Daniel and Jennifer Johnson had gotten married almost five years ago, but hadn't (until recently) had the chance to have a proper honeymoon. Now, they were driving cross-country, enjoying the ride to their destination: the Niagara Falls. To get there, they had to drive all the way from Iowa to New York. They could have taken a plane, but they wanted to take a more scenic route on the way, and on the way back.
Right now, they were somewhere in Indiana, almost halfway to the falls.
Jennifer looked out the window. It was just like back home. Nothing but flat land filled with corn fields. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that she was still in western Iowa.
She sighed, then looked back towards her husband. "Do you think we should stop for food and gas?"
"We're good on gas for at least another thirty miles," Daniel said. "But I could use something to eat. Take a look at the map for somewhere to stop."
Jennifer unfolded the map and looked further up the road. It was Daniel's suggestion that they get off the interstate. He said that it would give them more opportunities to stop. But stop where? They were literally in the middle of nowhere. And the last car they saw must have been at least a half an hour ago.
"Um, if we turn left onto the next road, it looks like there's a town about five minutes away," she said.
Daniel nodded, then did as she said.
But about a minute into the "new" road, he began to wonder if he made a mistake. While the road they had been traveling on wasn't overly used at the moment, it was at least paved and well-kept up. This road turned into a combination of a gravel and bump-filled road less than a mile into it.
"Maybe we should turn around," Jennifer said.
Daniel was definitely considering that, but then didn't. He saw a sign along the side of the road: "NOW ENTERING PLEASANCE, INDIANA."
"Maybe it'll be okay," Daniel said. "If we're in the town limits now, maybe the road will improve."
And it did. About a half a minute later, the bumpy poorly-kept road turned into a paved one, but still not really kept up... just better. And a half a minute after that, they began to see buildings. Houses, small shops, a police and fire station, a corner café, a gas station, and a small hotel.
It seemed like a somewhat developed town. But there was one problem: there were no people. It was a bonafide ghost town. Daniel thought places like these only existed in the west. He half expected a tumbleweed to roll across the street. But there weren't any. This was central Indiana.
"Where is everyone?" Jennifer asked. She looked around, trying to find some indication that someone was there, but there wasn't any. There weren't even any cars. "Do you think... the town was evacuated?"
"I don't know," Daniel said, getting very worried himself. More than ever, he did not want to be here. He kept driving through the downtown area, then drove into the hotel parking lot. Just like everywhere else in town, it was deserted as well.
"What are you doing?" Jennifer asked. "You're not stopping, are you? Daniel, I've got a bad feeling about this place. I don't think..."
"Relax. I'm just turning around," he said, then headed back out to the road.
Then they were driving in the opposite direction. In no time at all, they'd be out of this deserted town and back on their way to the Niagara Falls and to their long-awaited honeymoon.
But before they could get halfway through the downtown area, the car suddenly stalled out.
"What's wrong?" Jennifer asked, panic entering her voice.
"We're... out of gas?" he answered, staring incredulously at the dashboard.
"Out of gas? But you said we had enough for..."
"I know what I said. But somehow we're out of gas." He looked out his window, then sighed. And then he opened his door.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"Over there," he said, pointing to an abandoned gas station. "Maybe they still have gas."
"You want to... steal it?" she asked.
"Well, if all of this has been abandoned, it's not really stealing. Besides, if we don't get the car gassed up, we won't be able to get out of here."
She thought about it, then nodded. "Okay, but be careful. There's something... ominous about this town."
"I'll be right back. Don't worry, okay?" he said, with a warm reassuring smile, then he left the car.
Jennifer watched him cross the street, then head into the gas station.
