Danger.

The surplus of food that Todd's kill provided allows the two of you to spend more time together during the days than at any time since you arrived at the lodge. You work together on further establishing your production facilities. It didn't quite feel right to hang the venison up to age in the garage, where there is a slight smell of gasoline fumes and residue of oil, so you decided to try your hands at building a new structure against the wall of the pool shack where you could age your game. Together you figured out through trial and error how to build a lean-to, using some of the un-sawn logs that are piled up at one end of the wood shed, and your first attempt at building anew is serviceable, decently secure, but not attractive. It's enough for now, and being close to the food preparation area will make it easier when shifting large chunks of animal around.

Your first venison, as you feared from the messy **** of the animal, is not brilliant tasting, but is nourishing and plentiful. The smoked stuff ends up being better, and actually approaches being a pleasant meal after a long night's careful tending of the fire. It's left you with a good supply of tasty strips that you can keep in a rat-proof box in the main cabin and which will last for several days. They can be pocketed fairly easily which will give Todd some sustenance when he goes out on another trip, or they can be sliced up and cooked on the stove along with some vegetables from the store for heartier meal. You've certainly found chewing on the tender, tangy meat a good remedy for some of the nausea pangs you suffered, the rich protein flavour, complete with a lot of natural salts, is exceedingly good for your system, and it has helped you over several days to more or less ride out what you hope will be the last of the morning sickness.

Another week or so passes, and you're well into the stocks yielded by the second side of venison when the two of you conclude that it's probably time for Todd to head out again and try to bag another deer. The next morning, he sets out as before with the dawn, leaving you with a peaceful day ahead owing to having prepared most of what need the night before. You settle in to read - the trashy books left in the cabin by your father's deputies are the sorts of things you'd never even consider reading before, but your brain is now so craving stimulation that you'll try anything.

A couple of hours have passed when you feel the urge to pee. You stretch as you stand, and exit the cabin after shrugging on your outdoor jacket for warmth when using the toilet. While you're sitting there, you hear a strange sound that makes your heart race. A soft scratching sound. Is it an animal? Then a slight jingling, hurriedly silenced. That's a person, you're sure of it. And they are trying not to be heard, which is a worrisome sign.

You curse your carelessness. You're unarmed, despite the presence of many readied firearms in the cabin. You get up as quietly as possible and pull your jeans back up, wishing that you'd maintained the early habits of keeping a pistol on your hip at all times.

With no other choice, you slip out of the toilet shack with as much stealth as you can manage, and peer around to figure out what - and how many - intruders you are dealing with.

There's no sign of anyone by the main cabin. Your view of three sides of it is unimpeded, and behind it the rear perimeter fence runs so close that there's very little chance of somebody skulking there. You glance over at the pool shack, and see some items in the cooking area are not where you usually leave them. The door to the shack is open, suggesting that at least one person is likely to be inside.

Can you make it to a weapon in time, without creating a noise that will alert them? It's about twenty yards to the cabin door, and you could sprint it in a few seconds, but your footsteps would definitely make plenty of noise. At the same time, you don't know if there's time to go slow and stealthy, and there's nothing in between you and your destination to conceal you.

You're running out of time to make a decision. You have to act fast.