A Ghost Story

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. He couldn’t bring himself to visit that damned cabin after the night his sister went missing. The anniversary of her disappearance was coming up. That was always the hardest for him, but he wouldn’t ever stop searching for her. It seemed like the police and the media were just pounding at their door for the first few weeks and even months after she went missing. The longer she was gone though, the less anyone else cared. His sister with the sparkling blue eyes stopped being a headline story. The investigation was pushed to the side, and despite his eagerness to help, people just seemed to forget. Even their parents moved on with their lives. He understood that completely. They kept her spot at the table open and her room wasn’t ever changed, but they stopped talking about her daily. They stopped buying her birthday presents and Christmas gifts. Her bedroom door remained shut and became an unspoken relic of time gone by.

It happened so long ago, but he could still remember every detail. They didn’t have other siblings, and during the long summer days when their parents were still at work, they only had each other. Most brothers and sisters were never lucky enough to have a relationship like he did with his sister. They weren’t twins. He was 3 years older than she was, but their mother always joked that they really should have been twins. Maybe they were in a past life. They weren’t rich by any means, but their parents always set some money aside for the annual visit up north. The weather was so icky during the last few weeks before summer ended so it was a perfect time to seek out cooler weather. The cabin wasn’t anything special. It was a dinky little thing with only 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a kitchen, and a sitting area that smelled like rotting wood. He shared one of the bedrooms with his sister and they used to fight about who got the bed closest to the window. He would go fishing with his dad, swimming in the lake with sister, and stay up late making up ghost stories with his mom. Those were the best times of his life.

The night Abby went missing was one of those lucky years. They arrived at the cabin late Friday afternoon. Everything seemed so normal because it was. He beat his sister into the bedroom and claimed the bed by the window. Was that why she went missing? If she was further away from the door, would she still be here? Andrew wandered into the old bedroom. It was exactly how it was that night except their beds were made. He couldn’t remember making his bed the next morning. He didn’t think he did. This cabin used to be rented out to other families during the year, but the owners stopped doing that after Abby disappeared. At first, it was to help with the investigation. Later, it became more about showing respect for the teenage girl that never came back home. He sat on her bed, the last place she would ever sleep, and tried to feel for her energy. If she was dead, wouldn’t he know? Wouldn’t she come back from the grave to tell him that she was alright? He didn’t feel anything. She wasn’t there.

Their mother made hotdogs for them. It was a simple meal, but they were all tired from being on the road for hours. Saturday would be a better day for them. Their father rented a boat to spend an afternoon on the lake. It wasn’t just some silly canoe. It was an actual boat. Andrew remembered their mom pestering about how much it cost to get that boat, but he didn’t care. He thought he was going to be too excited to even sleep. Abby was too. They ate 2 hot dogs each and spent that evening watching an old Nightmare on Elm Street film. Their mother hated scary movies, but she never put up much of a fight when one was turned on. Andrew guessed it was because that brought the family together which it did. He was moving out the following year to live in one of the dorms on campus. He finally found a roommate willing to work with his low budget. He kept promising his parents that they would still continue their summer trip even after he was gone. He was sure that his mother didn’t believe him, but he was sure that’s why she was so quiet during the movie. She didn’t even complain when Johnny Depp was dragged into the bed followed by a waterfall of blood. She was just grateful they were together. Andrew just wished he knew that would be their last time together.

A knock on the door broke his thoughts. He checked his phone. 8pm. Perfect timing. Of course, the guy kept perfect time. Andrew walked out of the bedroom and opened the front door without looking outside first. He wasn’t afraid of the boogyman. An older fellow, his beard speckled with the last black hairs from his youth, stood outside the door. He was already holding out his badge confirming that he was the detective that Andrew called. The first few drops of rain were starting to fall from the trees so he hurried the detective inside.

“Mr. Gardener?” the detective asked. He took off his hat and set it down on the table. The same table where Abby had her last meal. As much as Andrew hated to admit it, his sister probably was dead. That didn’t give him any comfort.

“Call me Andrew,” he said holding out his hand. The detective shook it and sat down at the table. He opened up his briefcase and pulled out a folder thick with papers. Andrew sat down across from him.

“Call me Gabe,” he said smiling. He opened up the folder and Andrew was greeted with photographs of several young women. Every paper was a photo and basic description of another woman. “These are all the missing people I could find given my time frame. I’m not going to lie to you Andrew. I bet if I kept looking, I would have found even more. It’s staggering. I opened my search to go back to the 1960s following your criteria. Missing women from this area. No bodies were ever recovered. Just like your sister, these women just disappeared.”

“What do they have in common? Is it just women?”

Andrew pulled the images closer to him. They were all beautiful women. Long hair, pretty smiles, and had everything to live for.

“Just women. Ages from 15 to 40. Your sister was 16?”

“Yes.”

“Not every woman that went missing stayed in this cabin which might be why the police haven’t connected the dots yet. It’s mind boggling that there’s this many missing women and the cops haven’t done a damn thing. The first one to go missing from what I found lived at this cabin from 1962 to 1965. It was her actual residence. Linda Hopkins. 21 years old. Worked as a waitress at a café that no longer exists. Lived with her boyfriend and when he got home from work, she was gone. Left behind her wallet, ID, and even her cat. She was just gone. That’s a common theme with the disappearances. No one sees the women leave. Signs of a struggle is never found. A mother of one of the missing girls was adamant that there was blood near the bed where her daughter was last seen, but that was tested in later years. It was just juice.”

“So they must hear something outside and go to investigate?”

If Abby heard something, why didn’t she wake him up? Why didn’t he hear her leaving? He was usually a light sleeper. His poor sister made a mistake by going outside alone. Some creep was out there waiting for her. As soon as she was out there, he grabbed her and that was it. End of story. They went to bed after the movie. Abby brushed her teeth and after her shower, they just went to sleep. They didn’t stay up talking like they usually did. He remembered that was a little odd because he was so excited. He couldn’t sleep. He spent hours just tossing and turning. When sleep finally came, it claimed him for the remainder of the night. He woke up just before 7am ready to get on that boat. When he didn’t see Abby in her bed, it didn’t startle him. She was usually up before him. Their mother was just starting to make breakfast. Bacon and eggs. The smell of that woke him up faster than coffee ever could. He was drooling just from the memory of it. After he got back from the bathroom and sat down at the table, that was when it first hit him Abby wasn’t there. His family spent that morning searching for her. Dad looked around outside, mom was getting her phone traced, and Andrew looked around the cabin. She did sleep in her bed that night. The blankets were still out of place, but she was gone. The police were there before noon. That’s where the memory started to get fuzzy. His family would never again stay in the cabin. Andrew didn’t ever want to go back, but when he found a detective online willing to look further into her case, it seemed appropriate to meet where it all started.

“Did the police ever disclose to you the suspect list?” the detective asked.

“No.” They wouldn’t tell him a damn thing. For over a year, he was their only suspect. It made perfect sense. He shared a room with Abby. He was the last person to see her alive. She was an all star at her school and was already getting offers from colleges. The cops assumed he was jealous of her, and since she didn’t have a boyfriend, it all fit together like a puzzle. After their parents went to sleep, he murdered Abby and dumped her body in the woods. However, they never found any traces of blood in their room and her body was never found. They had little to go on, and his parents were on his side. They knew he wouldn’t hurt Abby.

“Okay, well, I did put together a list of explanations that could help us figure out what happened to your sister and the other girls. First one is that they ran away. That’s the go-to explanation for the cops. Teenage girl gone in the night. She ran away. Boom. Case solved, but that rarely seems like the situation. Second one is an animal attack. This place kind of is in the middle of the woods. She heard something outside. Didn’t think it was a big enough deal to wake anyone else up for it. Went outside on her own and a bear got her. Bears can leave very little behind after a meal if they’re hungry.”

Abby wouldn’t have gone outside for an animal. She loved animals, but his gut told him that wasn’t enough to get her out of bed. “What’s the third?”

“She was abducted,” he said. “I’m leaning towards that idea. Creep lives out here in the woods or was visiting, saw you guys arrive at the cabin, and waited until nightfall. The age range is broad for sure but look at these pictures. All of these girls can be considered pretty. Long hair, big eyes, bright smiles. All he had to do was lure the girls outside alone and that was it. I went further into that theory and did find a couple that lives a few miles away from here. Lived here their entire lives. Only had one son, and from what I’ve seen, he still lives with them.”

“You think a couple is abducting the girls?”

“With how many that have gone missing since the 60s, it’s plausible. This is too much for work for just one man to be doing on his own, and now that they’re older, their son will take over.”

“Have you talked to them yet?” Andrew asked.

“No, I was waiting to see what you thought about this first. If this is a go from you, I’ll talk to them first thing in the morning. I don’t want you there with me though. If these people are dangerous, we need to get the police involved, but I’m going to find out what happened to your sister. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way.”

Gabe got up from the table but left the folder with the photos of the women. “I’ll leave this here for you. I want you to look through the pictures closer tonight. Tell me if you recognize any of them.

Andrew saw the detective out and waited till the older man was at his car before locking the front door. He could barely hear the engine from the car as he drove away. The rain was getting louder outside. He sat down at the couch. He wanted to turn the television on. He wanted to recreate that night again until he figured out what happened, but he couldn’t. Seeing the pictures of the missing women just seemed to overwhelm him. How could the bad choices from an individual destroy an entire family? Some sick creep took Abby, and that didn’t just take her life. It felt like he was killed too that night.

“Abby. I haven’t forgotten you,” he said quietly. “I’m going to find you.”

A board from the front patio creaking broke his concentration. Gabe forgot something. Andrew went over to the door and opened it without looking out first, but no one was out there. He didn’t even see the detective’s car. All that he could see was the steady rain drops hitting against the trees. He was alone. He shut the door and locked it behind him. He wasn’t in the mood for a raccoon trying to escape the rain.

He went back to the couch and sat down. Where did those people put Abby? What did they do to her? Was she buried in their backyard? Did they throw her away like trash? He couldn’t just sit on the couch all night though. He wouldn’t be ready when Gabe called for him if he just spent the night feeling sorry for himself. He went to the bathroom and turned the shower on. The water usually took a while to heat up enough. Their mother hated that thing. While he waited, he could probably get the coffee maker turned on. He didn’t need it, but there was always something so relaxing about a cup of coffee. He plugged it when he heard the shower turn off.

He knew the cabin was old, but what the hell? On his way back to the bathroom, he stopped at the hallway closet and pulled out a dusty old shoebox from the back corner. He didn’t think it was necessary, but he wanted to be armed. Just in case. He opened the shoebox and pulled out is gun. He was surprised it was still there, after all these years. The police found out, but once they saw it was never used, they didn’t care about it. So it just sat there. Andrew took the gun, and after making sure it still had bullets, he slowly approached the bathroom.

“Anyone here?” Andrew asked.

No one answered. Of course, no one answered. If someone else was in the cabin, he didn’t think they would voluntarily give away their location. He pushed the bathroom door open. The mirror was thick from the steam and the shower curtain was shut. Did he shut it? He couldn’t remember. He took a step closer. What the hell was he expecting? The cabin was locked shut. He was the only one there. He put his hand on the curtain when he saw something move behind it. He dropped his hand and stepped back. There was nothing there. Nothing at all. This was in his mind. He was just spooked out because of the circumstances. He took a deep breath and pulled the curtain back. Nothing was there. He let out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding. What was wrong with him? A creeper wasn’t going to break in the cabin to use his shower.

He was turning the shower back on when he smelled coffee. He never turned that thing on. He knew he didn’t. He kept his gun in front of him as he walked back into the kitchen to see that his smell hadn’t deceived him. The coffee maker was on, but there wasn’t any coffee in it. It was just putting hot water back into the pot. He didn’t get as far to add water to it. There was somebody else in the cabin. There had to be, but what were they getting out of messing with him? Unless it was the person who took Abby. They figured out he was on their trail and was coming to get rid of him.

“Dude, don’t know how you got in here or what you want, but I’m armed,” Andrew said as loud as he could. Nobody answered him. “I’m calling the police so if I were you, I’d get my ass out of here unless you want to spend the night in jail.”

Instead of calling the police, he dialed the number of the detective. “I think there’s someone in the cabin,” he whispered as soon as Gabe answered. “Can you come back?”

“On my way,” Gabe said. “Get outside to your car. Wait for me there. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Andrew put the phone in his pocket when he heard the shower turn back on. “Police are on their way dumb shit! I can’t wait for them to arrest your ass.”

Andrew went back in the bathroom to once again see the shower curtain closed. The water was going at full blast and he felt the heat of it against his clammy skin. When he thought he saw movement behind the curtain, he chose to ignore it. He needed to get to his car. That much was obvious. Someone was messing with him and if he did something stupid, he’d be dead before the detective got back. He headed down the hallway when the light turned on from his bedroom. Their bedroom. The shower turned off and the smell of coffee faded away.

If someone was in that little bedroom, they were trapped. He had the upper hand with the gun. He didn’t know if the intruder was armed or not, but he was ready for them. He kicked the door open and was hit with rainwater blowing inside from the window. The room looked like a tornado blew through. The blankets were dripping wet from the water, little branches from trees littered the floor, and the framed photograph of Andrew with Abby was lying face down by the closet. Andrew picked that up before shutting the window, and his heart broke when he saw a large crack directly between the siblings in the photo. He would get the frame replaced. He carried it with him as he got the window shut. Whoever was doing this needed to die just for breaking the picture. He put the picture on his bed and looked around the room. He didn’t see any signs of life, but the light from the closet was shining underneath the door. He didn’t turn that light on. He didn’t think he had even been in there this trip.

“What kind of a loser hides in a closet?” he asked. He could hear fear in his voice. He just hoped the intruder didn’t. He opened the closet with his gun aimed straightforward only to see the closet light was off. He turned it back on, but the lightbulb was blown completely out. He used his cell phone to examine the broken bulb and found it cold to the touch. The light hadn’t been used in a long time. He walked out of the closet.

“Andrew.”

He spun around faster than he knew possible and dropped the gun. He felt like a doofus. Someone said his name. He heard them. “Whose there?” he asked. He picked his gun back up and went into the hallway. “Tell me where you are!”

He ran back to the kitchen. The coffee maker was off, but there wasn’t any water in the pot like there was earlier. It was dry to the bone. How was it dry? He saw the coffee making. He smelled the coffee. Well, the hot water that smelled like coffee anyway, but he knew it was there. He was betting if he went to the shower, it would be dry too. He was seeing things. That was it. He was so upset about Abby that he was seeing things. He felt like an idiot for calling the detective.

“Andrew.”

He held his breath, willing for the voice to say his name again. He wasn’t making up things through the delusion of his confused mind. This was real. It wasn’t some creep that broke into the house. It was a ghost. A freaking ghost. He never believed in ghost stories. He thought they were all crap made up to entertain kids. To let them believe in worlds that weren’t there. It gave them hope that there was more than just meets the eye in the crappy world they lived in. The bad guy would always get caught. The good guy would win the princess and any fallen ghost would get the vengeance they sought for their murders. Growing up, he was positive that ghost stories were made up for the kids, but what if they weren’t? What if this was a ghost? What if it was his sister trying to contact him after all these years? He put the gun on the kitchen counter and went over to the couch. One of the last happy moments he had with his sister.

“Abby? Are you here? Can you give me a sign?”

He waited. He didn’t know how long he would need to wait, but he had as long as she needed. He listened for the shower to turn on again or for her to knock over the picture on the nightstand. Maybe that is why it was on the floor. She was trying to tell him that she was here. “I’m here Abby. I’m here. I never stopped looking for you. Can you tell me what happened?”

He didn’t know how much time had gone by when he got the sign. Well, he hoped it was a sign. He was sprawled out on the couch willing sleep to just take him when the front door was slammed open. He jumped off the couch and his instinct told him to get his gun. Where did he put that stupid thing? He ran over to the front door, but nobody was outside. The wind was howling, but the rain finally stopped. Was that from Abby? Was she trying to show him the way?

“Abby?” he shouted over the wind.

He wasn’t going to wait any longer. He found his gun still on the countertop and went outside to find his sister. He was sure that she was trying to help him. He took a deep breath as the wind blew his dark hair across his face. He didn’t know which way to go, but he didn’t need to keep shouting at the trees like an idiot. The wind was helping him. He turned the direction the wind was blowing, and he heard soft voices in the air. Female voices. The souls of the lost women. He took a step towards the wind but didn’t let his guard down. He didn’t think this could possibly be a trap, but if it was, he was ready.

“Abby? I’m coming!”

Suddenly, the wind seemed to change directions. He was knocked to his feet and landed on a sharp rock. Pain pierced through his leg. He screamed and bent over to see the damage. His jeans were ripped open and a long scrape was running along his thigh. He needed stitches. Just by looking at the wound, that much was obvious. That was going to be an embarrassing night at the emergency room. Oh sir, how did you get that? I fell on a rock.

“Go!”

He looked up. The wind stopped. He got back to his feet and listened as hard as he could. Abby was still there. He could feel her, but what happened? Was she upset that he got hurt? He didn’t know why the wind would change directions like that, but nothing going on that night could be considered normal. Why not add crazy wind to that scenario?

“Abby? I’m okay. I just tripped. Please don’t leave me again,” he pleaded. Tears were falling down his cheeks. He didn’t know if the tears came from the pain or if it was because he was so worried about losing his sister, but he couldn’t stop it. “Please Abby. I know you’re here.”

The wind started again. Andrew picked up his pace to keep up with it. He wasn’t prepared to lose his sister again. He couldn’t. The wind pushed against his back and the voices seemed to grow the further into the woods he went. He wished he had a flashlight with him. He couldn’t even see his own hands in front of him and it would take just one misstep to break an ankle. He was afraid that if he reached to find his cell phone, the wind would stop and his sister would be lost forever.

He ran until he reached the lake. Soft waves were breaking against the surface, but it was too late for others to be out enjoying it. It was just him and the water, and that’s when the wind stopped. The silence scared him more than anything that happened at the cabin. It felt like he was waiting for something, but he didn’t know what. He took a step into the water when he saw a beautiful woman sitting near the center of the lake. Her long hair was draped around her waist, but she didn’t see him. She was looking off into the distance, but how did she get there? The dress she was wearing looked dry, but there weren’t any boats nearby. This girl wasn’t his sister, but she must be a ghost. She was one of the victims.

“Ma’am?” Andrew shouted.

She turned to face him and flipped her hair behind her shoulder. His breath caught in his throat. Her green eyes seemed to go right through him and she smiled. He had never seen anyone so beautiful in his entire life. He couldn’t remember seeing her picture with the other missing women, but who else would she be?

“I’m here to help,” Andrew said. “Stay calm. I’m coming to you.”

Andrew took another step into the water. Then another. And another. It wasn’t until he was waist deep in the water than he knew something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong. He tried to turn around when he heard giggling, but it was too late. Something grabbed at his waist, and he was pulled underneath the delicate waves. He didn’t have a chance to scream.

“He must have just gone home,” the officer told Gabe.

Gabe shook his head. None of it was making sense. Not even a little. Andrew was so anxious to find the killer the night before. What changed? When he got to the cabin that morning, it did look like Andrew just changed his room. Gabe went room to room looking for his client. The beds were made, dishes from any meals were put away, and the floor looked swept. The cabin was in perfect condition, and Gabe would have just went on his way until he found Andrew’s cell phone lying forgotten near a rock. The rock had blood on it.

“He would have told me first,” Gabe insisted.

“Did he try to call you or anything?” the officer asked.

Gabe checked his phone for the 50th time that morning, but there weren’t any missed calls. No messages. He hadn’t heard from Andrew since he left the cabin the night before.

“I’ll have a search team out this afternoon just because there is blood on that rock, but I don’t know what else we can do. He wasn’t a child, and I don’t see any evidence of a struggle. It looks like he just walked off.”

“Just like the women,” Gabe mumbled.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Gabe said. “I’m just going to take a little walk. Clear my head. What time will the search party get here?”

“An hour. Maybe less. Don’t go too far. We don’t want another missing person.”

Gabe nodded. He started at the bloody rock, and tried to follow the same path Andrew would have taken. He could see the flattened leaves that seemed more clumped together the further away from the cabin Gabe got. Gabe watched his step, being careful not to disturb the path or glance over anymore blood. He didn’t see blood, but he felt the urgency in the manmade trail. Gabe followed the path right up to the lake. If he looked closely, he could still see footprints on the edge of the lake. Gabe closed his eyes and if he listened hard enough, he could make out a song almost being sung by the lake itself.