Debts to be Paid

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. It was late on a Friday night when Adam passed by the eerie cabin on his nightly walk around the beach to clear his head. Adam suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the time he found his brother and father dead in their home. They had both been brutally murdered and their bodies had been butchered and spread around the living room. Police investigated the crime scene and found no evidence of who the killer was or how they got in or escaped. Adam has survived the last 15 years with consistent counseling and physical exercise routines to keep his mind clear of the memories of that horrible night. On this night, however, seeing that burning candle, something in his memory was triggered. Adam ran back down to the front row of houses and began waking his cousins up in a panic.

“Growing up we all heard the rumors about the cabin behind the private property sign on the broken wire fence. The story parents told us of the man in white, who walked around the beach at nighttime catching kids who were out past their bedtime and breaking their legs with his sledgehammer in order to get us to go to bed on time. Then there were the tales of Jimmy Hoffa being protected here at an FBI safehouse. And the biggest rumor was that the entire place was built on an ancient burial ground that was haunted by ghosts of the dead.” Adam went on recounting all the other various stories about that abandoned cabin. “They are just stories, Adam,” Christie said. “Just tales our parents told us to try and scare us to behave and stay out of trouble.” “Yeah. We have all snuck into there in the past, both day and night. We’ve never found anything special or supernatural” Corbin reminded them before hissing, “Why are you bringing all of this up now…just after midnight man? We were all in bed asleep.” Lindsey interrupted, “Calm down Corbin. We all know what Adam’s been through. What’s going on Adam? You know we are all here to help.” “When I was taking my nighttime walk trying to clear my mind to help me get to sleep, I saw a burning candle in the window.” Steve chimed “Stop right there Adam. You know we have all thought we have seen that before especially late at night. The streetlights play tricks on our minds with reflections in the broken window moving in the wind.” Adam retorted, “I know that but this time it was real. There is no wind, the streetlights are broken. And when I took a closer look, I realized that I had seen it before. The night when I…when I foun…when I found Dad and Chris.” Lindsey calmly asked, “What do you mean Adam?” “I saw the exact same candle sitting in the window of our house. It was the first thing I saw when I opened the door. I know it's the same because it was completely out of place. We didn’t have candles in the house” Adam choked out. “You guys have to come with me. I think there are answers in that cabin to what happened to them.” “You’re crazy Adam. There’s nothing there, this is just a figment of your imagination because you’re exhausted” Steve shouted. “Settle down Steve,” Corbin said, “Is there any harm in walking up there and taking a quick look to calm him down?” Lindsey decided, “So we are all in agreement. We take a quick look around and clear this situation up. Then afterward, I will stay with Adam to make sure he gets some rest.”

A short walk up the hill and around the bend the group went. As they came upon the clearing where the house became visible, they all saw the flickering of the candle coming through the far-left window. It was undeniable that there was a real candle burning in the window. Everyone on the beach knew that building was so dry rotted that a burning candle could torch the place in an instant. No one would do this as a joke, not even Adam. “What the hell Adam, this isn’t funny. The whole place could burn down and spread like wildfire to all our houses below” Steve shouted. “I wouldn’t mess around like this. Something is going on in there and I need to know what it is.” Adam quipped running into the building quickly followed by Lindsey, Christie, and Corbin. “Steve you’re such a bastard sometimes,” Corbin quipped as he ran in. “Whatever man. Let’s just help Adam out and get this over with.” Adam rushed into the front room to find the candle burning. What he found is even more horrifying than the image of his brother and father scattered across the living room. Bodies of Native American warriors we scattered across the floor, all of their heads scalped, and the scalps were hanging from the ceiling dripping blood rain everywhere. Lindsey, Christie, Corbin, and Steve all entered shortly after and screamed. “What the hell is going on?” Corbin asked. “I don’t know and don’t care. Let’s get out of here!” Steve shouted and the girls agreed. As they went to turn and leave, the door slammed shut and all the windows shattered sending glass shards through the air. Everyone was hit by the shards causing severe gashes in their legs, arms, and necks, except for Adam. He turned in horror looking at all his cousins lying on the ground in pain, trying to hold onto life. As he turned around again, he saw the beast holding the candle. “I know who you are. Why are you doing this to us?” Adam screamed. “You must pay for the sins of your fathers since they did not uphold the bargain they made!” the demon cried. “I'll uphold it! What can I do to fix this?" Adam asked. “Please let me save them”. “There is nothing that can be done” the demon replied as it floated towards Adam. Without another word the demon separated Adam’s head from his body. Before it hit the ground, the candle went out.