The Ranch

--

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

--

Saturday, August 17th, 2024, 12:33am

A camera sitting in a tree 100 feet away caught it: a light near the lens base turned from red to green.

*Boop*

Carol's laptop went from black to blue on her desk. She looked up from her phone and saw a notification in the top right of her computer monitor: Unusual Activity Alert. Carol straightened up immediately and typed in the password to her computer.

She clicked the notification icon, and came to the live feed of Cabin1. And there she saw it: a light in the window... is that... a candle? she thought. The image was near perfect, and the light that emanated from the window didn't seem to be stemming from an artificial source. It seemed to be a few inches above the base of the window and was small, but visible...

She sat back in her chair and watched the screen: it had to be a glitch of some kind. She straightened up again and switched three other cameras in the same area to the window: still there appeared to be a candle sitting there. She used the camera software to reset those cameras in thirty seconds... And thirty seconds later, still a candle in the window. She almost couldn't come to the conclusion that she was so wanted.

"Hey... Darrel... Darrel! Come here!" she yelled.

Darrel Palmari, her boss and owner of The Ranch, stirred from the couch nearby. He rubbed his eyes and spoke in his thick southern accent, "What? What is it?"

"I... I think I got something!" said Carol. She had zoomed in one of the camera's to get a better look: a brand new, but now lit candle. Sitting on a base of some kind...

Darrel meandered on over and sat in the desk chair next to her, and took more than a few seconds to reorient himself. He rubbed his eyes one last time and sighed, "Okay... what are we looking at?"

"A... candle? In Cabin1's window," she said.

"A candle?" he replied, looking at her sternly.

"A candle," she replied. She pointed at the screen.

"A candle..." he looked at the screen that had the zoomed in picture: it was indeed a candle.

"Refresh? Reboot? Whole nine?" he asked. He continued to look at the screen.

"I rebooted about a half hour ago, and yes: refreshed. Three other cameras in that area are seeing the same thing..." she said. She flicked to each of the cameras feeds to show Darrel it was live, and no glitch.

Darrel looked on quizzically for a moment and then reached for his phone. He dialed Steve, who answered after a couple rings.

"Yeah?" he asked. He too had just been woken up and sounded a bit sluggish.

"Need you and the boys to check out Cabin1 ASAP," said Darrel, who continued to look at the screen. Carol grabbed her jacket which hung from her chair, and quickly made her way towards the exit of the Control Room.

Darrel watched her go, "And where are you going?" he asked with a hint of annoyance.

"I've been staring at those screens for weeks now and haven't seen a damn thing. Last interesting thing that happened was a fucking coyote getting into Cabin4. I'm going out with them," she stated bluntly. She zipped her jacket up and quickly checked her phone, "Thank god I charged this."

Darrel rubbed his face with his hand, "Shit, Carol seems to think she's joinin ya," he said. He hoped the former Seal would protest.

"Carol doesn't strike me as a woman that will be told what to do. Tell her to bring an extra monocular though," he replied.

Darrel sighed audibly, "Not what I was hopin' you'd say..." he said.

Steve laughed, "Tell her to hurry, we won't take long."

"Well, I've never ignored a party... even if I'm not invited to one. See ya soon," said Darrel. He hung up and grabbed an infrared monocular camera from off the desk next to him and went to the door.

Carol smirked as he exited the Control Room, "Ahhh, the Master and Commander decides to leave his cave!"

Darrel handed Carol the monocular and walked out into the cool night. He grabbed a double-barreled shotgun that rested just outside the door and checked it briefly. Carol joined him and shivered as she left the warmth and comfort. She looked up: the Control Room rested just outside the entrance to the forest, so she had a clear view. An ocean of stars presented themselves to her. She smiled and slipped on a pair of black leather gloves.

"A candle is a bit different. You have to admit that at least" she told Darrel as he finished looking over his gun.

"Candle-schmandle. Could just be some kids. C'mon, lets skedaddle," he said and made his way down the short flight of stairs. Carol glanced up once more and then followed Darrel down a dirt path that flanked the forest.

--

Crickets chirped, and a light wind breezed through the trees...

--

Steve woke Hussain and Harry up. They were not happy about it.

"Man... what? What's the asshole got us doing now?" asked Hussain. His English accent only somewhat disguised his annoyance. He tied his boots, threw on his aged black jacket and grabbed his Walther PP7 and infrared goggles from his nightstand.

"Something over at Cabin1, didn't get details. They're both coming with us I think..." said Steve. Both Harry and Hussain looked at Steve with a concerned glare.

He leaned against the wall to his right and shrugged, "Not my business to tell em' what they can and can't do..." he turned to leave the bunk.

Harry finished getting ready and put a revolver in a holster on his belt. He lit a cigarette and took a long drag, "Would be much quicker without them... Carol's gonna take all night knowin' her..." his Boston accent flared up heavily when frustrated.

Hussain futilely swatted the smoke away, "She is a scientist... her job is to be thorough," Hussain left the cabin and didn't wait for a response.

"Just sayin..." said Harry.

Steve waited for them outside and lit a cigarette of his own. He spotted Darrel and Carol making their way towards their cabin. Harry wordlessly stirred up the buggy that was parked by the road. Hussain milled while Harry finished smoking, and then sat passenger in the buggy once he was done. Steve sat in the backseat and looked out over the grassy plains: despite his hatred for the South in general, he did love the scenery. The way the tall grass moved with the wind kind of reminded him of the ocean.

Darrel made it to the buggy, "All good?" he asked. Carol approached a second later. Darrel motioned for Carol to get in.

She sighed, "Do I always have to sit in the middle?"

"You're smallest, that's how it works," said Darrel with a chuckle. Carol got in and immediately unlocked her phone. She opened up her recording app and began a dictation for the night, "Saturday, August 17th, 2024, 12:50am. Candle spotted in Cabin1's window, confirmed non-glitch-"

"A candle? Really? That's what we're lookin' at? Christ almighty, its probably just some kids that snuck their way on the grounds," said Harry from the front. He stepped on the gas and made way towards the cabin.

"Confirmed non-glitch after multiple camera resets and a system reboot. No ground sensors were triggered, so foul-play by local residents unlikely. Infrared sights, Geiger and EMF Meters on hand. Investigating further" said Carol, who ignored Harry entirely. She slipped her phone into her jacket and zipped up the pocket it was in.

"Least its a clear night," said Hussain who looked up at the stars with a small smile.

--

When they arrived at the Cabin, all was at peace...

--

Ten minutes later and the lot arrived at the site of Cabin1: it rested along an old paved road that surrounded Blackswell Lake. Harry entered the Cabin's driveway area and quickly circled the buggy around to face the way they just came. The five of them hopped out of it and made their way towards the front of the old, decaying structure. A small, newly lit candle still sat in the northward facing window.

"Shit... you weren't lyin'..." said Harry. He tried to pull out another cigarette, but Carol stopped him, and shook her head.

"At least let me get some initial readings before we rough up the place..." She turned the Geiger counter on her belt on. It made an audible squeal and then settled into its random-clicking nature. She then switched on the EMF Meter she brought with her and stepped out into the grassy field in the front of the Cabin.

"Slightly elevated!" she said excitedly. She walked towards the west end of the field near the forest's edge, "It seems uniform..." she pulled out her infrared monocular, slipped its strap over right hand and looked up into the sky: nothing to see but the stars and a patch of clouds towards the east.

"Darrel, Harry, stay out here. This won't take long..." said Steve. Him and Hussain both slipped on their infrared goggles and approached the front of the cabin door.

Harry took out another cigarette, "Least it ain't rainin'..." he tried to spark his lighter, but it didn't work.

Darrel struck a match from the box he'd brought with him and held it up to Harry's mouth. Harry nodded in approval and dragged until the cigarette was lit. Darrel lit his own, tossed the match on the ground and stamped it out, "Yeah... would be awfully miserable out here durin' a storm."

"You guys can't wait to smoke?" asked Carol from the middle of the grassy field.

"It don't make a difference with them," said Harry chuckling as he pointed at Carol's equipment.

"Watch out now, the smoke might set off them sensors!" said Darrel. He laughed and slapped a knee. Harry cackled and spit onto the ground.

Carol shook her head and wandered about the front yard, "Elevated electromagnetic field readings persist uniformly across the front yard, radiation levels normal" she stated loudly. She needed to make sure the dictation was at least clear for later.

Steve snapped his fingers at them and motioned his hand across his lips.

Carol sighed and shook her head, this isn't Afghanistan, she thought. She returned to the EMF reader and walked towards the east end of the front yard. She took a dozen steps off the grass into the forest and noticed the elevated readings dropped, What is this? she asked herself. She panned her monocular around her: nothing to see.

The other two quieted down as Steve and Hussain approached the door...

--

The moon shone bright and stars blanketed the sky...

--

Both Steve and Hussain lowered their infrared goggles onto their faces. Hussain drew his Walther, and Steve his Barrett. Steve motioned his head towards the door. Hussain nodded and approached silently.

Steve readied his handgun towards the front of the door as Hussain grabbed the doorknob with his right hand, his Walther in his left.

Hussain quickly turned the knob, shoved the door forward and leaned against the wall behind him. Steve walked inside briskly.

The inside of the cabin turned right immediately towards the living room. Steve quickly turned right and aimed his weapon towards the center of the room. He reflexively turned left towards the kitchen and then leaned against the wall behind him.

Hussain wordlessly stepped inside and checked both right and then left: nothing to see. He stepped carefully towards the center of the living room and aimed his gun towards the kitchen and then towards the bedrooms that lied beside it. Once he got far enough inside, Steve rounded the corner of the entrance and stepped fully into the dusky cabin. All was quiet.

Steve looked at Hussain, raised two fingers in the air, pointed to each of the bedrooms and then walked towards the leftmost room. Hussain nodded and followed closely.

Steve got to the first bedroom, put his hand on the knob and opened it much like Hussain had before. The door swung open, hit the side of the wall and then rebounded off it. Steve kept his back to the door and pointed his gun inside: nothing to see.

He turned around to Hussain who stepped towards the middle and second room. Hussain opened the door in the same fashion as Steve just did: nothing to see. Hussain turned towards Steve who was close behind him and shrugged. Steve wordlessly approached the third room and opened it without raising his weapon: nothing to see.

What the fuck? he asked himself. Hussain crept up behind him, put a hand on his back and motioned towards the kitchen, where a very faint light seemed to emanate from. Steve walked forward first, entered the kitchen and immediately turned left: there on the windowsill lied a white, lit candle.

They both stepped inside the kitchen and looked at the candle in awe: no one inside the cabin, yet the candle burned brightly, as if newly lit. Newly disturbed dust kicked up from the floor as they entered.

Hussain had an unnatural urge about him: he took a deep breath and blew it right at the candle and made a hooooo sound as he did. Steve looked dead ahead as he did this: the candle's flame didn't waver in the slightest.

Suddenly, both of them heard someone running in the backyard outside. Both immediately drew their firearms and walked towards the living room. A moment later, and they heard the same running towards the entrance of the cabin. They turned their weapons towards the noise, and all went silent. The light of the candle behind them disappeared. Steve turned his head around: the candle was gone.

--

When suddenly: an empty house, and footsteps outside.

A haunting mass, creeping slow, with bright red eyes...

--

Darrel and Harry looked on as the other two entered the cabin. Carol wandered the forest just outside the front yard: a spike in the electromagnetic field. She couldn't contain her excitement, "THEY SPIKED!" she yelled. She sprinted back towards the grass and saw even more elevated readings. She blinked and the readings returned to normal. "What... what the fuck?" she asked herself. She refreshed the EMF reader immediately and saw the same normal readings.

Both men ignored her entirely, "Ever see a candle before?" asked Harry to Darrel. The two men smoked by the buggy and watched the cabin. Darrel had his shotgun-but to the ground, and had his left hand over the double-barrel.

"Nope... definitely a first..." he said. He hadn't taken his eyes off the candle since they got there.

The two men heard the sound of dried leaves breaking and sticks cracking somewhere behind them. Harry instinctively drew his revolver, and turned. Darrel snapped his shotgun into a firing position and did the same, quickly scanning left and right into the blackness. Their still-lit cigarettes hit the ground as they did so.

Harry slid his infrared goggles on as they stepped down the dirt road they came through on. Darrel walked forward and held his gun steady: he knew there were bears and wolves that roamed the Ranch, but they usually steered clear of the cabin-grounds for whatever reason.

"See anything?" asked Darrel to Harry.

Harry scanned the forest surrounding the road and stepped forward carefully. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He scanned left towards the lake and then back right towards the thicker forest. And then he saw it: a tall hulking black mass standing in the center of the road some-hundreds of feet away from them.

Darrel looked back to Harry who had stopped, "What? What is it?" he asked. He then looked down the road and saw a very visible set of bright red eyes staring back at him some seven or eight feet above the ground. Darrel froze as well.

--

A freezing cold and silent woods, as though the forest died...

--

Carol was standing in the center of the yard when the forest itself became muted. She looked up from the EMF reader: the candle in the window was gone. Her Geiger counter began whining and clicking rapidly. She looked down with excitement and then back up towards the cabin: a bright blue orb hovered silently about five feet off the ground. She dropped her EMF reader, and fumbled with the monocular controls: it was hard to see the buttons, but she managed to hit "record". When she panned the camera back up, the orb was gone.

She then heard what sounded like a reverberating hum behind her. She about-faced quickly and came face to face with the orb: it hung suspended in air about three feet away at eye level. Her hands shook as she held the camera and she noticed that each breath suddenly began to condensate: she became deathly cold.

The orb seemed to pulsate its bright blue light and matched the reverberating hum she heard before. It moved left and rotated around her. She followed its motion quietly and continued recording. The orb rotated faster, and Carol could barely keep up with its speed.

She made herself dizzy and was about to fall over when the orb suddenly shot straight up into the air. Carol followed its motion, pointed her monocular to the sky and froze: a giant black void hung suspended in air, clearly visible against the night sky through her infrared camera.

She gasped and looked from the camera to the sky: a giant black hole seemed to hover over the cabin-site where the stars should have been. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest and she could feel a panic attack coming on, but still she held her camera firmly placed towards the void-like mass.

She felt her vision begin to blur. A loud ringing began to bounce around in her head. Just as it was becoming too much to bear, the void began to open up from its center: a bright white circular light shined directly above her. Her eyes grew wide...

--

A slim and slender figure, walking forward, finger to trigger...

--

Steve and Hussain's fingers numbed as the temperature sharply dropped around them: their breath began to condensate against the now-cold air, which made the infrared goggles more difficult to see through.

They looked back and forth from the kitchen towards the living room, when suddenly they heard the sound of loud, thudding footsteps enter the cabin. Both men trained their weapons towards the door and waited for whoever was entering.

A few steps later and the two both saw a tall and slim black figure appear in their infrared sights against the colored surroundings that the sights provided them. Hussain's hands began to shake as the figure made its way into the living room. Both their ears began to ring loudly, and as it walked, those loud, thundering footsteps reverberated through their skulls. The figure stepped into the center of the living room.

Hussain fired. The bullet beamed through the cabin walls with ease and a maniac fervor took hold of him. He fired once. Twice. Three times. His hands shook as he continued to fire his Walther. The black figure instantaneously evaded each shot: it disappeared from the middle of the room to the far left. The far right. The far left again. Back to middle. Closer to the two of them. Closer. Closer. Closer.

*CLICK* OUT OF AMMO.

Steve was a Seal however: he followed the figure's erratic behavior and lined up one shot: he pulled the trigger on his Barret as the figure returned to the center of the room close to them. The bullet launched from his gun and struck the head of the mysterious black figure.

A loud piercing scream emanated from the black mass and a white light flashed in front of the two. Hussain shielded his eyes and fell to floor.

Hussain regained his composure and shook his head: his ears were ringing and his head was dizzy. His infrared sights were still on his face and made him nauseous: he vomited on the floor next to him. He coughed and spat up bile and then looked up: Steve was standing deathly still in his firing position, as though he were frozen in time. All the heat had drained from him: through Hussain's infrared sights, he was black as coal. He removed his goggles and stood.

"Steve?" he asked. No response.

"Hey... Hey, let's go huh?" his hand patted against his back and felt solid stone.

Hussain backed away until he hit the wall behind him. He put his goggles back on as his breathing became panicked: no heat signature whatsoever.

He approached Steve again, "St... Steve?" he touched his captain's left cheek and felt stone once more. Steve seemed to tilt slightly, like a statue unbalanced, but after a few moments, he stood still once more.

Hussain heard the sound of a shotgun outside. He gasped, continued to stare at Steve until he got to the front door of the cabin and then left.

--

Harry and Darrel stood frozen with fear as the large hulking mass with red eyes approached them. Its footsteps thudded loudly as it walked briskly down the road towards the cabin. It got within fifty feet of the two, and Harry's face drained of color as he got a better view: a werewolf looking figure took long, uncanny strides towards them.

Without thinking, Darrel fired both shells. He didn't prepare himself properly before pulling the triggers, and fell onto the dirt from the force of the blowback.

Both shells struck their target, and the being paused. A sickening burning smell filled the air and made the two men gag. It stood motionless for a few moments before it sauntered off towards the lake. The two men watched it creep into the forest before they heard the sound of yelling and gunfire from the cabin.

Harry snapped out of his fearful trance and helped Darrel up, "Come on!" Darrel accepted the help but kept his eyes locked onto the thing as it walked directly into the lake and disappeared underwater. The two men turned and sprinted back towards the cabin.

--

Hussain left the cabin and saw Darrel and Harry sprint towards the buggy. Harry fumbled around for his keys but managed to get it started, Darrel sat shotgun and turned around towards Hussain, "COME ON! Let's get the fuck outa here!" he shouted with obvious panic.

Hussain however turned towards the front yard, "CAROL!" he shouted. He ran out onto the grass and looked into the night with his goggles: he didn't see her. He sprinted to the center of the yard, "CAROL!!" he yelled. His boot knocked into something hard.

Hussain looked down and found Carol's EMF reader and monocular. He picked them up and began to panic, "CAAARROOLL!!" he yelled. His voice cracked loudly and adrenaline coursed through his veins.

"HUSSAIN, LET'S GO!" yelled Harry from the buggy.

Hussain looked around futilely and cursed "Fuck. FUCK!" he yelled. He sprinted back towards the buggy. Harry had never driven as fast as he did down the road. As the three men left the cabin-grounds, the crickets began to chirp again, and a light breeze rolled through the trees.

--

From the yard, to the lake and the sky up high...

--

"FUCK!" yelled Hussain from the back seat. He looked at the monocular and noticed it was still recording. He stopped the recording and then played back the video as the men bumped along the dirt path.

Hussain saw the orb through the camera. He saw it begin to rotate faster and faster. He saw it shoot up into the sky, and also saw the large black-mass hovering over the cabin. The bright white light opened up from its center and then suddenly the camera dropped to the ground. Hussain's face went pale: he saw the same black-mass slowly descend into the lake and submerge.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!?" asked Harry to Darrel. Darrel didn't reply.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED IN THERE? WHERE'S CAROL? WHERE'S STEVE!?" he screamed to Hussain. Hussain simply stared at monocular.

"FUCK!" screamed Harry, and pounded his fist against the wheel.

The men sat in silence as they made their way down the road back towards Base Camp...

--

They came and left their presence behind.

--

They arrived back at the men's bunk and all their faces went pale: Carol was sitting in the middle of the road naked on her knees. Her head lolled back and forth and stared towards the ground.

Hussain snapped out of it instantly and jumped out of the buggy before it came to a stop, "CAROL!" he shouted. He ran towards her and kneeled down.

"... little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are..." she whispered quietly to herself. Steve looked at her with horror, knelt down and put both hands on her shoulders.

"Carol?? Carol??" he lightly shook her.

Carol stopped singing her lullaby, looked at Hussain with dead eyes and grabbed his arm forcefully: "We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten not made, one in being with the Father. Through him all things were maaaaaaaaaaaaaa-", Carol let the last word carry on and on and on in a dead, robotic-like voice for what felt like an eternity. Hussain panicked and fell to his ass, backing away from Carol quickly.

Suddenly Carol stopped. She shook her head and looked around frantically, "Where... where am I?" she asked. Tears began to flow down her face. She realized she was naked and covered herself with her arms.

She finally noticed Hussain's pale face and dropped jaw, "H- Hussain? What... what happened? Why-" she looked down at herself, "Why am I naked?" she began to cry audibly, "What happened?"

Hussain stood wordlessly and knelt down beside her. He took off his jacket and wrapped it around her. He helped her to her feet.

"Can you walk?" he asked weakly. Carol nodded.

The two made their way to the bunk, towards the others who looked at the two of them with horror. Harry lit another cigarette and smoked it vigorously. Hussain helped Carol up the stairs into the bunk and the others followed quietly.

- ---

Chapter 1: https://shopping-feedback.today/horror/the-ranch-i15p2l03in%3C/p%3E%3Cstyle data-emotion-css="14azzlx-P">.css-14azzlx-P{font-family:Droid Serif,Georgia,Times New Roman,Times,serif;font-size:1.1875rem;-webkit-letter-spacing:0.01em;-moz-letter-spacing:0.01em;-ms-letter-spacing:0.01em;letter-spacing:0.01em;line-height:1.6;color:#1A1A1A;margin-top:32px;}