Lodge Trip

A simple minded man that goes by the nickname The Farmer is driving his truck up to a small lodge in the mountainous woodlands. Tagging along with him is his daughter Abigail who is quite excited to be spending one on one time with her old man. Neither of the two had ever camped in these grounds and were ready for anything. They pulled into the lodge sometime in the afternoon, while the sun was still high enough in the sky that the lodge stuck out of the darkness of the trees easily. The Farmer parked his truck, grabbed his bags with one hand, and held his daughter's hand as they approached the front steps of the lodge.

The two enter the front door and walk up to the front desk to be greeted by a beautiful woman with glistening skin, long black hair, and a red flower sitting atop her head. She had on a pretty red dress and you could hear the clicking of heels behind the counter as she walked up to greet the newcomers.

“Ah yes”, she said looking at the man “You must be the Farmer… reservation for two staying in the one bedroom suite?”

The Farmer grinned “Yes that would be us.”

The woman smiled brightly “Wonderful! Here are your keys please let me know if there is anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable”

The Farmer thanked the woman, took the room keys and headed up to his room. The room was small. The bathroom was to the left of the door and the air inside was crisp as if the heat wasn’t on. Abigail ran up and jumped on the bed sitting towards her father.

“This place is small, what are we even gonna be doing up here daddy?”

The Farmer smirked at his little girl “don’t complain yet child, you should always look forward to new experiences”

He dropped most of his bags, while swapping one of them that appeared to be some kind of cooler to his other hand. He then picked up his little girl and carried her all the way back outside; where there was a map of the whole forest preserve. North East of the lodge there was a trail that led back to picnic areas. Abigail held her father’s hand. When they arrived at the campsite they saw another family; they appeared to be husband and wife. The man’s baldness reflected the light of the sun, while no light could shine through the thickness of his beard. The woman had short black hair, red lipstick, and a mole on her right cheek. They both wore matching blue and red plaid shirts with blue jeans. The man raised his hand to greet the Farmer and Abigail as they walked up, The Farmer responded with a grin and a nod.

The gentlemen shook hands and the bald man looked down at the little girl offering his hand saying “my name is David Braxton, pleasure to meet you little one.”

Abigail shook his hand proudly “my name is Abigail and the pleasure is all mine kind sir.”

The woman stood up next to her husband “well hello fellow lovers of the land, my name is Wendy Braxton.”

The Farmer smiled looking at them both “this is actually our first time being out in these parts, so I don’t know if I would exactly call us lovers of this land.”

The couple chuckled at that and Wendy went on to suggest “maybe I can help your little girl love this place a bit more with a scary story while you boys go fire up the grill.”

They all liked this idea. David and the Farmer began cooking while the girls sat not too far away. Wendy told Abigail a story about a strange creature that lurks in the darkness of the woods, taking people away if they are outside too long after dark. When they are finished eating, The Farmer and Abigail leave the table first and head back to the lodge. Just before they get settled in bed Abigail asks her father if the story she heard tonight was true.

The Farmer made a face to show he was genuinely thinking about his response before he said anything, then he told his little girl “A story is always just going to be a story, and can’t truly hurt you as long as it remains a story.”

With that Abigail calmed and fell asleep for the night.

The next morning after breakfast the duo went southeast and hiked up a small mountain trail. There were some parts that Abigail needed to be carried, but The Farmer held strong. They stopped when they had finally reached an observation deck with binoculars. They looked out onto the vast layout of snow covered mountains whose peaks were nowhere near close to the peak of the mountain they stood on now. The Farmer was especially fond of the way the trees of the forest swallow up the bases of the mountains.

The Farmer asked his little girl “Isn’t it so much better to go out and touch things for yourself instead of taking someone else's word for it.”

She was too caught up in the glory to respond.

When the two sightseers get back to the lodge that evening they see a police car leaving the grounds and the front desk lady standing outside.

She walks up to greet them saying “Hey you two did you enjoy the hiking paths?”

Abigail, ignoring the police car entirely, says “Yes I did very much, especially this one owl I found with white feathers instead of grey or brown.”

The Farmer asks the woman “What were the police doing here at the lodge.”

The front desk woman began twirling her hair, “Oh that… the bearded man yall met last night seems to have lost his wife somewhere in the woods last night, and the law wanted to take him in for questioning.”

Abigail looked up at her father concerningly as he simply looked toward the direction the car went, shrugged it off, and walked inside.

When they got back to their room Abigail asked her daddy “Why don’t we go and try to help find Mrs. Wendy?”

The Farmer looked down and not at his little girl simply saying “The world’s problems aren’t always our’s, until they absolutely have to be.”

Abigail didn’t know if she liked that, but she still went to sleep calmly anyways.

The next morning after breakfast Abigail and The Farmer were on their way to go fishing off the docks southwest of the lodge. Passing the front desk they see a different man complaining to the lady in the red dress. They can hear almost the whole conversation as they pass by.

The stranger was shouting to the front desk lady “First my darling, then the sweet old woman’s husband, and now the bald man’s wife. Where are all these people going? It’s not like they are just getting up and leaving.”

The front desk lady rolled her eyes replying “I spend all my time here watching over my lodge and the keys I give away. I don’t know anything about you or anybody else’s partners”

The stranger grunted at her and stormed out the lodge.As The Farmer and Abigail walked out shortly after pretending they didn’t hear or see anything, they saw the stranger walking up into the thicket of woodlands to the north east.Then The Farmer looked down at his little girl saying “Quick tip not just for fishing, but for life as well, always look out for patterns.”

The two head southwest to where the lake is. Abigail is far more excited to fish than The Farmer. She runs across the docks to the spot where her father had pointed too and began setting up shop. She sees fish breaking water and immediately casts her line there. The Farmer watching her, instructs her to cast her line ahead of the fish so that she doesn't scare the fish.

A bit past noon David appears on the docks and begins approaching the two anglers. The Farmer stood up to greet the man.

The two nodded and David frantically asked The Farmer "The two of you wouldn't have happened to have seen my wife have you?"

"Well no sir we haven't seen your wife since last we saw you." The Farmer said.

David looked at Abigail, and The Farmer stepped in front of her "We haven't seen her sir."

David took a step back and caught his breath. "Well if either of you do see anything, could you please call these detectives and let them know,I just want my wife to be safe."

David handed them a business card and walked back the way he came. Abigail looked at her father with concern in her eyes "Daddy why couldn't we help that man?"

The Farmer looked down at her after casting his line and said "It just isn't right to give someone any kind of help with something that we know nothing about."

Abigail thinks about this while the two continue enjoying their time on the dock. As the sun begins to fall from the sky, the two head back to the lodge.

Approaching the lodge they see the front desk lady, David, and the stranger from before all standing outside causing a fuss. They are all throwing around blame and anger around each other as to how two people went missing in the park.

The stranger yelled out “My sweet pudding cup was the first out of any of these people to disappear and I'm sick of you acting like you don’t know anything about it lady!” the lady normally at the front desk.

David was calm but frustrated and asked the man “All this time you have spent here how come the authorities haven’t found any way to help you yet?’

The front desk lady has had enough and shouts out to the two gentlemen "Alright stop… how about all three of us go looking in the woods for your partners tonight."

David and the stranger agree to these terms and the woman walks in between them approaching The Farmer. "How about you sir, would you like to assist in the search?

The Farmer shakes his head and his hand dismissing the idea altogether "This fight just isn't ours to be fighting, but I wish you all good luck."

The woman storms off, David and The stranger trailing behind as they disappear in the depth of the trees. Abigail looks to her father in confusion.

She asks her father "Why wouldn't you help those people find those other people daddy?"

The Farmer grinned, and picked up his little girl saying "I have enough to worry about with you in my care, a person can only care for so much."

Abigail frowned and obviously didn't like that answer but The Farmer still carried her away saying "Come on i still have one last place to show you."

The Farmer carried Abigail straight south of the lodge, across the parking lot, and down a short abandoned trail. At the end of the trail there was an old grimey well covered in dirt and moss.

The Farmer handed her a coin saying "My friends told me this well can grant any wish you may ask for, as long as the wish doesn't change anything that's already happened."

Abigail doesn't spend much time thinking before she flips her coin into the well saying "Well I wish for all those people to find all the things they are looking for in those woods!"

The Farmer scoops her back up and tells his little girl "I'm sure at least some of all wishes come true"

] He walks her back to the lodge and straight up to their room. He tucks her into bed for the night and is still not quite settled.

She looks up to him and asks her daddy "Are you sure my wish will come true?"

The Farmer looks up at the ceiling to portray that he's thinking. Then he looked back down to tell his little girl "Always expect the unexpected."

Abigail thinks as she drifts off to sleep for the night. WhenThe Farmer believes she's finally at peace. He gets up from bed and locks Abigail in the room. Then he walks down stairs, outside the front lobby and sits on the steps to the entrance. He waits a few hours for someone to appear out of the woods from the three that had left a little while ago. After a few hours pass and the only thing illuminating the darkness are street lights, the stranger comes out of the darkness of the woods. It's obvious to The Farmer that the stranger is covered in blood but not bleeding.

The stranger asks the farmer “Isn’t it such wonderful weather we’re having tonight?”

The Farmer simply nodded his head.

The stranger chuckles and asks The Farmer “Have you ever felt the pain of losing the closest person to you?”

The Farmer pouts and nods his head again.

The stranger slowly puts his hands behind his back. “Well tonight your little girl is going to feel a similar pain.”

The stranger pulls out a knife and tries to rush The Farmer. The Farmer is no stranger to danger and quickly draws a revolver from his coat. He makes short work of the stranger with a single shot to the head. Then The Farmer pulled out his phone and the business card David had given him and reported that a man attacked him with a knife in front of the lodge.

The next morning Abigail and The Farmer walk outside the lodge and up to the truck getting ready to leave. Abigail is shaken by all the police vehicles now in the parking lot. She can see boys in blue going into the lodge and into the woods where David was last seen headed.

She asks her father "What are all the police looking for, did something happen to Mr. David?"

The Farmer looked a bit confused and said to his little girl "I'm not certain if they will ever find anything, the police are not allowed to expect the unexpected."