The log cabin had been in Selena's family for four generations. Nestled amid the mountains of Northern West Virginia, it was as wild as the surrounding forest - a perfect blend of rough and beautiful.
The nearest town was a thirty-minute drive and no other structures were visible through the entanglement of trees that surrounded the property.
Selena parked at the bottom of the long and overgrown path that served as a driveway. As she exited her vehicle, memories of hot cider and lopsided snowmen, staples of her childhood visits, immersed her. The fresh air filled her lungs and, for the first time in months, she felt a sense of belonging - a sense of freedom.
Weathered oak logs and stripes of contrasting clay ran horizontally up the exterior of the cabin, creating alternating ribbons of rich brown and taupe. Over the rough-shingled roof on the far side of the cabin, Selena could see the top of the chimney - tendrils of five-leaved ivy tightly embracing the stone beneath.
A breeze stirred the golden leaves, which reached well above Selena's ankles.
From Ohio, the drive to the cabin had taken over five hours and it was now almost 6:00pm. The fall sun was already dipping in the sky and the evening was growing cold. Selena felt encroaching numbness in the delicate fingers holding her suitcase and tucked her free hand into the pocket of her work blazer.
She would be wise to get inside soon.
Beneath the fallen leaves, Selena could see a trail of round paving stones that led from the covered front porch to an overgrown garden plot beside the cabin. She counted three stones from the front door and lifted the large concrete disk, running her fingers through the dirt.
At first, she found nothing. She shivered as a tingle of fear ran down her spine.
I could break a window. Certainly, nobody would hear it out here.
The thought of her isolation increased only her anxiety and Selena frantically raked her fingers through the dirt. Her index finger brushed against cold metal. Selena gave a soft whistle of relief as her fingers closed around a metal key.
Standing upright, she quickly approached the heavy front door and placed the tarnished brass key in the lock. It turned with some resistance and Selena pushed open the door, the hinges of which yielded with soft creak.
It took a few moments for Selena's eyes to adjust. She knew better than to try to find a light switch - nobody had occupied the property for over ten years. Her father had committed to maintaining the cabin after the death of her grandmother, but had only performed the most necessary maintenance. There would be no electricity for her stay.
The sheets that her father placed over the furniture emerged from the darkened interior like ghosts rising to greet her. Soon, she could see the surfaces of the small cabin amid the swirling dust.
Selena stepped inside, closing the door behind her. Dropping her suitcase and purse to the floor, she allowed a wave of nostalgia to wash over her as she gazed around the rustic home.
The front door opened into a simple living room. The walls were unpainted wood and the furniture was sparse. A sofa stood against the nearest wall and she did not need to lift the sheet to know it was the soft, tan sofa into which she had curled her little legs as a child.
Two sturdy wooden chairs stood in front of the large, stone fireplace. On the far wall hung the only decoration, a large hand-sewn quilt depicting a black cat, with golden eyes, beneath the light of the moon.
Her focus lingered on the quilt and a smile twitched upon her lips. She remembered snuggling beneath the blanket as a little girl. Selena had always imagined that the black cat was her protector when she was afraid of the dark.
To her left, a staircase ascended to the second-floor bedrooms and, beneath the stairs, were entrances to the modest kitchen and the even simpler bathroom.
According to her father, the cabin hadn't had running water until he had overseen its installation when Selena was still a baby. As a boy, he and his brother had hand pumped the water from the well behind the house like many other rural children he had known.
While Selena's grandmother had consented to the indoor plumbing, she never did agree to central heat and Selena rubbed her hands together before pulling them up into the sleeves of her khaki blazer. She would have to gather wood now or it would grow too dark.
Tucking the key into the pocket of her jeans and pulling the front door securely behind her, Selena walked briskly to the back of the cabin, gathering large, dry sticks as she went.
Behind the home was a little shed in which the well pump resided. Long gone was the old stone well that had served the home generations before. Now the home had a modern well and an emergency pump that her father had installed. She would have to pump the water by hand, but once the home's small reservoir was filled, it would be accessible through the cabin's pipes until the tank had been depleted.
Steading herself for the task before her, she briefly missed the simplicity of her city life.
After only fifteen minutes, Selena emerged from the shed exhausted and covered in a sheen of sweat. She had definitely not filled the tank, but she would get through the night. Selena imagined that the generations who had occupied the cabin before her would be proud of her determination and, for just a moment, she felt she was not alone.
Amid the chirping of the crickets, Selena heard a soft rustling and realized that the forest had grown dark.
It's probably just a raccoon, she thought.
Selena then recalled the stories of coyotes in the woods and the tall tales of wolves and big cats in the mountains. Selena cast her eyes around her, swallowing hard against the growing tightness in her throat.
Grabbing the stack of branches she had left by the shed, Selena trotted toward the cabin.
As she approached the front of the home, Selena swore she could feel eyes upon her and her heart began to race. Turning back, she saw nothing but the vertical lines of trees - the boundary line between her cabin sanctuary and swirling shadows of the wild forest beyond.
She stumbled as her foot made contact with one of the round paving stones of the garden path and, swearing under her breath, she heard it - the snapping of a twig behind her.
Without looking back, Selena ran for the front door, prying the key from her pocket with her fingers and slamming the door behind her.
She gasped as the darkness inside the cabin engulfed her.
Using what little moonlight streamed through the dusty windows as her guide, Selena made her way to the tiny kitchen and dropped her modest kindling on the floor beside the wood burning cook stove in the corner.
Though she didn't have any newspaper to start the fire, she found that the collection of wrinkled receipts which always lined the bottom of her purse worked quite nicely for the purpose. Selena soon had a small fire underway.
She sat down in front of the golden blaze, pulling an apple from her purse and devouring it in a few large bites. Resting her head against the cabinets behind her she allowed herself to bask in a feeling of accomplishment. She had never shown as much courage as she had in coming to this cabin, though she still did not know what she expected to find.
Selena heard a low rumble of thunder in the distance and turned her thoughts to her provisions for the evening.
Though she knew the cabinets would be bare of food, her father had left the plates, cups and utensils as her grandmother had stored them. Under the sink she found a box of stout emergency candles and using a twig she had gathered, she lit the untrimmed wick, watching as it burned down to the white wax of the taper. Placing a few drops of wax in the center of a small saucer, she placed the candle down, creating a bond. Smiling at her own work, she created more candle holders and began to place the lit candles around the lower level of the house.
The flames of the candles wavered in the drafty air and shadows danced along the walls, mesmerizing her with undulating and sinuous shapes. The glow of moonlight, emanating through the windows, filled her with a strange longing and she reached out her hand, bathing it in a faint stream of light.
Selena's thoughts drifted back to her dreams of the darkened forest - the same forest that now lay beyond her door. She had felt no fear in her dreams, but the hunger she had experienced was like nothing she had ever known.
Her legs trembled beneath her as she felt a vibrancy begin to course through her body, filling her extremities with a restless, shivering sensation. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, the smell of oak and dust mingling with a familiar, musky scent.
I know that scent, she thought, allowing her head to fall back, filling her lungs with the intoxicating aroma.
Suddenly, Selena was shaken from her thoughts by a commanding knock on the cabin door, as thunder once again rolled through the night.