We rented a cabin in the woods near a small town in Kentucky. The locals warned us not to arrive after dark. | Part 2

Part 1 Here

I grabbed the handle and yanked it much harder than I should have.

The door slammed against the inside wall of the cabin, leaving a large dent.

I ran outside, my skin crawling and a suffocating weight on my chest.

My heart was pounding like crazy.

“Olivia!” I screamed with all my might, my voice tearing through my throat like sandpaper.

The echo carried into the woods, dying out in the distance.

I turned on my phone’s flashlight and ran around the property.

Olivia was nowhere.

I caught my breath and screamed “Olivia!” again.

I’d never felt fear like this.

My stomach was in knots, and every beat of my heart felt like it was going to burst through my ribs.

Where is she? Why did she just disappear and where the hell is she?

I looked around frantically, trying to wrap my head around it.

The car was right there, so she didn’t drive off. Where the hell is she?

Panic was choking me, and my breathing got fast and shallow.

Circling the property a second time, I noticed the gate was open.

I ran through it, lighting the way with my phone.

Running forward, I felt cold sand under my bare feet, and small rocks dug into my skin, cutting me.

The air was cold and damp, scratching my lungs with every inhale.

I looked around for any kind of trail. Anything that could show me where to go.

Darkness and tree silhouettes were everywhere.

All I could hear was the rustle of the woods, insects, and the thumping in my temples.

I ran about half a mile. My lungs were burning like fire.

I had to slow down to a jog.

My hands were shaking and I felt completely hopeless.

My head was empty, except for one question: “Did I lose her forever?”

Suddenly, from my right, I heard a very faint sound.

I strained to listen. I heard my name.

I wasn’t sure if it was real or if I was just going crazy.

I didn’t care and ran straight into the trees.

Branches snapped and scratched my arms and legs.

I ignored the pain. Only finding her mattered.

The sound grew. I was getting closer.

I ran, pushing through trees and brush.

I heard a quiet sob, and a sharp jolt went through my whole body.

It had to be her.

I sped up, reached a fallen log and jumped over it.

I froze, and my heart stopped with me for a split second.

Something was lying under the tree…

Olivia…

She was in just her pajamas, her arms and legs all scratched up.

She had sand and dirt in her hair.

I started to shake. My legs went soft.

“Olivia,” I screamed, running toward her.

I hugged her tight. “It’s okay. Honey, what happened? What are you doing out here?”

The adrenaline crashed, and tears fell from my eyes.

A mix of everything hit me: fear, relief, anger. All of it.

I held her as tight as I could, repeating: “It’s okay, I found you, it’s okay now.”

We stayed like that in silence until she finally spoke.

“Liam, I don’t know what happened. I woke up, opened my eyes, and I was already here.”

I think it only just hit her that I was there, because she squeezed me back.

I felt the warmth of her body, and with it, a massive wave of relief.

She continued, head tucked against my chest: “I called for you, I called for help, but nobody came. I was here all alone. I’m cold. Please, let’s just go.”

Another wave of tears hit me, dripping on her head. I held her like she was the most precious thing in the world. I couldn’t stop.

She was so terrified and helpless. The sight of her was breaking my heart.

It hit me how much I love her. If I lost her, I would lose myself too.

I took off my shirt and covered her back.

“It’s okay, let’s go. We’re almost there.”

When I grabbed her arm, I felt how cold she was.

Usually silky soft and warm, now she was rough from the wounds and dirt.

Even though I wanted to know what happened – I didn’t ask.

I saw that she was terrified and lost.

We walked in complete silence, broken only by her quiet sobbing.

When we returned, we sat at the table.

I immediately wrapped her in a blanket.

Now, in the light, I saw her clearly.

She was pale and covered in dirt, and her body was full of small wounds and…

“What is this?” I asked, shocked, pointing at her leg.

“I don’t know, but it hurts a lot,” she answered quietly, sniffing.

On her leg was a massive red mark wrapping around her entire calf.

I knelt and looked at it closely.

Cold sweat rolled down my forehead.

Four thin marks, spaced almost perfectly apart, looked like fingers.

It’s impossible. They’re too thin and too long for a human hand.

“It’s probably from branches. They must have wrapped around your leg,” I said, standing up and heading toward the kitchen.

I put on water for tea, trying to make things feel normal.

Olivia didn’t answer.

She sat motionless, staring blankly at the corner of the table.

I added after a moment: “Honey, you probably sleepwalked.”

She lifted her head and looked at me, her eyes full of anger and disbelief.

“Liam. I have never sleepwalked in my life. And what the hell was I doing a mile into the woods for God’s sake?” she asked, her voice rising.

I put the bags into the mugs, staring at the kettle.

I didn’t know what to say. She was right. I’d never seen her sleepwalk. I’d never heard of sleepwalkers doing that.

I walked over and looked deep into her eyes.

“Listen, Honey. We haven’t had a vacation in years. We’re under constant stress. Work-sleep, that’s it. Maybe now that your body is resting, it’s all coming out. In a few days, once you get some real rest, everything will go back to normal. I promise.”

“Maybe,” she said, trembling, then added as she stood up: “I’m going to take a shower. I feel disgusting.”

I stared blankly at the bathroom door. Even though she was safe, I couldn’t calm down. I felt a knot in my stomach. The stress wasn’t letting go.

What should we do? Go back home or stay here?

I’m almost certain she needs this vacation. That she needs to rest. I’m sure once she relaxes, everything will work out – I kept telling myself that.

I took the hot tea and sat on the couch.

Now that the emotions were fading, I felt the sting from the cuts on my legs.

There were so many. Most were shallow, but the ones on my feet were deep.

After a moment, Olivia came out of the bathroom and asked: “Liam, are we going to bed?”

“Go ahead, Honey. I’ll join you in a second, I just need to get it together,” I said with a forced smile.

She ignored it and went upstairs.

I washed my feet, took tweezers, and started pulling out splinters and pebbles.

There were so many of them. I started to get drowsy. Everything was blurring.

I leaned my head back and sank into it.

Pain shot through my neck. Damn… I fell asleep sitting up.

I slowly opened my eyes, and my heart beat harder.

A heavy sense of wrong washed over me.

It’s too quiet. I looked sharply toward the door, and a jolt went through my neck again.

It was light outside, and Olivia always woke up before me – I thought, bolting to my feet.

Panic hit me. I grabbed the handle. The door was locked.

I ran quickly up the stairs.

Standing outside the bedroom, I heard quiet snoring.

I felt relief. She was there, sleeping safe and sound.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and checked the time.

It was 8 AM. I’d slept maybe two hours.

I was wired. No way I’m sleeping now.

My body was in full fight-or-flight mode. My heart rate was closer to a CrossFit workout than a resting state.

On shaky legs, I went downstairs and put on coffee.

Holding the spoon, I noticed my hands were shaking.

I took the hot mug and went out on the porch, leaving the door open.

Warm sunlight hit my face.

Outside, only the birds and a gentle breeze.

It looked completely normal, like nothing happened last night.

But it still didn’t sit right with me. What happened in the night was wrong.

The thought sent a cold shiver through me.

How did she end up all the way out there?

I sat there for two hours, stuck in my own head.

What really happened? What should we do?

A strange sound from upstairs snapped me out of it.

It sounded like one long, dragging scrape of something hard against wood.

At first I thought mouse or squirrel, but it was different.

It resonated. It was too clear and too loud for a small pest.

“It’s probably the roof. Temperature change. It was cold last night, now the sun’s out, the logs are expanding. I’m just tired. My senses are off,” I thought.

I poured another coffee and went back to the porch to enjoy the silence.

I sat down, and suddenly I heard a voice right behind me.

I almost jumped, spilling boiling water over my legs.

A sharp, burning pain hit my thigh and my cut feet.

“Did you make coffee for me too?” It was Olivia.

I looked at her, writhing and pulling off my pants with the hot stain.

“Damn, how did you sneak up on me like that?” I said, wiping tears from my face.

I tossed my wet pajama pants aside and froze.

How did she come down so quietly?

These are wooden stairs. You can hear a creak from a mile away.

“I smelled the coffee and came down,” she said, staring out toward the woods.

Heat rushed to my head.

I was pissed, and my leg was already turning red.

I took a deep breath and slowly let it out.

I forced myself to calm down.

“How are you feeling?”

“Fine,” she replied, heading toward the kitchen.

I watched her, and unease replaced the anger.

She was moving weirdly. Her back was stiff and straight, and she was walking on her tiptoes.

I followed her. “Olivia, are you sure everything’s okay? I was waiting for you to wake up. We need to decide. Are we staying or going back?”

“Let’s stay. Like you said, Liam. It’s probably stress,” she said, without looking at me.

Something was wrong.

I stepped closer and looked at her.

She was too calm. Too quiet.

Usually, everything shows on her face.

She laughs, or yells, or cries.

She never acts like this. Cold. Flat.

I hugged her waist and pulled her to me. “Honey, are you sure everything’s okay? You’re acting strange. Are you sure you want to stay here?”

She turned her head toward me, and I froze.

For the first time that morning, she looked me in the eyes and said coldly: “Yes, Liam.”

I backed away. In her eyes, I saw a strange white void.

I saw it for literally a split second. Then her look went back to normal.

A sudden spike of fear made my heart ache.

I must have imagined it. Exhaustion and stress. I’ll have to sleep during the day – I thought, going upstairs.

“Okay. If that’s what you want, Honey. I’ll go chop some wood for tonight,” I said loudly.

I put on a tracksuit, ran down the stairs and went outside.

Going out, I glanced toward the kitchen.

Olivia was standing there, staring at her mug, completely ignoring me.

I took the axe, set a log on the stump, and swung with everything I had.

The wood split clean in two.

Better than last time, I thought, and stood there looking at my work.

Suddenly, a voice from the fence snapped me out of it.

“Looks like you’ve learned already.”

I smiled.

I really liked James. He always had this warmth and confidence.

I walked over. “I had a good teacher.”

We shook hands. “Legs are fine from what I see. So why the limp?” he asked, smiling.

I felt a chill on my neck. “Yeah… I went outside barefoot. Got some splinters.”

James laughed. “Barefoot? You really are new to the woods. Why would you do that?”

I ignored the question. I didn’t want to go there.

“Listen, how about breakfast with us? As a thank you,” I asked.

James walked through the gate.

“I’ve already had breakfast, but I won’t say no to coffee.”

Halfway there, I called out: “Honey, make some coffee? James is here.”

For a second, things felt normal again.

Olivia stood in the doorway, and I said: “James, this is my wife, Olivia.”

I looked to the side and realized I was talking to myself.

I turned around.

James was frozen halfway down the path, staring at the porch.

He went pale. His warm gaze was gone, replaced by fear.

“James?” I asked.

He took a few steps back.

“Damn. Sorry, I gotta run,” he said, then walked off fast toward the exit.

At the gate, he stopped. “I’m sorry. Really.”

Then he was gone.

The shock tightened my throat.

I looked at Olivia.

She just walked inside, indifferent, like nothing happened.

I felt a squeeze in my stomach.

I just stood there, trying to make sense of it.

James left like that before. Maybe it’s his age, maybe he remembered something. And Olivia… she went through a trauma. Woke up alone in the woods. Of course she’s not normal. I need to be a man and support her – I thought, and headed inside.

She was sitting on the couch with a mug of cold coffee, staring at the stairs.

I sat next to her. “Honey, is everything okay?”

She took a sip.

“Liam. I already said.”

She said it with no emotion. Just a resonant drawl at the end.

The way she said it made the hair on my neck stand up.

I didn’t know what to do. I felt helpless. Like I was about to go crazy.

I stood up and went out.

“Get it together, Liam,” I muttered on the porch.

I started pacing.

She says she’s fine.

There’s no way she’s fine.

We’ll wait until tomorrow. If it’s not better, we’re leaving. Psychologist, psychiatrist, whatever.

My thoughts were racing, mixing with the exhaustion. It felt surreal.

Like my body wasn’t mine anymore.

I was moving, but it didn’t feel like me.

I needed to do something normal.

So I went back to chopping wood.

It took half the day, and every hour I felt the tension falling off.

I stacked wood by the fireplace and put the rest in the woodshed.

I went back inside. Olivia was nowhere.

I looked up. She probably went to lie down.

I went to the fireplace and started stacking.

My stomach growled. I hadn’t even eaten breakfast today.

Let her sleep. I’ll make lunch.

I’ll wake her when it’s ready.

I prepared the food and went outside.

I lit the grill.

Soon, the smell of meat and spices filled the air.

My mouth started watering.

Now I just had to wake Olivia – I thought, heading inside.

I went to the stairs and called out: “Honey, come down. Lunch is ready.”

Hollow silence.

Unease shot through me.

I ran upstairs, two steps at a time, and looked at the bed.

Olivia was on her side, back to the door.

Dread shook my whole body.

“Olivia?” I asked.

Silence. I walked slowly around the bed.

She wasn’t moving. Eyes closed.

I went pale, holding my breath.

Then I saw it. The calm movement. She was breathing.

I nudged her shoulder. “Hey… you coming to eat?”

No reaction.

I stood there, tense. She must be exhausted.

I walked out on my tiptoes.

I’d just put the meat in the fridge and make it fresh later. For now, let her rest.

I sat and waited, hoping she’d join me.

Hoping she’d come out with that smile and say “what smells so good?”

Or even be mad that I didn’t wake her.

But nothing.

I lost my appetite. The grill went out. The meat went cold.

A chill ran through me.

It was almost 7 PM. The sun was setting. It was cold.

I went in to light the fire.

Time passed. I kept checking on her, then dozing off.

By the time I finished my fifth tea, I checked my phone.

11:41 PM.

I could barely keep my eyes open. My skin hurt from the chills.

Even with the fire, I was cold.

I took a hot shower and went up.

On shaky legs, I lay down next to her.

I wrapped my arm around her and passed out.

Then, an inhuman, guttural scream filled the room.

I shot up, gasping for air.

My heart was beating so hard it felt like it was tearing through my ribs.

It was Olivia.

She was screaming like someone was skinning her alive, her face twisted in absolute terror.

Her eyes were so wide I only saw the whites.

She was sitting up, pointing at the corner, shaking and screaming.

I started to shake. Heat flooded me.

I felt primal fear. The worst I’d ever felt.

I tried to speak, but my throat locked. I couldn’t even swallow spit.

The only sound I made was a quiet squeak.

I looked where she was pointing and jumped back against the wall.

In the dark, I saw a thin, tall silhouette.

I fumbled for the light, and when I hit it, everything went quiet.

Olivia collapsed, unconscious. The shadow was gone.

On the wall, only one thing remained.

Four perfectly parallel gouges.