nodded towards the woods behind the cabin. “I think his cabin is back there someplace…quarter of a mile…maybe closer. I believe there is a trail leading through. Not sure.” She ducked into her car. “Anyway…Good luck! If I don’t hear from you…I’ll be back in a few days.” She waved, threw her car into reverse and pulled out of the drive, heading down the road and out of sight behind more tall trees.
Amber sighed and went back into her cabin, realizing that she was suddenly feeling very lost and alone. “God!” she gasped. “What have I done?” She thought of calling her mother, and then changed her mind, realizing her mother would know immediately what she was feeling and beg her to come right back home. Though part of her felt like maybe she should do just that, phone her mother, the other part, the part that knew that she couldn’t handle going back home right now and her sense of pride, kept her from calling.
That night, Amber didn’t sleep well at all, tossed and turned, waking up every little bit at the slightest noise. It sounded to her like someone was throwing pebbles or sticks at the windowpanes in her bedroom. When she looked out, she realized the wind was blowing with healthy gusts, and that the noises were more than likely twigs or something similar being blown against the glass. Still, not used to being alone in the wilds, she just wasn’t sleeping.
It was the second night of Donnie and Melanie’s campout when the raven returned and hoped inside their tent, waking Donnie first with guttural croaks. Donnie sat up with a start.
“What the hell?”
Melanie’s eyes popped open just in time to see the bird mushroom into a man and grab her husband by his throat. She scrambled out of her sleeping bag and tried to run, but it was to no avail. The monster had her in seconds.
The sleeping forest was awakened by their keening screams for miles around.
“Oh my God! What was that?” Amber sprang up on her elbows, shaking. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep now and swung her legs around to the side of her bed and stood. “Mom, you were right,” she said to the air. “This was an insane idea. I have lost my mind! God! Why didn’t I listen to her?”
She trudged off to the kitchen to make coffee and saw that it was a little after four in the morning. Maybe when daylight hit she could go back to bed for a little while. Maybe she would sleep then. Maybe. Maybe she’d just switch around. She’d sleep in the daytime and stay awake at night. Then she wouldn’t be able to paint the beautiful scenery. It would be too dark. “Dammit!” she swore and sat down to the table to wait for her coffee.
Clifford Braz sat aside his long-handled axe, wiped the sweat off his brow with the sleeve of his red and white flannel jacket and looked towards his cabin – Time for breakfast. After chopping wood for the fireplace, he was ravenous.
Soon it would be fall and he’d have to seriously speed up his chopping wood for winter. Right now, he was just hungry. He strode back into his cabin, sat his iron skillet on the burner and turned on the gas. He had propane for cooking, just in case the power went out. Electricity was something he didn’t rely on too much in the backwoods.
Clifford cooked four slices of bacon, three eggs, two pieces of toast and a pot of coffee, sat down to his little round table in the corner of his kitchen and began to eat. His gaze went to the small window in the top of his back door. The wind was blowing through the treetops, causing them to sway, looked as though fall was already here.
His thoughts wandered to the strange sounds he’d heard early in the morning. Thought he’d heard someone screaming, but out here in the thick woods, one heard all kinds of noises, especially at night. Owls, fox, deer, wolves, bears, you name it, roamed through the forest all during the night. Some of them made some really chilling sounds. If a body wasn’t used to it, it could be downright frightening.
An unexpected knock at the front door caught him by surprise. No one ever came around. No one! He’d just barely began to eat, so he sat his plate aside and grudgingly went to see who it was that was interrupting his breakfast. He was really surprised then to see Park Ranger Grady Brown standing there, looking all professional in his green uniform and tan, broad-brimmed hat.
“Hi! Grady. Can I help you?” he asked, brow furrowed, questioning.
Grady was stoic. “I hope so. We found some dead campers this morning, down about a mile from here. Man and a woman…Mid thirties.”
This was a first for Clifford. Other than his wife’s mysterious death three years prior, nothing like this had ever happened since he’d built his cabin some ten years ago. “Bear? You think?” He stepped aside and let Grady in.
The ranger nodded appreciatively. “Not really sure…Could be. Right now, it appears to be some kind of animal attack… Bit unusual. Whatever it was went for their throats. Both as white as sheets…as though all the blood was drained from their bodies. We’ll know more when the coroner examines them – Just wondered if you heard anything out of the ordinary?”
“As a matter of fact, I did hear some bizarre screaming early this morning…around four or so. As you know, I’ve lived here for years…Get some really weird noises from the animals at night. Chalked it off as to being just that. But, I did notice it. Thought maybe a bear had tackled itself a deer. Deer can kind of scream sometimes.”
“Afraid it wasn’t a deer this time, Clifford – Probably don’t know your new neighbors, do you?
“No…Afraid I don’t…You said neighbors. Plural. Is there one besides that dark-haired fella that just recently moved in?”
From what I found out…one just moved in yesterday… Young woman. Early twenties. Although, God only knows why a young woman would want to live out here all by herself?”
“Probably for the same reasons I chose to live out here. Maybe she just likes her privacy a bit more than others?”
“Could be.”
“This is the first I’ve heard of her.
“Well she’s the next one on my list to question. The other one wasn’t home when I went by.”
“If she heard the screaming, she’s probably ready to move back to wherever she came from today.”
That brought on a suggestion of a smile from Grady. “Could be…Well, thanks for your time, Clifford. I may be back. But there’s probably not much more you can tell me.”
“Hope I was of some help.”
Grady grabbed the brim of his hat in a half tip and walked out the door and off to his Jeep.
Amber thought it was Shelia knocking when she was disturbed from her late sleep. She groggily slipped into her white terrycloth robe and slippers and shuffled to the front door, just opening it slightly without removing the chain lock. When she saw the olive green uniform and tan hat of the Park Ranger, she quickly unlocked the chain and opened the door. “Yes?” she said, standing back from the open door and staring at the man with sandy hair and an equally sandy mustache.
“Shelia tells me your name’s Amber Dalziel. Is that correct?”
“Yes…it is. Why?”
“May I come inside for a moment?”
“Certainly.” She stepped aside for him.
Noticing her tangled hair, “You look like you didn’t get much sleep?”
“That’s an understatement,” she replied, realizing she was blushing from embarrassment. “It’s going to take some getting used to all the noises out here. I kept thinking someone was throwing rocks at my windows.”
“Yeah…I know the feeling. Used to make me uneasy, too…When I first moved out here from Cleveland…Been a few years back, though. Anyway, getting down to business. Were there any other noises or anything that really grabbed your attention?”
“You know…There was. Thought I heard someone screaming. It shook me up so much that I got up and made coffee…Knew I wasn’t going to sleep until daylight arrived.”
“About what time was that?”
“Oh…I believe the clock read four-fifteen or something like that. I know it was really early.” She blushed again. “That’s why I’m still in my robe now. Went back
to bed as soon as the sun came up enough through the trees and mountains…” As an afterthought she said, “I didn’t realize it took so long to get daylight amidst all these trees.”
A light chuckle escaped from him. “Yes…It does take some adjusting to. Well, thank you for your time, Amber. And you be sure and keep your doors locked at all times, until we find out what’s going on here…Most of the time it’s pretty peaceful around here. Folks that live out here usually feel pretty safe. But bears have been known to open doors.”
She gasped loudly.
“But that’s rare,” he quickly added. “Just don’t leave food outside or anything that might attract them. You’ll probably be all right.”
“Should I be worried, if I encounter one?”
“Just play it cool. Don’t run. Remain calm…and don’t give them any reason to want to bother you. Most of the time, they’ll just go on their way.”
“What about the rest of the time…when they don’t?”
“If you’re outside, slowly go back to the cabin and lock yourself in until the bear leaves. Or if your car’s closer, get in it and do the same. They don’t usually hang around long. And it won’t hurt to have a mobile phone on you. I’m taking it you probably have one?”
“Yeah…I do. In fact, I was surprised that I actually have pretty good reception out here. I thought I wouldn’t. That’s why I ordered a landline to be put in. But they won’t get it in until next
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