Dim

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. As three hikers made their way back from their long hike, the sun set on the hillside faster than they anticipated. Twilight now washed over the trail, and the dim glow of a candle penetrated through the tree line, seeming to summon their attention with its glow. The peculiar glow grew brighter as dusk quickly turned into night, and a slow fog began to gather. A gentle cool breeze swept by them. Rather than cooling them off on this warm night, the breeze only sent chills up their spines. With their bravery beginning to dwindle, and them being so close to exiting the trail, it seemed strange that they remained compelled to check out the source of the glow. Apprehensive, yet curious, the trio moved closer to investigate.

The mysterious cabin was all that survived in the area after a large fire burned through this region oThe cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. As three hikers made their way back from their long hike, the sun set on the hillside faster than they anticipated. Twilight now washed over the trail, and the dim glow of a candle penetrated through the tree line, seeming to summon their attention with its glow. The peculiar glow grew brighter as dusk quickly turned into night, and a slow fog began to gather. A gentle cool breeze swept by them. Rather than cooling them off on this warm night, the breeze only sent chills up their spines. With their bravery beginning to dwindle, and them being so close to exiting the trail, it seemed strange that they remained compelled to check out the source of the glow. Apprehensive, yet curious, the trio moved closer to investigate.

The mysterious cabin was all that survived in the area after a large fire burned through this region of Sioux Falls. Most of the forest surrounding the cabin had begun to grow back, erasing the evidence of the fire, and had also started to cover some of the view of the cabin from the main trail. Though hikers pass it often, seldom does anyone actually go up to it. The energy of the cabin has always seemed to repel, but tonight for some odd reason, the soft gaze of the candlelight in the distance seemed to beckon; like a faint, subtle, whisper in the distance calling out-

“…closer …closer … … …closer.”

The sounds of the forest faded away as they approached the barrier of the cabin. What started as barely visible, transitioned into blankets of fog that began to roll in all around them. The fog became thicker and thicker, causing the air to smell damp, and the surroundings harder and harder to see. The barrier around the old cabin showed signs of a small stone gate that fully surround the cabin at one point. They now stood at what used to be the entry way through the gate, and the only part still intact. The once faint light from the mysterious candle burning in the window of the abandoned cabin, seemed to grow brighter as the fog settled, incasing the boarders of the cabin as it coupled with the candlelight that seeped out of the window.

“Are you sure we should keep going?” Peter asked. “Yeah, I mean, this feels close enough.” Keri agreed.

“It should be fine. We’re basically out of the trail anyway. We could take a quick peak, and head back.” Russ tried to convince the other two.

“YOU can take a quick peak, I’m waiting here.” Peter replied.

“Yeah, we’ll wait here. Hurry up.” Keri added. Both knowing they couldn’t stop him, they figured it would be best to let him get his fill of exploration so they could hurry and leave.

“I’ve gotta see what’s inside.” Russ insisted.

“Russ, that candle was lit for a reason. We don’t know why or who...we still haven’t seen anyone but us since we saw that spooky candle.” Kerri urged Russ.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be right back. Let me just find a way in.” Russ stated as he tried to reassure them.

Russ began searching around, making his way behind the cabin. After being gone for a while, Kerri and Peter began to wonder where Russ had disappeared to. Becoming more and more uncomfortable as time passed, Kerri and Peter to paced in a small area just inside the gate, hoping Russ would hurry and return so they could leave. After calling out a couple times for Russ to come back, Peter and Kerri discussed whether one of them should investigate what’s going on with Russ.

“Do you have any signal on your phone? Can you just call him?” Kerri asked with an uneasy tone.

“Negative. Not only do I not have any signal, my phone is gonna die soon.” Peter replied, feeling somewhat discouraged.

“Great. Let’s see if we can find this maniac really quick and get outta here.” Kerri proclaimed with overtones of sarcasm.

As Peter made his way toward the window to check for Russ, he noticed the door perpendicular to it was slightly opened. He began to wonder why Peter didn’t just go in through there earlier when he was looking for a way inside. Behind him, Peter heard a gasp come from Kerri, then the rustling crash of the bushes. As Peter turned to investigate, something hit him hard, and he dropped into darkness.

Kerri was the first to wake up. The pounding sensation in her head was the only thing that she could register for a while. Her vision was blurry, and the ringing in her ears was almost deafening. She reached up and placed her hand onto the part of her head where the pounding seemed to be coming from, and she felt a large bump, most likely from being struck hard by something. As her vision began to clear, the soft light that surrounded them did not make it very easy to see. She noticed Peter laying on the ground near her, she reached out to wake him, and saw some (unfamiliar) old scratches on her.

As Peter awoke, the pain in his head from also being struck caused him to rise from the ground slowly. Once he was able to gather himself, Peter began to realize what Kerri had already figured out, someone had trapped them inside the abandoned cabin. Their uneasiness quickly plunged into fear. Peter immediately tried searching for a way out. As he feverishly strained to figure a way out, Kerri reached out to stop Peter. As she stood just outside of the small light that hung overhead, she raised her other hand into the light for Peter to see. The scratches weren’t just from falling, some “thing” had grabbed ahold of her. Peter found that he also had strange scratches on his arms and back, also older like Kerri’s.

“How long have we been here?” Peter asked as he tried to make his way up and comprehend what happened to them.

“There’s no way to tell for sure, but these scratches look old, so a couple hours, or days maybe?” Kerri replied as she tried to piece together what was going on.

Although the terror they felt continued to grow stronger, the smell of meat being cooked started to come through a vent near the ceiling. Their hunger pains began to override their fear. Unclear of exactly what to do, they threw together a plan.

“I think you’re small enough to fit into that vent. Come here so I can lift you into it. Even if you can’t get out the other side, you might be able to see what’s going on.” Peter urged Kerri to make her way up the vent.

When Kerri reached the other side of the vent, she witnessed something that paralyzed her body, and sucked all the oxygen out of her, only allowing an empty scream to burst out of her. In the middle of the room was a large indoor fire pit, where Russ was suspended nearby by multiple stakes that were ran through him. He was hung there stretched out and face down. Russ’s back had been sliced open. A large, hunched creature crouched a little further to precisely slice pieces of Russ from inside his open skin. While the majority of him remained intact, portions of him had clearly been removed. Whatever the creature was doing with Russ, it clearly wasn’t done with him, or any of them. Pieces of Russ were being cooked right in front of him so he could witness. With only a hollow gurgling sound coming from Russ when he looked like he cried out from the pain of being sliced apart, Kerri could only assume his vocal cords were removed so that he couldn’t be heard screaming. Confirming that Russ was still alive, and that smell of food, was actually pieces of Russ being cooked; Kerri was absolutely repulsed as she scooted back down the shaft as fast as she could.

As she made her way down the weird angle of the shaft back toward Peter, she was propelled by her adrenaline, as her mind raced trying to figure out what her and Peter were going to do. Not to mention Russ. She wiggled down to tell Peter what she just observed. The look on Peter’s face grew more and more horrified as Kerri revealed what she just witnessed. They knew that if they stayed there, their fate would be the same as Russ’s. They came up with a plan that if Kerri could make her way up and out of the small opening at the other side of the shaft, she could possibly let Peter out, but at least one of them would possibly be able to break free of a horrible fate.

They waited until it sounded like the creature left the space where he tortured and feasted on Russ. Peter lifted Kerri back into the shaft, and she made her way to the other side as quickly and quietly as she could. She managed to push free the other end of the vent. She slowly began to look around to see if the area was safe. As she continued to scan the room from right to left, their plan came together as she observed several new things she missed when she was originally stunned by the savage mutilation of her friend right in front of her eyes. Now fixated on their escape, different things began to stand out. The way to unlock the door to the room that held them was revealed; how the fire that roasted portions of her friend focused itself into a small flicker against the dirty window that looked into the cabin.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” Kerri bolted out a scream of terror so loud, she could have rivaled a banshee. “Help! Get me out of here!”

As she looked all the way left, she came face to face with the most terrifying face she’d ever seen. Peter quickly reached his arms as far as he could up into the shaft. He grabbed the bottom of Kerri’s pants, pulling her with all of his might.

“Oh my god, it’s got me” Kerri screamed in terror.

Peter found every ounce of strength he could to try and rip Kerri loose. Finally, able to work her free; Kerri’s body bumped around as it quickly slid out of the vent and crashed into Peter. Peter quickly went to check on his friend, immediately turned away when he saw her. She had been decapitated by the creature. Now quaking with terror as he crouched himself into a ball next to the twitching body of his recently murdered friend. The lock of the door unhinged, and the heavy door opened slowly, but forcefully towards him. Peter was soiled with fear as the deformed creature made its way down the small set of stairs towards him. He watched the face a figure transforms gradually back and forth from a young girl, into an elderly woman, while it paced in front of him with only the faint flicker of the light shadowing it from beyond the door. In an unexpected, and somewhat hazy flash, Peter burst forward toward the exit past the creature.

The creature seemed almost formless as it quickly moved in front of Peter, grabbing him by the throat, and lifting him high enough so his feet didn’t touch the ground. Though the rest of the creature had virtually indistinct features, the same transitioning faces spoke to him in a tone attached to strange inflections, and incoherent babble. The creature unexpectedly had a soft, sweet voice when it first started, which gradually became more sinister the longer it spoke. The voice of the creature began shifting from deep and barreling, to high pitch shrieks. The uneasiness grew thicker with every word the creature spewed out.

“You can’t leave. Your friends, and their experiences have been so delicious. I can’t wait to feast on yours. Your one friend had so many experiences, that I couldn’t decide which to consume first. So thoughtful the next, a mind so full of tasty treats, that I’ll have to save some for later. It’s been SO LONG since someone came, and with so many special treats, I can’t wait to see what extraordinary delights you’re hiding.” The creature continued as its body fluttered as though it was comprised of dense smoke.

As the creature continued, Peter realized that the creature was actually a pair of earlier victims of a large fire in the area that looked for refuge in this cabin a long time ago. While they were able to survive, it came at a cost, and are now unable to break free of each other, or the cabin’s supernatural hold over them. Through time and trauma, the two have now merged into this terrifying creature which consumes its victims; allowing it to relive their experiences, and it seemed that special talents or experiences had an extra effect.

Peter felt his chances for escape diminish as the creature carried on uninterrupted. Peter closed his eyes as the creature effortlessly hoisted his body over to a section next to his two other friends. His hands were pinned to a wall above him. The creature slowly inserted sharp tip of a long fingernail onto Peter’s throat and slid straight down to the ground. As the blood drained from his body, Peter smiled because the nightmares that plagued him his whole life, would now fight for him.

The creature took a deep bite into the piece that it had just sliced away from Peter, the strongest of Peter’s experiences took hold of the creature…Peter’s nightmares. Now trapped inside of these nightmares, the creature began tearing itself apart, trying to release itself from the experience. As the creature tumbled around the room, frantically trying to free itself, it blindly threw itself into the room that Kerri and Peter were just locked in a short time ago. Rushing to escape the room, the creature was crippled by another flash of the effects of Peter’s nightmares, causing it to slam the door shut on itself. The creature became furious. Tortured by these nightmares, unable to escape, the creature began tearing itself apart. Having such a strong connection to the cabin, they started sharing the same fate, and the cabin began violently breaking apart.

The destruction of the creature and the cabin continued until there was only a tattered shell of each. The fire pit that appeared as only a candle in the window, now lit the nearby brush, causing a larger fire in the surrounding trees. The fire seemed to ignite everything on the path, including the old cabin. However, when the fire settled, only a small old abandoned cabin remained among the burned brush. No remnants of the creature or the missing hikers remained. The mysterious succubus, with a taste for flesh, had tucked itself away within the supernatural blanket of the old cabin in the woods. In the early hours of the following morning, the recent fire was quickly subdued, and memory of the hikers seemed to fade away into the soft, subtle glow of dawn.

Several years passed since that horrible night. The mysterious old cabin in the woods remained abandoned and untouched throughout all of that time, but one night, the distant shimmer of a candle began to glow in the window...