Lost in Isolation - Part 1
It shouldn't have been there
*This Story Is Inspired by True Events…
Quiet.
It was so damn quiet. He was still trying to get used to that.
Living in the city for 20 years had changed him in ways he hadn’t noticed until now. He didn’t realize how accustomed he had become to the constant buzz of city sounds. Traffic flowing down the street, sirens in the distance, people talking and shouting.
But, here? Here, there was no sound at all sometimes. Rarely a plane would fly over. Occasionally, the wind came up through the trees during a storm. And, sometimes, something would howl or shriek nearby. That strange nocturnal shrieking still made the hair on his neck stand up.
However, all in all, the solitude was a good thing for writing. He never would have finished his book in the city. There were too many distractions. But he could focus on his work here, and nothing interrupted his thoughts.
When his father passed away last year, the old man had little to leave him or his brother: some ancient woodworking tools, a beat-up truck, a small fishing boat, and this cabin. His brother wanted the boat and the truck to tow it, but he said the cabin was all his. He wanted nothing to do with it—for some reason.
Sipping his morning coffee, he gazed out of the upstairs window in the room he had turned into a makeshift office. It was almost time to sit down and work on the latest chapter that had been tormenting him. Peering into the dense forest near the cabin, a slight flash of white between the trees caught his eye.
What was that?
He’d never noticed it before. Apparently, it was only visible from this second-story window. He certainly hadn’t seen it from the ground level.
Hmm… That was strange. He didn’t remember another building on the property when he used to visit his father years ago, before their relationship became strained. His brother hadn’t mentioned it either.
Maybe it was an old shed. But why build it so far away in the depths of the forest?
Well, it was time to get to work. Later, he’d take a break for lunch and walk out there to see what it was. Reluctantly, he turned away from the window and sat at the desk. He had deliberately positioned his chair to face a blank wall so a view or his curiosity wouldn’t distract him.
Unfortunately, the words were flowing like molasses. Everything came out in a slow, drizzling drip and dropped onto the screen of the laptop. Oh well. Some days were like this. But he always kept at it until the timer went off. Otherwise, there was no way this next chapter would be ready for his editor the following week.
The frenetic buzzing startled him. He reached for his phone and shut off the timer. Standing up, he stretched and twisted his neck slowly to one side and the other. Popping cracks released the tension and brought some relief. He suddenly realized he was hungry, but his curiosity about the white structure burned more than his stomach’s need for a sandwich.
He walked downstairs and sat on the bench near his front door to put on his boots. Okay, it was time to explore a bit and find out what that building was. Surprised to discover the weather had turned chilly, he grabbed a jacket before slipping outside.
Crossing the small yard, he approached the forest’s edge and walked the tree line. Dark trunks pressed close together, and dense underbrush made it impossible to see more than a few yards into the woods. The white building wasn’t visible from here, but he suddenly didn’t feel like pushing past the thick branches woven tightly together. An uneasy sensation crawled down his spine.
As he started to turn away, he heard flies buzzing angrily nearby. Something just inside the tree line was attracting their attention. Stepping closer, he peered into the darkness, his heart lurching into his throat. Some furry creature was torn in half, with a thick clot of dark flies crawling and wriggling over the corpse. It looked like a small rabbit.
Coyotes, maybe? A bobcat? Could be. Both were common here.
Wrinkling his nose and shivering, he returned to the cabin. He had more writing to finish before the day ended—enough of this nonsense for now.
The following day, he saw the flash of white again. This time, he noted where it lined up with some gnarled oaks at the edge of the forest. He knew he couldn’t see the building from ground level, but it had to be east of the cabin. From here, it looked to be at least 100 yards from the tree line.
Keeping the image in mind, he quickly went downstairs and stepped outside to walk to the edge of the weed-filled yard underneath the old oak trees. Taking a breath to calm his nerves, he eased between their twisted branches and into the pine trees beyond.
Damn! He hadn’t realized how dense this old forest was. He remembered his father mentioning that he had allowed no one to log it, and he’d only maintained a small perimeter around the cabin for fire safety. Brambles tugged at his clothing, and thorns stabbed through his jeans. He had to scramble over fallen trees and around patches of what appeared to be poison oak. Great…
Where in the hell was it?
This had to be the right direction, so it should have been visible by now. Huffing and puffing, he pushed deeper into the forest as the tall trees closed overhead. He hadn’t realized how massive they were before. It was darker than he expected that it should have been at high noon—the canopy of branches twisted and twined together, blocking out much of the sunlight.
He stopped for a minute and slowly turned around to get his bearings. He had thought the house was quiet, but it was even quieter here in the woods. The trees muffled all sounds, and he could hear none of the local birds. He thought that seemed a bit strange, but he wasn’t exactly a country person anymore.
Something rustled in the nearby underbrush, and he froze. He knew black bears were still in this area, but it hadn’t sounded that big. But it could be a mountain lion moving more carefully. They still prowled this forest, too.
No… It shouldn’t be. He had researched them while packing up to move here, and they supposedly hunted at dusk, which was hours away. Still…
Suddenly, something much larger crashed through the nearby brush. Branches snapped, and dry leaves crunched.
Okay, that was enough. He turned and hustled back in the direction where he’d entered the forest.
Damn it. There was no clear path, but it had to be back this way. It was hard to tell with this strange light filtering in from above.
He scrambled more quickly, rushing through the undergrowth and no longer picking his way through the branches and thorns. Panicked, he ignored the scratches and the tearing of clutching limbs at his arms and legs. He had to get out and back to the safety of the cabin. The fear was no longer rational.
The crashing sound followed him, closer now. Whatever it was, it began making a strange snuffling and grunting sound. He tripped and fell to his hands and knees. His bloodied hands reached for the fallen tree trunk in front of him, pulling himself up and over. Stumbling and falling forward, he burst through the forest's edge, back onto the cleared land, and ran for the front deck.
Reaching the front door and throwing it open, he turned back. He wanted to see what was chasing him.
Nothing.
There was nothing there, and the forest was silent again. Strangely quiet. No birds singing. No squirrels chattering. The only sound was his rasping breath as he desperately fought to control his pounding heart. What in the hell had it been?
Back inside, he went to the bathroom and cleaned the scratches and cuts on his hands and arms. The water stung and burned. Now he felt stupid. It had probably been a deer. They were also common in these parts. He had already seen several on the security cameras surrounding the cabin.
This was ridiculous. His brother would know something about it. He’d spent more time here. He returned to the living room and sat in the leather chair near the fireplace. Pulling out his phone, he texted him.
“Hey, do you know anything about a white building on Dad’s property? Noticed it a few days ago, hidden back in the trees. But I couldn’t find it when I searched.”
His brother was a real estate agent, and one thing about real estate agents was that they were always on their phones. “Building? No, I don’t remember anything about that. You sure it wasn’t something else you saw?”
Now he really felt like a fool.
“Sorry, maybe I was imagining things. Sorry to bother you.”
“No problem. Let me know if you find anything, but there shouldn’t be another building on that property if I remember correctly. But maybe Dad built it last year?”
He sighed and texted a final message.
“Yeah, maybe. I’ll let you know if I find something.”
He slid his phone back into his pocket. He suddenly realized he was starving—time for that sandwich and then back to work.
⬇️ Continue with part 2 below…
