Cabin Fever

My woman’s intuition told me something bad would result from this trip. Brent, my husband, suddenly developed this need to commune with nature. Brenda didn’t want to go. We had to practically drag her to the station wagon. Phil and Carl, however, my twin fourteen-year-old boys, were eager to get out into the remote wilderness. Brent found the cabin and made the plans. I went along like a good wife.

Once at the cabin, light years from anywhere, my anxiety grew. No phone, no electricity, and having no toilet didn’t help. We weren’t there thirty minutes when five armed men burst in on us. They pushed Brent before them, bound and gaged. My heart sank. I clutched my kids to me and we huddled in a corner. We watched helplessly as they shoved Brent into a chair and bound him in place.

After securing Brent, the leader approached us with a leering grin. The others crowded around, snickering and laughing. The man holding the pistol waved it casually while addressing me. He said, “Lady, this ain’t your day. You see, we are bad desperados, and it looks like we’ll be holed up here together for a few days.”

I pleaded, “Please don’t hurt anyone.”

“We don’t plan to, but then that all depends on you. We have to lay low for a few days. You see, we just robbed a bank. If everybody stays cool and cooperates, nobody gets hurt. You guys can go about your little vacation, and we’ll move on. I’ll just say this once, though. If any of you tries anything, sneaks off, or pisses us off, your old man gets a bullet right between the eyes, understand?”

I nodded. He shouted, “I’m talking to all of you.” We all nodded. “Now, you guys go sit on that couch and let us have a little meeting. No talking.”
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