Salem Willows

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. That was the night six recent high school graduates decided to trek into the ‘forbidden’ forest to camp out for a night or two and have a good time. Sure, they had heard stories about the cabin and had been warned to stay away from the area since they were kids. All but one had obeyed. The one never told the secret of what was found there. Over time the memories faded, replaced with thoughts of track-team meets, homecoming rallies, and proms- normal teen stuff. Besides, the cabin itself was not easy to find unless you had a map and knew exactly where you were going. That is unless you believed the myths the cabin guided you there. Some people said you just knew how to get there but there really wasn’t any way to know because people that actually went to the cabin seldom returned. The ones that did were not themselves afterward. Sure, they looked okay, but they were usually found roaming in the woods completely incoherent and unable to understand things anymore. They initially called it some type of shock but no one recovered from it so people started calling it cabin curse- people just kind of sat around drooling and stuff. Only one kid was ever found at the cabin alive and unchanged. No one knew why but thought maybe it was due to the kid being so young. The one was found asleep laying on the porch of the cabin itself, using a jacket and some piled-up leaves for a pillow. Woke up perfectly coherent, asking for a PB&J sandwich. Mom was missing too but the kid had no idea where or even who she was at that point. The kid didn’t realize people had been searching the woods a little over 2 days, and now years later, that one was part of six, about to go into the woods once again.

But the six had no intention of going anywhere near the cabin this weekend. Their plan included a lakefront camping trip as one last party before they started to go their separate ways at the end of summer. Ben’s big black SUV arrived first with his on-again / off-again girlfriend Ally riding in the back seat, her fraternal brother Cruz taking up almost all of the front seat with his military-ready body. The twins would soon be separated when Cruz left for basic training and Ally left for college. A few minutes later Val’s cherry red topless Jeep pulled up with she and Salem in the front while Sammy’s 6’ 7” frame, was squeezed sideways in the back seat. Sammy was Cruz’s best friend since grammar school and had enlisted with him, turning down a full scholarship to play basketball for a really good college.

Val hopped over the door while Salem opted for opening her side, convinced if she tried to gracefully vault over anything she would end up face down in the dirt. Where Val was exotic and assertive, Salem was plane and very shy. She felt out of place around young women with athletic long-legged bodies while she had to buy “support” bras and wear glasses because contacts made her eyes itchy. The only thing she liked about herself was her name. She felt like she was out of her league with this group especially when Cruz would call her “Thelma” – after the dorky crime-fighting nerd from the Scooby-Doo cartoons. If she didn’t harbor a secret crush (ok, infatuation) for Cruz, she would tell him what she thought of that (or have Val do it for her). But like it or not, these were her friends and she really didn’t want to be around anyone else. She felt totally safe and could come out of her shell.

They stood, at the opening of the trail that would lead them toward the lake. There was a moment of trepidation felt by all before crossing the threshold into the forested pathway- nervous adrenaline mixed with excitement. This was the forbidden forest. No one understood the undercurrent of dread they all shared. As soon as they stepped onto the trail the air changed, almost as if coming into an air-conditioned house after spending hours outside in the hot oppressive sun. The air seemed crisp and fresh leaving you a bit lightheaded if you took a deep breath. The rays of the sun filtered lightly between the hundreds of branches above them as they continued to amble down the path, over overgrown tree roots rising up from the ground almost as if in warning to say “are you sure you want to keep going”. The air got cooler the deeper they went. There were no signs, but instinctively, when they would reach a juncture, they somehow turned the right way.

After a 30-minute walk, a clearing became visible with serene blue water, bird song, and sunshine. When they all entered the beach area and dropped their gear they started to relax but shortly after Ally and Val looked out on the lake and their expressions changed. For them, the sky had turned black and the once calm water became turbulent as if a thousand bodies were thrashing in its depths. It sounded like the wailing of human souls. Ally fell to her knees on the beach covering her ears while Val lunged forward, arms extended shouting “STOP! PLEASE STOP! You are Killing Them!”. The other four couldn’t understand what was happening to their friends as they were surrounded by a beautiful day by the lake. Cruz put his hand on his sister’s shoulder and he felt a surge of energy like electricity pulsing through his body. For a moment he sensed extreme death. He could smell it- almost taste it. He let go of Ally and vomited beside her. Sammy ran to Cruz, “what’s up man?” Cruz could not even form words but the look on his face said all. Sammy ran into the water to try and pull Val now up to her knees, out fearful that she would soon hit the point where the ledge would dip and she would go under. She fought him, yelling about having to save them all. He picked her up by the waist and carried her thrashing body out of the water and unceremoniously dropped her next to Ally where they seemed to attach themselves together. Cruz swore he saw them glow for a moment and then it stopped. The girls just laid there, almost cocooned in each other’s arms, immobile but breathing steadily as if they were asleep. Then the noise began. It sounded like the wail of a banshee, and they all heard it. Everyone froze, except for the girls who began to untangle themselves. They had a look of complete understanding and horror on their faces and began to scramble to stand, both yelling, “we have to go” as they tried to stand, tripping over each other. Ben reached over and righted the two, who as soon as they gained footing began to run without looking back for the rest of their party. Salem, trusting the girl’s instincts, was right behind them, but the three boys stood trying to decipher what was going on. Both Cruz and Sammy had taken very defensive stances while Ben stood between them, everything tense, eyes aware. The noise stopped and the 3 boys stood there surrounded by a very unnatural silence, their camping gear all forgotten around them. Then the shaking started. It was a small rumble that almost seemed like an earth tremor at first, but as the boys looked around they noticed movement in the lake as if it was boiling. As the rumble intensified so did the movement of the water until it seemed to form a human body, rising out of the core of the lake itself.

“What the...” was all Ben was heard to say before the hand of this giant water beast was raised and beams of flame, as if shot by an arrow, began to shower the lakeside where they were standing. The boys began to back up and then turned to run, Cruz grabbing Ben who seemed determined to stare the monster down but just as he was out to pull him away a flame hit Ben in his upper arm and he collapsed. Before Cruz could dive on top of him to smother the flames Ben was completely engulfed. He didn’t move or scream – he just laid there and burned. Cruz was frozen in shock until he felt someone pulling him away from the grizzly scene. Sammy and Cruz ran away from the smell of burning flesh, until they half stumbled, half fell into a clearing at the end of a path, tears silently streaming down their faces. The air was heavy and warm here making them both very sleepy. Despite their desire to get up and find the girls, neither could fight the induced sleep that was forced upon them.

“Wake Up!” Sammy shot up, pine needles stick in the crow of his dark curly hair, ready for a fight until he saw the two girls kneeling in front of him with dirty tear-stained faces. “Sammy, please wake up!” they were pleading.

“I’m up” rubbing his face with the palm of his hand, trying to recollect where he was. “where is everyone?” The girls gave each other a cautious look and then Salem looked at Sammy, wrestling up the courage to take the lead for the first time in her life. “Sammy, Val disappeared, like really disappeared and we can’t find anyone else.”

“What? Did she go back to the cars? Where is Cruz?” as he looked around.

Ally looked concerned for her brother, but reached out and held Sammy’s hand, anxiety lacing her voice- “Sammy, Val disappeared - as in poof, vanished, in front of our eyes. We were running down a trail and we were behind her. The air seemed to get really hot and thick and it was hard to breathe. I had to stop for a second and Salem stopped with me – we yelled to Val but she never slowed down and as we watched her she dissolved into thin air as she ran – like a magic act. We both saw it and swore we heard a faraway sound like a scream but she wasn’t there. We freaked and turned around and kept running in the opposite direction expecting to be back at the lake but ended up here where we found you laying on the ground.” She swallowed “could Cruz…?”

“Where are Cruz and Ben?” Salem added. Sammy’s face suddenly dropped into one of horror and shock. Ally, still holding Sammy’s hand, tightened her fingers around his hand, starting to cry. “Sammy where are my brother and Ben?”

“Last I saw Cruz he was here with me, we both ran from the beach and fell here. We must have conked out. I didn’t come to until you guys showed.” He turned to look Ally directly in the eyes. “Ally, uh, Ben, on the beach last night something weird, ah, strange…” tears started sliding down his cheeks. Ally started to cry herself, not realizing why she had such feelings of dread. “Ally, there was thing- this monster and fire and…”

“That’s crazy!”

“Any crazier than someone vanishing in front of your eyes? Jesus, Ally. This thing, it shot fire and hit Ben. He instantly burst into flames like combustion or something. We couldn’t help him, it all happened so fast - it was raining fire. All we could do was run!” Sammy was crying openly now holding both of Ally’s hands in his. “We were total cowards and we ran! Okay?? We ran!” He let go of Ally’s hands to wipe his face on his shirt. Looking at her he expected to see a young woman falling apart, not a steely-eyed girl who looked like she wanted to murder someone. Ally stood up, determination laced in her words. “I want to see him. And I want to find Cruz.” She turned and began walking towards the direction she thought the lake would be, but then stopped and whirled on the others. “Which way do we go and I DO mean WE because we need to stick together. Something is going on but we are not going anywhere without our friends and my family!” She started stomping her way towards the edge of the clearing again, but slowly enough for Salem and Sammy to catch up, yelling “I’m waiting!”

After almost an hour of wandering, they found the embankment where most of their gear remained. They even found Cruz. He was sitting on the ground close to shore, hands around his bent knees, rocking back and forth. As they approached Cruz, he didn’t move to acknowledge them, even when they called his name, placed an arm on his shoulder, or someone got right into his face and snapped saying “anyone home?” Ally grabbed her brother by the shoulders and, sobbing, began to shake him violently but it was like shaking a life-size rag doll until Sammy and Salem had to pull her off of him. It was no use- Cruz was there but no one was home. There was no sign of Ben at all – nobody, nothing that indicated a fire. Salem turned to Sammy and whispered “are you sure something happened here last night? Did you guys bring drugs or something?” Ignoring Salem, Sammy walked over to Ally, stood her up and said they had to get out of there- had to go get help. The friends argued about leaving without Ben and Val and whether they were true victims of some type of eerily creepy phenomenon or if they were playing a prank or were just lost. Ally did not want to leave without them, Salem and Sammy wanted to get help, and Cruz was too useless to have a vote. They knew they could not split up but also knew something had to be done. They opted for walking to the cars, having Ally and Cruz wait in one car with the doors locked, and Sammy and Salem riding into town.

The walk was very somber and much slower as Ally had Cruz by the hand and was basically steering him through the path to the parking lot while she had to actually lift his feet over tree roots so he would not trip and fall over. Cruz just had his eyes open, staring blankly at something only he could see. “Why is this taking so long” groaned Salem. Sammy stopped and Ally almost walked right into him, Cruz in tow. She let go of Cruz and uttered “I’m so thirsty” and went to sit on a fallen log for a minute while Sammy thought out loud about where they were and the direction of the sun. “Owe!”

“Ally what happened”

“Owe! Owe, Owe, Owe! Spiders!” She jumped off the log, “Biting Spiders! Brushing herself from head to toe she walked quickly away from where she had been lounging. Salem turned away only to hear Ally start screaming in earnest. When she turned she saw what appeared to be hundreds of spiders climbing up Ally’s legs, over her body, over her arms, and through her hair, as she screamed. Ally fell to her knees as Cruz just continued to stare into space, Salem began screaming and marching in place looking for spiders and Sammy ran to Ally trying to swat at bugs, but it was too late, Ally was now laying on the ground having what appeared to be a seizure, spiders crawling in and out of her mouth, her nostrils, her ears. He even thought he saw spiders inside her eyeballs. Sammy grabbed Salem’s hand and began to run before realizing he hadn’t grabbed Cruz. He turned around to get Cruz but Cruz was gone. “Where the hell is Cruz?” Sammy yelled while Salem yelled back “I don’t know! I don’t know!” but Sammy didn’t wait for any further discussion. He grabbed Salem’s hand and they ran until he was all but dragging her. They both stopped and bent over, hands on knees trying to catch their breath. Salem began to sob between breaths. Sammy just continued to say “Shit” over and over and over again, as he stood up and started to walk circles in place. Then he stopped. “Salem there is a clearing up ahead and I see a well. Let’s go.

“Sammy that may be the cabin. THE cabin.

“I don’t care. Maybe it’s not. Maybe we can stay out here and die or we can be safe inside. Who knows but I’m not taking my chances!” He stalked away from her not leaving her much of a choice unless she wanted to be alone. They walked into a clearing outlined by Willow trees. The cabin sat in one corner that had willow trees that bent and arched around its roof as if protecting it from the elements. It was weathered but not decayed or rotted. The glass in the windows was dirty but intact. There were wildflowers growing around the cabin in patches of grass. Across the clearing was a big well with a rope and bucket sitting on the ground on the outside. “Do you think it works?” Salem asked? “do you think there is water in there?”

“Only one way to find out” Sammy said as he hooked up the rope and lowered the bucket into the well. After a few minutes, he heard a splash and they both looked at each other with a sly smile. Maybe they would die but it would not have to be of thirst. Sammy pulled the bucket back up and pulled it over the side of the well, inspecting the contents inside. Other than a floating leaf or two, the water appeared clean. He dabbed a finger in and licked his finger. It tasted fine. It actually tasted really good. Next thing Salem knew he was chugging water from the bucket and then poured the rest over his head. The bucket took a second trip down into the well and came back up with enough water for Salem to drink from, but as she was drinking she got very lightheaded and stumbled. Sammy grabbed her arm and righted her so she would not fall against the well. “You okay?”

“Yeah, feel a little strange, and scared as hell, but I’m okay. It’s passing. Everything looks super clear like I just got new glasses or something.”

“Maybe you were dehydrated?”

“Maybe”

“Should we check out the cabin? So far, this place is not anything like we were told – maybe this is a different cabin. Or maybe those people all lied so no one would come up here and hang out and ruin it. Let’s check if the door is unlocked”.

As soon as they stepped onto the porch the sky became grey and most of the trees lost their lush healthy appearance, becoming dark and barren. The flowers on the grass shriveled and died before their eyes and a mist slowly began to creep into the clearing.

“I’m thinking it’s THAT cabin…” Salem said as she turned and tried the handle to the door. As soon as she touched the door it swung open. They turned to run away but a dense fog began to form into what looked like human beings. They both ran into the cabin and slammed the door shut. The inside of the cabin was filled with a few pieces of very old furniture. Including a small table with two chairs. A massive fireplace made of black iron took up one entire wall. There were cobwebs everywhere.

Salem quietly moved to the window and peered outside, eyeing the moving figures that were becoming more human-like by the minute, seeming very familiar. She turned back to her friend, “hey Sammy come look at this” but one look at Sammy’s glowing eyes had her backing up until she tripped into one of the spindle chairs, knocking it over.

“Now look what you have done”. The eerie voice of a woman came from him. Everything still had that high-definition appearance since she drank that water, but now he seemed to glow. She thought she was hallucinating. “Sammy?”

“Sammy’s gone!”

“Who are you?” Salem started to skirt her way back across the floor until she backed into a wall. More tears started to run down her face. She could hear scratching on the cabin walls now and dared to glance at the window. Outside the window she saw what appeared to be a ghostly version of Ben, his face and body charred. He seemed to be made out of the fog but she could make out his features in exquisite detail. “Oh god…”

“God won’t help you, these are my woods”

Salem’s head whipped back to where Sammy Stood. He seemed much larger than she remembered. “What do you want?” she yelled at the body of what was once her friend.

“I want to live again! I want my freedom! Flames erupted in the fireplace behind Sammy’s possessed body, so large that it appeared as if the gates of hell had opened.

“You’ve already taken all of my friends” Salem Spat- “Go Away!”

“Ah, Salem, you and I belong together. Don’t you remember?” Salem’s head whipped up at her name and the familiarity that began to engulf her. Her crisp vision began to blur and fade until she felt as if she was watching a movie. She saw herself as a young child, playing hide and seek with her mom and dad in the woods. They were running and laughing. Then the clearing – the same clearing she had wandered into with Sammy, but it was her and her mom. Where was her dad? Then inside the cabin, her mom was crying and pleading. Her dad was there now, and he was yelling at her. Her mother grabbed Salem and made her go outside. She didn’t want to go outside, it was warm inside, the fire made it nice and warm. Outside was scary, it was dark and there were moving clouds everywhere. But her mom pushed her out the door and shut it behind her. She tried to bang on the door and get back in but she couldn’t. She stayed as close to the cabin walls as she could and edged her way to one of the windows. She saw her mother then, facing her father, floating in the air. There was a flash of light and a candle in the window began to burn. The cabin door opened and her mom came out. Salem began to run to her but stopped dead in her tracks. This was not her mother. Her eyes were black. Her skin was a weird color and the look she gave Salem was horrifying. Salem backed up against the cabin wall and sank down into a ball. This mother thought paused for a moment, and then she ran off into the woods. Salem crept back into the cabin whimpering “Pappa?” but the cabin was empty. The fire in the fireplace had gone out. The only light now from the candle. Salem didn’t want to stay inside knew a lit candle could start a fire, so she blew it out. Suddenly she heard a scream that seemed to tear through the cabin and fade. The light outside brightened and the sun shone through the trees again. Salem didn’t know what to do so she went back outside and rolled up her jacket with some leaves and lay on the porch. She was so sleepy.

The scene dissolved before her eyes and Salem had to fight off the waves of nausea that had her on her knees, wanting to vomit all over the floor.

“You remember” the voice hissed

“My mother – I remember my mother – she left me”

“She didn’t leave you – you killed her when she needed to feed. You killed us. I was finally reborn and you killed us. Now it’s time to be reborn again……and Mother and daughter will finally be reunited”

“I didn’t kill…”

“You Blew out the Candle!”

“And them?” Salem said, pointing at the ghostly versions of her friends. “what happens to them? Will anyone find their bodies? What about Sammy?”

“That depends on you? Your mother chose to let you live. If you choose to make the transition easy, you get a choice, if you fight me…

“They can live?”

Sammy nodded.

“No Cabin Curse! I want them to be able to remember and talk and do the things they planned.”

Sammy’s hand rubbed his chin as if he was an old wise woman mulling over an important decision. “I will leave them with most of their abilities and memory intact but they will all have to overcome some challenges to get back to where they were. Sammy, however, I will spare. As he is serving me well at this moment.” Sammy patted his cheek as if he were a puppy.

“Salem got to her feet, slowly. Her eyes were swollen from crying. Her throat was raw and it was hard to swallow around the lump that had lodged itself there. She did not want to die but if she had to (which seemed inevitable at this point) she could at least try and do something to save her friends. “will it hurt?”

“A bit”

“Will I remember who I am?”

“Yes, but I will always be in control”.

Salem took off her glasses and placed them on the small table. She stood with her feet apart in a braced position, ready for whatever would happen next. “OK I’m ready,” she said through trembling lips. She swore she heard a giggle.

It started in her center first- right below her breast bone, an intense heat that seemed cold at the same time. It was as if icy fingers were climbing inch by inch over her body replaced by intense heat so hot that she imagined there would be nothing left of her body. She must be on fire. She didn’t smell burning flesh as she expected. She swore she was screaming but she could not hear herself. Just intense cold and burning moving outward and outward until her entire body was on fire. And then it just stopped. Salem felt as if she was surrounded by darkness, as if she had entered a void or a black hole. She heard the words you can open your eyes. It was a soothing voice, not as menacing as the voice she had heard earlier. It had a faint echo. Salem opened her eyes very slowly and saw she was standing in the cabin. Looking around she saw the fireplace, but it was empty and barren of any fire, or even logs for that matter. The chair she had knocked over was righted and back at the table, where her glasses sat. She was surprised she could see so well without them. Her vision was amazing – gazing around she could make out the intricacies of spider webs like spun lace in the corners. She turned around and saw a lone candle in the window, it’s flame high and bright. She walked closer to it and noted that it was not dripping. It does not go out unless someone snuffs it. Who said that? I did. We are one.

It was then that Salem realized she had not even spoken out loud. She walked around to the side of the fireplace and noted a small door she has not noticed before. Opening it she saw a small washroom with a mirror. Staring at herself in the mirror she was surprised at what she saw. She was not grey with black eyes. She looked like herself, only better. She was vibrant- her hair was luxurious, her eyes bright with specks of light in them. Her lips were tinted as if she had colored them. And she thought to herself do I really look this good” Yes, you do the voice answered back.

Salem realized that she didn’t mind sharing her body with whatever this spirit thing was as she always had someone to talk to. But she quickly realized she truly had no control. She nailed the cabin door and all of the windows shut from the inside so no one could get to the candle flame and extinguish it. When that was done everything went black until she found herself outside of the cabin again. Looking at it from the outside she saw that the willows seemed to have overgrown, practically covering the cabin so it could hardly be seen. The Grass was overgrown all around her, hiding the well. There was no evidence of her friends. Her body began to walk on its own and soon she felt the familiar pangs of hunger. She found she tried to speak but was unable to do so out loud. I’m hungry she thought and earned herself a Quiet from her head. Then she saw them – her friends. All of them having fun by the lake. She wanted to run to them and hug them. She thought they all looked so happy and immediately knew she had made the right choice. She wandered down on the beach and her friends all turned toward her and stopped what they were doing. “Hi!” her body said.

“Hey” some replied. “Are you out here alone? These woods can be dangerous you know”. She turned and saw only Sammy recognized her, pure terror apparent in his eyes. Let’s eat echoed in her head before the screaming started in earnest.