Beware Abchanchu

 Nikki Reeves was startled by a loud noise just outside of the small, rustic cabin she rented with a few of her friends. She hurried to the window to investigate. False alarm, it was just a branch breaking under the weight of the snow. She let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding and went back to stand in front of the fireplace. The fire was starting to die down. It's crazy how fast fire burned through the wood. A city girl, Nikki's apartment had an electric fireplace. She had no experience with the real thing and it didn't take her long to find that she preferred fake logs. The knowledge that she was soon going to have to brave a trip to the old woodshed was accompanied by a pang of dread in her chest. This truly was a vacation from hell.

On a whim, Nikki and her best friends, Tom, Luca, and Olive, ventured far from home to spend the week in an isolated cabin set in the middle of the woods, on the outskirts of a faraway village. It had been Tom's idea, an author with a penchant for scary stories, he had grown fascinated by the small town and its ancient legend of Abchanchu. The legend tells that an ancient demonic spirit, known as Abchanchu, is allowed passage to the woods for a short time each winter season. During this time, the spirit is able to walk the land in search of souls to feed its insatiable hunger. Tom rented the cabin to research the legend for his next thriller and had begged them to tag-a-long. Nikki, a notorious scaredy-cat, hadn't loved the idea, but she'd been nursing a crush on Tom for over a year, so it hadn't taken much to convince her. He'd promised it would be fun. He was wrong.

Within twenty-four hours, Abchanchu consumed each of her friends, one by one. Tom was the first to go. After an eerie, mystical light appeared in the distance shortly after sundown, Tom headed south to seek its source. He didn't make it far, they heard him scream not two minutes after he disappeared from their view. The only key to the rental car was in his pocket. After Tom went Luca, who headed east in search of help, but his attempt also ended in screams of bloody murder. Finally, Olive, headed west to meet the same gruesome fate. Nikki was the only one left. She knew the countdown was clicking down to her demise with each passing second she spent hiding alone in the secluded cabin with no electricity, internet, or phone service, and no chance of survival.

Nikki's heart almost beat out of her chest when she heard scratching at the cabin door. She moved to stand against it. Tears streaming down her face, she stood frozen in place until she heard an animal bark. Was that a dog? Was someone's dog lost in the woods? She cracked the door and saw two yellow eyes looking at her from the darkness. It was a dog, maybe even a wolf. She couldn't tell without a closer look but wasn't ready to take the risk, even though she was desperate for companionship. She examined the animal as well as she could in the dark night, quickly picking up on its friendly demeanor. Its eyes were curious and its tail was wagging as it patiently endured her scrutiny. When she eventually came to the conclusion that the animal was tame, and also a male, she opened the cabin door wide and let him in.

She gave the dog, or the wolf, she still wasn't sure, some stale pieces of bread, the only food left in the kitchen, and then studied him as he gobbled them up gratefully. He had no collar, his dark gray fur was knotted and matted. The animal very much resembled a wolf though its behavior was that of a friendly family dog. It was more than enough for her, she was going to keep him. He was a welcome distraction and the two bonded as she worked an old brush, one she'd found in the bathroom, through his tangled fur. Whenever he looked up at her, she was struck with the feeling that he was staring directly into her soul.

Before long, Nikki's eyes were drawn back to the waning fire and she knew she couldn't procrastinate any longer. It was time to go to the woodshed. As terrified as she was to step foot outside of the cabin, she needed the fire for light and warmth, and couldn't let it go out. At least she had Wolfy, which was what she decided to call her new friend. Pausing in the doorway of the cabin to turn on her phone's flashlight, she used it to light her way as she took her first steps out into the open.

She didn't make it very far before hearing a large animal move around in the trees several yards away. She watched as Wolfy ran to the edge of the woods fearlessly, where he began to bark and growl at the invisible threat. She marveled at how lucky she was that he showed up when he did, but still felt that she needed to take some kind of action to save herself. I can't stay in the cabin forever. I'm a sitting duck in there. She turned and gazed into the dark woods in the only direction left to be explored: north. What would I be out there? She pushed the thought from her mind temporarily as she hurried to retrieve the firewood and haul it back inside the cabin. Wolfy returned to her side, positioning himself between her and the woods as she struggled to carry the heavy load.

Inside the cabin once again, Nikki sat on the old weathered couch with Wolfy at her feet, his head draped over her lap. She stroked his head absently. She was growing hopeless, overwhelmed by the recurring thought that she was just not made for this. She lacked the confidence and determination necessary to persevere when all was lost. A loud knock at the door pulled her from her trance. Wolfy trotted over to the door, casually wagging his tail back and forth. Nikki took his relaxed demeanor to mean he didn't sense the visitor as a threat but remained in place. After another knock, Wolfy started to scratch at the door, anxious for her to open it and let the visitor inside. After a brief moment of hesitation, Nikki reached for the handle and opened the door.

A tall, rugged man stood before her. Breathing hard, he had one arm against the cabin for support and a pained expression on his face. His entire left pant leg was covered with blood, there was a long tear in the fabric at his mid-thigh. He introduced himself as Ash. She helped him inside and guided him over to the old couch. Taking a closer look at his leg, she found a deep gash across his thigh. Though not a fatal injury, it was enough that he wouldn't be able to make it far without help. It was what Nikki needed to finally make the decision to stay inside the cabin rather than brave a trip into the woods.

“Where did you come from?” She asked him.

“I rented a cabin with my friends, about a half-mile north of here, ” So that's what I would have found, she mused. Ash spoke with a slight accent. Nikki couldn't place it but could tell that he wasn't an American or one of the locals. “I barely made it here,” he continued, “my friends...they didn't...I lost all of them.”

“I'm so sorry, I've lost my friends too.” They shared a brief moment of mutual grief.

“There's something evil in those woods.” He warned.

“I know,” she replied somberly and glanced at Wolfy. He seemed to have forgotten all about her and had been glued to Ash's side since his arrival.

“Is this your dog?” She asked.

“No,” Ash responded, patting Wolfy on the head, “but animals are usually drawn to me.” She nodded absentmindedly. “You've heard about the legend of these woods, right?” he asked her.

She raised her eyes to meet his, “the one about an ancient spirit who feeds on anyone it can find? Yeah, I've heard it,” she muttered.

“Did you hear that the spirit can only feed for one week each winter?” he paused for her reply. She offered a slight nod to indicate that she'd heard that part too. “Tonight is the seventh night. That means we just have to make it until sunrise, then it will disappear for another year.” He sounded sure of himself but Nikki didn't know what to think.

“How do you know that?” She questioned, afraid to believe him.

“My friends and I stopped in town last Tuesday. It was the day of the first death, we overheard a bunch of people talking about it. That was seven days ago. This is the last night, all we have to do is make it to sunrise, and then we can go home.” Home. The word echoed in her head and some of her hope was restored.

Suddenly, Wolfy let out a howl that took them both by surprise, seconds before a thunderstorm unleashed itself upon the cabin. Heavy rainfall pounded down on the leaky roof while powerful winds sent tree branches crashing into the walls. The sky lit up as lightning struck nearby, followed by a mighty crash of thunder that shook the ground beneath their feet. It felt as though everything outside the cabin had come to life and was conspiring to kill them. Ash called for Nikki to block the door and cover the windows, and she ran from one task to the other, grateful for the direction amid the chaos. With the heavy wooden dining table set against the door and the windows secured as best she could manage, Nikki turned to Ash for further instructions. The sound of someone pounding on the door caused her to cry out in fear, and Wolfy began to bark ferociously at whoever was on the other side. She ran to sit next to Ash on the sofa, there was no way she was going to answer the door this time. They huddled together with nothing to do but wait for morning's first light.

The minutes passed like hours until the storm finally died down and sunlight began to peek through a small tear in the shade covering the window. Nikki jumped up to take a look. When she saw with her own eyes that sunrise had begun, at last, she turned to Ash and cried out, “we made it!” In return, Ash offered her a strange smile and then stood up without trouble, despite his injury. The sight sent a chill down Nikki's spine. “Ash?” She stammered. Panic overtook her as he morphed into a terrifying creature right before her eyes.

His body grew taller and wider, causing his clothes to rip and tear. Some pieces fell to the ground while others hung in rags on his still changing body. The texture of his skin changed and became translucent, allowing her to see every single vein in his body, each growing more pronounced as his muscles bulged from the strain. His fingers and toes grew longer while his nails turned into sharp, threatening claws that could pierce through her skin like butter. Now standing at least ten feet tall, his overly muscular physique stole the breath from Nikki's lungs, but was still nothing compared to his hideous face. Horns grew out of the top of his head, matching the long-horned snout that used to be his nose. His eyes went black and sunk deep into his skull, and his mouth...it was the worst of all. His lips had all but disappeared, the corners were stretched all the way to his ears. He wasn't able to close his mouth fully, giving him a permanent grin that put his sharp, jagged, and decaying teeth on display. Nikki stood paralyzed with fear, unable to look away from the horrifying sight.

“Niikkkkkiiiiii--” The creature called out her name in a belligerent moan as his body completed its last stages of the transformation.

“Abchanchu...” answered Nikki as the realization struck every inch of her being. Ash wasn't the only one who'd fooled her- still standing at his feet was Wolfy, who had been going through his own transformation. His snout and ears had grown longer, his eyes turned a shade of deep red, and he gained at least five feet in height. He growled at her menacingly, saliva dripping from his enormous canines.

“I lied,” the creature taunted in a most unnatural voice, “I still have two more days.” He then let out a cruel, thundering laugh that pierced through Nikki's eardrums. He moved towards her at lightning speed, devouring her soul before she could even scream.

Though Abchanchu still had more time to stalk the woods, Nikki's was the last soul within its reach. The locals knew to stay far away at this time of year. As his final moments came to pass, Abchanchu let out a savage howl that carried through the woods and fell upon the ears of those within the small village. He then disappeared without a trace with Nikki and her friend's souls in tow. A day later, the groundskeeper arrived at the cabin to clean up the mess, sending his dogs to search for the bones of those who'd been lost in the woods. It was a well-practiced routine that had been worked out over years of practice. He performed it every winter, as did those who came before him, for the tourists who, inexplicably, continued to show up at just the right time year after year. No one in town questioned it, of course, they all lived surprisingly happy lives cloaked in silent denial of what went on so close to their homes. Much easier to endure the suffering of a stranger than one of their own.