The sound of dry leaves being crushed, echoed in the Jeep as I made my way up the secluded dirt road towards A’s cabin. It was almost as if, I was in the midst of a old horror novel, written back before the collapse. I could see the potential text now. Guy meets girl in woods, only to discover he had been tricked by some menacing force. I wasn’t able to drive quickly on this path, due to how restrictive I discovered it to be. Instead I found myself counting down what I perceived to be the distance to the soft light glowing in the distance.

“150 yards and closing”, I said to myself. Glancing along the sides of the unmaintained dirt road, I could see thick patches of long grass, and various sizes of tree branches that had fallen over time. There were even a number of smaller walking trails, that looked to branch off the main path, and lead to deep dark places. Tingles went up my spine, as the moon was now clearly visible in the sky, and hung above the forest like a giant saucer of liquid blue light.

“75 yards, almost there”, I said out loud, only to be greeted by the silence inside the Jeep. My heart skipped a couple beats, as what appeared to be shadows dashed in front of the vehicle, and move quickly into the forest. I was never one to be overly jumpy, but the moment I noticed the storm clouds hovering over that lake, I had been on edge. I simply wanted to reach Aurora’s cabin and embrace her, before settling down for the night. We had a lot to talk about, and in all honesty I didn’t want to be out at night in this place.

More shadows crossed my path, but before I had time to react, the dirt path widened and opened up into a large clearing. Large oak tress lined the area, and the size of the clearing eased my nerves. The night sky was beautiful now, and a sense of magic filled the area. “Oh Aurora”, I thought , “This is you”. I sped up a little, and moved toward the light source I had been following. It was a old lamp post, that illuminated the area. I pulled the jeep up next to it, powered down the engine, got out, and inhaled the night air.

The Night Air Around The Cabin..

The night air was cool, and smelled of pine and frost… If such a combined scent truly existed. I glanced around and admired Aurora’s choice of living. No one in their right mind, would even think about coming out here, it was the perfect hideout for a Wanderer. Sounds of the night could be heard all around me. Crickets, frogs, insects, the sound of small mammals scattering about, even the occasional owl could be hard in the distance.

That’s when I noticed it, Aurora’s cabin. A small yet picturesque log cabin sitting no more than a few hundred feet from the lamp post. Around it sat various bushes and trees, all of which from what I could tell looked to be well taken cared of. A small stone walkway, guided you from the clearing to the front steps of the cabin door. There was a soft glow, coming from one of the front windows, but the source of which was undetermined from where I stood. I stood motionless for what seemed to be eternity, simply admiring the structure. It wasn’t until a soft buzzing of some insect passed close to my ear, that I broke my trance.

I took one final deep breath of air, stretched my legs, and started to walking up the stone path. It didn’t take me more than a minute, to make it to the front steps. From there, I could see more easily into one of the windows. The soft glow appeared to be coming from a small fireplace, nestled into what was probably the main living area of the cabin. “Well here we go”, I said to myself, before walking up the steps and knocking three times on the door…

The Quaint Cabin Held Secretes

“Knock Knock Knock.” My hands made long dense thumping sounds on the cabin’s thick wooden door. I immediately put my hands in my pockets, as I waited for Aurora to answer, but to my surprise she didn’t. I waited a full minute before knocking again. “Knock Knock Kock Knock!” This time putting more emphasis on the attempt. But there was still no response. After waiting another couple minutes, I instinctively reached for the knob, and to my surprise the door glided open without much effort.

I walked though the threshold, and into an open floor plan of a small living area. To the left of me was a small counter, with a small ancient looking stove. A small sink was embedded into the counter as well, and behind it a single paned window that was cracked open. Some sort of cord was drooped out the window, and when I followed it back, I noticed a power generating system sitting on the counter as well.

I smiled at the sight. Aurora and I often thought alike, so it made me chuckle to myself when I saw it. Not more than 20 feet from the counter was a wooden table with a few chairs around it. It looked to be an old picnic table from “back in the day”, that had seen much better times. Yet, it was still usable. From there, a quaint fire place located on the other side of the room continued to burn, and a couch and coffee table sat placed close to the warm light of the rustic burning embers.

A wrist band sat on the coffee table. All Wanderers had them, and used them in the field. They were a positioning device, communicator, and multi-faceted sensor all in one. Though, it was rare for a Wanderer to leave one out in the open.

I continued to glance around the interior of the cabin, and noticed a back door leading outside. The door was located on a wall running perpendicular to the door I entered from. To the right of the front door, there was a bed room, which I now made my way towards.

Aurora’s Letters……

The bed room was small but quaint. Inside was a bed that sat under a window that overlooked the front of the house. At the base of which was a floor lamp, that housed a soft light. Across from the bed was a wooden desk and chair, which was home to a series of papers that had been laid out in the open. I walked over to them, and realized they were letters, the same type of letters I had been reminiscing about on the drive to the cabin. Next to them appeared to be a floor plan and layout of a town, that I had never seen, as well as, a blueprint to some type of platform device.

“Strange”, I thought, I had never seen something like this, especially here. The blueprint was too technical for the times we were living in. I was about to make my way, to the wash room that was off of the bedroom, but stopped when I heard a noise coming from the main living area.

The Passions Of The Cabin

I moved back into the area to check it out, only to find that the power station on the counter had clicked into hibernation mode. I turned to head back into the bed room, but that’s when I heard the back door open, and Aurora’s voice break the silence. “Hello Love”. I spun around to see Aurora standing in the door way, with a smile on her face. Well half smile, half grin. Her brown eyes, light skin, and dark hair flickering in the fire’s light. “Aurora!” I cried. “It’s been some time Love!” She exclaimed , as she slowly made her way over to me. Locking eyes with me as she moved; Before I could say anything else, her voice echoed in my head, “We have a lot to discuss Love, but first let’s catch up”…. With that she gave me a hug, a soft kiss on the cheek, and a mischievous look as she headed for her bedroom. Only stopping for a moment, to look over her shoulder to make sure I knew I should follow…..

Author’s Note:

Hey All, I hope you’ve enjoyed Episode Two of the Taran Ascending story. If you missed episode one, you can read it by clicking here. As always, all works on Taran Station are the sole property of the author. If you share any work found on the site, please provide an attribution link back to Taran Station.