Truth or Dare

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. It was a night that only a particular few know about, but those few will never forget.

The woods outside of the small town were not the friendly kind. These were not the kind of woods where sunbeams shone through the lush canopy of leaves while birds chirped and merrily flit about. Instead, in these woods, the trees were gnarled and twisted, so tightly intertwined that the sun that managed to fight its way through left jagged beams, sharp as broken glass across the desolate forest floor. The animals that found themselves in these woods felt their pulses quicken, sensing danger, as their eyes strained to see through the dark shadows, sure there was a predator waiting to pounce. So it was not surprising to find an abandoned cabin in these woods, grey from disuse, roof bowing in anguish from being left alone and the only beauty was found in the intricate pattern of spiderwebs spread across the cracked window panes. The woods and the cabin were a pair, one could not be without the other. In fact, under careful inspection, it might seem that the woods grew more densely around the cabin, a fortress of branches and bark - or a barricade? Could the woods be protecting the cabin - or protecting the curious?

The small town outside of these particular woods, was was quaint and sweet, as you would expect. A town where no one would actually share their concerns aloud, for fear of speaking them would make them true. So instead the people in this town carefully avoided the woods and whispered their warnings to their families when no one else was around to hear. But as everyone knows - there is nothing more interesting to children then the thing their parents feared and nothing more enticing to mischievous boys and girls who loved to play truth or dare (always dare) then a cabin in the woods.

On this particular summer night, the air was heavy with humidity but it came with a balmy breeze that made you want to suffer through the heat just to feel the next caress. This was the kind of night where parents smiled at the ticking hours on the clock, knowing it was late but enjoying their cool, peaceful homes too much to call the kids in from outside. The kind of night that seemed to smirk itself, enjoying breaking the rules a little too much.

The children were loving their freedom in the field by the woods, first playing kickball until dusk came the ball became harder to see, so then began to play tag, but quickly realized it was too hot to run and finally settled on catching fireflies. An older boy, Jack who some might call a bully, wasn't very good at catching the blinking bugs and quickly decided that he was "bored". He grinned and looked over at another boy in the middle of the field and had found his target.

"Hey Tommy, truth or dare?!"

Jack laughed as Tommy froze. He had hit his mark. You see, the last time the group had played truth or dare, Tommy had disastrously chosen "truth". He had just watched Sam (short for Samantha) almost gag while she held her goldfish her mouth while the kids counted to ten. He wasn't going to do THAT and there were plenty of interesting questions he could be asked, or so he thought. So when it was his turn, Tommy bravely (again, so he thought) shouted "truth" and quickly realized he had made a mistake. The kids laughed at him. They called him names. Worst of all, Samantha, who's shiny red hair and crooked smile seemed to catch Tommy's attention recently, shook her head in disappointment. He wouldn't let that happen again.

So as Sam looked on curiously, Tommy straighten his back and turned to Jack, "dare!"

The group cheered and Samantha smiled as Tommy felt quite pleased with himself. Jack smiled too. For "bully" was not synonymous with "dumb" and he knew that Tommy wouldn't be able to say no to his dare.

Jack walked up to the forgotten kickball, swung his leg back and kicked the ball as hard and far as he could into the woods and stated firmly "I dare you to go get it."

The night grew still. Even the fireflies seemed to realize the seriousness of the situation and refrained from blinking their distracting lights. The only sound that could be heard was the gasps of the children who couldn't believe Jack had proposed such a dare.

"Jack don't be such freak, Tommy's not going to do that! Pick another dare!" Sam scolded, her cheeks flush.

Tommy who had been silent while he tried to think of a way out of his predicament, knew then that he had to do it. If only to prove to Sam that he could.

"I'll go."

Tommy grabbed a flashlight from their stash of odds and ends, switching it on as he stalked up to the edge of the woods. He stood there for a moment, frozen, unsure he could take another step when the wind picked up stirring the brittle branches and beckoning him closer. The children remained quiet but fraught. Even Jack began to have doubts, his parents warnings and local whispers coming to mind as the energy of the night changed around them. They all watched as Tommy took a long, deep breath and stepped into the trees - disappearing from sight. The night stilled once again.

The beam of light cast a ghostly shadow across the twisted roots and bare trunks of the woods. Tommy quickly swung it around, hoping he'd get lucky and the ball would be waiting for him. But the woods had other plans. He began to count each step aloud as he swung his light searched the ground frantically for the ball. Tommy was so focused on the counting that he missed the strange carvings in some of the trunks as he passed. The type of carvings that make your imagination quake with terror. When he got to number one hundred and forty-nine it seemed like his body would not go any further and he finally took note of the woods around him - it was unnaturally dark, unnaturally cold and unnaturally silent.

"No one is meant to be in here," he whispered out loud to himself and though Sam's face flashed in his mind, he turned around to head back. His flashlight cast a wide arc and he froze as the light bounced off glass in the distance.

Tommy should have run back the way he came. But children are most curious creatures, even when they're quaking from fear. Instead, he pointed his flashlight in the direction of the glass he spotted, revealing the dark outline of a small cabin the distance. He took more steps forward, one after the other, counting forgotten as he remained fixated on the shape he was quickly approaching. Tommy barely noticed that the wind had picked up again and the trees shook in a frenzied dance of warning. He had no idea how far he walked or how long he had been in the woods, but the cabin was now a few feet in front of him. As he gazed up at the abandoned shelter taking in the bowing roof and cracked window panes, he gave a sigh of relief as he spotted his kickball laying serendipitously underneath the window the light had caught.

Tommy stepped forward and bent down to grab the ball, freezing suddenly as he heard a strange creak. Then another. He began to shake as he slowly stood up and peered into the window where he noticed a black candle, sitting behind the pane. He heard a match strike and the candle lit with flame. Tommy began to scream.

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This was one of those nights, in one of those stories that only a few know about, that didn't have a happy ending. This is the story the people in the town whisper about behind closed doors. "Don't go out to the woods" they say, "or you'll disappear like Tommy. Get too close and you may still hear his screams."