The Cabin

The Cabin

Each member of the family had spent the day toiling away at their own tasks and actions. Living out on their own as they had chosen to do meant that they had a hard life but they each found joy in working to help better the family and themself.

The father had been out hunting most of the cold day, up until snow had started to fall in heavy drifts that made it too hard to track and even see any prey. He had been able to find some small game that would make for a good stew and would get new gloves made for his daughter. The winter had been longer and much colder than they could remember in any of the recent years. He had been forced to expand his normal hunting area and he started to worry that the population of deer and smaller game was starting to flee the area.

With a grimace he trudged through the thigh high snow, trying to avoid the larger drifts that the wind had started to build up, pushing his arrival back to the cabin closer to nightfall then he would have thought. Soldering the rifle over his shoulder in a more comfortable way he continued his march pushing through the path he knew the snow was covering as he had walked it so many times.

The multiple layers of furs and cloth were starting to trap in too much heat as he walked, he would soon need to shed a layer or stop to rest to keep himself from sweating. That could cause too many issues in the current blizzard that had fallen on them. Looking up at the sky checking the low position of the sun he stopped but only for a moment to pull his outer layer off the thick fur no longer protecting him from the biting chill, this would mean that the effort of walking would keep him warm without over taxing him. Despite living here for so long, or due to the skills he had acquired after living here so long he knew better than to be outside and exposed at night.

With a deep reserved sigh he pushed his already aching legs harder, his decision to leave the snowshoes behind ha    d been a bad one as he was not having to waide his way through the snow as it continued to fall. The storm, blizzard as it was indeed becoming harder to see very far ahead of him had fallen over him much faster then he would have guessed. This weather was starting to stress not just him over the hurting, but also his family. They were used to the harsh conditions but they had been starting to show distress at the weather as well. This winter had seemed too long and bitter cold from the very first snow fall.

The days leading up to the storm seemed as though they held signs that winter was finally coming to an end. The sun was up longer during the day, the skys had been clear or mostly clear and a light blue as clear as crystal. The few times the family had gone out to look up at the night sky it had been breathtaking, the blue white twinkle of stars across the night sky had been one of the reasons to live this kind of life, simple but hard. He had noticed an odd red star a constant in the past few weeks that he could never remember in the sky before. He had not given it much thought as in the past he could remember their being red, orange and yellow stars even some green the starscape always looked like a dark cloth or canvas with so many fine tiny holes to let light through that it was a wonder that it held together at all.

Looking up now he would prefer the sight of the night sky rather than the blinding biting cold that carried so much snow that it was painful to any exposed skin for too long. Keeping his eyes down and face tucked behind his hat, and makeshift mask a scarf that his wife had made. He continued on with the slow steady tread of someone on a mission.

The mother had been home all day, in the warmth of the cabin though she had to fight to keep it warm. Each time the door was opened she would grimic as she could feel heat being leached out of the small house. She had been up early today making sure everything was ready for her husband's hunting trip, while they were not out of food, they were running low though she had been careful not to worry anyone about the current stock of their larders.

She had made sure that all the hunting gear was in good shape, and that he had enough food to last him the day and one extra just in case he ended up unable to get back for the night. Though the odds of coming back after a night outside the cabin would not be high, she wanted to give him every chance just in case that happened. She had also set up his preferred hunting gear, after the last two trips she had needed to fix some of the wear that had been building up. She worried the rips would have let in too much cold.

After seeing him off she went about building the fires back up, they had started having to keep two going in the cabin, one for cooking against the wall in the large stove that they had setup, and then one in the large hearth built into the other side of the house. This had been the first winter that the stove that leaked heat had not been enough to keep the cabin cozy and warm. The first hard snowfall had them all shivering and looking miserable the next morning.

Keeping the fire going was only part of what she had to deal with throughout the day, she kept water boiling so that they all would have fresh water to enjoy or make tea with, and so that they could each have one hot bath during the week. It was a day the whole family looked forward to and had quickly shrugged off the shyness of how little privacy the screen around the large tub provided.

Checking on the large pot of stock that she was working on, she had found the hardy soup had been the best option as they could eat off it for several meals and the whole family had found the extra warmth in their belly it provided to be very welcome. Going about her day she also helped her daughter with the sewing and maintenance on everyone's clothing. Normally during the winter months they would both work to patch up and repair and even make some new summer clothes, this winter they had found themself working tirelessly to patch and keep their winter gear together and working.

She had not wanted to worry everyone or her husband but their supply of food that had normally gotten them through most winters was almost gone. They were starting to rely on the hunts more and more often. While she had not said this out loud the looks she had shared with her husband over dinner that had seemed a bit thin or lacking a full helping of vegetables had been enough to speak volumes between the two.

With the fires with new logs burning and her daughter working hard on stitching up another set of clothing, she opened the cellar door and went down to again review what they had left over. She knew what was left, but she needed something to do to keep herself busy as it started to grow later in the evening. The storm that had shown up was getting worse, and she would soon be pulling her son in as it would be getting too hard to see. Running quickly through her count of the supplies they had she was back up and out of the cellar to busy herself with things to get reay and do before supper.

The son had been outside all day working on their constantly dwindling wood pile. He seemed like he could never get ahead of how much they had needed to burn this winter. It seemed that the stockpile they had in previous winters had lasted them though the whole season and into another. Thunking the axe into the log he was working on he stopped again, for what seemed like the hundredth time for the day. His father had warned him about getting overheated and sweating when it was this cold, so he was taking it slower then he might normally working for small stretches and taking breaks.

He was not even wearing the full winter gear with how much heat he was generating with wood cutting he would be fine for some time without it. He did have to shrug into his fur lined coat as the snow started to fall heavier. With the heat he was generating it would start to melt on him and soak him through without the layer to help protect from that.

Looking up and around the storm was starting to get worse while he could still see the cabin but it was starting to slowly fade out of view as the biting wind started to cut through the warmth he had worked up along with the fur coat. With a grunt of effort he pulled the axe free and started chopping again, finding dead and dry trees had been hard to do around the cabin, he had started having to fell some of the trees along the edge of the forest, though the wood was green and fresh it would still burn, it even helped that it burned slower.

Finishing up with this most recent stack of logs he bundled them up and got in front of the stack to pull them on his back. Slowly trudging over to the stack he had been building next to the house all day, he dropped the stack having gotten the hang of how to do it efficiently so that he would not have to restack the new pile he brought over. Looking over his work for the day it didn’t feel like enough. With the storm moving in it had slowed his pace and had only been able to get five good loads done and moved over today.

Looking out along what could still be seen of the tree line in the growing swirl of snow he had to admit that it was not just the storm that slowed him down, but the worry for his father. He had left early that morning on a hunting trip but had yet to return, and with the storm growing so strong he the nagging worry had pulled him down all day slowing his swings, always having him look along the tree line to see if his father had made it back.

With a resigned sigh that was lost in the wind he moved back to the fallen tree and started to work on another section methodically chopping sections of the main trunk, managing to push himself to do two full cuts before stopping. He had pushed himself too hard and was starting to sweat. Sitting with a grunt on the stump that he used as the cutting board he glared at the line of trees or where it should be willing his father to show up out of the white wall and scold him for being so careless.

The daughter being so young had the least to do about the cabin but feeling like she didn’t do enough tried her hardest to make herself as useful as she could. Helping her mother with the sewing and repair of the clothing had taken up much of her time this winter and her fingers showed the calises to prove this. At the start of the winter she had been bad with needle and thread and constantly poking her own fingers. She was quick to get better at this as the pain in almost each of her fingers was a good reminder and the best teacher could have needed.

She could sense from the tension in the cabin between her mother and father, even her brother that this winter has not like others but she could not put her finger on what it was. Everyone seemed on edge and eager to see a day of sunshine rather than gray skies and wind. She did have to agree with them that the days of clear sunshine had made her feel the best, but there was something alluring about the falling snow that she had always loved.

Today was no different; she had put down her work for a moment to look out the window as the snow started to fall. She had not been awake to see her father leave for his hunting trip but that had to be where he had gone, no other time would he leave for so long. As the day continued and the wind howled louder with more and more snow starting to fall and pile up in the narrow view the window offered. Her feeling for the snow started to shift as she felt that this was not the light snow that she had been allowed out to play in. This was heavy snow that she had not seen before, it seemed to slowly constrict around the cabin cutting off what she could see, and set her normally calm mother on edge.

Finishing up another set of stitching she got up and stretched having been keeping an eye on the window she knew there was no point to go and look out of it. She did it anyway looking out with wide eyes as she could no longer see the tree line that her brother worked at cutting and chopping wood for the fire. She could also not see if her father was back, which worried her more. With how dark it seemed to be getting due to the storm and coming nightfall she the uneasy that had been around her mother all day had started to worm and work its way around her as well.

Turning away she went to check on the evening meal and offer help to her mother who said nothing but allowed her to help with placing the dough out on a sheet. When her mother opened the oven she was quick to slide the sheet in knowing how quickly heat would leak out of the oven and it was needed for the moment for cooking. She busied herself with more of the random chores around the cabin, cleaning up the small messes she had been avoiding and clearing the table from the meal they had had earlier in the day. She also cleaned the dishes before drying them and setting them back out on the table.

Feeling a sudden blast of cold she looked up in hope expecting to see her father in the doorway halling some large kill that she and mother would have to start butchering for everything they could use, which with each kill seemed to be more and more. Her heart dropped though as she saw her mother in the doorway holding the door against the wind only opened partly, her yelling seemed so loud inside the cabin, but over the wind she was sure it didn’t carry far. Mother was calling in brother for the night, he would have come in soon even without the call but it seemed that mother was on the edge of worry and didn’t want him out in the storm with how quickly night was falling.

Her brother must have been at the cabin with a load of wood as he was at the door before mother could even close it. He helped her close the door and they both hesitated with dropping the locking bar, clearly both thinking of father. They didn’t bar the door, as mother fussed over brother helping with the fur coat, he in turn stomped around shaking free the loose snow and ice onto the floor just next to the door.

Now that brother inside and getting settled they all seemed to hover close to the window. Though there was still some light out, night was approaching and seeing anything past the now blinding snow meant that they couldn’t see anything outside or through the window.

Each member of the family seemed lost in thought. The cabin was quite apart from the small sounds they all learned to ignore. The creaking boards, the crackling of the two fires and the howling of the wind seemed to fade from each of their minds as they all seemed focused on both what they worked on, and the door hoping that it would open to their fathers return.

As the light of the day steadily dwindled, the hope that each of the family members had for their fathers safe return also seemed to dwindle with the mothers leaving first, knowing full well just how harsh the forest and storm could be. Next was the brothers having worked close to the forest and through talking with father, he knew what to watch out for and how dangerous it could be to venture in too deep. He had also been in the storm knowing full well the bone chilling cold the wind brought and how badly the biting snow stung his skin. The daughter felt the sense of loss in the cabin the others seemed to carry on their shoulders but she had not given up her hope as she hovered close to the door cleaning up the snow and ice trying to make sure the cabin looked as clean as it could.

With a reluctant sigh mother started to pick the plates up and deal out the nightly meal, leaving one plan empty. Everyone collected at the table and started picking through the meal, eating without actually eating. The constraint sound of wind, and the crackle of the fire was joined by the scraping of utensils on plates and the soft shifting sounds of the cabin and the three restless occupants.

With almost full night smothering the light outside the three started to clear away the table cleaning and storing the dishes and starting to get ready for the evening, tools for the day were put away, and nightly chores were completed, teeth brushed, hair combed and clothes changed. The brother had started to stoke the fire first in the stove adding a larger log to last the night, and was heading to the hearth when the door shook. The bolt had not been lowered into place yet and all three froze as they looked at the door. Seeing it shake again under a heavy thud.
Before anyone in the cabin could make it to the door, it opened letting in the freezing wind, the biting cold of night and father. He had managed to make it back, though it had been after nightfall, covered in snow and with ice crusted over the scarf used as a facemask he rushed to push the door closed behind him and lower the locking bolt into place. Weary with fatigue he turned and rested back against the door slowly sliding down to sit in front of it.

The family shocked by the nipping cold sprung into motion each already at fathers side one helping to pull gear away along with the small game that had frozen solid, the other helping to pull gloves off hands to check for frostbite, and the last slowly working the hat and scarf from around his face to to make sure with their own eyes their own senses that he was indeed back with them.

The family didn’t go to bed on time that night, they had a second dinner making sure that father had more than his fill and they each stayed up taking time to sit close to the fire with him sharing in the moment that they had together, happy with time they thought had been stolen. The family slept soundly that night, everyone warm and content despite the raging storm.

Sometime in the middle of the night well before dawn the storm broke, the howling wind died to a gentle breeze, the curtains of snow became flakes that never settled and the bitter cold left the air clear and crisp. The cabin looks peaceful and pictures under the wide expanse of stars, and the large ringed gas giant that dominated part of the sky most days and nights held its place in the sky. The light reflected off the rings caused the snow to glow a delicate blue even at night.

No one was awake to see the red star, the eerie glow of a star that had become a small circle that pulsed red, deeper than any star or plant on the horizon. No one was awake to see the red glowing emergency message indicator blinking on the communication device that was wrapped in cloth, and stored in a traveling pack tucked in a box forgotten in the far end of the root seller. No one was awake to hear the warning, the message to get off the planet, or to get to a shelter deep underground. No one in the cabin knew that the last line of orbital defense had failed and that the planet was even now being saturated with gamma and x-ray radiation, causing massive storms and freak weather patterns around the planet.

No one would wake up as the pulsing red circle slid through the night sky over the cabin casting both its visible sinister red glow, and the invisible bombardment over the planet under it. The stars in the night sky continued to twinkle and blink even as the red circle slipped out of sigh, the cabin left to stand on its own, the cozy firelight flickings through the window. The only sound in the cabin was the soft crackling of the fires as they too slowly burnt out.