The Woman in The Cabin

Chapter 4 – The Woman in The Cabin

The cabin door creaked as Sapphire stepped inside, dripping and silent. The woman who let her in moved quickly, closing and locking the door with a soft but unmistakable click that echoed in the small, dimly lit space.

It was warm—too warm. A fire crackled low in the hearth, its orange light casting long shadows on the wooden walls. There was a faint smell of herbs and something metallic, like old blood.

Sapphire stood motionless, soaked to the bone, mud on her calves, the pistol still in her waistband. The woman watched her, saying nothing for a moment. She was older than Sapphire—maybe mid-thirties—with sharp cheekbones and eyes that never stopped moving.

"You look like death," the woman said at last.

"I've been better," Sapphire replied hoarsely.

The woman moved toward a small stove and poured a dark liquid into a ceramic mug. She handed it to Sapphire without asking.

"Drink that. You'll need the strength."

Sapphire hesitated, then took a cautious sip. It was bitter, earthy, and warming.

"Who are you?" she asked.

The woman didn't answer right away. Instead, she crouched near the fireplace and began unrolling a canvas bundle filled with tools—some surgical, some electronic, others unrecognizable.

"You can call me Elira," she said finally. "I was a friend of your parents."

Sapphire's jaw tightened. "You know what happened?"

"I know they're dead. And that you survived." Elira's voice was calm but not cold. "The rest... I'm hoping you can fill in."

"They were murdered. My sister—Lily—was in the house. I heard a shot in her room. I don't know if she's alive."

Elira looked up. "Did they take her?"

"I think so. I didn't see her body." Sapphire's voice cracked. "I need to find her."

"You will." Elira stood and crossed to the worktable, pulling out a cloth and gesturing for Sapphire to sit. "But first, I need to check you over. You're bleeding."

Sapphire looked down. She hadn't even noticed the cut on her leg—deep, torn from something in the forest. She sat wordlessly as Elira cleaned and wrapped it, working quickly and efficiently.

"You said you knew my parents," Sapphire murmured. "Then you knew what they were hiding?"

Elira gave her a pointed look. "Did they ever tell you what you are?"

Sapphire blinked. "What I am?"

"You're not just a civilian, Sapphire. You're enhanced. Hybridized. Your parents designed you for something… bigger."

The words hit like a hammer.

"No," Sapphire said, shaking her head. "I'm not—"

"You escaped a military-grade ambush. You accessed a secured tunnel and made it here without surveillance picking you up. Your instincts are already adapting."

"No one told me—"

"Because it wasn't time." Elira's voice softened. "They wanted to protect you from it. But now they're gone. And you need to know."

Sapphire's fingers gripped the edge of the table.

"What was I designed for?"

Elira looked her dead in the eye.

"To find what they tried to erase. And to destroy the people who took your sister."

She paused, then added, "They're hunting you, Sapphire. But you're not prey."

Sapphire stared into the fire, her heart still aching—but underneath it now was something else.

Power. Cold, focused power.

She would find them. Whoever they were. Whatever they were.

And she would burn them to the ground.