Vee stared at the cabin numbly, barely aware as Atkins walked past her to go and unlock the heavy door, framed in hand-carved leaves and creeping vines. Her eyes followed the flowing pattern of carvings down to the base, where she noted the leaves were cut more roughly, as if by a far more unskilled hand. She felt her heart catch in her throat, her hand flexing around a chisel long since abandoned. She remembered sitting in the towering shadow of her grandfather while he worked on the higher sections of the doorframe, while she dutifully helped at the bottom. She remembered the sting of realizing her efforts didn’t look so nice as his, and the way he’d laughed and taken her into his arms to comfort her.
Eli’s hand slipped into hers as the door opened in front of them, and she startled a bit at the contact, looking down at him and blinking to bring herself back to reality. “Whose house is this, Mama?” Eli was asking, his wide blue eyes fixed up on her as he leaned against her hip, his other hand outstretched to keep hold of Iron Man’s leash while the dog sniffed curiously at the open doorway.
“It’s…it was my grandpa’s house.” She answered after a moment’s hesitation. It was a bit of a foreign concept to Eli, she realized. He’d never gotten to meet his own grandfathers; her father had died when she was fifteen, and Ryan’s father was distinctly uninterested in being involved in any part of his son’s life beyond throwing money at him to solve his problems. Another twinge of guilt plucked at her heartstrings as she wondered what it might’ve been like to introduce Eli to Kato.
“Where’s your grandpa?” Eli asked, and Vee swallowed hard as she took a step forward, following Atkins as he beckoned them forth into the quiet cabin’s interior. “He’s…not around anymore, baby. But this was his house. And…now I have to decide what to do with it.”
The inside of the cabin was a fairly open space, rustic but homey, and the handcrafted nature of the entire abode meaning there was a distinct aura of love and care that permeated every detail. A large stonework fireplace built into the opposite wall had been swept clean, a neat bundle of firewood still stacked beside it, as if it had been freshly chopped just yesterday. “The place gets electricity from a windmill he installed a few years back on the roof. But there’s a generator in the cellar too; gas-powered. And the place gets its water from a private well.”
“I see.” Vee nodded absently, letting go of Eli’s hand as the boy took Iron Man boldly forth to explore the space, admiring the carved details that decorated the walls and furnishings. Kato had built just about everything in here from scratch, she remembered him saying. The stove was still a wood-burning one, his fridge still a classic model from some decades back, meticulously maintained to keep it as fresh and functional as the day he’d bought it.
She suddenly became aware of Atkins’ eyes following her as she wandered aimlessly through the room, her fingertips outstretched to trail along the edge of the bookshelf laden with faintly dusty titles. Mostly educational pieces, classifications of woodland flora and fauna, guides to foraging, hunting, survivalist information…she remembered spending cold evenings in front of the fire reading while Kato prepared dinner. She had spent so much time here…how could she have forgotten? She looked back at Atkins, feeling somehow defensive and vulnerable as if there was some unspoken accusation in his gaze. How could there not be, when she’d all but abandoned her grandfather who had evidently meant so much to the townspeople here?
“Like I said, we didn’t touch anything aside from taking the perishables out. Didn’t want rotting food locked away in here.” He smiled, but she could see a hint of unease in his eyes and the slight crease between his brows. Like he was nervous about being there. Or maybe she was projecting, because she certainly felt it. The nerves, the unease as if the house itself was looking at her, walls that hadn't seen her in years judging her for her absence. Her heart quickened in her chest as her fingertips brushed the spines of those dusty books, and she flinches as if it stung her to touch them, as if some invisible force had swatted her away. "No." She heard a voice in her head that reminded her all too much of her stepmother's. "You don't have the right."
"Ms. Hanes?" The Sheriff's voice brought her back to the moment and she exhaled heavily, shaking herself before looking over at him. "Sorry." She offered him a wan smile. "It's just weird being here again." She folded her arms tight across her chest, rocking on her heels a moment as she looked around and noticed the main room suspiciously empty aside from them. "…Eli?"
"Back here, Mom!" He called from one of the rooms down the short hall. Three doors; two bedrooms and the bathroom, she recalled. One of the bedroom doors was open, and Vee felt her stomach do another funny little flip as she approached. The room inside looked starkly unchanged from the hazy memories that stirred upon looking at it. The walls were still decorated with her childhood artwork, including the various crafts and trinkets made from branches and stones and even bits of bone and antler Kato had carved for her. Eli was sitting in the middle of the floor, having pulled out a box from under the bed full of more only slightly-faded papers covered in her scribbly sketchwork, while Iron Man snoozed against his side. The boy smiled up at her as she appeared in the doorway. "Did you draw these?" He held up some of the sheets and Vee felt an awkward smile tug at her lips.
"I did. Once upon a time, I used to fancy myself an artist." She chuckled, shaking her head as she tried not to think about how that interest had died not long after moving away. She wanted to simply appreciate the way Eli's face lit up while he examined her old drawings, most of them centered around the forest she'd spent her days in. Trees and mushrooms, deer and squirrels, simple nature themes.
Atkins was lingering at the end of the hall still, as if unwilling to tread too deeply into the house, or perhaps he was simply being courteous and not wanting her to feel trapped between him and the door at her back, the one which led to Kato's room. "He kept the place in good shape, all these years. Hardly ever called for outside help. He even thatched the roof himself, real old-fashioned." He looked at the rafters spanning the main room's ceiling, nodding to himself. "A real man of the earth, he was."
"Yeah, he was." She echoed, chewing her lip. She suddenly felt lost. What was she supposed to do now? This place didn't feel like it COULD be hers, much less that it apparently already was. She took a deep breath to steady her racing thoughts before looking back at Atkins again. "…Do I need to do anything right away? It's just a lot to take in. I…I could use the chance to sleep on it."
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"Oh, right, of course." He was quick to offer her a reassuring smile and nod, though she could see a flicker of something like apprehension in his eyes. Perhaps he was afraid she'd back out, for some reason. But why would he care so much about that? A house like this, so unassuming and out of the way, what difference did it make if she DID decide to simply turn and run? Not that she was going to; as stressful and bewildering as she found the whole situation, that was never really in any serious question. A revelation which surprised her as much as it would have anyone else, she was sure.
It took some coaxing to get Eli out of her old room, the boy still smitten with the adventure of it all. But after promising him—and by extension Sheriff Atkins as well as herself—that they would return in the next day or two, he finally acquiesced and the four of them headed back out to get into the car again. Vee followed while Eli led Iron Man ahead, the dog scrambling up into the backseat after the boy while Atkins regaled him with some story Vee only half-listened to as she closed the door behind them. She paused as she looked at the key in her hand, pressed to her palm by Atkins in passing despite her half-hearted protest. It wasn't really the key she was looking at though, instead a strange prickling sensation on the back of her neck making her hesitant to turn around. She felt suddenly like the forest was watching her, like the trees were holding their breath as they waited for her to turn that key and turn to face them.
"Ms. Hanes?" Atkins' voice broke her trance and she shook her head forcefully to clear the irrational sensation from her thoughts, locking the door and turning on her heel to head for the Jeep again. She was being stupid, she chided herself inwardly. Letting her nerves get the better of her. Still though, she didn't lift her eyes to scan the dense forest even once she was settled in the passenger seat again, the Jeep trundling off back down the road toward town.
"I can email you some paperwork to bring back when you're ready. No rush; no one's gonna mess with the place." Atkins assured her with another smile as they stood in the parking lot between the Jeep and Vee's own weathered truck, Eli chattering happily to Iron Man as he and the dog wandered around the otherwise empty lot.
"I appreciate it. And…thanks for taking us out there. I'm still wrapping my head around everything." Vee nodded to him, and Atkins made a noncommital sound, waving off the thanks. "It's nothing." He chuckled, but there was just the briefest hesitation in his words, a flicker of his eyes that told her he was trying to decide how to word his thoughts. "So…do you have any idea what you'll do with it? I mean, as far as selling it, or…keeping it? Woodwill's not much to look at, I know, but it's a good little community we've got here."
Vee felt her guts tighten at that, and she swallowed thickly. "There's just…a lot to consider, you know? I need to do some thinking. But I'll be back out here in a couple days, after I go over the papers and, uh…talk to my lawyer." She wasn't sure if Tess would even have any particular input on this sort of thing; she was a divorce lawyer, not dealing with matters of real estate and inheritance laws. But Atkins didn't need the extra details.
"Of course." He nodded, extending a hand to her. She shook it, forcing a smile that she hoped would cover for the unease still simmering in her heart. With their goodbyes said, Eli and Iron Man loaded back into the truck, and Vee behind the wheel once more, it was time to make the long drive home. Eli dozed off pretty quickly despite the rumbly gravel road that met them outside of town, and Vee was glad for a chance to let her mask slip, letting out a tremulous breath as she made her way through the dense forest corridor that would lead them back to the highway.
"Where did you go, Kato?" The question leapt unbidden from her lips and with that, the dam broke. She felt her eyes burn, a tightness in her throat that barely stifled the sob that threatened to slip out. Was that a thing people did? Just…wander off into the forest to die? Why did he do it? Why didn't he reach out before now? How much easier would things have been if she had just come out here, after the divorce? Skipped all the bullshit of navigating the city and just…run back to the woods she'd been dragged away from so long ago?
Suddenly she gasped, slamming on the brakes. The gravel under the truck screeched and scraped as they came to a sudden halt, having rounded the next bend and found themselves blocked. Vee caught her breath as she stared at the herd of elk that placidly trotted across the road, a couple of them having stopped with ears perked, staring at the truck that had halted so suddenly, but then they went back to their business, hopping over the shallow ditch at the side of the road as they melted back into the forest. Iron Man's heavy head loomed over her shoulder, his jowls trembling as he uttered a muted woof, and she lifted a hand to pat his face, shushing him. Eli somehow hadn't stirred despite the jolt of the truck, and Vee steadily exhaled as she relaxed, looking him over briefly before extending a hand, ready to gently shake him awake so he could enjoy the admittedly breathtaking sight of all the elk filing across ahead of them—
Iron Man suddenly growled, and she reflexively looked back up to see what it was that had suddenly troubled him, and she felt a cold spike of shock run down her back. There, among the elk, something else stepped out from the trees. The gravel crunched under heavy footfalls, the creature towering in the dappled light that sprinkled across the ground below. Its head was like an elk—no, that wasn't quite right. It looked like it was wearing a mask made of an elk's skull, great bone antlers stretching above its head, while thick, dark fur coursed down over its thick neck and shoulders. Vee's eyes flickered, struggling to comprehend what it was she was seeing when the creature's head turned and she saw the glint of great yellow eyes within the bone-rimmed eye sockets of that mask-face.
"What the fuck-!" She stammered out, recoiling into her seat while Iron Man growled again. But then she blinked, and the beast was gone. The last of the elk disappearing into the trees, tails wagging and hooves delicately picking through the undergrowth. Vee didn't dare move, barely dared to breathe, the rumble of the truck's idling engine the only sound aside from Iron Man's heavy breathing in her ear. What WAS it? Was it even real? It was so large—nothing that big could vanish THAT quickly. But then, had it just been a stress-induced hallucination? It had seemed so vivid, so real…she swore she could see the glimmers of sunlight caught in its shaggy pelt.
"Mama? What's wrong?" Eli's sleepy voice nearly made her yelp as he startled her, but she bit back the reaction and looked to him with a shaky smile. "Nothing, Eli—g-go back to sleep. It's okay. I was just…looking at something." She reached over and patted his knee as he smiled, his eyes already flickering closed again as he slumped back in his seat. Vee cautiously looked ahead again, almost expecting to see the monster in the road ahead of them once more, but there was nothing but the gravel road and the idly drifting leaves in the air.
It had to be a trick of the eye, she told herself as she began driving again, rumbling on down the road toward the highway with her heart hammering against her ribcage. Just a result of her overly strained mental state. She needed a good dinner, a hot shower, and a good night's sleep, that was all.
By the time they got back on the nicely-paved highway and rejoined the flow of traffic, mild as it was, on the way back to the city, she was already feeling better. The "creature" fading into the back of her mind easily, dismissed as a figment of her imagination, spun up by the inherent stress of everything and the weirdness of being back in Woodwill again after so long. In a couple days things would feel more clear, she was cautiously optimistic. For now, she just needed to sign some papers and take care of her business. There was certainly more than enough of that to keep her plate filled.