It was Connor who told Jacob Sage had returned, as soon as he saw him at the hospital he texted Jacob to let him know and Jacob spent the next hour bawling. It was happy news but it was so overwhelming and surprising that it ripped through his defenses and took him apart. Connor kept texting, letting him know Sage didn't remember anything, who he was or who his family was, that Jacob shouldn't come right away. That didn't help at all because that was so Connor, protecting him at all cost, so considerate and Good, it just made Jacob cry more. Like a baby. It took him a while to recover from that, crying usually sucked and he already had a headache coming on when he called Jocelyn to let her know.
As his emotions settled down a little, fear settled in among them because what if Sage would never remember them or his life in general? How would they even deal with something like that? He tiredly told Jocelyn everything that was going on and they decided to go to the hospital anyway. It just felt wrong to wait so even if they got turned away when they got there, they had to try.
Jacob was jittery as they headed to Sage's room, a part of him wanted not to go in there, to just go find Connor instead and get the hug he so sorely needed right now. Instead he clasped Joss's hand before they entered Sage's room. His family had left to give him some space so the nurse asked them not to stay too long but she didn't stop them from going in. "I don't know what to say to him," Jacob said quietly. "He doesn't even remember us." A small part of him hoped Sage's memories would spark to life just by seeing them but it was unrealistic, especially if his own family had failed to do the same. It wasn't the first time they'd had to deal with something traumatic though and eventually they did go in, cautious and ready to leave if their friend got agitated.
Sage sat cross-legged on the bed, scrolling through the channels on the hospital TV, hoping something would spark up a memory. There was nothing physically wrong with him as far as the doctors could tell, but there were some anomalies in his blood, things they either couldn't explain or he didn't understand, and they wanted to keep him twenty-four hours for observation. He thought he'd rather be at home, but since he didn't remember home, or the people in it, he couldn't really argue with them. His parents had encouraged him to stay, just for the night. They brought him clean clothes, so he didn't have to wear scrubs, and food from outside the hospital. A place called Moxie's, which he apparently loved. While the food had been delicious, Sage wasn't sure if it was because it actually was, or because he hadn't eaten in months.
His memories of the dark place had returned, which the doctor's saw as a good sign. That his memories were of a place that didn't exist... that wasn't so great, so he'd stopped talking about that place, at least to anyone in authority. After he'd showered--and he must have been in there for almost an hour--he'd asked for scissors to cut his hair, which they denied him. It made him wonder if they thought he would hurt himself. He didn't tell them that if he'd ever been inclined, he would have done it there, not here. They'd let his mother cut his hair for him, which he appreciated, and even if he couldn't quite remember her, it felt right. He knew, somewhere deep down, that she was his. His hair felt wrong though--it was far too short and possibly the wrong color. Maybe once he got his memories back he'd know what was right.
Jocelyn hadn't quite known what to expect when Jacob called to let her know that Sage was back. She was thrilled that Sage was back because after Grayson, Jocelyn hadn't expected Sage to ever return. But the amnesia, if that's what it really was, would be a problem. It didn't deter her though and she reached for Jacob's hand to squeeze it gently. "We say hello and then we go from there," Jocelyn told him. "We answer any questions he might have and we try not to overwhelm him with our own. All we can do is take it one thing at a time, right?"
"Yeah," Jacob replied quietly, glad for her touch of reassurance. Sage looked so different and he wasn't sure if it was just the hair or if it was something else. He wanted to bound straight into the room and hug the crap out of him but he was mindful of the fact he was essentially a stranger. They headed into the room, Jacob wasn't even sure which one of them initiated it, just that they were moving, stopping a respectable distance from Sage's bed. "Hi," he said, glancing between Sage and Jocelyn, his heart beating ridiculous hard in his chest. "You probably don't remember us but we wanted to check in on you. We're your friends, I'm Jacob, this is Joss." God he hoped there'd be a spark of recognition in Sage's eyes and what he wouldn't give to see him smile.
Sage looked up when someone entered the room and was somewhat relieved to see it was someone new. Not that he minded his family being there, but it was so very clear that him not remembering them was upsetting and he didn't know what to do to make it better. He couldn't force his memories along, no matter how much he might want to. "Hi," he said, looking between Jacob and Jocelyn. There wasn't that spark of familiarity like there'd been with his mother, but there was something. Sage just couldn't say what. "Sorry, but... yeah. But don't take it the wrong way. I don't remember my sister either. Did we go to school together? Or work together?"
"School. High school, that is, though we've kept in touch since," Jocelyn said. Sage looked different... and tired. But she understood it. It was a little upsetting that he clearly didn't recognize them, but hopefully, maybe, the memories would come back to him soon. She couldn't exactly explain to him just how close they all were, and why, because the last thing he needed was to be told horror stories. "How are you feeling? How did you find your way back?" Maybe he would know, maybe he wouldn't. Something had to have happened for Sage to reappear like this and while Jocelyn was thrilled, she also felt slightly cautious.
Jacob had shoved his free hand in his pocket because it was shaking and he felt like he was on the verge of tears again. Holding Joss's hand helped, but he still wanted to step closer and touch Sage to make sure he was really there. He was alive and sitting right inf front of them and even if he didn't remember anything he still sounded and looked like himself - just tired. "Yeah, we were a weird little group back then," Jacob said with a faint smile, swallowing down the lump in his throat. "Probably still are." He knew enough of what had happened to Sage to know it hadn't been the tunnels and that had helped but not by much. "Do you remember coming back?" he added since he did want the answer to Joss's question.
"Yeah, kind of," Sage said, briefly hesitating before saying more. The doctors hadn't believed most of what he'd had to say, but his family had accepted it, even if they seemed confused by it all. He wasn't sure where Jacob and Joss would fall, but... if they were friends, maybe they would at least listen. "It's kind of weird. We'd been staying in this place. Like an old hotel, though we never saw any people there except for us. I don't know who would've built it. But yeah, we were all holed up in Juniper and then--then people started disappearing. We kind of assumed they'd been taken, except usually when there's an attack people scream. They freak out. They don't just disappear quietly. Most of us never left the hotel. And then one night I fell asleep and woke up here. In the tunnel. In the woods." Sage shivered, something about that still freaking him out. The place had felt sinister, but maybe that was just memories of the dark place chasing after him.
It all sounded bizarre but Jocelyn couldn't help but feel a cold shiver down her spine when Sage mentioned the tunnel. She glanced at Jacob, unsure as to what she should ask, or say. If Sage couldn't remember his past, then it was probably better not to explain to him the significance of that place and risk freaking him out further. "Cooperdale tunnel," Jocelyn said, hoping she sounded normal despite how she really felt. That wasn't where Sage disappeared either, which made it all the more strange. "Have they told you anything about the memory loss? Is it temporary?"
Jacob didn't return Joss's look, trying desperately to hide the nausea that overwhelmed him for a few seconds. He could feel her looking though and swallowed thickly, squeezing her hand. Maybe Sage was better off not remembering that but it wasn't like he could pick and choose his memories. All he knew about Sage's condition was from Connor who hadn't told him a whole lot, respecting his boundaries as a doctor so the question had him curious as well.
“I—I don’t know the tunnel’s name. There were train tracks. It… it scared the shit out of me,” Sage admitted with a nervous laugh. His family had exchanged a similar nervous look when he’d mentioned the tunnel around them and it made him wonder if everybody felt that way. Maybe it was haunted. After what he’d been through, he’d believe it. “So, that I remember anything is good. When Oliver found me I wasn’t even sure about my name, but a lot’s come back. Most of the stuff I remember is about where I was, which… that’s where things get weird. The doctors think I was drugged or something, that some of it has to be hallucinations, but… I dunno. That’s not how I remember it.” Being drugged might explain everything, except none of his memories included drugs of any kind. “They think my memories will come back once the drugs are out of my system, except they aren’t even sure what I was given. I think they’re just trying to find an explanation that makes more sense than mine.”
Even if Sage was having issues with his memory, it was clear he remembered Cooperdale on some level if just being there had freaked him out. Or maybe that was just the tunnel being what it was - evil. The fact that the doctors were trying to use drugs as a reason for Sage's experience wasn't surprising. What else could they say it was? "It wasn't drugs," Jocelyn said simply. "That's just a way for people to brush off what happened. You were infected by something and it sort of took over who you were. I don't know a lot of the details but you weren't yourself for a long time. There were other people like you... you were all taken somewhere else. We didn't we would ever see you again. Usually when people go missing in this town, they don't come back."
Jacob was glad Joss took the initiative to tell Sage because he himself wasn't sure at all whether to tell him the truth or not. He was nibbling on his lip as Joss spoke, nodding along and giving Sage a somewhat fretful look. "I know about as much as she does," he mumbled, his stomach sinking at her last words. This was enough truth for now, they really didn't need to bring up Grayson and he hoped she agreed. "I just know you weren't here, like you were in another dimension or something." Hell, his brain supplied but that wasn't exactly a word he wanted to bring up now. "So we're just... we're really happy and surprised to see you back."
Sage sighed as he smiled slightly, some of the tension coming out of his shoulders. It was such a relief to hear someone believed him, someone outside family, who might be trying to appease him. He knew he sounded crazy, but he also knew that his memories were clear, the details becoming more and more concrete by the minute. He was confident that his past would eventually come back to him, but for now he had to accept that the only part that wanted to be seen was the part where he was elsewhere. “There were a lot of us. Like, almost a dozen. We were all trapped there together,” he said. “But we didn’t see any other people, not the whole time we were there. Just… these horrible creatures.” Sage made a move to run his fingers through his hair, again dismayed at its length. “Has anyone else come back? That you know of? The doctors say they can’t tell me, something about patient confidentiality.”
"I don't... know." Jocelyn glanced at Jacob in case he had heard something, but she imagined if he had, he would have told her. "It's definitely possible, but it could be people are keeping it quiet. Honestly, you were the only one I knew personally who had gone missing." She knew Nate's sister's mother in law had disappeared but Jocelyn didn't know the woman at all and Nate hadn't said anything to her about it. "But you came home somehow, it's definitely possible others might do the same. We can try to ask around, if you want."
That was definitely in Joss's wheelhouse, Jacob wouldn't even know where to start asking and what little he knew was what she had told him. "Is there anyone in particular you're thinking about?" he asked hesitantly and a dozen people sounded like more than he'd realized, though he supposed it made sense. A lot of people had up and left town or disappeared, he just wasn't one to keep track of what was going on in town.
“There was a cop there, named Ty. He was a good man. Put up with a lot of my whining. I’m hoping he’s okay,” Sage said. There had been others, but Sage hadn’t really bonded with any of them. Ty had just been kind to him when he’d been a complete, fucking mess. It was embarrassing now how terrified he’d been, but Sage held on to the logic that it was warranted. He’d had a right to be scared. He just wished he’d been more on the level as someone like Ty, instead of such a coward. “It’s weird not to remember anyone from here, but, like, feel that this is right. Like, I feel something with you guys, but… it’s like someone scrambled my brain. It’s all fog right now.”
"Deputy Solomon. I don't know if he's back or not..." Jocelyn felt terrible that she didn't have more news for Sage but if others had come back like he had, they were keeping it quiet. Or she just wasn't listening hard enough to the town gossip. She worked at a bar, for christ's sake... she should know what's going on. "With any luck that scramble will sort itself out and you'll remember us, and your family. It's a good sign that you know your name." She glanced around the hospital room. "Do you have to stay here long? Will you be staying at your mom's? I can ask around and see what's been going on and then come see you. It's a small town, I doubt it would take me long."
Sage wondered if he knew Ty before the dark place or if they’d met each other there. Details like that still escaped him, but hopefully they’d come back like everything else. Eventually. Ugh, this sucked so hard. He hated not knowing himself. “I’m only here til tomorrow, then I’m gonna stay at my parent’s place until—until I’m ready to get a place of my own, I guess. They said I had an apartment, but they had to pack it all up when I didn’t come back.” He knew he should be relieved that they’d kept all his stuff, but he wished he could have gone home to a place that was his own. He got the impression they needed the time he was in the hospital to actually clear some space for him in his room.
Jacob remembered Deputy Solomon too and just thinking about him reminded him of the time where they'd all spent far too long talking to the police where hardly anyone believed them. He listened to Joss and Sage talking, trying to keep his feelings in check but it was all too much. "I don't wanna be weird," he said quietly. "But can I hug you? You can say no." Either way he was going to be a mess after this, he could feel all those familiar anxious feelings swirling under the surface, all the grief and terror from all those years ago now mixed with the relief that Sage was actually back and yet he was so afraid he was going to just disappear again, get sucked into the tunnel or fade away.
“I don’t mind,” Sage said with a small smile and a little shrug. “It’s kinda weird, but it’s also kinda nice. If that makes sense.” He didn’t know how things were before he’d gone missing, but he’d been almost completely without physical touch when he’d been in that other world. A hug was familiar, but it was also comforting. He’d let his mother hug him for as long as she wanted just because it felt good to be held, even if he didn’t really remember her the way he wished he had.
Sage might not remember much but he sounded and looked like himself and Jacob gave him a watery smile at his very Sage-like answer. "Thank you," he whispered, his voice cracking a little so he didn't try to say more, just closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around him. It was a little awkward but only because Sage was in a hospital bed and so it took some leaning in to hug him properly but other than that, it just felt like hugging Sage and Jacob felt reluctant to let go of him. "I hope you remember us soon," he mumbled. "We love you."
It wasn't an ideal situation for any of them, but it still warmed Jocelyn to see Jacob so emotional. She felt it too but it felt safer to repress it, like she might scare Sage if she let all of her feelings come tumbling out. But she still followed Jacob and wrapped her arms around both of them the best that she could in her position. They had already lost friends, Jocelyn didn't want to lose anymore of them, especially not these two.
Even though it hadn’t worked with his mother, Sage had some small hope that touch might trigger his memories. That wasn’t the case here either, but it was still comforting to know that these people cared for him. Jocelyn and Jacob. It felt like the memory was there, just beyond his ability to grasp it and run with it, but no matter how hard he reached he couldn’t catch it. “I want to remember you,” he said softly. “Hopefully it’ll just take a day or two. If not… you might have to catch me up on a few things.” He really hoped that wouldn’t be the case, but it felt impossible to say at this point.
"We'll tell you anything you wanna know," Jacob told him as he pulled back, wiping at his eyes to get those pesky tears out of the way. He'd always been too emotional and it had never bothered him with Sage but... Sage didn't remember him so he felt weirdly shy about it now. "We can come visit you when you go home, go through some old stuff with you or something. Old pictures." There was a lot there he didn't want to have to tell Sage about and he knew Jocelyn felt the same way, how did you tell someone with amnesia about the madness in the tunnels? About what they'd all been through together. Thankfully Sage probably wouldn't know to ask about those things, beyond asking about the tunnel. They could probably avoid it for now. "Is there anything you want to know now?"
Seeing Jacob tear up made Sage want to hug him again, but he held back, worried that might make it worse. “I dunno,” Sage said, and pushed the short strands out of his face in a motion that would have made more sense if his hair were longer. It was going to take some getting used to at this length. “Um… Is it… Is it really safe here? Like, to sleep?” He probably sounded crazy, the hospital seemed perfectly normal for all he could tell, but where he’d been monsters came out at night and sleeping was dangerous. Sage didn’t think anyone would appreciate him building a little fortress around himself come nightfall, but that still felt natural to him. Just being back didn’t change the instincts that had had months to form.
For a second Jocelyn thought Sage was asking if it was safe here as in Point Pleasant, and she wasn't about to lie. But then she realized he meant the hospital and she exhaled softly before nodding. "You'll be okay here. They'll keep an eye on you. And I'm sure your family will be back to see you too. I know when I'm scared it's always nice to have other people around." She smiled softly. "And if you want, you can Facetime us too before you go to sleep. I know that sounds super weird but we're here for you whether you remember who we are or not."
"I sure hope so," Jacob replied with a smile. "My boyfriend works here so I'm pretty sure it is. I'm sure he'll take extra good care of you for me too so get all the rest you need." He had heard rumors that Mercy was haunted but it was nothing like the tunnel, people didn't just go missing here, he'd never heard of anyone being terrified or coming out worse for wear after staying overnight. Plus, Connor worked here and he'd been safe during the night of horrors and fog. "We can leave our numbers if you need to reach out."
“Yeah,” Sage sighed in relief. “That'd be really… really nice.” He smiled at them, struck with his own swell of emotion now. He didn’t know them, not one bit, but they were being incredibly kind to him and offering him the kind of support he hadn’t had in months, outside of Ty occasionally letting him sleep nearby. It was hard to explain to anyone that kind of fear, but knowing they’d do what they could to help lay his fears to rest meant the world to him. “It helps to have other people around. It’s just weird when nothing’s familiar. And I don’t want to be the crazy who’s freaking out over everything, but… it…it’s just different here. Better for sure, but… ‘cause I don’t remember anything, i don’t know what to expect.”
"I don't think anyone would think you're crazy," Jocelyn said, hoping to reassure him. "All you can really do is take it one day at a time until your memories come back. Your family is pretty amazing, so when they let you leave here, I know they'll take care of you. And you have us too." She glanced at Jacob before smiling at Sage. "Do you want us to stay awhile? We can just... hang out. Answer any questions you have? I know the food here is pretty crappy. I could go get you something, if you're hungry." She didn't know about Jacob but Jocelyn didn't have any hardcore plans for the day and if sticking around the hospital made Sage feel even remotely better, she was willing to do it.
Jacob nodded along to Jocelyn's every word, feeling pretty helpless in how he could help and not be the crazy one freaking out. Sage certainly wasn't the only one worrying about that. "You can freak out all you want, you know, you've kinda earned the right." They all had but he wasn't about to tell Sage that since he didn't want to have to tell him how they'd all earned it. If his memory came back he'd remember it soon enough, why rush the misery. "So yeah, just name it, we can get it for you." He had never had to stay in a hospital for long but he had tasted the food and while it wasn't as awful as people made it out to be, it was pretty bland and almost like it was partially fake somehow with its small doses in plastic trays.
"The food is really crappy," Sage agreed with a little laugh. "Maybe... if you really don't mind, could you grab me something to eat? And we could hang out for a bit and just, I dunno, talk about whatever? Or watch something?" He nodded towards the television. "Just low key hang out?" There was so much he wanted to ask, but at the time it seemed silly to ask things about himself that he might remember tomorrow. And it felt weird not to know. It was like having a chunk of his brain gone and he wondered if it would be painful if he ever got it back--when he got it back. He couldn't bear the thought that it wouldn't be back eventually.
"Yeah, absolutely." Jocelyn smiled and squeezed Jacob's hand. She knew her friend was probably still freaking out internally, but staying calm and chill would probably help Sage more than anything else. "There's a diner in town, Moxie's? They have the best food, in my opinion. I can grab us some burgers and... well, anything else full of grease and fat. Just name it." Moxie's wasn't terribly far. Jocelyn could order over the phone and go pick it up. She would be back in no time.
It made sense for one of them to stay with Sage while the other went to pick up food and considering Jacob still didn't know how to drive it was obvious who was going. "I'll hang out here while you go," he told her. "I've got some cash so I can chip in. I'll fill Sage in on all the gossip about his band while you're gone." That felt like a safe topic, reminding him of the few songs Jacob knew he played, play him a recording or two on Jacob's phone. "I think we could all go for a big greasy burger meal right now." He still felt emotional but having some set goal would help for now and he felt a little easier about it all knowing there was something they could do for Sage, even if it was just something small like show him an old recording on Youtube of his sixteen year old self and his old band.