V for Ventriloquist

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

A man making his way through the woods to his campsite passed by the cabin as he had done so many times during his camping trips. And the flickering candle brought him to a halt.

Does someone inside need help? he wondered. Maybe they were lost and decided to take shelter in the cabin until the next morning. The man was so caught up in the thought of a stranger needing help that he didn’t even consider the possibility of the stranger not exactly being friendly. Without hesitation, the man shined his flashlight in the front window and called, “Hello? Is anyone in there?”

The man heard no response from inside and couldn’t see anything through the grime on the window. He moved to the door and knocked. After no response still, he slowly turned the knob and let the door creak open.

Just as there was a big enough gap, the man pointed his flashlight inside and was met with the sight of—

“You’re telling it wrong.”

Tommy stops, his hands forming claws in front of him as if he were about to describe some horrid creature. “What? No, I’m not. After he opens the door, he sees the huge taxidermy bear and freaks.”

Jenna sighs. “Not that. The story doesn’t start with the camper. It starts with the lost hiker, and they’re the one who’s freaked out by the bear.”

“You let me get that far into it? You could’ve stopped me as soon as I started.”

“Honestly, I really wasn’t paying attention.” Jenna snaps a picture of the heron as it glided over the lake.

“Or you could’ve just said you’ve heard it before.”

“Well I’m telling you now,” Jenna sasses as she finally looks away from her camera and at Tommy. “Have you taken any pictures at all?” Jenna points to the woods behind them. “There was a lot of decent stuff on that trail. Getting pictures of that would’ve made that long walk worth it—”

“I’ve taken some,” Tommy mumbles under his breath with the tone of someone who definitely hasn’t, according to Jenna. He aims his camera at the clearing on the other side of the lake. A quick camera shutter, and he’s showing the photo to Jenna. “See? Look at that.”

“Wow. Grass.” It was an extreme close up of the bank of the lake.

“Look just worry about your own pictures, and let me take my own mediocre pictures so I can get my mediocre grade, alright? You know I don’t care about this class.”

Jenna doesn’t blame him really. Taking this photography class was her idea. Tommy was convinced into taking it when Jenna offered to let him use her old camera. Plus it means they get to hang out and get out of the classroom every now and then.

“Like we don’t hang out enough already,” Tommy had said to Jenna’s proposal. “But I guess it’s better than Mythology 101.”

“Hey, don’t knock that one, it’s my second choice.”

“Uh, Jenna?” Tommy’s unsure voice snaps Jenna back to the present.

“What? Did your battery die? I told you to charge it.” Jenna goes to snatch the camera from Tommy.

He shakes his head, pulling the camera toward him and still looking across the lake at the small clearing. “You see that just inside the tree line over there?”

At first, Jenna sees nothing out of the ordinary. Then something flickers. A light.

Jenna shrugs. “It’s probably other hikers. Did you really think we’re the only ones out here?”

“There aren’t any trails over there,” Tommy says, still staring at the light.

As Jenna watches him, it dawns on her. “Oh, I get it. You’re still trying to freak me out with the story.”

“The story?” Tommy shoots her a confused look.

“’A candle burned in the window.’” Jenna uses her best cliché spooky story voice.

“I’m not saying there’s a candle. I’m saying whatever is over there…probably shouldn’t be?”

Tommy might be right, but was he getting at the idea that they should go over there? No way Jenna was going into the woods off trail. She lets Tommy know exactly this.

“C’mon, it’s still daylight—sort of,” he concedes at Jenna’s dubious look. “We’re just gonna get a better look. We’re not being heroes.”

“Fine,” Jenna sighs. “But we’re heading back to the car right after.”

Tommy puts his hands up in surrender. “No problem.”

“Lead the way.”

“Right.” Tommy nods.

As they begin the short walk to the other side of the lake—well, Jenna realizes it’s more of a pond—she hopes Tommy will lose his nerve and decide to just leave whatever is over there alone. But they’re approaching the tree line much sooner than she was hoping.

It doesn’t take long for either of them to realize what they’re looking at.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Jenna says to herself.

A cabin. Only it’s not a candle burning in the window. It’s an electric lantern.

Tommy takes one step, and Jenna immediately says, “Absolutely not. What happened to not being a hero?” knowing Tommy is stupid enough to knock.

“Remember when I said this pond was the perfect spot for pictures? I know that because I’ve been out here fishing. A lot. There’s never been light coming from in there.” Tommy is whispering even though they’re most likely out of earshot of any potential inhabitants of the cabin.

“And now that it looks like someone is there, you wanna investigate?” Jenna hisses.

“If someone is there who doesn’t want us here, they’ll let us know, and then we’ll leave.”

“They won’t just ‘let us know,’” Jenna mocks. “That’s when they pull out their gun, and we die.”

“This isn’t exactly out in the middle of nowhere. They’re right next to a pond that is pretty popular for fishing.”

“You know what? Fine. You go and knock. But I’m staying right here.” Jenna folds her arms, her statement final.

Tommy purses his lips, no sarcastic comment to leave Jenna with. He simply nods and marches toward the cabin.

Jenna can’t say she’s too surprised by Tommy’s insistence on exploring. He’s nosy by nature, always has been in the years she’s known him. But this is definitely one of the dumber things he’s done. Jenna plans to give him crap about it on the car ride home.

Tommy practically taps on the door, seeming too hesitant to fully knock. For all his bravery, he still seems nervous. Tommy and Jenna both jerk back when the door opens ever so slightly with the small force of Tommy’s tiny knock. He sticks his head through the gap. When he turns around to beckon Jenna forward, it’s with a smile. Somehow it’s not comforting to her at all. She trudges toward the cabin anyway.

Tommy is already fully inside when Jenna pauses cautiously at the door. The light from the lantern in the window is enough to make Tommy and the creepiest ventriloquist dummy Jenna has ever seen visible.

“Okay, you found the most terrifying puppet ever. We can go now,” Jenna insists.

Tommy turns to the other side of the cabin, smile growing wider. “No way, there’s more.”

There are. At least four more. And one slightly destroyed one in the corner. Jenna has one foot in the cabin and one foot out.

“Why are you enjoying this? Clearly whoever put these here did it recently. There’s dust on everything except the puppets. Plus the light? Let’s. Go.” Jenna is putting her foot down this time. She indulges Tommy way too much, and now it’s brought her this terrifying sight.

As Tommy finally fully faces her, they hear, “Don’t go.” Jenna’s blood freezes. It sounded like a little girl, and it came from the same spot as the first puppet Jenna saw a moment ago. The one that looks like a porcelain doll.

Tommy isn’t smiling anymore, but he doesn’t freeze like Jenna. He slowly approaches the doll-like puppet.

“Don’t go,” it repeats.

Jenna sees some tension ease from Tommy’s shoulders. “Must be a speaker with a recording in here.” Tommy lifts the puppet, and Jenna is still too frozen with fear to tell him not to.

“Hey, put her down!” A boy’s voice this time, coming from the other group of puppets. It’s enough to snap Jenna into action.

“Put it down!” she whisper-yells. She forces the puppet out of his hands and grabs him by the arm when the cabin door slams shut.

“If you play nice, we can be friends.” The broken puppet in the corner. Jenna feels frozen again as she stares at it, entire body shaking and one hand gripping Tommy’s arm. She has no idea if he’s as scared as she is, but he’s finally stopped moving.

Jenna’s wide eyes catch the smallest movement. The broken puppet is…breathing?

“Ah, friends.” The puppet’s left arm moves to its face and takes it off.

Underneath the face, or the mask, is the smiling face of a man. Jenna is sure he must be able to hear her heart pounding in her chest.

“Hear that everyone?” The man looks around to the puppets. “New friends!”

“Yay!” The little girl again. Jenna sees the man’s throat move with the sound, but it still seems as though it’s coming from the direction of the doll-like puppet. She doesn’t understand how he’s doing this.

“I thought we wouldn’t find new ones for a long time, especially after…we lost our old ones.” The man looks to the lantern. “But here you are!” Just like that, his too wide smile is back. “We must get started right away! Ah, but I don’t know your names. You may call me V.”

As the man reaches for a small rope hanging next to him, Jenna tries to say something, anything, but nothing comes out of her mouth.

A dark chuckle. “Don’t worry. We will have so much fun together.” The rope is pulled, and Jenna feels her skull explode.

When she realizes she’s on the ground facing the window, she’s completely unable to move. Before she fully blacks out, she watches the man reach to flick the lantern off.