Chapter 5 - The Isolated Sanctuary
The cabin smelled of old wood
pine needles
and dust that had settled over months of neglect.
I carried Megan inside
placing her carefully on the old plaid sofa in the living room
before going back for our bags.
The interior was simple
with a stone fireplace dominating the main wall
and a small kitchen in the corner.
It was far from perfect
but it was a fortress compared to the apartment in Chicago.
I started a fire in the hearth
the dry logs catching quickly and throwing a warm
amber glow across the room.
The crackle of the wood was the only sound
a peaceful melody that began to soothe our frayed nerves.
I made a simple dinner of canned soup and crackers
feeding Megan as she sat wrapped in her blue blanket.
She ate slowly
her appetite returning now that the immediate threat was gone.
"Do you think she knows we left?"
Megan asked
staring into the dancing flames.
"She probably does by now
she always checks up on us through her spies,"
I admitted
thinking of the neighbors and the landlord who feared her influence.
"But she doesn't know about this place
I promise you that."
After dinner
I helped her into the small bedroom at the back of the cabin
the mattress firm but comfortable.
She drifted off quickly
the country air acting like a natural sedative on her exhausted body.
I stayed awake
sitting by the window with a flashlight and a heavy iron poker from the fireplace.
The woods outside were dark
pitch black without the city lights to guide the eyes.
Every sound
every snap of a twig or rustle of a leaf
made me jump
my mind playing tricks on me.
I imagined my mother standing in the shadows of the trees
watching us with that cold
calculating smile.
I shook my head
trying to clear the intrusive thoughts
reminding myself that she was hours away in Chicago.
But the psychological damage she had inflicted was deep
a poison that lingered long after the physical wounds healed.
Around midnight
my phone buzzed again
the vibration sounding like a gunshot in the quiet room.
It was a text message from an unknown number
containing only a single sentence.
"You can't hide forever
Jake."
My blood turned to ice
the realization hitting me that she was closer than I thought
or she had ways of reaching me that I hadn't anticipated.
I deleted the message immediately
refusing to let her see my fear
but the peace of the cabin was instantly shattered.
I looked back at the bedroom where my wife and child slept
realizing that this sanctuary was only a temporary pause in a much larger battle.
I had to find a way to stop her permanently
to expose her lies to the world before she destroyed us completely.
The fire died down to glowing embers
leaving the room in a dim
May you like
shadowy twilight
as I counted the hours until morning.
