The Forest Cottage

15

Dark Stranger. 

It was very late in the night. Terry a straight haired college senior was trying to sleep after watching her favourite horror movie with her friend Betty.  " Are you sleeping tonight here " she asked her." " Okay no problem " Betty said and slept in Terrys other bed in her bedroom. They were all alone. Her father had asked her that " Terry are you sure. You dont want to come in with us. As you would be staying all alone here. And you know that the next house from us is pretty far and we are kind of near the woods, and highway so.. "

But Terry wanted to spend some time alone to catch up on some of her reading and college work. " Next time i will surely go and visit granny ok "she said. " But sure check all the door locks before sleeping. Did you read that newspaper news of some man who tries to break into peoples house " her father said. " You are worrying too much now go and have a good time.And dont scare me " Terry said.

And so her father and mother left. And Terry was all alone and feeling bit sleepy. " Should i see a movie. " So she called her friend Betty to come along to give her company. So she had her dinner of heated pizza and cold drink. After that they went to their bed and started reading for sometime. After half and hour of reading they started feeling drowsy and slept.

It was a rainy night and a chill wind was blowing. So Terry had closed all the windows in her bedroom. And in midnight she woke up with a, start. There was a noice from downstairs. Of a door banging. " Was it really someone knocking on the door at this time so late in the night or did i dream " Terry thought.

She slowly made her way downstairs and in dim light saw that someone was banging the door. Her parents were out for a two day weekend to her grandmothers house which was far away in the town. In between there was a forest road and very few houses in between.

" Have they returned or is it Jason her friend. Maybe hes playing a prank. " Terry asked herself. Her heartbeats increased. Should i call 911 or my parents. After a moment she thought of calling her parents to make sure. But she didnot wanted to wake them in middle of night. Terry was feeling reluctant to open the door. " Who can come at this time of night. " Terry had a weird feeling about it.

It was a full moon night. And outside the weather was a bit stormy too with rain falling in heavily. Terry went towards the door and slowly saw from the peephole. A mans silhouette was standing outside. Carefully she saw it was her father!

" Open the door Terry we have returned your mother and i as tomorrow i have some important business work. " It was the man outside speaking.

As Terry was just about to open the door while saying " you gave me a fright by coming like this at 3 am.. " But something about the mans face was bit different from her father.

Suddenly her land phone ringed with a shrill. Even her cat got up and came scurrying down. She went to answer the phone first on some impulse. " Hello whose this " she asked. " Terry its me your father. Im calling from grannys house. We will come in after four days so dont open door for anyone. I had a bad dream just now so i called you. I saw that someone was trying to break into our house .. "

The phone dropped out of her hands. If this was her father then who was at the door. A thunder struck at the same time. And the person outside the door started knocking the door more heavily. The man outside started to say " you have to open this door right now Terry. " His voice was too sounding very different from her fathers. " Is it really father outside or the man on the phone is.. " Terry asked herself. But then decided that the man on the phone was really her dad and this man outside dont know who or what he was. "

And she ran to her bedroom upstairs.. " Nice i did not open the door. Who knows who was out there .. " Terry thought n locked her bedroom door and sat for sometime. She woke up Betty saying " Betty get up theres someone outside.  " Whos there at this time of night. Nice you didnt opened the door " Betty said. With her blanket wrapped around her as she was shivering somewhat. After sometime the noise outside stopped. And Terry and Betty both slept. 

They slept for some time. Outside the man somehow had made his way into the house. Through a window. He sneaked into the house. 

Later in the night Terry heard some noise downstairs.  Terry got up panicky. A chill came to her heart. Slowly she made her way downstairs. When she reached the hall with her flashlight she saw shadow of a man. " How he came inside!

Whose this " Terey asked.

Immediately sound of running footsteps came towards her.  Quickly she ran the stairs up to her room and bolted. And watched. After a few moments her door knob was shaking. " Betty we have to get out of here " she said. Terry and Betty quickly hid under the bed. She was breathing heavily.

In the next moment the door was open and a masked man entered inside the room. He started looking for her. " What should i do now " Terry thought.

From the open window moonlight was falling inside.  Terry saw the open window and decided to jump from it. 

The man opened the cabinet and was looking inside it. Slowly Terry and Betty without making a noise went towards the window and started climbing out of it. It was not that too high a, jump or climb down.

First Betty climbed down. Then Terry but her knee brushed against the window glass and made a noise. The, man heard it. He stopped looking in the cupboard for her and turned and saw her. He came rushing towards her.

He caught her leg but Terry shoved him and jumped. She fell down. For a, few seconds Terry was afraid that she had broken a bone or something. But a few bruises nohing much so Terry got  up and started running away from the house towards the main road. So did Betty.

She turned back and saw the masked man was still at the window. And in the next moment he was gone. Terry and Betty started running.  Betty's feet hit a branch and she fell. She got up and started running again.

From behind her the sound of rustling leaves could be heard. That, man was following her. Where she could hide.  Should she climb a tree or run towards the road.

Some headlights of a car could be  seen. Terry could have used their own car but her parents had taken it to go for their weekend. She started waving her hands wildly hoping the car would stop.

The car halted. It was a police car. The cop asked her why she was in middle of the road at night.  Terry explained him that a   intruder had broken into her house.

" Dont worry we will catch him. Right now lets go to the police station. In this area some news of a miscreant breaking into people's houses was there on the news " the cop said.  And Terry and Betty sat in the car and felt relief. 

Movie Night 

Tina was sitting on her couch. " It's such a chilly night I should close the window. Where are this two girls they still have not come. I think I rather start the movie watching alone only " Tina s said.

Her doorbell rang. It were her friends Tia and Katy. " So you guys came i thought you were cancelling " Tina said.

" We were getting this new movie CD that's why got a little bit late " Katy said. " Which one it's " asked Tina. " Nightmare on elm street something " Katy replied. " Are you silly its an old movie not new but its okay we will watch it " Tina told them.

As they sat down to watch the movie. It was dark in the hall. When someone heavily knocked on the door. Tina got up to see through the peephole. " Who could it be at this time of the night its 11 30! Both my parents are not returning from their business weekend till monday. "

No one was out. " I think its some kid playing a prank Tina forget it " Ria said. " Or it could be some thief " Tina said with a frightened look on her face. " Have you closed the back door " Katy asked. " I think I haven't oh my God wait let me go and close it " Tina said and rushed to the other room. Tina ran fast. Towards the door and closed it. As it was wide open. " Hope nobody came inside. From upstairs a thud sound came. " What was that Tina said. She was a curly haired slim girl.

She joined her friends after closing the door. " What was that " Katie the blonde blue eyed she was asked. " The backdoor was open!" " How could you be so careless. It's 11 45 in the night. What if someone has already come inside " Ria said. Tia was a bit plump girl with reddish streaks in her hair.

They started watching the movie. In middle again some sound came from upstairs. " I think its a stray cat maybe " Ria said. " Stray cats don't make such big noise " Katie remarked. " I have a baseball bat we can use it if its a thief " Tina told. " Where is it " Ria asked." Upstairs " Tina replied. " Wait i will go and bring it " Katie. "

" No let it be lets continue watching the movie. There's nothing to worry about forget it " Tina said.

As the ending of the movie came after one hour Tina was looking at the back side instead of movie. " What happened " Ria asked. " I saw a shadow of someone move on the stairs " Tina told.  Katie turned in surprise. " What are you saying. It must be ur imagination. " " I don't think so. The backdoor was open and I closed it just now. So maybe someone some thief has entered " Tina said. " Let's call the cops then " Rhia told. " Wait first lets confirm that it surely is someone there ' Tina told. 

" And wait for him to show himself to us " Katie told. " Are we watching the movie or not see its the c****x of the movie " Tina said. " I'm no more in mood for movie watching " Katie told. " Its half past twelve and we are alone. "

Suddenly from the stairs sound of footsteps could be heard. All of them were shocked. Rhia switched off the tv. " Let's get out of here fast we can go to the neighbours " she said. " Good idea lets go " Tina said and the three of them got up to go. Tina in a hurry was turning the doorknob. " What's wrong why you not opening it you jerk " Katie said. " Its stuck and it won't open " Tina replied. " Wait let me check " Rhea said and tried to open it and exclaimed " ofcourse it won't open. It's locked from outside. We are stuck in here with a thief or killer who knows! "

" Where's your phone call the neighbours " Katie said to Tina. " It is in my purse upstairs in the bedroom. " " Let's go out from the backside door " Tina said. " " Hurry then. " As they all reached to the backroom door. And tried to open it. It was locked too. " This is a nightmare, why you don't keep a land phone " Katie said. 

" Ofcourse its there in the kitchen " Tina said and they all rushed towards the kitchen. As Tina picked up the receiver and dialled. There was no dial tone. " Whoever has intruded has planned it all over. He has cut off the phone lines " Tina told.

All the lights went off. " Now the lights gone too how you suppose we will find your purse in the dark " Katie asked.

This went towards the table and lighted a candle. " Here take this and go upstairs and get ur phone " she s said. " I'm not going alone you are coming with me " Tina said. "Okay lets all go together then " and they all made their way upstairs.

Tina slowly opened her bedroom door. A huge gush of wind came and blew off the candle. " And now we are in total darkness. "

" My purse is on the bed wait let me get it by finding it from the little bit of moonlight that's coming " Tina said. " There it is " Tina said happily. " My purse but where is the cell phone I don't find it here. "

" Are you sure you kept it inside " Katie asked. " No i think its downstairs on the table " Tina replied.

" I don't believe you " now let's go downstairs " Katie said. " Wait the bedroom windows open, let's climb downstairs " Rhia said. " Is it too high " Katie asked. " Right in front is a tree we can climb down through it " Tina said.

From downstairs a mans laughter sound could be heard he was saying something like " I am coming upstairs. "

" Close the door first you left it open " Katie shrieked. Tina hurried towards the door. There was a push from outside and a man's hand entered inside. Katie helped Tina in pushing the door and locking it.

The man outside started banging the door heavily. The girls rushed towards the window. " Silly hurry up and climb down " Tina screamed at Rhia. " I'm not able to get a grip on the branch" Rhia said. " Wait let me go first " Katie said and fast climbed down.

Rhia followed her. Outside the man was trying to break the door with a heavy object. After Rhia went successfully down. Tina was next.

" Hurry u come fast down Tina " Katie shrieked. The man cracked the door and with his hand opened the lock and came inside. Tina screamed.

A masked man with a knife in his hand was standing at the doorway. In the darkness Tina couldn't make out much.

He rushed towards her. Katie shouted from down. " Hes right behind you, climb down fast. " As Tina took one step down on the tree branch he took hold of her leg. She tried to jerk him away.

And then just jumped and fell. From up he showed a middle finger and started climbing down too.

" It's a sprain ankle I think can't get up " Tina was saying. Katie and Rhia supported her in getting up and with a limping Tina made their way towards the neighbours house. And they ran. The masked man was behind them. " We need to hurry up he's catching on us Tina " Katie said. 

It was midnight and very dark outside. Except for the moonlight and the streetlight across the street.

As they somehow reached their next door neighbours house. Rhia rang the doorbell frequently. Her hands were trembling.

A dim light was on in the porch and all the lights were off in the house. " They are asleep or are they even there inside the house " Tina exclaimed.

No one was opening the door. Katie banged on the window too but nothing. All silent.

From behind the bushes the man was standing. Tina turned saw him and screamed. " Hes here. We have to hide somewhere. No ones answering this door. "

So the three of them ran brusquely and hid behind some thick bushes. The man followed them and was searching for them.

Katie kept a hand on her mouth to prevent herself from making any noise. Right in front of them he was standing look here and there fervently.

A car's headlights seem to be coming from front so they hid more in the shrubs to avoid him.

" Once he goes from here we can go towards the parking car as someone has come there and he will help us " Katie said. 

Mystery at the resort. 

Nancy and Jess were on their way to this Hawaiin resort. Nancy was the brown haired pretty one while Jess was the bit plump blonde. Both where best friends were from high school. Their father Mr Jason had arranged this trip for them to an Egyptian resort. Only in half an hours time their plane would land. After it landed they came out of the airport lounge to be recieved by the hotel employee. He was a dark skinned medium height Egyptian. He escorted them on their way. It was a half an hours drive. Once they reached the resort it was exotic looking with wild flowers around. " The smell of this magnolia flowers is, so nice.. " Jess said. " I know its ur favourite " Nancy replied.

Their room too was lovely overlooking the sea and lush green forest island. " We should take a, hike in the forests what you say " Jess said. " There must be wild animals out there! " Nancy said. Both of them got refreshed and ordered room service of hot soup and sandwich.

Nancy decided to sleep early as she was tired after the travel. Jess too decided the same.

In night as they were sleeping the weather outside had became stormy and rain was falling heavily. Nancy was feeling cold as she was reading a detective novel while Jess was fast asleep. It was very late in the night. Suddenly she heard whispers coming from outside the window! A layer of mist was on the windows full surface. As Nancy went close near it to inspect as to from where the noise was coming from. A sudden chill fell up in the room. Nancy and Jess were on their way to this Hawaiin resort. Nancy was the brown haired pretty one while Jess was the bit plump blonde. Both where best friends were from high school. Their father Mr Jason had arranged this trip for them to an Egyptian resort. Only in half an hours time their plane would land. After it landed they came out of the airport lounge to be recieved by the hotel employee. He was a dark skinned medium height Egyptian. He escorted them on their way. It was a half an hours drive. Once they reached the resort it was exotic looking with wild flowers around. " The smell of this magnolia flowers is, so nice.. " Jess said. " I know its ur favourite " Nancy replied.

Their room too was lovely overlooking the sea and lush green forest island. " We should take a, hike in the forests what you say " Jess said. " There must be wild animals out there! " Nancy said. Both of them got refreshed and ordered room service of hot soup and sandwich.

Nancy decided to sleep early as she was tired after the travel. Jess too decided the same.

In night as they were sleeping the weather outside had became stormy and rain was falling heavily. Nancy was feeling cold as she was reading a detective novel while Jess was fast asleep. It was very late in the night. Suddenly she heard whispers coming from outside the window! A layer of mist was on the windows full surface. As Nancy went close near it to inspect as to from where the noise was coming from. A sudden chill fell up in the room. Nancy and Jess were on their way to this Hawaiin resort. Nancy was the brown haired pretty one while Jess was the bit plump blonde. Both where best friends were from high school. Their father Mr Jason had arranged this trip for them to an Egyptian resort. Only in half an hours time their plane would land. After it landed they came out of the airport lounge to be recieved by the hotel employee. He was a dark skinned medium height Egyptian. He escorted them on their way. It was a half an hours drive. Once they reached the resort it was exotic looking with wild flowers around. " The smell of this magnolia flowers is, so nice.. " Jess said. " I know its ur favourite " Nancy replied.

Their room too was lovely overlooking the sea and lush green forest island. " We should take a, hike in the forests what you say " Jess said. " There must be wild animals out there! " Nancy said. Both of them got refreshed and ordered room service of hot soup and sandwich.

Nancy decided to sleep early as she was tired after the travel. Jess too decided the same.

In night as they were sleeping the weather outside had became stormy and rain was falling heavily. Nancy was feeling cold as she was reading a detective novel while Jess was fast asleep. It was very late in the night. Suddenly she heard whispers coming from outside the window! A layer of mist was on the windows full surface. As Nancy went close near it to inspect as to from where the noise was coming from. A sudden chill fell up in the room. It was evening. Both Nancy and Jess got ready to go for the event. In the afternoon both of them had taken a tour of the resort and the beach. From the antique shop Jess had bought a antique locket. 

Jess wore her yellow dress n Nancy a dark red long sleeved outfit. As Jess made Nancy change her mind.  " You have to look good when you meet Brad.  You cant go in casual in front of him Nancy " Jess was saying. The moon came up in the sky full and lovely.

The gardens around the resort were decorated in glittering lights. There was campagne flowing lavishly all around. Jess quuckly took one glass from the waiter.  While Nancy preferred a soft drink. Brad the actor was all dressed up in a tuxedo and was greeting all the attendees. There were photographers too. Jess was too excited to meet him.

" Did you find anything odd when we were buying that antique pendant in the shop " asked Jess. Nancy said " you mean that guy who was standing beside you, yes he was kind of strange. I felt like he was stalking us. " Both Nancy and Jess were conversing at the corner.

The atmosphere was full of heavy perfume scent. Brad gave a lovely smile to Nancy and Jess when they entered. Afterwards on the stage he gave a small speech. Rest of the evening went by quickly with all guests mingling. Jess took a selfie with him n got a bit drunk on the champagne. Nancy had to literally drag her from the event.

It was late in the night now as they were retreating to their rooms " Its that same weirdo from the shop c " Jess pointed out to the same man who was sitting in the lobby. " Do u think hes some serial killer " asked Jess. " U r just over imagining "Nancy said. " But I don't like the looks of him " Jess said.

" Come on lets go to our room now we had a busy day " suggested Nancy n they both went up the lift. While the mystery man gave a smirk at them. In the hotel room Nancy was ordering room service. She asked for a hot chicken soup as they had already eaten at the celebrity event.

After having their soup both of them slept. Nancy did try to join in Jess with her soap watching but was founding it boring. After the heady events of the evening. As Jess was watching a little bit of a romance drama tv series. N slept in midway. Nancy got up n switched off the tv and slept. " Just like you to always doze off in between .. "

As Nancy slept. At midnight Nancy heard some footsteps outside their door. And the doorknob was rattling. " " Its not my imagination " she said. "Whose this whose trying to break in " she gasped. " She sure wanted to go out and check. Her sleuthing sense was nagging her. A chill ran through her. Something is going on here.

She jumped to double check the lock n then tried to sleep back as the rattling stopped. " No point in waking Jess up , she will only panic. Whats going on here in this hotel by the way " she was thinking.

Slowly sleep came to her. As outside the moon was full up in the sky with a few sparkling  stars scattered around it. And outside the man's shadow lingered for a while and then went away from there. Next day both Nancy and Jess woke up. The sun light was shining inside on their faces. 

" Today what have you planned to do " asked Jess. " Well we can go and see the area around here like a tourist " said Nancy. " Last night I heard someone trying to break in our hotel room " Nancy said. " What you are saying, is it that weird suspicious guy loitering around the lobby! I think we should inform the hotel security " Jess suggested.

" Will see if it happens again today then we will take some action " Nancy said.

" Let's have tea now, my head is aching " Nancy told. " I had a nice night of sleep though " Jess was drawling.

After having their breakfast of bacon and toast both of them got ready n went out with their hats on as it was very sunny. " Let's do some market hopping here I have heard there are some antique pieces worth buying " Jess was saying. " I'm thinking of buying an ouija board because there are some questions that I want to get answered " Nancy was thinking.

" Again that same guy see he's there standing near that stall " Jess pointed to the same weird guy.

" I think  enough of him, we dont want to worry about him on our holiday ok or suspecting that hes coming at our  room door in the night okay. Right now let's just buy a Ouija board n do a session tonight! Nancy said. " Isnt this a bit spooky this board and all " Jess remarked. " Who ypu you want to summon by the way " Jess quipped. " Maybe a murderers dead spirit or some ghost " Nancy said. " Im taking another room if you do all this stuff here. U are scary " Jess was saying a bit angrily.

" But I am quite excited about this pointing towards a bracelet " Jess was saying as she went to to a stall and brought herself a transparent blue bracelet . The woman selling it said it was supposed to bring good luck to one who wears it. As always Jess was being herself.

    ♡ ☆