Halloween I.F. – “Going Dark” – Day 1

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The cabin was an hour away from the nearest town. This would have been inconvenient if Fern could drive, and was outright damning since they couldn’t.

“I’ll call every day,” Adrian had promised while unloading the car. “You should have enough groceries here to last the whole two weeks, but if you run out, I’ll get some and bring it over. Make sure you unpack the frozen goods first.”

It was the kind of well-intentioned but obvious reminder that Fern didn’t know how to answer without being sarcastic; when family was involved, they tended not to say anything at all to avoid poisoning their own well. They’d watched their brother fumble when the silence stretched on a little too long and felt a little spike of amusement.

“You’ll like it,” Adrian had finally said. “It’ll be good for you. Calming. I’ll see you later, Fern.” He’d accidentally called them by their old name, not ‘Fern,’ but there was no point getting upset about it, not when Adrian was just really the unwilling family volunteer, propped up to take the heat of the decision to strand Fern in the woods, away from all civilization.

That wasn’t a fair thought. Fern could have refused, but even if it felt like being shipwrecked, abandoned, their family’s suggestion was likely right. They needed a break, a rest, space from the world out there.

Shaking their head, they dragged the bags up to the porch. The owner had said that the key was hidden behind a loose stone in the front path, which they found after a little digging. Mortar ground to dust under their fingertips and several insects scurried away. Foreboding, Fern decided, a little pleased about that. 

The key itself was more modern than the little house in the woods was, the lock having been replaced recently. It stuck regardless, as if trying to resist Fern, but Fern leaned on it harder until it clicked, then pulled the door open.

It was a pretty large place for a single writer to stay in, although the ad had described it as a one bedroom. Fern could swear it was large enough that there’d have to be two of them in here somewhere. It was at least two stories tall, and the first floor looked well-kept, clean and bright. Admittedly, it came with a variety of odd decor choices, as if the owners had aimed for an old-timey, woodsy yet welcoming aesthetic, but had no idea what any of those words meant. On the stone fireplace’s mantle were a variety of family photos, but none of the people in the family seemed to match; over it was a mounted alligator head with a gruesome smile. Not only was this entirely the wrong area for alligators, it seemed bigger than it should be.

Not that Fern knew anything about alligators, to be fair.

It was nice enough, though, and honestly to Fern’s taste. Perhaps this really would be good for them, rather than just their family wanting to avoid having to deal with Fern for a while. Admittedly, it could be two things at once; Fern was certainly out of sight and out of mind, and whatever happened to them here would be nobody’s business. 

Still, it wasn’t like they were completely isolated, even like this. The lack of internet was a drawback, but the place had electricity, and their phone had a single bar that occasionally flickered up to two, so it looked like they could use roaming data in a pinch—if not reliably. There was an old phone on the wall, too, so presumably there was also a landline if their cellphone was unreliable. 

They chided themself for the thought. The whole purpose of this was to not contact anyone for a few weeks. To spend some time disconnecting, far away from other people. To take a couple of weeks to pull themself back together. 

How they’d get started on that task, Fern wasn’t sure.

[It begins! Comment with your suggestion for Fern 

For example, should Fern:
> Explore the cabin more thoroughly?
> Immediately unpack?
> Get started writing?
> Try to contact someone: friend or family?]

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