ALPHA(11)

Okay, so grumpy guy seems to have had some kind of personality transplant. I do believe he just offered to help me, and with no negative comments at all. Oh wait, he’s still talking.

“I just want to show you to save myself a headache in the long run. If you get lost in the woods, it will be me who has to come and find you and I really don’t have time to be dealing with insignificant things like that.” And there it was. I knew the nice comment was too good to be true.



LAURA



By the time we finally arrived in the main part of town, my head was pounding after the intense concentration the ride over required. Jackson wasn’t lying when he said that most of the locality was just trees, and the winding roads through the woods all looked the same, with no markings or signposts to help you along the way. I couldn’t even tell you how to get back out of this strange town, though I’d only just driven here yesterday. It was extremely confusing and my poor head was taking the strain of how hard I was trying to remember the route to the shops. I’m pretty sure I would need Jackson to show me a few more times before I would be able to find the place myself. I’d love to complain about having to spend more time with the miserable git, but if I was being completely honest with myself, I found myself actually wanting to spend more time with him. Of course, it did help that he was easy on the eye. When all you can see for miles are trees, it does make a difference, believe me.

The never-ending roads soon widened, until there were a few houses on either side of the road. All detached with a good amount of space between them, they were beautiful houses large enough to accommodate a growing family, and were so picturesque that I just wanted to stop and photograph them. There didn’t seem to be any one around, but then it was the middle of the day, so I presumed everyone was at work. As we headed further in to town, the number of houses grew until some roads looked like average streets anywhere in the world with big houses, and perfect manicured gardens. We ended up arriving in a large built up area, still surrounded by trees but bustling with people, with office buildings, shops and banks dotted along the intersecting roads, branching out from this main track. Jackson pulled up on the side of the road outside the supermarket, and as we got out of the car, I noticed most people throwing suspicious glances our way, and hurrying along as if trying to hide something. I wasn’t sure if it was Jackson they were hiding from, or me.

Jackson walked around the front of the car to stand by my side, and gave a proud look as he watched the hustle and bustle of the town centre, even allowing a small smile to grace his lips before hiding it quickly. I saw it though, and I filed it away for when I could use it to annoy him the most.

“This is the centre of Wolves’ Creek, and it’s where you’ll find everything you need.”

I laughed out loud, as what he said registered in my brain. “Wolves’ Creek? Now I definitely feel like I’m in some crappy horror film. Your pub is called ‘The Howl’, I notice a theme.”

Jackson gave me an odd look, and a scowl crossed his face before he hid it quickly and started walking down the high street. Presuming he wanted me to follow him, I rushed to catch up.

“No offense intended, of course.” I told him, before settling in to walk alongside him, struggling to keep up with his fast pace.

“Of course not,” he said, before stopping outside of the bank.

“Everything you need is pretty much here. We’ve got the bank, the supermarket, and some clothes stores, plus a couple of restaurants. If you need a GP there’s a small clinic, but just one doctor and no hospital.”

“Just the one doctor?”

“We’re only a small town.”

“Surely it would be beneficial to have a hospital with more staff. What is something major happened, like an earthquake?”

“In England?”

“You don’t know! We have snow in summer now, it could happen.” Okay, I was talking crap, but one GP to look after everyone?

“That’s the way it’s always been.” He looked at me, and I realised he wasn’t going to expand more on the topic. I’d always presumed a quiet man who didn’t say much would be the perfect guy, but after spending time with Jackson I’ve realised how annoying it is.

“I have some business errands to run, will you be okay having a look around by yourself for an hour?”

“Oh dear. Going round some shops all by myself? However will I cope?” I said sarcastically, before winking at him.

I thought I was actually going to get a smile out of him, when he dashed my hopes and just shook his head as if despairing of my behaviour.