The Cabin

The Cabin by Marcelles D. Raynes

         It had been so long since the sun had its presence known in this land, as it had been replaced by a perpetual brew of dark storm clouds and snow. The leaves had fallen off the birch trees, yet they continued to grow and they never seem to stop popping out of the ground. Despite there only being a few hours of sunlight, the ecosystem had not seen any major damages; life had adapted well to living in the frost coated land.
         As the snowfall gently cascaded down from the heavens above, the isolated cabin in the woods quickly became coated in a fluffy blanket of snow. A woman stood alone with her ax gripped tightly in both of her hands, poised so that the tree before her would be felled in one swoop.
         The woman reeled back her hands and swung. The tree stood no chance against the might of her blow.
         Kaitlyn had grown used to living like this; chopping down trees to keep the fireplace alight and hunting for each day's dinner had become staples in her life since “The Event”. She had been fending for herself ever since her husband had vanished six years ago, leaving Kaitlyn with only a well of sadness and a howling sense of loneliness.
         As Kaitlyn picked the tree up by one end and began dragging it back to her cabin, she realized that she had forgotten to hunt for Cinder. However, she quickly shook off the thought, causing the snow that had built up on top of her head to fall off and onto her shoulders.
         "Cinder will be fine," She thought, dragging the fallen log to the front of her cabin, where it lay in anticipation for her to chop it into smaller pieces, "That wolf has no trouble hunting for herself." Then Kaitlyn joked, "Maybe she'll even bring me something."
         Cinder. That was the name of the grey wolf that had walked into Kaitlyn's life six years ago, shortly after "The Event". Cinder was large, about half the size of Kaitlyn on all fours, and was nearly as tall as her when Cinder stood on her hind legs. Admittingly, Kaitlyn did not know exactly where Cinder had come from but, in the absence of her husband, she appreciated the company that Cinder provided.
         The woman maliciously hacked away at the fallen tree, creating a total of sixteen pieces of firewood for herself. She had already made plans for the wood, four pieces would go to the stove so that she'd be able to cook the prey that she had yet to hunt; eight would go to her fireplace, so that she and Cinder would stay warm while the snow still fell while two would go into storage and the final two would go to crafting tools and reparations around the cabin.
         Cinder triumphantly bounded through the treeline behind the cabin and came around the side, startling Kaitlyn. From her mouth hung the limp body of a deer, carelessly flopping about with each step that Cinder took. She dropped her kill gently before Kaitlyn and backed away. Cinder waited expectantly by the door of the cabin for Kaitlyn to come and open it.
         She must have already eaten, Kaitlyn thought. I'll have to thank her for this.
         Kaitlyn dropped her ax in the snowy earth and picked up some logs in her free hand. She looked down at the wolf, whose gaze remained focused on something out in the distance. Kaitlyn tried to match Cinder's gaze, but saw nothing but the same forest of birch that had been growing there even before "The Event". Kaitlyn assumed that some snow had fallen from a branch and caught Cinder's attention but she could not be one hundred percent certain of that. However, the woman had no time to investigate further, as dusk would be approaching soon and she would need to get the fireplace started if she were to keep warm through the night.
         As Kaitlyn opened the door to let Cinder inside, she noticed that the wolf had remained motionless with her eyes fixated on something far off in the woods that Kaitlyn could not see. Kaitlyn called Cinder’s name, immediately alerting the grey wolf to her presence. Cinder, with all the willpower she could summon, turned about face hesitantly and padded into the cabin precariously.
         She did not stop looking over her shoulder for an instant.
         Kaitlyn prepared the fireplace for ignition, as she had done so many times before, and Cinder sat by the front window, keeping a silent vigil. She watched, waited and studied whatever was out in the birch trees. Kaitlyn had skinned the deer that Cinder had brought in and cooked it, but Cinder only offered an ear flicker as a response; her eyes would not stray from what lay out there in the forest.
         Night soon fell over the cabin, leaving the air cold and still, save for the warmth provided by the fireplace. Kaitlyn sat by the fire, watching the flames lick the air. She had realized how long it’d been since she had even heard so much as a bark from Cinder. Worry began to grow on Kaitlyn’s mind. What’s wrong with Cinder? She thought. Could she be sick? Kaitlyn rose to her feet and stepped away from the fireplace, immediately becoming washed with the feeling of cold. Her teeth clattered and Kaitlyn instinctively grabbed the sides of her arms to keep warm.
         Cinder was no longer keeping vigil by the window, much to Kaitlyn’s surprise. She had left the cabin without a trace. Kaitlyn rushed outside to check for any footprints, to find any hope that she may find the wolf that had been keeping her company since her husband had vanished. "The Event" had left her scared and alone, and Cinder had come in to fill the void. But now she had vanished as well; there were no footprints in the snow, no scratches on the wood of her door, and there wasn’t any scent of Cinder to be found on the air. She had vanished as abruptly as Kaitlyn’s husband had.
         But this time Kaitlyn would not allow someone she loved to escape from her life so easily.
         Kaitlyn retrieved her jacket from inside and walked into the woods. She had ventured into the birch since "The Event", but Kaitlyn still remembered her way around quite well. As she trekked through the snow and forest, Kaitlyn noticed markings on the trees around her. Upon further investigation, she had come to the realization that these markings were not natural; something had been fighting here, and recently too, judging by how fresh the marks in the birch were.
         The pick up in Kaitlyn’s steps brought her to a light jog. She was even more worried than before, but her mind told her that Cinder would be alright, at least she hoped so. As the markings on the trees started to become more frequent, Kaitlyn’s mind began to drift and wander. She could no longer be one hundred percent certain that her friend was in good condition, but she kept her spirits up and her head held high. Perhaps all the blood on the ground was not Cinder’s, but that of a wounded animal she had dragged off to eat elsewhere.
         But Kaitlyn’s heart sunk into her stomach once she had found Cinder. The grey wolf lay motionless in the midst of the birch, snow already covering her body. She gingerly sulked over to Cinder; her footsteps were cumbersome with sorrow. Kaitlyn half heartedly expected her friend to look up at her as if Kaitlyn had just awoken her from a lovely sleep, but Kaitlyn was smarter than that. It was clear from the open wounds on Cinder’s body that she was dead.
         Tears cascaded down from Kaitlyn’s eyes as she knelt down to touch Cinder’s fur. It was no longer soft, as it had been frozen over by the cold of the forest, much to Kaitlyn’s dismay. She wept over her friend and each tear that she cried left her with a pang of cold.
         Kaitlyn looked up once she had heard a voice calling to her from behind. She looked over her shoulder and saw her husband stalking over toward her. Kaitlyn looked him in the eyes, and her husband stared right back at her. Neither of them dared to move even a muscle; they sat in complete silence, watching, anticipating each other as the snow fell around them.
         Kaitlyn’s husband took a step closer to her and her heart skipped a beat. She had not seen this man since "The Event", and he was much larger than before his disappearance.
         “I’ve been watching you, Kaitlyn.” He said in an eerily calm voice, “I’ve been trying to protect you from that beast, but it escaped from me every time I got near.” A look of satisfaction grew on his face as he added, “But not this time.”
         Kaitlyn could not summon the words nor the strength to confront her husband. She was a smorgasbord of emotions, every thought in her mind was compelled by rage, confusion, sadness, relief, or panic. Kaitlyn sat there, paralyzed, as her husband closed the distance between them with a few giant steps and held out his hand to her.
         “Let’s go home,” He offered, smiling, “I’ve found a new place where we can finally be together again in peace. We don’t need to stay here anymore.”
         Kaitlyn just looked up into her husband’s eyes. She had found that they were not the same eyes that they had always been, they were cold and emotionless, the eyes of a killer. She would not go anywhere with a man who had murdered her best friend. Kaitlyn shook her head and turned away from her husband which caused a surge of anger to course through him.
         “What’s the matter?” He interrogated, “Do you not love me anymore?”
         “You killed my best friend…” Whimpered Kaitlyn, tears swelling up in her eyes, “Cinder was all that I had.”
         The man struck her across her face, his cheeks were red with fury and his temples throbbed.
         “I am all that you’ll ever need, Kaitlyn!” He screamed, “I am everything to you!”
         Her husband struck her again, this time landing a blow to her cheek, Kaitlyn fell to the ground in tears. He kicked her in her ribs, causing her to scream and writhe in pain. He would not let up his assault on the poor defenseless woman.
         “I left everything I had for you! I went to find us a new life and this is how you repay me?!” He voiced as he beat her.
         Cinder, whom had been badly wounded, rose to her feet once again. She snarled and barked at Kaitlyn’s husband, immediately drawing his attention and stopping him from beating Kaitlyn. The man glared at Cinder, and Cinder growled and glared back. He waited and watched for Cinder to make a move but was caught by surprise when the wolf pounced on him with a surprising amount of strength.          He struggled briefly, but Cinder quickly bit into his neck, causing the man to choke and die within moments. He cursed Cinder’s name with his last breath before dying and quickly becoming covered in snow.
         Cinder pawed over to Kaitlyn only to find that the girl was no longer breathing as steadily as she was just moments ago. Kaitlyn looked over up to Cinder, whom was standing over her with tears welling in her eyes. Cinder touched her muzzle to Kaitlyn’s face, and Kaitlyn reciprocated by gently stroking the underside of Cinder’s chin. Cinder laid down beside Kaitlyn; her remaining strength had left her body and the pain from the wounds had returned.
         Kaitlyn lay still, watching the snow fall on top of her body as she lost her strength as well. She let out a cough with her last breath and perished.
         Cinder had done the same. The snow quickly covered both of their bodies, and they moved on to the next world together in peace.

The sun had not returned to this land since.