Pete’s Cabin

Gina missed the private road and had to backtrack a bit. The hour-long drive had turned into two. Tony had been right, it was secluded. The driveway went back a quarter of a mile and there were no other houses in sight. Tony’s uncle Pete, a brick mason, resided on the island in a town called Massapequa; this place had been his and Dot’s getaway.  A place where their large extended family could come and experience the fresh air and slower pace of the Catskills. 

Tony found the key under a potted plant. 

A strong odor hit Gina’s nostrils as she entered the cabin; she sniffed and wrinkled her nose. The smell was unmistakable, mothballs. 

Sue, Dirty J. and Anthony were ahead of her. Dirty J. had already claimed the back bedroom and settled in. J. snoring soon after his head hit the pillow. Sue grinned and told Gina goodnight and followed him into the bedroom sliding the door shut behind her. It was barely nine o’clock.

Gina looked into the other bedroom. Two sets of bunk beds lined the walls on either side of the room. There was a large thick wool rug in the middle.

Great, she thought. This should be interesting. 

Anthony found a couple of sleeping bags and unzipped each and then re-zipped them together. He cleared the middle of the floor and voilà their custom-made bed laid before them. Gina was too tired to complain much. 

“Burr, I’m cold.”

“Leave your clothes on and get inside the sleeping bag there’s an electric heater in the main room, I’ll turn it on and we should be pretty warm and toasty before long.

Gina did as she was told.  Anthony turned on the heater and slid in next to her. 

Anthony had been her first time and it was a blur. Had anything happened? All Gina remembered was the harmony of snores emanating from both bedrooms.  That and the humming heater set to 62 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Gina woke once in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and had heard something on the roof. Whatever it was sounded heavy and sinister. There was no way she was going outside. She’d peeked out the window and saw a large shadow leaping from the roof. It looked like an orange cat. A few seconds later, Gina heard something else. 

…