver ran into the house, antsy in a way he couldn’t fully explain. He felt too in the open, like something could run out and attack him at any moment, but he couldn’t say why he thought that. The area felt familiar, but he didn’t know why, like he’d been there before but had no memories associated with the place. When Oliver returned, he climbed in the car, glad he could handle things like getting in the car and buckling himself in, even when he couldn’t say where he was from. “I kind of have some fuzzy memories about where I was, but it definitely wasn’t here. It was like…some place dark,” he said, then paused for a second, biting on his bottom lip. “I think my name might be Sage.” He’d pulled it from a fragment of a memory, of someone shaking him awake, the name whispered frantically. It felt right, which was a good sign.
"Sage," Oliver repeated. A unique name to be certain. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Sage. If you're remembering your name, hopefully the rest will come back to you." He thought perhaps "some place dark" could have been someone's basement. A locked room, maybe. Maybe Sage had been abducted and had escaped. Oliver didn't see any obvious injury to the man's head, but that didn't mean he couldn't have fallen and taken a painful blow to it, causing the temporary amnesia. "Here you go." He handed the man the apple and bottle of water before starting up the car. "Drink it slow, or you'll throw up. I have some tylenol in the glove compartment there if you need it."
"Nice to meet you, too," Sage said with a small smile in return. He hoped Oliver was right. It was extremely frustrating to know so little about himself and disorienting to not know where he was. He knew that something extreme had happened to him, even without any real explanation as to why. He just knew he'd never have let himself end up in this state willingly. "Thank you," he said as he took the water and tried his best not to drink too quickly. The last thing he wanted was to throw up in Oliver's car. After a brief moment of consideration, he opened the glove compartment and took the tylenol as well. It might help his ankle. "When is it? Like, what's the date today?"
"It's May 12th," Oliver explained as they drove out of Seaview. "Does that feel right to you?" Maybe Sage could recall a day or month before his memories got fuzzy. "Maybe the season?" He and Diego had been living there for a while now and Oliver could vaguely remember back in January when several people had some incident outside of town. That didn't mean Sage had been one of those people, but it was odd. Maybe the hospital would be able to find out more.
"I dunno," Sage said softly, watching out the window as they drove towards the hospital. "It was cold where I was, but... there wasn't any snow. Or sun. It was like it was always night." He had a feeling that wasn't quite right, but he knew for certain there'd been no sun. No light. It definitely hadn't been spring as far as he could tell. Watching the street signs, he began to feel a sense of familiarity, but it was hard to place why. If he'd lived there, nothing he'd seen so far seemed to ring any bells, except... except for the tunnel. He thought back to his name and the memory it came from, being shaken awake by...by who? By Ty? "There were people with me, where I was. One of them was named Ty. I think he's a cop." Which seemed weird to Sage. He didn't normally like cops.
It sounded like a riddle to Oliver. One he had no idea how to figure out. But hopefully the police would be able to help Sage. "I don't know any Ty," Oliver said apologetically. "I've met the Sheriff.... Grady Barrett? And Officer Jansen. But... maybe this Ty person had been a cop here before, well, quite a few people disappeared from town back in January. I guess that happens a lot here." Another reason why Oliver still occasionally felt the need to pack up and move, but they were here to stay. At least for the foreseeable future. "Did this Ty person hurt you?"
"No," Sage said, immediately shaking his head. "I'm pretty sure he's part of the reason I'm still alive." The more he thought about it, the more that other place came back to him. It was unfortunate, seeing as how it was the place he'd probably rather forget. Sheriff Barrett sounded vaguely familiar and it made Sage wonder if he'd been in trouble with the law before. He didn't think so, but then he'd just only remembered his name, so anything felt possible. "People just disappeared? Like... lots of 'em?" Was he one of them? There was a sinking feeling in his stomach and he felt like maybe Oliver was on the right track, but he couldn't piece it all together. Not yet, anyways.
"I think so, yeah. I think I heard a dozen, give or take a few. I don't know a lot of the details. Mostly town gossip, but I know there's truth to it. If you're one of them, they'll have your name." He hoped Sage was one of them. Then he would have someone there to give him some answers. "No one knows where... they went and as far as I know, none have come back either." If Sage was one of them and he was here, maybe that meant the others were around too. Oliver didn't know, but he had a feeling he would hear about it, working at the hospital.
It sounded like something horrible had happened to the people that went missing and normally Sage wouldn't wish himself to be in their number, but maybe it would provide him with some answers if he was. He didn't know if he had family in the area, but someone, somewhere had to know him. He was quiet the rest of the ride to the hospital, sipping at the water and eating the apple. It was hard not to scarf it down, but he could tell that taking it slow was the right thing to do for his stomach. It ached in a way that made him wonder how long it had been since he'd eaten last, or even drank anything, but he clearly wasn't starving to death. What had he eaten in that dark place? He couldn't remember, but it seemed like nothing, which made no sense.
Oliver didn't mind the silence. The guy had gone through something traumatic, that much was evident. He probably had a lot of thoughts going on in his mind too. As they pulled into the hospital parking lot, Oliver glanced at Sage. "I'll walk you in. They know me, so hopefully they won't make you wait long to get looked at. I'm sure the Sheriff will come by to talk to you too, especially if you don't know anything." Oliver looked over Sage for a moment before it occurred to him that he should have asked this a while ago. "You don't have a wallet or anything on you, do you?"
A nervousness came over Sage as he looked up at the hospital and he swallowed hard, telling himself this was where he needed to be. The people there would be able to help him, and the police… hopefully they’d be able to tell him who he was. It all felt daunting and he kind of wished he had a place he could just hide away for a few days and see what happened. He couldn’t ask that of Oliver though. He’d been gracious enough as it was. Sage felt his pockets, feeling foolish that he hadn’t already checked them, but came up with nothing. How had he even left home without his wallet? Maybe he’d lost it in that other place. “No, but if I went missing, the police should have me on a list or something. I hope…” If not, he didn’t know what they’d do with him.
"If you're from here, they'll definitely know. This town is pretty small." Oliver turned off the car and gave Sage an encouraging smile. "Maybe you have family in town too that they can contact." At least then the guy wouldn't be alone and he would have proper support. "Come on. Let's get you inside." He opened the door to climb out. Sage had looked okay physically but he knew that they would want to admit the guy to do some testing, especially looking the way he did, and with little to no memory beyond his name. Amnesia wasn't anything to fuck around with.
"I hope so," Sage said, taking a deep breath before climbing out of the car. The sun still hurt his eyes, but it was warm and bright and he kind of wanted to bask in it for hours. The hospital would be sterile and cold, but might provide him with the answers he needed. Sage wasn't eager to enter, but he needed to know who he was more than anything else. He'd gotten this far and he wasn't going to turn back now, so he followed Oliver inside, hoping for the best.