His 2016 thrillerDisappearance at Devils Rockfeatured the silhouette of a tree borne crooked.
The book keys into our collective fear and obsession with the apocalypse.
Doomsday prophecies abound as hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and plagues sweep the world.
Credit: William Morrow; Michael Lajoie
Its not always the planet that is at risk.
Its our own little universe.
The Cabin at the End of the Worldis my riff on the home invasion subgenre of horror/suspense.
William Morrow
Hopefully its a big, loud, dark riff, Tremblay tells EW.
The following excerpt picks up halfway through the opening chapter.
Oh, no, right?, Tremblay says.
Leonard says he has a present for her…
See the cover and read the excerpt below.
THE CABIN AT THE END OF THE WORLD
You know what?
I think I have something for you.
Nothing too great, but lets call it an early birthday present.
Wen knits her brow and folds her arms again.
Her dads told her in no uncertain terms to not trust strangers especially if they offer you a gift.
Why do you want to give it to me?
So I picked it.
And now I want you to have it.
Leonard pulls out a small, droopy flower with a halo of thin white petals.
She says, A flower?
If you dont want to keep it, we can put it in the jar with the grasshoppers.
Wen suddenly feels bad, like she is being mean even though she isnt trying to be mean.
She tries a joke: Theyre called grasshoppers not flower-h oppers.
But she feels worse because that sounds mean for real.
Leonard laughs and says, True.
We probably shouldnt tamper with their habitat too much.
Wen almost mock-faints into the grass shes so relieved.
Leonard extends the flower over the grasshopper jar, across the expanse of lawn between them.
Wen takes it, careful not to brush his hand accidentally.
He says, Its a little squished from being in my pocket, but still mostly in one piece.
Wen sits up straight and reshapes the curled stem thats about as long as her pointer finger.
The stem feels loose and will probably fall off soon.
The middle part of the flower is a little yellow ball.
The seven petals are long, skinny, and white.
She has a better idea.
She says, It already looks kinda dead.
Can we pull it apart and make a game of it?
you’ve got the option to do whatever you want with it.
Wen plucks a petal.
How old are you?
I am twenty-four and a half years old.
The half is still important to me.
Wen passes the flower back to Leonard and says, verify you only pluck one at a time.
I will do my very best with these big mitts.
He follows Wens instructions and carefully plucks a petal.
He pinches his fingertips tightly together to ensure he only pulls out one.
He passes back the flower.
The questions should be fast and the answers fast, too.
Um, whats your favorite movie?
I like that one, too.
Leonard passes the flower back.
Wen plucks a petal; her hand is quick.
She says, Everyone usually asks what is your favorite food.
I want to know what your least favorite food is.
Leonard takes the flower and pulls a petal.
He quickly looks behind him and back down the driveway again and asks, What is your first memory?
Wen isnt expecting that question.
Shes sensitive about being fair when playing games.
My first memory is being in a big room.
She spreads her arms wide and her notebook slips off her lap and into the grass.
I was very small, maybe even a baby, and there were doctors and nurses looking at me.
Another petal is plucked away and she rolls it up into a ball between her fingers.
What monster scares you?
The giant ones like Godzilla.
Or the dinosaurs in theJurassic Parkmovies.
Those movies scared the heck out of me.
I used to have nightmares all the time about being eaten or squashed by T. rex.
Leonards turn with the flower.
He plucks and asks, How did you get that tiny white scar on your lip?
you might see it?
Only a little, when you turn a certain way.
Wen looks down and pushes out her lips in attempt to see it.
Of course its there.
Im sorry, I dont mean to make you uncomfortable.
I shouldnt have asked that.
Wen shifts and adjusts her legs, and says, Im okay.
It took some convincing, but her dads eventually acquiesced.
Wen was so upset her hands shook and the tremors spread throughout her body.
The scary the-real-her-was-in-the-baby-photos feeling went away the more she looked.
Eric and Andrew have always been open about Wen having been born in China and adopted.
She rarely asks her dads about her biological parents.
Almost nothing is known about them; her dads were told that Wen was left anonymously at the orphanage.
She says, I had what they call a cleft lip when I was a baby.
And they fixed it.
It took a lot of doctors a long time to fix it.
They did an amazing job and your face is beautiful.
She wishes he wouldnt say that and so she ignores it.
Maybe its time to get one or both of her dads.
Shes not afraid or worried about Leonard, not exactly, but something is starting to feel off.
Daddy Andrew has a big scar that starts behind his ear and goes down to his neck.
He keeps his hair long so you cant see it unless he shows it to you.
How did he get it?
He got hit in the head by accident when he was a kid.
Someone was swinging a baseball bat and didnt see him standing there close by.
Leonard says, Ouch.
She says, Its not fair, you know.
you could see my scar and I cant see anything wrong with you.
Just because you have a scar doesnt mean you have something wrong with you, Wen.
I
Wen sighs and interrupts.
Thats not what I mean.
Then therere faint sounds coming from somewhere in the woods beyond, or coming from the road.
They both sit quietly and listen, and the sounds grow louder.
He doesnt have a smile on his face anymore.
His face looks sad, like the real kind of sad and he even might start crying.
Why is it broken?
The sounds can now be heard plainly and without them having to be quiet.
Where did Leonard come from anyway?
She knows she shouldve.
He had to have come from faraway.
This time it sounds like a whole bunch of Leonards (or bears?
Maybe this time its actually bears) are walking down the road.
Wen asks, Are there more people coming?
Are they your friends?
Leonard says, Yes, there are more people coming.
You are my friend now, Wen.
I wouldnt lie to you about that.
Just like I wont lie to you about them.
I dont know if Id call them my friends, exactly.
I dont know them very well, but we have an important job to do.
The most important job in the history of the world.
I hope you might understand that.
I have to go now.
The sounds are closer.
They are at the end of the driveway but not quite around the bend and the trees yet.
She doesnt want to see these other people.
Maybe if she doesnt see them, refuses to see them, theyll go away.
They are so loud.
Maybe instead of bears itll be Leonards giant monsters and dinosaurs coming to get them both.
Leonard says, Before you go inside to get your dads, you have to listen to me.
Leonard crawls out of his sitting position and onto one knee, and his eyes brim with tears.
Wen nods her head and takes a step back.
Three people turn the corner onto the driveway: two women and one man.
His shirt glows like the moon, whereas hers is dull, washed, almost gray.
Leonard says, You are a beautiful person, inside and out.
One of the most beautiful people Ive ever met, Wen.
Your family is perfect and beautiful, too.
This isnt about you.
All three of the wooden handles are long and thick, perhaps once owning shovel blades or rake heads.
Wens choppy, unsure backward steps become deep, equally unsure, lunges.
She says, Im going inside now.
She has to say it to ensure she will enter the cabin and not stand and stare.
Leonard is on his knees with his great and terrible arms outstretched.
His face is big and sad in the way all honest faces are sad.
He says, None of whats going to happen is your fault.
You havent done anything wrong, but the three of you will have to make some tough decisions.
Terrible decisions, Im afraid.
I wish with all of my broken heart you didnt have to.
Leonard yells, but he doesnt sound angry or distressed.
Hes yelling to be heard over the expanding distance between them.
Your dads wont want to let us in, Wen.
But they have to.
Tell them they have to.
We are not here to hurt you.
We need your help to save the world.
