That Night

"E liza, will you get the firewood, please?" her mother requested. "We need enough to get us through the night. How was it a good idea to rent a log cabin in the middle of nowhere when it only has a fireplace to keep us warm?"

"I thought it would be fun, roughing it for a few nights," her father said. "It's pretty warm in here already. It's summer. It's not supposed to be this cold."

"You're always hot. Mom and I are always cold," Eliza replied, laughing. "And we're in the mountains: it's cold in the summer when you're up this high."

"Well, I think the money we pay for that private school education is working for her," her father said with a smile. "Are you not having any fun at all? I know your friends went to beaches and are probably swimming every day."

"No, I'm having fun. I just wish I could have brought someone with me. It's kind of lonely up here."

"It's just a few days. Then, we'll get you home, and you can hang out with your friends," her mom replied. "Now, firewood?"

"I'll get it," her father offered. "You stay in here, where it's warm." He wrapped an arm around Eliza and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, kiddo."

"Dad, I'm not a kid anymore."

"I know. I know. Just give me this, okay?"

"Fine," she replied.

Her father put on a jacket because he hadn't brought a coat for their short mountain adventure. Then, he opened the door to the one-bedroom log cabin and walked outside into the night. Eliza took the stairs made of the same wood as the rest of the cabin up to the small loft area that held her twin bed and a rocking chair. It wasn't private, which she didn't like, but it was pretty cool to be up high above her parents in the space. Her mom was cooking them a late dinner since it had taken them a while to make the drive up, and they'd arrived later than planned. Eliza planned to unpack a few of the books she'd brought for herself and take a quick shower before they'd eat. She reached for her backpack, set it on the bed with the old-looking patterned quilt, and unzipped it.

Then, she heard something. It came from the outside. As she turned to the crescent-shaped window over her bed, she heard something else. Climbing onto the bed, she peered out the window and saw something – no, some one – in the darkness, walking toward her father. There was just enough light from the lantern hanging off the back of the cabin to illuminate the figure and her father, who was moving firewood from the big pile under a tarp to a basket he must have found outside. Her father appeared to be unaware, and this window didn't open, so Eliza kept watching, assuming it was an animal, maybe a bear, and that it would be scared off when her father saw it and made a sound in its direction. That was what they'd been told to do in the instructions when her father had booked this cabin. The animals would get scared by the loud noises, but this one didn't seem to be startled.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"There's something out there."

"What?" her mom asked.

"Outside with Dad. I can see something out there."

"Something? What do you mean?"

"A bear or another animal. Mom, it's getting too close."

"Yell at your father to get in here," her mom replied.

"The window doesn't open," Eliza said as she rushed down the stairs, ran to the door, and pulled it open.

"No! Eliza, get back in here!" Her mother was a blur behind her.

Eliza ran outside in only her socks and a short-sleeved shirt. She felt the cold instantly, and because of the rain and the little snow they'd gotten on the drive up, she also felt the water soak into her thick socks as she hurried toward her father.

"Dad!" she yelled when she saw him by the firewood pile.

"Eliza, no! Run!"

It happened so quickly. Eliza could see it happening but could do nothing. It wasn't a bear. It was a person. It was a man. The man turned to her, but it was too dark. She couldn't see his face well. Her father yelled for her again. The man turned back to him, and then his arm was in the air. He had something in his hand. Then, that something was thrust into her father's chest. Her father yelled out. Eliza screamed.

"Eliza!" Her mother was outside now, likely following the sound of her family's screams.

"Dad!" Eliza yelled again.

Her father was on the ground. The man was above him, stabbing him. She could see the knife now that her eyes had adjusted, but not much else.

"No!" her mother yelled and tried to run past Eliza toward her husband.

Eliza grabbed her mother's arm and pulled her back. The man who attacked her father only seconds ago was now standing back up, and he was looking right at them. Eliza yanked at her mother's hand and ran with her back inside the cabin, where she locked the only door quickly and stood back, catching her breath. Her mother rushed to the two windows that opened and made sure they were locked. Eliza then rushed to find a phone, any phone, and saw her mom's phone on the table. She found the emergency button and held it to her ear while her mom looked out the windows.

"Mom, get back."

"I need to see your father," she said through tears that were causing her to choke up.

"911. What is your emergency?"

"Someone just stabbed my father," Eliza told the dispatcher.

The next several hours were the worst of her life. The man had disappeared. He hadn't tried to break in. However, it took the police more than thirty minutes to get to the cabin due to its remote location. Her mother hadn't wanted them to venture outside, though, so Eliza had gone back up the stairs to check for her father. He was still there, and he wasn't moving. After ten minutes, Eliza could wait no longer. She grabbed the shotgun that she'd found in a closet upon their arrival, and having no idea how to use it or if it was even loaded, she defied her mother and went outside. Her mother was a mess and couldn't even stand, but Eliza had to check on her father.

She held the gun, which was far too heavy for her, and walked around the cabin slowly, watching for the man and hoping that he only had a knife and no gun himself if he were still out there. Finding no one around but her father, she bent down, still holding the gun up as best she could, and tried to find a pulse in his neck as she'd been taught in her eighth-grade health class. There was nothing, though. Her father wasn't breathing. His eyes were open, and there was blood all over his clothes, but he was gone.

When the cops finally arrived, they went to her father first, after doing what they called ‘clearing the scene,' and told them that he was gone. The man who had killed him was nowhere to be found, and the only witness they had who was even remotely coherent was Eliza. Her mother sobbed before she went into shock, but Eliza had been the one to get a better look at the man.

"He had a coat on. It was a big, bulky one, with fur in the hood," she described.

"Okay. What color was it?" the officer asked.

"I don't know. It was too dark. Could've been brown or black. Maybe even dark-green."

"What else can you remember?"

"He had dark hair. Kind of shaggy, I think. That's it."

"White? Black?"

"White," she said, trying to recall as much as she could to help. "Maybe not. I'm not sure. Not black, but I don't know if he was white or darker. Is that right? Darker skin?"

"Like, Hispanic?" the officer asked as he took down notes.

"Maybe. I don't know. It was just too dark."

"Okay. How tall was he? Taller or shorter than your father?"

"He looked like a bear. In the dark, he looked like a bear. I didn't know it was a person at first. I think he was taller, but I don't know."

"Okay," the officer replied. "That would be it for now. We'll ask you some more questions later."

"He killed my father, and I was right there. Why can't I remember him? Why didn't he come in here? The windows are glass. He could've broken them."

"I don't know. Let's just be glad that he didn't, okay?"

Eliza moved to sit next to her mother and joined her in staring off into space until the officers finally put them into a police car and drove them away from the cabin that they were only supposed to be in for three nights to have some family time before Eliza started high school.