Lost

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The shutters around the window illuminated and grew brighter as the flame grew stronger. Mist filled the air with a sweet, alluring fragrance. The ground was covered in branches with a dirt path that led to the house. Darkness was slowly taking ahold of the November sky. The temperature was also beginning to drop, and frost would be near.

Amelia Richardson and her best friend, Wendy Britton had been lost for hours. They went for a hike earlier that day, but somehow got turned around. There was no cell phone service and no main road to find their way out. Their hands were chapped and turning numb from the sudden wintry surge. Desperate, they ran to the 400 square feet green cabin and knocked on the chestnut door. They both saw the candle in the window from afar and knew it meant someone was home. After several attempts, Amelia turned to walk away, but Wendy stopped her, “We can’t leave. We will be dead by morning. I can barely feel my legs.” She reached for the doorknob and slowly turned the brass handle.

“We can’t just break into someone’s house!” Amelia frantically shouted, but Wendy was already inside.

“Is anyone home? I’m sorry to just come in. We are freezing and lost.” Wendy paused, but no one replied.

“It’s so warm in here. We can just hang out by the door and if someone comes home hop out and explain why we were in their house.” Amelia nervously added. She had to admit to herself that the alternative was much worse.

Inside the cabin there was a fire lit, but no signs of anyone living there. The closet was empty and there weren’t any shoes, coats, hats, or anything in the pantry. Wendy went into the kitchen and opened the 1950’s buttercup refrigerator, but it was empty and inside was warm. It wasn’t plugged in and hadn’t been for quite some time. Amelia and Wendy opened the old fashion cabinets, but they too were bare.

“No one lives here.” Wendy murmured.

“Someone lit the fire and the candle in the window. Maybe they just got here and had to run out.” Amelia suggested.

“I didn’t see any tracks outside, did you?” Wendy questioned and walked past the kitchen.

The cabin suddenly seemed longer. Wendy and Amelia exchanged a confused look and began walking down a wooded hallway. There were vines growing from the ceiling and dirt covered the yellow vinyl floor. The hallway was decorated with pictures all along the walls. At the end of the hall, there was a dark oak bedroom. The bed had no bedding or pillows. The mattress looked as if it hadn’t been used in decades.

“I think we should go. I rather be cold. Something is very freaky here.” Amelia squeaked. Wendy was frozen and her breathe was slowing down. Amelia grabbed her hand, “Wendy, what’s wrong?” Wendy couldn’t respond so she just pointed at two picture frames on the wooden nightstand. Fear struck Amelia and she grabbed the frames and began screaming, “What the hell is this? This must be a joke. We have to get out of here now.”

The pictures slammed on the ground shattering the glass beneath their feet. Both photographs displayed their deaths. Amelia’s picture showed her being pulled underground with vines around her neck. Wendy’s image was her burning in the fireplace that was only 300 feet away from where they stood. Amelia grabbed Wendy’s hand and the ran down the long hallway. Amelia noticed the images mounted on the walls were all people who died in the house in horrific ways. Each one worse than the next one.

As they got to the end of the hallway, the front door was missing. There was only one window left with the burning candle. Wendy grabbed the candle to get it out of the way so they could climb out, but rapidly her hand burst into flames. The candle remained on the window sill. Amelia tried to stop the fire, but a vine from the ceiling grew down and wrapped around her pulling her away from the window. Amelia broke free, but it was too late, and Wendy was completely covered in blazes. Wendy fell backwards into the fireplace, and in seconds she was dust.

Amelia screamed in agony and horror and the vines began circling in on her. She was able to escape out the window, but only barely. As she hit the ground, vines pushed through the dirt from under the cabin. Her cries for help echoed in the distance. She lunged at the end of the dirt pathway and was almost in the clear. A vine broke through the frozen ground and pulled her beyond the world of the living. Her hand slowly reached up to the sky one last time and the ground swallowed her whole. The cabin went back to looking undisturbed. The flame of the candle went out. As the sun slowly rose, the smoke from the candle carried out into the day. The woods grew quiet once again and all was forgotten.