Chapter 5 - The Cabin in the Woods
The drive north was a blur of dark highways and pouring rain. Mark’s financial power didn't reach the deep, pine-dense forests of upstate New York, or at least, that’s what I prayed as I drove my sister’s old, dented station wagon.
Melissa sat in the back seat with Lily, monitoring her heart rate on a portable, battery-powered pulse oximeter. The steady, rhythmic beep was the only sound keeping me sane as the windshield wipers slapped against the glass.
"Her oxygen levels are holding at ninety-eight percent," Melissa reported from the darkness of the backseat. "Her heart rate is eighty-two. The detox protocol worked, Rachel. The poison is slowly clearing her system. If we can keep her stress levels down, she should make a full recovery."
"Thank God," I breathed, wiping a tear from my cheek.
We arrived at the cabin just as the sky was turning a pale, bruising purple with the coming dawn. The cabin was small, built of dark logs and surrounded by towering pines. My sister used it for hunting trips, and she had given me the key years ago, long before Mark and I had ever met. It was the one place he had never visited, the one place his name wasn't on any deed or map.
We carried Lily inside, wrapping her in thick, wool blankets. The cabin was freezing, but once Mark and I—no, just me now—got the wood stove burning, a comforting warmth spread through the small living room.
For three days, we lived in a state of hyper-vigilant peace. Lily’s cheeks slowly regained their rosy color. She smiled, laughed at the old board games we found in the closet, and actually began to eat solid food again.
But on the fourth night, the illusion of safety shattered.
The cabin had no phone line, and we had kept our cell phones turned off to prevent GPS tracking. But Melissa had brought an emergency satellite radio to communicate with Detective Miller.
At midnight, the radio crackled to life.
“Rachel? Melissa? Do you copy?” Miller’s voice was distorted by static, but the panic in his tone was unmistakable.
I grabbed the receiver. "Miller! We’re here. We’re safe. What’s happening?"
“You need to move. Now. Mark escaped custody.”
My heart stopped. "What? How?"
“Vance secured a bail hearing with a corrupt judge yesterday afternoon. They set his bail at a ridiculously low amount, and someone wired the money within minutes. The moment he was released, he vanished. We tracked Vance's phone—he’s heading north. They figured out where you are, Rachel. I don't know how, but they’re on their way.”
“And Rachel...” Miller’s voice cracked with a terrifying static. “They’re not coming to capture you. They’re coming to clean up the mess. They have professional security operators with them. I'm driving as fast as I can, but I’m at least two hours away.”
The radio cut out, replaced by a wall of white noise.
I looked at Melissa. Her face was bloodless.
"We have to go," she whispered.
But before we could move toward the back door, the headlights of two large vehicles swept through the pine trees, illuminating the interior of the cabin in a stark, blinding light.
May you like
The sound of heavy engines idling echoed through the quiet forest.
They were already here.
