The Odyssey of the Lodge

A suburban teen is set against nature in an unexpected struggle for survival

Chapter I

The little lodge was a quiet place. William sat idly on his phone. It wasn’t like there was much of anything else to do. Perhaps he could read a book. He did, of course, bring several along, although he’d never been able to fully fool himself into thinking he’d get through more than one or two. It didn’t take long after he picked one out, however, that a buzzing phone brought him right back to the blinding screen. A text.

“whats the move for the weekend”

“I’m up north,” William replied, “hunting with dad. Or, at the moment, waiting around at the lodge as he goes fetching some supplies he forgot to bring. Man has the memory of a goldfish with dementia.”

“well you aint never say anything about going up north before”

“Perhaps I like to keep a bit of mystique about me.”

“perhaps you text like an old British aristocrat talks”

“Them be fighting words. But I’ll catch you next weekend.”

“aight good luck up there”

William looked out the window. December was still a few days away, and snow had not yet descended upon the world to blanket it in white. It had obviously recently rained; mud and little puddles were just as ever-present as the endless trees. Everything was some shade of orange or brown. Everything…