Skye you look more like a white husky than a golden retriever Zach said as he dodged the spray Skye had loved coming up to the cabin ever since she was a puppy She loved being outdoors and riding on the boat with them His dad had said that since Skye was getting older maybe she should sit this trip out But as Zach was loading up the car with his fishing supplies Skye hopped into the back seat He took it as a sign that he should bring her I hope Dad gets here soon Zach thought aloud What was taking him so long The cabin was lonely without all three of them there together Zach was glad he had brought Skye along Zach shivered He thought he had turned the heat on as soon as he got to the cabin but it didn’t seem any warmer than when he arrived He crossed the cabin and knelt down to check the knob next to the baseboard He rapped his knuckles on the metal The whole unit was ice cold He turned the knob but 5
there was no satisfying hiiisssssss telling him the heat had been adjusted or even turned on He knocked his fist against the side of the heater The heater started clanking but didn’t seem to be heating up Skye wandered over and stood over Zach’s shoulder breathing warm air into his ear Zach laughed Skye you need a mint He held his hands over the heater vent Still nothing He stood up and looked around the room The old cabin had electrical heaters running along the baseboards The small space had a combined living room and kitchen that held an outdated stove and a refrigerator with a broken handle Everything inside the cabin was old and breaking down including the heater Zach’s dad had often made small adjustments in the heater to get things going again Maybe it just needed some tightening up Zach grabbed the toolbox they kept by the cabin door and lugged it over to the heater He dug through it until he felt the flathead 6
screwdriver Then he tightened the screws on the side of the heater’s base The clanking stopped but the metal was still cold Skye pawed at the heater and looked intently at Zach It’s okay Skye I’ll get it going he said Zach remembered that his dad sometimes lit the pilot light again He peeked into the heater’s opening Sure enough the flame had gone out He dug around the kitchen drawer and found an old book of matches alongside some mouse droppings He made his way back to the heater knelt down and struck a match But the flame blew out right away Zach sighed striking a second match The old heater banged and clanked It hissed and rattled then started shaking Skye barked at the heater the way she always barked at the vacuum cleaner back home as if it was an intruder It’s going to be fine Zach said although even he had to admit that the heater did sound menacing Zach stuffed the matches in his jeans pocket He took a step 7
away from the old heater but in the tiny cabin there was really nowhere else to go Then another noise began Somewhere inside its belly the heater groaned 8
