Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23191 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 116(@200wpm)___ 93(@250wpm)___ 77(@300wpm)
My muscles twitch as I glance out the window.
Shit.
This is a new rental site that I’ve never used before and the listing didn’t have any reviews.
No, it can’t be…
It’s probably just a new building and who is this guy anyway? There’s no way he knows every piece of property in this vast mountain range.
“I’m sure it’s going to be fine.”
“If you say so,” he says with a shrug as he hands my phone back.
I guess I can always head into town and stay at the Greene Mountain Lodge if the place turns out to be a scam.
He continues driving up the mountain and I cling to the handle on the door as I get bumped and rocked around.
The scenery is spectacular, but I can’t really focus on that right now. I have a bad feeling in my gut about this. It takes another half an hour or so to wind around the mountain before the tip of a roof pokes out of the trees up ahead.
“You were right,” the driver says with a chuckle. “There is a place up here.”
I sink into the seat while exhaling in relief. Thank goodness for that.
But as he drives up to it, the panic returns. It doesn’t look anything like the photos. It’s deserted, rundown, and falling apart.
The luxurious cabin that I booked was constructed with full logs and has a large wraparound porch that looks out onto the stunning mountainous view.
This piece of shit cabin has a blue plastic tarp stapled over the rotting wood and the porch is littered with trash.
“It doesn’t look much like the pictures,” the driver says as he parks the truck.
“You think?!” I snap as I start to hyperventilate. “Is that a freaking hole in the roof?!”
Oh my god, it is! There’s a huge hole in the goddamn roof!
I can’t stay here.
“Well, let’s get you settled in,” the driver says as he steps out of the truck.
“Wait!” I nearly scream.
Either he doesn’t hear me or he ignores me, but whatever the case, he walks to the back of his truck as I stare at the cabin in horror.
Oh no. This is my worst nightmare. The windows are filthy. Two of them are cracked. The chimney has disintegrated and its bricks have fallen onto the sunken in roof.
The grass is so tall around the place that it looks like the earth is in the process of reabsorbing it into the ground. Trust me, nobody will miss this hellhole when it’s gone besides the termites.
A knock on the window makes me jump.
“Come on out, Miss.”
He opens the door and I cling to my seatbelt. “I can’t stay here.”
“Well, you can’t stay there,” he says, pointing into his truck. “I gotta head back to work.”
“You are at work,” I say in a desperate tone. “I’m paying you.”
“This is just a side hustle,” he says with his hands on his hips. “My real job is cutting down trees. The boss lets me do this on my lunch hour when business is light, but there’s a tree that needs cutting on that mountain down there and I gotta get to it before dinner or my boss is going to whip my ass.”
“Can you drop me off in town?”
He shakes his head and spits on the ground. “Not going that way.”
“I’ll make it worth your while,” I say as I open my purse. Shit, I only have a ten on me. I shove it at him, hoping he’ll take it.
He does.
I nearly cry, I’m so relieved. I don’t have to stay in this murder cabin. I’ll be in a luxurious cabin with a bathtub, room service, and a king-sized bed before I know it.
“You should take some pictures of this place and send it to that company,” he says. “Might be you can get a refund for all that money you spent.”
“Great idea!” I say as I hop out of the truck with my phone in my hand.
They’ll have a hard time refusing a refund when I show them a picture of the freaking hole in the roof.
This place is even worse up close. There’s a ton of water damage and there doesn’t seem to be any electricity. Is that an outhouse?!
Oh my god, it is!
I walk over in disbelief, taking photos of it from every angle. It’s disgusting.
I’m sooo happy I don’t have to use that thing. I would die.
What was I thinking wanting to stay in the wilderness? I guess my mother was right—I’m not made for this part of the world.
Although, besides the horror cabin, the scenery is quite spectacular. It makes my—
“What?!”
I gasp as I whip my head around when I hear an engine start.
The driver is behind the wheel, giving me an apologetic look. “Sorry, lady. Gotta go!”
“No!” I screech as I run over. “You can’t leave me here!”
“You’ll be fine,” he shouts back as his truck starts rolling. “There’s a river down there with some fresh fish in it and you can drink the water too.”