The Cabin

The fire crackled as I looked into its depths, lost in the millions of shades of red. Only when Ellie elbowed me did I look up and realise, AJ - the camp instructor - was setting up a story.

‘Tonight,’ he began, ‘I shall tell you the tale of a family who came across this house, many years ago.’ 

He gestured to the house at my back. I glanced back at the looming structure and immediately chills rushed through my body, like icy cold rapids.

‘On a morning like any other’ he continued ‘a family of 6 drove down this very drive and approached the front door…

The family all had looks of opportunity upon their faces. All but one. The eldest, Aaron, was not keen on the idea of moving. Especially not to a house so far away from all his friends. But he still plastered on a smile, if not for him, for his younger siblings: 7-year-old Jess and the 4-year-old twins, Tommy and Beth.

The door was quickly opened by a woman with a wide smile. ‘Hello, welcome-welcome, Mr and Mrs Jacob, please, come in!’ Beth immediately took a liking to the lady. Following and gawking up at her.

That was when the woman’s friendly facade faltered.

But she picked it up just as quickly as it dropped.

‘Why don’t these little…munchkins go and play outside?’ She practically shoved the kids out. Aaron was not pleased. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and pushed around the toe of his shoe in the dirt before deciding to take a seat on the front step. All the while, little Beth ran around the front yard with Tommy.

Jess shouted out at Aaron, who was still sulking on the step ‘Wanna play hide and seek?’ Aaron grumbled back a simple ‘no’ and so off the kids went. Jess started to count ‘1, 2, 3…’ and Tommy looked around frantically, before his little gaze finally landed on a hollowed-out tree stump. He clambered up the adjacent tree, almost slipping as a branch snapped under his foot. Catching himself just in time, he continued his ascent. When he finally reached the top of the stump, he wrapped his little fingers around the edge and flung himself over.

Little Beth was found easily behind a bush, but neither girl could find where Tommy was. Assuming he was off doing his own thing, they moved on to play something else.

Jess ran around chasing birds and finding animals, while Beth sat down and collected flowers.

All the while, Aaron sat on the front step, wishing to be anywhere but there. He sat his head in his hands until he felt someone sit down next to him. He lifted his head and looked next to him at Jess.

She met his eyes and promptly said, ‘I’m bored.’

Aaron sighed and rolled his eyes. Of course, she was. Just as he was about to make a smart remark, a possum jutted out in front of them.

Jess’s eyes lit up, and she scurried after the possum. It darted underneath the house. And where the possum went, so did Jess. She dropped to her knees and squeezed herself in. It was a tight fit, but she was determined to find the possum.

She got so far in, and it was so dark she didn’t know which way was out. She tried to shift herself to go back in the direction she thought she came from, but couldn’t move. Pounding against the floor over her head, she screamed for help.

Unfortunately, her screams sounded like they were coming from everywhere as they echoed around the valley.

And the pounding?

Well, the parents in the house heard. ‘What was that?’ they asked the realtor.

With a smile, she replied, ‘Just the plumbing, you know these old houses are like that.’ They laughed and shook it off.

Unbeknownst to them, their daughter below was suffocating in the tight area, the air no longer reaching her lungs. Her screams died off as she attempted to save her breath and get out. Tears streaked down her face as she sniffled, and her hands explored the floor for any grip to haul herself out. No luck. Every time she got some sort of a grip, she just ended up with a handful of rocks. She let out one final bloodcurdling scream before she went limp.

Aaron’s head shot up at the sound of a scream. It was Beth. She was thrashing around in the pond. She tried to call for help, but every time her mouth opened, it filled with water. She kicked and splashed around trying to get out, but to no avail.

His parents thundered down the stairs and threw open the front door just as Beth went under.

Aaron was screaming, and his parents rushed to the edge of the pond, looking for any sign of bubbles.

They found none.

His mother was in tears, and his dad was pacing, shaking his head in disbelief.

The realtor stood in the doorway behind Aaron. Her forced smile fading.

Aaron’s dad approached him ‘Where are Tommy and Jess?’

Aaron looked up at him and stammered, ‘I don’t - I don’t know.’ 

His dad growled and started shouting out for them, but received no response.

The realtor hurried inside and called the police, who promptly rushed to the scene. One officer confirmed that Beth was dead as the others fished her little, clammy body out of the pond.

Other officers searched the perimeter to find the other two kids. They had no luck until they found Jess’s scrunchie just before the darkness beneath the house.

That’s when they found Jess. They had her dragged out from underneath the house, too, her pale skin gone purple. Her hands were bloody, and her fingernails torn and covered in dirt. The only missing kid now was Tommy.

The police called for backup in order to conduct a search party; while Aaron was asked the last time he saw his younger brother.

The last he could remember was when Jess invited him to play hide and seek.  So, Tommy must be hiding. Aaron told the police exactly that.

Later that evening, Aaron and his parents unlocked their car, and put on their jackets and layered up their clothing for the search party in the frigid winter air. After all, they all knew the first 48 hours were the most important in a missing persons case.

The only question was, where to look? Was Tommy still hiding, or was he lost in the Konadalilla National Park?

The police decided to start further out and make our way back inwards towards the house, just in case Tommy had gotten further than we thought.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have any luck. It was really late, and we were struggling to see. We had to pack up for the night. The whole party was solemn as we trudged back.

As Aaron walked back, he scanned the surrounding area when his gaze finally snagged on a hollowed-out tree stump, just within the vicinity of the house.

Exactly where Tommy would go for a hiding spot!

He shouted out for others to come and help him check, just in case.

They split open a gap in the stump, and there he was. A frozen, glassy-eyed Tommy.

We pulled him out and carried him into the house, where paramedics confirmed he was dead. The cause, hypothermia. We were too late!

I looked around the campfire, at the kids with looks of utter shock, and some of fear and then back at AJ’s face, bewildered.

AJ met the eyes of everyone around the campfire before concluding the story, ‘and the Jacob family? They left and never returned to Mapleton again.’

Everyone was speechless, even Ellie, which was shocking, as she was never quiet. Someone spoke up ‘But, how do you know?’

AJ smiled psychotically. ‘Because I’m Aaron!’