The Final Toll - Day 7 #25DaysOfChristmas

Day 7: The First Loss

Megan stood frozen, the wind whipping snow into her face, but she barely felt it. All she could see was the spot where Lisa had been, moments before the shadowy figure had swallowed her whole, dragging her into the forest. The world around her seemed to slow, the sound of her own heartbeat pounding in her ears, muffling everything else. The footsteps, the wind, the desperate cries—it was all distant, disconnected.

Tom was still holding her arm, his grip bruising, keeping her from bolting into the woods after her best friend. He was shouting something, but his voice sounded underwater, warped and far away.

“We have to go—Megan! We have to move! She’s gone!”

She twisted in his grasp, her chest heaving, panic flooding her veins. “We can’t just leave her! We can’t! Let go of me!”

But Tom wasn’t letting go. His eyes were wide, frantic, his breath visible in rapid bursts as he shook his head. “We can’t save her, Megan! It’s too late! If we go after her, we’re dead too. Do you hear me?”

Megan wanted to scream, to fight him, to run into the woods and tear Lisa free from whatever hellish thing had taken her. But her legs wouldn’t move, and the truth of Tom’s words cut through her like a blade. She knew he was right. They couldn’t save Lisa—not now. Not from that.

Nate was standing several feet away, his hands trembling as he stared into the forest, his face pale and gaunt. His lips were moving, but no sound came out. It was as though he were in shock, barely processing what had just happened.

“Lisa,” he muttered under his breath, over and over again, like a prayer or a curse. “Lisa’s gone.”

The cold bit into Megan’s skin, snapping her back into the present. She swallowed hard, her throat tight as the weight of what had just happened settled over her. Lisa—her best friend, her confidante, the person she had grown up with—was gone. Taken by a creature that defied logic, ripped from reality like a nightmare brought to life.

Megan’s voice cracked as she turned to Tom. “We... we have to do something. We can’t just...”

Tom’s face was grim, his eyes dark and hollow. “We’ll die if we stay out here. We need to get back to the cabin. Regroup. Figure out what to do next.”

Megan shook her head, tears freezing on her cheeks. “No... we can’t go back to that place. It’s... it’s in there. It’s been watching us the whole time.”

Tom set his jaw, glancing at Nate, who hadn’t moved from his spot, still muttering Lisa’s name under his breath. He took a step closer to Megan, lowering his voice. “Look, I don’t want to go back either. But we don’t have a choice. We’ll freeze to death out here. We need to regroup, come up with a plan. We can’t help her if we’re dead.”

Megan felt her heart lurch at the mention of Lisa, but she nodded reluctantly. She knew he was right. As terrifying as the cabin was, they couldn’t stay in the forest—not with the snow falling harder now, the wind biting at their skin, and whatever malevolent force was out here hunting them.

Tom finally released her arm and turned toward Nate. “Come on, man, we need to go.”

Nate didn’t respond. He stood there, staring blankly at the spot where Lisa had been taken, his body shaking.

“Nate!” Tom barked, grabbing his shoulder. “Snap out of it! We need to move, or we’re all dead!”

Nate flinched as though Tom’s voice had broken through the fog in his mind. He blinked, his eyes refocusing on Tom and Megan, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

“She’s gone,” he whispered, his voice hollow. “Lisa’s gone.”

“I know,” Tom said, his voice tight. “But we can’t help her if we stay out here. We have to get back to the cabin. Come on.”

Nate hesitated, his eyes darting between Tom and the dark woods. Megan could see the terror written all over his face, the shock of losing Lisa paralyzing him. But eventually, he nodded, though his movements were slow, robotic, as if his body had gone into autopilot.

The three of them turned back toward the cabin, trudging through the deepening snow. The wind howled louder now, pushing against them with every step, the icy flakes stinging their skin. Every now and then, Megan glanced over her shoulder, expecting to see the dark figure watching them from the trees, but there was nothing—only the endless expanse of snow and shadows.

The journey back seemed to take twice as long as it had before. The once familiar path had become alien, the trees taller, their branches looming overhead like twisted claws. The forest felt alive, pressing in on them with every step. Megan’s pulse quickened with the sensation of being watched, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was moving just beyond her vision, hiding in the shadows, waiting.

They finally reached the cabin, and it was no longer the quaint, warm refuge they had first arrived at. It looked dark and imposing now, its windows like eyes staring out at them, cold and indifferent. The snow had piled up against the walls, and the roof sagged under the weight of it.

Megan hesitated at the door, her breath fogging the air. She didn’t want to go back inside, but what choice did they have? She glanced at Tom, whose face was set in grim determination. Nate stood behind them, his eyes downcast, as though he couldn’t bear to look at the cabin—or anything else.

Tom pushed open the door, and the three of them stepped inside, the warmth of the fire doing little to thaw the chill that had settled into their bones. The air in the cabin was thick, heavy with an oppressive weight. Megan could feel it pressing down on her, suffocating her with its presence. The shadows in the corners of the room seemed deeper, darker than before, as though they were hiding something just out of sight.

Tom locked the door behind them, sliding the bolt into place with a loud click. He glanced around the room, his hand still gripping the handle of the knife he had taken earlier.

“We need a plan,” he said, his voice low and strained. “This thing... whatever it is, it’s not just haunting us. It’s hunting us.”

Megan shuddered, the memory of Lisa being dragged into the woods flashing through her mind. “It’s been messing with us from the start. The stocking, the bell, the mistletoe... it’s like it’s building up to something.”

Nate finally spoke, his voice hoarse. “Why? Why is it doing this?”

Megan swallowed hard. “I don’t know. But it’s not going to stop until we’re all...”

She couldn’t finish the sentence, the weight of it too much to bear. They all knew what she meant. The creature wasn’t going to stop until it had taken all of them.

Tom ran a hand through his hair, pacing back and forth in front of the fire. “We need to figure out what it is. What it wants.”

Megan nodded, her mind racing. “There has to be some connection. Something that ties all of this together.”

“Maybe it’s tied to the cabin,” Nate muttered, his eyes distant. “Maybe this place is... cursed or something.”

Tom stopped pacing, his brow furrowed in thought. “We should’ve asked more questions about this place before we came. All we know is it’s a rental in the middle of nowhere. No history. No locals to talk to.”

Nate rubbed his face, his shoulders slumped. “What good would it have done? If this thing is supernatural, it’s not like we could’ve prepared for it.”

Megan stood up, her legs shaky as she crossed the room to the window. She peered outside, the snow swirling in the wind, but the forest beyond was still. Too still. It felt like the entire world had gone silent, waiting for the next move in a game they didn’t understand.

“We need to get out of here,” Megan whispered, more to herself than the others. “We need to leave.”

Tom shook his head. “We can’t leave, Megan. Lisa—”

“Lisa’s gone,” she snapped, her voice breaking. “We didn’t leave when we should have, and now Lisa’s gone. We’re next if we stay.”

Tom opened his mouth to argue, but the sound of a soft tap, tap, tap cut him off.

Megan’s blood ran cold.

The sound was coming from the door—soft, rhythmic, the same as it had been before. She took a step back, her pulse quickening, her eyes locked on the door.

Tom gripped the knife tighter, stepping toward the door cautiously. “Don’t,” Megan whispered, her voice trembling. “Don’t open it.”

But Tom ignored her. His hand reached for the doorknob, his jaw set in grim determination.

The tapping continued, louder now, more insistent.

Tom pulled the bolt back and yanked the door open.

There was nothing there.

Just the swirling snow, the wind howling through the trees.

But something lay at their feet.

Another package.

This one was wrapped in gold paper, tied with a blood-red ribbon. It sat on the threshold like an offering—or a threat.

Megan’s heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the package, dread gnawing at her insides. “Don’t touch it.”

Tom hesitated, his hand hovering over the package, but the temptation was too much. Slowly, he bent down and picked it up.

The moment he touched it, the temperature in the room plummeted. The fire in the hearth flickered, then went out completely, plunging the cabin into darkness. Megan’s breath came in shallow gasps as she backed away, her mind screaming for her to run, to leave, to get as far away from this place as possible.

Tom stood in the doorway, the package in his hands, his face pale in the dim light.

He untied the ribbon.

Megan’s stomach churned, her eyes locked on the package as Tom slowly tore the paper away, revealing what lay inside.

A small, broken Christmas ornament.

It was shattered, jagged pieces of glass barely held together by a few threads of ribbon. But what made Megan’s blood run cold was the dark stain that covered the shards of glass.

It wasn’t paint.

It was blood.

Tom dropped the ornament, his hands shaking. “What... what the hell is this?”

Nate backed away, his eyes wide with horror. “We need to leave. Now.”

Megan nodded, her heart racing. But even as they turned to flee, the door slammed shut on its own, the bolt sliding into place with a deafening click.

The cabin was plunged into darkness.

And then, from somewhere deep in the shadows, came a voice—low, guttural, and twisted, the same voice that had spoken to them the night before.

"One by one."

Share |