"Strangers" (SOT)

This is the second episode of "Somewhere Out There"

"Strangers"
“Douglas! I am so sorry, man! Things like this, they just happen! You know what I mean?” The man who had just knocked over one of Douglas’ vases defended himself.

Douglas looked at his smashed vase in despair. “Alright Daven, you know what? It’s alright. It’s absolutely fine!” It wasn’t fine, but Douglas couldn’t be asked to argue with Daven.

Daven appeared to be in his early twenties. He was a slightly large and stout young man, and evidently he was rather clumsy as well. At the same time however, he had a big heart and a humane personality.

“So, how’s um… You know, the new guy?” Daven knew that Bram was in the house, but didn’t know anything beyond that.

Douglas continued to stare at the remains of his vase, “He’s… Oh, just go and see him for yourself,” he brushed Daven away to give himself space to clean up the mess.

Bram had tried listening in on the conversation between Douglas and Daven, but had overhead nothing. As such, he was surprised when Daven walked into Bram’s ‘room’.

“Oh…” Daven was startled, “Hi there…”

Bram put on a greeting smile.

“My name is Daven Jackson,” he put his hand on his chest, “What’s yours?”

“The name’s Abraham,” he was still in awe over the new people he had just found, “But you can call me Bram.”

Daven nodded in affirmation, “And, if I may, how old are you, Bram?” Because of how young Bram looked, Daven was curious about how he had survived for so long.

It took Bram a few seconds to answer this, debating what Daven’s true intentions were, “I’m 16…” He looked him dead in the eyes.

This came as a shock to Daven, “Only 16? And you’ve survived this long?”

Bram couldn’t tell whether or not Daven was impressed, or not believing of his age. “Yes, I have survived this long. I may be young, but I’m experienced. So if you try to harm me in any way, I won’t hesitate to put a knife in your jaw.”

Daven was slightly intimidated by Bram’s threat. “Wait…” He realised why Bram was being this way.

“Oh no, Abraham, no! It’s not like that! We’re not creeps! We’re good people, really. Or at least, we are the closest thing to good people nowadays. We help those who need saving.” Daven tried to shut down Bram’s suspicions.

But still, something wasn’t sitting right with Bram.

“So, if that’s true… Then why did you guys wait for me to fall asleep before taking me? And why is this room all boarded up?” Bram’s hand sat close to the poker next to the fireplace.

Davin nodded and raised his finger, “Right, ok, fair enough. I can understand why that maybe seems a bit, odd… But there are very good reasons for it!”

Bram didn’t seem convinced still.

“This house is old, and it’s decaying. There were people who knew that we were in here. They tried breaking in. Therefore, we had to board up every single to prevent them from getting in.” Devin explained.

“Right… So what about the ‘Watching me for several hours and waiting for me to fall asleep and kidnap me then’, part?” Bram asked.

“We didn’t know how you’d react to us, nor did we know if you truly were alone. For all we knew, you could have been on a supply run heading back to your camp. Or, you could have just been an extremely hostile person.” Devin responded.

Bram laughed, looking down and shaking his head. “There are no camps, not anymore. Every group frays, breaks apart, and then they all die. I’ve seen it before. Not just once either.” Bram’s experience became clear.

Devin pulled up the wooden chair, sitting down on it. He gazed down at a laid-back Bram, curious about his journey.

“So, you’ve been out there? Not just outside, but you’ve truly been out there in the wilderness! Tell me what that was like, if you will.” He was genuinely interested.

Bram looked down, then back up at Devin. “If it’s ok, I’d rather not…”

“Oh,” Devin understood, and nodded. “Yeah I mean, that’s totally cool, man. I respect that…” He thought of other things to say, still intrigued by Bram.

“Oh, I know!” He jolted up, “You’ve met Douglas and I, obviously. I think it’s time you met the others!”


 * First appearance of Davin Jackson.