It was a cold misty morning as the van labeled "Off the Grid" tours pulled off to the side of the road at its third stop for the day. From the front passenger door Jane Carter, a young pale woman with dark hair and brown eyes exited the vehicle, whilst throwing her backpack over her shoulder in the process. She shivered as the chill shocked her from being in the warm car making her pull her grey coat closer to her. With a small amount of strain she slid the other passenger door of the van open revealing Luke Mackenzie, a handsome man with slightly tousled dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes that was about three years older than the woman before him. The two smiled at each other as the man hopped out to stretch his legs due to the cramped seating in the back.

"Ok Jane, we are definitely switching on the ride to the next spot" the man stated as he reached back in to get his bag.
"Oh no thank you it's terribly uncomfortable and a tight fit back there for my long legs" Jane joked, trying to make light of the situation, as six fifth graders sleepily hopped on out of the van behind Luke.

Jane watched in empathy as the children before her also stretched and began readjusting their outerwear for the change of temperature. The school group wasn't even supposed to be on this tour in the first place. In reality Jane, Luke, several other adults/teachers, and 14 more students were supposed to be on their way to New York City but due to a very contagious strain of the flu they found themselves stranded in New Jersey on their elementary school tour of the historical sights of the East Coast.

Wanting to get the very few healthy travelers out of the hotel, Jane had made a quick reservation with a tour that was supposed to take them on an exciting adventure of lesser known historical sites. Where it had actually taken them were places most likely not meant to excite the average 10 year old such as a candle workshop where you could look but not actually make or touch any candles, an old stable with all of two rusty carriages, and now an empty field. However, the kids had done well and were patient for the most of it, but she could start to tell that that was wearing off now as they drew near lunch.
"You know the drill guys" Luke said apologetically as he opened up his own backpack. The children trudged forward dropping their phones in and Jane could hear them mumble things to themselves like:

"This is stupid, you guys are stupid"
"I'm bored"

"I wish I had gotten the flu"

Jane had to hold back laughter at the fact that she knew these kids thought they were being very clever and sassy without her's and Luke's notice.

"Alright now if you would just follow me please" their tour guide directed their attention as he made his way to the front of the group and began to lead them down a hill, whilst spouting about the importance of the youths knowledge of history. The two chaperones stuck to the back letting the group get ahead of them.

"God Luke you are the worst for making them pay attention and be polite" Jane whispered to him.
"There were things I heard sitting in the back, that were definitely not meant for my ears. I can't believe how many times I forget how intense middle school drama can be"

"Obviously, you only get them an hour out of the day for History. Chloe and I get them for much more than that as their homeroom class. Well actually, it's mostly me that knows the details about the drama, supposedly I'm the cool teacher's aid that's hip with the kids" Jane clarified as she made herself laugh at her own outdated statement.
"Then you will know then that Eddie didn't like Cara's most recent Insta or view her story and what's really frustrating about it is, he's not even doing anything right now at the hotel and she knows it!" Luke feigned dramatics.
"No, not Eddie" Jane matched him as they caught up with the class and quieted down. The tour guide was still enthusiastically talking about how important the things they learned on this tour were to what was a growing dull eyed audience. Even Jane, who often tried her best to give her full attention towards any presenter was losing interest and found her gaze drifting towards a tree whilst thinking about getting back to the hotel and finishing up that bottle of wine with Chloe while they watched cheesy crime show reruns on the free hotel TV.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she slyly slid it out to find a text from one of her old college friends, telling her good morning.

Hi, how did things go last night?

Jane 11:30am

She answered back quickly to keep herself awake during the tour and also she was genuinley curious as to how her friend's date had gone.

Way better than I expected, first we went to a graveyard to watch a film on a little portable DVD player, because he wanted it to be all spooky and romantic, but then we got caught "disturbing the peace" by one of the caretakers so we had to leave and then went and had a late night coffee, we talked till late into the night and it was just so nice Jane!

Miranda 11:32am

Jane suddenly felt a pang of jealousy in her stomach at the reminder of her sad and really lonely single relationship status. Was she happy for her friend? Yes, in fact her date had sounded like it came out of a fairy tale. So why couldn't Jane herself, have ever had one like that before, she contemplated as she flashed back to all the terrible first dates she had been on.

...

Wow that's great to hear!

Jane 11:33am

She responded back accidentally letting loose a sound of utter irritation that pierced through the tour group causing everyone to gawk at her. Jane looked upon her fellow tour goers apologetically, realizing that she had done that out loud, while trying not to make it to obvious that she had stopped paying attention to the tour for a milisecond.

"Ms. Carter, you told us phones were supposed to be off" one of the kids nearest her reminded her.
"Only for you guys, we have to keep ours on and out for emergencies" Luke, saved her life. Jane let out a sigh of relief.
"I just saw that my battery died, so Mr. Mackenzie if you could hook that up to your portable charger" Jane lied as she quickly handed Luke her phone.

"Please continue" Jane motioned back to the tour guide with a polite nod, which he returned.

"Now, who can tell me why the name Benjamin Tallmadge is important?" the guide asked. He was met with silence for a second before a small red headed boy shyly raised his hand.
"Is he the cookie guy?" the boy asked.

Jane once again hid her chuckle, this time behind a cough at the absolutely adorable and definitely wrong statement.
"That's Pepperidge, Alex" Jane politely explained for him not wanting to make him feel stupid for trying to answer a question. Luke shot his hand up now giving the tour guide a break from the awkward and unanswered silence.

"Yes young man" the tour guide called on him, making the students laugh.

"He was the head of intelligence for Washington and was actually one of America's first spies" Luke recited. Jane noted a hum of excitement amongst the kids at the word spy, in fact her own interest was now peaked.
"Correct you are, sir" the guide congratulated him.
"Look at you, Mr. Mackenzie, that sort of knowledge could come in handy at trivia nights" Jane complimented him.

"Or as a history teacher" Luke chided back earning a playful smack on the arm from the teacher's aid.

"Here, is the place where one young man began his journey that would help lead this country toward the great nation that it is today" the guide continued. Jane felt goosebumps spread up her arm at the excitement and passion she could hear behind the guide's storytelling.

"Before I get into the gory details though I'll have to ask your teacher's exactly how explicit I can be with the information I share"

"You can be R rated. Ms. Carter let us watch parts of the The Patriot" one little girl answered for Luke and Jane.

"With their parents permission" Jane quickly clarified.
"Then let's continue" the guide stated with a little hop in his step as they made their way across the field. The air was suddenly colder and had a feeling of magic to it as step by step through the field he told them a tale of a sneak attack against the Americans and how Benjamin Tallmadge, the lone survivor of the attack, had escaped death from the Queen's Rangers, only getting shot in the process. For a second Jane almost felt as if she was there with the faint smell of a campfire in the air.

"Did they have to cut his arm off and give him a wooden one or a hook hand?" one of the children interjected.

"Nope" the guide answered.
"Whoa" they all collectively gasped. Both Luke and Jane smiled at their enthusiasm.
"With that, why don't we take a break for lunch?" the guide suggested as he led them back to the van so they could grab their previously purchased lunches.

"Don't go to far guys" Jane told the students before they ran off to go eat in the field.

"If you two don't mind, I have to go get my own lunch at a drive thru which is about a ten minute drive from here. I'll come back when it's time to go" the guide told them.
"Oh no we will be fine" Luke assured him as they followed after their school group. With that the two sat on a log overlooking the site as they ate. For some reason it suddenly became awkward for Jane. Lucas Mackenzie was the heartthrob of the faculty and here she was just casually eating lunch with him, yet she had nothing to say now that the topic of students or school was off the table and she didn't feel like using her usual comedic tone of speaking to hold a conversation with him either, she actually wanted to get to know him.

"I apparently had a great great something from this time that fought in the war" Luke started.
"Really? I'm guessing they fought for us right?"Jane asked.

"Supposedly". There was silence again.

"Sorry for making that stupid noise earlier, I was just kind of irritated about something" Jane apologized.

"Everything good?"

"Well for my friend, yeah. I Think I was just irritated with myself for being jealous that she had this fantastic movie date at a graveyard last night, and it's dumb to think, that I personally think I deserve a date like that more than she does and I know I shouldn't be talking like that but..."Jane word vomited getting the stress off of her, then regretted it.

"This is probably like sitting with the kids again in the car, sorry" she apologized again, this time looking down at her gloves.

"You're human, also it's nice to know that your not always positive, it's hard to match sometimes"

Jane let that statement sit for a moment, not knowing how to respond to it. Was she supposed to say thank you?

"Of course I'm not always positive, that is just a facade for my real inner bad ass" she decided to respond back in her easier tone of talking.

"Bad asses, knit?" Luke referred to her little hobby she was caught by him practicing on the plane ride there.

"Of course, you wouldn't know what hit you if I stabbed you with one" she retorted possibly going a bit to far as for the third time silence fell upon the duo, this time more comfortable though.

"Well, it's no graveyard movie viewing but I was looking for someone to go Thai with tonight?" Luke offered changing the subject. Jane felt her cheeks warm at the statement but wasn't sure she wanted to assume that immediately meant he was asking her on a date.

"Absolutely, but we are splitting the check" Jane assured him letting him decipher what her thoughts were on his question, also she hated it when people paid for her. The van pulled back up with a honk. Luke and Jane looked back onto the field to find only five students making their way towards them.
"It's Claire" Jane realized as she got up with her pack back over her shoulders now double checking that the missing child wasn't anywhere in site before heading out.

"You wrangle the others, I'll get her" she shouted over her shoulder making her way to a clearing of trees where a kid would most likely wander off to explore.

"I call shot gun" Luke shouted back. She waved him off with her hand as an acceptance. Once she had made it into the thicker part of the woods her surroundings got a bit more shady and tight as she constantly looked through the trees from left to right for the little girl.

"Hey Claire, it's me! We've got to go!" she shouted cupping her hands around her mouth to make herself louder. To her right she began to hear what sounded like some sort of stream. If she were a kid who had wandered off that would've held her interest. However, just in case she got lost she tied the scarf around her neck to the nearest tree to help her find her way back.

The stream was picturesque as she approached it, in fact it was practically like being in a dream. There was an eerie quiet that surrounded the area, almost as if any modern noise had completely disappeared. Across the pond she saw a huge hollow tree, that screamed "kids hiding place".
"Claire come on out if you're in there, this isn't fu-AH" she screamed as her foot stumbled into the freezing stream, that had been deeper than expected. Now she was getting annoyed as she stomped her way into the tree only to find it empty.

Suddenly though she began to feel sick. The sensation was very reminiscent of being dehydrated while pushing yourself to hard on a workout, her vision began to blur. Faintly off in the distance she could hear a;
"Ms. Carter? Ms. Carter!"

"I'll be fine in a second, Claire" she mumbled pressing her palms into her eyes to help massage the headache away, that was now causing a dull ringing in her ears. When she pulled them away, she looked to up to find herself alone. Maybe Claire had ran off with out her?

"Claire?" she asked again running out now.
"DAMN IT!" she exclaimed as she accidentally once again walked through the freezing water. Trying to calm herself down a bit she retraced her steps to the location of her scarf but couldn't find any indication that it had ever been there.
"CLAIRE" she shouted now, feeling very anxious at the fact that she had just lost a child. She ran back towards the field but was immediately pulled back against a tree with a hand of her pressed against her mouth.

Such a very DUN DUN DUNNN sort of ending haha but that is where I am stopping Chapter 1. It's very cliched at the moment but I'm not going to lie I really wanted to just write this as an Outlander type of situation happening in TURN with everyone's favorite Tall boy so that's what you're getting. I hope you all enjoyed it, if you did please give me a review. HAPPY HALLOWEEN!