A White Mountains Mystery: The Cabin - Chapter 5

This is chapter 5 of an ongoing, collaborative story here on Vocal! I am ever so proud to be a part of it! The previous parts are listed here:

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When was the last time we did this?

What?

Laugh?

Mason’s words echoed in Sarah’s mind as she approached the cabin. Such a useless thing to remember after finding a body. Mason was dead, and she was worried about that little conversation around the fire. Sarah thought she must be going mad.

Quietly, she walked back through the door of the cabin.

Danny looked at the blood on her arms and winced.

“What happened?” Grace burst out.

“Oh my god, your arms!” Megan squealed.

“I am not hurt,” Sarah reassured matter-of-factly, gently perching on a nearby chair.

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” Danny asked, looking sickened.

A moment of time passed between the friends. The air felt suspended.

“Yes. Mason is dead.”

Everyone except Megan and Sarah ran out into the darkness in search of something to disprove Sarah’s story. She could hear them shouting in desperation, only to be drowned out by a new bought of rain.

When they returned, their heads hung in resignation to their best friend’s demise. He had been dead for a while.

With Sarah sitting in shock, the group was at a loss as to what they could do. They stood there and looked at one another like lost souls. The room felt suffocating.

Danny began to cry. Large tears flooded his face as he lost control. The group was shocked at seeing the reserved and even-headed Danny stutter out his words.

“It’s… it’s my fault! I planned this trip! What is happening? What the hell is that creature? Are we all going to die here?”

Megan and Grace rushed to comfort Danny when Sarah caught a glance at Carter’s face. He was white as a sheet.

“Carter?”

“I thought you were injured.” He stated dumbly, looking at her blood-soaked forearms.

Sarah felt anger rise within her, crashing through her numb heart.

“Well, I am not, no thanks to you!”

“Sarah, honey…”

“No! No Carter. I am not going out of this life tied to a useless sack like you. We are done!”

“Sarah, you don’t mean tha-“

“I have never meant anything more! You leave me to find my friend’s body alone? What if the thing that got him got me, huh?”

Carter seemed to struggle to find something to say.

With her shock pushed aside, Sarah quickly began to delegate.

“Danny. Stop crying!” She shouted him out of his hysterics. He gasped, turning to stare at her wetly.

“Megan, I need you to sit with Oscar and make sure his fever doesn’t get any worse.” In truth, Sarah wanted her out of the way. She had little to offer in a situation like this. Megan did not move.

“Grace, do you have anything close to a plan?” She asked hopefully - Grace had always been the most cunning of the group. They had done an escape room once, and without Grace, they wouldn't have gotten very far. She found every key and solved every puzzle before anyone could get a word in. She had worn the nickname 'Sherlock' very proudly for a while after that.

Grace stepped into the center of the room cautiously.

“Well…we need to focus on what we do know. We know that there is a…dangerous thing out there. Contact with it brings death or a fever. It can be spooked by strong smells.” She gestured to Oscar's room and Sarah and Megan in turn as she spoke.

Everyone was looking at her like a beacon of hope. Her clarity was beginning to ground them all.

“The generator will not run until sunrise, which is in…” she glanced at her watch, “…six hours.”

“What do we do?” Megan wailed, as if Grace had been planning to keep that part a secret. "What if we die here?"

“We have choices. Fight, flee, or hide," sickened by the prospect of each, everyone turned pale.

"Doing all three would maximize our chances of survival,” Grace added robotically.

“All three?” Danny questioned.

“Yes,” Grace sighed, “We would split up.”

The group made noises of alarm.

“Some of us would try and get to the car, some of us would equip ourselves with something to deter the…thing, and the others will stay in the cabin.”

The group went silent.

“I hate to say it, but that makes a lot of sense.”

“What?” Megan screeched, “Why can’t we all just hide here?”

“And have that thing collapsed the building on top of us? No, thank you!” Sarah argued.

“Right…” Megan shivered, remembering the size of the beast.

“I volunteer for the ‘fight’ group!” Carter boomed proudly, eager to prove himself to Sarah.

“So do I,” Sarah said.

Carter looked a bit happy at her decision.

“For no other reason than I am the one who has scared that damn thing off once before,” she added, denting Carter’s excitement a little.

“Take the gas from the generator. There’s such a small amount anyway.” Grace commanded. “If you see that thing, use that to try and deter it. I think it is the only thing that smells strong enough..."

“I will try and find the van,” Danny said solemnly.

“I suppose I will have to go with you…” Grace sighed unhappily.

Soon enough, the group had found themselves in the positions Grace had assigned. Megan sat with Oscar deep within the house, a kitchen knife clutched in her trembling hands. Sarah and a reproachful Carter each carried a small water bottle full of gasoline and patrolled around the cabin. Their breath was clouding in the frigid air. Danny and a very nervous Grace began their trek to look for the van. Miles of dark hiking trails lay ahead of them.

“See you all soon.” They had said together before separating.

And so, the mountain was silent for a moment.

"Sarah?"

"Focus on your damn self, Carter," Sarah replied hotly.

"I am so sorry."

Sarah did not reply. Instead, she chose to patrol the opposite side of the cabin to Carter. She had nothing to say to that useless man. She threw some branches onto the fire. They had lit one where they had roasted the sausages earlier that evening. The wood was wet, but with enough help from Mason's lighter and a few drops of gas, they had managed a flame, giving them light to see by.

"Sarah!"

"Carter, leave me alo-"

"Sarah HELP!"

"You are joking!" Danny scolded.

"No, ah! Damn, that hurts!"

Grace sat next to him, holding her twisted ankle in her hands, a pained expression on her face. The candles which once lit their way lay extinguished in a pile of wax. The moon provided them little sight.

"I can't walk any further Dan..." She said, though her words seemed dramatic.

Danny ran his hands through his hair in stress. He had not seen Grace twist her ankle, nor heard her fall.

"It hurts soo baad!" Grace complained again, snapping Danny from his thoughts.

"Look, you have got to turn back."

"On my own? No way! You have got to come with me! I cannot walk, you gotta carry me!" Grace insisted, pouting her lip at him.

Danny sighed but stooped to pick up his friend.

"Megan?"

"Oscar! You are awake! Thank Goodness!" Megan shined a candle to his glistening face.

Oscar raised his head, looking into Megan's eyes with a strange expression.

"Who is Oscar?"

Megan laughed nervously.

"You are, Silly!" her voice trembled. His expression was confused.

Suddenly. Oscar bolted up from the bed, knocking Megan to the side and running for the door. She dropped her knife and ran to his side.

"Oscar, you need to get back into bed," she attempted to persuade him as gently as her shrill voice would allow.

Oscar continued to fumble with the door handle. It was too dark to see anything clearly.

"Oscar, you're scaring me!"

"I am NOT Oscar!"

"Please! Come back to bed!" Megan tugged on his arm.

With inhuman strength, Oscar threw Megan across the room. She landed heavily on the bed. Before she could scream, Oscar was above her, pinning her arms to her side.

"The beast has claimed him. He craves the soul he once had. Blood, bones, meat, sinew - they're all in the way. Rip them away!" Oscar's voice rasped out darkly, spit flying in Megan's face.

Megan threw her body to the side, rolling them off of the bed and onto the floor. She could feel the outline of the kitchen knife lying flat on the floor under her shoulder.

"Rip it AWAY!" Oscar screamed, clawing at Megan's face.

She screamed in terror, feeling Oscar's blunt nails bunch her cheeks before cutting down into them, gouging her skin. She punched at his torso desperately, to no avail.

"Sarah! Help!" She screamed for her friend.

Oscar began to laugh and weep at the same time.

"She... she won't hear you!" his tears fell into the scratches on Megan's face. "He's seen her. He's seen you. You are next haha! Poor Sarah hehe!"

"Don't you DARE say that!" Megan yelled, successfully shoving Oscar back. She grabbed the knife from the ground and stood to face him.

"Take one step closer, threaten me or my friends again...y...you'll be sorry!"

Oscar sat on the ground, laughing harder and harder.

"Hahahahaha! Leaky, nervous Megan finds her voice! What a joke!"

This seemed to enrage Megan further. She stood tall and gripped the kitchen knife firmly.

"Oscar, I will not hesitate to defend myself..." she began proudly. A new bravery had overtaken her.

"For the last time, I am NOT Oscar!"

He ran at her fast. Megan thrust forward with her blade, burying it into Oscar's chest with a hollow thud. Strangely, in the back of her mind, she was reminded of the sound of pumpkin carving on Halloween - squishy and dull.

He screamed and threw himself backward, squirming on the ground like a frantic snake. The knife stuck out of his heart gruesomely. Blood spurted around the room, spraying the walls.

Megan ran for the door to get Sarah, only for Oscar to grip her ankle. When she turned to see him, his old expression had returned. This was Oscar.

"The radio broadcast..." he choked, "it's him, the one who escaped justice..." Blood flew from Oscar's lips.

Megan knelt next to him.

"He has changed into someth...don't let him touch your bare ski... Meg... thank you..." he gasped quickly.

Oscar died, the air leaving his body for the last time.

Megan heard a scream from outside of the cabin. They were under attack.

A/N: Phew! Well, there it is! My chapter is complete! I hope it lives up to the wonderful work of the others involved in this project.

Would you like to see more of these collaborations? I have enjoyed it greatly!

-TWW

Part 6 is here!!