Come To Your Senses

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

“We’re here!” Jess cheered so loudly my head felt like it was going to split.

It had been several months since I had a decent night’s sleep, and my dear friend decided to lovingly bring me on her woodland vacation. From my perspective, I was reluctantly dragged along. She even signed me up for sensory deprivation therapy against my will. As I raised my hand to my aching temple, she promptly informed me, “Come on, this will be good for you!”

I poked my head out of her Mini Cooper that was too bright of color to suit my headache.

“I need to stay in here for a minute or two to recuperate from your driving.” I grumble, waving my hand in partial jest.

“Always you with the attitude” she added with a “tsk, tsk” click of her tongue and shake of her finger.

They say opposites attract, and I’ve often found that a truism between Jess and me. Part of me hoped she’d still enjoy the trip as I knew I wouldn’t be the most pleasant of companies, however, part of me also wanted to inform her that SHE signed up for this.

The woods surrounding the cabin were dark upon our arrival: too dark for most, but looking at them provided my head some level of comfort. The lit candle in the window added to the scenic ambiance. Jess tore me out of the vehicle, tugging at and holding my hand enthusiastically while dragging me into the cabin’s clutches.

“The owners just renovated this place, and now we have it all to ourselves! Can you believe we get to be its first occupants? How lucky are we?!”

“Is it luck if we’re the ones paying for it?” I retort.

She writes my question off. She’s used to my “negativity” as she calls it, realism as I view it.

“Where are the owners? Did they just light a candle and leave?” I ask.

“Oh, they won’t be here to greet us. I just have to check us in virtually. Thanks for reminding me! I’ll send them a thank you for the candle as well! Maybe they unintentionally got us confused with another booking and gave us a free romance package.” she added with a wink.

I scratched my head and tried to make myself look uncomfortable, which wasn’t hard with my current headache. I knew better than to egg her on with a reply. She wanted to see my face turn red, and I’m fairly certain she had already accomplished that.

“Do we even have signal here?”

“I asked about that before I booked, thank you very much. We will lose signal in parts of the cabin and the surrounding woods, but we should have a few good quality spots where we can connect. Like this one. We’re now checked in.” she replied.

“Looks like we didn’t get the free romance package,” I remarked flatly as I walked toward the single candle in the windowsill, “I prefer daises to roses anyway.”

“Don’t you think I know that about you by now?” she smirked.

I let out a sigh, and proceeded to check out our temporary abode, and briefly checked the time on my phone.

“Just as I thought: 10p.m. He’ll be showing up anytime now.” I mumble under my breath quietly enough that hopefully Jess doesn't hear me.

“You okay?” Jess asks.

“Yeah…my migraine is just getting worse. Can you show me where my room is?” I say reluctantly.

I see a flicker from the corner of my eye, and hope she doesn’t notice. The pain in my head increases. I scream as the pain sharpens and becomes deeper like several ice picks pounding their way into my skull.

“You worry me.” Jess says, stroking my hair gently. I can see the concern in her eyes as I ask her to leave.

She thinks I have some form of schizophrenia, but knows that not all of the symptoms match. She suspects some sort of trauma I experienced in childhood is causing the issues I have now, like a repressed memory that keeps popping up.

“Can’t you be late for once?!” I spit angrily at the dark figure.

The shadow figure prances around the room growing stronger with every ounce of fear he gains from me. He says nothing. He never has, though I can see him chuckling at me often. No one else ever sees him. He loves that he has the ability to make me seem crazy. Tonight, however, I see him flit to one of the closets. For some reason he stays there. I begin to get the feeling that he isn’t alone. Maybe he is not the only paranormal entity here, but whatever is here stays silent. I’m just hoping whatever it is continues to play nice. My attack passes swifter than usual, and I feel oddly at peace. I can hear Jess in the living area.

I wash the sweat off my face and brow and wait a few minutes to see if the attack is truly over, but shockingly my pain does not return.

Instead, I head into the main living space and wrap my arms around Jess's shoulders.

“Jesus! I thought you were an f***ing ghost! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” she shrieks.

“They have cable here?” I ask with my best confused puppy look.

“Give me a minute to recover, will you?!” she yells keeping her hand on her chest.

“Oh, you brought your DVD collection to the cabin!”

She laughs before smiling, “Guess that answers your question. I brought it so I’d have something to do in case your infirmity acted up tonight. That thankfully took less time than usual though. Maybe this cabin stay will be a good thing for you.”

“I hope you’re right.” I shrug before checking the room briefly.

“Anyway, I brought s’more fixings if you’d like to head out with me. I’m not sure that I can get a fire going in the fire pit, but it’s worth a try, right?” she asks cheerfully.

I nod affirmatively with a soft grin. The campfire sings a song with embers as the snaps and crackles fill the air. The only flitting I see outside of our vacation rental is coming from the flames. I wonder for a brief minute if this is what it is like to be normal.

“I didn’t know that you knew how to build a fire. That comes in pretty handy, especially for a city girl like me.” Jess comments looking at the fire then up at the stars.

“Yeah, my granddad taught me. He used to live in a place like this. He passed down some semi-rural knowledge. I was fortunate in that regard I guess.” I reply looking up at the stars.

Jess snuggles into me as I hold out my flannel blanket to share.

“It kind of reminds me of Rice Krispies.” Jess chuckles.

“You’re so random! What about the night sky remotely resembles cereal?!” I shout before bursting out in laughter.

“Not the sky, you dummy! The fire! The fire sounds like Rice Krispies! Way to ruin the moment!” she corrects, giving me a smack on the arm.

“You’re the one comparing things to “snap, crackle, and pop!” I tease, sticking out my tongue.

She pretends to pout, so I pull out the s’more fixings and sticks.

“Are you seriously going to make them without me?” she asks.

“No, I’m making them for you. Your sugar has got to be dropping with you saying nonsense like that!” I retort.

I earn another swift smack before I hand her a roasting stick of her own, complete with marshmallow. She snuggles back into me, and we stay around the fire until close to morning. Maybe this cabin stay is what I needed all along.

I sleep surprisingly well, soundly even. When I awake, Jess has already made and eaten breakfast. I’ve sworn off caffeine since the onset of my headaches, but today coffee smells good for some reason.

“You know, I have a theory… I think you’d be less cranky if you got more sleep like that.” She comments as she pours me a cup.

I chuckle, “I know I would be!”

“You think you’re ready for our sensory deprivation therapy session today? I know I’m excited. I've always wanted to try it.”

“Honestly, I’m a little nervous.” I say, scratching my head uncomfortably.

“I’m hoping it’ll help you as much as I think it will. I’m looking forward to it and a future with a healthy you.”

I blush sheepishly at the thought, “I’d like that too.”

We take a brief walk in the woods before driving a short distance to the spa.

“I’ve read rave reviews from this place online. If the sensory deprivation pool isn’t as relaxing for you as it seems, we can check out the rest of the spa.” she comments.

Something about this makes me uneasy. A cloud of anxiety and concern washes over me. Panic and dread accompany it, and I wish I could turn back. I tell myself to stay strong. I won't know if it will help or not without trying it.

“Is something wrong?” Jess asks.

I see the worry and concern in her eyes once more. It takes me a few minutes to catch my breath before saying the words I wish I could take back. “Want me to go first?”

She blinks her eyes in disbelief before smiling.

The receptionist greets us both with a warm smile.

“Couples massage?” she inquires.

“N-no, we have appointments for sensory therapy.” I stammer.

“Maybe later” Jess whispers into the receptionist’s ear.

“As if I wasn’t red enough already.”

“It’s a good color on you.” she snickers.

“You’ll be right out here when it is over, right?” I ask, my voice shaking.

“Are you sure you’re okay with doing this?” she asks.

“There’s only one way to find out.” I say with a forced smile.

Every fiber of my being is screaming at me telling me not to go. I argue with what I presume to be logic and reasoning to overcome those hesitations.

“Shall we begin?” the instructor starts as she shows me to the tank, “The tank is filled with Epsom salts and water: nothing to be afraid of. Gently lie back and you’ll float.”

Still nervous, I do as she instructs before she closes the door and leaves the room. Music plays briefly before that too will be taken away. Theoretically, part of my problem is that I’m constantly overstimulated, so the idea is to completely deprive myself of senses. I continue to convince myself as I lay there for a few minutes, and feel my muscles relax slightly. Suddenly, I feel something. My heart beats intensely.

*Flit, flicker*

“I see him. I hear him. He’s coming. He’s here! The shadow is coming. He’s coming for me. Somebody help me!” I scream.

I thrash in the tank. I feel like I’m suffocating, the salt burns my skin, and then I breathe once more. I breathe in and out; one, two, before a cloud of darkness surrounds and encompasses my vision.

My mind begins to think, “Your eyes are closed. You aren’t seeing anything. This is a soundproof room. Once they turn off the music, you don’t hear anything. Your senses are shut down. That is the purpose of this therapy.”

Reason settles in, and I breathe a few more breaths.

The shadow is gone, but the dark cloud prevails. Maybe the shadow has left. Maybe this therapy is working. The cloud puffs into shapes and figures. I’m beginning to think this is part of the therapy process. Maybe I’m healing. I focus my mind's energy on the cloud.

Just then, the black shape puffs into wings, hooks, and claws. Horror strikes me as I look into its eyes. Their dark red glow, beady, intense: demonic. This is not just an apparition or a specter. This is not playing tricks on me.

“You dared enter my cabin.” the form taunts in a garbled voice, “Did you ever wonder why your shadow played so nice?”

I see the shadow return, and the demonic figure scoop it into his clutches. His clawed hand clutches the shadow figure tightly until I see shadowed pieces squeeze everywhere. An explosion of darkness washes over me.

“It’s blood! It’s blood!” I scream, “The shadow is bleeding! He-he’s exploded! Somebody, somebody, help me!”

At least, I think I’m screaming. Instead, I feel stiffly silent and still, as if I have been placed in a bag inside of a morgue. I’m cold, frozen, and unable to move. When this breaks, I feel as though I am suffocating once again as the salt burns me further.

“It’s just a hallucination” I reason with myself.

I hear laughs: dark, foreboding, ominous.

“You fool. Mortal sensory deprivation can only take away five senses.” The voice booms.

I gasp at the revelation the creature has provided. I know theoretically I’ve taken in water. I had to have, but I only feel burning and mentally know that I’m choking. I sense nothing except the entity suffocating me inside the pod.

"I’m drowning…I’m drowning!" my mind screams and I know my body should be thrashing, but I feel like I cannot move.

I struggle to think and regain consciousness, “If I could just reach the latch on the tank, I’ll be free."

My arms flail reaching for the latch, but I cannot feel them. I can’t feel anything beyond the burning sensation, which has now finally dulled. My arms aren’t there. My legs aren’t there, and my mind is fading. I no longer breathe.

I hear the dark chuckles before being wrapped and cradled in a wet blanket with strong arms.

“Come here, come to your senses!” a soft voice says as I awake.

My bodiless eyes look upward into the face of a demon with red eyes, and I am wrapped in its wings.

"You are healed" it says with a sickening smile and glistening fangs as it licks the corners of its wicked mouth with a lengthy forked tongue.

"What's mine is yours." it sneers as it outstretches its clawed hand at the cabin I was once in with Jess.

The abode looks different from this angle, except for the flames of a candle still burning in the darkness.

"Snap, crackle, pop."