This week, the story was written in the “pantsy” style. That is a term that describes the writing process. In most cases, I have a good idea of where I want to take the story and have some form of outline to guide me. In this story, I had an idea of how to start but didn’t know where it would go. It is like writing by the seat of your pants. Even I was surprised by the ending. I hope you enjoy it.
Artwork by Adobe Firefly
The Cabin
It was a last minute thing. Carter wasn’t sure if his friends would be able to get away for the weekend. The cabin had just become available and the owner was expecting an answer within the hour. His friends seemed to be scattered all over the town of Wilson. Most times, they responded back rather quickly. He conceded to himself that the fact he needed a quick answer meant that most of them would have to decline. It was Friday afternoon after all and the snow had already begun to fall.
Jody looked down at her phone. She saw that she had a couple of text messages with one of them being from Carter. Jesus, what did he want now? They were friends, sure. But, the breakup was still rather fresh in her mind even though it had been six months now. She still cared about him. Truth be told, she probably still loved him too. That wasn’t going to help her heal. She tried seeing other guys but the whole thing felt hollow. She’d let him stew a bit before answering. Whatever it was, she was fairly certain it wasn’t that important.
Dale couldn’t believe his luck. He asked Sandy for a date and she said, yes. He had been trying for what felt like an eternity. He had always been laser focused on Sandy. He just knew that she was for him. It was a feeling. It wasn’t sexual although he wouldn’t take that off the table. He was only human after all but it wasn’t the real reason for this feeling he had. He couldn’t explain it. He tried explaining it to Carter but he just laughed and eluded to the fact that Dale was probably only interested in sex. Dale knew deep inside that simply wasn’t true. Taking Sandy on a ski trip would show her that he was much more sincere then that.
Logan rounded out the list of friends that Carter had sent the text message to. Logan wasn’t the type of guy that had his cell phone attached to his arm. Life was too short and he probably spent far too much time looking for his phone than actually using it. Besides, it was better off someplace else besides underneath the car he was currently working on. He liked to tinker with cars. Got the bug from his grandfather, he supposed. It was calming. Working on cars allowed the world to flow away. He liked to get lost in his thoughts sometimes.
Carter was sitting on his couch and getting a bit nervous. He had to give the guy an answer and the clock was ticking down. He only had 31 minutes until he lost out on the cabin. Should he send another text? He shook his head. If they didn’t answer the first one they surely wouldn’t answer the second one either. This called for drastic measures. He would have to call them directly. He felt confident that when they heard the name Ravenwood, they’d be very interested. Everyone in town knew about the Ravenwood cabin rumors. The cabin wasn’t haunted but most people that had gotten a chance to stay there would call it “enchanted.” That sounded nice to Carter. The owner had a stupid rule for occupancy that required at least four. Carter didn’t understand it but he finally got an opportunity to stay and he didn’t want to waste it.
Jody answered the phone after a rather dramatic conversation with herself over whether or not she should. Carter had always talked about going to Ravenwood. She thought the name seemed evil in a way but she was probably just as curious as Carter. Without much coaxing, she agreed to go.
Dale was not as easy to convince. He would have to reschedule his date with Sandy if she would be willing and also purchase new lift tickets. She finally said yes to a date and he didn’t want to screw it up. After Carter’s suggestion of bringing Sandy along, Dale had to agree with his logic that Dale’s circle of friends might make her feel like he was genuinely interested in Sandy for her and not her “assets.” Carter seemed to think that the less intimate approach might work.
Logan wouldn’t pick up his phone. Carter, Jody, and Dale met up at the town pizza shop which was technically their base of operations. At least, until they got kicked out which was usually every other day. After a quick pizza and sodas, they decided to visit Logan’s house to see if he would be interested in going. It took some “sweet talking” by Jody and a promise of adventure by Carter to convince him but he cleaned up and the four climbed into Logan’s vintage SUV to see if they could persuade Sandy to join this little gang. Again, Jody’s girl logic won the day and Sandy climbed into the SUV with a feeling that she might actually have some fun in her life for a change.
Carter had already confirmed the booking with the owner. With the money transferred and the cabin owner happy, they were officially on their way to Ravenwood for the weekend. The drive would take an hour an a half so the ride was full of jokes, a little bit of singing, and some embarrassing stories about Dale told for Sandy’s benefit. If you asked Dale, his so-called friends weren’t helping and he wasn’t sure they were really friends.
The cabin sat alone in the middle of a medium sized forest. If Carter thought about it, most forests around their town seemed medium sized. What was full-sized? What was small? He wasn’t sure but the sight of the cabin looked a bit ominous. The outside seemed to be magically lit with bright lights all around it. It had been dark for about twenty minutes and the cabin with all of the lights gave off a magical vibe to Carter.
The kids made their way inside after fumbling with the combination lock on the front door. The cabin contained objects that seemed to be hand crafted out of the finest woods and materials. It was luxurious and more than what they should have gotten for the price they paid or so Carter thought to himself.
Jody tried to contain her excitement as she approached a dial made out of what seemed like precious gems and stones. The dial was displayed on a stand near the adjacent wall. The dial was divided into five sections. Each section had a name. BEACH, SAILING, SKI RESORT, PRIVATE ISLAND, and JONUS (the name of the town where they were now). She called everyone over to look at the dial. In typical fashion for this group, they took a vote on which place to move the dial and decided to try BEACH first. Jody moved the dial.
Nothing happened.
The group looked at each other puzzled. “Well, I’m not sure what it was supposed to do but I don’t think anything happened.” Jody said. They looked at each other and at the same moment, collectively heard the sounds of seagulls coming from outside the cabin. Logan walked to the closest door and opened it. The smell of the salt air was overwhelming. The sky was pure blue and the sun was shining brightly. Overhead, the sounds of seagulls could be heard as they flew in erratic patterns over the long beach. Carter no longer wondered what the word enchanted meant when used to describe this cabin. Logan shut the door and walked over to the dial. He turned it back to JONUS and then walked back to the door and opened it. The gang stood looking at him in shocked silence.
Instead of the beach, seagulls, and sun he stared at his dark green SUV. He looked back at everyone else still huddled around the dial. They still seemed to be in a state of shock. “You know Carter, I seriously considered telling you to buzz off this afternoon when you asked me to come here. I’m glad I didn’t.” Dale looked at Sandy and then at Carter. “Me too.”
Sandy smiled at the group and then back to Dale. “When you take a girl on a date, you really take her out on a date.” The group looked down at the dial and back to each other. Carter being the one who booked the cabin felt obligated to ask the only question that needed asking right now.
“I mean, where should we go first?”
