Chapter Text
The axe rose through the frosted air with ease before falling with a heavy finality, its blade slamming into the pale wooden block. Theo grunted in satisfaction as the log snapped in two and both pieces flew away into the growing lumber piles on either side of him. The snow was falling again, drifting down out of the heavy ashen clouds overhead. It muffled the world so that all he could hear was the sound of his own elevated heart rate and the crunch of his boots on the ground. Pine trees crowded the clearing around him, the stumps of the ones that had once stood where he was stuck up out of the snow. Their boughs were laden and drooped in an endlessly mirrored fashion, providing lean-tos of moderate shelter underneath for any animals braving the frozen conditions.
Theo glanced over his shoulder, his gaze travelling along the path he had cut into the snow back towards the log cabin three hundred yards away. It was almost completely hidden by the dense forest, only the pillar of grey smoke rising on the stirring breeze was any indication that someone was living in this isolated place. Turning to his left, Theo could see through the trees along another path, this one covered over completely by ice and snow. It led to the lake, glacial cool even in high summer, and deep as well, but wonderfully refreshing. The water had frozen solid the second week after the first snowfall came, although Theo was hesitant to walk across the ice in case it fractured. After all, there was no one to hear his cries for help, no one to come running to his rescue.
He looked back at the axe, now buried in the sturdy tree stump he was using as a chopping block. There was enough lumber on either side to feed the fire for today, perhaps even enough for the next day, if not, then Theo did not mind returning to cut more. The exercise was good, swinging the axe, collecting the logs, dragging them home. His blood pumped hot, his muscles strained, his keen senses flaring. It reminded him of the old days, of things he had tried to forget but came to haunt him late at night when he was trying to sleep. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts of Beacon Hills and all that was left behind, Theo loaded the cut logs onto the sled next to him, packing them in an orderly, methodical way. Once he was finished, he picked up the strong rope cord that looped around the front of the sled and lay it over his chest, pulling it taut against his body. Then, with a momentary grunt of effort for the first step, he began to move, dragging the sled back towards the cabin.
Arriving at the cabin ten minutes later, Theo breathed a sigh of relief and dropped the cord onto the ground. While the sled moved easier over the snow than the grass during the summer months, it was still a lot of effort to haul the heavy load, certainly more work than any of his other tasks this time of year. The yard in front of the cabin was snow swept and the gravel crunched underfoot from the icy layer that rested beneath the snow. The lane was almost impassable, and Theo made a mental note to clear it that afternoon. It wound a long, curvy path through the trees and out onto the service road that ran the length of the forest park. Although he had never seen anyone use it and the clay surface had become overgrown with weeds and grass. The nearest settlement was dozens of miles away, along a highway that cut through the dense trees, winding its way north towards the end of the world.
Pulling his attention back to himself, Theo grabbed the cord in one gloved hand and dragged the sled the final few feet to the wood pile that stood against the wall of the cabin. There was a three-sided shelter built to protect the firewood from the worst of the elements, with a flimsy metal sheet bolted on top to hold the snow away from the logs. He began stacking the timber in neat rows, his mind falling to silence as he completed the task. There was a pleasing symmetry to his work as Theo’s hands took a log from the sled and placed it on top of the others, before turning to replicate the action again. Once his task was complete, he stood the sled against the cabin’s wall and dusted his gloves off against his pants. There was already some firewood inside next to the stove, this pile would simply ensure he would not have far to go during the night.
A covered porch allowed him to kick the snow from his boots and then slip inside the cabin, kicking them off as he entered. A wall of heat washed over him from the stove in the corner of the main room and Theo closed the door quickly. It took a moment to shed his outer layers and push his feet into the slippers waiting for him by the door. The interior was lit only by the flickering embers of the dying fire in the stove, casting a cozy light across the wooden walls. It was furnished simply, with copper pots and pans hanging from nails on the walls above the iron stove, a comfortable armchair partly facing the fire and the large bay window which looked out on the lake in the summer, though now only showed the falling snow and faraway mountains. A chest of drawers stood against the opposite wall with various sundries scattered across the top. Another cupboard was appointed next to the stove, the doors half open and displaying the last of his civilized provisions while wooden buckets along the wall next to it were filled with vegetables and wild herbs harvested before winter’s icy hands grasped the forest. Further back, next to an enamel sink and the old pump was a long table, scrubbed clean even as stubborn blood stained the wood. There was another room in the other half of the cabin, host to a comfortable bed piled high with blankets and pillows, as well as a single mirror hanging half the length of the wall. A spartan washbasin and jug completed the room, the door between the two spaces had been removed during the summer, no need for privacy when he lived alone.
Theo sat down on the armchair and hunched forward to open the door of the stove. He fed the smoldering embers some shavings from the kindling box before gradually adding logs to the reaching flames. Once the fire was blazing again, he sat back into the chair and stared at the wood as it slowly blackened and then caught with a lusty red fire. Time ceased to have meaning as he gazed into the fire and the snow continued to fall onto the silent forest. But then, at the edge of his senses, there was the heavy crunch of tires on snow, an approaching vehicle coming towards him from far away. Theo tensed up, listening intently as his enhanced abilities granted him supernatural hearing. He stood quickly, his movements fluid, and glanced towards the calendar pinned against a supporting beam next to the door. Each day was crossed off and the third Friday of every month circled in red. But it was not the third Friday yet.
The chimera moved towards the door, pulling his outside clothes on, but Theo hesitated when he reached for the hunting rifle next to the coat rack. He picked up the weapon and quickly cleared the chamber before dipping his hand into the nearby ammunition box and taking a handful of the large shells with him. Looping the leather strap over his head and shoulders, the rifle hung down his back, easily accessible. Theo slipped outside and walked along the porch to the wood pile, leaving no footsteps to be followed from. The yard was covered in snow again, perhaps knee-deep after the heavy fall that was passing over him. Whoever was coming would have a difficult approach. Theo stepped onto the snow behind the cabin and circled around through the trees until he was near the lane but still hidden from sight. Theo crouched down and pulled the rifle around to his front, methodically loading the ammunition as he waited. The sounds of the vehicle were getting louder, the engine growling at the effort of pulling itself through the thick drifts, the tires squealing as they sought purchase in the ice.
Slowly, gradually, a dark green SUV appeared up the lane from the screen of trees and Theo watched with a predator’s patience as the vehicle crawled along the road towards his cabin. After almost ten minutes, the SUV made it onto the graveled yard in front of the cabin and it rocked to a stop. The air was crisp against his nostrils and Theo could smell only the hard scent of petrol and hot metal over the sting of the pine trees all around him. Then the doors opened, and three figures climbed out, their arguing voices abruptly loud against the silence that normally surrounded him. Theo relaxed as he recognized the driver’s silhouette, the other two were likewise familiar even if it had been many years since he last saw them both. He rose from his crouch and walked out of the forest and into the yard, nodding as Corey and Mason startled at his sudden appearance. Liam came quickly around the hood of the truck and opened his mouth to speak but Theo cut across him first. “You’re early.”