The Usher

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

Lyn stood, stopped in the trail staring at the thin glass window as the candle flickered in the less than perfectly sealed cabin. It was well known to those who lived in the area that the cabin was there. To the locals, it was like a cabin on an island. Everyone knew of it, but only the tourists wanted to see it. Despite knowing of the structure, the owner and the history of the cabin had faded into myth, leaving only rumor and speculation. Though Lyn knew of the cabin, it had never before had it seemed occupied. There she stood looking at the creaking structure. The thin cedar slats creaked under the weight of the rusting tin roof. As Lyn poured her attention into the shack, something unimaginable happened. The door creaked open.

Lyn, gasping for words, opened her mouth to speak of her concern but before she could a voice behind her called out, “Lyn are you okay? What are you looking at?”

Lyn shook her head. The tightly wrapped red bun atop her head pulled at her scalp in the jostle. Closing and opening her eyes repeatedly, Lyn took a second look at the cabin. The door was closed and there was no candle in the window.

“Lyn?”

Terry, Lyn’s husband, gently grabbed Lyn’s shoulders, turning her to face him, pulling her out of her trance. Smiling a roguish smile accented with perfect teeth, blue eyes, and blond hair, Terry leaned in close, lowering his tall height to match that of Lyn.

“Lyn, what’s going on? We don’t have to do this. Really. It’s okay. We have been busy what with your class’s and my work.”

While Terry spoke to Lyn, it was all she could do to not pull out of his loving grip, looking instead from him to the structure.

“Terry, did you see ‘it’?”

Terry, with a look of confusion, gazed at the cabin. His head tilted to the side while his neck length hair fell onto his shoulders.

“Look at what? I don’t see anything.”

Looking away from the cabin, Terry looked instead towards the sky. Turning in place, Terry tried to look through the thick pine tree canopy to the sky above.

Thick white clouds each lined with silver crested the sky. Sighing, Terry looked back to Lyn who had turned to look back at the cabin, fixated with what she had seen.

“We’d better get going. It’s still a mile to the site and I want to get set up before the rain comes.”

Nodding silently, Lyn turned and walked down the single-track game trail and away from the cabin. Terry lingered for only a second staring at the thin glass. In that second, he thought he saw something impossible. A man in a red jacket with matching cap stood just out of sight, deep within the single room structure.

“Terry, are you coming?”

Looking to Lyn and then back to the cabin, Terry noticed nothing. Nothing but the rickety cabin stood, unimpressive in the pine tree grove. Tilting his head forwards, Terry squinted as he looked with effort into the dark structure but still did not see the man in red.

“Terry, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing… I, I’m coming.”

Monsoons were a common occurrence near Mt. Hood. The cold ocean air would blow into the mountain. On the eastern slope, thick rain clouds would form almost instantly creating constant storms where rain fall would come and go within an hour. For the locals who grew up by Mt. Hood, the ‘sweet time’ to camp was between the spring winds and the August monsoons. Here in late July both Terry and Lyn ran the gamble of being rained out. However, for a couple who were expecting to move to Nevada with work it was the last chance they might ever have to visit their childhood forest and sleep under its thick pine tree canopy.

They had hiked for almost two hours, both carrying a pack. Split between the two were various camping supplies including a tent, small stove, first aid kit, and sleeping bags. They had tried their best not to become over encumbered, a necessity if you wanted to camp beside the ‘hood.’

Finally, the couple arrived at a clearing bordered by green leafed and white trunked aspens that would creak with the invisible breeze. Tall grass as high as Terry’s waist blew softly, giving the clearing a sweat music of serenity.

Without word, both knew they had arrived. It was the place Terry had proposed to Lyn three years ago. It was their place and will be for as long as they both lived.

It wasn’t long until both Terry and Lyn had unpacked their campsite, erected a tent, and readied the cook wear for the coming nightfall.

By now the clouds overhead spat rain at the two in small doses, enough to wet the earth and make the grass mat down in a slippery heap giving the soil it tell-tell fragrance of dirt mixed with rainfall.

As the two would pass by one another, they would brush each-others waist, a gentle touch to a hand or the touching of a wrist or side. Enough to let the other know of their affections without having to word their feelings.

“ARROOO!”

Pausing instantly both Terry and Lyn stopped what they were doing, holding tools and pans, they looked to one another.”

“ARROOO!”

The deafening sound returned, accompanied by another. Then another. Each time the noise sounded all went silent. All was quiet, only the trees were brave enough to make a reply.

“ARROOO!”

“Terry, what is that?!”

“I’m not sure. It sounds like wolves, but why here?” Terry replied while looking around the seemingly empty forest. “Regardless, we’d better pack up. I’d hate to find out when it gets dark.”

Unfortunately for the two, by the time they were able to take down the tent and the stove, the curtain of night had already started its decent. The sky over head held vast colors of red orange and green. On any other night it would seem beautiful, but tonight it seemed threatening.

“ARROOO!”

The two stopped their attempt to re-pack their equipment and instead looked to one another, each hoping for reassurance.

“Terry… I don’t care about the gear. Can we please come back for it tomorrow? Or at least when its light out? I have a bad feeling.”

SNAP!

Prying their sight away from each other, the two looked to the sound of cracking sticks.

It was cold fury. It was dark, menacing evil. it was a black wolf. Its green eyes, unblinking, locked on the two as they stood unable to move. Each step it took seemed effortless, clean, deliberate. Cold white teeth shone bright with a black fur canvas contrasting their wickedness.

Lyn’s heart slammed in her chest. Her legs ached. Her shoulders shook uncontrollably. She was frozen, unable to move. To her, there was nothing more, just her and the black creature from the depths of her mind. Its head locked in position while it moved. Its eyes seeing all. Her fears, her guilt. In the black of the creature, only its shoulders betrayed its movement.

“Lyn…Lyn…LYN!”

Shaking her head, Lyn noticed the wolf had stopped its weight on its rear legs, front bowed, ready to leap.

“LYN!”

Turning her head slightly, Lyn was able to look at Terry, but he was not looking at her. He was looking behind them. Turning as far as she was willing, she noticed there was a second wolf. The second wolf stood in contrast to the first not only in location, but this new threat was starch white with grey eyes. It stood like the black one, on its rear legs, front bowed ready to kill.

“Wha, what do you… what do we do Terry?”

“Run! Run for the car!”

Lyn’s eyes had started flowing uncontrollably. “The car, will we make it?”

“You can.”

Lyn, looking away from the white wolf, looked to Terry. There he stood smiling that roguish smile.

“You can’t mean...?”

Brushing her tears away with his thick thumb against her cheek, Terry tilted his head only slightly, his smile turning to sorrow.

Terry placed his forehead against hers. In a soft tone, almost like a whisper, “Go.”

Turning away from Lyn, Terry let out a scream and started running at the black wolf.

“GO!”

With a woosh, the white wolf sprinted by Lyn in a blur.

Closing her eyes, Lyn turned her back to the man she loved and started running. She ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She ran down the game trail back towards the car. Back towards the abandoned cabin she had seen.

Even as she fell, she scrambled back to her feet. Her vision blurred with tears; she ran. Her lungs burned. Her teeth hurt from the cold air. Her gums ached with pulse. Still, she ran. She ran when she heard the screams of protest Terry would belt out in pain.

“Terry. Oh, Terry. I’ll get help… I’m so sorry.”

Slipping on some mud, Lyn tripped and fell on her chest, landing hard and knocking the air from her lungs, robbing the vison from her eyes. It felt like an instant though when she awoke it was dark only the heugh of the sunset remained. As she regained consciousness, for an instant, the world spun with black dots and speckles of light. Slowly Lyn’s eyes focused, her attention returned. Rolling to her stomach, a sharp pain echoed through her right knee. Feeling along its surface, Lyn felt heat. Her knee was swelling. Its puffy exterior felt like a sponge wrapped in a thin towel. More importantly it hurt to bend. It hurt to put any weight on it. Getting back to her feet, Lyn let out a whelp. Her knee was hurt badly, and she knew it.

Trying to move, Lyn noticed something. All was silent, like it was before.

Hunched in half, Lyn held her knee while turning her head side to side searching her surroundings.

SNAP.

Her blood ran with ice as she stopped completely still. Looking behind her, Lyn noticed the black wolf as it stood hunched forwards, its mane, tufted with aggravation. Its pale green eyes locked on Lyn’s. For that instant, the world stopped turning. There was only her and the tar black wolf. Slowing her movements, Lyn started backwards, though her knee shot with pain she knew she no longer had a choice. It had been made for her.

She looked just over her shoulder, not allowing the wolf to see that she was not paying attention. In looking behind herself, Lyn noticed the cabin was not far away and though she knew her life hung in the balance, she was mesmerized. The candle was alight in the window, and the door like before was ajar.

In a soft breath, still hunched forwards Lyn held her knee as she slowly crept backwards. “I have to get inside if I don’t… I’m done.”

Stopping, Lyn stood upright, her knee shot with pain, but she was determined to not show it. Painting her face with a mirage of rage, Lyn stood looking into the pale green of the wolf’s eyes.

As soon as Lyn did this, the black wolf stopped its stocking prowl. Staring back at Lyn, its head shifted to the side almost as if it was curious.

Without warning, Lyn turned and ran towards the cabin. Pain shot up her knees and into her very soul. Her vision narrowed as she neared the cabin. It was close. Her pulse rang in her ears like a drum beating out the surrounding noise. For all she knew the wolf was almost at her heels, about to have its feast.

Closer and closer Lyn got to the cabin, with each step she feared she would be griped and taken to the ground to be eaten alive.

THUMP, THUMP, THUMP

Lyn’s heartbeat rang in her ears. Nothing else mattered.

She was almost there. She could see the candle as it flickered in the window.

Without thought, Lyn shouldered through the door, forcing it to slam against the doorframe wall. Falling to the ground with her hindered balance, Lyn twisted to her feet, grabbed the door, and swung it shut with a -slam-. Laying at the foot of the door, Lyn held her face in her hands, limply waiting for the beast outside to barrage the door and force its way inside.

It felt like a lifetime, the thin wood plank door at her back. Slowly, Lyn moved her hands away from her eyes. There she lay on the dusty floor. The dust filled air pulsed into her nostrils coating the back of her throat with a paste, almost causing her to lapse into a coughing fit. It was the same wood that made up the outside walls of the structure, the door, and the now the floor. Getting to her knees, Lyn tried to peer through the parts in the plank slats as light shone through. However, despite the amount of light that seemed to cascade into the dust laden structure, she was unable to see out.

Getting to her knees, then feet Lyn, lumbered to the window where the candle still burned. Looking at the candle, she judged that the candle had been burning for several hours, with only an hour or so remaining of burnable wick. Looking away from the candle, Lyn gasped for breath as, in the fading light, she noticed the black beast was sitting on its haunches at the trail head leading to the cabin. It sat still it seemed as if it was looking at her through the window.

Confused and terrified, Lyn started to sob.

“Terry. Oh, Terry!”

Falling to her ruined knees, Lyn sat on her ankles, face in her palms and sobbed.

Thud

At the sound, Lyn yanked her face free from her hands to look around. Though she had been inside the cabin for some time now, it was the first time she had really taken in her surroundings. It was then that she realized where she was. She wasn’t a safe haven.

While the front of the cabin looked like just that, a cabin, the back portion went down at a steep pitch with rows upon rows of stadium seating. Six rows of four chairs split by a dirt path that lead down to what looked like a wood and dirt stage. As Lyn transgressed the cabin, the air slowly turned from dust to the strong tasting odor of sour meat.

Despite the alarm Lyn felt in seeing the small underground theater, Lyn felt speechless as she looked at the first row of seats. On either side were bodies, each at a different stage of decomposition. Bright colored shirts and strapped with cameras around their necks, Lyn looked at the dead tourists. Tears streamed down her face. She now found herself trapped in a theater of death. The black wolf had been Cerberus as he now acted as guard, keeping her trapped within. After walking past the first row of dead, a dangling light bulb came on startling Lyn and illuminating the dirt stage.

Walking lower and lower, Lyn Staired at the stage not knowing fully what it was she was looking at. At last, she noticed the worst the cabin had to offer. On the stage here was a tent, camp stove and a single folding chair. As Lyn passed the fourth row Lyn noticed the tent and stove where hers, complete with “L&T” having been painted on the side both. Limping closer to the stage, Lyn covered her mouth as she noticed the foreign folding chair had a body with blond hair caked in black and red.

Passing the sixth row Lyn fell to her knee’s hands clasped to her mouth stifling her screams. It was Terry.

“GRRRRRR!”

Dropping her arms to her side with exhaustion and defeat, Lyn looked over her shoulder.

There stood the white wolf. Although slightly different from before. This time it had a thick leather collar around its furry red spotted neck, where a braided leather thong hung limply attached leading to a pale old and sickly hand.

“Shhh, Havoc. We have a guest.”

Lyn looked away from the white wolf to its master. A man in red trousers, white undershirt with a red dress coat decorated with brass buttons and topped with a red cap. He looked like an usher you would see at an opera.

Smiling a crooked smile, the usher looked to Lyn.

“Welcome to the show.”