Timeless

A cabin in the woods

" Please, get here quick! I think I'm dying! " Thomas is on the phone with the 911 operator, begging for them to get there even faster. " She's stabbed me, I don't know how many times. I am bleeding pretty badly" he yells out. The 911 operator cut in and out, his phone reception fading. "Sir, I'm going to need you to give me your address if you want us to send help". He could barely make out the words of the operator on the phone. Just then, Kayla reappears from the other room, with the knife still in her hand. There's blood everywhere, all over the walls, the floor. It's all over her too. Her clothes, face, dripping from her hands, down to her elbow, and onto the black sneakers that Thomashad bought her for her birthday a few months back . Thomas feels weak, he can't fight her off anymore. He's on his knees, coughing up blood. "Kayla, please! do-" He couldn't finish his sentence before she lunged at him again, plunging the already-bloodied knife into his back once more. She stands over him with a horrible, ugly grin on her face, also covered in Thomas' blood. " What do you want from me, Kayla?! I'll give you whatever it is that you want, just please stop! " He begged her. "I want you gone, Thomas. I don't want to go to court and fight you for support. This way, I can take everything. I won't have to share it with YOU." Kayla snarls. She raised the knife once more. "Say Your prayers, Thomas".

Thomas jerks out of his sleep, covered in sweat. He looks around, heart pounding, and notices Sandy in the backseat sleeping. He is still in his SUV, parked at a rest stop. Thank God it was just a dream, a horrible dream. This isn't the first time Thomas had this dream, though. He has been having that very same dream for the last month or two, ever since the divorce started. He hated it. He hated being wrong about her. Could he have made this marriage work? What did he do to make her hate him so much? What did that other guy have to offer that he couldn't give her? He could not shake the thought that maybe if he had done things differently, then there would have been a different outcome in this marriage. "Oh well, it's all over now", Thomas thought. Since he can't change the past, maybe he can change the future for the better. All he had ever wanted was to be happy, to have a family. Unconditional love. Is that possible? Does unconditional love exist in today's world? His grandparents have been together for almost 60 years, he sees the way they still look at each other. That's what he wants, that type of love. Companionship. "You love me, don't you Sandy?" He glanced back at his dog. She barks in excitement, restless from a long ride cooped up in the vehicle. "Alright, alright. Let's go potty." He opens the car door, attaches her leash and walks her to the grass. He looks at his phone, and notices the distance to his destination, 45 miles. Thomas puts Sandy into the car, gets a snack for himself from the gas station, and gets back on the road.

As the sky changes colors, the night begins to creep in. Thomas pulls onto the long, dirt driveway. "Finally! We're here, Sandy!" The dog bounces around the back seat, more restless than ever. Thomas gets out of the vehicle, stretching his legs. Thinking about how brutal that ride was, he heads towards the door with his suitcase in hand, Sandy trailing behind. The owner e-mailed him earlier to tell him that she had placed the key under the doormat for him, confirming the reservations for the following two weeks at the cabin. The cabin was more beautiful than it was in the photos! It was made of logs, with a huge wrap-around porch, a beautiful view of the lake around the rear. Thomas takes the key from under the door mat, opens the front door, and drops his first bag inside the doorway. As he turns around to get the rest of his belongings out of the vehicle, he notices something out of the corner of his eye in the woods. He spins around "Hello? Who's there?" he raised his voice a little, but not too much. Whatever it was, it was moving way too quickly to be human. Sandy growls, hair raised down her back. "Quit it Sandy! It's just an animal. We're in the wild now". Yawning, he considers how tired he is from the ride, his eyes must be playing games with him. A shower would feel so good right now, followed by a good nights rest. Tomorrow he will explore the area - maybe he will get up and go fishing with Sandy. Or even check out the local hiking trails. The cabin is beautiful inside and out. Directly inside the front door of the cabin is the living room. It's spacious, yet cozy. The large brown sectional sofa looks comfortable. Thomas flops himself down onto the couch. Sandy takes off into the kitchen area, sniffing every c***k and crevice of the cabin. He reaches out and grabs the remote control, turns on the TV, searching for the local news channel. If he is here for the next two weeks, he should probably check out the news and see what's going around the area too, along with the local weather. "On tonight 5 o'clock news... " the TV plays in the background. Thomas gets up and heads into the kitchen. There is a spacious island in the middle, hardwood floors, and stainless steel appliances. "I can get used to this kind of living" he thought to himself as he opened the fridge, taking mental note of all the food he could fit inside. "Many reports of missing dogs in the area, residents are suspecting a rogue bear in the area. Forest rangers are claiming that there is nothing to fear, that they are diligently watching the woods, looking for any signs of the missing dogs" The man on the news changes the subject to the weather. "You hear that, Sandy? If you run off, you'll get eaten by a BEARRRR" he nudges the dog jokingly.

Thomas gets up, grabs his suitcase and begins up the stairs towards the bedroom. Sandy begins to follow, stops, and lets out a deep growl as she stares at the door. "Stop it, Sandy, let's go upstairs. I want to take a shower before bed." He walks back to the doorway, and locks the front door. As he turns around to head back up the stairs, he hears rustling in the brush outside the window. His heart pounds. "Hello? Is anybody there?" Silence. He stood there for another minute or two, listening for a response. Sandy is still , ears forward, waiting for her chance to attack. Nothing. Oh well, it's time to get a good night's rest. "Come, Sandy," he waves the dog up the stairs, and disappears into the shower. As he got out, the dog was still at the top of the stairs, staring at the front door. "You can stare at it all night, Sandy, but it's not going to open until I open it myself", he told her. The tie on th clock hit 10:00. He was too tired to unpack all of his clothes, so he just pulled his pajama pants and a white tee shirt out of the suitcase, and slid into bed under the covers.