Ch.5 The Cabin

 The front door connects directly to the living room with the fireplace he saw outside. On the far side of the cabin, the living room opens up to a kitchen and dining area. The bathroom is on the left side of the house, directly before the kitchen. The remaining two rooms are a bedroom and another room used for storage. Oliver angrily threw his smartwatch away as he saw the large trash can in the kitchen. When he was about to throw out his phone, he took a deep breath and released his anger.

 'I'm not ready to throw my phone out. I might be able to fix it in the future and save my pictures and videos.'

 Oliver immediately went to the kitchen and opened some water bottles for them.

 'We should only stay a day or two. I'll search every nook and cranny of this place tomorrow.'

 "Here's some water," Oliver gave her a bottle of water, which she took quietly but drank greedily. Oliver looked down and saw the scrape on her knee.

 "You scraped your knee. Let me take a look." Oliver said and took a knee to look at her scrape, and Amelia just sat quietly.

 "It doesn't look that bad. Hopefully, I can find a medkit or something to clean it."

 Oliver looked for the bathroom, where he would keep medical supplies. Oliver found a simple medkit under the bathroom sink.

 "I found a first aid kit. This might sting a little," Oliver said before gently cleaning it with water from his water bottle and disinfecting her scrape. Amelia only responded with a slight flinch.

 "You did great."

 After Amelia's scrape was bandaged, she sat quietly on the couch, staring at the dead fireplace. Amelia hasn't talked in a long time, seemingly lost in her thoughts.

 'I think her mind is processing everything. I hope she's not traumatized.'

 The lights didn't work; however, a couple of used candles and a kerosene lamp worked. The inside of the refrigerator was getting warmer, but the gas stove still worked. Searching the cabinets, Oliver finds crackers, biscuits, and other dry foods. Checking the fridge more closely, he saw a pot of stew, some cooked bacon, grapes, oranges, and many other items that didn't catch his eye. Oliver warmed up the stew on the old stove and set the table for two. He prepared a glass of still-cold milk for the both of them to drink before it spoiled and saved their water. Oliver would have used the tap water if it didn't have a strange tint and odor, likely from the corrosion of old pipes.

 'This cabin is so far it may have its water tank. It will be great if the plumbing works too.'

 "Amelia, come eat dinner." 

 They sat across from each other at the small kitchen table and devoured their stew before finishing all the grapes and half the oranges. 

 The sun has set completely, and their only light is from the fog. Oliver used the wood and lighter fluid to start a fire in the fireplace.

 'I'll save the candles later in case I need them.'

 Once the fire became more significant and stable, Oliver sat back and watched the flames dance as they devoured the wood. Feeling the need to use the bathroom, Oliver got up and went to the restroom. The bathtub, toilet, and sink looked like they hadn't been thoroughly cleaned in a long time, but it will have to do. Oliver flushed the bathroom and made sure it worked before finishing his business. Oliver returns to the fireplace and finds that Amelia is still staring at the fireplace.

 "The bathroom still works whenever you need it. I'm going to take a look around."

 As she nods in acknowledgment, Oliver leaves to search the bedroom. Even with the small bed, the room wasn't that large. The room had a rugged but minimalistic feel, as it belonged to an older man who was either poor or liked a minimalist lifestyle. There were no signs of technology or other entertainment in the cabin.

 'This room has a funny smell.'

 Disappointed with his findings, Oliver proceeds to the room that looks like a storage room, hoping for anything useful. There were several large boxes in the storage room that Oliver looked through using his lamp. To Oliver's satisfaction, he found several blankets, old pillows, camping gear, backpacks, flashlights, extra clothes a couple sizes too large, a medium box full of random toiletries, a duffel bag, towels, and a small and large pocket knife. Oliver also found a small but unused journal, and after a moment of hesitation, he put it in his large pocket on the side of his leg.

 'I don't think these batteries work anymore, making these flashlights useless. There's a backpack for each of us, and I can use the duffel bag, but I won't be able to carry Amelia anymore. We'll prioritize water, food, and weapons in that order. Camping gear sounds helpful, but that would mean spending the night outside.

 Towels, blankets, and toiletries sound nice, but they are the easiest things to find in every household.

 Oliver grabbed the extra pillows and blankets to the living room and left all the supplies in the storage room to pack in the morning.

 "The bedroom smells weird, so you can sleep on the couch, and I'll sleep on the floor."

 After making the couch for Amelia, Oliver laid some blankets on the floor for himself. Returning to the toiletries box, he took what he needed for Amelia to freshen up.

 'I don't know how safe the water is, but showering should be fine. It's too bad there's only cold water.'

 After locking the door, Oliver took a swift shower since the water was freezing. After drying himself off, he took the spare clothes he found and dressed as he shivered. He continued to shiver as he brushed his teeth and rushed to the fireplace.

 "The shower is freezing, but you can take a shower if you want. I left a new toothbrush in the bathroom for you."

 Amelia left for the bathroom as the fire warmed up Oliver.

 A few minutes later, Amelia was still in the toilet, and Oliver grew drowsy. Oliver lay in his makeshift bed after attending to the fire one last time.