The forgotten Cabin
519 Words
The forest stretched out in every direction, endless and unforgiving. Ethan’s legs ached, but he kept moving, guiding Rachel through the tangled undergrowth. The air smelled of damp earth and decaying leaves, every step echoing like a warning through the silent woods.
“We need somewhere to hide,” Rachel whispered, glancing over her shoulder. Her face was pale, streaked with dirt and fear, but her eyes were sharp. Focused.
Ethan scanned the tree line, desperate for anything that resembled shelter. And then he saw it — barely visible through the twisted branches, a slanted roof covered in moss.
“There,” he said, tugging Rachel toward it.
They stumbled onto an overgrown path, thorns clawing at their skin as they pushed through. The cabin loomed ahead, small and decrepit, its wooden frame weathered by years of abandonment. It looked like a skeleton of a home, windows shattered, door barely hanging on its hinges.
“Are you sure about this?” Rachel whispered, clutching her side.
Ethan nodded, his chest heaving. “It’s better than being out in the open.”
They slipped inside, the wooden floor creaking beneath their weight. The interior was stripped bare — just broken furniture and a fireplace filled with ash. But the walls... the walls were covered in scratches.
Deep, jagged lines, like someone had carved symbols into the wood with a knife.
Rachel’s breath hitched. “What is this place?”
Ethan traced the marks with his fingers, heart pounding. They weren’t random scratches. They were letters. Words.
"They’re always watching."
Rachel backed away, her voice shaking. “Ethan, we can’t stay here.”
Before he could respond, something crunched outside.
For footsteps, Ethan grabbed a rusted fireplace poker, motioning for Rachel to stay quiet. The footsteps circled the cabin, slow and deliberate, like someone was savoring the moment.
A shadow passed by the window.
Then another.
Rachel clamped a hand over her mouth, her body trembling. Ethan gripped the poker tighter, every muscle in his body screaming to fight or run.
The footsteps stopped.
Then, a voice.
“You found the cabin.”
It was Caleb.
Ethan’s blood turned to ice.
“Come out,” Caleb called, his voice laced with malice. “We don’t need to make this harder than it has to be.”
Rachel grabbed Ethan’s arm, her voice a strained whisper. “There’s a trapdoor.”
She pointed to a corner of the cabin, where a piece of the floor looked slightly uneven. Without hesitating, Ethan pried it open, revealing a dark hole leading underground.
“Go,” he whispered, helping Rachel down before climbing in after her.
They pulled the door shut just as the cabin door swung open.
Heavy boots thudded across the floor above them. Dust rained down from the ceiling, and Ethan held his breath, every fiber of his being screaming to stay still.
Caleb’s voice echoed through the cabin.
“You can’t hide forever.”
In the suffocating dark, Ethan held Rachel close, their hearts beating in unison like a countdown clock.
They were running out of time.
To be continued...
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- Writer
