Anthony Orciuoli

500 El Camino Real

SCU-3588
Santa Clara, CA 95053
(916) 365-7404
aorciuoli@scu.edu

HELP ME PLEASE I HAVE NO TITLE

by

ANTHONY ORCIUOLI

I could feel myself drifting off to sleep as I drove. It was almost two in the morning and I

had been on the road? for nearly 8 hours. I was numb to the biting cold of my air conditioning,

and the loud music playing over the radio lost all meaning. I just wanted to be home.

The narrow road seemed to stretch infinitely, creating a tunnel through the trees on either

side of me. I had long lost any sort of signal on my phone. In my weary state, I kept thinking to

myself, “Where am I?” I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had taken a wrong turn somewhere,

despite the fact that I could only go straight. I just wanted to sleep, but I had to keep going. I had

to be getting close.

My eyelids were heavy. My sleep-deprived mind kept trying to force them closed but I

fought it. I had to keep going, Eventually, I lost the battle. I briefly fell asleep and veered slightly

into the other lane before snapping awake. Now I knew that I needed sleep. I didn’t care about
getting home or even to a motel. I pulled over to the side of the road, turned off my car, leaned

my chair back, and almost instantaneously fell asleep.

I woke up to the dull, gray light of the sun coming through the overcast sky. As I sat up, I

noticed that the trees had been replaced by brick buildings. None of the buildings were very

tall, 3 stories or under. The architecture was familiar. It resembled the old mining towns that

were built around the gold rush. It seemed oddly familiar though I had never been here before. I

hoped this meant I was close to home. I pulled out my phone to check where I was but it still had

no connection. I looked up to see if I could get a sense of where I was. The town was extremely

run down. Many of the buildings had their doors and windows boarded up. The paint on the

walls and signs were chipped and faded and the foliage was overgrown. I briefly thought I had

stumbled into a ghost town until I saw that there were, in fact, many people wandering the

streets. I was hesitant to get out and ask for directions but it was my only option.

As soon as I stepped out of my car, I was struck by how incredibly quiet everything was.

Despite the people wandering the streets, the only sound I could hear was the trees rustling in the

wind. There was no dull chatter of people or the grumbling of car engines. Although the roads

were paved and there were streetlights, my car seemed to be the only one in sight. I couldn’t

even hear birds chirping. Just dead silence. In any other situation, this would be unsettling but

the mild excitement of being in any sort of civilization was comforting. I started to walk down

the street toward where there appeared to be open stores. I noticed a semi-well dressed man

walking in the opposite direction of me on the sidewalk. I walked up to him and asked, “Excuse

me sir, could you tell me…” but he just ignored me and kept walking down the street. I

continued toward the open stores and noticed an old woman sitting on a bench reading a paper. I

started to say, “Sorry to bother you but could you maybe help me…” before she interjected and
said, “Leave me alone”. I noticed another man walking behind me, so I turned around and tapped

him on the shoulder. He just turned his head, glared at me, and kept walking.

Why was everyone being so rude? I looked around me and noticed there was an open

cafe just across the street from me. The place had roughly a dozen people inside, all keeping to

themselves. No one was talking and they all had a sort of sullen look to them. It looked as if none

of them had slept in days, if not weeks. Everyone looked sad. I walked up to the counter and

cleared my throat.

“What do you want?” The woman asked without looking up from her book. Although she

was likely asking what drink I wanted, her tone made it sound as though she was mad that I was

interrupting her reading.

“I was wondering if you could tell me how to get to Sacramento from here?” I asked her,

as politely as possible.

“Nope.” she sighed without looking at me.

“Well, do you know of anyone who would?” I replied. She replied “Nope” in the exact

same tone as before.

“What town is this?” I asked.

“Buddy are you gonna order something?” she replied.

I was getting desperate. I decided to exclaim to the entire restaurant, “Hello! Sorry to

bother everyone but does anyone know how to get to Sacramento from here?”. Most of the

people continued to mind their own business. The few who did look up at me either glared or

shook their heads.

Now I started to panic. I quickly walked outside and started up the street toward my car. I

had absolutely no idea where I was or how to get home. I just wanted to see my family. I wanted
to sleep in my bed again. I wanted to walk around the streets I was familiar with. The entire town

seemed to outright reject my presence. I wasn’t welcome here. Somehow, despite being

surrounded by people, I felt more lost and alone than I did on that long forest road the night

before.

I walked back to where I had left my car but couldn’t see it anywhere. I triple checked

that I had the right street. The surrounding buildings looked familiar but my car was nowhere to

be found. Now I really started to panic, and my mind and heart raced. How could it have gotten

stolen? I still have the keys. Did it get towed? There were no other cars around so I doubted this

small town would have a tow company. I sat there for what felt like several minutes, racking my

brain as to what could have possibly happened to my car. I was stuck with a dying phone, my

keys, and whatever I had in my wallet.

Suddenly, I felt a strange chill run through my entire body. It was that distinct primal

feeling of being watched by someone. In my panicked state, I looked down the street. The few

people who were still outside still seemed indifferent to my presence. However, I couldn’t shake

the feeling that I was somehow being observed by unseen eyes.

I concluded that I was probably being paranoid and sat on the curb and put my face in my

hands to calm myself down. Once I started to think rationally again, I realized that I would have

to find a place to stay until I found my car. My watch said it was 5:15 PM, meaning I had a few

hours until it got dark. I looked around to see if there was any place that would let me stay the

night. Up the street, there was a building taller than the others, though not by much. It was

maybe 4 stories tall. Along the front was a metal awning with a sign with the word “Hotel” on it.

I got up and walked toward it, hoping with every ounce of my being that it wasn’t abandoned

like half of the buildings in town were. I got to the front and saw that it was, in fact, open. Inside
was a very elegant lobby. There were antique looking couches, a glass chandelier hanging from

the ceiling, and large mirrors along the wall. It was a lot warmer inside than it was outside. I

walked up to the front desk and rang the bell. A man who looked to be in his 30s walked out

from the back. He was dressed nicely, with dark dress pants, a button up shirt, waistcoat, and

bowtie. However, he had that same sunken look to him that the people in the Cafe had.

He asked in a monotone voice, “How may I help you?” which, despite the tone, was the

most polite thing anyone in town had said to me.

I replied “Hello! Sorry to bother you but my car was parked down the street and it was

gone when I came back to it less than 30 minutes later. Is there a chance it was towed?”

“I don’t think it was.” the man said in the same monotone voice. “We don’t really have

many cars around here.”

“Do you think it could’ve been stolen?” I replied, knowing there wasn’t really much I

could do if this was the case.

“I can ask some people for you tomorrow. Would you like a room?” he replied.

Even though his statement was vague and didn’t offer me anything concrete, it was

comforting knowing that he may know someone who could help me find my car.

“Sure. How much is it?” I asked the man.

“How much do you have?” he asked me. I had never been to any sort of hotel that had

negotiable prices. I opened my wallet to find a little over $60.

“Sixty dollars” I told him.

“I can give you a single room for $40. No bathroom though. You’ll have to use the one

here.” As he gestured to the end of the lobby. I handed him the money and he gave me the key.

“Second floor, Room 217” he told me.

 “Thank you I replied” as I walked toward the stairs.

“Have a good night, sir” he called after me in his dull tone. “Make sure you stay inside

tonight, weather’s supposed to get a lot worse.”

I reached my room on the second floor and struggled with the old lock before flinging the

door open. The room was tiny, with a single queen-sized bed in the middle, a sink on the left, the

bed to my right, and a window on the far wall. The only electronics in the room were an old

phone and a lamp. No TV or any sort of stimulation. There wasn’t even a Bible in the nightstand.