RICE

"The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window." Quinn raised his metal cup to his mouth and took a sip. “No one knew how long the candle was burning or who might have lit it. The cabin was all boarded up with bob-wired fencing over the exit points, including the chimney.”

“Maybe someone was already inside the house trying to get out,” said Fredrick.

The girl sitting next to Fredrick was Virginia Matthews. She took her sight off fireflies dancing in the distance and lowered her head.

“May I continue?” asked Quinn. He cleared his throat. “Years ago, an old man lived in the cabin. He worked the land during the morning and was always indoors before sunset. Campers remembered seeing the old man sitting at the window looking out at them.”

“How did campers know he was looking at them? He could’ve been looking at something else,” said Frederick.

Frederick was entertaining. He interrupted conversations and tried to have the last word. It was his first camping trip, and he hated the dark; he hated being alone in the darkness, so he always sat near the campfire and insisted on keeping the flames going.

“Are you going to let me finish?” asked Quinn.

The campfire needed to be poked because the flames were dying out.

“May I poke the flames?” asked Frederick.

“No, I got this,” said Quinn.

“I should have gone with the other group. I mean, ice cream sounds really good right now,” said Frederick.

Quinn cleared his throat. “If you like, you can take the twenty-minute walk down the hill. Would anyone like to join him?”

Virginia rolled her shoulders over. “My grandmother didn’t want me to come here. She said many people disappeared in these woods when she was a kid and when my mom was a kid.”

“So why are you here?” asked Frederick.

Virginia inhaled deeply. “I need six credits to graduate on time.”

“Six easy credits for wilderness camping,” said Quinn.

Another boy leaned back in his chair. “So, where is this cabin?” he asked.

“It’s not far from here,” Virginia said.

She was right. The cabin was just a short stroll away.

The boy stood up. “I say we take a night adventure to this cabin and check it out.”

“That’s not part of the course requirements,” said Fredrick.

Virginia started to rock back and forth. “Can we just stay here, please? My grandmother told me stories of the old man drinking people’s blood and stealing their skin.”

The boy laughed. “And you believed her?”

“That’s a crazy story,” said Fredrick.

Virginia looked at Quinn. “I believe my grandmother. So can we stay at our campsite and not go anywhere in the woods tonight?”

Virginia’s lack of courage was interesting. Why take a wilderness camping course when you’re afraid of the unseen and unknown? But, on the other hand, maybe she’s fearless and needed a gentle reminder.

“So, did this old man have kids?” asked the boy. “I just want to know what we’re up against.”

Quinn shook his head. “All I heard was that people went missing when they got too close to the cabin. I don’t know about people losing blood and skin.”

Frederick’s eyes were wide open and pinned on Quinn. “You brought us to a place where people went missing?”

“I don’t believe the hype,” said Quinn.

The boy turned on his flashlight toward Virginia. “Why take the skin?”

Virginia turned her head away from the light. “To take on different identities. They never look the same.”

“Yeah, right! That’s just crazy!” said Frederick.

The boy pointed his flashlight at Quinn. “You mean he could look like Mr. Quinn?”

“Yes!” said Virginia. “My grandmother said the only way you can tell you’re near one of them is by throwing rice grains on the ground.”

“Rice. Why rice?” asked Quinn.

“What happens when you throw rice grains?” asked Frederick.

Virginia held her shoulders up. “All I know is that they drop to the ground and start counting the rice grains. They can’t stop until all grains are counted.”

The sound of tree branches shuffling around grew louder, and the scent of pine rummaged through the air.

“That’s nuts!” said Frederick.

“Your grandma is a real wack job,” said the boy.

“Don’t say that!” said Virginia.

“It’s just a story,” said Quinn. “Some unfortunate old folk tale.”

Frederick leaned forward, closer to the flames. “So, did your grandmother fill your backpack with rice grains?”

“She did,” said Virginia.

“What kind of rice is it? I want to see it. I mean, is it long-grain, brown, or Jasmin?” asked the boy.

The boy looked around and stopped at the young girl seated next to Virginia. “You’re quiet over there. What’s your name again? Forget it. Let’s get those rice grains!”

“I’ll get it for you,” said Frederick. “I know where her tent is.”

Virginia smiled. “It’s not in my tent.”

“Where is it?” asked the young girl seated next to Virginia.

“You all need to stop,” said Quinn.

Virginia looked at the girl with those soft brown eyes and removed a quartz size bag from her small backpack; it was filled with rice.

The girl’s eyes opened wide. She started wiping her palms on her pants. Her chest moved up and down quickly.

The night sky suddenly disappeared into complete blackness.

The smell of fresh pine disappeared.

There was a sharp dinging sound.

A voice in the distance was saying something.

“When I count to three, you will wake up. You will be calm. One, two, three.”

The young girl’s eyelids opened to a slight glow in the room.

“You’re new? What’s your name?” the girl asked.

“My name is not important. You were sedated to retrieve information the team needed.”

“Why?” she asked.

“You had an episode.”

“What happened?” she asked. “Why am I in this plexiglass cube?”

“You skillfully manipulated your Therapist and a new hire, which led to you draining the blood of both of them. You escaped. You took on several identities along the way, which labored the search. But we found you counting rice grains at the base of a campsite near your grandfather’s cabin.”

“I’m curious. How did you find me?”

“The girl’s grandmother had a horrible dream that your grandfather’s ghost was chasing her granddaughter. But, you see, the folks in that area share stories of people who live off the blood and skin of others. So the grandmother’s emergency call to the Sheriff led to a wellness check on the campers.”

The girl smiled. “How is Ms. Virginia Matthews?”

“She’s critical, but you already know that.”

“Where do we go from here?” the girl asked.

“You start counting.”

“Wait! Let me change your future. You can have anything you want. I can help heal cancer from eating away on your baby boy.”

The woman smiled and leaned on the cube. “I don’t care about my future, and I’m not afraid of death knocking at my door. But everything I’ve ever wanted is looking right at me. Your grandfather’s skinless ghost devastated my community and my family. So now, I’ll sit back and watch you try to float out of this rice box.”

“No!”

A small panel on the cube’s ceiling opened up, and rice grains poured in. The lights in the room dimmed. The girl’s knees buckled as she sunk to count rice.