Outside That Door

by Jennifer Robins

  He let out a yell. “Wow, it stings!” He pulled his hand away in agony.

  “Don’t be a baby. You wanna get an infection? I have to clean it out, so hold still.”

  “Just get it done and hurry up about it.” He held his hand out to her again. “I’m telling you, there’s a jungle out there that didn’t exist when we got here yesterday. It’s another world or another time. I’ve heard of strange things, but this one takes it all.”

  She proceeded to clean his cut so she could bandage it. “Try not to use this hand much. It looks like it could use a stitch or two. I pulled the tape on the bandage as tight as I could to close it, so be careful with it. I don’t want you to loosen its hold for awhile.”

  “Beth, we have to find a way out of here, but I don’t know how.” He rushed to the living room with her on his heels. “Did you try your cell phone again?”

  “Yes, I’ve been trying; it’s dead. There is nothing—no sound, no ringing—nothing.” She picked it up. “Here, you try.” She handed him the phone with a hardy thrust.

  He held the phone to his ear after punching in a number. After several minutes, he threw the phone down on the sofa. “It’s useless; the stupid thing is dead.”

  “That’s what I told you.” She set it on the table. “Don’t even try again. It’s useless.”

  A feeling of being caged in, while silence enclosed the cottage, overwhelmed them. Carl raced to the window. “Look at this. It looks normal out there, but when I go outside, it has turned into another world. I don’t understand.” He gritted his teeth and held his hand to his forehead. “How can this be? A full, organized park of homes, cottages, office, roads, and lights don’t just disappear.”

  “I don’t know, but you have to get a hold of yourself. You’re acting like a crazy man. We have to think…try to come up with something.”

  “Like what, Beth?” Carl threw his hands in the air.

  “For right now, we just sit tight and wait. This could be some kind of phenomena that will end, then maybe we will return to normal. Let’s be calm.” She went to the kitchen sink, looked back into the living room at him then turned to face the window in front of her while opening a bottle of water. “I’ll fill the pot for tea. Let’s sit by the fireplace. Put another log in so we can heat this water.”

  He set the last of the wood on the fire—it took off right away, with sparks flying upward into the chimney flue. With his hands raised up in front of him, he lowered himself down to the bear skin rug in front of the hearth. He gazed into the flames with darkened eyes. His hand held a tight fist that whitened his knuckles.

  A cup of hot tea along with a jellied slice of white bread was just the thing to settle them for a short time. She held his watch up as she sat next to him on the sofa. “It’s after noon already. I wonder if anything has changed.” She rose from the sofa. “I’m going out there this time, and I don’t want any back talk from you.”

  “Just open the door, but don’t go out,” he yelled after her.

  A cool fall breeze swept past her as she stood in the doorway. It almost felt good, but the sight was not so nice—the same wilderness they’d both witnessed before; it hadn’t changed back. She stood for a few moments looking out into the heavily wooded, weed-infested view. At the top of the trees, she could see the mountains and knew they were still the same, the wonderful Catskill Mountains, but the park was no longer there. Not the developed park they’d known.

  “It’s still the same,” she said as she came back to the sofa. Carl stood by the fireplace shaking his head. “What are we going to do?” she asked as she sat down with one leg curled up under her. “I am so afraid.” Tears welled in her eyes. A feeling of despair overwhelmed her so much she couldn’t take a deep breath.

  “I don’t know what we can do but wait, or go out there and try to find our way back to…” He stopped there, put his head down. “We don’t know what more is out there, or even if we can find our way back to something civilized, so I guess we just do like you said. Wait.”

  The hours passed painfully slowly. Carl kept trying to get the phone to work, while Beth played with the radio only to get nothing, not even static. Tabitha curled up by the fireplace to sleep quietly by the diminishing fire. The only sounds outside were birds in the trees, and a distant thumping noise they could not identify for sure but thought it sounded like drumbeats.

  “I’m going out for more wood. I just hope our pile of logs is still there. I just want to make sure we have enough to keep warm. For how long, I don’t know.” He went off to the kitchen and took his jacket from the hook by the door and put it on. “Stay here. Don’t come out there. I’ll be right back.” When he went out the door, she stood with her hand up over her mouth in fear of what might happen next. Chills down her spine weren’t only from the cold.

  Outside a cold whisk of wind hit him in the face as he walked along the side of the cottage. He pulled the collar of his jacket up around his neck and lowered his chin into it as he made his way. Low ground vines caught his ankles, causing him to shake them off as he followed the side of the structure to the rear corner where he had put the cut wood.

  One of the things he hated most about his trip to the back was cobwebs hitting him in the face. They seemed to be in plentiful supply. But he made it there…and to his delight, he found the wood. He hurried to load as many logs as he could fit in his arms and headed back to the door. His hand started to throb with pain from his injury, but he kept on going.

  As he approached the door, he heard an unfamiliar sound in the distance. He could swear it was the beating of drums, but shook it off as just another odd thing going on that could not be explained. He came to the door and set the wood down for a free hand to turn the knob.

  Beth met him as he flung the door open. “I’m glad you found the wood. It’s cold in here again. Let me help you.” She bent down to pick up a few logs but suddenly straightened. “What’s that sound out there?” Her eyes widened, her face grew pale. “It sounds like drums, Indian drums.”

  “You hear it too? I thought I was imagining it. Drums, yes. Indian drums? I don’t know.”

  “Get the wood in and close the door,” she said. “I don’t like this, whatever it is.” With two large logs in her arms, her stride slow due to the weight, she started for the fireplace. “I want you to add one of these to the fire so we can at least have more heat.”

  “All right. I think we better learn how to cook some of the food we brought with us. I don’t intend to starve to death.”

  Beth stood with her hands at her sides. “Have you figured out what is going on? This whole thing is like a nightmare, and all you can think about is food.”

  “I’m not sure, but I think we have ventured into another time, like a time warp, or another dimension. Just walk out the door. You know we are not where we were yesterday when we arrived. I can’t figure it out.”

  She brought her fingers to her mouth and ran them over her lips while trying to understand what he said. “There has to be a better explanation. Time warp…this is crazy. How could it happen?” she said with reservations. “I thought this only happened in science fiction stories.”

  “Believe me, it can happen. I really think this is what’s going on here.” He put another log in the fireplace. The fire took off nicely. “Go get some bacon and a pan to cook it in.” He stoked the fire with the poker. “And bring a pot of water to heat for tea. It’s cold enough for a hot English brew rather than muddy-looking coffee.”

  Beth managed, with his help, to cook the bacon and make sandwiches to go with the tea. She opened a can of cat food for Tabitha before settling down on the sofa with Carl. “I’m afraid. How long is this going to last?” She looked into his eyes for answers he couldn’t give her.

  “I don’t know. I’m not sure it will ever end.” He put his arm around her shoulders and hugged her. “Let’s stay here by the fire tonight. I have to think, make plans, and try to come up with something.” He pulled her closer to him.
“The cell phone won’t work, but that could be from being so low from the mountains. If I go to a higher point, I might get a signal.”

  “Not tonight you’re not. It’s getting dark, and you are not going out there at night.”

  “I know. I’ll go in the morning.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  Curled up on the sofa with a blanket up to her neck, Beth opened her eyes to see Carl standing by the fireplace, stoking the fire. The room felt warmer than the night before. Only two logs remained beside the hearth. She sat up to stretch her arms over her head, yawning and blinking.

  “How long have you been up?” she asked as she wrapped the blanket up tighter around her legs. She hugged her arms and rubbed her hands up and down them as she gazed at her husband, who looked like he had not slept at all. “You look awful.”

  “I’ve been up awhile. It’s daylight out. I want to get going soon. I made coffee but there are grounds on the bottom, so be careful how you pour it.” He made a gesture to the pot on the hearth.

  “I’m not happy about you going out there. What am I supposed to do, just sit here and wait for you, or for something else to happen while you’re gone?”

  “I guess that’s what you will be doing, because you’re not coming with me. If there’s anything out there to put us in danger, I don’t need you to get hurt. I can take care of myself.” He sat on the sofa to put on his boots. “This is something I have to do, Beth. We need help. I think I can make contact on the cell phone from a higher place.”

  “What if you can’t?”

  “I don’t know. We may have to find our way out of here somehow.” He went over to the hook by the door where his jacket hung and took it down. He turned to her. “I won’t be long. If I remember right, there is a ledge not far from here…that is, if it’s still there.”

  She threw her arms around his neck. He held her tight as she spoke into his ear. “Be careful. Don’t take any chances—please.”

  Once he had his jacket zipped up to his neck, he opened the door. The cool air rushed in at him. He looked back at her before closing it. “Don’t worry; just stay inside, no matter what.”

  A thick frost had settled overnight, making it feel colder than it was. He figured it would only be a matter of time before the sun would dry up all the sparkling wet lying on everything in sight.

  Streams of sunlight flowed down through the thick trees from the top edge of the mountain, announcing the start of a new day. The smell of burning leaves, maybe even wood, filled the air. He listened but heard nothing aside from a few birds. He trudged through the overgrown foliage making his way toward the foot of the mountain. In the near distance, a trail of smoke reached up to the sky, making him alert to a possibility of someone ahead. Carl moved along with caution.

  The land rose as he ventured nearer to a higher place. Taking the cell phone from his pocket, he punched in some numbers and waited, but there was nothing. Totally dead. Not even a little static or a sound of any kind.

  The rustling of the bushes ahead of him gave cause for alarm. He lowered himself to the ground and stayed very still. Twigs, some branches, cracked in the stillness of the forest as something, he didn’t know what, made its way through the thicket just ahead of him. He ducked behind a tree and stayed low as he leaned into the trunk of the tall evergreen. A white tail flashed like a streak of lightening as a large buck dashed away from something which frightened it. Then, out of nowhere, came a large mass of brown fur, hovering over the place where the deer had been, nose up as it sniffed the air for the deer’s scent or anything else of interest. Carl held his breath. His heart beat so fast, he could hardly keep from wondering if it might come right through his chest.

  No way can I fight off a grizzly. Not with my bare hands. So much depended on the bear’s natural ability to smell things around him, especially human things. Carl not only crossed his fingers, but he said a silent prayer. He watched the huge brown body of fur search for something to eat at the water’s edge. Carl could almost hear his knees knocking. He crouched down behind the bush beside the tree and peered through its slightly bare branches, hoping he wouldn’t be spotted by this unexpected creature he’d come upon.

  With luck on his side, the breeze blew away from him toward the bear. This guy had paws the size of basketballs with large long claws. Sunlight reflected off his long glistening white teeth as he held his mouth wide open in the air as he headed out in the opposite direction. A slow even sigh of relief expelled the air from Carl’s lungs as he stood up, heart still pumping fast and furious, adrenaline flowing.

  He waited until the grizzly was far out of sight before he turned to head back to the shelter of the cottage. The cool breeze didn’t stop the sweat from rolling down his forehead as though it were from the heat of the hot summer now long past. His only thought was to get back to safety…beyond that he had no plans to return to this wilderness—an unbelievable presence he could not understand.

  Beth hurried to the door the second she heard him come in. “What happened?” she asked.

  “You’re not going to believe this, but I confronted a monster of a grizzly out there. I got lucky—he didn’t get a whiff of me. I would have been dead meat in minutes.” He took his jacket off, threw it on the chair then went to the sink for water. He drank like he’d been out in a hot desert for days.

  “I didn’t think there were any bears left around here. Maybe further up by the mountain, but not in these settled areas.” He almost choked on his words.

  Beth walked over to him. “I suppose it’s possible. After all, this is a place where they used to live.” She stood at his side looking into his pale drawn face. “You look just awful. Are you all right?”

  “Do I look all right? I’ve never been so scared in all my life. That bear was out to get some kind of lunch, and I thought for a moment it might be me.”

  “Go sit down. I’ll heat up the tea. I thought bears only ate berries, fish, and green things. I just put the last of the logs on the fire. I can heat the tea up in no time. It’ll settle you down.”

  “I need something stronger than tea. Did we bring along some booze?”

  “No, we didn’t. Remember, this was going to be a last quiet weekend here before the snow flies, and you had a list of things, including fishing. I don’t think we were planning on having a party, but there is some wine.”

  “I know, but I didn’t think we were going to end up in some kind of time warp—time zone.”

  “You keep calling it that. I’m not sure I understand exactly what it means.” With thick padded gloves, she took the pot from the hearth and set it on the burning logs. You need this tea right now… Later we can have wine. There’s a half bottle in the fridge.”

  He sat down on the sofa to pull his boots off. “I wasn’t able to get the cell phone to work. I really don’t think that’s the answer anyway.” His expression was one of confusion, doubt, fear.

  “What if this thing—whatever it is—lasts a long time? We will run out of things, like wood, food, candles… which reminds me, I think we should only burn one candle at a time and only when we need it.”

  She took her cup to the fireplace to fill it with the hot water. A tagged string from the tea bag hung at the side of the cup. Carl said nothing. He remained on the sofa, deep in thought. The situation now required some serious thinking. This was not a dream; it was real. Somehow they were lost in a time dated far back from where they had been in the present, and he had no idea just how far back. With everything changed so much, it had to be several years before the campgrounds were put in place.

  “I saw the mountain’s base with a lot more growth than what I remember. There’s more tall pines on the slopes, and bushes cluttering the ground like I’ve never seen before. What really has got me is there is no evidence of civilization anywhere.” He folded his arms and stared ahead, “This is not possible. I have to go back out there and inspect the area further, bears and wildlife or not.”

  He sipped a small amount of
the tea, then put his boots back on. He took to the kitchen to get his warm jacket, Beth right behind him. It was fantastic how inside the cottage everything was as it should be, but outside it was something else—something weird, impossible to understand or even believe.

  A gust of cold wind came at him but he went out, closing the door behind him. The sounds of wildlife in the distance caused him alarm, so he took it slow as he ventured out into the thick brush ahead of him. Carefully he moved over twigs, branches, and tall grass, making his way without causing too much noticeable noise. His heartbeat hastened. Fear flowed within him, creating extreme anxiety. Overhead, a loud hawk circled the area looking for its morning meal. The smell of burning wood filled the air. Was it coming from the cottage or someplace further ahead of him? He wasn’t sure.

  Two tall trees shedding their foliage overlooked the area like strong soldiers standing guard. Colorful leaves in flight streaked across his face as they made their way down to the earth below. The chill in the air went straight to his bones.

  He came upon a clearing and, once again, he noticed it had been a place where something bedded down for the night, the same place he’d seen the deer. Carl looked around to scan for the ferocious bear, and then crouched down to touch the earth to search for the feeling of warmth to determine how long ago whatever it was had been there. Not only was it cold, but it was wet with overnight frost. Steam spilled from his mouth after taking in air and blowing it out slowly.

  With not much to guide him, only the view of the mountains ahead, he went on, knowing as long as he kept them in front of him he could find his way. But to where? Thick with bush and foliage, a path went along as far as he could see, leading him toward those mountains. It was obvious someone or something traveled this way often. It made it a little easier to walk as long as he stayed on the flattened trail.