Lingering Ghosts

“The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.

In hindsight, that candle had actually been our lighthouse, warning us away from dangerous shores. Instead, like moths to the fire, we had been drawn in by it, letting it guide our way to that god forsaken place. Had we only known what we were walking into… I’d have turned tail and run at first sight of that unholy flame.”

I looked up from the glow of the campfire. My eyes watery and glistening, partly from staring unblinking into the dancing firelight before me, partly from the tears building up in the corners of my eyes, threatening to burst free and cascade down my cheeks like tiny waterfalls.

Four pairs of eyes stared back at me from across the other side of the campfire. They flickered with orange light, reflecting the ever moving flames. The faces, lit from below, were eerie in their half shadow and I tried not to focus on them. Instead I glanced down at my hands, noticing that they were shaking slightly.

“I… I don’t know if I can recount this story,” I admitted, my voice breaking.

I glanced up briefly, to see one of the listeners look away from meeting my eyes and instead stare off towards a distant point in the woods. I could practically feel their resigned disappointment. Two of the others then turned towards each other and seemed to share knowing glances. The final one however, stared back, unblinking and gave a slow nod of encouragement.

No, I thought, I had to go through with this… for them. So, I took a deep breath and steeled myself. Then, scrunching my quivering hands into fists, I prepared to relive the worst night of my life.

*

It was summertime, me and a few friends had just finished our studies and graduated. Of course, rather than do the sensible thing, i.e. get jobs and join the real world. We instead, pooled together our collective resources and set off for one last adventure together, before adult life inevitably pulled us our separate ways.

It had been a wild ride. We’d set off without a real plan, just happy to enjoy the journey, not caring too much about the destination. We’d mainly hitchhiked to begin with. Our numbers and gear had proved a hurdle for some of the smaller vehicles we’d crammed into. But we’d met some cool people on the road.

Eventually though, we did hit a point, when modern means of transportation found their limits. From there we’d hiked and scrambled, climbed and camped. Exploring the vastness of the wilderness, not another sole in sight. Sleeping under the silent watch of the stars.

We were all, admittedly, pretty tired when we first spotted the light. We’d set up camp after a long day trekking and resident chef among us Alex had worked his magic on our basic rations. We were being sustained for the most part by one hot meal each night, plus a quantity of seeds, nuts, dried fruit, dried meat, energy bars and high calorie snacks consumed throughout the day. We’d been about to bed down for the evening when Tommy had called over to the group.

“Hey guys, come check this out!” he shouted.

I arose to join him along with the others. Then together, we decided to edge our way towards the source of a faint yellow glow he had spotted in the distance.

*

At first glance we had taken the cabin to be a mountain hut. The bare bones little shacks or buildings weren’t uncommon. They generally provided a decent shelter for hikers or intrepid adventurers such as ourselves. Most had decent bunks or beds, some even had plumbing and running water.

This however, upon entering looked more like a hunters lodge. The biggest giveaway being the vast array of taxidermy animal heads mounted to the walls. They stared out, expressionless, with glass eyes that seemed to follow you around the room no matter where you moved. The specimens were numerous, there were rabbits, deer, foxes, birds, even a bear.

The grizzly head took pride of place directly above an alcove that housed a small, black wood burner. The bear’s cavernous jaw hung open, mouth agape, the animal forever frozen mid roar.

The fireplace was ringed by a couple of stiff old fashioned armchairs. These and the few simple wooden chairs that circled a hardwood dinning table, were the only pieces of furniture in the room.

There was a small bed in a separate space off to the side, and a tiny kitchen space that included a boxy cast iron stove. There was no modern lighting, merely an antiquated candelabra that hung low above the dining table, plus a couple of sconces dotted periodically along the walls.

Thankfully, we had all retained enough common sense, to bring along a torch each. We swept our beams of light over the little building, but the torches seemed unable to penetrate the darkest corners of the cabin. And the shadows cast by the mounted animal heads stretched long to form monstrous shapes on the ceiling.

“I’m really not feeling great about this place,” I said, eyeing a large dead hawk to my right. It had been positioned on a false tree branch, with a mouse dangling from it’s hook shaped beak.

“Yeah, this house is creepy as hell,” Sophie seconded, as she slowly sidled over to join Alex who was inspecting the source of light on the windowsill.”

“Whoever lit this can’t have been gone too long,” he said absently, having noted the lack of melted wax on the candle.

“Yeah, let’s hope they don’t come back and catch us snooping, whoever owns this place I’d wager has some serious issues.” Tommy remarked, his tone mocking and almost jovial, was completely at odds with the implied danger of his statement.

Of course he was enjoying this! He was the one to spot the light after all. A part of me bet he probably scoped the place out in advance, then insisted we come look in an attempt to try scare us. Idiot, I thought inwardly rolling my eyes. We’d been friends since childhood, even dated once, back when I was still figuring things out, but damn, nowadays the guy could be a real jerk at times.

As if on queue, there was a sudden thud, followed by a high pitch scream to my left. I looked down to see my best friend Elizabeth sprawled on the floor. She appeared to have tripped and was laying belly down on the ground her head lifted up, inches away from the open jaws of a large wolf.

I hadn’t noticed the rug, if that’s what you could call it, until then. It was the skin of an enormous grey animal, stretched out so the legs were spread eagled, the head and tail still attached. Gross, I thought, how could anybody fill the interior of their home with stuff so macabre!

“Wow,” said Thomas, “I didn’t know you were capable of making a sound like that Lizzy!"

“Not now Tommy, ” I snapped, scowling at him, before offering a hand out to Elizabeth “Here, let me help”

She took my hand gratefully, allowing me to assist her to her feet, then kept hold for a few seconds longer than was probably warranted. Our eyes met and we shared a long, unblinking moment, before she bashfully dropped my hand and turned away.

“Oh get a room girls” Tommy snickered from behind.

“God, what is with you today!?” I snarled, turning sharply to face him “Is there a reason you’re deliberately being this much of an ass?!”

We were pretty much nose to nose and he looked like he was about to retort when Alex interjected.

“Everybody shut up!”

Hearing the normally mild mannered Alex raise his voice caught me totally off guard. But was immediately explained when he then continued in a hushed whisper.

“I think… I can see someone outside”

He was still by the window, Sophie by his side, clinging to his left arm. Me and Tommy glared at each other once more before moving over to join him, Elizabeth trailing behind. There was indeed a figure outside. The dark silhouette stood about fifteen feet from the house, just visible before the edge of the tree line.

“What’d we do?” Sophie asked panicked, still clutching Alex’s arm.

The figure gave no sign of moving, they just stood, still as a statue. Too far away to really make out any detail.

“Turn off your torches,” I suggested, “maybe they haven’t spotted us yet, we could sneak out back and get the hell outa this place.”

Upon entry I had immediately taken note of the secondary door, which I hoped led straight out to the rear of the property and presumably outdoor lavatory, as there wasn’t one inside.

I was fairly certain, as Tommy had so aptly noted earlier, whoever owned this property wouldn’t be particularly accepting of a group of people sneaking around their house. Despite our innocent intentions to just peek inside when we’d found the front door unlocked and slightly ajar.

Everyone followed my advise, switching off their torches and the room was quickly swallowed by darkness. There was just enough light coming from the still burning candle on the windowsill, plus the ambient moonlight filtering through the glass, for us to vaguely make out each others faces and the shadowy outline of objects in the room.

I crouched down, once again reached out for Lizzy’s hand and started towing her towards the back door hoping the others would follow behind. Thankfully they did. We had just crossed the room and I was about to reach out and open the back door when I stopped, my fingers hovering over the handle.

“What’s the matter?” Sophie hissed from the back of the group.

“Listen” I said

There was a distinct snuffling sound coming from the other side of the door, followed by a scratching that was like knives on wood.

“Here I’ll go first” Tommy said, pushing through to the front of the group. To his credit, his snarky tone had flattened, his expression from what I could see was now serious. In fact, if anything he looked a little scared, but seemed determined now to not let that show through.

He reached out for the door with slightly shaking hands, then cursed under his breath when the handle refused to turn.

“Locked, ” he whispered looking back at us.

“What do we do now!?” Sophie asked, her voice sounding more panicked.

“I’ll check the front,” Alex whispered, giving her a squeeze then moving to turn. She grabbed his arm again, holding him back.

“No, don’t go,” she pleaded.

“I’ll go” I interjected, “Lizzy can you check the window, see if there’s still someone out there?”

She swallowed, but nodded. Following behind me, then breaking off to the left to head back to the window as I moved to the front door of the cabin.

“I can’t see anyone” she said a few moments later.

I pushed the door open just a crack, enough to check outside for myself. I was about to call that the coast was clear, when all of a sudden there was a terrible crash and the back door of the cabin exploded inward.

All the lights in the room burst to life simultaneously, the candles on the candelabra and all along the walls sparking up with orange flames. For a moment I was blinded, then my vision focused, but still I couldn’t quite take in what I was seeing.

Tommy was laying facedown on the ground. Surrounded by bits of splintered wood. Where the back door had once been now stood a hulking, dark shadow.

An enormous black bear, loomed in the empty doorway. It’s mouth slightly agape, it’s lips curled displaying dagger like teeth. Huge paws lifted and stepped forward, long, curved claws raking the wooden planks of the floorboards with a terrible sound like nails on a chalkboard.

I was frozen by fear as it reared onto its hind legs, it’s head touching the roof of the cabin. It let out a deafening roar then dropped back to all fours, the thud of the impact making the ground shake, as it rushed forward into the room.

Alex instinctively pushed Sophie to the side as the animal bolted for them. She screamed a, visceral, gut wrenching sound as she fell backwards towards the dining table, Alex himself disappearing under a mountain of black fur. The scream turned to sobbing as she scrambled up and over the dining table, falling to rest over the other side, her back to the wall.

The bear wrestled on the ground for a moment, then when the sound of Alex’s cries died on his lips and his thrashing stilled, it turned to face her. It shoved the dining table with its head and shoulder, knocking it aside as though it didn’t weigh a thing. It closed in, drooling mouth inches from her face, blood coating it’s dark muzzle. She turned her head to the side, her eyes squeezed shut, tears leaking down her cheeks.

“Hey!”

That voice finally snapped me back to alertness. I turned to look at Elizabeth, who was still over by the window. She was stood upright, arms by her sides, squeezing the little torch in her hand so tightly her knuckles had turned white.

“No!!” I shouted, too late, as she raised her right arm and threw the torch towards the bear.

It hit the animal square on the nose. There was a moments silence after it bounced off and clattered to the floor. Broken instantly by an angry grunt, as the bear turned away from Sophie and lurched forward towards Elizabeth. She was backed into a corner. No means of escape.

I ran forwards, grabbing a chair from beside the upturned dining table, heaved with all my might, then brought it crashing down onto the creatures back. It broke on impact, shattering as though hitting stone. The bear whirled again, and lashed out with a gigantic paw.

I dodged backwards, but my foot caught on something behind me and I fell. The image of that stupid wolf skin rushed into my thoughts as I slammed to the ground and my head connected with something solid. My vision swirled and then blackened completely.

*

I awoke to the terrible sound of silence.

Throughout our trip, I had marvelled at the tranquillity of our natural surroundings. Arising in the mornings to the sound of birdsong, a trickling stream, or leaves gently swaying in the breeze. We had all remarked at the peace we felt in those quiet moments.

This however, felt wrong. I slowly opened my eyes. It was daytime. The candles around the room had either blown out or melted down, and the pale blue light of the moon had been replaced with the mellow light of the rising morning sun. I scrambled to my feet, then forced myself to look about. Again, my brain struggled to make sense of what it saw.

Tommy’s body remained where it had fallen last night, face down on the floor. Surrounded still by splintered bits of wood, it now also rested in a small pool of congealed blood. I brought a hand up to my mouth and turned, expelling sharply to stop myself gagging.

My eyes then caught sight of Sophie, she was also sprawled out, face down, deep red gashes crisscrossing her back. She was draped over the top of something… Alex. He lay on his back, bloodied face up, dead eyes staring at the ceiling.

Tears streamed down my cheeks as I turned away and looked for one final face. She was slumped in the corner of the room, half seated, her legs stretched out before her, body folding over them. Her hands rested by her sides palm up on the floor. I staggered over, dropped heavily to my knees before her, then grasped a hand and held it up, squeezing tightly. It felt cold as ice.

I sat before her for a long time, cries shaking my entire body, before finally bubbling over into screams of anger. Eventually, my throat ran dry and I stilled and slumped. I wiped my teary eyes and looked down at the floor, noticing beside her hand a small bloodied deer antler. It looked like it had been snapped off from one of the head mounts. I quickly surveyed the room and indeed, there it was. A stag with one missing antler, a short distance away. She must’ve tried to use it as a weapon I thought.

Gripping the antler tightly I stood. Letting my rage pool inside me like a high tide. Then, something flashed and caught my eye. The morning light had now risen to fully penetrate the cabin, and there on the wall, I finally saw it.

The weapon glistened before me like some holy light. It was a hunting rifle, the frame comprised of mainly wood, but with a long metal barrel and a short sight on the top. I hefted it down from the wall and pulled the bolt handle back to see if it was loaded. The round in the chamber shone up at me like a piece of solid gold.

*

I opened my eyes and once more looked up from the campfire, staring into the faces of those gathered around it.

“I never found the bear.” I said, “I thought killing it might bring you some peace, but I was wrong. That’s not why you’re all still here, is it?”

Tommy finally turned his head back to look at me from across the campfire. His expression solemn.

“I’m sorry,” I said, locking eyes with him, “I genuinely did care for you. I’m sorry, our relationship was confusing, sorry it turned to bitterness at the end. For a while after, I actually blamed you for what happened…

I mean, you spotted the cabin. I even thought you led us there on purpose, to try freak us all out one last time. I suppose, I still always saw you as the kid who’d pranked me growing up. Truth is, you’d throw yourself into danger for any of us, without a second thought for your own safety. I’m sorry… that night, sorry I couldn’t be more like you.”

I let the tears roll down my face freely now, then turned to look at Sophie and Alex, who sat together on the fireside logs.

“I miss you both so much. Alex for your purity, your kindness and good humour, Sophie for your laughter and sincerity. You were the very best of us. I only hope I can try bring into the world, merely half as much light and compassion as you both did.”

Finally I turned to Elizabeth. “I loved you, I know I never said it, but I did and I think you might’ve felt the same. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you… couldn’t save any of you.”

I dropped to my knees before the fire. An arm reached through the flames to place a hand on mine. It was warm and comforting. Like the blazing sun on a hot day, or the comfort of a blanket draped around cold shoulders. It squeezed tightly, then disappeared.

I looked up, one final time and found nothing but the firelight before me. The ghosts that had followed me for many months now, were finally free.