Stay With Me...

Chapter 14- Throwing Caution (Out The Window.....Or Off The Roof)

Iceland was just as John remembered it, not very icy considering it was summer, not very populated and very Viking-esque. Emmaline cringed the moment they landed at the deserted strip. "I hate this place."

"Could be worse," John shrugged.

"Thank God its not." She huffed loading a bag into the back of the car that was there when they arrived. It was too expensive to be a rental, so at least one person knew that they were here. The car was a large, built to handle off road terrain. "Come on. We have a long drive." She got into the driver's seat, the engine revving to life.

"Who knows we're here?" John got in, strapping on his seat beat. Even if he trusted her, he was not about take chances with their lives.

Emmaline rolled her eyes, turning out of airport and onto a lonely road. "Relax. It's just the person who keeps the place running. He thinks it's a vacation home. And before you ask, no. He won't be there; we've only met in person once."

"Fair enough." The lonely road ended with a turn off to a main road, lined with small shops. Their SUV made the stores look even smaller; pedestrians slowed to stare their clearly out of place vehicle. "How far is it?"

Tapping the screen of the GPS, "It's in the woods in east Iceland, so about 3 hours tops." Emmaline looked over to John who simply nodded. Since they had gotten off the plane, he had been quiet, he was never a man of many words, but now those words were almost inexistent. She thought that he was warming up to her, apparently, she was wrong. Though it was not like she had not played a part, doing everything she could to push him away. Only to regret it now. It had only been a short while and already she was missing the closeness they were starting to share. "So...." How was she supposed to start a conversation anyway?

"So?" He did not even turn to look at her, keeping his eyes either straight ahead or facing towards the window.

"Never mind." This was going to be a long ride.

***

It was late in the evening when the dirt path that lead to a secluded cabin hidden among the trees ended. That is, if you could even call it a cabin. It was more of a rustic logwood mansion, huge, shaded by tress all around, lifted a few feet off the ground. Emmaline stopped the car in front of a short flight of wooden steps, "We're here. We should get the bags inside and then I'll take the car to garage at the back." Emmaline forced a smile and he barely glanced at her.

"Okay." John got out of the car, pushing the door closed behind him and went to start unpacking from the open trunk. She eyed him as she went to unlock the front door, wondering what she could do to make him talk to her. When she went to get more bags, he walked inside, and so it went. It was like he did not even want to be around her.

"So, um," She was actually nervous to talk to him now, afraid that he might explode on her, "The bedrooms are on the second floor, there are three and I usually stay in the one to the front, so you can chose whichever one you want."

He picked his stuff up off the floor, "Okay." There was that word again, reminding her that things were not okay.

John began to walk away when she spoke again, desperately wanting him to talk to her using more than one word. "I'm gonna make dinner, feel like anything in particular?"

"No. Not hungry." Emmaline could have sworn that when he walked off this time, it was faster. He left her standing living room, alone, a little annoyed and no longer hungry.

***

John was upstairs in his room trying again with the map. He was beginning to think that it was defective, or the coordinates were defective. Something was wrong. They weren't anywhere on the map. Or least, where they were, there was supposedly nothing but sea. He was losing focus, which was strange for him, although, it might have had something to with the television playing loudly from downstairs. The door had muffled it so he could not really understand what was on, but he could hear it.