Don't Look in the Tent

Don't Look in the Tent

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. From the outside we could see a shadowy figure moving within.

Did someone new move in? Or was it a trespasser? With only the candle light to guide us, we crept quietly closer. We wanted to see. Frankie was the first to find a window with a shade that allowed a peek inside. We saw him press his face against the glass pane then suddenly fall back, his mouth open in a silent scream. Before we could reach him he got up and ran blindly into the forest. Not one of us would dare to look in that window. Would you?

I yelled at Rick, “Rick, go after Frankie and get back to camp”. The candle in the cabin had gone out. Snuffed perhaps? None of us were equipped to deal with whatever might be in there. “Let's go back to the camp and check on Frankie”. Neither Rick nor Frankie were at the camp but someone had put wood on the smoldering coals. Flames were leaping around the wood when I caught another flame out of the corner of my eye. A candle was burning in front of Frankie's tent. The logs shifted in the fire and a shower of sparks flew up to be lost among the tree tops. It felt safer close to the fire where the darkness of the trees was pushed back. Frankie's tent was dark, set up at the edge of the firelight where we could only see the front. Matt called out from his tent, “ Guys, come look at this”. The back of his tent was slashed open. Ragged tears of fabric dangled as if shredded. We checked, all of our tents were slashed. Nothing was taken or moved, just the cuts. We turned to Frankie's tent. Was it slashed too?

Just then Rick stumbled into the firelight. “Don't look in the tent!”, was all he would say. Over and over. “Where's Frankie?”, “Don't look in the tent!”, “Where's Frankie?”, “Don't look in the tent!”. He wouldn't focus, staring at some unseen something far away. His clothes were scuffed and torn. Bits of leaves and branches clung to him even in his hair. Scratches covered his arms and face. “So fast, he was so fast. Don't look in the tent!”. Matt was beside the fire now, “Guys, this is all the wood we have”. Which was all in the fire, burning down as we watched. “All right, we all go together to find some more wood. And stay close to the light. Matt, stay with Rick and don't look in the tent”. Our circle of light was getting smaller as the fire burned down. We managed to find a few loose branches, but when we got back Rick and Matt were nowhere to be seen. The candle in front of Frankie's tent was out. We could hear something moving through the trees and brush, circling our little pool of light.

We quickly threw our meager pile of sticks on the fire. I kept one as a staff for a last ditch effort at defense. Just then Matt and Rick came out of Frankie's tent. But they turned away from us and melted into the dark trees. The noise from the brush was louder now, still circling, now on two sides. “ We can't stay here. Grab a fiery stick from the fire and we make a run for it” I held my staff in the fire until the fire caught and we made ready, timing our run to go between the two noises.