by Jack Parker
Max jiggled the lock and pushed against the door to see how much give it had. The doorframe seemed fairly sturdy. Glancing at Ess, he could tell from her posture that she was eager to get inside. He knew she was tired, and it made him half tempted to break one of the cabin's small windows so that he could crawl in and open the door from the inside. It was only the reasoning that he wanted to keep any vandalism of the property to a minimum that kept him in check on that score.
Ess realized his hesitation. He didn't know what to do at this point. He was a very strange criminal. He kidnapped her, but he helped her instead of harming her; he was invading property, but he didn't want to literally 'break-in'. What a contradiction he was. She didn't know what to make of him.
Rather than appearing to care about his predicament, Ess decided to distract herself by trying to peer into the window. All was dark inside, and she couldn't make out any forms or furniture or even walls - and no visible fireplace. From the size of the exterior walls, the entire cabin couldn't be more than four hundred square feet. It would be crowded in there, and she preferred not to be cramped in with an obsessed kidnapper. Still, at the moment she would give up almost any secure feelings for an opportunity to sit by a warm fire.
It was at that instant that they heard a sharp noise. It sounded like the snapping of a large branch in the distance. Ess shined the flashlight on Max to ascertain if he had heard it, too. She saw the startled look on his face, and her own nerves shuddered. Something was out there . . . and she preferred not to find out what it was.
Frantically she pushed against the window. It seemed a bit loose. When she looked down, she noticed that it had lifted a crack from the sill. Pushing the window up a little more, she saw that it gave way about an inch.
Max was right there in a moment. He used his strength to lift the window higher. Soon it was almost high enough for a small body to slide through. The old solid wood frame was rather heavy, however, so Ess had to leverage her hands beneath the pane to keep the window propped open. Another crack in the woods (wow, it was a lot closer) caused Ess and Max to make another frantic pull and push together. It was enough. Without a word between them, Max took over keeping the window propped up while Ess squeezed through the opening. Once inside, she shined the flashlight around the interior. The light was enough to illuminate the entire modest little room.
As she headed towards the locked door, she hesitated. Should she really let her kidnapper in? That seemed a bit crazy on her part.
Through the window that Max continued to hold open, she heard the rustle of leaves nearby. Damn. She couldn't leave him out there with some wild who-knows-what. Ess continued to the door, fiddled with the lock, and opened it to allow Max inside.
He tossed their belongings through the door, and slammed it shut behind him in one fluid movement. Then, he gave Ess a relieved smile, and headed to the window to see if he could ensure that it was sealed tight against the wild animal and the increasing cold.
Ess peered out the window from behind Max, fearfully curious to see if the thing in the woods had come closer. She was careful not to get too close to him, and was ready to jump out of Max's reach if she needed to.
It wasn't much longer before the nightmare creature they heard entered into view.
A deer. A deer? She let her kidnapper inside to escape a deer? Ess felt that Mother Nature had it out for her. She was determined never to think of deer as harmless gentle beings again.
A second deer came into view, then a third: a buck with large antlers. Now that the fear was gone, it was rather an amazing sight to observe the animals, so calm and at home in their surroundings. It felt like she was part of a National Geographic documentary. She didn't remember really getting this close to nature in motion during her youthful camping trips. It made her smile despite herself.
Max had been watching, too. He was just a little embarrassed that the sound of these three quiet woodland creatures had discomposed him so much in front of the woman whose opinion meant more to him than any other person he knew. He felt like such a coward.
When Max finally turned away from the window, Ess jumped backwards as though she was warding off an attack. That reaction hurt him. Obviously, he hadn't made any leeway into her confidence.
Ess realized that Max was not advancing on her and so straightened from the half crouched stance she had taken against him. By the light of the flashlight, she saw the pain her reaction had caused him. There was disappointment in his eyes; and Ess felt just a little guilty despite her best efforts.
Max turned away and reached for the bags. "You're probably very tired by now." Taking her suitcase, he went through a narrow door into a tiny adjoining room. This room, which smelled faintly of decaying wood, consisted of two sets of bunk beds, with little room for anything else.
Max set her suitcase down on one of the lower bunks, and returned to the main room. Ess stood motionless as he pulled some blankets from his duffle bag. He spread one over the other lower bunk, and moved to a small object in the corner of the room. Ess couldn't see what he was doing, but when he moved away, she saw a faint glow emanating from that corner space.
Max addressed her again. "This little heater will warm up the bedroom shortly. It'll get very hot, so don't touch it, or place anything close to it. I'll start up a fire in the fireplace out here, so the whole cabin will be warm for you by morning."
Ess continued to stand where she was. She didn't know what his intentions were, and she wasn't about to go to sleep in the same room he slept in.
Max continued to prep for the night, trying to ignore the fact that Ess was making no movement towards the bedroom. He grabbed a few logs from a pile stacked along the wall and set them in the fireplace. Next, he grabbed the other blanket and began spreading it on the mangy old couch. When he finally glanced back at Ess, the dejection she had seen in his eyes a short time before was under control.
"I hope I brought enough of your things to see you through. If you get too cold, you can use my blanket. I'll be fine as soon as I get the fire stoked up." Ess just stood there slowly registering what he was telling her. While she was doing so, a little of the pain made it's way back into Max's eyes.
"There's a lock on the bedroom door." He said to relieve her distress. "If you need to use the bathroom, it's through the door across from the heater. This place has plumbing that is supported by a well. I wouldn't take a shower right away, though. The water is like ice. I'll need to turn the water heater on, first, and it's outside behind the cabin. It'll take awhile for the water to heat up."
Ess nodded. It was the first cognizant response she made since Max began to settle them in. This small reaction was enough to melt most of the wretchedness Max was feeling. He gave her a sympathetic smile. "Why don't you go ahead and go to bed? I'll take care of everything out here."
Ess nodded again, but didn't move. His continuing thoughtfulness and care just didn't fit with this whole keeping-her-against-her-will thing. She didn't want to trust him. It could be a trap. If he really wanted to harm her, though, wouldn't he have attempted to do so by now?
"You can lock the door," Max stated again when she still didn't move towards the bedroom. "I promise I won't bother you. Not even to use the bathroom."
Ess nodded, yet again, and finally walked towards the bedroom. Max let out a sigh of relief. It was a big step for them that she was willing to settle in. He moved back to the fireplace to work on igniting the flames. Behind him, the bedroom door thudded shut, and he heard the click as the lock latched. He didn't mind it if he didn't have her full trust, as long as she let him keep her safe.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The adrenaline spike was wearing off, and so was the coffee. Roden began to feel the exhaustion of pulling an all-nighter. He wasn't exactly as young as he used to be, and his company was considerably draining.
Manda had brusquely let him know that she was not at all impressed with the plan he presented to her when they left the gas station. He had proposed using th
e quickly sketched map to follow the roads (or dirt trails, to be more accurate) to each of the twelve cabins on the preserve. His intent was to find the cabin that Max decided to 'hole up' in by process of elimination.
"This is not an effective way to find her," Manda's argument was the same, over and over again as they drove through the forest. The only thing that changed was her word usage. So far the plan was deficient, poor, ludicrous, irrational, stupid, brain-less, time-consuming, impractical and asinine. Roden was getting very good at ignoring her.
"Hello?!" She caught on to his disregard. "I think I should have a say in this. Ess is my best friend. I have more concern for her well being than anyone else here, and I say time is of the essence. How are we going to find her by driving all over creation with no clue where to look?" She got no response from Roden. "We don't even know if they're here."
He didn't know why he bothered, but Roden re-iterated his reason for the plan once again. "We have more evidence that they came here than anywhere else. Max took the map of the preserve off his wall, and the man at the gas station saw them pass through. I'm sure we're headed in the right direction." He took a breath before he continued. "As for using the process of elimination to find the right cabin, I'll ask you once again: do you have any better ideas?"
Manda cast him an over exaggerated glare and turned away. She had no better solution, and this interchange would keep her quiet for at least another half hour, just like their last one did. Then, he could be sure, she would start up all over again.
Roden understood. He really did. This was a slow process. There were no quicker options, though. If there were, he would be the first to try it. He had as much desire to find Max and Ess as quickly as possible as Manda did. Manda's nagging only served to make him more desperate to find them and get this horrible situation done and over with. The real problem, he knew, would be what will happen when he does find the artist and his captive.
Roden glanced towards the backseat. Martin snored soundly, completely unaffected by what was going on. To him, this was still just a little adventure. Roden found himself imagining how satisfying it would feel to dump that tag-along off in the middle of the woods. Or he could have driven off without him at the gas station earlier. These thoughts did not betoken his ability to keep his self-control in high-pressure situations, but the ideas certainly were appealing.
As they turned a bend in the road, Roden glanced upwards past the canopy of trees, and noticed that the sky was lightening. Daylight would be coming very soon. They had wasted a whole night already, and now the pressure was on more than ever.
And yet, he couldn't keep from yawning - rather loudly. Martin stirred from his slumber with a snort. He sat up, wiped the sand from his eyes and cleared his throat. After looking around at their surroundings he emitted a harrumph, and then made eye contact with Roden through the rear view mirror.
"Man, you look beat." Martin observed. "You want me to take over driving for awhile?"
Part of Roden was tempted, but a much larger part of him wasn't going to allow a stranger, especially one that he wasn't particularly fond of, get behind the wheel of his BMW. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine." Martin gave him a disbelieving frown and leaned back in his seat.
In the distance, through the congestion of trees, Roden spotted another cabin. This would be cabin number three. Roden hoped the long frantic search would end here. He built himself up for a confrontation, just as he did at the previous two cabins. Of course, these build-ups only led to letdowns so far, which then lent to Roden's exhaustion. He wasn't sure how much longer he could really hold out.
Still, nobody but himself was driving his car. And that was that!
* * *
The pale light of early morning broke through the curtainless window, prodding at Ess's closed eyelids. Soon, she began to stir. Exhaustion from the anxiety-filled night and short slumber, made her groggy and oblivious to her dwelling. She lay on a narrow and rather uncomfortable bed, patiently waiting to regain her awareness.
Memories of the night before revisited her with an unrealistic perception that made her think they were all a dream. The invasion, the restraints, the fight for freedom only to be shot at and kidnapped by another seemed so very unlikely. It couldn't have happened.
But everything came slowly into focus. She was in a cramped musty room with the familiar sounds of nature outside. On a nearby bunk, only inches away, was a heap of her clothes and other personal items lying in an opened suitcase. That was, in fact, the suitcase she had bought after college for all the traveling she wanted to do. The one she had never had an opportunity to use.
It did happen? Ess sat up on her elbows with a start and looked around. It did happen.
She was alone in the room and the door was still shut with the lock latched. He had made no attempt to enter. She heaved a sigh of relief as she pulled herself to a sitting position. Soreness throbbed in muscles all over her body as she tried to stretch the dormancy from her limbs. Her lower back hurt, her neck felt stiff and an ache pulsated from her temples and in the back of her head. The most bothersome pain, however, was the swollen nose. She cringed to think of what it must look like.
A hot shower would help to ease her body-aches. Max said there was a bathroom through the second door in the bedroom, but the water had to be heated. Did he do it? Why not cross her fingers and check?
When her sock covered feet hit the worn out floorboards Ess shivered from the radiating cold they offered. She had slept in her clothes last night, and felt grungy and disheveled. Yes, a shower and fresh clothes were what she needed right now. After that, she could better concentrate on her situation, and how to get out of it.
She looked through her personal items and noticed that, while many of her daily hygiene items were not present, a few of the necessities were available to her. She pushed away the thought that the stranger in the next room had gone through her things to pack a bag for her, and headed for the bathroom. Three sideways steps from the bed got her to the narrow bathroom door.
What was inside looked more like a bath closet. The toilet was directly in the path of the standup shower, and the tiny sink sported a rather rusty faucet. She tried the faucet handles, and with a clunking of the pipes the water began flowing into the sink. It was cold, but she let it flow, hoping that it would warm up.
While she waited, she checked her nose in the mirror above the sink. The metal sheet, once polished, was now scratched and displayed a slightly distorted and foggy reflection, which made it difficult for Ess to tell just how bad her nose really looked. So, after a minute or two, she gave up. By the time she tested the water again it had definitely warmed up. Ess sighed, grateful that she would be able to find some comfort in a hot shower.
She turned away from the sink, and began to study the shower knob. When she figured it out, she gave the knob a twist. It didn't move. She wiggled it, and tried again. It didn't budge.
In frustration, Ess gripped the knob with both hands and yanked at it with all the strength she could muster. Once it began to give, the knob twisted quickly. The cold water that had been sitting in the pipes came pouring out of the showerhead. Ess let out a startled squeak at the chill. Her hair and clothes were drenched in cold water.
She waited miserably for the water to heat up while she peeled the icy wet jeans from her legs. This had to be the worst weekend ever.
* * *
Ess stood at the bedroom door, trying to decide if she should unlock it and go out there. She still had no reason to trust Max. He hadn't hurt her so far, but he did kidnap her, and was holding her here against her will.
On the other hand, remaining in this tiny room would drive her crazy. There was no room to stretch, and no getting used to that musty smell. Besides that, she could detect the feint aroma of bacon and eggs coming from the main room. It had been many hours since she'd eaten, and even then, she never did finish her bologna sandwich. Her stomach was winning the argument.
As quietly as possible,
she unlatched the lock, and turned the doorknob. She tried to open the door silently, but it creaked. Ess stopped and cursed under her breath. When she tried it again, she opened the door enough to peek her head out.
Max was at the little kitchenette with his back towards her. He glanced over his shoulder once, but resumed his work. Ess looked on in surprise. The small table she recalled from last night was set with paper plates, plastic silverware, and a pot of coffee that was cooling along with some well-browned biscuits.
After a moment, Max turned around with a tin skillet in his hand. "Good morning." He beamed.
Ess was rather annoyed at his cheerful good humor. She just watched as he served the bacon and scrambled eggs onto the plates.
"Breakfast is served." Max waved his hand over the display on the table. When Ess didn't move, he added, "Have a seat." Obviously, she still had the same feelings towards him as last night, because she kept her distance.
"Please, join me?" he tried again. Instead of sounding polite, his invitation came across as begging. He berated himself inwardly for that, so rather than continue to coax her as though she was a shy animal, Max decided to leave her alone. She could join him if she chose. He sat down, and poured some coffee into his tin mug. After sweetening it, he took a sip. It was still steaming hot and warmed his throat all the way down as he swallowed.