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Call From The Cabin

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Hey Jimmy, it's Kevin. Pick up if you're there.

We just pulled up to your cabin.

What? Oh. Ellen says hi. Annie too, but she's sleeping in her car seat.

Anyway, it's pitch black. No lights on in the cabin. You said you'd leave the porch light on. Doesn't matter. I'm lighting up the porch with my headlights.

Thing is, it looks like your front door's open. I thought I should call in case it might be a problem.

Anyway, you're not home I guess. Wait.

Ellen doesn't want me to hang up. Okay, I'll keep talking, hoping you come home and pick up.

She's a little freaked out. (Yes, you're freaked out.)

Jimmy, you said to use the key under the rock on the porch, but I don't see any rock. It doesn't matter since the door's open. Guess I have to check it out.

Never occurred to me to bring a flashlight, and I don't keep one in the car. That's pretty stupid. Guess what? Ellen agrees.

Anyway I'm out of the car and heading to the porch. I wish you had told me how dark nighttime is up here. Could be a full moon, but that's not helping me under all these trees.

I'm sure you're thinking I should have realized coming up here at night meant darkness and maybe I shouldn't be driving my wife and kid up to a god-forsaken no man's land in the middle of the night. Well just remember buddy, you said you'd leave a light on on the porch. Where are you man? You said you'd be back home by the time we got here.

So I'm at the edge of the porch now and yeah the front door is definitely open. Well it's ajar anyway. The thing is, the screen door is closed. I don't know what to make of that. I don't think anyone's inside, I mean, the lights are all off. Maybe they're sleeping.

But I don't know who you would have let use the cabin. Obviously you knew I was coming up tonight with Ellen and the baby. Damn I don't get this.

I mean what if someone found the key under the rock — still no sign of the rock by the way — and they just let themselves in. You know like Goldilocks.

I'm going for a little levity here, man, because this is feeling way creepy. Okay, I'm going to go around back and see if I can see into a window. There's just enough light from the headlights to see on the left side of the cabin.

Okay I'm along the side now but the cabin is all dark. Definitely no one in there. Awake anyway. I think. I'm going to walk around the other side. It's totally dark, but I'll use my phone to light the way so I don't break my neck or step on a snake or get attacked by a raccoon.
Hold on a minute.

I'm back. Heading towards the car. Now I'm seeing spots because I'm staring into the headlights. Nothing on that side of the cabin anyway.
Okay I'm back in front. I'm going to tell Ellen I'm just going to go into the cabin. Hold on.

(Ellen?)

Oh for Chrissakes. Where'd she go? ELLEN? Damn, I'm going to wake the baby. ELLEN! Let me check on Annie.

Holy ... she's not in the car either. ELLEN! Jimmy's something wrong. I'm going into the cabin. ELLEN!

Shit! Jimmy, the headlights just went out. ELLEN!

Oh my God. Jimmy, please pick up. Call 9-1-1. There's someone else here.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Kevin Windorf