15 Minutes

“The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.” Josh stated to nobody in particular since he was alone. The darkness of night was absolute. It was so quiet that he heard only his heart throbbing in his ear. The sky overcast it’s shadow as the moon shone through the trees bathing the dirt, brown leaves, and faggots laying on the ground. The smell of dampness and rotted vegetation hung in the air like a piercing cry from a lonesome owl ghosting the forest.

Josh peered through the darkness at the cabin from afar and saw the light flicker as something or someone passed by it. Through his fear he reached courage taking each step as it grew within him. He was shivering mass of bones covered with skin. Thin and wiry. Brown sandy hair cut short atop his head. His face was as smooth as snake skin and as soft a baby’s bottom. His boyish look didn’t fit his grown man’s attire. The scar across his cheek spoke volumes. A testament to once being bullied in youth.

As he neared the cabin with crunching leaves, twigs, and faggots breaking beneath his soft soled feet. Softly music began to waft to his ears. The closer he got the louder the music got. It was as if slowly turning the volume up on a radio. The hoot of an owl sounded in the distance. As he neared the cabin the candle flickered again. He peered into the window and couldn’t believe his eyes.

There was several women cheering on scantily dressed men. The men was dancing in their G String underwear gyrating and dancing in front of the women having a good time. One of the women reached up and touched hard muscles with her soft hands. Slowly she drew her hand down his chest . He grasped it and placed it over his heart and she screamed in delight.

“This is madness!” He whispered hoarsely to himself with eyes wide. “Preposterous! Ludicrous! I’ve never seen such filth in my life!”

His outrage made one of the girls look in his direction. She screamed. One of the men looked at her and then followed her eyes right to Josh. His heart froze as he realized he had been caught spying. He tried to run away but the man with the rock hard phallus was quicker than he was. The guy tackled Josh to the ground and sat atop of him struggling to keep his hands pinned to the ground. The other men joined in.

“What in the hell are you doing peeping at us through the window?”

That was Micky. He was a caucasian tanned mass of muscles with golden blonde hair draping his shoulders like a cascade of wavy hair. The other was Rico. His phallus too was rock hard as he sat with his knees pinning Josh’s hands to the ground. His toned body was slightly smaller than Micky, but his abs was more toned with corn shaped muscles populating the corners of his stomach.

“Would you get your crotch out of my face!” Josh yelled with pure venom,scorn, and contempt as he could muster.

The ladies laughed at his predicament. Abbigail, a pretty blonde with a sleek and voluptuous body. Her tips and toes was painted pink. Her lipstick matched her outfit which consisted of a scantily inadequate for out doors wear. All traces of a smile was gone. Obviously she didn’t approve of them joking around.

“Would you two knock it off and let the little twerp up?” Slowly she began tapping her right foot on the ground.

“Oh alright! You’re no fun anymore.” Micky retorted. Reluctantly he got up with Rico following suit. They both took an arm and yanked him up to his feet.

“Alright now we got off ya. Feel free to bump your gums about what you were doing over here?” Rico demanded.

Josh brushes himself off and then answers.

“I’ve been around here since like forever. This here cabin has been abandoned the whole time. It’s been that way since before I was born.” He looks from one to the other as if hoping they would get his point.

“And?” Abbigail asked.

“And what? What do you mean and what?” Josh says a little high pitched.

“And why does that matter to us? We bought this place as a bug out location in case of the Chinese or Soviets possibly invading us. This is our place now. We came to check it out and have a little fun in it. That is… well… until you showed up like some little bug stuck on our window.” Abbigail retorted.

“You bought this place?”

He incrediously shook his head.

‘Hoh hoh hoh… man… you bought the wrong place.’

Josh just couldn’t believe it. He continued.

‘You see this place is haunted.’

He backs up from them with his hands out as if pushing them away.

‘Wait until I tell everyone back home about this.’

He suddenly turns away from his inward thoughts and looks at them.

‘I wonder if I could make some money off this? Nobody’s gonna believe that somebody was stupid enough to buy this place. I could make a fortune betting you won’t last a week. Wooh hoo!’

He greedily rubs his hands together and turns to leave. Penelope, a red haired beauty with a voluptuous full figure donning a red and black checkered shirt and cut off shorts and ankle boots, chimed in.

“Wait! Aren’t you gonna at least tell us why this place is haunted…”

Just then all of their phones started buzzing with alerts.

‘This is an emergency broadcast system. This is not a test. The federal government has spotted and identified several hostile ufos approaching our shores. They are believed to be high yielding nukes traveling at incredibly fast paced speeds. According to their trajectory, size, and their signal emissions they are EMP grade bombs. Please take cover immediately. Again this is the National Emergency Broadcast System. This is not a test. Please take cover immediately.’

They all look at eachother and then run for the cabin for shelter. Inside the cabin was huge and aged. From the outside the place looked just like a normal wooden log house. Inside it was more exquisite than Josh could have imagined. It had everything from old paintings to rickety chairs and tables. Chandeliers and ceiling fans. However things was still dust covered save the one room the group was goofing off in.

Micky yells “Follow me!” To the group and then leads them towards a basement just as a bright blinding flash of light started off in the distance. Josh, being the last one to enter the stairwell, grasped the door and slammed it shut behind him cutting all parts of the light off save that shining through the cracks around the door. As soon as the light subsided it was only mere moments before the house begin to creak and moan from the force of the nuclear wind. It held fast.

A light groan once again reverberated through the house though no more wind blew by. Then silence.

“I guess that is safe to go back now.” Micky said.

“Yeah. We should be able to get out of here. Drive around and see what is left of the town.” Rico added.

“There’s no way we can do that. Not now anyways.” said Josh.

“And why not?” Abbigail asked.

“Geez! Don’t you people know anything? The nuclear fallout. After the blast there is the nuclear winds. And then there is the nuclear fallout coming from the sky as fine dust. Which means that we must seal off all doorway entrances at once. Once that stuff gets into you then you’re bound to get cancer and die.” Josh said educating them.

“Whoa! You mean we’re trapped in here?” Rico couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Umm… I hate to break up the tremendously deep thoughts that you’re having right now but we really gotta get a move on. That is if you plan on staying safe.” Josh warned.

Something in the darkness fell over in the basement. The thud was faint but audible. They all jumped. Josh tried to open the door but it wouldn’t budge. He twisted and turned the door knob to no avail.

“That rusty hinged door must’ve jammed shut when you slammed it shut. Here let me give it a try.”

Rico said and then switched places with Josh. He twisted the door knob this way and that and put his shoulder to it jiggling the knob. He shouldered it a couple times and it swung wildly open crashing against the wall. Josh hurriedly looked around and yelled,

“Quick! Grab anything you can find to stuff underneath her all the doors. If you got tape then seal off the windows.”

Abbigail curls her fingers like talons facing the ceiling.

“What if we can’t find any tape?”

“Then glue will do. Flour and water to make paste. Anything caulk like. As long as it creates an air tight seal.” Josh stated.

Suddenly tapping starts sounding off around the house. A small orb lights up like a light bug and vanishes. Several more do the same.

“What was that?” Penelope screams.

The room quiets down. The knocks cease.

“I don’t know and I don’t care. My main concern is to get this place sealed up.”

A crash sounds in the next room. Josh looks horrified. Slowly he scans the room. Micky breaks the silence.

“Come on everyone. Let’s get a move on!”

Though he looks around nervously. Still wearing nothing but g string underwear both Micky and Rico run into separate rooms looking for anything they could use. Josh hurriedly enters the kitchen and grabs a table cloth and old dingy dish rags. On his way out something yanks the table cloth right out of his hands causing him to stumble backwards. He cautiously looks around. He picks up the table cloth again and runs from the kitchen.

Abbigail and Penelope make short work of the stairs and head towards the bedrooms. They grab old blankets from two of the rooms. The door slams shut on them in the third one. Suddenly they are pushed apart by something. They both crash to the floor. Abbigail screams “Help!” As Penelope is entangled in one of the blankets.

Slowly she is hoisted up to the ceiling by the bedsheet strangling her to death. She chokes, coughs, and gasps for air. Abbigail jumps up from the floor and runs to her aid. She pushes upwards on her legs trying to relieve the pressure still screaming for help. The closet door starts slamming open and shut like crazy. Banging on the door and then it bursts open. Everything stops. Penelope falls to the floor dead.

“What happened?”

Micky asks incredulously. Abbigail ignores him and runs to Penelope. She shakes her a few times screaming for her to wake and get up. Nothing. Penelope lays there with her eyes and mouth open staring blankly. Abbigail drops her head to her chest bawling her heart out into her hands. Crashes are heard down stairs. The closet door slams shut on its own. Everyone jumps. Josh goes into hysterics.

“Oh man. You see? I told you this was gonna happen.”

Josh cries out.

“What are you talking about?”

Rico yells.

“I told you and I told you good.”

His eyes are haunted. Rico slaps him.

“Snap out of it!”

Josh hushes with tears stinging his eyes. Josh continues.

“Now what are you talking about? Huh!”

Josh mouth opens and closes several times.

“Spit it out!”

Rico yells at him. He raises hand again.

“I told you that this place was haunted. You didn’t want to believe me. You woke the spirits up with your lewd activities. Spirits that went silent for years.”

He looks at all of them.

“You did this. It’s all your fault. And now we’re stuck in here with now way out.”

He turns and runs from the room. A big vase flies through the air and hits him across the head very hard. Blood sprays everywhere. He falls to the floor and a huge cabinet falls on him killing him instantly. Rico looks on saying quietly,“Jesus!”

Micky eyes roll into the back of his head and he starts shaking violently. He froths at the mouth. Abbigail shrieks. Rico looks at him wrought with fright. She asks, “What is wrong with him?”

Micky drops and writhes on the floor. Rico looks horrified.

“I don’t know, but I ain’t waiting around to find out what happens next.”

He bolts from the room. She follows close behind him and trips to the floor. A blanket wraps around her and yanks her through the door laying the long way. Her back breaks and her head rolls away from her body. Blood sprays everywhere. Rico stops looking back long enough to see the mess. He then does a mad dash down the stairs and out of the door into the quiet moonlit area.

He wheezes from exhaustion. Looking around frantically he spies Micky looking at him from the window.

“Micky!”

Rico yells to him and then starts coughing. He chokes from the nuclear fallout. He looks around and sees the car. He runs for it. Once he reaches it he opens the door, jumps in, slams the door shut, and locks the door behind him.

Rico starts to choke all over gain. The microscopic nuclear fallout has entered his lungs. It’s all over his feet and legs. He lays there knowing that he is dying. Everything blurs. He falls back wheezing.

Out of nowhere Micky appears banging on the window with his fists looking like a deranged madman. His fists turn bloody. Fiercely he begins to head butt the window. Blood smears from each blow getting harder and harder and harder until the windows cracks and then bursts open. Rico fades out with the last sight of his friend slumped over the door with his head oozing thick blood.