The Cabin

Kellin sat in the darkness on the bare mattress, leaning against the wall with his knees pulled up to his chest. He tried not to think about what stains and filth might be on the mattress beneath him, or what might have occurred on it. He couldn’t see a thing, and even getting upstairs had been treacherous in the dark. The lights had turned off suddenly a few hours ago. Or at least he suspected it had only been a few hours; there were no clocks in the cabin. It felt like it had been years. The house was silent aside from the steady breathing of the two other men and the occasional snore. With nothing else to do in the pitch black and exhaustion weighing on them, sleeping was too tempting despite the vulnerability it posed. Kellin listened to them with a trace of jealousy. His eyelids were heavy and his mind ached for sleep, but fear and a whirlwind of thoughts kept him awake.

He knew Amber would be wondering where he was now. He pictured her sitting in the living room of their apartment, watching the terrible sit-com reruns that they usually laughed at together, her pretty face etched with concern. She wouldn’t have called the police yet. While the exact time that had passed was a mystery to him, it wasn’t uncommon that he stayed late at the school library and forgot to call. He wondered if she kept glancing at the door, waiting for him to tip toe in with a pile of books and an apology ready for being so late. Their baby girl would be in her crib already. Or would she? It was only halfway through her daddy’s lullaby that her tiny eyelids began to droop and she slipped into sleep. She always looked so peaceful when she slept. He and Amber had been so happy when she finally started sleeping through the night.

What if he never saw them again? The idea broke his first pleasant train of thought since he woke up here, the fond memories now played through shattered glass. He couldn’t afford to think like that. He wouldn’t let that happen. He would get out, one way or another. There had to be a way.

“What do you want with me?! Let me go!”

The shriek shot through the air like an electric current and shocked Kellin, who let out a yell of his own. He jumped back against the wall, feeling the pain of his elbow making impact with the hard wood.

The other two were up now, the sound of the creaky spring mattresses resisting as they woke with a start. Then a few moments of silence where Kellin scarcely dared to breathe passed.

“What the fuck?!” Danny’s voice came from the darkness.

“Do you think it’s the bad guys?” Kellin whispered, rubbing his sore elbow. “Or do you think it’s someone else they captured?”

“Either way, they could be dangerous,” Ronnie said in a low voice. “They don’t need to know we’re up here.”

“What if it’s someone else who they took and they’re hurt?” Kellin whispered.

“What if they have a weapon?” Ronnie countered. “We don’t know who the fuck’s down there.”

“Maybe they know something,” Kellin whispered back. There were a few moments of silence where Kellin assumed the other two were thinking it over. Finally, there was a groan of mattress springs as one of them stood up.

“I’m bored as fuck sitting here waiting to do something,” Danny said. “Let’s just go.”

There was a second creak of springs from the darkness as Ronnie stood up.
“You better hope you’re right,” he said as Kellin climbed off his mattress as well. “We’re setting ourselves up.”

One set of footsteps began heading across the room, to where Kellin assumed the opening to the staircase was. He slowly began feeling his way through the darkness, following the sound of the footsteps. A second set of footsteps began following him, stopping for a moment with a painful sounding thud.

“Fuck.” Danny muttered from behind him.

The stairs began creaking as Ronnie reached them, and Kellin made sure to hold tightly to the banister as he descended. There was a sharp intake of breath from Ronnie.

“What?!”

“I almost fell through that fucking broken stair.”

Kellin let out a sigh of relief, and continued to feel his way down the stairs, careful to avoid the bad step. There were so many things that could go wrong, and knowing there was someone unknown in the darkness with them increased the possibilities tenfold. He could hear his own heart pounding in his ears, expecting someone to attack from the blackness at any moment.

“Hey! Who is that? Leave me alone!” There was the sound of shuffling, as if someone were clamoring to their feet in the darkness.

It was obvious that their presence was known. The lights flickered on.