The storm

John sat at the worn oak table, the warmth from the stove against his back as he ate his eggs and drank his strong, black coffee. This little cabin wasn’t anything fancy but it was a palace to John, his sanctuary in a world that was full of stress and people just a bit too quick to throw you to the wolves. The wind began to whistle outside, rattling the single pane windows and groaning inside the chimney. He got up and stoked the fire, which swirled and Jumped as the wind harassed it. He topped up his coffee. He usually took a walk outside most days into the woods that surrounded his home, sometimes hunting, sometimes just enjoying nature. The woods around him were tall strong pines that gave off an intense aroma in the summer and held the snow gracefully in the winter. He loved it here and walking amongst these giants gave him peace and a sense of calm that he had never felt before, especially not in the city. Not today though, he wanted to hunker down in the comfort of his sanctuary and stay warm and eat too much. He had just sat back down as a knock came at the door. He froze. He lived in the middle of nowhere, it wasn’t the type of place that neighbours came and knocked. Bang, bang, bang! 3 more knocks at the door, louder this time. More desperate. The old wooden door rattling so hard John thought it might come of its hinges. John picked up a knife from the side and edged closer to the door, cautiously, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible.

He peeked through the rain smeared glass in the door, a man stood outside soaking wet and shivering. He had his arms wrapped round himself tightly trying to keep the cold out. “Please! Is anyone there? I got lost in the woods chasing my dog and now I’m stranded in this storm.” The stranger was shivering so much he could barely get his words out, his teeth chattering in between syllables.

John opened the door the smallest of cracks and shouted out to the man “What do you want? What are you doing out here?”

“Please Mr! I lost my dog walking in the woods and now I’m completely stranded. Let me just shelter from this storm then I can make my own way home.”

John was conflicted he wanted to help but he had an unnerving feeling that this guy was lying. Why would he be so far out with his dog? He would have had to be walking for miles.

John opened the door with one hand and held the knife out shakily “you can come in for a little while but no funny business.”

The stranger thanked him “thank god you answered I was starting to get scared I would die out here.”

John gestured towards the old floral armchair by the fire as he got the stranger a cup of coffee.

”why are you this far out in the woods? You must have been walking for hours?”

John eyed him suspiciously as the stranger grasped his mug with both hands, shivering and sipping his hot coffee.

”my damn dog got the scent of something and ran off, I’ve been tracking the wretched beast ever since but I haven’t been able to find him. I can guarantee the little bastard has found his way home and is safe by the fire with his bone while I’m lost out here” the stranger managed a small smile as he thought of the absurdity of the situation.

John sat down at the kitchen table and finished his eggs. He relaxed a little bit. The stranger did just seem to genuinely need shelter from the storm. Too bad for him, now he had seen Johns face and knew where he lives he couldn’t let him leave. John had managed to hide out in these woods for the last 3 years without a single visitor, he thought he could stay here long enough that he could live out the last few years of his life in peace, but alas, this storm fearing man had brought the old John back from the dead.

But how to do it? Strangled like the women he had killed? No, this guy was big, better get his gun and make sure it’s done right and quick. “Too old to be fighting with a guy this young” he thought to himself as he went to the kitchen drawer and pulled out his revolver.

The strangers eyes widened with fear as the metal from the gun glinted in the firelight.

“I promise I’m not here for any trouble” the stranger stumbled over his words as he pushed his body back in the chair.

”i know” John squeezed the trigger. The stranger slumped in the chair. The blood from his wound mixing with the rain water and making an awful mess on the floor.

John sat at the kitchen table. “Guess you can’t run forever.” He said to himself as he cleaned his gun.

”Now what?” He thought to himself. He was annoyed he had made such a mess during such a ferocious storm. Normally he would have dragged him outside and buried him or pulled him onto the burning pit and got rid of the evidence that way but there was no way he was going out in that downpour. He took a sheet and threw it over the strangers body, his eyes fixed in a horrifying stare forever. John looked at him for a little while, it didn’t give him the same pleasure as when he hurt the women. He took his time with them, enjoyed the game. Enjoyed the way they cried out and how their faces distorted as he choked the life out of them. This was just a nuisance. Like getting rid of a deer after you had butchered it.

He stoked the fire again and topped up his coffee some more. He wondered what sort of dog it was that the stranger had lost, maybe it would find his way here and he wouldn’t have to be alone anymore.