Lost Leaving Carrter

Chapter 1

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. It flickered on unexpectedly as the deep blue sky got darker above the trees. The two college boys Carrter and Rylen had made their way through the forest when they stopped dead in their tracks when they finally reached the cabin. The hairs on the back of their necks stood up as they watched the flickering shadow in the dust covered window sill.

From afar the old wood cabin creaked eerily as the wind whistled through it and they exchanged glances. In history class the rich college boys had heard about a haunted cabin that was hidden deep in the Alaskan mountains, and they picked it for spring break. They didn't believe in ghost stories but going thousands of miles away from home to explore the area and to see the creepy tourist attraction was their idea of fun.

There was no doubt in their minds that it was a fact it had been abandoned, but the glowing ball they saw in the distance showed otherwise. At least a mile away at the edge of the woods was their rental car and they didn't turn around as they stood silently staring ahead. Rylen shrugged his shoulders at his brother and shone his flashlight around the outside of the cabin.

Crunch crunch the snow underneath Carrters winter boots seemed to echo in the dark and silent night that was quickly closing in on them. He walked closer to get a better look and for a moment neither of them said a single word. Rylen stood completely still not blinking an eye and shined his flash light back towards the window. Breaking the silence Carrter asked, "What do you think that light in the window is?"

"I don't know, but maybe someone's starting a fire inside. I'm cold let's go find out!" Rylen responded fearlessly and kept walking. As he caught up with Carter his breath followed him like clouds of smoke in the chilly spring air.

"There is no chimney for a fire, and I don't smell any smoke," Carrter pointed out wearily, "but let's go, and no funny business!" Their voices seemed to echo quietly around them until the crunch of their footsteps was all they could hear. Above them only a sliver of the moon was visible through the clouds, and the stars were sparkling over them in the night sky. Little did they know that there wasn't anyone around for miles and miles.

Trudging through the snow they realized there weren't any foot prints but thought nothing of it as there had been a snowstorm a couple of nights before. They had been stuck in their hotel a night longer because of it, still. something about the look of the cabin ran chills down Carters spine as he shined his flashlight on it, but Rylen seemed unamused.

Neither of them had questioned what if the haunted cabin in the woods really was haunted. They believed it was just a story, and that if they were lucky they could get a few free nights stay inside if it wasn't too worn down. Without checking the window further Rylan got to the front door first and knocked with his right hand holding his flashlight in his right.

Curiously Carrter walked up to the window and peered curiously inside with his LED headlamp. The light dimly flickered through a layer of thick black dust and cobwebs in the window and it looked dark and vacant inside. Apart from where the lights glimmered in the crack between the curtains he couldn't see a thing. Suddenly he heard a scream and looked back towards where Rylan was standing, but he was no where in sight.

Chapter Two

The door creaked open for Rylen when he turned the knob and he stepped inside. No one was in sight and in a blink of an eye a trap door opened and he fell through. He hollered terrified as he landed in a basement with nothing to cushion his fall but an old mattress. He picked up his flashlight beside him and shined it around him. On the floor beside him was a collection of old toys and books, and from above him he could hear his brothers footsteps.

"Carrter! I'm down here!" Rylen yelled in fearful excitement. "Dude-come check this out!" He got up and shined the light around him but to his dismay he heard nothing more as he looked around. To the left of him there was what appeared be a den, and to the right of him some pantry shelving. The cob webs and dust were thick in the rafters above him as he wiped them away and walked over to the den.

There was a TV sitting in the dark corner against the wall with a rocking chair turning its back to him. Before him was a shattered screen and hair was sticking up from behind the cushioned rocking chair. Suspicious he tip toed around it silently and dropped the flashlight at the sight of the sunken face of a human sized doll leering back at him. "AHHH!" He shouted.

Fshhhhhhhhhh. He hit his head on the TV after jumping and falling backwards at the sound of television static coming from behind him. When Rylen got up and grabbed his flashlight from the ground his heart was practically beating through his chest. Looking around he realized he was stuck as he wiped the sweat of his forehead and palms.

In a blink of an eye the TV shut back off, his flashlight went out and everything around him went black. A banging came from somewhere nearby him and the sound of something sliding across the ground nearly deafened him. Rylen was dizzy and scared for his life for the first time ever and sweat was dripping from his forehead.

"Carrter!! Carrter!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, but still there was no answer. Unexpectedly in his shrill panic his flashlight flickered back on. The human like doll was no where to be seen on the chair, and looking around it was gone from his sight, He shuddered in terror feeling weak in the knees. How could this happen? Ghosts aren't real! He thought to himself.

Shocked and surprised he suddenly remembered everything in the story from class about the cabin. It had said there was a tale of a creepy doll in the hidden basement. This was the part of the story that Rylen laughed at and thought was a ridiculous prank until he saw it himself. The only thing that comforted him was that if someone could escape to tell their story that must mean there was a way out for him.

Not thinking the prank was funny he scoffed at the idea. What a good story it told and he decided it was the only possibility, but why would anyone do that? Just to keep the tourist attraction alive, and anyone who survived it would come back telling their story a and be a legend. A legend, he thought, I'm a legend. No longer scared he assured himself that was all it was and kept looking around no longer daunted.

There was no sign of a rope or anything that would have pulled it, but he did hear it sliding across the floor. In his mind the chances where that someone rigged the basement, and it made it into good campfire ghost story. Getting out of the basement was the only challenge left that he saw himself faced with as he looked for a way that he could escape. While he looked around something on the far wall caught his attention.

Along side the back side of the basement past the pantry shelves was an array of pictures. He found them interesting and he shined his flashlight along the wall. There was a switch and he turned it on and the entire basement illuminated from a big ceiling light. He nervously looked around at the pictures only to find that there was a family. The images of the mother father and children were printed in black and white and in old vintage frames and looked nearly a century old.

When Rylen got closer to the pictures he noticed that the face in some of the photographs were scratched out. From one of the pictures he could tell it was the father and this was unsettling. In the picture he wore the same blue overalls and plaid shirt as the big doll had on, but he assumed it was just part of the old school prank. The banging suddenly continued and Rylen continued to shout for Carrter, "I'm down here! Get me out!" He went on as the banging ceased, "There is a trap door by the front door open it and help me out!"

Loud footsteps walked above him towards the trap door and he keenly followed. When they stopped he anticipated that the door would open, and Carrter would let a rope down for him so he could climb back up. He stared and stood still only to be met by silence and the beating of his own heartbeat. Thump thump thump. BANG! A shot rang out and he heard what sounded like Carrter dropping to the ground.

Chapter Three

Carrter was startled as he realized that Rylen was gone. His scream echoed in his ear, and his gut instinct told him that he should run. Leaving Rylen was the last thing he had planned to do, but something inside of him cried trouble. Carrter realized that even if he left Rylan in hopes of saving his own life that he wasn't likely to get very far because Rylan had the car keys.

The car was parked almost a mile and a half away on the side of the desolated road. No one would come anywhere near it for days even weeks at that rate. The nearest town was almost forty miles away, and when they passed it aside from the old run down gas station with half of a sign lit up it looked like a ghost town. Nearly every building was boarded up with the exception of a few.

Carrter could almost feel the fear in his bones, but laughed at himself and told himself that his twin brother was just playing games and that he was just feeling dramatic. Still he nearly cowered inside as he walked in the doors of the dark and desolate log cabin. There was no sign of Rylen anywhere and he was no longer amused. Of the two of them Rylen was always the more sensitive one who would have gone after Carrter, but this time it was the opposite.

He shined his light on everything and it was covered in a thick layer of dust and ashes. It was like there had been a fire and the more he saw the more he could tell. The floor hadn't been walked on and there was no sign of anyone having had been there. To his surprise at the right of him where he saw the dim light in the window was a tall slow burning candle. This meant that someone had been inside recently, but there was no sign of anyone .

He put the candle out and continued looking around. First he checked behind him seeing only his boots leaving a trail and was startled. Taken aghast by the lack of footprints on the ground Carrter realized that Rylen was not in the house, and it appeared that aside from the unexplainably lit candle that no one else had been either for a very long time. The fact that he wasn't inside reassured Carrter that Rylen was just playing games with him.

"Rylen," Carrter yelled, "Stop messing around!" his voice echoed into the forest as he walked out the front door. It was so dark outside all he could see was the dark of of the trees and the snow sparkling from the light of his flashlight in front of him as he tried looking for Rylen's' footprints. There were none and he had an anxious feeling in his gut telling him to leave, and so he started to turn back to follow the footprints to where the car was.

The cold brisk air whistled through the trees while he dragged his feet through the snow. Whatever game his brother was playing he wasn't enjoying it, and wished he would stop. "Two can play at this game!" Carrter yelled in arrogance turning back around. He started walking backwards watching the cabin to see if he could see anything in the dark but only could see the white of snow everywhere.

At first glance there was nothing, but he nearly stumbled on a tree stump behind him when he noticed it for the second time. In the window was the same flickering light where he had put the candle out. He shuddered and shivered as he turned back around catching himself before falling. Carrter clumsily tried running through the snow in fear of whoever, or whatever was inside. He knew that as impossible as it seemed his brother wasn't in there as there were no visible footprints in the thick ashes visible.

It was too late for turning back as the cool brisk night air whooshed with his winter coat. Something told Carrter that Rylen was waiting for him, but his instincts didn't tell him where. He didn't understand how his brother could have run off, but somehow he did. The only steps that he could see were in the woods towards the car from where they came, and a wave of adrenaline told him to keep going.

Chapter Four

Nothing but the sound of silence and his heartbeat followed the sound of someone dropping. Rylen stood in shock and before long blood started dripping through the cracks of the trap door. He ran to turn the light off before finding somewhere to hide. There was what appeared to be a little cabinet in the pantry shelving and he opened it desperately. Quickly he slid himself inside and closed the door and sat quietly and listened.

He couldn't hear anything and opened the cupboard door a crack so he could breath and listen. There was no sound of anyone walking above him any longer and he shone his flashlight out of the cupboard door looking for an escape. Feeling cramped he leaned his head against the back of the cupboard when to his surprise the back wall started to nudge.

Rylen excitedly pushed it further and opened it in hopes for an escape after he struggled to close the cupboard door again. He shined his light to find a dark and skinny cement tunnel behind the pantry wall. Goosebumps covered his arms as he felt a cool breeze coming from the outside. Whatever it was it would lead him out, and that meant an escape.

The prank was no longer fun and he wished Carrter and him would have gone somewhere else for a vacation. What seemed like an exciting adventure through the woods became a total nightmare, and he hadn't even seen any ghosts. As much as he wished that he wouldn't have walked inside and would have stayed with his brother the fright wasn't over yet.

There was only one time he remembered having ever been so scared before and it was at a haunted house during Halloween. Ever since than Rylen and Carrter had been adventuring various places during their free time exploring haunted houses, historical sights, mansions, and now an old cabin they learned about in school. They had been spooked a couple of times, but always laughed at it in the end.

Nothing was funny to him anymore as he crawled through the small space and held his flashlight with his teeth. Whatever was at the other end all he could hope was that it wasn't as scary as what was before it. As he squeezed through the tunnel the walls started caving in more on either side of him. He barely got out as he wiggled and unwedged a big slab of concrete away from the tunnel opening.

A gust of ice cold air welcomed him back to the dark outside and he could see nothing but white snow surrounding him. The tunnel led to the back of the house and Rylen could see nothing as he put the cement back where it was. Still holding the flashlight in his mouth with gallant effort he covered the escape hole with as much snow as he could. If anyone would have followed him they wouldn't stand a chance against dirt and heavy cold snow.

He trembled with worry that whoever it was would approach him instead from the outside and so he shut off his flashlight. Trying to go unnoticed he stepped as quietly as possible through the snow but it was impossible. If the stranger that got Carrter was waiting around the corner or listening by a window he was toast. The sound of the gunshot still rang through his ears as he thought of what to do.

Everything was silent around him but his heart was racing loudly through his jacket. His only chance was to run around the snow covered forest the long way until he wasn't within visible distance of the house anymore. Even though it was dark outside it would be easy to see a black shadow running through the white snow. Rylen felt like he was in a Texas chain massacre or final destination movie and was in flight or fight.

Something told him that whoever it was must have just been waiting for the next victim. Someone that they could play their sick mind twisting games with for entertainment out in the cold and lonely Alaskan forest. The story said that the tale was that one person always escaped even if no one else did, and he knew he was that person. Rylen didn't believe in ghosts and didn't think it was anything other than someone who had spent too much time alone in the cabin in the woods.

Chapter Five

As Carrter walked back towards the road the car was on he realized he was lost in the dark. He could barely see anything around him and something told him that even though he thought he was going in the right way that he had started walking in the wrong direction. The compass that he brought with him was buried in the bottom of his backpack so he took it off and slumped in the snow to retrieve, but it wasn't working.

Without even trying he closed his eyes to rest from the long drive and the cold and started dozing off. He was so comfortable and warm in his thermal clothes with his face in his coat, but shook himself back awake. Worried that he was lost the best bet that he had was trying to find service on his cellphone in hopes that he could pull up its compass and the directions from the marker, but to his dismay it was dying and there was still no service as before.

By the time he would find even a bar of service it wouldn't have any battery left. Carrter sighed in defeat as he tried staying awake so he could at least find somewhere safe. Why didn't we plan better than this? He asked himself. Suddenly his life felt like a nightmare and it was all because Rylen suggested they come see what all the hype was about the haunted cabin. Apparently the rumors were true and it wasn't just a campfire ghost story that people made up one day to make it a tourist attraction.

In the stories, he reminisced, it said there was a family that used to live in the little cabin. Until one day the father went crazy and shot himself after a night of binge drinking because he had paranoid schizophrenia, but what happened to the mother and children always remained a mystery. Some people said that they ran away and that is why he drank so much, but other stories they read online and in class had other theories.

Although the majority of the stories claimed that it was still haunted with his ghost, and that he would linger around the halls when it was used as a vacation rental. The cabin soon stopped being rented out after one of the families on vacation allegedly started a fire, and that would explain the black dust and ashes all over the place. Although nothing could explain in Carrters mind why there was a candle lit unless someone was secretly hiding out.

Chills ran through his body as he imagined a ghost lingering in the house, and wondered what it could mean happened to his brother. Up until that moment he had never come close to believing in ghosts and always said they were just a laughable old wives tale. Ever since a young age he always thought they were just a way to make stories more interesting, and that even if they did exist in the spiritual realm in his mind they couldn't possibly have any power in the physical world.

The theory that interested Carrter and Rylen the most though was that they went to the store one day and in a fit he thought they had left him. Than they came back to find him dead and their legend carried on through the grapevine. Making light of the situation by making it into a spooky story helped them get rich and famous so they could thrive since the father being in his grave could no longer support them.

Tossing ideas around in his head before he got back up he saw light coming towards him in the distance. It sounded like a vehicle was coming down the dirt road and than it went silent and dark again. The sound along with the lights faded away, but at least he knew he was walking the right way. Getting tired he used the rest of his energy and changed direction to walk towards the road.

Carrter walked tiredly through the forest calling out Rylens' name with his bag weighing heavily on his back. The nights frights along with walking back sooner than anticipated was wearing him out. He wished that his brother would jump out of no where and that they could continue on with their venture. The idea of seeing the whole cabin had really intrigued him, but without knowing where his brother was and if he was truly just playing games he was restless from the spook.

Exhausted he decided he would sit down for a second by a tree and catch his breathe again. He knew that if his brother was okay he wouldn't leave without him, and he closed his eyes as he imagined the devilish grin on Rylens' face. There had been times in the past where he would run off and try scaring Carter, and that is all he could hope for. Before long he accidently dozed off with his face in his jacket.

Chapter Six

There was no sign of anyone being around as Rylen made it into the woods to go around. He was full of adrenaline and energy from what he had seen, and he knew running to the car was the only chance he had. When he finally looked at his phone he could see its location but still didn't have any service. His brother had lost service too on the road before they arrived and he was still in a dead zone.

His gut instinct and intuition led him as he walked for what felt like miles even though it was barely two. A grumbling sound came from his stomach and he realized how hungry he was, but he wasn't going to stop. Even though a snack from his bag sounded good staying alive sounded better. The sound of twigs cracking off trees around him startled Rylen more until he realized it was just from the weight of the snow, and kept running.

Finally he could see a clearing that was visible and he knew he had made it. There was little light to be seen other than from his dying flashlight and a little of the moon through the clouds. In excitement he grabbed the car keys from his bag and unlocked the car before walking onto the road from the clearing in the forest. Finally! Rylen thought to himself, I'm safe!

A heavy sadness and state of disbelief weighed on his shoulders as he realized that his brother was gone. Forever. After all of the years they had spent together exploring haunted historical sights, and never had they found one with a dark history that made it dangerous. Rylen tried to focus and stop himself from crying as he put the keys in the ignition after throwing his bag in and got in the car.

There was a heavy fog on the window as he warmed the car up so he could leave. Naturally he didn't want to wait a moment, but he couldn't see anything. Crossing his fingers that he was safe he wished that he would have waited for his brother. The story that he had to tell everyone didn't excite him at all, and he wished they were together again listening to their favorite music in the car.

The memories they shared flashed back in his mind and he chuckled softly at the good times they had while tears fell from his eyes. Rylen took off down the road and went to grab his phone from his pocket so he could plug it into the car, but he couldn't find it. Without it he had no idea how he'd get ahold of the cops before it was too late or back home, and there was no turning back.

Chapter Seven

Carrter jolted back awake when he heard the sound of a car starting in the distance. The cold air hit his face when stood up quickly in realization that Rylen was back at the car waiting for him. Finally. He could get back to his brother and they could get on with their adventure. It was getting late and they both needed to find a motel for the night since staying at the cabin was out of the question.

Stepping through the snow quickly and with ease he watched the car lights as they started going down the road. "NO!" Carrter shouted, "RYLEN!" A sinking feeling overwhelmed him as he tried running quickly to the road before his brother got too far. To his disappointment Rylen sped up before he got out of the woods, and he knew he went unheard.

Carter realized the only thing that he could do was walk until he had service so that he could call his brother. If he was lucky he would get service before too long, but he anticipated that he would have to walk a couple of miles before he could make a phone call. Although he had wished that his brother would have waited for him he was overwhelmed with relief that he was okay after all, but couldn't help but wonder what scared him off.

What felt like hours passed by as he walked down the cold and dark road. His phone was only at eight percent when he finally got a bar of service. Carrters' fingers felt nearly frozen as he tried putting in his brothers cell phone number and finally got it without messing it up. Ring. Ring.. Riiing. Anxiously he awaited for his brother to answer his call, but it went to his voicemail.

When he tried calling his brother for the third time it went straight to voicemail, and his battery was already at four percent. Panicked and frightened he couldn't understand why his brother wasn't answering. The fourth time the phone clicked and silence met him on the other end. "Hello!" Carrter exclaimed excitedly, "Come back and get me, please this isn't funny anymore!"

There was no answer and he could hear the sound of static and what sounded like footsteps in the snow. Suddenly a loud voice spoke in Carrters ear and it was him shouting no at his brother, and he realized it wasn't Rylen. Someone had his brothers phone, and he did not know who it was or how they could have possibly recorded him when he was in the woods.

He started trembling at the sound of his voice playing back at him only to look over his shoulder. There was nothing visible and he could barely see anything in the ominous dark behind him. Calmly Carrter looked back in front of him and kept walking. It was the only thing that he could do until he reached a gas station or someone passed him in their car.

About an hour later he could see the headlights of someone driving behind him, and started waving his arms frantically. The sputtering of an old truck got closer and he could tell they had slowed down. He looked in the window to see an older looking man wearing blue overalls and a plaid shirt. The old man waved at Carrter with a crooked smile and leaned over to unlock the door so that he could get in the truck.