Jack and Jill

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. It was purposely lit. It was time to draw them in and make them pay for what they had done.

Elliot sat down clumsily next to his best friend. Sitting on old logs around a campfire in the middle of nowhere wasn’t exactly on his list of ‘must do things’, but he would do anything for Charlie and so here he was, with a group of other kids experiencing nature at its best. At least that’s what the camp brochure claimed. He reckoned that most of them would rather be sitting in their bedrooms playing ‘Call of Duty’ hidden under a doona.

Charlie was deep in conversation with a girl and didn’t even seem to notice him sitting back down. If he was honest, the girl creeped him out a little. Long stringy hair, oversized clothing, the type of kid that took up space but not enough at the same time. Whatever they were talking about, Charlie was enthralled and didn’t take her eyes off the stranger.

‘Hey’ said Elliot ‘What’s going on?’ Charlie dragged her eyes away from the girl to register Elliot with a startled gaze. ‘Oh Elliot, this is Beth. She has been telling me a great story about that cabin we passed on the way in here. Did you know its haunted? Oh my God, I can’t believe it! This is the best trip ever!’ She was breathless with excitement and her eyes shone brightly in the darkness. Beth looked mildly interested in Elliot’s direction as if annoyed by the interruption and smiled at Charlie. ‘Wanna go take a look?’ she asked Charlie ‘No boys allowed, sorry Elliot’ she smirked at him. Elliot bristled in rage. ‘As if’ he said ‘You don’t make the rules!’ There was no way he was letting his Charlie go anywhere alone with this manky kid. There was a sudden lull in conversation from the other camp goers and eyes turned in their direction. ‘Everything okay here?’ asked their camp leader. ‘Remember, kindness over everything!’ she chirped. Elliot refrained from raising his eyes and simply murmured in agreement. There was a moment of pause and all the mismatched conversations continued. He moved closer to the whispering girls and hissed ‘So we going or what?’

The trio managed to creep away from the campfire while the others were preparing to toast marshmallows and sing cheesy bonding songs. Elliot took up the rear of the group, much to his annoyance as the two girls ran off holding hands and giggling. It wasn’t a long walk to the cabin, but it was dark and he was trying his best to remember this wasn’t a creepy Stephen King movie. He was simply here to look after Charlie. A flickering light suddenly appeared in the distance and he wondered how the girls had reached the cabin so fast. He quickened his pace to match theirs, his heart pounding, his breath shortening. Arriving panting at the front doorstep he stopped to regain his composure. Elliot didn’t want to appear like a panicked child in front of Beth. ‘Where are you? ‘he called and thought he heard giggled whispers in response. He looked at the front door and the flickering candle in the window. The cabin looked like every other holiday cabin beside the lake. Worn, mouldy and probably smelling of wet clothing and curried sausages. Elliot creaked open the front door, the candle sputtered and almost went out. He took some tentative steps inside, ‘Charlie, I’m here’ he announced to the empty room. A mouse skittered across the room and hid under an old rocking chair and he jumped.’ Down here’, he heard a call. He cautiously walked towards the voice and found himself in front of a flight of stairs leading down to the cellar. ‘Elliot come down, you have to see this!’ He thought it was Charlie’s voice, but he wasn’t so sure. But who else could it be? ‘Hurry up Elliot!’ He sighed, torn between wanted to see Charlie and not wanting to venture down some old rickety cabin staircase like a cliché in an old paperback novel. He tested the first step. It creaked, but seemed to support his weight. He felt in his pocket for his phone and turned the torch on. ‘Coming’ he called and began his descent. His torch shone shadows over the steps as he carefully trod down each one. He could just make out the bottom of the stairs, where there seemed to be a large shape blocking the base. He shone his light over it and realised with a sickening thought that the shape was a broken body. Suddenly there was a breath of movement, a high-pitched laugh and he felt someone push him hard in his back. Elliot screamed and began tumbling down the stairs. His feet struggled to find the steps, his hands floundered to find surface. As his head cracked open on the last step, his final thought was that he was right the first time. This was a Stephen King movie.

The candle in the window danced and went out. Beth smiled and disappeared back into the cabin’s shadows whispering,

‘Jack and Jill went up the hill

To fetch a pail of water.

Jack fell down and broke his crown,

And Jill came tumbling after’.