Lights Out

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. A fierce light, that only fatality could diminish. Daring souls visited the woods of terror for thrills, unaware of the horror that lay ahead. Over the years the infamous woods created an uproar of fear around the community. Especially around Halloween. Somehow, this fear engendered an enticing feeling that always seemed to lure people in. Numerous visitors had come to the woods and were never to be seen again. Stories tell it, that the spirits still roam the land living in an eternity of limbo. Unequivocally, the most dangerous and wicked things are those that can’t be seen with naked eyes. Rather, it is the things that are buried within the shadows. Warning: Don’t let the fire go out.

The flame ignited Kurt’s cigarette as he prepared to get ready for their 3-day cabin trip. It was their last few weeks in college and he could finally put the books down and put beers up in the air. Though college was tough at times, he reminisced over the fun-filled nights he had with his friends at Belgrave University. Yet, he was excited to create new memories that he would carry with him to his grave. Knowing that everything would soon come to an end he was eager to get to the cabin in the woods. Ready to face his fears and most importantly ready to graduate. He impatiently beeped the horn for his girlfriend Tanya to come outside. He didn’t want to get to the cabin too late, and he still had to pick up Kimora, Chloe, and Corey. Everyone else had already arrived at the cabin and was ready for a night full of terror and adventure. Kurt anxiously stared at the black front door waiting for it to fly open. In the midst of it all, he couldn’t help but admire Tanya's mom’s Halloween decorations. Ironically, It gave such a deathlike feel to a home that always seemed so comely. Fake spiders and webs were placed on the trees. She even had skeleton remains that sat in the chairs on the porch as if they had talked themselves to death. But what stood out to him the most was the carved pumpkins that appeared to spell out the word “STOP”. This made Kurt’s spine tingle. He closed his eyes quickly only to be alarmed by Tanya’s arrival at the car door.

“Babe, unlock the door!” she said in an irritated voice.

Kurt opened his eyes and they immediately looked toward the pumpkins who sat peacefully on the stairs with their normal spooky look.

“God, you look like you saw a ghost,” Tanya said giggling.

Kurt smirked, unwilling to reveal his frightening experience. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself. His mind was playing tricks on him obviously. He threw out his cigarette because he knew Tanya loathed them and sped off to grab their other friends. As they drove off the pumpkins flame flickered and then went out abruptly.

After picking up all his passengers, Kurt was finally on his way. To break the ice everyone took a small gulp of alcohol as they screamed and laughed with elation. Each passenger concealed the eerie feeling that was buried in their hearts. They blasted music and discussed the upcoming graduation when a girl with raven hair ran in front of the car. Her drenched dark hair danced over her unrevealed face and her legs and arms were pale. Kurt smashed on the brakes and avoided hitting the girl by mere grace. The car grew silent as they held onto their hearts in surprise and terror. The gothic girl stood in front of the car unbothered, which gave the group goosebumps.

Kurt switched lanes and sped off past the girl. Still constantly looking back through his rearview mirror until she vanished from sight.

“Yo, what was that?” Corey whispered, looking back in the gothic girl’s direction.

“Man, they just playing a prank on us. Y’all don’t come in here looking scared. It’s supposed to be ‘The Woods of Terror’, remember?” Kurt said doubtingly.

They arrived at the entrance of the cabin, which led to a trail of woods and mystery. Still frightened by the previous encounter Kurt approached the cabin slowly. They were greeted by an empty house, Stacy’s SUV and laughter from their friends afar.

Chloe exhaled deeply, “well, it looks like they started the campfire without us.”

They all unpacked their luggage out of the car and proceeded to enter the abandoned cabin only to find it lit by a mere candle. The cabin looked spooky and abnormal. A cold draft filled the room like an aroma. The picture on Airbnb was nothing like reality. Chloe attempted to turn on the lights. She flickered the light switch up and down with no success. Corey turned on his flashlight from his iPhone to get a better view of the place. Spider webs hung from the corners of the wall and though the bedrooms seemed to be fashionable clean, something about this cabin just didn’t feel right.

“Well, did anyone bring any more candles?” Kimora asked.

The question was rhetorical and therefore no one responded. Corey put the box of beers down, regretting his choice of purchase. However, he recanted and grabbed a beer feeling he needed it for this experience. The others in the group proceeded to find the room of their choice. Although, they lacked many options. The floors creaked with every step and even the slightest breeze of air nearly blew out the candle. As everyone began to turn on their flashlight, Kurt attempted to make a call to the owners of the cabin only to discover there was no service. He was about over this trip already but didn’t want to ruin the final moments with his friends. Everyone soon discovered that they had no service in the woods, which was a fearful thing in itself. However, they decided it was time to head into the woods to the campfire to meet up with the rest of the group. The moonlight began to kiss the darkness as they finally caught up with everyone else. The other students roared with astonishment as they reunited. Amongst the campfire group were: Stacy, Royal, Bethany, and Terrell. The other four stood up feeling a little creeped out to immediately approach the campfire.

“Took y’all long enough,” Terrell said with a chilling voice. “We done went swimming in the lake and all of that and y’all just now getting here?”

“Well you know how women are,” Kurt stated with small laughter. The campfire group laughed obnoxiously in unison.

“So, how did y’all like your cabin?” Tanya blurted out to stop the awkwardness.

The campfire group immediately stopped laughing and it grew bitterly quiet.

Kurt couldn’t help but notice how the campfire still didn’t shine any light on their friend's faces. It was like talking to darkness. Just as the wolves howled everyone heard a small branch snap from afar. Corey quickly turned back on his flashlight to get a glimpse of what could be approaching. As he flashed his light on the campfire circle he realized no one was sitting in the places the campfire group was supposed to be. Chloe, Kurt, Corey, Kimora and Tanya heard a screeching, daunting voice scream “GET OUT!!!!”

The campfire began to dance with the wind within minutes of concluding itself. Screams of “help” traveled through the woods which appeared to be that of Terrell’s and Stacy’s. As Kurt and the others ran through the woods they could hear something running behind them. It was something powerful and dark. Something invasive. Something driven to devour and kill. Kurt stumbled and fell onto the ground. As he attempted to pick himself back up he heard a small voice ask for help. A simple taste of the moonlight revealed Stacy’s body on the ground. She was bloody and wounded. A single gunshot rang through the woods. That bullet had a name on it. It pierced Kurt in the head and he fell dead to the ground smothering Stacy. Kimora, Chloe, Corey and Tanya finally arrived back at the cabin. They were screaming in terror, but only the woods could capture their plea for help. The cabin door was wide open with bloody footprints tampered on the floor. The three looked at each other and ran for the car. Everyone began to call out for Kurt. A call that was never answered. A numbness fell over the group as they could feel death creeping up on them. Kurt had the keys. They were left with the ultimate decision: they could either go back into the woods for the keys or RUN.

Kimora and Tanya ran back into the woods to try and find Kurt.

Corey and Chloe took the chance and ran.

And the bloody steps that led into the cabin….was Terrell. He was shot in the torso after trying to save Bethany and Royal. He was bleeding out and by the seconds’ darkness was overcoming his soul.

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. And if the flame goes out…YOU DIE.

A group hung around a campfire telling scary stories. They laughed and reminisced about old memories. The campfire flame shined bright on their youthful faces.

“Well, a round of applause. The best horror story goes to Kurt,” Stacy said with a slight giggle.

“So, how long are we going to stay at the campfire it seems like we’ve been here for eternity,” stated Kimora.

“The real question is, ‘Why did we come back?” Terrell said with gloom in his tone.

“Just don’t let the light go out and we won’t have to keep dying,” Kurt stated, “but to be honest I’m glad I got to die with y’all.”

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. A fierce light, that only fatality could diminish. Daring souls visited the woods of terror for thrills unaware of the horror that lay ahead. Over the years the infamous woods created an uproar of fear around the community. Especially around Halloween. Somehow, this fear engendered an enticing feeling that always seemed to lure people in. Numerous visitors had come to the woods and were never to be seen again. Stories tell it, that the spirits still roam the land waiting to capture new souls leaving them in an eternity of limbo. Unequivocally, the most dangerous and wicked things are those that can’t be seen with naked eyes. Rather, it is the things that are buried within the shadows. Warning: Don’t let the fire go out.

And trust me… they won’t.