The Cabin

The match hit the ground and flickered out. Darkness swooped in, reclaiming the small circle of light and relative safety and hiding the other man’s unconscious form under a thick shroud of black. Kellin fumbled with the worn old matchbook to light another. It wasn’t the dark that terrified him; it was the thought of what could be lurking in it. The lights flickered on. He looked up. As his eyes adjusted, he realized that the sudden brightness illuminated a small room, shoddily furnished with an assortment of antiqued and mismatched furniture. There were no windows, and only one door in sight.

Kellin looked down at the unconscious man lying next to him. He was glad that the man appeared to be on the same side as him. One look told him that this man could, and probably would, pummel him if they were opposing each other. He was obviously well built, as his gray tank top revealed thickly muscled arms decorated with colorful tattoos. Kellin nudged him, hoping that he would wake up and know what to do. He seemed like a take charge kind of guy. However, there was no sign of life aside from the steady rise and fall of his breathing. The back of his shirt was darkened with blood, turning rusty as it dried. Kellin stooped down and discovered a large gash on the back of his head. It didn’t seem to go more than skin deep, but it would probably need stitches either way.

Either he could try to patch up the stranger as best as possible with his minimal training and hope he would wake up to help him escape, or he could make an escape now and come back with actual help.

The sooner he got out, the better. His barely honed skill wouldn’t be worth anything without any equipment. Kellin tried to convince himself that he was making the right choice as he crossed the room towards the door, tiptoeing and cringing whenever one of the old floor boards creaked. He would get out of here, then go get help for the other guy. He wasn’t going to just leave. The ancient door knob wobbled slightly in his hand as he turned it and pushed on the door. It opened with a creak, revealing a small bathroom. It consisted of nothing more than a rusty shower head over a dirty claw foot tub, and a filthy toilet. Like the other room, it had no windows.

Kellin shut the door once again, a new panic rising in him. What the fuck was he going to do? The only other possible escape route was a rickety wooden staircase leading upwards. He was eying the staircase, when a groan startled him. The other man was slowly sitting up, rubbing his head.

“Fuck… You found the lights?”

“They turned on all by themselves, a few moments after you passed out.”

“Weird.”

Kellin stood still as the man stood up and began looking around the room. His eyes quickly found what Kellin had first noticed, and began to stride for the door.

“It’s a bathroom,” the Kellin said quickly. “And you should sit. I’m not sure if you’ve realized, but someone seriously fucked up the back of your head.”

The other man pulled open the door anyways, and peered inside.

“I’ve noticed, but a fat lot of good it’ll do us to do anything about it right now. What about the stairs?”

“I didn’t check them out yet.” Despite the other man’s rudeness, Kellin had to give him credit; he didn’t mess around. He was already halfway up the staircase. Kellin began to follow him. The stairs groaned under their combined weight as the two of them climbed.

There was a faint crack as the step Kellin was on crumbled beneath him, and the stranger’s arm shot out instinctively to steady him.

“Name’s Ronnie.”

“Kellin.”

The upstairs was one big room, and had the same windowless wooden walls and a slanting roof. An assortment of beds had been haphazardly shoved into the room, lining all of the walls and crookedly jutting into the middle of the room. It held the unmistakable odor of must and old linens. Kellin looked around, his eyes widening at the crimson stains and stab marks that covered some of the sheets. What was this place?

Meanwhile, Ronnie was already heading towards a small door on the opposite end of the room. A single bed with rusted metal bedposts blocked it, and Kellin watched as he pushed it off. An ear splitting screech cracked through the air as the metal posts scraped against the dusty floorboards. Suddenly, pounding came from within the closet, accompanied by muffled yells.

Kellin and Ronnie exchanged quizzical glances. Kellin rushed to help him, and together they pulled the bed out further, creating another awful shriek. Kellin stood off to the side as Ronnie grasped the door handle and pulled, cringing against the worst. With a loud thud, a gagged man fell out of the closet, tugging ferociously on his bonds.

Ronnie jumped back, as Kellin slowly moved forward and ungagged the man. A thin line of spit trailed from the dirty gag to the man’s mouth as Kellin tossed it to the dusty floor.

“Fuck, I thought I’d be stuck there forever. Thanks,” he said as he continued to fight against the ropes restraining him. “Untie me?”

Kellin reached for the man’s bonds, but a thick arm reached out and stopped him.

“Fuck that. How do we know he’s on our side?”

“We don’t. But he might know something,” Kellin said. “Besides, there’s two of us and one of him.”

The man watched them in confusion. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. I have no fucking idea what’s going on, all I know is that one moment I’m out with my mates, and the next I’m crammed into a fucking closet.”

“Fine.”

Once Ronnie released him, Kellin knelt next to the man and began untying his bonds as Ronnie began inspecting the inside of the closet.

“That’s all you remember?” Kellin asked as he picked at a particularly tight knot. “You have no idea who brought you here?

“No fucking clue.”

“No way out through here,” Ronnie said as he stepped out of the closet. “Just a shit ton of old coats.”

“Where are we?” the man asked as Kellin released his hands. He rubbed his wrists, wincing.

“Beats me,” Ronnie said as he examined the stranger, not bothering to hide his suspicion. “I just woke up here. The last thing I can remember is walking home from work, when someone fucking came out of nowhere and knocked me out.”

“Same. I was in the bathroom between classes, when someone grabbed me. Held something under my nose and that’s all I remember before waking up here,” Kellin said as he finished the final knot and stood up, dusting off his pants out of habit. The entire ordeal was starting to have a dreamlike quality, and he wondered if he was sleeping or not. Things like this didn’t happen in reality.

“Well, I don’t know where the fuck we are, or how the fuck I got here,” the stranger said as he pulled himself to his feet. “And it seems like you guys don’t know either. What are your names anyways?”

“Kellin.”

“Ronnie.”

“I’m Danny. What now?”