Chapter 20: 20. A Night Of No Return
*"Are we really doing this?"* Harper asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she and Ava pushed a heavy piece of furniture against the door. The cabin was eerily quiet, the only sounds the creaking of wood and their labored breathing.
*"We don't have a choice,"* Ava replied, her tone as steady as she could manage. She glanced over at Nate, who was reinforcing the windows with anything they could find—boards, chairs, anything to keep whatever was outside from getting in.
Julian was standing guard near the shattered kitchen window, his eyes constantly scanning the darkness beyond. *"I don't like this. We're sitting ducks in here."*
*"It's better than being caught out there with no cover,"* Nate countered. *"At least here we have walls."*
*"Walls that they've already breached,"* Julian shot back, his frustration clear.
Tristan, who had been silent for most of the evening, suddenly spoke up. *"What if we're looking at this the wrong way? Maybe the cabin isn't a trap. Maybe it's a… sanctuary."*
Ava frowned, pausing in her efforts to secure the door. *"What do you mean?"*
*"Think about it,"* Tristan said, his voice gaining strength. *"These notes—these warnings—they all mention the full moon and shadows, right? But none of them say anything about what's inside the cabin. Maybe whatever's out there can't get in as long as we stay here."*
*"That's a big assumption,"* Harper said, her skepticism evident. *"What if you're wrong?"*
*"We don't know that I am,"* Tristan insisted. *"We don't know anything for sure, but I think we've been so focused on the danger outside that we haven't considered the possibility that this place might be our best chance of survival."*
*"Or it's a prison,"* Julian muttered under his breath, though his expression suggested he was at least considering Tristan's theory.
Ava exchanged a look with Nate, who nodded slightly. *"It's worth considering,"* she said. *"But we can't just rely on that. We still need to be ready for anything."*
*"Agreed,"* Nate said, his tone firm. *"We'll keep up the barricades, but we should also prepare ourselves in case we need to make a quick escape. Pack what we can and keep it by the door. If things go south, we don't want to be caught unprepared."*
As the group moved to gather supplies and prepare for whatever the night might bring, Ava's mind raced. Tristan's idea made sense in a way, but it also felt like a dangerous gamble. If they were wrong, they might be sealing their own fate by staying inside.
The hours ticked by slowly, each minute feeling like an eternity as they kept watch. Ava's nerves were stretched thin, every creak of the cabin making her jump, every gust of wind outside sounding like a threat.
Midnight came and went, and still, nothing happened. The tension was unbearable, the silence oppressive. Ava felt like she was suffocating under the weight of it.
Suddenly, there was a noise outside—soft at first, then growing louder. It was a scraping sound, like something being dragged across the ground.
*"Do you hear that?"* Harper whispered, her eyes wide with fear.
*"Stay calm,"* Nate ordered, his voice a low murmur. He motioned for Julian to stay near the window while he and Ava moved toward the front door.
Ava's heart pounded in her chest as she strained to hear. The scraping continued, closer now, and then came a low, guttural growl that sent a chill down her spine.
*"That's no animal,"* Julian whispered harshly, his grip tightening on the makeshift weapon he held—a broken chair leg. *"What the hell is that?"*
*"Stay back,"* Nate warned as he reached for the door handle. Ava tensed beside him, ready to back him up if needed. He opened the door slowly, just a crack, and peeked outside.
The moonlight illuminated the clearing in front of the cabin, casting long, eerie shadows. But it wasn't the shadows that caught Nate's attention—it was the figure standing at the edge of the forest, just beyond the tree line.
*"Oh, my God,"* Ava whispered, her breath catching in her throat.
It was a man, or at least it had been once. His skin was pale, almost translucent in the moonlight, and his eyes were hollow, dark pits. He wore tattered clothes that hung loosely on his gaunt frame, and his hands were stained with something dark—something that looked like blood.
*"What the hell…?"* Nate breathed, his eyes narrowing as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.
The man—or whatever it was—took a step forward, then another, its movements slow and deliberate. It didn't seem to notice them, its empty eyes focused on something beyond the cabin.
*"What do we do?"* Harper whispered urgently, her voice trembling.
*"Close the door,"* Tristan said, his voice tight with fear. *"Don't let it see us."*
Nate hesitated, his hand on the door. The figure was getting closer, but it still hadn't looked directly at them. It was as if it was searching for something—something that wasn't them.
Ava's pulse quickened as she realized what was happening. *"It's not looking for us,"* she whispered. *"It's looking for the cabin."*
*"What?"* Nate asked, his brow furrowed.
*"Think about it,"* Ava said quickly, her mind racing. *"It's been stalking around out there, but it hasn't attacked. Maybe it can't come in unless it finds us. We're safe as long as it doesn't know we're here."*
*"Or it's playing with us,"* Julian said darkly.
*"We don't have time to debate this,"* Harper urged. *"We need to do something before it gets too close."
But before anyone could act, the figure stopped suddenly, its head snapping up as if it had finally sensed them. Its hollow eyes fixed on the cabin, and it let out a low, menacing growl that sent shivers down Ava's spine.
*"Close the door, Nate!"* she hissed, her voice rising in panic.
Nate slammed the door shut, the sound echoing through the cabin. The group stood frozen, their breaths coming in short, shallow gasps as they waited for what would happen next.
For a moment, there was nothing—just the heavy silence pressing in on them. Then came a loud thud, followed by another, as something slammed against the door. The walls of the cabin shook with the force of it, and Ava's heart leaped into her throat.
*"It's trying to get in!"* Harper cried, backing away from the door.
*"Hold the door!"* Nate ordered, bracing himself against it as the pounding grew louder. *"We can't let it through!"*
Ava and Julian rushed to help, their combined weight barely enough to keep the door from giving way. The creature outside snarled and clawed at the wood, its rage palpable.
*"What the hell is that thing?"* Julian grunted as he pushed against the door with all his strength.
*"I don't know, but it's not getting in,"* Nate growled through gritted teeth. *"We just need to hold out until dawn."*
*"And what if we can't?"* Harper asked, her voice trembling.
*"We will,"* Ava said, more to convince herself than anyone else. *"We have to."*
The minutes stretched into an eternity as they held the door, their muscles straining with the effort. The creature's attacks were relentless, but the door held—barely.
Then, just as suddenly as it had started, the pounding stopped. The silence that followed was deafening, the absence of noise almost worse than the sound of the attack.
Ava dared to hope, her heart racing. *"Did it leave?"* she whispered, not daring to move.
Nate slowly eased his weight off the door, listening intently. *"I don't know. But we're not opening this door until we're sure."*
They waited, every second a test of their nerves. The cabin was deathly quiet, the only sound their own ragged breathing.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Nate stepped back and motioned for Julian to do the same. Ava held her breath as he cautiously peered through the small window beside the door.
The clearing was empty. The figure was gone.
*"It's gone,"* Nate said, his voice a mixture of relief and disbelief.
*"For now,"* Tristan added, his tone dark.
Ava let out a shaky breath, her entire body trembling with the adrenaline that was slowly draining away. They had survived the night, but the danger was far from over.
As they regrouped, the reality of their situation settled in. Whatever was out there wasn't going to stop. It would keep coming, night after night, until they found a way to escape—or until it finally got to them.
*"We need a new plan,"* Ava said quietly, her eyes meeting Nate's. *"Something that will get us out of here alive."*
Nate nodded, his expression grim. *"Agreed. We can't just sit here and wait for the end."
Harper, still visibly shaken, spoke up. *"We have to find a way to stop it. If we just run, it'll keep chasing us. There's got to be something in this cabin, some clue, anything that can tell us what we're dealing with."*
*"What about the journal?"* Ava suggested. *"The one we found earlier? Maybe there's more in it that can help us figure this out."*
Nate nodded. *"It's worth a shot. We need to be smart about this. We'll divide up, search every inch of this place for anything useful, and then regroup."*
As they began their search, Ava's mind raced. The attack had shown them just how vulnerable they were, and they needed more than just makeshift weapons and barricades if they were going to survive. But as they scoured the cabin, a growing sense of dread settled over her. They had already looked through most of the place earlier, and there had been nothing except that journal.
*"Found something!"* Tristan called out from the back room. Everyone rushed to where he was standing, holding a small, leather-bound book. It was worn, the pages yellowed with age, but it looked different from the journal they had found earlier.
*"What is it?"* Julian asked.
Tristan opened the book carefully. *"It's a grimoire. An old one. This might be what we need."*
*"A grimoire?"* Harper echoed, her voice laced with uncertainty. *"Like, spells and stuff? Can we even trust that?"*
*"It's better than nothing,"* Ava replied, glancing over Tristan's shoulder as he flipped through the pages. The book was filled with handwritten notes, strange symbols, and what appeared to be instructions for rituals and protections.
*"Look at this,"* Tristan said, pointing to a page that had been marked with a piece of fabric. *"It's a protection spell. It's supposed to create a barrier that prevents dark entities from crossing into a place of refuge."*
Nate frowned. *"Can you do it? Do we even have the materials?"*
*"Some of these ingredients are… strange,"* Tristan admitted, his eyes scanning the list. *"But there's a section here about substituting certain things. I think we can make it work with what we have."*
*"It's our best shot,"* Nate said, determination hardening his voice. *"Let's do it."
They worked quickly, gathering the items they needed—salt, herbs from the kitchen, and other supplies they improvised from what they could find around the cabin. The atmosphere was tense, but there was also a sense of purpose. For the first time since the attacks began, they had something that felt like a real plan.
As Tristan began the ritual, the others formed a circle around him, their hands clasped together. He read the incantation from the grimoire, his voice steady but low, the words foreign and ancient. The air in the cabin grew heavy, charged with an energy that made the hairs on the back of Ava's neck stand on end.
The ritual seemed to take forever, each moment stretching into what felt like hours. But finally, Tristan's voice trailed off, and there was a sudden, almost palpable shift in the room. It was as if a weight had lifted, the oppressive feeling of danger easing just slightly.
*"Did it work?"* Harper whispered, her eyes wide with hope and fear.
*"We won't know until they try to come back,"* Tristan said, his voice tinged with exhaustion. *"But I think so. I felt something, like a wall going up around us."
*"Then we wait,"* Nate said, though there was a flicker of relief in his eyes. *"We hold out until morning, and then we'll figure out our next move."*
The group settled in for what would hopefully be a peaceful night. But even as they tried to rest, the weight of the situation pressed down on them. Ava lay on the floor, staring up at the ceiling, her mind unable to shut off.
She had never been one to believe in the supernatural, but everything that had happened since they arrived at the cabin had challenged her perception of reality. There was no denying the danger they were in, or the fact that something truly evil was out there, waiting for its chance to strike again.
And yet, as she lay there in the quiet darkness, Ava couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to all of this—something deeper, something that connected them all to this place and to each other. The notes, the attacks, the strange pull she felt toward the forest… it was all part of a larger mystery, one they had yet to fully unravel.
But for now, all they could do was survive the night. They had faced the darkness and had lived to see another day. What came next, they would have to face together—whatever the cost.
As Ava finally drifted into a restless sleep, the full moon hung high in the sky, its silver light casting long, ominous shadows across the cabin floor.
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