A Trick of the Light

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. I could see it’s faint flickering in the distance, as I walked along the treelined path. Jason meandered beside me. The yellow glow of his dull flashlight skittered erratically on the ground due to his drunken state.

“Hold the light still,” I whispered loudly, slurring my words.

A half empty bottle of whiskey sloshed inside the pocket of my hoodie. As we crept closer to the cabin, Jason switched off the flashlight. I squinted through the woods and the darkness pressed in on me uncomfortably.

“I bet it’s-s just some homeless dude,” he said as he stumbled over something in the dark. His feet rustled dry twigs and brush as he tried to right himself.

“Shhhh, it could be someone dangerous,” I snapped back. I was nervous, but my curiosity coupled with the whiskey urged me to get close enough to peak through the cabin window.

The silence of the forest felt like a warning. Underfoot, dried, dead leaves crunched loudly as my stomach fluttered with anticipation. We slowed down when we were only a few yards from the cabin. I could see the soft candle light wavering behind a grimy window.

All of a sudden, a dark figure crossed in front of the window, and Jason grabbed my arm. I stifled a scream. We didn’t dare speak. I could hear the creak of the cabin’s old floorboards as the person inside moved around. They crossed in front of the window again, their silhouette dark against the candlelight.

“Did you see that?” Jason whispered excitedly. “I think it’s a woman.”

He took a step forward as I tried to grab him.

“Let’s go back.” I whispered as softly as I dared, but Jason was already crouched in front of the window.

That’s when I heard it. Humming. The woman inside the cabin was humming an eerie melody. Jason knelt under the window like a reverent churchgoer. He turned quickly and waved me forward. I reluctantly stooped down and joined him.

I peered through the filthy glass as best I could. The woman inside the cabin had her back to us. She was wearing a tattered, brown dress. It hung in shreds on her thin frame. She had long, dark hair that ran down her back in wild tangles. She bent over and stacked logs in a stone fireplace. As she rose, the tattered dress slipped off her shoulder, revealing her pale skin. She turned and we quickly ducked under the window. Her strange humming grew louder.

Jason’s face was inches away from mine. “Did you see her? She’s like a beautiful savage.” His excited tone clashed with my fear. The liquid courage that had egged me on had completely dissipated from my system.

“Something is off, we need to leave.” My voice was pleading, but he twisted away from me to gaze into the window.

“Holy shit,” he muttered involuntarily. I reluctantly lifted myself up to peek at her again.

A roaring fire suddenly illuminated the cabin. The woman stood in front of a table, methodically arranging things I couldn’t see. The shredded dress barely covered her body. Her full breasts were exposed, and I found myself transfixed. She moved gracefully around the room as she continued to hum.

I leaned forward a few more inches, trying hard to see her face. As I stared, something about her appearance changed rapidly. The hair on her head was gone and, in its place, stood a few grey wisps clinging to a bare scalp. I blinked and the hair was back, black and knotted with leaves and twigs intertwined throughout it.

A horrible feeling crept up inside of me, souring my stomach and sobering me up. I was filled with a chilling sense of dread. Something about this woman was wrong. She felt dangerous.

I quickly turned to Jason and grabbed his upper arm.

“We need to leave, NOW!” I hurriedly whispered. “Something is wrong, something is off-“

My distraught warning was cut off by a loud scoffing noise from Jason.

“Shhh, dude, quiet down,” I whispered frantically.

Panic flooded my system as I realized that an incredibly drunk Jason had no intention to stay quiet.

“You’re such a loser. I want to have some fun.” He spit out the words at a volume level that made me shrink away in fear.

The humming stopped. I could barely hear her footsteps approach the door over the sound of my hammering heart. I took a step back as Jason stumbled forward. She opened the door quickly, but stood still in the doorway, taking in the scene before her. The light from the blazing fire spilled out into the night, showing us the mysterious woman.

Her face was striking. She had high cheekbones and almond shaped eyes. Her beauty was feral. She stood before us, half naked, unashamed of her exposed body. Her legs were long and sinewy. She calmly surveyed us and a smile spread across her sharp features.

She took a step forward and something shifted again. I blinked and she was stooped, bald, and her skin was mottled with deep wrinkles. A split second later, she was young again- wild and stately. I blinked again and again, unable to comprehend the sudden shift.

I heard a low sound and realized it was me. I emitted a pitiful cry of fear. Her head turned sharply in my direction. I took another step back and fell. I started scrambling backwards in the dirt as she stepped towards us.

Jason stood in front of her, transfixed.

“Hi,” he said dumbly.

She cocked her head in his direction, and her smile became more sinister.

“Come in,” she commanded. Her voice was an otherworldly hiss.

Jason stumbled forward as she backed into the cabin, her breasts calling him like a beacon. She looked over his shoulder and beckoned me forward with a wave of her hand. Every part of my psyche was screaming at me to run as fast as I could out of those woods, but I couldn’t leave Jason behind. He was inside the cabin and she stood back from the doorway, waiting for me to enter.

“Come in,” she hissed again. This time she sounded impatient. Her smile faltered and her brow creased. I stood up but didn’t leave my spot.

“P-Please, let us go. We need to go.” My voice waivered and I felt the urge to vomit. Sweat beads broke out all over my body as adrenaline coursed through me.

She smiled again, but this time with her teeth. They were black with jagged edges. Bile rose up in my throat.

“Come,” she hissed. Her gaze penetrated mine as I suddenly lurched forward, unable to control my body. A force grabbed me somewhere around my middle and dragged me along as my toes skimmed the forest floor. Her fingers curled, and I was pulled through the air. I stopped abruptly in front of her as she continued to bare her broken teeth.

My entire body shook violently with fear as she stared into my eyes. I was so close to her that I could see that her pupils were tiny black pin pricks in irises of palest blue. The breath that she exhaled was foul. It smelled like earth and rancid meat. Her gaze continued to bore into me, and then the force she was using to control me flung me into a nearby wooden chair. A cloud of cobwebs and dust exploded around me.

She spun quickly to face Jason. His eyes were glassy as they scanned up and down her half naked body. He licked his lips, unaware of the danger. I sat there frozen. I couldn’t tell if it was fear or her power that kept me glued to the chair.

Jason reached out a hand towards her and she removed the remnants of her dress. Standing naked before him, and caressed his cheek. Her long nails were coated in dirt. He stood there, stupefied, as she lowered his face toward her chest.

“Suck,” she commanded. He parted his lips and obeyed. His eyes closed in longing as he suckled.

I watched in horror as she transformed. She became hunched, her skin sagged, and age spots popped up along her arms and face. Her long, tangled hair disappeared into a few thin wisps that stuck out from the mottled skin on her head. Her face melted, and her cheek bones disappeared into wrinkled, ancient folds. Her hands became gnarled claws as she continued to caress Jason’s face. The breast that Jason sucked on shriveled, its fullness gone.

Jason opened his eyes and jerked backwards in shock. His screams echoed off of the cabin walls as he took in the old crone. She smiled, showing him her slimy, black teeth. His shrill shrieks intensified. With a quick wave of her hand, Jason was cut off mid scream. She lifted her knotty index figure, and Jason’s stiff body rose into the air.

In one swift motion, she slammed him onto an old wooden table. He lay completely still under her spell. His face was frozen in silent terror as his eyes darted around wildly. She lifted a sharp dagger into the air. The silver of the blade glinted ominously in the firelight and she caught my eye. A smirk played across her face as I gagged in horror. She seemed to enjoy my fear.

Jason and I both watched helplessly as she methodically cut off his sweatshirt. With his abdomen exposed, she lifted the knife and started humming again. She hummed as she plunged the dagger into his body. Dark blood spurted up and spilled over his stomach onto the table.

I tried to scream but no sound came out. I felt something warm on my lap and legs and realized that it was my own urine. I couldn’t tear my eyes away and she hummed and cut, hummed and cut until Jason’s abdominal cavity was completely flayed open. Blood spilled over the table and onto the floor in rivulets. It pooled around her feet as she worked. I glanced at Jason’s face to see that his eyes had rolled up into his head.

Without warning, she immersed her hand into his exposed organs. She pulled out a bloody, pulsating mass. Her humming turned into a rhythmic chanting in a language I couldn’t understand. She raised the organ over her head, as blood dripped down her arms. Eyes closed, she stopped chanting and brought the bloody mass to her face. Making eye contact with me, she sank her teeth into it. Blood gushed all over her face and down her neck. She closed her eyes and moaned in ecstasy as she devoured it in several gulping mouthfuls.

Time seemed to stop as I watched her consume every organ in Jason’s lifeless body. She became an animal as she feasted. An eternity stretched before me as I listened to her slurps and gulps and moans. Blood glistened all over her naked, decrepit body. She licked the dark blood of her fingers as she finished the last pieces of his heart. She stared into my eyes as she chewed.

She sighed a heavy sigh and straightened up. She transformed again as she walked toward me. She was younger and more beautiful than before. Her obsidian hair was shiny and flowed to her feet. I was completely numb. She bent towards me and lifted my face into her bloody hands. Her breath smelled metallic. She closed her eyes and pushed her forehead into mine. I stared straight ahead, anesthetized by shock. She lifted her head slowly and started into my eyes again.

“You have a good heart,” she whispered. “Sleep.”

***

I wake up in my dark room, sweaty, with the sheet twisted around me. Panting, I sit up. My head swims as I try to make sense of the nightmare I just had. Suddenly I realize I’m going to be sick. I run to my bathroom and struggle to find the toilet in the dark. When I find it, I retch and heave up the entire contents of my stomach.

I stand, and shakily grope the wall to find the light switch. As I turn to face the sink to rinse my mouth out with water, I catch my reflection.

My face is marked with two bloody handprints.