The wind swirled through the trees, angrily howling with the coming storm. Lightning crashed through the sky. Thunder cracked and rolled through the forest. And two pairs of foot steps raced through the dampened underbrush in seek of shelter.
Running as fast as they could move, two strangers thrown together by simple chance clung to each other. Rain began beating down upon them. Panic rolled through both their bodies. The intensity of the surging storm pushed them onward. They had to find safety soon, or they would get swept away in the storms furry.
From the top of a rising hill, across the other side of a clearing, stood a log cabin. Uncut weeds and fallen branches surrounded the small structure. Rusted tools sat leaning against a leaning shed. There was a general atmosphere of abandon almost emanating from the cabin. But it was shelter.
They raced the weather, desperate to escape the cold. They were soaking wet and shivering by the time they managed to get the door closed tight. Lightning light up the single room, throwing shadows across the walls. They stumbled through the room. Lightning crashed once more, revealing an old forgotten lamp.
He pumped the oil and struck the flint. With luck, the lamp burst into life. A small glow penetrated the darkness. A strange collection of odds and ends littered the floor. In one corner, a pile of unidentifiable items cast sharp angles and shadows. In another, a large dresser that appeared ready to fall over leaned against the wall. Across from that sat a strange chair that appeared to have strange lengths of tassels dangling from every corner. In the farthest corner was an old cushioned chair big enough for two, but too low for any person to sit comfortably in it. And in the center of the room sat a large king sized four-poster bed.
The two strangers looked at each other. The woman, pushing her hair out of her eyes, looked utterly puzzled. The man appeared intrigued and quite amused. He looked around and found a hook hanging from the ceiling. Attaching the lamp to it, he turned towards the woman. His eyes shone in the dim light. Thunder clapped and vibrated the walls. Yes, he was definitely amused.
The woman jumped with the vibrations. She looked around the room and shivered. Near the door, she noticed a small fire pit. Squatting down by it, she finds a small piece of tinder. Strangely enough, the pit has been laid with fresh logs. She uses the small flame in the lamp to ignite the kindling and gets a small fire started. Rubbing her hands to the warm, she looks over her shoulder.
The man was going through the pile of strange items. In the flickering light, she could see a grin spreading across his face. She watched him replace an odd shaped harness and walk over to the dresser. He opened drawers one by one, fingering their contents carefully. He lifts one out of the bottom drawer and inspects it carefully. Opening the backside, he pulled out two small cylinder items, turned them in his hands, then replaced them and closed the casing. A small click almost vibrated through the room.
The storm outside raged on. The wind's howling began to beat against the walls. A dull hum filled the room, almost drowning out his footsteps as he moved towards the fire.
"We should be safe in here," he said loud enough to be heard over the wind. He put his hands to the fire, then rubbed them to his face. He stood up and began unbuttoning his shirt.
"What are you doing?" She snapped, rising to her own feet.
"I'm taking off my wet clothes. What's it look like?" He replied casually. "I'm not going to freeze to death in these wet things. You may want to consider it yourself." He grinned and eyed her up and down.
She shivered and turned her flushing face away from him. She heard his shirt fall to the floor. He kicked off his shoes and undid his zipper. They too hit the floor with a heavy thump. She could still hear him moving around for a few moments, then she heard him shaking out his clothes and laying them out in front of the fire. She spared a glance in his direction and gasped as she realized he'd stripped completely naked!
She blushed and quickly looked away. She could feel his eyes on her. She shivered and pulled at her wet clothes. They were soaked and clinging to her already cold skin. The thought of removing them sounded good. But her modesty wouldn't allow it. It wouldn't be proper!
"You're a shy one," he chuckled. "Relax, it's not like neither of us have seen what naked bodies look like before."
She heard him walk across the room, open a drawer, and come back to stand behind her. She kept her eyes averted. She felt his arm reach around her and she tightened. His silent laugh touched the back of her neck. He was holding a cup for her. She took it with shaky hands and smelled it's contents. The strong stench of alcohol penetrated her nose. She jerked it away from herself and crinkled her nose.
"I found it in one of the drawers. You may not like it, but it'll help warm you up." He was laughing as he reached around her once more and pushed the cup towards her lips. "I'm not going to just stand here and let you freeze to death."
"I don't drink," she replied. "I never have." Once again, she heard him laughing at her.
"You can either drink this, or you can strip off your freezing wet clothes."
She spun around to face him, her eyes filled with outrage. She pointed a finger to his chest, then blushed again remembering he was naked. She quickly tried to spin back around.
He caught her by the shoulders and kept her facing him. Her drink splashed over his skin. He stared down into her eyes. "You choose, or I choose," he threatened. He could feel her shivering. Her lips had a slight hint of blue to them. He watched despair flash across her angry stare.
