The Things That Hunt in the Dark

Day 14 – Isolation

Daniel Holt had always believed that the wilderness would save him.

Away from people. Away from chaos. Away from the slow, rotting collapse of civilization.

But now, sitting in his cabin deep in the mountains, staring at the flickering glow of his dying lantern, he realized the truth.

The wilderness wasn’t saving him.

It was killing him slower than the virus ever could.

His food supplies were untouched, his weapons fully loaded, his shelter secure.

And yet, for the first time since the world ended…

Daniel was starting to wonder if he had made a mistake.

Because the problem wasn’t survival.

The problem was being alone with his own mind.

The nights were the worst.

The silence stretched for miles in every direction, too thick, too heavy.

Sometimes, he thought he heard footsteps outside.

Sometimes, he thought he heard Hannah’s voice.

"Will you come back?"

Daniel clenched his fists, forcing the memory away. No ghosts. No regrets.

The only thing that mattered was staying alive.

But as he sat there, staring at the flickering lantern, he wondered:

Was this really living?

The first real sign of trouble came just before dawn.

A metallic clatter outside.

Daniel’s eyes snapped open. He was already moving before he was fully awake, knife in one hand, revolver in the other.

He pressed his back against the wall, listening.

Another sound—something shifting near the storage shed.

Daniel inhaled slowly.

Someone was out there.

He moved carefully toward the window, peering through the gap in the wooden shutters.

No one.

But then—

A shadow flickered at the edge of the treeline.

Daniel’s grip on the revolver tightened.

"People don’t come this deep into the mountains by accident."

Whoever they were, they were watching him.

And Daniel didn’t like being watched.

He didn’t hesitate.

He stepped onto the porch and fired a single shot into the air.

The sharp crack of the gun echoed through the trees, shattering the early morning stillness.

Silence.

Then—movement.

Daniel caught the briefest glimpse of a figure retreating into the forest, vanishing into the mist.

Too fast. Too calculated.

This wasn’t some lost hiker.

Someone had found him.

And they wanted him to know it.

For the next three hours, Daniel scouted the perimeter of his cabin, searching for signs of intrusion.

He found them easily.

Footprints in the damp soil.

A discarded ration wrapper near the stream.

Whoever had been watching him had been camped nearby for a while.

Daniel knelt beside the footprints, running his fingers over the impression.

Not heavy. Someone light. Fast.

A scout, maybe?

The thought sent a chill down his spine.

Because if there was one, there were probably more.

By nightfall, Daniel had set his countermeasure.

A tripwire near the shed.

A few strategically placed glass bottles tied with string, ready to rattle if someone got too close.

He wasn’t going to be hunted in his own territory.

If they came back, he’d be waiting.

And this time, he wouldn’t fire a warning shot.

The trap was triggered just after midnight.

The sound of clattering glass snapped Daniel awake, his pulse slamming against his ribs.

He grabbed his rifle and moved fast, slipping out the back entrance, circling toward the shed.

Footsteps.

Someone running.

Daniel raised his rifle, finger on the trigger.

"Stop!"

The figure froze.

A woman.

Not the starving woman he had turned away before.

Someone else.

She was young, maybe mid-twenties, her hair cropped short, her clothes torn and dirty. A hunting knife gleamed in her hand, but she wasn’t holding it to attack.

She was breathing hard, her body tensed—like an animal caught in a trap.

Daniel kept the rifle steady. "Start talking."

She wiped a trickle of sweat from her brow. "You’re alone."

Daniel’s stomach twisted.

"Yeah?" he said carefully. "And?"

She exhaled sharply. "That’s a problem."

Daniel’s grip on the rifle tightened.

"Why?"

The woman took a slow step forward. Not aggressive. Just serious.

"Because," she said, voice low, "you’re being hunted."