The Cabin Storm
291 Words
The cabin stood deep in the forest, hidden behind walls of pine and fog. Ethan parked the car and led Lila inside.
“This place is secure,” he said. “It used to belong to my family’s security team. No one knows it’s here.”
She sat on the edge of the couch, staring at him. “Your family’s security team? Who are you, Ethan?”
He took a deep breath. “Ethan Vale. My father runs Vale Industries.”
Lila froze. “Vale… Industries? The same name in my scholarship paperwork?”
He nodded.
Her voice trembled. “You’ve been lying to me since the day we met.”
“I wanted to protect you. And I needed to find out what my family did.”
Before she could reply, a thunderclap shook the cabin—and then the lights flickered.
Ethan’s phone buzzed. A message from an unknown number:
“You can’t hide in the woods forever.”
He moved to the window. “They found us.”
Gunfire shattered the glass. Lila screamed. Ethan grabbed her hand and pulled her to the floor. The cabin door burst open, a shadow filling the frame.
Ethan fired his father’s old revolver—once, twice. The shadow stumbled back, vanishing into the storm.
Silence returned, heavy and alive.
Lila clung to him, shaking. “You could have been killed.”
“So could you.”
Her hand found his, trembling but firm. “What do we do now?”
Ethan stared at the dark forest beyond the shattered window. “We run farther. Or we start fighting back.”
*** On the cabin floor, unnoticed, a silver watch lay in the puddle of rainwater—its second hand ticking again.
- Writer
