Chapter 10: The Burning Cabin
The heat hit me in a wave as we stumbled out the door, and the night air that should have been cold felt like it was coming off an oven. Smoke clawed at my throat. I coughed, bent double, and when I straightened, Niko's hand was already around my wrist, hauling me forward.
"Don't look back," he said.
I looked back anyway. The cabin was a mouth of orange, flames licking out through the door we'd just left open. Ethan was in there. Ethan was in there and we were running and there was nothing in the world that would ever make that right.
Maya stumbled over a root. Niko caught her before she hit the ground, the gun still in his other hand, and his grip on her arm was careful even as he dragged us both forward. The trees swallowed us. The fire glow faded to a pulsing amber between the trunks, then to nothing but a smear of light on the undergrowth.
We ran. I don't know for how long. Long enough for my lungs to burn, long enough for the smell of smoke to fade from my clothes and stay in my head. Niko led us downhill, away from the ridge, away from everything we'd left burning behind us.
Maya stopped.
Her hand wrenched out of Niko's grip. She stood there with her chest heaving, her face a mask of soot and tears, and she turned to look back the way we'd come. The cabin was a distant orange glow now, small as a struck match between the trees.
"We have to go back for him," she whispered.
Niko didn't let go of me. He tightened his hold on Maya's arm, gently, like he was afraid she'd shatter.
"He's gone," he said. "We're not."
"He's alone in there. He's burning and I can't—" Her voice cracked. "Ethan. Ethan is in there."
And then the roof collapsed.
The sound rolled through the forest like a long, low exhalation, a groan of timber and flame that wasn't loud so much as final. A plume of sparks rose above the trees, orange and gold, and then it was gone. The glow dimmed. The forest went quiet again.
Maya stared at the place where the glow had been. Her shoulders sagged. Niko pulled her into his chest and she didn't resist, didn't cry, just stood there while his arms went around her and his chin came to rest on top of her head.
"Radio's gone," he said after a moment. His voice was flat. "Everything's gone. We've got nothing but what we're wearing and a map to a clearing that's probably empty now."
"We had a gun." I heard myself say it. "We have a gun."
He held it up. An old revolver, black with wear, the grip scored with use. "One gun. Two bullets left. Maybe."
"Then we don't waste them."
Maya pushed back from Niko's chest. She wiped her face with the back of her hand, smearing soot across her cheek, and when she looked up her eyes were dry and very clear.
"The police station is in town," she said. "It's miles from here. We can't make that in the dark."
"So what do we do?"
"We find somewhere to sleep. A cabin, a shed, anything with four walls and a door we can close." She touched the silver necklace at her throat, a reflex I hadn't seen since the first night. "We hole up until daylight. Then we walk out of here and find help."
"What if they have a radio station here and they're waiting for us, aren't they coming?" Maya asked.
"Doesn't matter." Niko started walking again, not downhill anymore but along the slope, keeping the ridge on our left. "They're dead or wounded. We're not. That's the ledger and I'll take it."
We followed him. The forest was darker now, the last of the fire glow gone, and the only light came from a moon half hidden behind cloud. I kept one hand on Maya's shoulder so I could feel her behind me, and I kept listening for footsteps that weren't ours.
We walked for what felt like an hour. The trees thinned, opened into a slope of loose rock and scrub, and Niko stopped at the edge of a clearing. A shape sat in the darkness, low and square against the treeline.
Another cabin.
"Check it before we go in," I said. "Maya, cover us with the gun."
She took it from Niko without a word, held it low with both hands, the way you'd hold something you hated but needed. Niko and I circled the cabin, one at a time, listening at the walls. No voices. No footsteps. The door was unlocked and swung inward on rusted hinges.
Dust. Mold. A cot against the far wall with a blanket that smelled of mice. A wood stove with a few split logs beside it.
Niko lit the lantern he'd found on the shelf, and the room bloomed into warm light.
"Home sweet home," he said.
We settled into the cabin the way animals do, wary, testing every corner before we trusted it. Maya propped the gun against the wall by the cot. Niko checked the door latch twice and then once more. I pulled the dusty blanket off the cot and shook it, and a cloud of mold and mouse droppings puffed into the lantern light.
"It'll do," I said.
We killed the lantern and lay down in the dark. Niko took the middle, his back to the wall, one arm stretched out along the cot. I curled into his right side, Maya into his left. The blanket was thin and rough and smelled like old rain, but between the three of us we made enough heat to matter. Niko's hand found my hip, then Maya's shoulder, and I felt the tension drain out of him in a long, slow breath.
Sleep came for him first. I lay awake, listening to the forest, waiting for footsteps that didn't come. Maya was awake too, I could tell by her breathing, the careful way she kept it even.
"Anissa," she whispered.
"Yeah."
"You think they're really dead? Both of them?"
"I watched one burn." The words came out flat. "I hit the other until he stopped moving. I'm not counting on anything, but I think we're clear."
Silence. The cabin creaked around us, settling.
"I keep thinking about Ethan," she said. "How he was laughing at dinner. How he had that dumb grin when he talked about the hike tomorrow. He was so sure we'd be fine."
"He was sure about you."
She was quiet for a long moment. I felt her shift against Niko's side, turning toward me. The moonlight through the cracked window caught her face, the soot still smeared on her cheek, the shine in her eyes.
"He used to say I thought too much," she said. "That I'd worry myself into an early grave. God, I'd give anything to hear him say that again."
I reached across Niko's chest and found her hand. She squeezed it back, hard, and held on.
"Tomorrow," I said. "We get to town, we find the police, and we make sure someone knows what happened here. That's how we honor him."
"Okay." She let out a breath. "Okay."
We stayed like that for a while, holding hands across Niko's sleeping body. The fire in the wood stove had burned down to coals, throwing a faint orange glow across the floor. My eyes adjusted. The cabin was small, a single room, the cot pushed against one wall and a table against the other. The window faced the treeline, dark and still.
Maya's hand in mine was warm. Her thumb moved across my knuckles, slow, almost absent.
"You know," she said, her voice soft, "I never thanked you. For what you did at the cabin. With the rock."
"You don't have to."
"I do." She shifted, and her face turned toward me, her eyes catching the glow of the coals. "You saved me, Anissa. I was gone. I was gone and you came back."
"I'd do it again."
"I know." Her thumb kept moving across my knuckles. "That's the thing. I know you would."
The space between us felt charged, humming like a wire. I could feel the heat of her, even through Niko's bulk, the tension in her hand. My heart had started beating faster and I didn't know why.
"Maya," I said.
She didn't answer. She just looked at me, and in the faint light I watched her eyes drop to my mouth, then back up. My breath caught.
And then she leaned across Niko's chest.
Her lips found mine, soft at first, questioning. I kissed her back without thinking, my hand tightening on hers, and she made a small sound against my mouth, something between surprise and relief. The kiss deepened, her tongue tracing my lower lip, and I felt a heat bloom low in my belly that I hadn't expected, or maybe I had, maybe I'd felt it since the cabin, since she'd stood over the burning killer with her jaw set and her eyes full of fire.
I pulled back an inch. "Maya, what are we doing?"
"I don't know." Her voice was a breath. "I don't care. I just need to feel something that isn't fear. I need to feel something good."
I looked at her, at the soot on her cheek, at the raw red rims of her eyes. Behind her, Niko slept on, his chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm. The coals crackled. The forest was quiet.
"Okay," I said.
She kissed me again, harder this time, and I let go of her hand to cup the back of her neck, pulling her closer across Niko's body. Her fingers found the hem of my shirt, tugged it up, and her palm pressed flat against my stomach, warm and sure.
"I want to taste you," she whispered against my mouth.
My breath went ragged. I glanced at Niko, still asleep, then back at her. "You sure?"
"I've never been more sure of anything." She was already shifting, sliding down across the cot, her body moving down past his legs and beneath the blanket. She tugged at my sweatpants, and I lifted my hips to help her peel them off.
The air hit my skin, cool, then her mouth found me and I had to clamp my hand over my mouth to keep quiet.
She started slow, gentle, pressing kisses along my inner thigh, then higher, her tongue tracing the line of my hip. She found me wet and ready, and when she finally ran her tongue through me, I bit down on my knuckles to swallow the moan. She was methodical, thorough, the way she did everything. Her tongue circled my clit, flat and firm, then dipped lower, sliding into me, and I arched my back off the cot.
She worked me with her mouth until I was trembling, my hand gripping the edge of the mattress, my breath coming in short hitches. Then she slid back up the cot, her body covering mine, and kissed me, and I tasted myself on her lips. Her thigh pressed between my legs and I ground against it, desperate, and she laughed soft against my mouth.
"Not yet," she said. "I want to be inside you."
She rolled onto her back and pulled me on top of her, guiding my thigh between hers. I settled against her, our bodies flush, and she rocked her hips against my leg with a low moan. Her hands found my ass, pulled me closer, and I dipped my head to kiss the base of her throat.
"That's it," she breathed. "Right there."
I slid lower, between her legs, and she gasped when my mouth found her. She was soaked, slick against my tongue, and I licked her slow and flat, learning her shape. Her hand tangled in my hair, keeping me there, and her hips rolled against my face with a rhythm that said she knew exactly what she wanted.
"Niko's going to wake up," I whispered against her.
"Let him."
I didn't need more permission than that. I buried my face in her and didn't come up for air until she was near the edge, her thighs shaking around my head, her moans turning into high, thin whines that she swallowed against her own wrist.
That's when I felt the cot shift.
Niko's voice, rough with sleep: "What are you two...?"
Maya froze. I pulled back, hair a mess, mouth slick. Niko was propped up on one elbow, staring at us, the low light from the stove catching the confusion and then the heat in his eyes.
Maya smiled at him, slow and wicked. Before he could say another word, we were both moving.
I crawled up the cot first, taking his face in my hands and kissing him, hard. Maya was right behind me, her hand already at the drawstring of his sweatpants. He made a sound against my mouth, startled, and then his hands found both of us, pulling us closer.
"You two," he said, breathless. "That's not fair."
"Shut up," Maya said, and took him in her hand. "We're not done with you."
We traded places. I took him first, sinking down in one motion, and his head tipped back. Maya's hand was on the back of my head, guiding me, her voice a low, encouraging murmur.
"Slower," she said. "Take him to the back of your throat. Don't stop."
I did. She told me to swallow, to breathe through my nose, to keep going until my eyes watered. Every time I gagged, she whispered encouragement, and Niko's fingers twisted in my hair. Then we swapped, and Maya took over, and I watched her work him with a skill that made my thighs clench, her lips stretched tight, spit running down his shaft, and I found myself repeating her words back at her.
"Use more spit," I said. "Gag on it. Take him deeper."
She did. He was groaning now, hands fisted in the blanket. His cock was rock hard, shining with our saliva, and when he finally pulled us off him I could see the hunger in his face.
"Lie down," he said. "Both of you."
I lay on my back. He pushed my knees apart and settled between my thighs, and his mouth found me with a groan that vibrated straight through my core. Maya lay beside me, propping herself on one elbow, and we kissed while he ate me out, her tongue tangling with mine, my moans swallowed by her mouth.
Then he pulled away, grabbed Maya, and flipped her over. She cried out when his mouth hit her, loud enough that I had to press my hand over her lips. Her hips bucked. She grabbed my hand, held it tight, while he ate her like he was starving.
He flipped her again, onto her stomach. I heard her gasp, felt her body arch beside me, and I leaned down and spat. I didn't have to be told. He looked up at me through the wall of her thigh, his mouth slick and glittering.
"You're next," he said.
He buried his face in her ass and Maya screamed into the mattress. Then he grabbed me, pulled me up, and I cried out as his tongue pressed into me, rough and demanding, and Maya slid down and took him in her mouth, sucking him deep while he worked me with his tongue.
He pulled me up and flipped me over, doggystyle. His cock slammed into me with a force that knocked the breath from my lungs, deep, impossibly deep, hitting a spot I hadn't known existed. Maya kissed me, her body pressed against mine, her mouth at my ear.
"You feel that?" she whispered. "You feel how deep he is? That's him, Anissa. He's all the way inside you."
I was close. I could feel it building, rising, and right at the edge he pulled out. I almost sobbed. Maya was there, taking him in her mouth, slicking him down, and then he stood and lifted her off the floor. He held her in his arms, hands under her thighs, and slammed into her. Maya screamed, over and over, her head thrown back, and she came with a shuddering cry that soaked his chest.
He set her down and she staggered. He looked at me, his chest heaving.
"I saved the best for last."
I didn't answer. I dropped to my knees and took him down my throat, gagging, spit running down my chin. He looked down at me, eyes glazed.
"You like the taste of Maya?"
I pulled off. "I love how you both taste. Now come destroy my pussy, Niko."
He pulled me up, put me on my knees, doggystyle. "Arch your back. Do not pull away."
He slammed into me and I screamed. I felt my body want to pull away, but I pushed back instead, taking him deeper. He buried himself so far I felt him in my stomach.
"Fuck, Niko, I can feel you in my stomach. Fuck me. Fuck me."
He pounded into me until I felt him swell, felt the change. I looked back at him.
"Hold on. Two minutes. I'm about to burst."
He grabbed my hips. "No. I waited for you, now you wait for me."
"Fuck, Niko. Your cock is so big. Come inside me. Fill me up. Fucking fill me up."
He drove into me and I came apart, screaming, shaking, and I felt him follow, felt him pump into me, hot and deep, and the feeling pushed me over into a second orgasm that left me collapsed forward.
He pulled out. Maya slid down.
"Let me suck the rest up."
She took him in her mouth, and when she came up, her mouth full, she kissed me, and I tasted him on her tongue. We swallowed together.
Afterward, we lay in a tangle on the cot, Niko in the middle, Maya and I curled against his chest. My head rested on his shoulder. Her hand found mine across his stomach. The coals had burned to ash. The cabin was warm with our heat.
Niko's hand slid down and slapped my ass, then Maya's. I laughed, soft and tired, and she did too.
Then three sharp knocks slammed against the door.
Three sharp knocks slammed against the door.
The sound cut through the warmth like a blade. My whole body went cold, the afterglow draining out of me in a single second. Niko sat up, one hand already reaching for the gun where it lay on the floor beside the cot. Maya pressed herself against my side, her breath hitching.
"Who's there?" Niko called out, his voice steady despite everything. The gun was in his hand now, held low and ready.
Silence. The forest outside was still. The coals in the stove popped once.
Then a voice came through the door. Low, amused, familiar in a way that turned my blood to ice.
"Open up. I know you're in there."
It was the voice from the tent. The one that had laughed while the blade sliced through the canvas.
Niko's jaw tightened. He looked at me, then at Maya, and the question hung in the air between us, unspoken and terrible. The gun in his hand held two bullets. Maybe.
The door creaked, as if something heavy had leaned against it on the other side.
Maya's hand found mine in the dark and squeezed, hard.
"Anissa," she whispered. "What do we do?"
I looked at the door, at the rusted latch, at the thin gap of night showing beneath it. The forest had gone silent. The fire crackled. Somewhere beyond the cabin walls, I could hear breathing. Slow. Patient. Waiting.
I squeezed her hand back and didn't answer.