The Final Toll - Day 4 #25DaysOfChristmas

Day 4: The Shadows Close In

The drive back to the cabin felt endless. The snow had picked up again, swirling thickly around the van, casting the world outside in a suffocating white blur. Inside, the tension was palpable. Megan sat in the passenger seat, her fingers clutching the edge of her seat, her eyes darting nervously toward the rearview mirror every few seconds.

She couldn’t shake the image of the figure standing in the shadows of the store. Its unnerving stillness, the way it had watched her, sent chills down her spine even now. What was it? And how had it gotten there? She wanted to talk about it, to make sense of what they’d seen, but every time she opened her mouth, fear stopped her words.

Tom gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles white as they navigated the narrow, snow-covered road back to the cabin. Lisa sat behind Megan, her face pale, eyes wide, staring out the window as if expecting the dark figure to emerge from the forest at any moment. Nate was slumped in the back seat, silent, his arms crossed over his chest.

They didn’t speak. No one dared to break the fragile silence that had settled over them.

It wasn’t until the cabin finally came into view that Tom let out a sigh of relief. “We’re here,” he muttered, more to himself than anyone else.

The cabin looked the same as it had that morning—quaint, inviting, its windows glowing warmly in the fading afternoon light. But now, after what they had experienced in Raven’s Hollow, it felt different. Wrong. The shadows around the cabin seemed darker, longer, as if the woods themselves were closing in.

They hurried inside, shaking the snow from their boots, the warmth of the fire doing little to dispel the cold that had seeped into their bones.

Megan shut the door behind her, leaning against it for a moment, trying to calm her racing heart. The air in the cabin felt thick, oppressive. She glanced at the others, but no one seemed ready to speak yet.

Tom headed straight for the kitchen, muttering something about needing a drink, while Lisa collapsed onto the couch, rubbing her temples.

“I still don’t understand what happened back there,” Lisa finally said, her voice shaky. “That... thing in the store. It was just standing there, watching us.”

Megan nodded, swallowing hard. “I know. And the note—‘Don’t look behind you.’ It’s like whoever—or whatever—is doing this is trying to mess with us.”

“It’s more than that,” Nate said, his voice low as he joined them by the fire. “Something’s been watching us since we got here. You all feel it, don’t you?”

Megan shivered at his words. She had felt it, too, but hearing it spoken aloud made it all the more real.

“We need to figure out what’s going on,” she said, her voice firmer than she felt. “We can’t just sit here and wait for the next... whatever it is to show up. There’s got to be a reason for all of this.”

Tom returned with a bottle of whiskey and four glasses, pouring each of them a shot. “I don’t know what’s going on,” he said, passing the drinks around, “but I agree. We can’t just sit here and wait for things to get worse.”

They drank in silence, the whiskey burning a path down Megan’s throat, but it did little to ease the tightness in her chest. She set the glass down and rubbed her temples, her mind racing. There had to be a way to stop whatever was happening.

But before she could voice her thoughts, a noise from the kitchen made her freeze.

A soft, rhythmic tap. Tap. Tap.

Megan’s heart lurched, her eyes snapping toward the sound. Lisa sat up straighter, her face pale, her eyes wide.

“Did you hear that?” Lisa whispered.

They all heard it. The tapping, slow and deliberate, coming from the direction of the kitchen.

Nate was the first to move, standing slowly, his eyes fixed on the doorway. “What the hell is that?”

“I don’t know,” Tom muttered, reaching for a knife from the table. He held it tightly, as though it could somehow protect them from whatever was making the noise.

The tapping continued, echoing through the cabin, growing louder, more insistent.

Megan’s stomach twisted into knots as she stood up, every muscle in her body screaming for her to stay still. But something pulled her toward the kitchen—some morbid curiosity she couldn’t explain.

They moved together, the four of them, creeping toward the kitchen, their footsteps barely audible over the sound of the tapping.

When they reached the kitchen doorway, they froze.

There, on the counter, was the bell.

The same tarnished, old bell they had found two nights ago, the one that had mysteriously disappeared. It was sitting in the center of the counter, and it was ringing, the sound hollow and eerie, echoing through the cabin.

But no one was touching it.

The bell rang once more, then fell silent.

Megan’s breath caught in her throat, her heart thudding in her chest. How had it gotten here? And why was it ringing on its own?

Lisa let out a shaky breath. “What the hell is going on?”

Tom stepped forward cautiously, reaching out to touch the bell. The moment his fingers brushed its surface, the air in the cabin seemed to shift—growing colder, heavier, as though something had stepped into the room with them.

The fire in the hearth flickered wildly, then dimmed, casting the room in a faint, flickering light.

Megan’s breath hitched as a low, guttural sound filled the cabin—a sound that didn’t belong to any of them. It was deep and unnatural, like a distant growl, rising from the shadows.

Nate took a step back, his face pale. “We need to get out of here.”

But before anyone could move, the front door slammed shut on its own, the noise echoing through the cabin with a deafening crack.

Megan jumped, her heart pounding in her chest. She turned toward the door, her pulse racing, but no one was there. The door was locked, bolted from the inside. No one had touched it.

“What the—” Tom started, but his words were cut off by another sound.

Footsteps.

Heavy, deliberate footsteps, coming from above them.

Megan’s blood turned to ice. They hadn’t gone upstairs yet today. No one was up there. The rooms had been empty when they came down that morning.

But now, something was walking above them, pacing slowly across the floor, as though it was deliberately letting them know it was there.

Lisa whimpered, backing away from the door. “Someone’s up there.”

Tom grabbed Megan’s arm, pulling her toward the staircase. “We need to check it out. Make sure no one’s in the cabin with us.”

Megan wanted to argue, to tell him that it was a terrible idea, but the look on his face told her he wouldn’t back down. So, reluctantly, she followed him toward the stairs, the others trailing behind.

The stairs creaked under their weight as they climbed, each step slower than the last, the sound of the footsteps above growing louder.

They reached the top of the stairs and paused, listening. The footsteps had stopped. The hallway ahead of them was dark, the doors to the bedrooms closed.

Tom held the knife in front of him, his breath coming in shallow gasps as he approached the first door. Slowly, he reached for the handle, turning it carefully.

The door swung open with a creak, revealing the small, empty bedroom.

Nothing. Just the twin beds and the frost-covered window.

Tom exhaled in relief, moving to the next door.

But as he reached for the handle, the door to the third bedroom at the end of the hall swung open on its own.

They all froze.

The door creaked as it opened wider, revealing the dark room beyond. Megan’s heart pounded in her ears, her legs trembling with fear.

Tom took a step forward, his voice barely a whisper. “Hello?”

There was no answer.

But as they stood there, staring into the dark room, something moved.

A shape, barely visible in the dim light, shifted in the shadows. It was tall, impossibly tall, its outline barely distinguishable from the darkness. But they all saw it.

The same figure Megan had seen in the store.

It didn’t move toward them. It didn’t make a sound. It just stood there, watching, waiting.

Tom took a step back, his face pale. “We need to go.”

They turned and bolted down the stairs, their footsteps loud in the silence. Megan’s heart raced as she stumbled toward the front door, her fingers fumbling with the lock.

She threw the door open, the cold night air rushing in, and they ran outside, the snow crunching beneath their boots.

They didn’t stop until they reached the edge of the woods, their breath coming in ragged gasps, their hearts pounding in their chests.

“What the hell was that?” Nate gasped, his voice shaking.

“I don’t know,” Tom muttered, his eyes wide with fear. “But whatever it is, it’s in the cabin. And it’s watching us.”

Megan shivered, her mind racing. “We can’t stay here. We need to leave.”

But as she spoke, the wind picked up, howling through the trees, and from somewhere deep within the woods, she heard it again.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The same rhythmic sound they had heard before, echoing through the night, coming from the direction of the cabin.

The shadows around them seemed to shift, closing in, and for the first time, Megan truly understood.

They weren’t alone.

 

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