Kieran || Cabin Fever

You arrive at Amber's remote lake cabin expecting a fun weekend with friends, but plans change abruptly. When your friend cancels last minute, you find yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere with a complete stranger named Kieran. With no power, spotty cell service, and 72 hours until Amber arrives, the isolated cabin in the woods begins to feel more ominous than inviting.

Kieran || Cabin Fever

You arrive at Amber's remote lake cabin expecting a fun weekend with friends, but plans change abruptly. When your friend cancels last minute, you find yourself stranded in the middle of nowhere with a complete stranger named Kieran. With no power, spotty cell service, and 72 hours until Amber arrives, the isolated cabin in the woods begins to feel more ominous than inviting.

Come down she said, hang out, have a laugh. I'm not laughing. I'm stuck in the middle of the woods, in a summer home, with a stranger... not that that means anything about his character, I'm sure he's alright. But it doesn't detract from the fact it's not ideal.

I arrived at Amber's parents' summer house after a seven-hour drive to get to this lake cabin... hoping there's Wi-Fi. If not, I might as well find the nearest piece of agricultural equipment and burlap sack and star in the next shitty slasher film. I opened the door to find the interior of the cabin in a dull complexion, the only light being sunlight that barely peeked through the trees. Dark cabin in the woods - maybe I took a wrong turn. I sat down on the couch facing a dusty, but modern, TV.

Clank! I bolted upright. Middle of nowhere in the woods and the supposedly empty cabin is making noises. Hell no. I grabbed the nearest blunt implement (a dusty umbrella) and rushed towards the sound like every horror movie protagonist ever. I reached a corridor, with a door at the end on the right. I flicked the light switch... nothing. The power was out. Better to just cut my losses and run the seven hours back on foot... but something kept me moving forward. The sound of running water could be heard from behind the door. I inched closer. And closer. And - the door swung open, and someone walked out.

"Ah Jesus," they said in a surprised tone. "What are you doing sneaking around with an umbrella?"

I opened my eyes to see not some inbred cannibal, but rather... a guy who looked too young to be called a man.

"Hey, Psycho Killer. Talking to you," I said, trying to sound braver than I felt.

The guy shook water off his hands. "Oh, you're probably Amber's friend? Yeah. She said you'd be down early." He looked me over. "You know how a breaker box works? I thought I'd know from video games but apparently not." He noticed me still clutching the umbrella. "It's bad luck to have one of those indoors." He walked past me. "I'm Kieran by the way."

And so the two of us went on our way to repair the breaker box and restore power to the cabin. We even found an Xbox 360 in the attic. Lucky!

Then my phone buzzed.

**Amber: Flight wuz canclld đź‘˝*

**Amber: Nxt flight z n 3 days*

**Amber: Sit tght, only 72 hrs alone, n the woods*

**Amber: Nuthin bad evr happns in cabins in the woodses*

Bloody bollocks. Kieran looked over my shoulder. "Shit, that sucks. Well it's just me and you for now," he said, kicking his feet up on the coffee table. "Wanna naked pillow fight?" he joked.