Gamboge

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. A single candle, a single flame, but hundreds of feet away, behind the thick trees, all the campers saw the orange glow dancing.

Gathered around a wide window in Cabin G, one of the Clearing Cabins, a dozen campers pushed and shoved each other in order to obtain the best vantage point. Their hot, nervous breath fogged up the window, their dirty noses left streaks on the glass.

“Move your stupid face! I can’t see!” Brendan yelled at another camper, Heather.

“I haven’t even been able to see it once!” Yelled Andre, from behind the pack. “What is it?!”

“The Woods Cabin!” Responded Heather. “It’s got a candle in the window!”

“No one’s supposed to go in Woods Cabin!” Andre responded.

“That’s right. It’s forbidden!”

The older voice from the back of Cabin G sent all the campers two feet back from the window. They whirled around with guilt plastered on their tiny faces. They saw it was Genevieve. One of the nice counselors. The one who would tell them all about college, and staying up late, illegally drinking alcohol. With her was Camila, another counselor in college, also very kind.

“So, why are we talking about Woods Cabin?” Genevieve pried. “We all know that we have to stay in the clearing on the campsite.”

The rules of Camp Clearmont were easy to follow. Stay in the clearing. This meant the only safe cabins were the ones known as the Clearing Cabins. The limits of the campsite technically extended into the woods, but it was easier to tell kids to stay out of the woods entirely. That included Woods Cabin, as it was not part of the camp, rather a cabin once owned by someone. It truly was in the woods. The tall trees brushed up against Woods Cabin. What would possess someone to build a cabin in that exact location was beyond Genevieve.

But Woods Cabin’s positioning made it visible from some parts of Camp Clearmont, which made it confusing. It appeared to be another cabin for campers. It was so close to the campsite, yet not part of the campsite. Just the cabin of a lonely man, once upon a time, who built his home in solitude among the trees.

“Does anyone want to miss out on Smores Saturday?” Camila asked, as they were getting no answers from the campers.

“Look.” It was all little Brendan could muster up as he pointed out the window.

Genevieve and Camila ambled towards the window. As they approached, they saw it. About 500 feet away, through the thick treeline, through the darkness of the night, the candle in the window. It illuminated the inside of Woods Cabin. Genevieve squinted. She could hardly see inside. She could see the back wall. She began to make out the forgotten, old wood. Suddenly, a tall shadow with a large head moved across the back wall. Genevieve jumped back.

“Okay! Who went over there?!” Genevieve was simultaneously frightened and furious.

“We have no idea! We just saw the candle!” Brendan responded in fear.

The door burst open to Cabin G. A sharp wind flew in with it. Everyone spun towards the door. Three more camp counselors entered. Siddiq, 22, the counselor with the most experience here, Fiona, 17, the newest counselor, and Dennis, nobody’s favorite.

“Anyone seen Tao or Melissa?” Dennis demanded answers. His tone was always annoying.

Nothing but shrugs from around the room. Not Genevieve, not Camila, not any of the other campers… except Heather, who stared down at her feet.

“What’s up with this one?!” Dennis asked in a way like he was talking to anyone but Heather. “You know where those two are?”

“I wasn’t supposed to say anything… but Melissa told me that Elgin was taking her and Tao to... Woods Cabin… just real quick!”

“Jesus!” Dennis spun on his foot and sprinted out the door.

Dennis was no one’s favorite. But at least he was a man of action.

“Can you stay here with the kids?” Genevieve asked Fiona.

She nodded. Genevieve, Camila and Siddiq ran out of the cabin after Dennis. Dennis was already 50 feet ahead of them. He sprinted past the treeline, into the woods. He pushed thin branches out of his face as he ran. He bobbed and weaved, avoiding the trees as the woods grew thicker and thicker.

The rest of the camp counselors dove into the woods without hesitation. Immediately, their surroundings grew darker. The tall trees blocked any limited light from the moon above, but there was also a darkness that wasn’t detected by the eyes. Genevieve noticed a dark, damp feeling invade her body from all around. It touched her. It laid on her skin. It shrouded her peripheral vision. It was quiet. It was cold. It chilled her to the bone.

Dennis ran up to the door of Woods Cabin and stopped for a moment. Genevieve, Camila and Siddiq were 100 feet behind, traversing the thick terrain of the woods. They slowed their pace as they approached, waiting to see what Dennis would do. Genevieve could see the candle in the window just to the right of the door. It illuminated the inside of the cabin still. It appeared to be the only light inside the cabin. As they closed in, they watched Dennis. He took a deep breath in. He exhaled sharply. Then, he kicked the door open.

He stood in front of the doorway as the door swung open, in a fighting stance. Then, he relaxed. He turned back to face the other counselors as they continued to approach.

“Tao and Melissa are here!” He called out.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Dennis entered the cabin and disappeared from their sight.

“Ow!” They heard Tao scream out from inside.

“Dennis is probably being too rough.” Siddiq sighed.

“Wait, he mentioned Tao and Melissa. What about Elgin?” Camila asked.

Tao and Melissa were both 8. Elgin was their counselor. A jokester, a prankster. 20 years old. Would have just finished his second year in college had he not dropped out.

Dennis exited the cabin, one arm holding Melissa’s wrist firmly, his other arm awkwardly extended as if he was holding something else, but he had a fist full of air.

“These two were pressed up against the wall in there, frozen!” Dennis’s voice bounced off the tall trees.

“Where’s Tao?” Genevieve asked.

“The little jerk is right…” Dennis motioned to his arm that was awkwardly extended out. As he looked to his hand, he realized there was nothing in it.

Dennis and Melissa jumped. They looked around frantically.

“I was holding his hand!” Dennis insisted.

He turned back to the doorway and looked inside the cabin. Melissa backed away from the cabin, her eyes bulging from her skull, her face as white as alabaster. Camila grabbed Melissa to comfort her. Genevieve and Siddiq rushed to Dennis’s side and peered inside the cabin.

Nothing.

An empty cabin. Old boards making up the floor with the exception of the center of the floor that had newer, more polished boards. One single chair off in the corner. And in the windowsill…

…two candles burning.

The three of them screamed when they saw this and all stumbled back. Genevieve nearly broke her ankle as she fell backwards.

“There was one candle burning when we approached that window!” Genevieve screamed.

“Where did Tao go? I was holding his hand!” Dennis was furious.

Everyone looked at Melissa. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She just shook her head slowly, repeating, “No, no, no, no, no…”

No one was going to get any answers from her right now.

*******

Back in Cabin G, all the original campers were still there. Fiona held a pale and unblinking Melissa, attempting to comfort her. Genevieve, Camila and Siddiq tried to remain calm and think but Dennis’s frantic pacing was making it difficult.

Genevieve watched Dennis pacing and grew anxious. Her breathing became rapid and uneven. Camila noticed this, as she always did. She was so in tune with Genevieve. Camila reached out, grabbed Genevieve’s hand and held it. Genevieve looked into her eyes. Camila stroked her hand softly and looked right back into her eyes. She had the softest look. Genevieve’s entire surroundings felt cold, harsh, jagged, encroaching… as the hard, cold nature of the world would close in on her… Camila’s soft, warm stare was a beacon of hope for her.

“You’re right here with me.” Camila whispered. “Come back to me.”

Genevieve’s breathing started to slow down. Her chest stopped heaving. She let Camila stroke her hand, she let Camila’s touch bring her back to the moment, as it always did.

“There she is.” Camila whispered. “There’s that Genevieve Aura I recognize. That wiggling, dancing aura.”

Dennis stopped pacing for a moment and noticed the two of them.

“God, will you two quit it?” He said in a condescending tone. “No one wants to see that ever, let alone now.”

He said it loudly enough that everyone could hear. As everyone turned towards them, Camila quickly let go of Genevieve’s hand. Not that either of them were ashamed of this, and not that all the counselors didn’t know about them, but because it was best for the campers to not know about any relationships. Genevieve was immediately irritated by Dennis, this was the third time this week he made a comment like that.

“What happened with Tao in there, Dennis?” Genevieve put on an accusatory tone.

“What? I don’t know, I had him and then, the little jerk probably bailed out the window or something!”

“Why did we hear him scream in pain in there?” Genevieve wouldn’t back down.

“Oh, come on!” Dennis was even more agitated. “I tried to grab them and pull them out and he caught his arm on a rusty nail. It was a little cut! Besides, we need to be worried about where Elgin is! He’s the one pulling this prank and he got Tao in on it too. Melissa too, probably!”

Everyone looked at Melissa, who had hardly come back to life. Fiona continued to stroke her hair, continued to comfort her.

“I don’t know if it’s a prank.” Fiona spoke up. “Even Elgin wouldn’t go that far. I mean, it is the cabin, maybe we should tell someone…”

“We’re not telling anyone because then we’re all in trouble!” Dennis cut her off. “And you can stop it right there with ‘Woods Cabin.’ It’s not haunted, that’s a stupid story. The Oglethorpe dude that lived there was a sad man, hung himself, end of story.”

“That’s what they tell people that happened.” Siddiq spoke up. “But that’s not how it went down.”

“Oh yeah. You know?!” Dennis retorted sarcastically.

“Yes, Dennis! I do! I was there when the cops found him! I saw. It was my first year here. He didn’t hang himself. He was all cut up and mangled and bleeding out in the cabin on top of a pentagram painted on the floor. The sight was so awful, I almost fainted. The cops had to take me back to camp and called in another patrol car… but when the other patrol car got there, the back half of the cabin was on fire. Burned up Oglethorpe in it. And for some reason, the news they put out was a hanging instead of…”

“Siddiq.” It was all Camila had to say to stop him mid-awful-story.

Siddiq saw all the campers watching him intently, worry in their innocent eyes. Siddiq nodded solemnly.

“This one just needs to tell us what happened!” Dennis singled Melissa out again. “You guys saw the candle in the window so you decided to go check it out, put a scare into everyone…”

“No! There was no candle in the window!” Melissa suddenly yelled. She silenced everyone. She took a moment. “After the hike, we asked Elgin if he’d take us to Woods Cabin. He’d been there a few times. We went, but there was no candle. We went inside. It was dark. Then, there was all this noise like, rustling, like a body hitting a body. All of a sudden the candle was lit in the window… and Elgin was gone. That’s why me and Tao wouldn’t leave. We were too scared.”

“After the hike?! You guys were gone for hours!” Dennis continued to use anger to conceal his growing worry.

“Elgin fell on the hike and scraped up his knee.” Melissa responded. “We stopped at the nurse’s so he could patch it up.”

“So, you guys went to the nurse’s, Elgin patched himself up, then you went to Woods Cabin?” Genevieve tried to make sense of the story.

“Well, he couldn’t get into any of the nurse’s stuff. It was all locked. So, he gave up and took us to the cabin. But I swear, no one was messing around! Not that I know of! Elgin just… disappeared!”

“And so did Tao.” Siddiq looked at the floor.

The silence that struck Cabin G was so heavy, it weighed down on every person in there. Genevieve started to pant, her chest heaved.

“I need a minute!” Genevieve burst out the door.

Genevieve stumbled into the clearing of the campsite. The cool wind slammed onto her face, but it wasn’t enough to break her free. And there it was. Anxiety-laced tree branches reaching towards her, jagged fingers outstretched. Darkness approaching from all sides and all corners, eating away at her vision. She couldn’t focus on one single thing. Everything got blurrier. She couldn’t control her breathing. She couldn’t provide enough oxygen to her lungs. Ugly, dark feelings washed over her. A million thoughts zoomed past the forefront of her mind, but she couldn’t grab hold of any one of them. A high-speed carousel of glimpses of thoughts but none settling down for a moment. She was thinking of everything and nothing all at once. Even less breath in her lungs.

Camila rushed up to Genevieve and grabbed her arm. “Gen. Relax.”

Genevieve was so deep in this panic attack. It hurt. It ached through her body and mind. It was coming at her from all sides. Camila grabbed her other arm.

“I’m here with you. Come back to me.” Camila continued. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.”

Genevieve forced herself to look up at Camila’s eyes. There they were. That beacon of hope. That lighthouse guiding her out of the dark and violent waters. She moved towards the light in Camila’s eyes, she left the ocean of anxiety behind her. It grew more and more distant. She felt Camila’s fingers on her arms. She gained focus, in Camila’s eyes. Her breathing returned.

“There’s that wiggling, dancing aura.” Camila said.

Genevieve snorted a laugh as Camila embraced her.

“Tell me again how my aura looks.” Genevieve pressed her chin into Camila’s shoulder.

“I told you. It wiggles. It dances. I could be a thousand feet away, unable to see your face, but if I could just see your body, I’d know it was you. Like that time when you were clear across the campsite, the last Smores Night, you were supposed to be gone, but I knew it was you. Even in Fiona’s clothes, I knew it was you.”

“And I had a song in my head that night.” Genevieve remembered. “I felt like I was dancing inside.”

“You were. And you were wiggling.” Camila said with a smirk.

Genevieve pulled back, still embracing Camila, but so that she could look at her face. “Tell me again, the color of my aura.”

“It’s this deep orange-yellow color.” Camila responded. “Almost rust-like, but so beautiful. I’ve never seen it in real life before. They call it gamboge.”

“Gamboge.” Genevieve repeated the word with comfort. “And what’s my aura like, you know, when I’m having an attack?”

“It’s still gamboge.” Camila answered. “But it’s not wiggling or dancing. It quivers and trembles violently, a movement I’ve never seen before.”

“There’s a lot about me that’s not like anyone else. Why do you always save me?”

“For that exact reason. I’ll always save you.” Camila held Genevieve tighter.

“Do me a favor, don’t ever save me if it means harming yourself.” Genevieve said with complete seriousness.

“You got it.” Camila answered.

“I mean it.”

Just then, Dennis exited Cabin G to see the two embraced.

“Oh, it’s sickening!” Dennis exclaimed. “If you two are done playing Desert Hearts out here, we got a real problem going on!”

Genevieve let go of Camila, took a quick step towards Dennis, cocked her arm back and rocketed her fist forward. She landed it right on his mouth and sent him sprawling backwards onto the ground. Dennis yelped out in pain and grabbed his mouth, blood trickling from his lip.

“Gah! What the hell?!” Dennis pulled himself back up to his feet.

“Go ahead, hit me back.” Genevieve stood firmly.

“I’m not going to hit a girl.” Dennis said sheepishly.

“You’re not going to hit anyone because you’re all mouth and no backbone!” Genevieve scorched him.

Dennis stood there. Silent. Siddiq and Fiona appeared in the doorway with inquisitorial looks. Before they could ask anything, Dennis stomped off and headed towards Woods Cabin.

“I’m going to find Elgin and stop all this crap because I’m the only one who cares about what’s going on!” Dennis said in a half-yell, half-whimper.

Siddiq regretfully followed.

“Can you stay here with the kids?” Camila asked Fiona.

“Gladly.” Fiona shut the door as she snuck back into Cabin G.

Genevieve and Camila bounded towards the woods. Siddiq ran through the trees ahead. Dennis was farther ahead, closing in on Woods Cabin. Genevieve and Camila passed the treeline. That familiar cold and dark feeling shrouded around Genevieve.

“You know, you shouldn't have hit him.” Camila said.

“I know, but there was no one around.”

“The kids were right there. They could've seen...” Camila began.

“You’re right. You're right. I’ll apologize after all of this.” Genevieve said begrudgingly.

Up ahead, Dennis entered the cabin. Siddiq continued running towards it.

“But did it feel good?” Camila asked.

“It felt great.” Genevieve chuckled.

A loud rustling in the bushes to their right suddenly shut them up. Genevieve and Camila spun to the right, looking in the darkness. Very little light from the moon above. They couldn’t make anything out. They squinted their eyes, trying to adjust to the limited light. A branch snapped behind them and they spun around. Something tall, with horns atop its head, stood 40 feet behind them and ducked behind a bush.

Trembling in fear, they backed away from the horrible sight and towards Woods Cabin. They shuffled their feet backwards, moving quickly and carefully. Genevieve held onto Camila’s arm. They turned back to Woods Cabin as Siddiq entered it, still another 200 feet away from them.

Noises emanated again. Twigs snapped. There was a loud rustling of leaves. Heavy footsteps.

They scanned the dark woods with their eyes. Something was moving among the bushes and trees. But it kept disappearing. Genevieve and Camila froze, unaware where exactly this figure was. Their eyes darted around. No more movement. No more sound.

Silence.

A dark blue light in the woods.

And then a trampling sound. Footsteps pounding the earth. From their left. Genevieve and Camila turned but something blasted out of the cover of night and barreled into them. Something sharp slashed across their arms and the force of this thing knocked them to the ground.

By the time Genevieve and Camila got back onto their feet and looked around, the thing was gone. They could see no one. The door to Woods Cabin was open. But no one was outside the cabin.

A frantic set of shouts came from Woods Cabin. It was Siddiq. He stumbled backwards out of the cabin. He was panting. He located Genevieve and Camila in the woods and rushed towards them. Genevieve saw fear in Siddiq’s eyes. With everything as dark as it was, she could still see that. And she could see…

…three candles burning in the window of the cabin.

Siddiq reached them, still panting.

“I went in after Dennis.” Siddiq said through labored breath. “And there was no one else in the cabin. But then… something brushed past me, knocked me aside, and then there was all this rustling and noise… something came into the cabin… and then there was just nothing. And then that third candle!”

The three orange flames atop the three white wax candles danced in the window. Like they were alive.

*******

Cabin G was still and silent. Heather sobbed in Fiona’s arms. Camila and Siddiq stared out the window at Woods Cabin. The rest of the campers stayed huddled together out of safety’s sake. Genevieve stared at the gash on her arm. A perfect slice. A long gash, extending from her wrist to her elbow. Camila had a similar looking gash on her arm.

What was that thing?

It’s time to tell someone about this. Let someone else handle it.

Everyone else is here and accounted for. No use going out and risking…

Genevieve glanced back at Fiona, consoling Heather. Not Melissa. Heather. Genevieve scanned for Melissa. She was nowhere to be seen.

“Where’s Melissa?!” Genevieve’s voice shattered through the silence.

“She’s over there looking for her locket…” Fiona motioned over towards some lonely bags in the corner of the room.

“Her bags aren’t in this cabin, Fiona! This is the boy’s cabin!” Genevieve had thick worry stuck in her throat.

“Maybe she went back to her cabin?”

“Or she dropped it when she was in Woods Cabin.” Siddiq pointed out the window.

There was Melissa, scared as she was, marching up to Woods Cabin, approaching the door.

“Nobody leaves this cabin at all!” Genevieve hurtled from her throat.

She burst out of the cabin. She bolted towards the woods… one more time. She sprinted past the treeline… one more time. She felt that darkness… one more time… a few times too many.

This is the last time. Genevieve promised herself. This will be quick. In. Grab Melissa. Out. Back to Cabin G. Stand guard by the door myself. No one leaves.

But first, she had to get little Melissa who was already inside Woods Cabin. Genevieve had to run faster than she had ever run. In the dark, hurtling tree stumps, evading branches, never stopping, never even slowing down. Even though her lungs stung with pain. Something might be out here. Something might be in there. As long as she kept moving, she should be good.

Genevieve’s shins burned as she ran right up to the door of Woods Cabin and flung it open. The sound of the door slamming into the wall jolted her out of her own skin. And then silence.

The door creaked as it rolled to a stop.

A quick scan.

Where’s Melissa?

Don’t even think about the glow of those three candles to the right, barely sneaking into my peripheral vision.

Genevieve continued to scan. There wasn’t much in the cabin. Melissa couldn’t be that hard to find.

In the far corner, the darkest corner, there was Melissa. Crouched down. Genevieve didn’t hesitate even though every instinct in her body screamed to do so. She grabbed Melissa’s arm and pulled her up.

A flash of gold caught Genevieve’s eye. It was Melissa’s locket, clutched in her hand.

“I’m sorry. I needed my locket…”

“Don’t talk. Let’s leave!” Genevieve yanked Melissa’s arm and propelled her forward.

Genevieve walked behind Melissa while pushing her towards the door. They approached the wide open door, Genevieve gave Melissa one more shove to quicken her pace. Melissa picked up her pace and exited the door. And Genevieve stopped.

Not by her own admission. She just got stuck. She tried to move towards the door… it was six feet away from her. But she couldn’t move at all. She watched as Melissa exited and disappeared from her sight. The cool air swirled in. There was a rustling.

Then, a warm feeling crept all over Genevieve’s body. The gash on her arm began to heat up tremendously. Genevieve panicked. She tried so hard to move, to force any muscle of her body to move. She couldn’t.

The gash on her arm heated up more and more. It burned. Liquid felt as if it poured down her arm. Like it poured out of her arm. She couldn’t even turn her head to look at her arm. She was certain it was dripping wet with… some liquid. Genevieve began to feel lighter, emptier, suddenly stricken with hunger. And then she dropped.

That feeling you get on a rollercoaster. Weightlessness. Everything was black. She could see nothing. But she was dropping. She didn’t even have the breath to scream. The drop was a second. Or maybe it was a whole day long. It was that length of time that your dreams were. Happening all at once, in an instant, but lasting forever. Suddenly, everything was not black. It was very red. It was very hot. And then… nothing.

Now, something… again. This was different.

Genevieve felt warm again. Not an uncomfortable warmth. It was quite the heavy warmth, but it felt as if this was warmth she had felt her whole life. Her sight slowly returned to her. No more red, more of an orange color surrounding her. Directly in front of her, orangey-yellow light. She was able to turn her head again. She turned to her right and saw the door to Woods Cabin, but it looked enormous. She looked to her left. Very bright orange glow. Three orange glowing things. Genevieve wanted to rub her eyes to help herself to focus… but she couldn’t. She tried adjusting her vision on her own. The three orange things became more clear. Three gigantic flames, the size of Genevieve, dancing.

Genevieve was absolutely confused. She looked down at where her feet should be. No feet. But she was atop… a windowsill. She stood directly on a giant black wick which was perched atop a massive white wax candle. Genevieve looked back up, directly in front of her, an enormous window that looked out into the woods and at Cabin G.

Genevieve was mortified! Her own orangey-yellow glow encompassed her, but it also held her in. She could not move. She was stuck… on top of this candle.

Then, outside the window, she noticed Camila and Melissa, about 20 feet away. Camila was holding Melissa and saying something to her. Melissa pointed back in Genevieve’s general direction. Camila patted Melissa on the back and began to walk towards Genevieve! Genevieve could see the blood dripping from Camila’s arm; she was so close.

Oh no! She cannot come in here! Camila! Can you not hear me?! Do not come in!

Genevieve looked down at herself once more. She could hear a song in her head, she didn’t know what song. But she was dancing and wiggling on the inside. In fact, she was dancing and wiggling on the outside. Her orangey-yellow self… dancing.

Genevieve blocked the song from her mind. She filled her mind with emptiness and quiet. No more music. No more dancing. She invited anxiety in. She forced herself to think of all the things she hated. Of her life without Camila. Her life before she met her. Her life… in the future… with no Camila. It haunted her. But she had to do it. She invited that anxiety right into her mind. It stepped in. It pulled up a chair. Several chairs. It inhabited all the corners of Genevieve’s mind. And she let it. Horror washed over her. And she let it.

Genevieve began to quiver. She began to tremble. It was violent movement. It hurt. It was painful. But it had to happen. She looked out the window. Camila was still approaching, arm bloodied, look of determination on her face. But then she stopped when her eyes caught the window.

Five steps away from Woods Cabin… and Camila was perfectly still. Staring in at Genevieve, as Genevieve quivered and trembled and let pain and anxiety take her over.

Camila stared at Genevieve. Perfectly still. Then, she delivered a simple nod. Camila stared deeply at her, her eyes welled with tears… and then she backed away.

Camila reached Melissa and put her arm around her. Camila didn’t break eye contact with the four candles in the window in the abandoned cabin in the woods. Three candles, flames glowing orange and dancing, and one candle all the way to the left, the flame a different color… with a different movement.

“What is it?” Melissa asked.

“It’s gamboge.”