Twenty hours.

  Aspen blinked away the sleep as she lost herself in thought. Her beat up 2010 Subaru Impreza hummed as the tires spun on I-96 to Savannah. Once there, she’d be down two and a half hours and though it felt like a drop in the bucket, she was excited to get there. The first stop, she’d fuel up and grab an energy drink. She could only wish that her epiphany had happened a little earlier in the day. Still, adrenaline persisted as she drove, excited and unsure about the future ahead of her.

  -$39.68

  Aspen sighed, stuffing her debit card back in her ripped up purple wallet. She placed the gas pump back on the holder and shut the gas cap, turning and walking along wet pavement to the fluorescent lit gas station before her. Rain sprinkled gently as she pushed open the doors, eyes adjusting from the pitch black to the extremely well lit gas station store. The clerk watched her curiously as she picked out her energy drink. She knew she looked a little disheveled. Dressed in sweats and a T-Shirt and wrapped in an open flannel, her curly hair a mess and frizzing from the humidity, she looked like most who entered the gas station at this hour.

  Wait, what time is it?

  Aspen looked to the clock on the wall, it was one in the morning. She sighed and rolled her shoulders back, her back cracking as she did so. She placed the energy drink can on the counter and watched as her bank account lost another $3.50. She pulled up her bank account on her phone, checking it’s measly balance of $256.35. It would take another $200 roughly to get to her destination, and if it wasn’t even a real place, she would be… absolutely fucked.

  Realization dawned on her as she walked back to her car. She sat down and sunk into the fabric seat, tilting her head back and shutting her eyes. Her head dropped forward into her hands as she squeezed her eyes shut harder.

  “What am I doing?” She asked, heat rushing to her face. She felt the familiar prick of tears in her eyes as the need to release pressure built up and up. Her world began to spin, doubts and worry swirling like storm clouds. It wasn’t too late to turn around, to return back to familiar territory. She felt the letter in her pocket as she shifted her leg, it felt like a traitor now.

  Loud knocks on her windows snapped her back into reality as she turned with wide eyes.

  There stood a police officer, shining a light into her car, staring at her with a mix of suspicion and concern.

  “Roll the window down for me, miss?” He asked. His voice was much gentler than she had expected.

  She rolled down the window reluctantly.

  “Can I help you?” She asked shakily, eyes puffy with tears.

  “I could ask you the same.” He responded, lowering the flashlight.

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  “It’s nothing,” She said, clearing her throat and mustering up a smile. “Just a little overwhelmed tonight.”

  “What are you doing out so late?” He asked.

  “I’m headed to visit my grandfather.” She replied.

  “At one in the morning?”

  Aspen let out a light chuckle. “Yeah.”

  The police officer looked at Aspen curiously, eyes scanning the inside of the car for any sign of drugs, weapons or the like, any indication of illegal activity. He saw nothing but a girl, a backpack, and an energy drink, and shrugged.

  “Just,” He said. “Don’t be driving all emotional, ok? It clouds your judgement.” The officer lingered for a moment. “And… you’re doing the right thing, going to the right place.”

  Aspen’s brow furrowed as she considered his words, too stunned to stop him before he hopped back in his cruiser and left the gas station.

  Surely he wasn’t referencing her abandoning the life she knew.

  The interaction, though odd, had calmed her down, oddly. She popped open the energy drink and put the car in reverse, ready to continue on.

  The night moved along with her Subaru, and as she reached the quarterway point of the trip, she realized what a liability her phone was. A run down and mostly abandoned electronics trading store offered her $200 for her phone, minus the SIM card. The sale increased her total money to $419.03. Her isolation was proving to be quite useful after all.

  Throughout the day, Aspen’s account drained with gas, fast food and copious amounts of caffeine. As she entered New England at the end of the day, she felt hopeful. It was colder outside, dryer, and though she looked and felt physically the worst she had in a while, she was hopeful. Vermont was around the corner, and if this mysterious town her grandfather wrote about turned out to be a figment of his imagination, it wouldn’t be so bad to relocate to the cold state.

  The sun set and the skies grew darker, but Aspen made it to northern Vermont with her old car, busted backpack and eight empty cans of energy drinks on the floor in her vehicle. Her heart rate increased as she found herself getting closer and closer. Soon she stopped at a quaint gas station for her last fill up. She purchased a map, another energy drink and a plastic wrapped mini cake, a treat for her hard work. She stretched her sore limbs as she placed her items on the counter for the cashier.

  The cashier was an older woman with curly hair, softened features and a hard demeanor.

  “You look lost, sweetheart.” She said, though it was more of an accusation than an expression of concern.

  “I’m not, thank you.”

  The woman chuckled. “Nobody buys maps anymore. Seriously, where are you headed?”

  Aspen shifted uncomfortably with the pressure. The woman’s eyes seemed to bore into her.

  “Timbersnake Falls.” She answered reluctantly.

  The name seemed to strike something within the cashier, her slow movements halting as she rang up the items.

  “And what business do you have there?” She asked, glaring down at her.

  “My grandfather invited me.”

  The woman took a short breath and continued to ring up her items, handing them back to her without a bag.

  “Can I get a bag?” Aspen asked.

  “Ten cents for bags here, sweetheart.”

  Aspen paused for a moment before grabbing her items. Ten cents for a bag? Bags are meant to be free. She thought.

  “Oh, and…” The woman called, as Aspen was almost out the door. “Everyone is excitedly awaiting your arrival.”

  A shiver ran down her spine as she listened to the woman’s words and watched as she looked back down to the counter, as if she hadn’t just said something absurd. A new sense of confusion flooded Aspen as she reentered her car. She thought back to the website and the cryptic message, the police officer in Savannah, and the instance just now. It was all so weird combined. Was she just that tired and stressed? She shook the thoughts from her head as she examined the map.

  “Fifteen miles to go.” She whispered under her breath.