posted on Nov, 6 2007 @ 09:57 PM
----Part 1----
It was 7:20 pm and the light was fading fast. Nolan Peck stood in the open doorway of the small cabin and brushed the snow from his thin jacket. It
was only August and the unexpected snowfall had come on with a vengeance.
Nolan had been making his way back to Florida from a short business trip in Memphis when the storm hit. Within minutes, there was an almost total
whiteout and he had quickly lost his way. He had spent 45 minutes trying to regain his bearings when he had suddenly lost control of his Grand Prix
and slid into a small drainage ditch. He sat in disbelief at his luck for 15 minutes until he decided that he needed to find some real shelter.
Remembering a small cabin he passed a few miles back, he tossed on his small hemp jacket and trudged into the blinding white veil. One hour and 2 feet
later, Nolan stood knocking at the door of the small cabin.
“Hello!” Nolan called several times, “Is anyone home?” He felt blindly along the wall just inside the door and was relieved to feel a switch.
He flipped it up and the small light overhead glared to life.
It only took a few short glances around the cabin’s lone room for Nolan to realize that no one had been here in months. Shutting the door behind
him, he couldn’t help but think this was more a shed than a cabin. Were it not for the small kitchenette and a bare minimum of hand made
furnishings, you would have never guessed someone might live here. “At least it’s warm in here.” Nolan said to himself as he took his jacket off
and hung it on the small door hook.
Nolan knew, however, that the warmth would not last. Luckily, there was a small stack of wood already sitting beside the fireplace. Nolan tossed a
couple of logs into the fireplace, along with a few small pieces of lighter, and got the fire started. With his small fire going, he started looking
for a phone.
After 20 minutes, he was satisfied that there was no phone anywhere to be found. “I should have known not getting a cell would come back to bite me
in the ass.” he said to himself with disgust. He had fought tooth and nail against getting a cell phone. No matter how much his family tried to talk
him into one, he was adamantly against it. He always used the excuse that he wasn’t important enough for anyone to have access to him 24/7; In
reality he didn’t want one because he couldn’t stand how pompous some people looked walking around with the damn things to their ears, constantly
yapping to someone that obviously couldn’t wait long enough for them to get a gallon of milk.
Nolan stood by the cabin’s only window and gazed lazily into the whiteout. Being from Florida, he wasn’t accustomed to snow. Still, he had never
heard of snow coming on so fast and piling up as rapidly as it was outside. Through what limited visibility he had, he could see the snow had already
reached the base of the window, a good 4 feet. It had hardly been two hours since it started and it certainly didn’t look like it would be letting
up anytime soon.
A sudden wave of panic engulfed Nolan. At the rate the snow was falling, the cabin could easily be covered on all sides within a couple more hours.
It was obvious that no one had been here in quite some time and no one knew he was here. He couldn’t help but think of how quickly this situation
could go from bad to worse. While there was enough wood for a couple of days, what would he do after that time? The cabin had no electrical heating
system that he could see and even if it did, the power could easily go out in this weather. With no source of heat, he would be dead long before
anyone found him.
“Get a hold of yourself!” said Nolan and he shuddered away from the window, “There is no reason to panic yet.” Nolan walked to the lone
closet to the left of the front door. He opened it and was happy to see it full of winter clothing. “If push comes to shove, at least this stuff
may buy me a bit more time.” he thought to himself. Also in the closet was a couple of flashlights, a months supply of McCormick vodka and a 12
gauge pump action shotgun.
He closed the closet door and went to the doorless bathroom. He had just started taking a piss when he heard the sound of something tapping on the
front window. He zipped up and hurried to the window.
He looked out and could see nothing. At first, he thought he was just hearing things. However, the longer he stood staring into the blinding
whiteness, the more certain he was that he had indeed heard something knocking on the window. But what could it have been? There were no limbs near
the window and he was certain if it had been an animal or a person he would have been to the window in time to see them. But still, there he was,
staring out and seeing nothing but snow.
“It’s just your mind messing with you, “ he said aloud, “there is nothing out there.” He walked over near the fireplace and sat in a
crudely made rocking chair. The warmth from the fire enveloped him like a favorite blanket on a chilly night. Crude as it may be, the rocking chair
was very comfortable and before long he slipped into a peaceful sleep.