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Deacon Oaks Sheriff Alex Truman has a great life, keeping the peace and maintaining the law in an already peaceful and law abiding town. He takes his kids to the park every Saturday, and plays football every Sunday. He hosts legendary barbeques, and helps out with the town's 4th of July celebrations. The people love and respect him. And the most stressful call out he's ever had, was to a small dispute between two neighbours over the heights of their respective fences.
Nothing could be better for Alex. He should be the happiest lawman in the world. But there's just one small part of him that longs for some excitement. A bank robbery here, a major smuggling operation there. Anything that would break the monotony he doesn't even realise is eating him alive.
Then, one cold November night, whilst out on a regular patrol of the town's back roads, it seems his unspoken wishes may have finally been granted, when a mysterious man appears suddenly in the middle of the road. Unable to slow down in time, Alex hits the stranger, before spinning wildly into the path of an oncoming vehicle. It's a terrible accident, but luckily Alex escapes uninjured. The others are not so lucky. The man in the second car slips into a coma, and the man in the road suffers concussion, several cracked ribs, and a broken leg.
The next day, Alex and his deputy are waiting to question the mysterious "road guy" as he's become known. Who is he? Where is he from? What was he doing in the middle of the road? They ask a thousand questions, but the man has no answers. He will not speak, will not acknowledge anybody, and shows no signs of emotion.
Aside from his physical injuries, the doctors can find nothing wrong with him at all. It seems that he just isn't going to speak.
At long last, Deacon Oaks has its first real mystery. But it is to be short lived. With no clues and no idea of the man's identity, there is nothing Alex and his boys can do. Since the man was clearly responsible for the accident, the case is closed, and he is moved to the mental health wing at the local state hospital, taking Alex's hopes of excitement and intrigue with him.
Two months later, Christmas and New Years are over, and life for the sheriff is back to normal, the accident now a distant memory. But a call from the state hospital is about to bring it all flooding back.
The mysterious "road guy" has finally spoken. Just three simple words, over and over again, like a broken record. Cold Winter Farm. Cold Winter Farm. Cold Winter Farm. It means nothing to the doctors, but it means something to Alex.
Cold Winter Farm sits on the outskirts of the town, but as far as Alex can remember, it's been empty for years, so why this guy should be saying it over again, he has no idea. Perhaps he should take a drive out there, and have a poke around?
The mystery has returned, and now there's a clue. Alex is ecstatic, and even though the biggest storm in fifty years is about to hit Deacon Oaks, he can't wait to find out more. Something deep inside is driving him, something he doesn't even recognise or really feel, but something which is nonetheless, very real.
He has to know who the "road guy" is. Ignoring the warnings of his deputy, Alex takes the 4x4 up to the farm, insisting that he'll be back before the storm hits.
Fighting his way through thick snow and pounding wind, Alex finds the farm deserted, but curiously, the front door unlocked, and the power still on. A layer of dust covers the furniture, a sure sign that the place hasn't been lived in for at least a short while. The mystery deepens. A quick tour of the ground and upper floors reveals nothing out of the ordinary, which leaves only the basement to shed some light on what is fast becoming an obsession for Alex. But, as the storm rages on outside, the only thing the basement yields, is more dust and more frustration for the sheriff. Something must surely be going on here. The farm must have something to do with the "road guy". But what?
And then it happens. A terrific crashing sound shatters the eerie winter silence. Alex ducks and covers, afraid of what is about to befall his dark and damp surroundings. He soon finds out. A tree has fallen onto the house, crushing the roof, and filling the basement steps with debris. Alex is trapped.
A call to his deputy brings yet more bad news. The storm is out of control. The roads are blocked by snow and other fallen trees. Nobody will be able to get up there to rescue him until the weather dies down, sometime tomorrow. Alex will just have to sit tight and wait for something to happen.
He doesn't have to wait too long. In the corner of the basement, the fallen tree has dislodged the shelves, which have opened as if on hinges.
It's a secret doorway, leading to a secret corridor. At the end of the corridor is an elevator, and the only place the elevator can go is down. Alex's new found excitement is now mixed with fear and apprehension. The curious and almost humorous mystery of the "road guy" has suddenly become all too real.
Why would this elevator be here in the basement of an old farmhouse? Where could this elevator possibly go? What would be waiting for Alex at the bottom? Would it explain the origins and identity of the "road guy"? Would it explain why he was walking in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the freezing winter? Would it explain why he wouldn't speak for two months? And if it did, would the answers be simple, or would they be ultimately more disturbing and terrifying than anyone could imagine?
Standing there, his heart racing, and the fear and excitement almost too much to bear, Alex can't help but think of that old saying - "Be careful what you wish for…!". And he can't help but curse himself for deciding five years ago that being the Sheriff of such a peaceful town, meant he didn't really need to carry a gun. |
