When The Flame Burns Out

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

Little Bia’s tiny voice yells out with urgency for their dog. “Champ!”

Shay, her 9-year-old sister, looks down at her with a calming voice, “We’ll find him.”

They march with urgency through the thick trees with only Shay’s phone to light the darkened and mist-filled forest.

They both look up from watching their step through the thickened weeds and halt with amazement.

Shay’s eyes widen, “Wow! Look at that. It’s beautiful! Remember the last time you saw this place?”

Bia smiles, “Yeah, it was gross! I wanna live here!”

The girls approach ever so quietly and peek through a window and see a tall single candle flickering as its light dances on top of the enticing food and the big cake in the center of the table.

Shay looks at her sister, “This must be a rental. They did a great job!”

“What’s that?”

“People rent out all sorts of houses and cabins to other people and get money.”

Bia can barely see into the window, but she hops onto a log and replies, “They’re gonna get a lot!”

Shay’s eyes roam over the inside of the cabin. She’s enthralled at the rustic beauty of the cast iron pots and pans that dangle from the hooks, the table made of thick, harvested wood and the log interior that surrounds this old-fashioned beauty.

While entranced with the interior, Bia walks to the front and sees an opened door. She peeks her little head in and sees no one so she continues to creep her way in starring at the cake.

Shay tries to stop her, but she has already made her way in.

All of the sudden, a group of two couples and three little kids, dressed like the nineteen hundreds, jumps out and screams in unison, “Happy Birthday!”

The girls jump from fright. The father quickly leaps towards them, “Who are you girls?”

She catches her breath, “We can’t find our dog!”

Before another word, the father doesn’t want his surprise ruined, so he shuffles them into the back room. “It’s my wife’s birthday! Hurry just get in! We’ll find your dog! Hurry! She’s coming!

He shuffles everyone into the back room with great anticipation.

His wife rushes through the door and as everyone darts out to scream surprise, they are met with a bloody and battered loved one who looks passed the newcomers and her friends and locks eyes with her husband and screams, “Get the children in the back! He’s coming!”

Without any warning, a vicious growl fills the air and without a moment's notice, the door is forced off its hinges and lands on top of the mother.

Even though she’s pinned down and in pain, she pleads, “Run! Run!”

As the others stumble into the back room, Shay grabs Bia and shoves her under the table.

As he ducks through the door, the two sisters peer out and see old, tattered horns covered in patches of hair as the demonic force enters.

The father comes running out, but in the scuffle and terrifying gaze with this demon, he tries, but fumbles to get the shot gun off the wall. The demon back-hands him with such force that he is whirled against the iron stove, and it topples on top of Bia’s leg.

The man’s friend creeps to the mantel as the demon closes in on his friend’s unconscious body and grabs the gun. He loads it with authority and pulls the trigger.

Shay looks up with hope that the ten-foot-tall demon-like creature with hollow, see-through, jagged teeth will soon be taken down, but as he shoots the creature, holes pierce through his wire-haired werewolf-like body revealing nothing but a fire glowing within his inner core. He doesn’t even flinch.

Now furious, the creature backs the father up to the mantel and immerses his claws into his throat as screams fill the air from the other room.

As if he is suctioning out his blood, the monster’s empty teeth fill with his blood.

Shay covers her sister’s mouth then covers her eyes.

Once satisfied there isn’t any more blood, the evil intruder releases him, and his white bloodless body falls to the floor.

His enormous grunts are felt through the floor where Shay tries to grab her sister to flee, but Bia’s leg is pinned down with the weight of a stove and dead man.

“Close your eyes!”

Bia squeezes them tightly closed.

“I’m gonna get help!” Do… not… move!” I’ll be right back!”

As she darts through the door, she hears furniture being thrown around from the other room, screeches of pain, then… silence. She makes it out the door, but the demon grabs her with his extended furry arm and pulls her hands off the door frame. She smacks down on the floor and looks around to see the actual cabin. It’s dilapidated with ivy growing through the walls and the ceiling about to collapse and her dog’s collar ripped to threads in the corner. She finally sees the true way the cabin is.

She makes eye contact with her sister and mouths, “Ssshhh.”

Rodger leans into his girls to tell them the climax of his scary tent story.

His girls, Ally, 7 and Maddy, 8 huddle in the back of the tent, sleeping bags pulled tight around them.

His broken claw rubs her cheek, and he says, in a scary voice, “Never go into a dark house with just a candle lit! Ah ahh ha ha!”

Maddy glares at her dad, “Nice story dad! She’s seven!!!”

Ally sits up, “Is that true, daddy?”

He tries to suppress a giggle, “Well, that’s what grandpa told me and Uncle Jeff when we were little. Skinwalkers… he said. They can make you see anything.”

From the back of the tent, on the outside, a candle’s glow fills the tent.

The girls jump to their dad.

A giggly voice tries to mutter a ghostly call, “OOOOHHHHHH! OOOOOHHHH!”

Ally looks at her sister, “It’s mom!” She goes to the back of the tent and rips open the zippered window. “Very funny… I thought you were getting us hot chocolate?”

The mom laughs, “Nope just a decoy so I could light the candle.”

“Great parenting! Scary stories to a little girl. Amazing!”

As she makes her way to the front of the tent, dad unzips the entryway. Mom peeks in, “Sorry girls. But you have to be scared for your first sleep out.”

Ally looks at her, “Are skinwalkers real, mom?”

“No, baby. We just wanted to scare you guys.”

Maddy shrugs, “We weren’t even scared.”

Mom quickly, “Then maybe you should jump that fast when I tell you to clean your room.”

Maddy yells, “Hot chocolate mom!”

Ally is looking on her phone, “Yes, skinwalkers are real! It says so right here!”

Mom rubs her head, “No …me and daddy just wanted to scare you...that’s an old Indian tale. How ‘bout extra marshmallows?”

Ally bravely smiles, then looks around. She is still terrified. “Ok.”

Mom and dad leave and walk up the deck steps to the house.

They get to the glass door and all the lights are out. They are staring into a darkened home with only a candle lit on the table.

Dad looks at mom, impressed, “Good one!”

Mom looks at him, half amused, half terrified, “That’s not funny.”

Dad can see from her face that she didn’t do it. Fear consumes his face.

Ally pushes through them screaming, “Nope! Not staying out there!”

She flings the door open and runs inside.

The door slams shut on the parents and the candle flickers out!

The End