Inside the cabin is dark, and it takes a moment for your eyes to fully adjust. Directly in front of the door is a staircase that leads up to the loft. From the website, you know that is where the bed is. As you peek into the cabin, popping just your head in to get a better look, you find the small living room to your left, and beyond that the dining room and kitchen.

Though everything is dark, you don't see any lurking figures in the shadows.

Tentatively, you reach in and flip a light switch on. Golden light blossoms in the darkness, and banishes most of the shadows on the first floor. No one is there. You let out your breath and turn your attention back up the stairs. The loft area is still dark, from your current spot, but you can see another light switch just inside the cabin. You step forward and flip the switch.

A light shines down on the stairs and illuminates the landing a little. There is another light switch at the top of the stairs that you are fairly certain will light up the loft itself. You take a deep breath and step onto the bottom step. It groans a bit under your weight, but it feels steady. The next step is just as sturdy.

Your eyes move up to the top of the staircase and you take another step up. And another. At the landing, there is a big room with windows that have the shades down. When you flip the light, a king sized bed is revealed, in the middle of the loft area. A dresser is against the far wall, and above that is a round mirror, about four feet in diameter.

You let out a deep breath. Yeah, the cabin is definitely empty and your imagination needs to chill.

As you turn around to head back down the stairs, a sliver of movement at your peripheral makes you whirl back around. Nothing. Your heart is racing now, and adrenaline surges through your limbs, but there isn't anything that could have moved. Maybe it was just a speck of dust?

You shake your head and carefully head back down the stairs, leaving all of the lights on as you pass them. Finally, you gather your bags from the porch and close the front door of the cabin behind you. A soft whirring lets you know the automatic lock has turned and the cabin is safe now. At least, safe unless someone has the passcode.

Rather than focus on that thought, you put your clothes in the dresser upstairs and lay out the things you brought with you. Books, movies, a deck of cards, and your laptop. The cabin has free wifi, so you get it all set up for playing and then check your phone.

No bars out here in the middle of nowhere, but your phone can make calls over the internet, so it's no big deal.

[Go to chapter: Eight ]