The Winter Catch

- Prologue -

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. He was watching. It was time. He knew what had to be done.

- 1 -

Krista, Junie and Willa were best friends. At 17, they were typical rebellious teenagers who wanted to be free of their parents and especially their annoying siblings. They had thought many times about running away together. Krista had even discussed several ways they could go about it, but Junie always managed to point out the critical flaws in Krista’s plans which usually centered around how connected our world is. You can be tracked pretty much anywhere these days, especially with security cameras everywhere and cell phone towers pinging your location to anyone with the right app. So, the girls would put their escape plans on hold each time since they couldn’t see a way around this “connectivity” issue.

They used to hike up in these woods as often as they could, though. Hiking out here gave them the freedom they needed away from the constant family drama they had to endure at home. It was also out of reach of most security cameras and cell phone towers, especially if you ventured off the beaten paths, which they frequently did. They thought they’d seen everything there was to see out here until they came across the cabin. It was the farthest they’d ventured off the trails that criss-crossed these woods.

They walked all around the cabin, checking out the immediate grounds. Willa saw an old rusty water pump on the west side of the cabin. As her canteen was running low, she decided to test it out to see if it still worked. At first, it didn’t want to budge, but when Krista jumped in to help, the two of them managed to break it free and pumped some rust-colored water out of the spigot. After a few more pumps, the water ran clear. Krista cupped her hands under the crystal-clear water and brought a small sip cautiously to her lips. It tasted pure, like spring water. They all filled their canteens and continued walking around to the back of the cabin where they saw an old outhouse. Junie approached the outhouse, but the smell coming from it was repulsive. She suggested to the other girls that they steer clear of it for now.

At the back was a covered porch that spanned the width of the cabin. The girls carefully stepped onto the porch fully expecting the boards to be weakened from exposure to the cold winter weather they had in this area. Although a bit creaky here and there, the porch seemed to be just as well built and sturdy as the rest of the cabin. Next to the back door, Willa found an unlocked window. After about ten seconds of internal debate, she decided to open it and crawled inside. Shocked, Krista and Junie called out to Willa but she didn’t respond. They ran to the open window, but couldn’t see Willa inside the cabin. They yelled for Willa again. Willa jumped up from her hiding place causing both girls to scream. Soon, they were all laughing hysterically at Willa’s prank, then Krista and Junie joined Willa inside the cabin.

They were certain this place had been abandoned for many years from the layers upon layers of dust that covered everything. It was old but looked like it was built to withstand just about any kind of weather. Also, it was clearly off the grid with no electricity or indoor plumbing. They all checked their cell phones and confirmed that they were nowhere near a cell tower either…not a single bar. When Junie tried to call Willa, the call wouldn’t go through. Then, Krista tried to call her cousin back in Traversville where they all lived. Again, the call just failed. And then they hatched their escape plan.

- 2 -

He could smell them as they approached the cabin. He rarely ventured out of the caverns during daylight hours anymore. He’d become accustomed to the dark.

He was born in this place more than thirty years ago. There were others of his kind here then. Over the years since his birth, the older tribe members had passed on and then the younger ones left in search of a better hunting ground since their favorite prey had dwindled in this area. He’d heard stories before the last of them left about some tribe members who had managed to integrate themselves into the ‘civilized’ world. But, this is the only place he’d ever known. So, he stayed, even when the winter catch was thin.

His tribe had claimed these lands over two hundred years ago. They were cast-outs from the ‘civilized’ world because of their ways. Ways that their ancestors had followed even after their lands had been taken from them when the Others settled here in these parts. None of the other original tribes were like them, but rather stayed very far away from them because there were stories that his tribe was driven by darker urges.

- 3 -

Over the next three weekends, the girls came back to the cabin each day. On the first weekend, they loaded up with cleaning supplies and as much of their own clothing and possessions as they could carry and remove without looking suspicious. They set out just after dawn each morning and cleaned as long as they could, giving themselves just enough time to get out of the woods before nightfall. The cabin wasn’t very large, but it was very dirty. By dividing the chores between the three of them, they were able to make the cabin habitable by Sunday afternoon. They still didn't want to deal with the outhouse, agreeing that none of them wanted to see the filth in there. There would be plenty of time to deal with it later. For now, there were other options. Then they set about making a list of items they would need to survive for awhile, especially since there was no electricity. They divided the list between them and left the cabin excited about everything they’d done so far and how their plans were coming along. They were sure that this place provided the answer to the “connectivity” problem that had plagued their escape plan for so long.

During the week before the second weekend, the girls collected more items on the list. They knew they would need lots of candles as the woods get very dark at night. They also needed the wind-up flashlights that worked without batteries since it wouldn’t be practical to bring anything battery-powered. Batteries would quickly run out and they weren’t planning on going back to civilization until the search for them had died down enough for them to move around more freely without fear of someone recognizing them. It could be six months, a year, maybe even longer before they’d be able to leave the area surrounding the cabin. They also needed several lighters, at least in the beginning as flint would work better for the long-term. They could use them not just for lighting the candles but also to start fires since they planned to catch and cook their own food. That, of course, meant they also needed some hunting gear, preferably traps for the small animals in the woods, like wild rabbits or turkeys. They had all taken archery in school and Junie had really excelled at it, so she planned to bring her archery gear and buy a few extra quivers of arrows. They would especially need very warm clothing and lots of blankets for the winter. They all agreed to bring a garden shovel, since the outhouse wasn’t an option, and other small gardening tools. They wanted to try to build a vegetable garden with some seeds Willa picked up at the local garden shop. There were so many things to get that they knew it would take more than one weekend to haul everything up to the cabin.

On Saturday of the third weekend, they brought the last of the supplies they thought they’d need up to the cabin. They left their hiking backpacks because they didn’t want to be seen leaving with them on Sunday morning. Instead, they all used their old school backpacks and loaded them up with clothes and small items. They had several plans to throw everyone off their track starting with using their fake IDs to purchase train tickets to Los Angeles. Willa left her Volkswagon in the parking lot at the bus station to further cement their story, then they walked all around the bus station to ensure they were seen on the security cameras scattered about the station.

Right before their bus arrived, Krista had the task of texting her cousin to throw everyone off their trail. She told her cousin that she, Willa and Junie were heading to Los Angeles to make it or break it in show business, but she begged her not to tell anyone (knowing full well her cousin would blab it first chance she got because she lived for gossip). Junie had scouted the station earlier in the week and identified a side door that had no security cameras in sight and no alarm. The door was also very close to the edge of the woods. After sending the text to Krista’s cousin, they all turned their phones off for the last time, pushed open the side door and made the quick jaunt into the woods, hopeful that they could disappear forever.

- 4 -

The Others came back the next weekend, and then the next. He watched as they unloaded supplies and cleaned the cabin. They never stayed after dark, but their preparations told him that they were planning to stay awhile. He could wait. He was not lacking in patience.

- 5 -

When they finally arrived at the cabin, they couldn’t believe how well the plan had been executed. But there was lots of work to be done, so no time to celebrate. They immediately set out some traps in the woods surrounding the cabin. They had brought quite a bit of non-perishable food as well so they didn’t have to catch anything today, but they wanted to get started just in case. After all, if they caught anything, they could always dry the meat in the sun. Junie knew from her days working at a local store that made its own brand of beef jerky that the dried meat would last a few days at a time without refrigeration. By sundown, they hadn’t caught anything, but they weren’t discouraged at all. They were just so happy to be there on their own. They lit a few candles and placed them around the cabin. Willa placed a candle in the rear window that she had first climbed into only four weeks ago. It reminded her that she’d bought a new lock and needed to install it. She decided it could wait until morning. After all, there weren’t any large predators in the area (it wasn’t bear country), so what could possibly happen out here so far from other people?

Shortly after going to sleep, Willa snapped awake. Was that a creaking board she just heard? It sounded just like the boards on the back porch when they first arrived. Willa was terrified and suddenly wished that she’d fixed that broken lock before going to bed. She tried to wake Junie and Krista, but they were having none of it. Junie just mumbled something and rolled over. Krista didn’t even wake up at all, she just laid there snoring softly. ‘Well,’ Willa thought, ‘I’ll just go check it out. It’s probably just a small animal that wandered across a weak board on the porch.’

Willa crept up to the back of the cabin and looked out the unlocked rear window. The candle was out now (after all they’d done to make this place a home, they definitely didn’t want it burning down while they slept). It was so dark, she couldn’t see anything outside the window and the trees were very thick in this area so that the moonlight didn’t even shine through to the ground. They’d never been out here at night and she was surprised at how dark it actually was. She fumbled around until she found one of the wind-up flashlights and made her way back to the window. She looked down in the direction of her hands winding up the flashlight. As she began to raise the flashlight to the window, she caught a flash of light in her peripheral vision, then heard a loud cracking sound. Was that lightning? Thunder? Was a storm coming? ‘Maybe,’ she thought, ‘that’s all it is. Maybe it was actually thunder that woke me up.’ She raised the flashlight to the window pane and shined its light into the back yard of the cabin. Nothing. 'Yep, it was just my imagination running wild,' she thought, 'or the animal skittered away as I was getting the flashlight. Either way, it’s nothing to be worried about.' She made her way back to the makeshift sleeping area and crawled back into her sleeping bag and blankets. She held onto the flashlight, just in case.

- 6 -

He saw the candle and knew that the Others were back to stay this time. It was expected, but this was his land, his world, and he was in control. Late in the night, long after the candle had been extinguished, he crept up to the cabin. He stepped onto the porch and crossed to the window where he’d seen the candle burning. The porch creaked as he approached. As he peered into the window, he saw the three girls laying on the floor in their sleeping bags. The one closest to the window suddenly opened her eyes and looked toward the window. He knew she couldn’t see him there. The darkness was thick and their eyes were not as adapted to the dark as his own. He watched as she arose and moved toward the window. He leapt from the porch, making no sound, and moved quietly toward the outhouse. He could see her peering out the window, but she still couldn’t see him in the darkness that enveloped him.

She stepped away from the window for a moment. He waited and watched. When she finally reappeared at the window, she was focused on something beneath the window ledge. It was almost too late when he realized that she had a flashlight. He quickly opened the door to the outhouse, lifted the floorboard beneath, letting out a small flash of light, then jumped into the cavern beneath. The outhouse door let out a loud cracking sound as it slammed shut behind him. He would have to be more careful next time.

He waited inside until he was sure she had gone back to sleep. Then he scoured the woods around the cabin. ‘They laid traps for food earlier,’ he thought, ‘I’ll just see if they caught anything.’ He soon came across the first trap. A small raccoon had been caught in it. It was still alive, so he snapped its neck and removed it from the trap without resetting it. He quickly picked up the girls’ trail to the other three traps and stole their bounty, two rabbits and an opossum, then returned to his cave to begin preparations.

- 7 -

In the morning, the girls walked around to check all the traps. Willa was too embarrassed to tell Junie and Krista about her nighttime scare. When they reached the first trap, they were surprised to see that it had been triggered, but nothing was caught in the trap. They reset the trap, making sure that it was working properly so that next time, they might catch the slippery critter. They were really surprised to see that the second, the third and then the fourth trap they’d set had all been sprung but with no prey caught. They reset each one and tested them to make sure they also worked as they should. Willa then told them that she woke up in the night and it sounded like a storm was about to come through. She thought she saw lightning and heard thunder. They talked about it and came to the conclusion that a storm must have blown through during the night with winds strong enough to spring all the traps. They would just keep trying and would certainly catch something soon.

They spent the day doing small chores. Willa fixed the broken window, Junie went out in search of some small game, and Krista gathered wood and stones to build a fire pit where they could cook anything they catch. All three girls had been girl scouts for many years and had earned at least a half dozen wilderness badges each. They had even put many of those skills to the test when they began camping in these woods earlier in the year. Still, they never thought they’d be putting this much of that knowledge to use, but now they were glad they had it. It meant the difference between life or death out here.

In the early afternoon, Willa returned with a triumphant smile on her face and two small rabbits dangling from a rope in her hand. They were all a bit apprehensive about how they were going to prepare the rabbits to be cooked, and Willa was green with nausea at the thought. Krista and Junie took the reins and each one gutted and skinned a rabbit while Willa took a couple of long sticks that Krista had gathered earlier in the day and whittled one end of each stick to a point so they could use them to spear and cook the meat over the fire. Willa then put some of the wood and kindling together in the fire pit and started the fire. When everything was done and the rabbits were cooked and eaten, they couldn’t help but be pleased with themselves and proud of each other for how well they were doing. Even though they’d only been out here for two days, they were certain they could make it for the long haul until the uproar surrounding their disappearance died down. That night they crawled into their sleeping bags exhausted but content.

- 8 -

The sub-tunnel that led toward the cabin was dark but he needed no light to navigate it, even though he hadn’t used this section of the tunnel in months. He still knew it as well as everything else in these woods. Besides, his eyes had long since adapted and could pierce the darkness like so many other night creatures.

He reached the end of the tunnel and began the short ascent toward the cabin. He knew the girls would not find the tunnel entrance as it was well hidden in a secret crawlspace inside a small closet built into the cabin. He would have to do this silently since the one girl was obviously a light sleeper. He had done this so many times before, but there was always the space of time while he was depressing the carotid artery of his victims where they might awaken, even though they would quickly black out.

He exited the tunnel and entered the cabin through the secret closet door. He stood over the girls as they slept. ‘Which one should I take first?’ he contemplated. ‘Certainly not the light sleeper…she might wake up and alert her companions with her screams.’ He decided to take Krista as she was on the far left side closest to the closet and Willa (the light sleeper) was on the far right side.

He quickly knocked Krista out without her awakening, then carefully unzipped the sleeping bag and lifted her into his arms. He moved slowly and quietly toward the closet ever conscious of the other two girls still sleeping behind him, then moved into the tunnel and back to the caverns deep underground where he had prepared the cages.

He came back for Junie next, and finally Willa. As he had expected, Willa awoke as soon as his fingers touched her throat. She screamed as he watched the shock and fear that flashed across her face briefly before she succumbed to unconsciousness.

- 9 -

The girls awoke within moments of one another. They quickly surveyed their surroundings in the dim light from the oil lamp sitting on a nearby rock and began to scream for help. Their screams echoed back at them as though they were in Echo Canyon, a place Krista and her family had visited years ago. It only served to elevate their fears. They were now terrified, but it appeared that they were alone in this place. Whoever, or whatever, had brought them here was nowhere to be seen.

There were four cages built in a pattern like FourSquare, a game they had played as children. In fact, the cages weren’t much larger than a player’s square in the FourSquare game. Each cage shared a ‘wall’ with two other cages. Each girl was in her own cage. The fourth cage was empty. The light from the oil lamp only gave them a view of a small portion of the room which had rock walls. They could make out one or two stalactites as well. They knew this area was interspersed with caves, so they could only assume they were in one of them.

The girls gathered into the center interconnecting wall and held each other through the bars. Krista and Junie had no idea what had happened or how they had ended up in this place, but Willa remembered the face of the man she had briefly seen in the darkness before she had passed out. She told them what she knew, the black eyes and emotionless face she saw as she slipped into unconsciousness, and they all cried together, petrified by the unknown that awaited them when he returned.

- 10 -

He gathered all the items the girls had brought with them to the cabin, surprised by the sheer magnitude of it all. Most of the Others who sporadically passed this way and ‘borrowed’ the cabin had only a few belongings as they were hikers out for a short weekend adventure. He would burn what he couldn’t use and keep the rest. No one would ever find the girls or their things. He destroyed the fire pit Krista had built and covered it over with grass and dirt. Then he broke the lock on the window that Willa had repaired and opened all the windows to allow the dust to blow back in and cover the floors and fixtures. It would take weeks for the cabin to collect enough dust to appear abandoned, but that was plenty of time since not many of the Others passed out this way anymore.

Once his trap was reset, he returned to the tunnel and headed back to the cave to prepare the fire pit. He’d been lucky this year. This catch was enough to get him through the coming winter without going hungry at all.