The cabin Sadie's father had left her after his passing had been empty for nearly five years. She remembered having only been there once before with her father for a brief summer's vacation, having lived with her mother since a young age, and it had been less than thrilling. Time seemed to stand still at the top of that mountain, secluded from all forms of life. Even birds didn't seem to fly that high.
But Sadie had to get away. Working the nine to five grind had been mind-numbing. As the five-year mark of her father's death drew near, she had decided to tap into her vacation days and honor her estranged father's memory by visiting the run-down cabin during her hot summer holiday. She knew it was probably a wreck since it had been abandoned for some time, but she figured her addiction to HGTV could come in handy. Besides, maybe a project is what she needed to take her mind off of the present.
When she arrived at the cabin, Sadie had been less than impressed. It was worse than she remembered. With barely two bedrooms, one bathroom – if you can call an outhouse a bathroom – and no TV or Wi-Fi, it was a miracle she didn't immediately turn around and spend her vacation days at the Bates Motel lookalike at the bottom of the mountain. Dried leaves carpeted the rustic hardwood floors. Evidence of an animal's nest took up the entire opening of the fireplace. Could it have been a raccoon? An opossum maybe? Regardless, the cabin was in shambles, and Sadie started the cleanup as soon as she had thrown her suitcase on the bed – that looked like something Robison Crusoe would have constructed – in the so-called master bedroom. Her father had lived here for years, claiming the mountain air was good for the soul. Didn't do too much for him since he collapsed from a heart attack on his property. Sadie tried not to think about it.
Sadie located a broom in a closet and cleared away most of the debris in the main rooms of the cabin, including the rodent's vacation home. She cursed herself for not having any work gloves, prayed that she wouldn't get tetanus, and collected the wreckage into a garbage bag. She knotted the top of the bag as she surveyed the room. The moss-colored sofa set was now the focal point of the room, and the fireplace was ready for life once more. The rug in the center of the room would have to go since the cure for cancer was growing within the fibers.
She threw the garbage bag over her shoulder and hopped down the back porch steps. The plastic trashcan would not be able to hold many more bags, which was problematic. Sadie had only cleaned the front part of the cabin. It would take an entire garbage truck to hold all the debris inside. She was about to turn back to the door when a flash of silver caught her eye. Up the mountain pass, Sadie could see a shadowed figure through the treeline. She stood there, puzzled, trying to rationalize the view. Animalistic in its stance, humanoid in its behavior. The creature's head cocked, the flash of silver eyes catching the scattered rays of the falling sun once more. Transfixed, Sadie was unsettled that the figure was unmoved; frozen, not in fear, but in observation.
Sadie scoffed to herself, realizing that she was being ridiculous for calculating the motives of some foreign mountain animal, and moved toward the back door. As she moved, she realized that with each step she took, the silver-eyed creature followed in the shade of the trees. Yet when she stopped, the animal was still. This is not natural behavior, she thought. Sadie reached for the door handle as the creature pawed the dirt beneath its feet. She turned the handle and entered the cabin, watching the mysterious animal fade into the darkness of the woods. She closed the door behind her.
This was why she stayed in the city.
She moved onto clearing out her bedroom. The thought of her sleeping on the bed in its current state made her gag. She would sleep in the cab of her pick-up if she had to. She pulled the sheets off of the bed and, realizing that the cabin was without a washer and dryer unit, tossed them to the newly swept floor. The bed was stained, and Sadie tried not to think about what had caused them. As she pulled the cream-colored shams off of the pillows, Sadie looked out the window above the bed. The window was facing the backyard, and Sadie was put slightly at ease when she noticed that the creature was nowhere in sight.
Collecting the dirtied sheets in her arms – that smelled faintly of piss and mildew – Sadie moved through the living room and out the front door. There was a hand pump well near where she had parked her pickup, and, without electricity and plumbing, this was the only way to clean the linens. A large, rusted tin trough was secured under the mouth of the pump. Sadie dumped the sheets into the tub and began pumping the water. The muscles in her arms screamed as the bedclothes were covered with red-tinted water that became more translucent with each drive.
About twenty pumps in, a long, deep growl echoed behind her. She turned to find the figure had returned, now about five yards away from her. She moved behind the water pump as it whined once more with a few steps in her direction. No longer crouched, the creature was hunched over yet standing on two limbs. What was it? Whatever it was, it seemed jumpy, and Sadie could tell it was not a fan of her quick movements. The vocalizations that came from the animal's mouth was something she had never heard before. It was not a sound that belonged in nature. This sound was a force. A message. A threat. Was the animal's home close by? Was that why it seemed diligent and dangerous?
The animal pawed the dirt once again as Sadie looked up at the cabin. Even if she ran, she couldn't make it to the door in time to beat the speed of the silver-eyed creature. She was left with one option, but two ways to carry it out. Slowly cross to her pickup truck, or run to it.
She chose the second.
Sadie bolted for the passenger door of her truck. The creature matched her speed, lowering itself to the ground and bounding after her on all fours like some mountain cat. She threw the door open and climbed inside the cab. Just as she slammed the door shut, the animal rammed the side of her truck, making the vehicle shift on its wheels. She pulled herself to the driver's side as the creature hit the door once more. The last tinges of the sunset cast a small sheen onto the creature. Coarse fur that had a silver sheen to it. Black hooves that looked as if each point had been sharpened intentionally. She couldn't make out the face. Sadie laid on the horn, hoping the noise would drive the animal away. A moment of tense silence followed. Sadie crawled to the passenger window and looked out. She had lost sight of the animal.
The sound of glass splintering made her turn sharply. The creature was now on the hood of her car, head-butting the windshield. Teh silver-eyed glared in through the shattered glass as it bellowed, a large mouth with wide fangs opened, almost as if it had an unhinged jaw. She screamed as she pulled on the handle to the door, however it had buckled under the pressure of the creature's blows and was unable to open. She was trapped. The monster rammed the windshield again, this time breaking through. Sadie covered her face, defending herself from the flying shards of glass. She peered through her fingers as the creature screamed again, reared slightly, and dove into the cab of her truck.
Her name was in the paper the following week. It had taken days to find the scene since the cabin had been deserted in the first place. Police had cleared the area, sent park rangers in search of the animal responsible and wrapped the cabin in crime tape. The rangers were disturbed, knowing well that there was not a beast on the mountain that matched the profile of hooves and sharp teeth. Sadie's father's cabin, just up the hill from the where the totaled truck was parked, remained empty and peaceful, just as it had been all those years before.
But Sadie had to get away. Working the nine to five grind had been mind-numbing. As the five-year mark of her father's death drew near, she had decided to tap into her vacation days and honor her estranged father's memory by visiting the run-down cabin during her hot summer holiday. She knew it was probably a wreck since it had been abandoned for some time, but she figured her addiction to HGTV could come in handy. Besides, maybe a project is what she needed to take her mind off of the present.
When she arrived at the cabin, Sadie had been less than impressed. It was worse than she remembered. With barely two bedrooms, one bathroom – if you can call an outhouse a bathroom – and no TV or Wi-Fi, it was a miracle she didn't immediately turn around and spend her vacation days at the Bates Motel lookalike at the bottom of the mountain. Dried leaves carpeted the rustic hardwood floors. Evidence of an animal's nest took up the entire opening of the fireplace. Could it have been a raccoon? An opossum maybe? Regardless, the cabin was in shambles, and Sadie started the cleanup as soon as she had thrown her suitcase on the bed – that looked like something Robison Crusoe would have constructed – in the so-called master bedroom. Her father had lived here for years, claiming the mountain air was good for the soul. Didn't do too much for him since he collapsed from a heart attack on his property. Sadie tried not to think about it.
Sadie located a broom in a closet and cleared away most of the debris in the main rooms of the cabin, including the rodent's vacation home. She cursed herself for not having any work gloves, prayed that she wouldn't get tetanus, and collected the wreckage into a garbage bag. She knotted the top of the bag as she surveyed the room. The moss-colored sofa set was now the focal point of the room, and the fireplace was ready for life once more. The rug in the center of the room would have to go since the cure for cancer was growing within the fibers.
She threw the garbage bag over her shoulder and hopped down the back porch steps. The plastic trashcan would not be able to hold many more bags, which was problematic. Sadie had only cleaned the front part of the cabin. It would take an entire garbage truck to hold all the debris inside. She was about to turn back to the door when a flash of silver caught her eye. Up the mountain pass, Sadie could see a shadowed figure through the treeline. She stood there, puzzled, trying to rationalize the view. Animalistic in its stance, humanoid in its behavior. The creature's head cocked, the flash of silver eyes catching the scattered rays of the falling sun once more. Transfixed, Sadie was unsettled that the figure was unmoved; frozen, not in fear, but in observation.
Sadie scoffed to herself, realizing that she was being ridiculous for calculating the motives of some foreign mountain animal, and moved toward the back door. As she moved, she realized that with each step she took, the silver-eyed creature followed in the shade of the trees. Yet when she stopped, the animal was still. This is not natural behavior, she thought. Sadie reached for the door handle as the creature pawed the dirt beneath its feet. She turned the handle and entered the cabin, watching the mysterious animal fade into the darkness of the woods. She closed the door behind her.
This was why she stayed in the city.
She moved onto clearing out her bedroom. The thought of her sleeping on the bed in its current state made her gag. She would sleep in the cab of her pick-up if she had to. She pulled the sheets off of the bed and, realizing that the cabin was without a washer and dryer unit, tossed them to the newly swept floor. The bed was stained, and Sadie tried not to think about what had caused them. As she pulled the cream-colored shams off of the pillows, Sadie looked out the window above the bed. The window was facing the backyard, and Sadie was put slightly at ease when she noticed that the creature was nowhere in sight.
Collecting the dirtied sheets in her arms – that smelled faintly of piss and mildew – Sadie moved through the living room and out the front door. There was a hand pump well near where she had parked her pickup, and, without electricity and plumbing, this was the only way to clean the linens. A large, rusted tin trough was secured under the mouth of the pump. Sadie dumped the sheets into the tub and began pumping the water. The muscles in her arms screamed as the bedclothes were covered with red-tinted water that became more translucent with each drive.
About twenty pumps in, a long, deep growl echoed behind her. She turned to find the figure had returned, now about five yards away from her. She moved behind the water pump as it whined once more with a few steps in her direction. No longer crouched, the creature was hunched over yet standing on two limbs. What was it? Whatever it was, it seemed jumpy, and Sadie could tell it was not a fan of her quick movements. The vocalizations that came from the animal's mouth was something she had never heard before. It was not a sound that belonged in nature. This sound was a force. A message. A threat. Was the animal's home close by? Was that why it seemed diligent and dangerous?
The animal pawed the dirt once again as Sadie looked up at the cabin. Even if she ran, she couldn't make it to the door in time to beat the speed of the silver-eyed creature. She was left with one option, but two ways to carry it out. Slowly cross to her pickup truck, or run to it.
She chose the second.
Sadie bolted for the passenger door of her truck. The creature matched her speed, lowering itself to the ground and bounding after her on all fours like some mountain cat. She threw the door open and climbed inside the cab. Just as she slammed the door shut, the animal rammed the side of her truck, making the vehicle shift on its wheels. She pulled herself to the driver's side as the creature hit the door once more. The last tinges of the sunset cast a small sheen onto the creature. Coarse fur that had a silver sheen to it. Black hooves that looked as if each point had been sharpened intentionally. She couldn't make out the face. Sadie laid on the horn, hoping the noise would drive the animal away. A moment of tense silence followed. Sadie crawled to the passenger window and looked out. She had lost sight of the animal.
The sound of glass splintering made her turn sharply. The creature was now on the hood of her car, head-butting the windshield. Teh silver-eyed glared in through the shattered glass as it bellowed, a large mouth with wide fangs opened, almost as if it had an unhinged jaw. She screamed as she pulled on the handle to the door, however it had buckled under the pressure of the creature's blows and was unable to open. She was trapped. The monster rammed the windshield again, this time breaking through. Sadie covered her face, defending herself from the flying shards of glass. She peered through her fingers as the creature screamed again, reared slightly, and dove into the cab of her truck.
Her name was in the paper the following week. It had taken days to find the scene since the cabin had been deserted in the first place. Police had cleared the area, sent park rangers in search of the animal responsible and wrapped the cabin in crime tape. The rangers were disturbed, knowing well that there was not a beast on the mountain that matched the profile of hooves and sharp teeth. Sadie's father's cabin, just up the hill from the where the totaled truck was parked, remained empty and peaceful, just as it had been all those years before.