Keeper of Souls

The truck came to a sudden stop, jolting Lizzy out of semi-consciousness. The sky was pitch black, the moon shining bright without the lights of the city. In the glow of the headlights Lizzy saw a small cabin surrounded by spruce trees that towered high into the sky. The cabin was dark, which Lizzy assumed was done on purpose by her kidnappers. The last house she had been sent to had been in the same manner. The only difference was this time she was in the middle of nowhere. 

The thud of a door closing made Lizzy jolt against the man’s solid body. This guy was new to her, but the other two she had seen on multiple occasions, both dawning new attire every time they had to take her away. 

“You’ll be staying in isolation for the next month, captain’s orders.” The man said in a husky voice. He had the voice of a long-time smoker. Or he was just getting over a cold. Lizzy secretly hoped he was not a smoker, with a body like that….

The tailgate lowered slowly, the woman blinking a few times before her eyes were able to adjust to the truck bed’s darkness.

“You are to go into the cabin and wait until you can no longer see the truck out of the front window. You will find everything that you need to release yourself from the bind. There is wood for fires that will last you a month if you ration it correctly. Food will be delivered once a week, along with three items of your choosing each time. One of us will be checking up on you regularly, so don’t even think of leaving the property. There are 15 acres of land that are yours to roam on.” The woman held Lizzy’s gaze for a moment before going on with her instructions. “Your last assignment was compromised. You will receive your next assignment before the end of the month. If you choose to go through with the plan, one of us will assist you in carrying out your plan. If you do not choose to go through with it, you will have the option to start a new life of your own accord.” Again, she held Lizzy’s gaze for a silent moment. “Understood?”

Lizzy nodded, carefully tucking all of the information away in the back of her mind. She would have to find out who had compromised her and why she was still being given the opportunity to take on another assignment.

The two men gently helped her out of the truck bed, leading her to the front door of the cabin. The woman opened the door and gently gave Lizzy a push through the door with a nod goodbye. Lizzy made her way to the front window as she had been instructed to do, the click of the door being shut echoing throughout the cabin. She heard the crunch of feet on gravel before she saw the three figures making their way to the truck. 

With three gentle thuds, the truck slowly moved further and further away until Lizzy could see a single tail light. She blinked and the truck was out of sight. With an audible sigh, she turned to take in the cabin that she would be living in for a month, if not longer. 

The kitchen was open to the living room, which she had been standing in to watch the truck. There was a closed door to the left of her that she assumed was either a closet or a bathroom. With slow steps, Lizzy made her way into the kitchen looking for a knife or a sharp object that she could use to cut through the ropes that were now digging into her wrists and mouth. She found the corkscrew on the table under a heavy looking rock. Using the sharp point of the corkscrew, she slowly moved her arms back and forth, the rope slow to fray against the metal. Eventually, Lizzy was able to cut enough of the rope that her hands could wiggle free. She quickly untied the knot on the rope that had been wrapped around her face to muffle any sound that may have escaped her lips.

Doing a small turn, she took in the rest of the cabin that she had missed. There was a wood burning stove in the corner of the kitchen, a heavy cast iron pan sitting on top. The room took a sharp turn into an open space with a staircase leading to the second floor. The open space of the cabin looked to be an afterthought, something the previous owner had hastily added on to either add a second set of stairs, or to add the second story of the cabin. The kitchen was outdated by a few decades, so Lizzy assumed the previous owner had added the second story just recently.

Climbing the stairs to the second story, a soft rattle could be heard from behind one of the closed doors. Without a second thought, Lizzy opened the first door on her left.

Finding the room quiet, she wandered over to the next room, the door slightly ajar. With the tap of her foot, the door creaked open to reveal what looked to be the scene of a murder.

There were deep scratches in the walls, blood oozing from the marks. The floor had pools of rich red scattered throughout, her horror struck eyes reflected in the nearest pool.

"What the--" Lizzy gasped as a cold hand reached for her from behind the door. The fingers were blue, the bones protruding beneath translucent skin.

"You must leave." A voice came from the dark.

"You will be next." Another voice moaned from behind Lizzy. Her vision was starting to blur, the icy fingers sucking the life from her body. Her limbs refused to move, her breath coming in short, quick gasps.

"You are now one of us." The voice closest to her whispered, her body snapping in half, her eyes rolled into the back of her head. The room turned to darkness, the voices gone from her ears, the fingers of death no longer gripping her throat.

"You will stay in this room until the next unlucky soul comes to visit. When it is time, you will bring them to us." The voice was Lizzy's, her lips moving on their own accord.

Her body slowly started to straighten, her eyes slowly blinking open. The room was blurry, but she was definitely alone now. Her body was ice cold, her breath creating icicles in the air.

She knew her assignment without a doubt. She had her sight set on the next victim when he came to drop off her weekly food as promised.

For now, she would wait in the room, bidding her time away with the souls that were filtering in and out of the room on their own accord, whispering in her ear, leaving only a cold presence behind.

Her time in the cabin had no end in the foreseeable future.