immediately get to my feet, standing on the bed and snarling as I look toward the window.
“Hey, buddy,” Jon says, climbing out from under the duvet and walking around the bed. He heads to the window and stops, looking out. “Did that sound to you like someone shooting a gun?” He pauses, and I can see his silhouette against the treeline and the starry night sky. “Why the hell would someone be firing a gun in the middle of the night, huh? It sounded pretty far off, but still...”
He pauses, before heading to the door and making his way out into the corridor. I immediately jump down off the bed and follow. The sound of the gun already had me worried, and now it's clear that Jon is concerned too, which makes things even worse. In fact, as he opens the back door and we both step out onto the cool, breezy porch, I can't help noticing that his heart seems to be beating much faster than usual.
“It wasn't too close,” he says after a moment, as if he's trying to persuade himself that nothing's wrong. “Sounded like it was coming from the main road, at least. Maybe even further.”
Looking toward the trees, I realize that the forest seems quieter than usual. Even in the middle of the night, there should be the sound of animals out there, but right now I hear barely a scratch. It's as if the sense of alarm and concern is starting to spread, and all the rabbits and deer have moved on.
“I think the power's still off,” Jon says finally. “Outages don't usually last this long, I wonder what the hell's going on down there. Probably goddamn panic.”
He reaches down and pats the top of my head.
“Well, we did come out here to get away from civilization,” he mutters. “I'm sure there's no reason to worry. Julie'll show up tomorrow and we can get all the gossip from her. Come on, buddy, let's get back to bed.”
He heads inside, but I remain in place, watching the dark forest.
“Harry, come on,” Jon calls out from the doorway, clapping his hands together.
I know I should go to him, but I want to sit here for the rest of the night, just to make sure that there are no more bangs, and that nothing approaches the cabin.
“Harry, get inside right now!” Jon says firmly, and I realize I have no choice.
Turning, I head inside and Jon quickly slides the door shut and locks it.
“There's no need to be worried,” he explains, leading me back to the bedroom. “Everything's okay, you know. If some drunk asshole wants to fire his gun in the middle of the night, then let him. Let's not be typical city guys and get freaked out by every little sound.”
Once we're back on the bed, he falls asleep fairly quickly, but I remain wide awake and alert. Curled at the foot of the bed, I keep my eyes trained on the window. It's hard to smell much of the outside world from here, but at least I can listen out for any hint of something getting closer. Instead of sleeping, I'm going to spend the rest of the night like this, guarding the cabin and making sure that everything's okay. I just hope that tomorrow, everything goes back to normal.
Chapter Four
“So we'll leave this note here,” Jon mutters, pinning a piece of paper to the cabin's front door. He's drawn squiggly lines all over the paper. “If Julie arrives while we're out for our morning hike, she'll read the note and she'll know to stay put and wait for us to come back.”
He turns to me and smiles, but I can tell he's worried.
“We won't go too far this time,” he continues. “I want to be back in a few hours, just to check whether she's here yet. And she will be.”
He pauses, as if he's considering changing his mind and staying right here at the cabin, but finally he makes his way down the steps and claps his hands loudly.
“Come on, Harry! Let's stop worrying and go take a look around, yeah?”
***
I don't want to go into the forest, but that's where Jon leads me and I have no choice but to follow. After all, I have to stick close to him,
“Hey, buddy,” Jon says, climbing out from under the duvet and walking around the bed. He heads to the window and stops, looking out. “Did that sound to you like someone shooting a gun?” He pauses, and I can see his silhouette against the treeline and the starry night sky. “Why the hell would someone be firing a gun in the middle of the night, huh? It sounded pretty far off, but still...”
He pauses, before heading to the door and making his way out into the corridor. I immediately jump down off the bed and follow. The sound of the gun already had me worried, and now it's clear that Jon is concerned too, which makes things even worse. In fact, as he opens the back door and we both step out onto the cool, breezy porch, I can't help noticing that his heart seems to be beating much faster than usual.
“It wasn't too close,” he says after a moment, as if he's trying to persuade himself that nothing's wrong. “Sounded like it was coming from the main road, at least. Maybe even further.”
Looking toward the trees, I realize that the forest seems quieter than usual. Even in the middle of the night, there should be the sound of animals out there, but right now I hear barely a scratch. It's as if the sense of alarm and concern is starting to spread, and all the rabbits and deer have moved on.
“I think the power's still off,” Jon says finally. “Outages don't usually last this long, I wonder what the hell's going on down there. Probably goddamn panic.”
He reaches down and pats the top of my head.
“Well, we did come out here to get away from civilization,” he mutters. “I'm sure there's no reason to worry. Julie'll show up tomorrow and we can get all the gossip from her. Come on, buddy, let's get back to bed.”
He heads inside, but I remain in place, watching the dark forest.
“Harry, come on,” Jon calls out from the doorway, clapping his hands together.
I know I should go to him, but I want to sit here for the rest of the night, just to make sure that there are no more bangs, and that nothing approaches the cabin.
“Harry, get inside right now!” Jon says firmly, and I realize I have no choice.
Turning, I head inside and Jon quickly slides the door shut and locks it.
“There's no need to be worried,” he explains, leading me back to the bedroom. “Everything's okay, you know. If some drunk asshole wants to fire his gun in the middle of the night, then let him. Let's not be typical city guys and get freaked out by every little sound.”
Once we're back on the bed, he falls asleep fairly quickly, but I remain wide awake and alert. Curled at the foot of the bed, I keep my eyes trained on the window. It's hard to smell much of the outside world from here, but at least I can listen out for any hint of something getting closer. Instead of sleeping, I'm going to spend the rest of the night like this, guarding the cabin and making sure that everything's okay. I just hope that tomorrow, everything goes back to normal.
Chapter Four
“So we'll leave this note here,” Jon mutters, pinning a piece of paper to the cabin's front door. He's drawn squiggly lines all over the paper. “If Julie arrives while we're out for our morning hike, she'll read the note and she'll know to stay put and wait for us to come back.”
He turns to me and smiles, but I can tell he's worried.
“We won't go too far this time,” he continues. “I want to be back in a few hours, just to check whether she's here yet. And she will be.”
He pauses, as if he's considering changing his mind and staying right here at the cabin, but finally he makes his way down the steps and claps his hands loudly.
“Come on, Harry! Let's stop worrying and go take a look around, yeah?”
***
I don't want to go into the forest, but that's where Jon leads me and I have no choice but to follow. After all, I have to stick close to him,
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