Henry woke to an empty bed and a funny smell. He did remember half waking during the night and seeing his wife Joan curled up beside him, so wasn't particularly worried at her absence. The ruffled sheets beside him were another indicator that she had slept the night.
He sniffed. Nose wrinkling. There was a barnyard like smell hanging around. Game-y even. It confused him. He hadn't remembered it being there when he went to sleep. Although, in his sleep deprived state it was entirely possible he just didn't register it at the time. Whomever owned this cabin was likely to be a game hunter, so all in all the smell wasn't that surprising.
Henry heard movement coming from the kitchen, and decided that he'd better get up. They'd have a long day today, getting back to the car and finding someone to help.
Dressed and bed-head mostly flattened, Henry entered the kitchen to find his family eating in silence. He noted the sleep deprived looks on all of their faces. His wife was standing off to the side, munching on an apple, staring at the floor. His daughter, Jess, was fidgeting on her seat while eating a bowl of cereal, constantly shifting from side to side, grimacing.
James. James looked like he'd seen a ghost. His face was pale and drawn, like the world was crashing down around him. Henry cleared his throat to announce his presence. All six eyes darted up, all looked fearful.
"Morning all. I know last night was stressful, and this isn't the ideal place to wake up. But what say we get back on the road and find the car, get supplies and head back in the other direction. There was a farm back some 20 or so miles before we broke down. I know it's not ideal, but at least we saw some life at that place. We can get them to ring services for us."
Eager nods all-round. Joan chimed in, moving towards him.
"Absolutely honey. Great idea. Time to go kids!" she piped up. Chairs scraped as both twins hopped up and made for the door.
"They're eager to go. Bless-em." Henry commented. Joan left out a laugh, it sounded nervous, and then followed them.
Strange. Henry thought, the game-y smell was strong in the kitchen too.
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"What the fuck...". Henry grumbled as he paced the edge of the clearing. His family standing nervously behind him.
"It has to be here!". He turned to look at the house, traced the path from the front door to the edge of the clearing.
"This is where we came in" He muttered again.
"Then where's the path Dad?" Jess asked.
"I don't know sweetie..." Henry replied, not hiding the frustration in his voice. For 15 minutes now they had been pacing back and forth, trying to find the entrance of the clearing that had led them here last night. He looked back at his family. They looked nervous, all of them. He could feel their rising worry. He needed to take charge, for the children.
"Oh for goodness sake. Look, we'll just head straight from here. We all know this is the side of the clearing we arrived from last night. The road was only a 15 minute walk and it runs perpendicular. We'll hit it in no time. Come on." He extended his hand to his wife. Tentatively she took it and stepped from the clearing into the wood. Both James and Jess following a few steps after.
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"Dad. I think you might be lost." James parroted nervously for the 7th time. 3 hours now they had been in the woods. Eleven times they had found the cabin and clearing, eleven times they had set out to find the road and every time their path led them right back to where they came.
Jess was exhausted. She wanted out. Her feet were swollen, legs burning and horribly the tail stuffed down the back of her pants was cramping from being confined. She needed to let it out, even for a moment to relieve the cramping. She needed to get away from her family so they wouldn't see.
"Dad I can't walk another step. I'm exhausted. I need a break. I'm going to sit this one out. Please, find the path then come back for me when you've found it." She begged, already turning to the house.
Henry complained, "Jess, we can't just leave you here."
"Dad, It's just fifteen minutes walk, you just need to find the path. I was there too last night. Find the path and I'll come out and follow ye. I can't do this trecking through the woods a moment longer though."
Henry could see his daughter had squared her jaw, lips drawn to a thin line. He was in stubborn mode, almost impossible to shake her from.
"Jess I..." He stopped, it wasn't worth it, and she was right. He just needed to find the path, then they could get back to the car.
"Fine. Head back in. But don't mess up anything, we've already outstayed our welcome." He warned, then turned to the woods.
"James." He called.
"Yes dad" He answered.
"Stay with your sister." Henry knew his son was more biddable. He could see from the defeated look on James's face that he'd won.
"Come on you. Twelfth time's the charm" He held his hand out to Joan. She took it and followed him.
Strange Henry thought. That game-y smell was everywhere now.