Chapter 185 - On The Other Hand

Ever since he landed Ashton has been in some or the other trouble. For instance the troublesome plane ride. No, the weather was perfectly normal, it was the sobbing young man next to him who was returning home after his girlfriend dumped him and his wedding proposal. It's not like Ashton asked, but the guy, named Ronnie, kept sharing literally everything killing Ashton's will to sleep.

He wanted to lash out on him, like usual. But somehow imagining himself in this man's shoes he could feel the pain of the man so he just sat there mumbling 'there there' like a robot once in a while.

Once the plane landed Ashton was more than thrilled to get out of that giant metal as he was exhausted enough without constant irritation. Talking out his phone, he looked for all the buses that drove to the base of the mountain. Due to its uneven terrain only few modes of transport were available on that way.

Imagine how pissed he was when he found out that the next bus would leave after 2 and half hours. Deciding to grab some lunch he got himself two hot dogs from a nearby stand and packed a few more to eat on the way. The journey was of six hours and despite it's multiple stops he had to be prepared for the worst case scenario.

By the time he reached there it was already quite late at night. Typically the native people were the only one who were on the street. Luckily this was still a part of the tourist spots so there were hotels around for the night stay.

Unfortunately for him though, none of the hotel's had any empty rooms available for Ashton. Finding nowhere else to go he decided to spend the night at the bus station like a homeless person. He did try to link his mate, but unfortunately he was asleep dreaming about something Ashton was sure Caleb would never do.

After laying down for a while a native woman came to poke him with a stick, "gahhhh"! Ashton screamed, almost attacking the middle aged woman.

She asked him something which he failed to comprehend, so she spoke in english but with a heavy accent, "Don't sleep here"

"I don't have anywhere else to go," Ashton admitted honestly.

"Come with me" The woman gestured to him to follow. Ashton eyed her back suspiciously to figure out whether she was genuinely kind or she had any ultimate agenda. Weighing the pros and cons he ultimately decided to follow her and ran to catch up with her 

Once Ashton stepped inside her place he realised that their way of living was completely different from his. For instance there was this irritating smell that continuously bothered him. Then she handed him a drink which was supposed to be tea according to the woman but it's taste was worse than anything he ever tasted. 

He was reluctant to fall asleep that night, but that tiresome journey coupled with sleep deprivation knocked him out pretty soon. He did wake up in the middle of the night as he could feel something was wrong. Turns out it was none other than Caleb who was in his mind. That situation made him wonder, was it even possible to be stuck in someone else's consciousness forever. 

The next morning when he woke up he was relieved to find himself alive and at the same place he fell asleep in. It was dawn thus he figured it would be best to sneak out now before anyone else sees them. Oh boy was he wrong when he saw the woman running an axe through some wood. 

When she saw him all packed up, she confronted him in english, but she spoke so fast that Ashton missed most of what she said. The few words he understood were, 'Careful' 'Coyotes' and 'Lumberjack'. There was no way he could connect these three words into something meaningful so he simply forced an awkward smile, bowed a little bit and left. 

He took one of the local commercial mini vans to the other side of the mountain which was even colder than his last location. The place was covered in snow and a few people who were around him were quite literally shivering to keep warm. On the other hand Ashton was perfectly fine but he kept his sweater on just for the sake of blending in.

Most of the people took the hotel that was available there. It was apparently the last stop for all the visitors. Deciding to ask the locals about what lies ahead so that he could have a brief idea on what to do he decided to enter the hotel.

"How may I help you, sir"? The kind receptionist asked. "We currently don't have any single room available. I can give you a double room but it charges more". He informed Ashton.

"I don't need a room. I want to know what lies beyond the prohibited zone". Ashton asked.

"Well…that is… uhh" The receptionist fumbled a bit before clearing his throat. "I am quite new here sir, so I am not sure what lies ahead. But that area is dedicated to wilderness, so I am sure it won't be an easy place to survive".

"I see" Ashton nodded as he considered just how vast the place beyond the limits was.

"Are you… considering going there"? The receptionist asked, concerned.

To maintain a harmless facade Ashton replied, "I am a wildlife photographer, so I need to see that place".

"Even though sir, I strongly recommend you against it. The place is no place for a human. I have seen many such explorers venture into the forest but never did any of them make it back alive." He informed him. 

Ashton had an urge to say that he wouldn't mind. That is exactly what he was looking for, but he refrain himself from doing so. "I agree this is dangerous, but I have to do this," he replied.

"Alright sir, but I think you should wait it out". He suggested.

"You see the snowfall, according to the forecast it's about to turn into a blizzard now." He informed him.

{BONUS SCENE}

A couple of knocks was the one that got Caleb off from his slumber. He opened his eyes begrudgingly and noticed that it was mid day and he was somehow buried in a huge pile of clothes. Caleb jerked up and sat on the bed as he recalled how he gave into the urge last night. 

"Oh God" he whispered. The more he looked around himself, the more embarrassed he got. His face was buried in his palms when again his door was greeted with knocks. He got out of the bed and opened it to reveal Warren.

"Dude, you okay?" He asked with genuine concern in his voice. Caleb noticed he had luggage with him. "I tried to call you a lot but your phone is switched off" he informed.

"Yeah, I need to charge it," Caleb admitted meekly, taking a glance at the nightstand. "You are leaving already?"

"Yeah, remember I have a flight?" Warren reminded

"Wasn't it tomorrow?" I frowned. 

"Nope. That's what I am trying to tell you. You have been gone for the whole day. Did you sleep through the entire day yesterday?" Warren asked with widener eyes. Warren himself peeked in the room before saying, "And oh god this room is such a mess".

"I think I did. Well thanks for waking me up. You should probably catch your flight, I will...Clean this up" Caleb nudged his roommate away. Warren narrowed his gaze at Caleb but didn't say much and left.

"That was a close one" Caleb sighed as he thanked his lucky stars that Warren wasn't a wolf. He tried to clean up this mess as soon as possible, before someone else walked in...