When the Dark Sets In

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. It could only be seen from a very particular angle, and just faintly. The whisper of the flame seemed to ride on the coattails of the wind and sweep across the forest.

Not too far away was a young boy who often explored these woods, but had never once seen this cabin, so the shock and confusion on his face was genuine and unfiltered.

His jaw dropped and he let out a quiet little, "What?".

"I have never seen this cabin before. How could I have missed it?" he said to himself.

Eli knew he had covered every inch of these woods on this side of the train tracks so he could not wrap his brain around this mysterious, and ominous, cabin. He decided to creep closer and get a better look.

"It looks like this cabin has been here for ages!" he murmured as he noticed the overgrown ivy, broken windows and layers upon layers of moss crawling along the decaying wood.

He took a long, measured breath and decided to get closer. As he did, he heard a soft, lulling vibration. He looked around but could not locate its source. He found a Maple tree that he could sneak behind to get an even closer look.

As he crept towards the tree he saw a shimmering flicker from one of the broken windows.

"A candle? Is someone in that cabin?" he whispered with a little fear in his voice.

But when he reached the Maple tree and looked back at the window, the candle was gone. It had simply vanished. More confusion sat on Eli's face. He poked his head this way and that around the tree. He craned his neck and squinted his eyes but to no avail. The candle was gone.

"How could this be," he asked himself. He took a moment to collect his thoughts and steady his breath. Eli decided that this was a bad idea and that he shouldn't get any closer.

His nerves were high but he slowly and very quietly traced his footsteps back. As he walked away from the Maple tree and headed towards the berry bush, he chanced a look back at the window. There was that candle! Shining as if it never went out.

As he gazed upon it that humming sound came back. A vibration that felt unsettling. There was something about this candle, along with the humming, that intrigued him, but he did not want to linger. He kept his eye on the candle but continued on to the bush. The moment he moved, the candle was gone.

"What!" he exclaimed a little louder than he had meant. He looked around but there was no one, and nothing, insight.

So, he looked square at the window and took a step towards the Maple. There it was! Another step back towards the bush, and it was gone. The gentle vibrations also came and went as it appeared and disappeared.

At this point, Eli was determined to learn more. He crouched down on the spot where he could see the candle. The longer he lay there the louder the humming became and the brighter the flame grew. He was in total awe.

In fact, unbeknownst to him, he was in a trance. He found that he could not look away from the candle. The humming grew so loud it surrounded him like dense, humid air. The fire continued to grow bigger and bigger.

Eli suddenly realized that he was trapped but there was nothing he could do. He was completely frozen where he lay. He tried with all of his might to lift his arms up but it was as if they were made of stone. He tried to wiggle back and forth but it felt as if he were surrounded by a solid wall.

The more he moved his body the more stuck he became but full panic had set in. He looked left and right but there was no one there to help. He tried to call out but his screams died in his mouth.

He looked back up at the candle, and to his utter horror, there was a figure holding the candle. It was a towering creature that was darker than night. It was as if a black hole had taken the form of a man's body. When he looked directly at this figure the humming sound became a sharp, debilitating screech.

Before he could even think, the ground gave out below him and he started to free fall, still unable to move a single muscle in his body. The dark figure was haunting his very soul as terror washed over him.

He hit the ground with a loud thud, and Eli did not want to open his eyes.