The Cabin Creature

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. The local elders told the storied of the cabin. “Those who enter are never seen again!” they would cry. Its enough to keep the children away, but the teenagers aren't going to be fooled by some silly story. Parents just don’t want their children getting splinters on an old house, or running off to far into the woods, or talking to a stranger! Heidi and Gabriel grew up on the stories, and the night the candle burned they decided to end it once and for all. They were fed up with adults scaring children into submission. “Oh, don’t go to the cabin, you’ll never return! Don’t stay up past 12 or a monster will eat you! don’t ask more than 6 questions a day or the ground will swallow you up!” Heidi had had enough. When she and Gabriel returned from the cabin in the morning with video evidence that nothing bad happened to them parents would have to admit to all their lies! They packed their bags with torches, spare batteries, a few snacks and drinks and set off into the woods. They told all their friends where they were going, in hopes that they’d join them, but the chickens didn’t want to come. Heidi scoffed at their stupidity. Believing all that nonsense? She was glad Gabriel wasn’t that stupid. Their mission would save hundreds of children for being scared senseless, she thought more people would like that! But apparently not. People would rather be scared. They trudged through the forest alone on this moonlit night, two 17-year-olds determined to make it through the night without getting scared. Only babies would get scared of a house. The candle gleamed in the window leading the kids to the house with ease. Though the flame was bright, they couldn’t see inside the house at all. Heidi slowly knocked on the door and waited a few seconds for someone to answer. No one came. She reached out to knock again, but before her hand could reach the door it slowly creaked open. The two stepped into the house slowly, the door creaking shut behind them. To their surprise, the interior was clean and decorated, with a fire in the fireplace and two hot chocolates on the coffee table. there was an axe in a log next to the fire, and a sofa in the middle of the room. There was another door that led into a different room, but they decided to leave it be. The wall paper was green and pink, matching the floral pattern on the sofa. The mugs were on two wooden coasters on top of a white crocheted table cloth. Gabriel moved the camera around, recording everything they saw. Heidi picked up one of the hot chocolates and sipped it. “Mhh, sweet!” she grinned, sitting on the sofa and resting her feet on the table. “See! There’s nothing wrong with this house!” Gabriel nodded in response, filming Heidi drinking the hot chocolate. “Whose cabin do you think this is?” he whispered, placing the camera on the table facing them. He sat next to Heidi, but more tense than her. “Who cares? No ones been in here in years!” she laughed. “Then who made the hot chocolates?” Heidi paused for a moment. She placed the hot chocolate on the table and headed towards the other door. She opened it and called out: “hello?”

No answer

“Heidi, maybe we should leave… the adults were right, something isn’t right here” Gabriel mumbled, reaching out to open the front door. Heidi grabbed his arm and pulled him away. “don’t you dare! We just have to stay the night, ok? Then we can leave” she cried, failing to hide the fact that she doesn’t want to be alone. Gabriel groaned and sat back down on the sofa. “we’re leaving the second the sun comes up, ok?” Heidi nodded, sitting next to him. They sat in silence for an hour, just staring at the fire, thinking of all the possibilities. An evil witch that eats people? Poison in the hot chocolates? A portal to another universe? Heidi was beginning to regret her decision to prove the elders wrong. Suddenly the fire went out, and a bloodcurdling screech echoed through the cabin. The candle in the window went out and then relit itself over and over again. “WE ARE LEAVING NOW!!” Gabriel screamed, grabbing the camera and running over to the front door. It was locked. Heidi started screaming, grabbing the axe and ramming it into the door. It swung open, but it no longer led outside. Instead, it was now a hallway, with 7 new doors. Heidi felt her hands start shaking, Gabriel crying next to her. She walked through the door, opening one of the doors, Gabriel following close behind her. A half-dissolved corpse fell out onto them, making them both scream, fighting it away. The walls of the room it came out of were fleshy, leaking green liquids. The high-pitched screech echoed again, the hallway beginning to reconfigure around them. The wood caught Gabriel’s arm tearing a large gash in it. He cried on in pain, blood dripping from his arm. Heidi started opening all the new doors, while Gabriel sat down, feeling weak and light headed. Hundreds of doors had appeared, and Heidi was freaking out. Every door lead into the same room. It was the first room they had appeared in, except the table was smashed, there was mould in the hot chocolates and the candle was burning with a green flame. The wallpaper was peeling, the sofa was torn and there was blood everywhere. The last thing Gabriel saw before he passed out was blood flowing out of every door Heidi opened. The screech echoed once more, a deafening sound that left Heidi’s ears ringing. She looked back at Gabriel’s limp body, her heart racing. She watched black arms slowly reach out of the walls, grabbing Gabriel’s limbs, carefully dragging him into the walls. The wood opened up, showing teeth and a long tongue ready to consume him. Heidi ran over to him forcing the arms to let go of him, kicking the teeth and dragging him away. “Please stop!” she cried, tears falling onto Gabriel. “Why won’t you let us leave!” A deep laugh roared through the building, shaking the walls making dust fall from the ceiling. The door in front of them opened slowly, revealing a figure that seemed to be connected to the house. Its body was made out of grey fleshy Tendrils and There was a hole in the middle of its face, where the green flame from the candle was suspended, as an eye. A grim smile spread across its face, splitting it open. Sharp teeth stuck out all over its gums as it opened its mouth to speak:

“feast”

Heidi held on to Gabriel, knowing that this whole situation was her fault. They should’ve listened to the elders. She should’ve listened to Gabriel and left when they had the chance. “Please!” she begged, “Please let us go! I’ll do anything!” the creature paused for a second, before repeating: “feast.” Heidi sobbed and continued to beg the creature to spare her and Gabriel. The creature took a step closer to the pair before it stopped and spoke once more: “in exchange for your lives, you shall bring me people to consume every month. If you fail, your flesh will be what sustains me.” Heidi nodded, holding on tight to Gabriel. The lights went out, and a trapdoor opened beneath them. Heidi screamed, as she fell through the hatch, her skin catching on jagged bits of wood sticking out of the walls. The next thing she knew she was Back outside, Gabriel lying next to her with his camera in hand. She looked at the video and found all the footage to be missing except for a picture of the cabin the way they found it. On the table is a note that said “welcome to your new home. You have 3 weeks.” Heidi knew what this meant. She carried Gabriel inside the cabin, a new door appearing. It led to a bedroom. When she left the new room the creature was standing by the window, the extinguished candle in hand. It slowly lifted it up to its eye flame, transferring it to the candle before placing it back on the windowsill. Watching out for its next victim. The creature dissolved and disappeared between the floorboards. Heidi sat down on the sofa to process what had just happened when Gabriel awoke next to her.. “Heidi..? what happened? Did we die?” He groaned sitting up. “We survived…” she whispered in response. “Holy… we survived? “Gabriel exclaimed to the other in a state of shock, his eyes locking with Heidi’s as she told the story of how they survived. They then stumbled out of the house in a panic, attempting almost too hard to lure reckless campers to their untimely demise. For all eternity they now roam the forest, searching for another victim to serve to their new master.