The Hunters

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Finally! I’d been waiting for this day for as long as I could remember.

The candle flickered, casting an eerie glow on the trail and sending shadows skittering through the trees. I watched from those shadows, tingling with anticipation. I’d been checking this window every evening for over a year, and now that the moment had arrived, I could barely contain my nervous excitement.

Legend had it that roughly every sixteen years, a demon appeared in this cabin. He demanded a sacrifice, and when he was satisfied, he disappeared again. The candle in the window was the signal that he’d arrived. I was fully aware of just how crazy it sounded, but I’d been researching it for the past five years, and while obviously those legends couldn’t be true, there was no question that something happened here consistently at fourteen to seventeen year intervals, and that it had been going on for at least a century. Probably more.

This time I was going to see it in person. I was going to find out what was behind the stories that haunted local campfires and nightmares.

The legends claimed that when the demon arrived, a coven of witches came to worship it. And always, not far behind these so-called witches were the witch hunters. The thing is, from there the legends got fuzzy. Some claimed that the witches killed the hunters, while others said the hunters burned the witches. No one was entirely clear on what made the demon disappear, what brought it back, who the witches or witch hunters were, or how they knew when the demon would come - just that when it came, the candle in the window would be lit.

I stood shivering in the shadows. As twilight descended, I was rewarded for my patience when four women arrived, wearing full-length velvet cloaks of different colors. They all looked to be in their thirties, fit and attractive, a blonde in a red cloak, two brunettes in green and black and a redhead in blue, all with long hair pulled up into loose buns. But they were so familiar. The drawings I’d seen accompanying the legend in some of the local histories showed ‘witches’ who looked so much like these women that it was creepy. The only difference from the drawings was that they had included five women, not four.

Each of them carried a bundle, which they laid down in the clearing in front of the cabin and began to unpack. They worked efficiently, and soon they’d set up a stone circle lined with candles, and what appeared to be small piles of herbs placed inside the circle. They didn’t speak much while they worked, but I did overhear one conversation. The woman in the green cloak asked the one in blue, “Did you let the church know?”

Blue cloak let out a short laugh. “Of course. No doubt the hunters will join us shortly.”

As twilight faded, the light of the moon shone on the circle of stones and they stood together inside it, joined hands and began to sing. Their music grew louder and I noticed a red glow from the cracked window of the cabin.

It grew brighter as they sang, a deep blood-red glow that seemed to pulse in time with their singing. I couldn’t make out the words to their song - was it in another language? If so, I couldn’t even recognize what the language was.

Continuing to sing, the women broke apart and began lighting the piles of plants with matches. The smells of sage and rosemary surrounded me.

“Witches!”

Startled, I jumped and looked toward the sound. A branch cracked beneath my feet, and I was terrified that someone would hear. The woman in the red cloak threw a glance in my direction and - was that a smile? Then she turned back toward a large, red-faced, pot-bellied man who stood at the edge of the clearing with a rifle on a sling, holding it pointing toward the ground. After a quick glance in his direction, she seemed to dismiss him as a threat and rejoined the rest of the singers as they continued as if he weren’t there.

Four more men appeared from the shadows behind him, also carrying rifles, along with belts laden with other tools and weapons. The first man stepped forward and stood just outside the circle of stones.

“Witches! I command you in the name of God to stop this devil worship!”

The women continued to act as if he didn’t exist, though I did see a suppressed smile on the redhead’s mouth. She was clearly working not to laugh at him. Neither she nor the others showed any sign of fear.

The red-faced man grew redder. He reached toward the closest woman, and she abruptly turned toward him and leaned forward. The intensity of her gaze startled me, even at a distance. I could see that it had more of an effect on the man. He stumbled backward and hissed at her. When he gained his footing, he stopped touching his rifle just long enough to make the sign of the cross at her, then immediately resumed clutching it like a child with a comfort blankie.

“You will not touch me.” She tossed her blond hair and returned to her work. Once the piles of herbs were all burning, the women returned to the center of the circle and joined hands again, dropping to one knee and lowering their voices. Their singing changed into something more like a chant.

The men now all approached the outside of the stone circle. The red-faced man, with a bit more courage now that his friends were closer, started to speak again. “The Bible says that thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. If you women don’t cease your devil-worshiping, we must follow God’s command. Step out of those stones and go to your homes now, and we will allow you to leave.”

A boom sounded from inside the cabin, like a thunderclap, but clearly not coming from the sky. The women didn’t react, but the hunters all looked toward the cabin, and the glow from inside grew so bright that it nearly hurt my eyes.

The man closest to the cabin, a tall lanky man dressed in a black sweater and pants , stepped toward the front door. His red-faced companion reached out a hand. “Bill, stay back. We don’t know what’s in there.”

Bill hesitated for a moment, then moved back to his place outside the circle. He raised his rifle and pointed it toward the circle of women. “What evil have you created inside that cabin?”

The women continued to ignore him.

In a shaky, high-pitched voice, he shouted, “Tell me what’s in there. In the name of God, I command you.” He was trying hard to give the impression of a strong, fire-and-brimstone style preacher, but had neither the voice nor the presence to carry it off.

This time the blond woman was unable to control herself. A small giggle burst forth. The woman to her right glanced at her and gave a quick head shake. She too seemed to have a tiny smirk showing through. How was this possible? These men had guns, one of which was pointed at them. How were they so calm?

The red-faced man lifted a foot and placed it on a stone marking the outside of the circle. In a flash, all of the women were on their feet and staring at him with that same intensity I’d seen earlier. He tried to hold his ground, but it was as if their stares had the force to push him backward. Stumbling, he took several steps back and tripped, falling backward and landing hard on his back, hitting his head against a stone and pulling the trigger of his gun. The report made all of the men duck, while the women seemed not to hear it.

A man with a shaved head went to his compatriot. He looked him over, felt for a pulse and checked for breath while the other men looked around to see where the bullet had gone, their eyes all wide.

Bill stepped back toward the circle. “Do you see what you’ve done? God will punish you for this! Now, I command you to stop this devil worship and leave this place.”

The tallest of the women turned to Bill. “It appears your god is punishing him, not us, wouldn’t you say?”

“Witch! This is the work of the devil. You will suffer in the fires of hell for what you’ve done here. Now be gone from this place or we will have to force you out!”

The black-cloaked woman laughed and shook her head. She turned toward the cabin, now completely engulfed in the red glow, and waved her hand toward it. “If you believe your god protects you, why are you too scared to go into that building? Or come inside these stones?” She gestured as if inviting him in.

Shaved Head announced that Red Face was breathing and grabbed him under the arms and began to drag him away from the clearing. Bill turned to him. “Where are you going? We came here to stop them, no matter what.”

Shaved Head paused and stared at Bill. “He needs to get to a hospital. I’m taking him. You can stay here and deal with this.”

Bill sputtered impotently and looked back at the women, all of whom were now watching the men and smiling, amused as if watching children at play.

Bill raised his rifle and pointed it at her again. This time, the end of the gun crossed the line of stones. The women all turned to him as one, and the blond one reached out in one smooth gesture, grabbed the gun by the barrel and yanked it from his arms, not only pulling it away from him and breaking the sling that held it around his shoulders, but also pulling him to his knees with the movement. Her strength surprised me as much as it did him.

As he fell, his knees struck the stones at the edge of the circle, and he cried out. He rolled to his side, clutching his legs and screaming. I could make out a few words - ‘witches, hell, curse’ - but mostly it was just an agonized wail.

Only two men remained standing. The short, stocky one in the baseball cap stepped past his wailing buddy and reached for the blond woman. His fingers skimmed her arm, and she raised her hand as if to strike him. Before she got the chance, an ear-splitting crash came from the cabin. All eyes turned toward it. The red glow pulsed.

The remaining man, with a head full of black curls and wire-framed glasses, who had been hanging back until now, spoke. “I don’t know what the fuck’s going on in there, but it’s time to end it.” He stalked toward the front door of the cabin, which swung slowly open.

Baseball Cap called out to him, but a new buzzing noise emanating from the inside must have blocked the noise. Curly Hair stepped inside cautiously, and as soon as he was fully in the cabin, the door slammed closed behind him.

The green-cloaked woman turned and looked directly at me. “Come on out now. You won’t want to miss this part.”

I hesitated, unsure of what to do. Clearly, she knew I was there, and didn’t seem to have a problem with it. And yeah, I desperately wanted to see what was coming, but did I really want to be involved? Before I could make any kind of decision, all of the women were looking at me, smiling, reaching their hands out to welcome me in. My feet moved toward them almost instinctively.

I stepped across the circle of stones and the woman in the blue cloak slipped something over my shoulders. I looked down and saw that she’d placed a cloak of purple velvet on me. When I met her eyes, she smiled, then pointed toward the door of the cabin.

The pulsing red glow flared, then disappeared. There was an eerie silence for what seemed like forever, but couldn’t have been more than ten seconds. Then a horrifying scream, then silence again.

Baseball Cap looked at us, then at the cabin, then at us again. Finally he made his decision and walked tentatively toward the front door. The door opened again. I wanted to call out, tell him not to go in there - didn’t he see what had just happened to his friend?

The red-cloaked woman seemed to see my thoughts. She took my arm and shook her head. “Just wait.”

He stepped inside, holding his rifle ready. He stood just inside the doorway, blocking the door from closing behind him. The red light pulsed again and he disappeared, as if he’d been sucked into the cabin. The door slammed closed again, and again the red glow went out, this time followed by a series of piercing screams, and again, silence.

Bill had, by this point, staggered to his feet. His eyes were wide as he stared at the cabin, then turned back to the circle of women. They began their singing again, ignoring him. He hesitated, turned as if to walk away, then ran to the door. It didn’t open, so he pounded on it, yelling.

The door opened. He stepped back, away from the cabin, and the women all walked up behind him, blocking him from escape. I stepped up behind them, trying to see what was inside, but not wanting to get too close.

They closed in around him, leaving him no way out except to enter the cabin. Once he did, they followed him in. I hesitated outside the door, but felt a pull that I couldn’t resist almost sucking me forward.

The cabin inside was not at all how I’d pictured it. The exterior looked like a one-room shack, but inside it was cavernous, easily five times the size it appeared from outside. In the center of the floor, there was a gaping hole. Clearly this is where the light was coming from. It rhythmically pulsed brighter and dimmer, brighter and dimmer.

I looked into the hole. At first I saw nothing but the bright light. Once my eyes adjusted to the glare, I saw the outlines of a vision more horrifying than anything I’d ever imagined. Beneath the pulsing light was a mass of slithering bodies. Snakes? But no, they were all attached to one central blob. And the eyes! Oh dear god, those eyes. There were too many to count, and they were black slits surrounded by blood-red ovals. Every one of them seemed to be staring right into my soul.

Two of the snake-like limbs climbed the side of the hole. I scrambled to back away from the hole, but there was nowhere to go. Somehow the cavernous inside of the cabin had shrunk, and I was pressed against a wall.

Bill tried to back away as well, but the rest of the women closed in around him again, and I will never forget the panic in his eyes, or the scream that came from him as the snaky arms encircled him and dragged him down into the hole.

He was sucked into the mass below and I heard a slurping noise, and then crunching.

As I tried to figure out what I’d just seen, the red glow in the cabin started to fade, and then turned yellow, the color of sunlight streaming through trees. It felt warm and inviting.

“What happened?” I asked.

The redhead squeezed my hand and said, “Exactly what was supposed to happen.”

“But those men - ”

The one in the green cloak shrugged a shoulder. “They’re where they should be. There’s nothing we can do for them. Given half a chance, they’d have hurt or killed us. Now they can’t.”

I gestured in the direction of the two men who’d left. “What about the others? Won’t they be back? With more people, or police?”

She patted my shoulder. “ Yes, but there’s time. When they arrive, there won’t be anything left here for them to find, and we’ll be gone. It will just be another layer to the legends. She gave a laugh. It’s over now, and there’s nothing left to be frightened of. The sacrifice has been made.”

“Sacrifice?”

“You know the stories, right? That’s why you’re here, after all.”

“I’ve heard legends, of course, but they’re all different, and no one seems to really know what’s happened here. I wanted to see for myself.”

“Is that all?”

I shook my head. “What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you come to join us?”

I didn’t know what to say. It was true, of course, that I’d always fantasized about joining this group of women I’d been thinking about since I was a child, but I’d never really thought of it seriously. It was just a child’s fantasy. “I - just came to see.”

She gestured to the hole. “Now you can. You can see, and you can join us. We’ve been short one person for a few years now, and we’re ready to be whole again.”

I tried to avoid looking, but I couldn’t. The mass in the hole was no longer moving, but its eyes still seemed to be watching me.

“Is it - a demon? Are the legends true?”

They all laughed. Blue Cloak waved a hand toward the hole “A demon? Of course not! This is Mother. She only comes to visit occasionally, and when she comes, she’s hungry. Once she’s fed, we greet her, and she blesses us. Join us, and she will bless you too. Commit to coming back when she calls, and you will live a long - very long - and prosperous life.” The others all laughed again.

I wanted nothing more than to run away from this place and never return, but her tone made it clear that I was welcome to join them, but that was really the only choice I was welcome to make. Any other choice would likely leave me finding out that Mother still had at least some appetite left. Those eyes were still very much on me.

Green Cloak whispered into my ear, “Don’t worry, she’s not hungry anymore. She’s just checking out our newest member.”

But that was all a long time ago. Mother still visits regularly, and each time, we put on a little display in front of her cabin to attract the hunters - burning herbs, sometimes dancing naked in the moonlight - we like to give the hunters a show. It’s always my job to make sure the local church knows when the candle is lit to make sure they send the fresh sacrifices.