Something moved in the underbrush, stilling Patty. He slowly laid down, barely feeling the cold now. Maybe they'd think he was already dead. He'd stopped shivering and congratulated himself for the self-control, ignoring the small voice that said he wasn't controlling it.
The sounds grew louder. He held his breath, watching the trees. Relief flooded him when a deer poked its head out. They hadn't found him.
Tearing his eyes away from the deer, Patty pushed himself up and looked down at the bear trap. He couldn't feel it anymore.
Reaching down one last time, he pushed the lever down, almost sobbing in relief when something broke and the jaws came open and he was able to ease his leg out.
With renewed resolve, he shakily stood and started hobbling. The cabin wasn't far now. Patty found a long stick and used it to poke around the snow in front of him as he walked, feeling for more bear traps.
He nearly burst into tears when he finally reached the cabin. He would've run if his leg wasn't fucked up.
Dad never locked the door. They lived so far from other people or any hiking trails that theft was unlikely, and he always said that the kind of person who would come across it accidentally was probably the kind of person who needed the supplies inside most.
Patty shut the door behind him and took a moment to breathe before stumbling towards the gas heater and collapsing to his knees to turn it on. He almost felt like lying down right there on the floorboards and sleeping until the sun came up.
The memory of Talia's scream tore through his mind. He stood slowly and went to the radio.
YOU ARE READING
Eyes of Ice
FanfictionRonnie lives a peaceful life in his woodland cabin. Peaceful aside from the yearly Horrifying and Mysterious Animal Attacks, but he tries not to let those get to him. They were probably rabid wolves or something, right? This poor stranger he found i...
