I staggered forward toward the snow-covered cabin. Its creaky old bones were desolate and I couldn’t imagine that it would provide many comforts for me. It was gray and squarish with carved out animals on the side boards. Beads and bells hung here and there and the windows were black and covered up. It was strange and haunting. My mind made up all sorts of scenarios where my life ended in some jeopardy or serial killing. It appeared to be the killing cabin. It was smokey and covered in soot and mystery.
But what could I do? I was freezing and I knew that this was the way stupid people died sometimes…running into the woods in the middle of a terrible snow storm. Frozen like statues… like idiots. I was an idiot to do this. They were going to find me dead and frozen like a dumb animal.
The cabin was all that was in my mind. I imagined a warm fireplace and food. It beckoned me like a warm bed or baked cookies. My vision blurred and I saw the cabin as a sanctuary. It was a place that I could hide. A place where I could think and clear my head maybe. It called to me sweetly and I realized my hands were numb.
David! The added bonus was Cynthia wouldn’t find me or know where I was. Maybe she would think I was dead. Maybe she would be completely distraught and regret dumping me like that.
I loved her so, why didn’t she feel the same way? I didn’t know things could change so much in such a short time. I didn’t even have time to argue or anything. What she did was totally unfair.
The cabin was my only option, so I trudged forward and put my right elbow into the door. The door swung inward and I burst inside and slammed the door shut behind me. My hands were freezing and I jammed the left one into my blue jeans and pulled out my Zippo lighter. The lighter had an American Flag painted on it and I lit the sucker up.
My hands shook and my teeth chattered as I looked around the dark and cobwebbed interior. It was shadowed and yet there was something inviting, it was hard to describe.
Wiping my right hand on my pants, my eyes scanned the room. There was an old cot to my far right and a wood pile. To my left there was a work bench with knives and hammers and pliers laying here and there. In the center was a wood stove and I moved up to it and began shoving bits of wood and paper I found to make my fire. Click, click, click and the fire began in the stove. I blew on it, fire needs air to thrive. It didn’t take long and soon I had a decent fire going. I peeled off my wet clothes and hung them near the wood stove. I was still freezing but I knew that wet clothes led to hypothermia.
I looked around and realized this was either a fishing cabin or hunting cabin. There might be food, although I wasn’t really hungry, I searched anyway. I found a barrel half full of what appeared to be dried sardines that stunk to high heaven.
I realized that the cot had three blankets on it, so I sat and quickly wrapped my naked body up and pulled the cot near the wood stove. I was warming up slowly and felt somewhat human again. I shoved more wood into the stove and slowly moved my hands in front of the orange fires.
She would feel bad once I was found and had to be hospitalized. She would feel so bad for her stupid words and her stupid lecture about how irresponsible I was acting.
I fell asleep on the cot dreaming of her face and that oh so lovely voice that haunted and left me bemused and she would love me again. She would love me again.
I slept soundly. I had been bone-tired.
I heard the coals in the wood stove rattling and wood being shoved into place there and realized in my sleeping state that someone was in the space with me. Someone had entered quietly while I was sleeping.
My mind was swimming as I pushed myself awake. Wake up damn it!
We locked eyes. I had never been alone.
He had been here the whole time. He was watching and listening quietly somehow. I was in danger and I was paralyzed with fear.
He gripped my face as I wanted to scream out and all i could see was his eyes.
He had devil eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED…
