by Olga Menson
"Oh," she said, quietly. I was uncertain if the emotion I read in her voice was sadness or...something else. "I'm glad you changed your mind."
"I'm glad I did too. Besides, if I didn't come, who would carry you home when you invariably injure yourself in some ridiculous fashion?"
She hit me in the arm lightly but laughed with me. It certainly didn't happen every year, but she'd hurt herself significantly a few times over the many years that we'd gone to the cabin. Once she'd fallen off a log crossing a stream and broken her arm. We hadn't gone home, but she'd been in a cast for the rest of the vacation. Another time she'd burned herself pretty severely trying to toast a marshmallow. Mom's expert care had kept it from scarring her but she'd woken up more than once, crying in pain, and I'd held her until she'd gone back to sleep. The most recent, and sort of funny, incident had been two years ago. She'd dropped a jar of honey on her foot and broken her big toe. It had hurt, but all the doctor could do was give her a splint and tell her to rest up. I'd called her Pooh Bear for months after that, to her dismay.
At least, I thought to myself, we were getting along, and we wouldn't be alone together for too long.
How naive I was.
* * *
Arrival
* * *
June 5th, 1985 - The Road and The Cabin
Finally, we reached our exit. There was little there. A McDonalds and a few gas stations. We took a lonely road past a long stretch of trees, and at last turned left at an old, weatherbeaten "No Trespassing" sign. We drove down the long, gravel road in silence and anticipation, the trees on either side nearly touching above us. If you had never been to the cabin, you would probably be expecting something run down, perhaps even ruined. As soon you came into the clearing, you would realize how wrong you were.
We pulled back out into the morning light. The lake had small ripples from the wind, and the cabin sat on a small hill overlooking it, perhaps one-hundred feet away. It was two stories and had an attic room as well. It sprawled a bit, having been initially relatively small and then expanded in all directions as new generations inherited it. The way our father told it, this had been the first place that our ancestors had settled, and it had gone to the first child ever since then, with the understanding that it would never be sold. I looked over at Ash and enjoyed the childlike delight that played across her face. I suddenly felt that the trip was well worth it. She looked at me and blushed.
"What is it?"
"You always get like that when we arrive for the first time. It's really beau...amusing."
I barely caught myself, but her smile grew anyway.
"I can't help it. I love being here, and I love that you're here too. I worry every year that you won't come. I don't know why, but I know it wouldn't be as special if you didn't."
"What about mom and dad?"
She rolled her eyes.
"You couldn't keep them away. They get so, um, affectionate here..."
She trailed off. I knew what she meant. It was usually left unspoken, but our parents had a lot of sex here. We heard it, and it didn't bother us much as maybe it should have.
"Do you remember when," I started, but Ash cut me off.
"God yes. But I don't want to talk about that right now. Let's go open her up!"
The cabin was always referred to in the feminine, and I never knew why. It was tradition, and as I would find out, tradition was strictly followed in our family, even when we tried to escape it.
I got out and walked to the plain wooden structure. It was made of simple lumber, stained against the elements. It was most impressive from the inside. I unlocked the door, and Ashley rushed in.
Dad paid multiple crews of people to keep the cabin in good shape as it wasn't possible for us to do it ourselves. One was a cleaning crew that came out once a month over Spring, Fall, and Winter and then did an extra intense job right before Summer when we arrived. Another was a handyman who came out regularly and inspected the cabin, inside and out, and then did repairs. The last was from the local grocery, delivering frozen foods, dry goods, and fresh fruit and vegetables on a regular schedule throughout the summer. We never needed to leave the property if we didn't want to, and some summers we didn't. It never felt claustrophobic. After all, there was the lake and miles and miles of trails in the woods. There were so many things to discover and explore.
Besides that, the cabin wasn't as isolated as it appeared. It had a connection for both power and phone, although in bad weather we frequently lost both. We also had a generator for those occasions.
It was honestly a refuge for us. I felt the great weight of school and expectations of success lift from my shoulders. I could just be me, even if it were only for a few months.
Ashley and I unloaded my station wagon efficiently. There wasn't very much, most of it was the stuff that I didn't want to leave in my off-campus apartment, and her bags. She didn't exactly pack light, but with two people everything got moved quickly.
I was just pulling her large duffle bag out when I realized too late that it wasn't completely zipped. About half of it spilled on the gravel of the driveway.
"Shit," I said, picking things up, "I'm sorry."
"I'm pretty sure I'm the one who forgot to close it."
We worked quickly, me picking up her stuff (trying to ignore her panties and bras) and her restoring it to more or less how it was. I stopped when I reached a plain brown package. It was light, about the size of a legal pad, and maybe an inch thick.
Remember, open me if things get rough!
Love, Mom
I passed it to Ash, who looked at it and laughed.
"I guess Mom didn't think we'd be ok on our own, so she made sure to give me this before they left on their trip. She was so serious about it, it was weird."
"They're pretty weird in general."
"True," she said as she put the package back into her bag, forgotten quickly in the relaxing atmosphere of the natural setting.
"It's odd, being the only two people here," I remarked.
"Bad weird or good weird?"
"Good weird, I think. I just expect Dad to walk in making a dumb joke and then Mom to laugh and hug him, you know?"
"Well, you should get used to it."
"Why? They should be up in a few days."
Ash looked confused.
"Dad didn't tell you?"
"Didn't tell me what?"
She rolled her eyes at our father's absent-mindedness.
"His trip got extended. He's got to go out of the country and deal with some legal stuff for the new factory in Germany. Some nonsense about it being close to the border. They won't get here for at least two weeks, but probably more like a month."
I froze. A month? Alone? I found the idea very appealing but also a bit frightening. I had been counting on at least having the distraction of our parents to keep my mind off of Ashley. Surely, I could avoid being a creepy older brother for that long, right? I found new resolve, thinking about the fallout if I alienated her. As inappropriate and strong as my desires might be, I never wanted her to hate or fear me, or hurt her in any way. I ended my train of thought to Ashley looking at me quizzically.
"You look...worried," she said.
"I guess I am. I never thought that I'd be alone up here. I mean without Dad."
"I'm not worried. We can handle it"
I nodded, but I also remembered what he'd told me years ago about the old place. I wondered if he'd told Ash. Somehow, I doubted it. He was old fashioned and pretty big on men protecting women. Well, I'd tell her if I had to. It could all be nonsense anyway.
"I agree. I guess I was just surprised. It's not like Dad to fail to mention something like that."
Ashley shrugged.
"Do you want to go for a walk? I want to do the path around the lake."
I nodded, smiling. So we went. It was an easy walk, around two miles in total, leading around the lake, sometimes passing from view and other times right next to it. On the opposite side of the
cabin was a series of ruins. Just foundations really, dating back to the first settlers. They were fun to look at, but archaeological teams had dug up everything of interest back in the early '70s. Eventually, we came back around to the clearing with the cabin. Ashley, who had been explaining to me how her last concerts and college auditions had been going, grew silent. I followed her gaze to The Flat Rock.
That was what we called it. It was on our left as we came out of the trees, at the far edge of the clearing with our cabin and directly on the shore. In many other places it probably would have been mundane, but it didn't fit here. It was smooth and flat, unsurprisingly, but was maybe fifteen feet wide by twenty long. There were no other rocks of its size or type nearby. I was no geologist, but I was majoring in engineering with some light focus on architecture. Bedrock was very deep here and tended towards granites. This was more like limestone...but harder. We'd often come out and sit on it to fish or stargaze, as it had many curved indentations that were surprisingly comfortable. There were markings on it as well. I had asked my father when I was younger if they were native, and he said that they were essential to the white colonists, but that he didn't know what they meant.
Ash walked over to it and stopped, wrapping her arms around her chest. I could see the anxiety in her stance.
"What is it?"
"You were going to talk about...what we saw here. Earlier, I mean. I stopped you."
"Yeah?"
"Well...god this is dumb, never mind."
"I'm not going to think it's dumb, dumbass. It's obviously bothering you."
"I've been dreaming about it lately. And they haven't been good dreams, either."
* * *
Witnesses
* * *
July 17th, 1980 - The Cabin at Night
We were both a lot younger; I was fifteen and Ashley had been thirteen. We were bored. That's why I think we did it.
Ashley and I had been playing Adventure on our Atari 2600, but we'd become a little frustrated with playing the mode where all the item locations were randomized. Eventually, being surly teenagers, we started to argue.
"I can't believe you're so terrible. That dragon has killed you the same way, three times now!"
Well, really, I started to argue, exasperated by what I regarded as my sister's lack of skill.
"Like you do any better. You can't even figure out how to deal with the Bat."
"He stole the sword and left a dragon! You can't blame me for that, you little shit!"
"Be nice to your sister! She's the only one you have!"
It was Mom. Dad laughed, seeing our bickering as both typical and healthy. Mom and Dad often took walks at night, and they were leaving for one now. They never really asked us to join which was fine because we usually hung out enough with them during the day. Neither of them waited for a response before they shut the door behind them.
A second later, the silly argument already forgotten, I had another thought.
"We should follow them," I said, quickly, without thinking.
Ashley looked at me, her brow furrowed.
"I...I don't know. It's like really special to them..."
"Yeah, but, like what if they're smoking weed or something?"
I laughed at the thought.
"What if they're making out, though?"
"Then we sneak back. No big deal."
"And if they see us?"
"We went for a walk, too. We can just act like we meant to go in a different direction."
"Ok, I guess."
Ashley was less than enthusiastic, but she was usually game for my dumb ideas. So we waited another minute or two and then left. They often carried a flashlight, and we could see it, the only real light on that cloudy night. We crept toward it, saying nothing.
As we got closer, the light winked out. I stopped, and Ashley bumped into me. We both waited. That's when the strangeness started.
We could hear our parents speaking in low tones. They were on the rock, and probably just enjoying a romantic moment without their kids. Well, that's what they thought anyway. As it turned out, we didn't see what they were up to.
The first sign something was wrong was Ashley grabbing my hand. We hadn't really held hands in years, being surly awkward teenagers. And that night, her grip was strong and sweaty and I know without looking at her that she was afraid. I turned to look at her, confused. My first thought was she was afraid because it was so dark and we were close to the water, but that wasn't it. She was partially turned around, staring back towards the house.
"Ash, wh..."
That was all I got out when the lights of the house went out. I knew something was wrong then. Panicked, I followed Ashley's eyes. With the lights of the house gone there were eyes everywhere.I knew that's what they were, even though there were no bodies to accompany them. Never mind that they burned like flame of green and yellow, orange and purple, or that some seemed to be in the woods while others danced over the waters. I was afraid, suddenly. For myself, but more so for Ashley.
As we stood there frozen, the eyes moved, some barely floating inches above the earth while others almost as high as the roof. They closed in, and almost too late I realized that they were surrounding us, corralling us. To my credit I didn't wait a second longer. I ran, pulling my sister behind me. Panic filled me, not just fear of the unnatural but fear for her. Dad had warned me. He had specifically warned me about going out at night with Ash. I felt like the worst brother in the world at that moment, but I refused to let her get hurt.
I ran fast, probably faster than she could keep up. I remember we bolted far inland from where Mom and Dad were, probably too far away for them to hear us. If I had shouted, I might have gotten in trouble but to be honest I didn't think that they could help us at that moment. I was, however irrationally, sure that only I could get us out of this. Ash was smart enough (ok smarter than me, easily) but this was something I had to do. I couldn't have explained it then and I can't now.
To this day, I simply know it's true.
Soon we entered the forest, no sounds of insects, just the soft padding of pine needles and the occasional light snap of a twig. Low branches and brambles hit us in the face, arms and hands. I worried about Ash but I know now that I had the worst of it. I deserved the worst of it, for coming up with this stupid plan.
"John, stop! Please!"
I did. Ash was breathing hard, scared and exhausted and crying.
"Hey, it's going to be ok. I'll get us home, all right?"
I said it so confidently that I almost believed it, but Ash wasn't having any of it. She shook her head, sadly. I expected her to shout but she was quiet, almost sad. Her voice sounded years younger; a child in the grip of terror. That worried me more than the eyes did.
"No, it's not ok. I...I can't run any more and they're gonna get me. They'll get you too if you don't leave me here."
That snapped me out of my fear. It made me angry too. Not at Ash, never at her. At myself and at those things. I really didn't know what to do so I did what seemed right. I picked her up. We were only two years apart but even then she was much smaller than me. I had no trouble carrying her. I took off running again, but this time, I was looking for a path, any path. I knew I would cross one sooner or later. The truth was that we both knew all of the trails that ran through the woods by our cabin, and now that I was thinking straight I found one that I recognized, and I followed it.
Every moment I ran a spun my head around, looking for the eyes. Now and then I saw a set, floating in the distance, maybe one-hundred feet away or so, but not towards us, and that's all I cared about. Eventually, thankfully, I saw the house, power back on. In a moment we were back inside, the door shut behind us, the warm light of the living room dispelling our fears. It had felt like we had been fleeing for hours, but it had probably only been minutes. I set Ashley down and laughed, just glad to be back.
The same could not be said for Ashley. She pulled free of me and immediately ran up the stairs. I heard th
e door to her room open and close. I felt awful. What kind of brother would expose his sister to such a thing? Normally I would have left her alone for a while, but I couldn't let her out of my sight right now, not after what had nearly happened. I followed her upstairs.
I knocked on her door and went inside her room without asking. I wouldn't do it typically, but I had to talk to her, to make sure that she was ok. She was not.
Ashley sat on the edge of her bed, holding a pillow close to her chest. She looked younger than she was. She didn't acknowledge me until I sat next to her. I tentatively put my arm around her. She flinched, but only for a moment, before looking at me, eyes filled with tears.
"They wanted me, John. They wanted me, and they were going to take me! If you hadn't been there..."
Then she dissolved into tears, and I held her close to my chest. I knew that she meant the eyes. At the time it felt like they had been coming for both of us but that wasn't exactly the time to argue about semantics. I held her and told her that I wouldn't let anything get her. It took an hour to calm her down, and our parents came home not long after.
The next day Ashley was quiet and stayed close to me, but nothing strange happened. Over the weeks she calmed down, and things returned to normal. We never followed our parents again.
We didn't speak of what we saw until the summer of 1985.
* * *
Monsters
* * *
June 5th and 6th, 1985 - The Cabin
"What kind of bad dreams?"
"Promise...promise not to think I'm weird? Or make fun of me?"
"I promise."
"O...ok. So, it's like that night? Except I'm older, and I'm walking out to the rock with...with someone. I'm scared, but I trust them. It's the things. Those eyes! They're all around us, and they keep touching me, brushing against me. I can't see them but I feel their cold fingers pass through my clothes and I know...I know that if they take me, I'll die. I'll die afraid and cold and alone."
