A White Mountain's Mystery: The Cabin - Chapter 3

Chapter 1 - Ian Read

Chapter 2 - Doc Sherwood

Chapter 3 - Ashley Lima

"I'll take it you don't have to go anymore," Sarah stated, deadpan. She stared out into the dusk where the humanly inhumane creature disappeared; stunned.

Megan whimpered with a shake of her head, but the pair remained frozen.

As the rain began to let up, the wind shifted, blowing bug spray-covered air in the girls' direction. The noxious fumes snapped them out of their state and they began coughing and flailing their hands in front of their faces.

Without a word between the two of them, they speed walked back toward the cabin, slamming the door and locking it shut behind them.

"What happened?" Asked Carter with a raised brow, no sense of sarcasm in his tone as his bruised ego hadn't fully recovered from Sarah's verbal lashing.

Sarah turned forward, facing the room. Megan stood next to her, face reddened and stance awkward, as she tried to cover the wet spot between her legs with her hands.

"Jeez, Megan-" Danny started, but was cut off.

"Don't start. It's not her fault... We-" Sarah turned to face her friend who had tears welling up in her eyes.

"We saw something," Sarah said, putting a hand around Megan's shoulder and leading her toward the bedroom to get changed.

"Well? What did you see?" Danny asked with a cocked eyebrow and a concerned look on his face.

"I don't know!" Sarah snapped, slamming the door to the bedroom hard, leaving the rest of the gang in clueless silence.

"Well, at least the rain is lighter," Grace chimed in.

The hard slaps on the roof had turned into pitter-patters, almost soothing. An unease was still spread across the room as the gang pondered their missing friend, the mental state of Oscar, and what the girls could have possibly seen outside.

"Maybe we don't have to worry about the generator anymore," Grace said, trying to sound confident but falling flat in her delivery.

"I hope not, the sun's almost set at this point. It'll be a long night with no light... Poor Mason. This is not how his birthday getaway should start. Do you guys think he's okay?" Danny muttered.

"If it's any consolation, the weather here can stop just as fast as it starts. You're right Grace, we might not have to worry about it anymore. Hopefully, the storms continue gliding past this peak and bothering others instead. As for Mason, he's resourceful. Who knows, he could walk in through the door any minute and we'll all be laughing about it. Maybe he went back to the car for something?" Carter rambled, trying to make up for his previous mishaps in communication, attempting to bring hope to the rest of the group.

"If Mason's okay, then why would Oscar be acting like that?" Grace raised an eyebrow condescendingly in Carter's direction.

"Maybe he fell and hit his head! It was slippery, after all. Who knows why he's acting like that, but we should think of the best. Thinking of the worst will just make this night feel longer than it needs to," continued Carter.

"Whatever," Grace waved him off. "I'm going to check on the girls, will you guys behave yourselves while I'm gone?"

"Yes, mother," said Carter and Danny in unison.

"Check on the generator, will you?" Carter asked. "Grace might be right about the weather, but do we have enough fuel? How much was in there anyway? How long is it supposed to last?"

"That's not a bad idea. Ones this size can usually last around 8-12 hours, but we'd shut it off for bedtime anyway. I don't see why it wouldn't get us to the morning. I'd assume it would be left full for the next vacation group, no?"

"I don't know, that's why I asked you to check," Carter smirked.

"Right," Danny rolled his eyes.

Upon inspecting the generator, it only had about a quarter tank left.

"Shit..." Danny muttered under his breath hoping no one could here him.

"What?" Carter chimed in, hearing Danny's exasperation.

Danny said nothing, but began rummaging through the kitchen, searching through drawers.

"What the hell are you looking for?" Carter asked but did not stand up to aid in any meaningful way.

"Did the owner of this rental leave any kind of instructions?" Danny looked up from what he was doing with a semi-crazed look in his eyes.

"Yeah, I think there's a binder. It was on the kitchen table before, why?" Another question from Carter.

"The generator only has a few hours left of gas," Danny responded. "You gonna help me find this thing or what?"

Carter sighed but got his butt off his seat and began looking around the living room.

***

Oscar was asleep in the second bedroom, but it wasn't a restful slumber. His body kept tossing and turning beneath the quilted blanket, muttering nonsense, pillow wet beneath his sticky hair.

"No-"

"Please-"

"Mason-"

"You have to get it-"

"No-"

"Mason-"

"Run-"

He woke up abruptly, screaming. Panting and sweating, his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

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The next chapter is by the talented Matthew Fromm. Subscribe to his page and be on the lookout to see how the rest of the story will unfold.