Madelyn's Nephew

Madelyn's Nephew by Ike Hamill Page B

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Authors: Ike Hamill
Tags: adventure, Horror, Action, Sci-Fi
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she needed to do.
    She left the door open as she went to gather her things.

    #   #   #   #   #

    Madelyn stopped at the edge of the stream and filled her lungs. It felt good to jog. Even with the pack, she felt light and lively. She stepped quickly across the stones and crossed without even getting her feet wet. Madelyn smiled and then turned back. She hadn’t been across the stream in forever. There was no need.  
    The wall of trees climbing the hill looked like a different world. It was the closet that she had locked herself in for so many years. Somewhere back in there, along the path and under a canopy of fall color, her little cabin sat.  
    She scanned her memory—had she remembered to lock the place? Patting her pockets, she discovered the key, but she couldn’t remember actually turning the lock. It pulled at her. The cabin wanted her back.  
    “No,” she whispered. She shook her head and turned away.  
    Just over the hill, the land flattened out into a brown meadow. There were no wildflowers here—this wasn’t the meadow from the movie. Still, the open space challenged her eyes. She traced the ridge and wondered what she would see from the top.  
    The excitement left over from the movie robbed her of patience. Madelyn broke into a jog again.

    #   #   #   #   #

    The sun was falling fast behind her when she reached the lake. She hadn’t anticipated being outside and alone when the sun set. She began to remember something that was once obvious—excitement was a close cousin of panic.  
    Madelyn hurried along the bank of the lake.  
    She saw the first camp and began to rush. In her haste, her feet went out from under her and she slid towards the water. She recovered only after her right foot was soaked and muddy. Madelyn clawed her way back up to solid ground and took more care as she worked through the woods towards the place.  
    It was completely impractical. Giant windows faced the lake. The big deck didn’t even have a roof. She didn’t even bother to look inside. Nobody would be stupid enough to take refuge in a place like that.
    Madelyn slogged on to the next camp. A million years ago, the places had been vacation refuge for the wealthy. Some people arrived by float plane. Others trekked in on four wheelers. Those days were long gone.
    The camp she walked to was better, but not great. It had reasonable windows that could be blocked with some of the furniture she spied through the door. Even better, she saw stairs that must lead down to a root cellar or utility room. That could be a safe place to spend the night. The door was locked. Madelyn knocked and waited. She cupped her hands on the glass and wondered where Jacob had gone.
    After a minute, she got moving again.  
    The movie had filled her with such hope and purpose. She felt the energy draining from her as she walked through the woods and saw the next derelict camp. These were places of happy getaways, but they had been abandoned. To Madelyn’s eyes, they were starving dogs, tethered to a tree and forgotten by their owners. She had the impulse to burn them down and put them out of their misery.  
    That was a thought for another day—her nephew was likely hiding in one of the structures.
    She had one more camp to investigate. Compared to the first two, this one was a mansion. It had three floors towering above the lake and a big balcony over the front porch. She pictured bankers sitting up there, drinking laced coffee as they looked out at a chunk of nature they had yet to spoil. Jacob could do worse than pick this place. It had a good lookout from the upper floors and escape routes on all four sides. It had a vented stack through the roof, which wasn’t great, but it meant that the place was at least equipped for modern services.
    Madelyn climbed the steps and knocked. When there was no answer, she glanced around and tried the door. As it swung inwards, the lights ramped on and she heard the environmental systems come to life.

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