Excerpt
Josh took Meg’s hand and walked her to a private corner.

“I was talking to this old guy. He’s like 92 years old and you’ll never guess what,” he said.

“Let me guess. He’s never left the borders of this town in his entire life.”

“How did you...?” he started to say.

“Because I heard the same thing from a young woman over there, ”Meg motioned towards where Mary was now sitting again.

“Okay, so what does that mean?” he asked. “What’s going on here, if anything?”

“Well, for one thing we are both visiting on the same day as they hold this “celebration” as they call it, in honor of this horrific storm. We’re also wearing clothes from an era gone by long ago. People are barely touching their food and frankly don’t seem to be in all that celebratory of a mood. It feels almost as if everyone is waiting for something to happen. I’ve overheard a couple of things I can’t yet make sense of. Then we have the fact that nobody wants you or I to leave. And on top of all that there’s a storm coming that shouldn’t even be happening according to the weather forecast I heard before I came here. And now we find out that it’s possible that none of these people has ever been outside the town limits. Put it all together and what have we got?” Meg finished.

“I don’t know, but it’s not nothing. It’s something. And I’m getting out of here right now. Do NOT pass ‘GO,’ do NOT collect two hundred dollars!”

“Wait a minute. Calm down. We have to think this through. If we’re right about this they are not going to just let us leave, and things could get ugly. There are more guns in this room than there were at the Alamo. And neither of us has a weapon of any kind if it came down to it. We have to stay rational and not freak out. Are you listening to me Josh?” He had a trapped animal look on his face as he scanned the room. Meg took his face in her hands and looked him in the eyes.

“Yes,” he said, looking into her eyes, “What you’re saying makes sense. Maybe we can sneak out.”

“Possibly. But I have a feeling that they’re watching us more closely than we know. We’d need a diversion. Something to get everyone’s attention.” Josh looked hard at his hands. Moments passed..

“Think damnit!” he said under his breath. “Fire.” he said. “How about fire?”

“Maybe,” said Meg. “Do you have a lighter or matches on you?”

“No.”

“Neither do I,” she said. ”What about the old man you were talking to? He had a pipe. He must have something to light it with.”

“Probably. But how could I get it from him? I already told him I didn’t smoke.”

“But maybe you have a friend who does,” she said, smiling. “That would give us another excuse to get outside too. I could say I’m going out for a smoke and you’re keeping me company. Then we can be alone and conjure up a plan.”

“Perfect,” he said, and headed off to seek out the old man.