Empirical Gems

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. Zoan knew this to be true, because every other weekend, every single summer, she came to these woods to camp. She had to get away from the sisters, her parents, and all responsibility. Unfortunately, her parents planned a trip this weekend and she was left to care for her three sisters, all preteen, and annoying little girls.

“Zoan! I don’t want to carry this anymore!” Zena complained, struggling with a heavy bag.

“Too bad. No one else is complaining.”

“That’s because Finn and Lira are weirdos like you and like being outside.” She scoffed.

“Well, we’re here. See the cabin?”

Finn took the bag from her sister and stuck out her tongue.

“What’s the point of having a cabin out here if no one can use it! It makes no sense!” Zena harped, kicking at the debris on the ground.

“You make no sense.” Lira muttered and Finn snickered a few feet away.

“Zoan! They are making fun of me!” She cried, outraged.

“Well, try not to give them so much material, Zena. Your job is to unpack the firewood, alright? You can handle that can’t you?”

“Ugh!”

Zoan smiled to herself and began helping Finn and Lira unpack the tent and orchestrate the poles a few times until it was standing tall and strong.

“When do we get the smores, Zo?” Lira asked. She was a smores fiend. She could probably eat them for every meal of the day.

“Well, I think after dinner would be good, right?”

Zoan listened to enough of her parent’s lecturing on setting a good example to at least give a semblance of responsibility to taking care of them. However, she found that they already knew what was right and wrong and needing a nudge in the right direction most of the time.

“Right.” Lira acknowledged with a hint of a smirk.

“ZOAN!”

Zoan heard Zena scream and tripped in her haste to get out of the tent. She saw Zena standing, one finger pointed out towards the cabin. In the front window, a candle burned. She’d been coming here for years, and it was always vacant. When she asked about it, they told her it was condemned uninhabitable because of foundation or something.

Dusk had come, only the barest splash of light still left in the sky. Zoan froze, absolutely stunned. She was 22 years old, and she had no idea what to do. They purchased this very spot- should they pack up and demanded to move somewhere else? Then it was obvious.

“Oh, they are probably looking around because they are going to bulldoze it. Don’t worry about it. Come on- we have got to get this soup on because Lira will throw a fit without her smores.”

“You baby her and are mean to me!” She complained, brushing a blonde strand from her face.

“I told you, you should let me French braid your hair. No showers, or bathrooms out here.” She reminded her with a fleeting smile while ignoring her claim. The truth was Zena had a special place in her heart, with her rotten spoiledness, but underneath she was fiercely loyal and brave. That had been proven when she donated her kidney to Zoan two years back.

“I’m fine. And hungry.” She snapped and pulled out the pot with jerking motions.

“Zena, what’s going on? You’re even more irritating than normal.”

“Something just feels off and no, I don’t know what it is. Hurry up with the soup.”

Zoan glanced back at the Cabin and saw another candle burning beside the first. She shook her head and focused on making dinner.

It was an hour later that Lira brought out the stokers and the hordes of chocolate, marshmallows, and graham crackers. Not only did she love to eat them, but she also loved to make them too.

Zena gave her a tight smile as Lira handed her a plate with three perfect smores, which Zoan felt was a victory. The girls were fraternal triplets, but not very in tune with each other the last few years. When Zoan got sick, a lot fell on their shoulders, and her parents too. All three of them were a donor match to her, but only Zena agreed to donate. Zoan never felt it was right to ask Lira or Finn why the refused. It hurt a little bit, but she told herself that if Zena didn’t one of them would. It was around then that the three of them grew apart and Zoan couldn’t help but feel a little responsible for it.

“Ghost stories?” Finn asked, rubbing her hands together. Her glow in the dark nail polish glinted in the night. She probably planned that, Zoan thought, shaking her head.

“I don’t know. There might be a ghost story going on in that cabin. The candle is still burning, and now there’s three more!” Zena snapped. Finn’s face fell minutely, but she glanced back at the cabin.

“Well, let’s go check it out. Since you’re so brave and fearless.”

“We’re not going to go in there. It’s condemned and if you guys get hurt, I’d never get over it.” Zoan said, meeting eyes with each of them.

“I’m going. Hold me down kicking and screaming then, but you’ll get tired before I do.” She snarked, setting her plate down and marching off. Zoan jumped up and gripped her arm.

“You don’t have to prove anything to anyone, Zena. You’re not going.”

She ripped her arm away and took off running.

“Zena!” Zoan hissed, terrified. Behind her Lira and Finn took off after and Zoan suddenly felt scared.

“Guys! Come back!” She yelled. Zena had just reached the front door of the cabin. Zoan ran, jumping over stones and fallen branches, but not in time to stop Zena from opening the door.

Finn and Lira went in after her, and Zoan took one step onto the porch and knew something was terribly wrong. She pushed the door open and found the girls looking around the room in awe.

Every inch of the place had beautiful crystals, gems, stones, it looked like there were even diamonds.

“Don’t touch anything!” Zoan screamed, heart pounding.

Too late. Lira’s hand brushed a sharp green gem and she fell to the ground screaming. Zoan lurched forward but stumbled and fell onto a pile of gems.

“You know that was bad right?” She shivered against the putrid breath in her ear. A hand gripped her waist, another pinned her arms.

“You know what I have to do now, don’t you?”

“Go f*** yourself.” She hissed, struggling against the hold of this man.

A slap against her cheek. She fell and only just turned to face him to be met with gunshot to the forehead.

Zoan came too, screaming, clawing at her face. She distantly heard her sisters crying.

“What the hell is happening?” Finn yelled.

“Don’t touch the crystals!” Zena snapped.

“I remembered something- but it wasn’t mine. It didn’t happen to me.” Zoan choked out.

“I did too.” Lira whispered in the smallest voice.

“We need to carefully leave and go home.” Zoan said finally still touching her face, as if it wouldn’t be there.

She got up and saw four candles burned but two were shorter now. She looked to the door, but it was gone. There was no door anywhere.

“Yeah, no door.” Zena said blandly. “We have to touch them until each of our candles burn down. That would be my guess.”

“Since when do you know anything!” Finn snapped.

“I don’t see you offering any solutions, Finn. But you can’t do anything not for yourself, can you?”

Silence.

“Yes, I didn’t want to donate my kidney to Zo. I was scared. I was eleven years old.”

“So was I! Neither of you would do it! Our own sister! You were going to let her die!”

“We were scared of dying ourselves. Surgery is scary!” Lira cried out.

“You were both selfish. What if we’d been twins and all Zo had was you two? She’d be dead. You both disgust me.” Zena snapped, glaring down at them, fist clenched tight.

Zoan sat with her eyes closed, trying not to go to either’s defense. In reality, she didn’t know if she had a right to be upset or hurt. She was just glad to be alive.

“Yes, well you’re her favorite now so good for you!” Lira hissed wiping her eyes.

Zena stepped forward and slapped Lira across the face hard. Zoan couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Zena…” She whispered. She’d never seen Zena hurt anyone, even just playing around. Lira started to hiccup and sob. Finn stared at Zena like she’d never seen her before.

“You hit her. You hit our sister.”

“I’m tired of your guys’ bullshit. I’m tired of pretending, for covering for you, for doing everything for you. I’m sick of you! I wish I’d been born alone!”

“No- Stop it! STOP IT!” Zoan cried out, but Finn already lurched forward and pushed Zena into a wall full of crystals.

Zena slumped and was silent. Zoan had no idea what to do to gather any resolve for this. She’d never seen her sisters act this way.

Finn turned to face Lira and pushed her into a huge pile of gems. Zoan looked on in despair, feeling powerless. Finn met her eyes and deliberately leaned against a crystal filled wall. Lira was crying and Zoan didn’t know what else to do but do the same as Finn.

Some time later, Zoan opened her eyes. Zena was sitting upright beside her, holding her hand. Lira was lying with her head in Finn’s lap. All were tear-stricken, and trembling.

“I think those are memories of people who’ve died horrible deaths in these woods. It makes sense.”

The candles had one notch left on them in the corner. Zoan got up with some difficulty and tried to blow them out.

“Tried that. I saw at least ten memories. I think it wants something else. Whatever it is.”

"What we want, you cannot give, what we will have is what we will take."

Lira screamed, covering her ears. Zoan felt the blood rush from her head making her vision blurry. The voice drifted into the room and out like it never happened.

“Then take it and be done.” Zena said soft as a whisper.

The door opened, and heavy boots shook the floorboards.

“No, no! No please! Not my sisters-

Finn screamed, “End scene: we are dead!” She laughed manically. Zena held her chest, trembling, while Lira cowered beside Zoan.

The glee on Finn’s face was disturbing to say the least.

“You know what- I have to give it to you, that was terrifying.” Zena said and smiled a real smile. Finn beamed happily and threw a graham cracker at Lira.

“I already told you it was going to be spooky.”

“How do you come up with this freaky stuff, Finn!” Lira moaned, digging her head into Zoan’s lap.

“I’m just awesome like that. What about you Zoan? Did you like it?”

“Yeah, it was great. I want you guys to know that I have no favorites and I don’t think any differently of any of you because of the kidney donation.”

Confused looks went around. “We would all do it in a heartbeat. We drew straws to see who would be the one.”

Zoan’s jaw dropped, and tears sprung. “Oh.” Was all she could manage.

“Round two for smores, right?”

Lira got up to stoke the fire, beaming. Zoan looked over to the cabin and saw no light in sight.