The Cabin

I watched the fog roll over the lake bed a few yards away from the cabin door, my heart racing faster the less I could see on the other side. I took a deep breath and stepped outside on the rickety front stoop and took a quick look around, noticing the fog wasn't just rolling in over the lake. Something wasn't right about this fog. This thick, hazy mist.

We were surrounded by the mass. It's so close I can almost taste the cotton-like substance making its way towards me. Towards my family.

I quickly run inside and slam the door, locking it behind me. I stood propped up against the door, my head bowed and my hands braced on my knees. I stared down at the gold band on my left hand with tears in my eyes, "Honey? What's going on?" I looked up to see my wife, Gloria, wiping her wet hands off on a kitchen towel. She looked down at me with concerned golden brown eyes.

I hesitated for but a moment before I left the door quickly, gently grabbing onto her arm to pull her away from the kitchen, "We need to grab the girls and go to the basement room. There's something not right outside." I hurried her along upstairs beside me, too nervous to let her out of my sight at this point.

"Carter, you're scaring me. What do you mean there's something not right outside?" She dropped the striped kitchen towel in her haste to scramble up the stairs.

Once we got to the landing, we heard our daughters laughter. I blanched as I realized it was coming from the opened window at the far end of the hall.

I didn't think twice as I sprinted on shaky legs. I halted in my tracks, nearly flying out the window myself as I saw my daughters, Anna and Marie, playing in the thickest part of the deadly fog where the water meets land.

"No!!!" I screamed for them at the top of my lungs but they don't seem to hear me. I turned to Gloria as I start running back down the stairs, "I'm going to try and get them before they get too close to the water, keep trying to call for them and get them inside" She does a quick nod before running back towards the window and I run out the door into what I can only assume is a fatal mission to save my girls.

I run as fast as I can in the direction I saw my daughters innocently playing the few yards away from my front stoop. The girls are so far away at this point I can barely hear their giggling over the pounding in my ears and Gloria's screams from the house. I rush right into the thickness of the fog with no hesitation where I lose all sight and depend on my hearing alone, "Anna! Marie! Where are you?!" I frantically search my surroundings, looking for anything resembling either of my daughters short, frail statures.

I stop when I feel my feet splash in water. I look around aimlessly, barely even being able to see the top of our family cabin, "ANNA!? MARIE?! For God's sake, answer me!!!" I screamed and screamed at the top of my lungs, hoping to find them before something else does.

I was about to head back, see if Gloria has had any luck or see if I was able to see them from the window when I heard something. It was faint but it sounded like my youngest daughter's laughter echoing around me. I made an executive decision and ran left along the shoreline where I thought it was the loudest.

I finally saw a shape in the thick fog when my legs were about to give out. I forced my tired body to run as fast as I possibly could but right as I was nearing the figure, it shifted in an unnatural way, a sickening cracking noise vibrating the air around me. When I tried stop, I slipped and skid across the gravel on my back, scraping my hands to ribbons in the process.

I watched as the creature in front me grew with each sickening crack and morbid groan I heard, growing from the shape of a four foot frail toddler to over seven feet of bone and rotting flesh. Something reeking of rotten eggs and spoiled garbage wrecked havoc on my nose. I hastily covered my nose, making gravel clatter against the other rocks.

That's when I saw the glowing red eyes turn towards me, head tilting to the side like it was closely studying me before a wide, toothy Chesire grin with sharp yellowed teeth spread across it's tight skin, lips paper thin and cracked with drool dripping down in long rivulets. It leaned in towards me, long fingers with even longer sharp fingernails extended. I didn't give it a chance to touch me before I got up on shaky legs and ran again.

Running for what seemed like hours, I finally saw the outline of the cabin through the fog that seemed to grow even more dense. Out of breath and struggling to inhale through the thick clouds, I collapsed on the porch in a heap. I dragged my limp body to the door before I pushed myself up and pushed my way in.

Stumbling my way into and around furniture, I was finally able to make my way to the bottom of the stair case, "Gloria?" I screamed out her name with no hesitation. All that came back was silence.

My heart pounded as I slowly made my way up the stairs, "Honey?"

Sticking my sweat dampened back to the wall, I took in a deep breath before I turned the corner to the hallway. I slowly peaked my head past the wall and noticed no one was at the window.

But there was blood dripping fluidly from the windowsill and splattering the walls in violent patterns.

With no reservations, I ran to the window with tears streaming down my cheeks. Stopping just before my feet stepped in the puddle of blood pooling at the baseboards, I glanced out the window and noticed a trail of blood leading down the side of the house that I hadn't noticed before when I first arrived back, "GLORIA?! ANNA?! MARIE?!" I screamed their names until my voice was raw and hoarse.

"Honey," Gloria's voice sounded from behind me, followed by another one of those sickening cracks and low groan. I didn't dare turn around in fear of what I would find.

"I found the girls."