"We Were Once Like You"

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

Jackson did not know this was an abandoned cabin and therefore didn't view the candlelight as ominous, but rather an indication that he would finally be safe.

Safe from what? After three days of running for his life, he still wasn't exactly sure.

Jackson entered the North Maine Woods with a goal to hike the "100 Mile Wilderness" in eight days. A more experienced hiker may be able to do it in six, but he started this trip with aspirations to intentionally slow his busy life down. As a young boy he often hiked and explored the wooded area of East Texas, but these days he found himself grinding hard for 72 hours per week to pay down his student loan debts and achieve a higher position for more money. Problem was, this path seemed to be sucking his will to live. Life must be more than working until you die, right?

This solo hiking adventure was his chance to reset. Perhaps a contemplative hike on the trails of northern Maine would also help him trailblaze a new path.

A few days into the trip, the goal would shift from a search for inner peace to raw terror and the mere hope that he could just escape the wilderness with his life!

On night four of his expedition, Jackson struck his magnesium fire starter to ignite some tinder and as the sound of metal scraped, he thought he heard a female voice scream in the distance. Jackson paused in disbelief. He hadn't seen anyone on the trail in two days.

When he didn't hear it again after a couple minutes, he laughed to himself thinking maybe he'd been isolated on this hike too long. As he sat by the fire, the flames flickered bright, illuminating the dense forest around him. Jackson drew little images in the soil with a twig as he listened to the crackling fire and reflected on his life.

Some heavy rustling nearby brought him back to the present moment and he looked up quickly with a heightened awareness. Whatever he heard sounded big and not to far away, but it must have been just beyond the glow of the fire because he couldn't see anything.

Jackson dropped the stick he was holding and transitioned to a pocket knife, moving it into the open position without looking away from the direction of the sound. It was likely an animal that would scurry on soon enough and therefore his actions were based more on a mindset of preparation than fear.

As he looked straight ahead, movement in his peripheral caught his eye. Jackson leapt to his feet, now becoming a bit more concerned. His eyes narrowed to try and see what was out there, beyond the light.

The flickering flame of the campfire made visibility inconsistent, but Jackson continued to strain his eyes to see. Suddenly he heard another scream, this time much closer. The tone was lower and sounded like a man this time. As soon as the male scream faded, the female scream came from the opposite direction. Both screams sounded angry rather than fearful. More like trying to scare off a predator than being attacked by one.

Jackson could feel the fear rising within and looked down, noticing his hand trembling as he held the knife so tight his knuckles turned white. He slowly began walking backwards, retreating to his small tent, but keeping his head on a swivel. He nervously lowered himself into his tent feet first and wiggled his way in backwards, keeping his eyes fixed on the furthest points his eyes could see.

He then zipped it up, leaving only the bottom unfastened so he could peer out toward the fire. The zipper seemed impossibly loud as he worried it would draw too much attention to himself from whatever is out there.

He shut out the thought that the thin material of the tent would not really protect him from any serious danger by convincing himself it was better than nothing.

Strangely though, Jackson could no longer hear any rustling leaves, snapping twigs, or terrifying screams. With the exception of the sizzle of burning wood, he didn't hear anything.

Jackson laid there wide-eyed for what seemed like a solid hour with no sudden noises to reignite his alertness. He started to drift off. The strenuous hike combined with the adrenaline dump of fear had finally caught up and he eventually succumbed to his body's need for sleep.

The sound of heavy panting eventually startled Jackson back awake. His eyes jolted open and he pressed down on the bottom of the tent to peak out. The fire had died down significantly, but the glow still allowed for some visibility. Jackson observed two figures, thin and frail. Both were squatting down and digging frantically into the soft soil. Their skin was pale like their skin had never seen sunlight. Jackson covered his mouth to somehow try and block any fearful noises from escaping his lips. Although this male and female looked human in form, their behavior was much more animalistic.

Jackson scrambled quickly for his knife that had fallen from his grip as he slept. Unfortunately he found the open blade with his hand first as he cut a gash into his right palm. The sharp pain caused an audible reaction as he clamped his teeth down and hissed in pain.

The sound caught the attention of Jackson's two unwanted guests and both looked up, directly toward the tent. In the glow of the firepit coals he could not believe what he was seeing. The two figures resembled humans, but somehow seemed to lack the distinguishing characteristics. The shape of a nose could not be made out, but there were two holes for nostrils. And while there was a mouth, there seemed to be no lips. The eyes were like deep empty sockets, but with skin that had grown over the empty holes.

The creatures paused briefly before turning to dart off into the woods. The idea that they were fleeing emboldened Jackson as he leapt from his tent with knife in tow and began running after them. He jumped over the firepit in pursuit, but with every tree he passed, the strength of the light began to fade, and his bravery diminished along with his visibility.

As fear resurfaced, he stopped and stared out into the darkness. He could see the pale skin of the two figures standing side by side, facing his direction. Their body language was that of confidence as they stood tall, unconcerned by Jackson's presence. The wilderness was their comfort zone and it occurred to him that they may be luring him into the darkness.

He turned and sprinted back to the campsite. If the light from the fire kept them further away, he needed to get some more flames going. After tossing some small twigs and leaves on the glowing embers, he leaned down and blew gently to get the flame going again. Then he tossed several pieces of fresh wood on the fire to illuminate the area as much as possible before crawling back in his tent.

Jackson laid on his back and on top of his sleeping bag, with both hands on his chest, clutching the small pocket knife. His mind raced as he considered a seemingly endless amount of scenarios. As the flame of the fire died down, Jackson's anxiety climbed higher. He clinched his eyes closed, praying he could just fall asleep and make it to morning.

Instead, he heard movement outside, wandering around his camp. Then the female let out a scream that cracked the silence. The male screamed too and they screamed back and forth at each other, as if communicating somehow. The menacing screams were terrifying! Would he die out here? Would anyone find his body? He laid as still as possible and over the next couple hours held back his tears.

Eventually, the noise of the intruders trailed off in the distance, but Jackson still waited until sunlight broke through the trees and illuminated the exterior of his tent before he moved. He quickly jumped out to start packing up camp. He noticed footprints all around. Not shoe prints...footprints. How could any human walk on this terrain barefoot? His items were in disarray and spread out all over the place.

What was he dealing with?

Jackson still had a three day journey ahead of him before making it out of the 100 Mile Wilderness. He was determined to make as much ground as possible to distance himself from...whatever he was dealing with last night.

He grabbed his backpack, a gallon of water, his firestarter, and tent. Leaving everything else, he hit the nearby trail and started a slow jog. His pack was much lighter and he wanted to sprint, but felt that a good pace jog would allow him to cover more distance than sprinting until exhaustion.

Throughout the day he had a heightened awareness to his surroundings, always looking over his shoulder and even walking backwards at some points to make sure no one was nearby, following him. He cried as he hiked, replaying the events of the last night and praying he could make it back to civilization!

As the sun began to set, he knew he'd have to start looking for another place to pitch his tent and sleep. The fact that he had not seen anyone all day, did not bring much comfort. He was hopeful, but the terror still lingered.

Jackson decided it would be best to go way off trail so if he was being followed they would not know where he was. He descended down the hill several hundred yards looking for any spot sufficient enough to get him through the night.

The location he settled on was far from ideal, but perhaps that would make it even more difficult for possible stalkers to find him. After setting up his tent he prepared his fire pit. Before striking the fire starter, he paused. The flame would be easy to spot with the backdrop of night and perhaps draw unwanted attention. On the other hand, these creatures seemed more comfortable moving around in the darkness and perhaps he would be more vulnerable without light.

It was an impossible decision, but Jackson ultimately concluded being untraceable was the better option. He drank a little bit of water, what was left of his gallon, and then crawled into his tent. After being awake for roughly 38 hours, many of them under high levels of stress, Jackson fell asleep.

Unfortunately, he didn't sleep long. Screams in the distance woke him up and he gasped. They're back!

He opened his eyes, but could not see anything. Just total darkness. After not hearing anything for several minutes, he convinced himself the screams were from a nightmare, not real life. They shouldn't be able to find him anyway. He managed to drift back to sleep.

The next time he awoke, he realized that whether asleep or awake, his life currently IS a nightmare. He heard footsteps pacing all around. Then he noticed the sound of fingernails sliding across his tent. One of the creatures pressed their face into the nylon exterior before letting out a menacing scream. It reverberated throughout the small, enclosed dwelling and Jackson buckled over, holding his ears. The intense screeching seemed to last forever, far beyond the capability of any living person's lung capacity. Then...silence.

Jackson slowly removed his hands from the side of his head and listened carefully.

Nothing.

The rest of the night he remained still, in a state of shock induced fear. Tears streamed down his face, but he rarely blinked. When dawn arrived, the sun broke through several puncture holes and long scratches torn into the nylon tent fabric. The beam of light pulled him from his catatonic state.

Jackson shook his head as if to represent shaking off the events of the previous two nights. He knew he must move forward if he wanted to survive.

This time he opted to keep none of his possessions. Surely he covered more ground yesterday after leaving the majority of his stuff behind. Hopefully, free of any excess baggage weight, he could finish today and escape this nightmare.

Jackson began hiking back up the hill toward the trail he retreated from the night before. After climbing a good distance without finding the trail, he found himself dumbfounded and disoriented. In a panic, his eyes darted left to right as he spun in half circles, anxiously looking for something familiar...anything!

Knowing he could not handle another night among the visitors, especially with no possessions, he frantically began running. His legs felt as though he put on ankle weights. The dense forest towered over him and made him feel closed in and claustrophobic. His breathing became more labored and his vision seemed to be getting blurry. He tried to press on, but was dehydrated and exhausted.

Unable to carry on, he finally collapsed. He struggled in vain to crawl, showing his absolute determination to survive, but his body shut down and he passed out.

When he awoke several hours later he sat up and leaned against the nearest tree. He brushed the dirt off his chest and scanned the area. He was not much of a religious man, but in this moment he looked to the sky and asked for God's help. When he looked up, he noticed the sky was brighter in one direction than the other. The sun was setting. It was getting darker.

He stood to his feet unwilling to accept his most certain fate. Raw terror kept him stammering through the wilderness. After a few hundred feet, he saw an opening in the thick wooded area. He closed his eyes hard and reopened them to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

A cabin?

A CABIN!

Jackson pushed forward a little further until he found himself in the clearing in front of the small cabin. A candle burned in the window.

He fell to his knees while looking up at the sky in gratitude. He noticed it was getting dark fast, but felt he would be much safer in this sturdy cabin than he was in his flimsy tent.

The all too familiar screams suddenly echoed in the distance and brought Jackson to his feet. Walking up to the door, he knocked firmly and offered the friendliest greeting he could muster to whoever may be inside.

"Hello! Sorry to bother you. Is anyone here?"

No response.

Jackson knocked again. No response.

Knowing he was prey to a couple of maniac predators, he went ahead and turned the door knob and let the door open slightly.

"Hello, can you please help me?"

After making his presence known again with no response, he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. The flame of the candle was small, but offered a decent amount of illumination. He scanned the area and walked around a bit.

A couple more screams caught his attention. They were definitely closer, but still not in the immediate area.

As Jackson explored the cabin, the hair on the back of his neck seemed to raise. There was almost no furniture and what was there seemed to be broken. Spiderwebs seemed to fill every dark corner of the cabin and a few roaches scurried past him. Jackson picked up the candle and walked around. The amount of dust was astonishing and in fact, it was the dust that became the final straw to elevating his feelings of fear. Jackson's footprints seemed to be the only thing that had disturbed the long settled dust.

"If this place was abandoned, who lit the candle?"

Jackson's thoughts were interrupted by the eerie screeching again and this time it was clear they had arrived. He grabbed a broken chair and angled it under the door knob of the cabin door as a wedge. Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. He observed the pale figure pass by the window. Then he heard the other one clamoring on the roof.

Jackson grabbed a rotting wood table and flipped it on it's side. He backed into a corner of the cabin, away from the windows, with the tabletop acting as a partial wall between him and the rest of the open space. It wasn't much, but it was the best he could do.

Screams could be heard coming from every direction. Footsteps clamored quickly across the porch and on the roof. In addition to the deafening screams, they banged repeatedly on the windows and doors. It seemed as though the two creatures had increased to dozens more.

Jackson kept his back against the corner of the wall and squatted down low enough to feel some sense of protection from the table blockade while also keeping an eye on the door.

Then, in an instant, all the noise vanquished. Utter silence.

Jackson slowly stood to his feet and extended the candle outward to expose as much of the room as possible to the light. The flickering flame danced, but he remained still.

Finally Jackson worked up enough courage and slowly moved toward the open window. What he saw took him back to the first night the creatures appeared. The two ghoulish figures stood at the tree line staring back at him. At the edge of the darkness they stood shoulder to shoulder, but this time they were not alone. Dozens of ominous, human like creatures stood at the tree line, encircling the cabin.

"We were once like you."

"We were once like you."

"We were once like you."

The creatures chanted with a whisper, in eerie unison.

Jackson staggered three steps backwards. The creatures moved forward three steps.

"We were once like you."

Jackson retreated a couple more steps and noticed they again took two steps forward. Finding himself in the middle of the room in this abandoned cabin, he began to look around for an exit. As his eyes reached the corner where he had originally hid behind the table his jaw dropped in absolute terror.

A large black mass, that resembled a shadow more than anything tangible, slowly arose. It's form took up the full height of the wall, indicating it was at least seven feet tall. The eyes were a pale gray and the intensity of it's gaze paralyzed Jackson as he stared in horror.

The whispering voices outside began again, though this time they spoke more rapidly.

"We were once like you. We were once like you. We were once like you."

As the pace of their words increased, the shadow figure moved in closer.

And closer.

When this Evil grabbed him by the throat, Jackson instinctively opened his mouth for a gasp of air. It's head tilted as it's piercing gray eyes penetrated his soul.

"Weellll-cooome!" the beast whispered in a gravelly voice.

The shadow's hand gripped harder on Jackson's throat and lifted him off of the ground. He felt the life leaving him, but in his paralyzed state could offer no fight. Jackson's skin began to grow pale and he felt as though he was rotting away from the inside out. His heart stopped beating, but he was still able to perceive the world around him.

Finally the shadow released the grip on his throat and he fell to the ground. Jackson stood to his feet, but was no longer Jackson. He felt no sense of self. No sense of autonomy.

He stood there in a confident stance, exactly like the other creatures outside the cabin until...

"AAAAHH-AHHHHHH-AAAHHHHHH!"

They all screamed in unison, and retreated into the woods, looking for their next victim!

Have you heard the screams?