Solitude

The loud knock that came from the other side of the cabin door caused both Alex and Samantha to jump. The lights had gone out, and there was that wretched howling noise that was caused by the wind when it wound through the numerous surrounding trees and scraped up against the cabin's exterior. That knock was followed by silence, other than the howling wind outside, and after the wind stopped the world became dead silent. There was no movement; there was no noise at all. Not even the sound of the waterfall just beyond the trees. It was like the world had stopped. Suddenly, a second knock, this one more of a bang, was laid upon the door causing it to shiver on its barrings. Alex looked to Samantha, her terror reflecting in his large brown eyes. He stood, slowly approaching the door with a hunting knife in hand. Setting his palm upon the handle, he slowly opened the door, but it was what was on the other side of the threshold that shook him to his core.

Arrival.
It was odd how quickly Alexander Carter had invited his girlfriend Samantha Mohr to go to his cabin in the mountains for the weekend. The outlook was snowy, frigid cold and just alltogether dismal. He wanted to go, though; said it was the perfect time to go hunting. He called her at work, and she hastened to pick up the phone as always. After dating for nearly four years, who wouldn't? So as soon as work let out on that fateful Friday afternoon,

That weekend, he dropped by her flat in his Land-Rover, picking her up and beginning the long drive up to the mountains for the weekend. On the way there it blissfully began to snow. The frigid air picked up, and driving the upward winding trail to the cabin was like driving at light-speed with the snow acting as the stars flying by in space. Finally, upon reaching the cabin, the twe clambered from the vehicle and hurried into the abode. Samantha set about turning on the lights, and setting the fire in the fireplace. Alex set about bringing in the luggage, and taking it to the bedroom.

The cabin was small; it had three rooms only. A bedroom, a bathroom, and a living/dining room attached to a kitchen. The kitchen was small, but had all the necessary utensils in it; a coffee-pot, a stove, a microwave, and a miniature refrigerator which was currently filled with week-old bottles of beer and wine, and other assorted liquor from when he brought her up here on her birthday. This cabin was well used; it was their escape from reality. Little did they know that what little they knew of reality would be shattered this weekend.

After all the unpacking had been done and sandwiches had been made, the two nestled into their loveseat-couch, frosted beers in hand. "Maybe we should come and just live here, Alex. It's nicer here, and we wouldn't have to work so much. I mean, your parents bought this place back in the stoneage,"  Samantha joked, sipping from her bottle afterward. She gently pressed her head into the palm of her hand as she sat with an elbow in the cushioned seat and her back against the arm of the couch. She wound her dark brown hair around her fingers, looping it in and out and just stroking it. Her bright green eyes flickered from her bottle to his chiseled face. He cracked a smile, ruining the stone-faced visage he had held since the moment they had arrived. "Maybe so. It'd be nice to be here, with you, all day long," he spoke, his voice deep in tone. He was a tall man, fit and taut with strawberry blonde hair and liquid chocolate brown eyes. Samantha giggled, setting her beer bottle down on the table and crawling over on top of him, pinning him to the couch before pressing her lips to his in a heated, passionate kiss. Alex attempted to put his beer bottle down on the table next to hers before grabbing at her waist, kissing her gently in return. All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. One terrifying to hear, as they were alone in these mountains.

This is it.
 Alexander looked at Samantha who was still pinning him to the couch. '''"What was that?" ''' He heard her ask. He shrugged, and gently pushed her off of him before standing and walking to the kitchen where his hunting knife sat. He quickly grabbed it and slipped the sheath off of it before leaving the kitchen. Samantha appeared beside him in the hall leading to the door, before he shushed her and told her to go back to the bedroom. She refused. The electricity in the cabin flickered, and they both looked up at the ceiling; a terrible feeling of doom rippled over their skin as they stood, staring up at the hall light above them.

 The loud knock that came from the other side of the cabin door caused both Alex and Samantha to jump. The lights had gone out, and there was that wretched howling noise that was caused by the wind when it wound through the numerous surrounding trees and scraped up against the cabin's exterior. That knock was followed by silence, other than the howling wind outside, and after the wind stopped the world became dead silent. There was no movement; there was no noise at all. Not even the sound of the waterfall just beyond the trees. It was like the world had stopped. Suddenly, a second knock, this one more of a bang, was laid upon the door causing it to shiver on its barrings. Alex looked to Samantha, her terror reflecting in his large green eyes. He stood, slowly approaching the door with a hunting knife in hand. Setting his palm upon the handle, he slowly opened the door, but it was what was on the other side of the threshold that shook him to his core.

 Bitter wind turned the heated air in the cabin to cool, causing a horribly cold feeling to enhabit the makeshift home. Snow flew in through the doorway and past Alexander, falling in little spirals until they hit the floor and melted. A pale figure stood, covered in snow and shivering to death, in front of the door. "C-c-could I c-come in a-and warm up...? I w-w-w-was hiking when t-t-the snow began..." He said quietly, unable to control the stuttering that happened because of his almost frozen being. Alexander pulled the man in by his parka before slamming the cabin door shut on the frigid circling wind. He shivered, and looked at the man who was currently shaking so bad he could hardly stand. "Sam, go get blankets, and grab some of the coffee we made earlier. It should still be warm, and if it isn't we can heat it in the pot above the fire," Alex stated. The thin woman nodded, before scampering off to find blankets in the cupboards of the bedroom. The tall red-head hurriedly helped the man who's fingers were trembling too badly to get his parka undone. After stripping the man from his jacket, he sat him on the couch. Samantha appeared and wrapped a thick blanket around the man's shoulders before running off to get the warm coffee. '''"T-thank you, so much..." '''The man stated, nodding. As Samantha returned with a somewhat steaming cup of coffee, the man took it with trembling hands. He cooed as the heat from the cup radiated into his fingers.

"What is your name?" Alex asked, sitting on the coffee table and looking at the man before him. He wasn't a big guy, couldn't be much older than Alex and Samantha. He had short, dark wavy hair and bright blue eyes the color of Aquamarine gems. "My name is Jason, Jason Labonte. I'm a botanist, and I was up here hiking and doing some research on the wild vegetation that grows up here during the winter," he responded, after sipping some more coffee. His nose was pink from the bitter cold beyond the threshold. '''"What are your names?" '''he asked. The couple looked to each other, and Alex responded, "My name is Alexander Carter, and this is Samantha Mohr, my fiancee.'  He said. Jason's eyes flickered back and forth between the young couple.

"I apologize for intruding...I just was beginning to not be able to feel my legs anymore," Jason said, finally, breaking the tension filled silence. "Look, I hate to impose but...Oh, dear, Samantha your nose," He said, setting the coffee-cup down and pointing to her nose. A deep crimson liquid was trickling from her nostrils, the area around the bridge of her nose looking bruised and swollen out of nowhere. Alex turned sharply, looking at her before sighing and running to the dark kitchen in search of supplies to clean her nose up. '''"Oh, shoot...Go on, we're listening..." '''Samantha said, tilting her head back and pinching her nose; she winced slightly upon the pressure, and sighed loudly out of her mouth. The blood trickled down the roof of her mouth and into her throat, forcing her to swallow the irony-tasting liquid. She nearly gagged at the thought of the blood running down her throat. "Well I...was going to ask if I may perhaps sleep here tonight? I couldn't find my way down the mountain in the dark," Jason asked hesitantly.

'''"Of course you can. You can have the couch this evening, and we'll drive you down the mountain in the morning after breakfast, alright?" '''Sam said, her voice nasally from her nose being pinched. Finally, the blood stopped running, but that didn't stop the aching pain in the bridge of her nose. Jason merely nodded, and after some blankets were tucked into the couch, he curled up on it and laid down to sleep. Electricity still out, they left the fireplace going, hoping some sort of heat would continue to radiate throughout the cabin. The couple then went to bed themselves, thinking about their guest and how odd it was that he had shown up so late in the evening.

=== Morning. ===

The evening passed smoothly, but when morning came the couple found themselves shivering, so cold their breath could be seen even with the softest exhale. Bundling up in the clothes they had arrived in, they stepped from their bedroom and walked down the hall. Neither of them knew how they'd make breakfast: the fire had gone out, and the electricity still hadn't come on. Chances were, they were snowed in too badly to get the door open, but they could still try. Bright white light lit up the inside of the cabin, streaming in through the windows as it reflected off of the fresh snow. Their guest, Jason, was already awake, sitting on the couch and scribbling notes in a booklet. He turned when he heard footsteps. "Good morning, you two. Are you ready to go?" He asked, smiling. Samantha rubbed her neck, sore all over. Her body ached, and was bruised randomly in the most odd of places. She even had dried blood on her nose when she had woken up, but had since cleaned it off. Alexander could barely walk or speak; even breathing was hard to do. "You may have to help us, instead. Go out and see if the Land-Rover starts, please, and then head down to the Ranger's Station,"Alex asked, before clenching his chest and dropping beside him on the couch. Jason stood and helped Sam lay him on the couch, where he lay writhing in pain from the horrible pain in his chest.

"Go ahead, I'm going to stay here with him. Just tell them our names and ask them to send a chopper or something. I can't move him like this," Samantha said, stroking Alex's hair. Jason nodded and opened the door, braving the cold snow with the keys in his hand. After pushing piles of snow from his path, he walked out of the cabin, shutting the door behind him. The tall male opened the driver's side door to the Land-Rover, and slipped in out of the blistering wind. Key in the ignition, the terrible car's engine turned over, but never started. Finally, on the last time, it blew out, and wouldn't even start up the next time he tried. Jason frowned, and stepped from the vehicle again, hurrying to shut the door. He took a glance at the cabin, and then took off in the general direction of the Ranger's office.

It took hours, but he finally made it. Just as the sun approached noon, he walked into the hot office. Walking to the desk, he peered over it at the small rotund woman who sat behind a computer screen. "Hello..." He said softly, to which was met with a grunt of greeting. "Look, I need your help. There's a couple up there in their cabin, their car won't stop, and the man is having problems with a pain in his chest," Jason said exasperated, already frustrated with the woman. The short, round woman looked at him with wide eyes. '''"A couple you say? Do you know their names?" '''She asked, looking over the brim of her glasses at him. The stale air in the office became heavy with tension. "Yes, yes, their names are Alexander Carter and Samantha Mohr. They drive a dark-green Land-Rover," He replied, overjoyed that she was listening finally. The woman stopped typing, her face growing pale. "That's impossible sir," she said, taking her glasses off to look at him. '''"No, it isn't, I just stayed with them last night! What do you mean that's impossible?" '''He said, his voice raising slightly in pitch and volume. His palms began to sweat, and he felt himself shivering once more, a feeling of impending doom shuddering over his body in waves.

"Sir, we found a dark-green Land-Rover, wrecked off the mountain drive into a tree, in flames. The driver, presumably male, had a large tree branch through his chest, and the passenger had a broken neck. After investigating further, we found the driver to be Alexander Carter, and the passenger to be Samantha Mohr, both twenty-six years of age. 

They died, sir. Two days ago."