Cold, Alone and Trapped

The worst feeling in the world is being stuck somewhere, locked in with no power, heat, or Internet. It's an awful feeling to know that the only thing for miles around is a snow-covered road and trees. I was afraid to look out the window. I tried to meditate to calm my nerves, but that didn't work. I had that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I couldn't control it. It was racing. Feeling alone and afraid was the best way to describe how I felt.

I should probably explain from the start. I had quit my job since I was getting too stressed. I needed a break from the corporate world, so I decided to go on a road trip. I wanted to see some more of the world before it was too late. I packed my bags and told them that I was going on a road trip. I was looking forward to it, but fate wasn't having it all go smoothly. The snow started coming down pretty hard, so I decided to stay at the cabin I booked the day before for a few more nights. It wasn't anything fancy, but it would do since I didn't plan on staying in one place too long. It was supposed to be my first stop.

I had never been to this cabin before, but I heard it was lovely. It was right on the lake, and it had no neighbours nearby. Suppose you could call that a good thing. I didn't particularly appreciate being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no one around for miles. It made me anxious, but there wasn't much I could do about it now except try to enjoy my time there and make the best of it.

I tried to go out for a walk, but the snow looked too heavy for me to get through without getting soaked with slush or slipping on ice. So I stayed inside and watched some TV instead. When my phone rang, I saw that one of my friends had called me, so I answered it immediately.

"Hey! How's everything going?" she asked me before even saying hello or anything else like that. She sounded worried about something as if something bad happened or she was trying to tell me something big that I wouldn't want to hear.

"Everything's fine. Why?" I asked her, trying to remain calm even though I was starting to get worried about what she might have to say.

"Are you sure?" she asked me, trying to reassure me that everything was okay. It didn't work because I knew something was wrong with the tone in her voice and the way she was acting. She wouldn't be calling me like this if everything was okay between us.

"What is it? What's going on?" I asked her, getting impatient with her and wanting her to tell me what it is that's bothering her so much. She paused before telling me the bad news that I wasn't expecting at all.

She said I had been snowed in, and it would be days before help would be able to arrive. I needed her to repeat it to make sure that I wasn't going crazy or imagining things.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked her, and she must have been waiting for me to ask this.

"I'm so sorry, Niko. You're stuck in the snowstorm and the road leading to the cabin had a landslide. Help is on the way, but it won't be there for at least four more days," she told me.

"How is that possible?" I asked, feeling frustrated and desperate for her to tell me something better. I couldn't accept that I had been snowed in for four days without any food or water before help could finally arrive. "Because it's true, Niko. You're going to have to be tough until help arrives," she told me and then there was a silence between us as we both sat on our silent phones.

I lowered my phone from my ear as if doing so would make this all go away instead of being stuck in some snowy place until help could arrive from miles away. It wasn't just the cold weather but how alone I felt out there with this snowstorm surrounding everything. It was almost like the storm was eating away at everything else. I knew I at least had electricity. I went to the kitchen and took note of what was in there. There was luckily some food there with the snacks I brought that would allow me to get past the four days. I calmed down while I told my friend that I would be fine for now. We talked a bit more before I put down the phone.

Luckily the wifi in the cabin was still working fine, to watch some Youtube on the TV. I relaxed and fell asleep. I awoke several hours later. I decided to check the news online and see any updates on the storm. Nothing so far. The next story I read was about how this storm had gotten a lot of attention for its strength and size. It is one of the largest discovered storms in such a short time. I looked out my window and watched as the snow fell at an almost alarming rate, drifting into piles near the cabin. The wind was extreme too now and it slammed into the cabin with such force that I could feel it vibrate through me. It reminded me of those cartoons when they animate thunderstorms.

It seemed like things were getting worse inside the cabin too. There were some loud creaking noises outside, so I went to inspect them, but nothing could be found out of place except for a few icicles that fell from above, shattering on impact with the ground. There wasn't much to do except watch a few movies and have dinner. I slept in front of the fireplace in the living room of the cabin that day.

The next day, I woke up to a loud, crashing sound. I looked around, trying to locate the exact source of the noise, but I could not find it. Thinking that it was just the snowstorm outside and nothing wrong with the cabin itself, I stood up and looked into the fireplace. My clothes were clean and dry, but somehow they still smelled of smoke. The entire cabin did too actually. It wasn't a terrible smell, though. It didn't seem to be from the fireplace. I got up and went around the cabin to look for the source of the scent, and I found it. The snow in front of the entrance of the cabin was all charred and melted as if someone had been out there burning something or someone. I was confused since I was alone here, plus it was snowing heavily outside, if they had been outside they would have frozen. A thought surfaced in my mind, "What if the person that was outside was now inside somehow?". Immediately, I got shivers and goosebumps.

Just in case, I texted my friend from before about this since they were at work at this time. I sat down at the window, looking for anything while reading a book. Before I knew it, it was late and I went to bed. When I woke up, the electricity was out. It was only the third day. It was still warm, so it hadn't been a long time since it went out. I thought about it, and it would only make sense if this place had a backup generator of some sort in the middle of nowhere. So, I walked to the back of the cabin. The bathroom was still lit, so I knew the power hadn't come back on or else the lights would turn on. When I got to the back of the cabin, there was a shed type thing and it looked like there was something in there.

So, I went inside to find some more light. Once inside, it seemed like there was no electricity in here but when my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I saw a man standing over by some equipment with glasses covering his eyes. He didn't say anything but he seemed to be looking at me from behind his dark glasses as if he could see me somehow. A chill ran down my spine once again and for some reason everything felt off about this. I didn't think about it and just said, "I'm sorry, I don't want to bother you. I just wanted to know if there was a backup generator in here or not." He didn't respond but he walked towards me. It's hard to explain how he moved or acted but it was slow and deliberate and almost mechanical like an old zombie from a movie. I wanted to walk out but something told me that if I did that he would catch up with me somehow. So, the next thing I knew he had stepped in front of me. He reached out his hand and grabbed my shoulder strongly but not enough to hurt, which is what made it surprising. Then he said, "Get out." This time it sounded more like a command than a request.

I stumbled out of there and quickly locked the door to the hall leading to the shed. Now that the realization had finally set in, I was shaking. "How could there be someone in here?", my brain was struggling to compute. I went to a corner and sat to calm myself. The temperature in the cabin was freezing, I was alone, cold and trapped with what could be a murderer ready to kill me at any time.

I had to go back. I need electricity and so I need a weapon just in case this man gets physical and tries to attack me. There's a shovel near the front door over there. That'll do. I took the shovel and walked back over to the door. Before I opened the door, I called out, "Hey man, it really is okay that you're in there." There was no response so I knocked on the door again just to be sure since every sense in me was screaming danger, "Hey man are you okay?" After about two seconds of no response I opened the door with my heart pounding and there was nothing in the hallway. I stepped towards the shed with my heart jumping out of my chest. I went in and this time he tried to grab me. I lifted the shovel up in the air and brought it down hard on his head. It sounded like I hit a watermelon, it was one of the most disgusting sounds I've ever heard. Blood started shooting out of his head like a sprinkler and he immediately got knocked out. I looked at him and couldn't help but be creeped out by what I saw.

He was completely naked except for a pair of shorts, his skin was greying and he had essentially no muscle tone whatsoever, not to mention he was just skin and bones. He had cuts all over his body, some deep ones too that were infected so you could see underneath the skin with blood coming out of them. His hair had fallen off in patches from lack of nutrition or poisoning or both, leaving him with a big bald spot on top of his head where most of the hair had fallen off. Luckily, he was still breathing and alive. He seemed to have been eating flies because he had a bag of them laying on the floor near him. I found some rope that was used to hang some clothes and used it to tie him up. The generator was there as well. I fired it up and finally got the electricity working. This whole time I couldn't even call for help because my phone's battery had died. I plugged it in and called my friend. I explained the whole thing to her.

She put me on hold and got through to the authorities. At this point, I was mentally drained and close to fainting. She got back to me and explained that the snow had finally let up earlier than expected. They were done clearing the road and the rescuers are on the way with the police and ambulance right behind. I sighed before thanking her for her help. I hung up and went back to the shed to wait.

The police and rescuers arrived shortly after with an ambulance right behind them. The medics immediately checked on him while they questioned me as to what happened. I explained everything as clearly and concisely as I could, telling him that he broke into my cabin, that he tried to attack and I hit him in the head with the shovel. They made a report and got me a check-up as well before escorting me back home. A few weeks later, I got word that the man was, in fact responsible for murders happening in that area over the past few years. I was happy that the police finally had their man. I decided soon to get a new job back in my hometown near my family. I guess what happened made me realize that life was too short for regrets and I never want to be alone or afraid again.