Depths of Light

    The inhabitants of the cabin were fully consumed by the deep tightness of their sleep. As the darkness settled over the rooms, the hearts of the four individuals continued to beat steadily. They were completely unaware of the infection spreading through the house. It sank into the walls. Every log, every cubic centimeter of fabric in the carpets lined along the floor, it was beginning to alter. This change was gradual, calm. It was the steady rhythm of a snake coiled around its prey, suffocating it at such a rate that it didn't realize its life was about to end. The only occupant of the cabin that became aware of this suffocation identified the change after it had become irrevocable.

       Jack's eyes opened slowly. The darkness had swallowed his vision and he waited to adjust to the lack of light. He reached over and extended his arms. A quick feeling of panic had emerged in his mind and took only a few seconds to become intolerable. Jack knew that something was wrong. There was a presence that was rapidly passing through this place, infecting everything it touched. It had consumed everything around them. Now it came for them. Jack felt his palm connect with the forehead of his wife next to him. His eyes had finally been able to make out her silhouette. Her forehead was slick with sweat and it took him a moment to realize that her breathing was erratic. "Letovie? Get up, wake up..." He urged quietly. He shook her with his other palm and she stirred. "Jack, what is it?" He was barely able to make out the whites of her eyes as she opened them.

       "Letovie, we have to leave, something's happening!" He could tell that she understood what he was referring to almost immediately. Her expression changed. She was alert, waiting for the moment when the predator decided to pounced and death would soon greet them thereafter. "Get Aunia and Nathan!" She stood from her sleeping bag. "Hurry!" Jack moved to stand, but then a paralyzing fear broke through him and he felt vomit shooting up his throat. He didn't move as the vomit poured out of his mouth and oozed down his chin. Jack heard Letovie running up the stairs towards Nathan and Aunia's room. For the next few moments, Jack didn't have the capability of moving, but as he heard the footsteps running down the stairs, he realized the urgency of his situation. As he stood from the sleeping bag, he saw the figures of his friends moving through the darkness.

       "Letovie?" He called out. "Come on, Jack, we're leaving!" She yelled back. "What is that? What's happening?" Jack heard fear rising in Aunia's voice. "Let's just leave! Jack!" Nathan called out and Jack moved towards their voices, not fully being able to see where he was going. He extended his arms and the tips of his fingers connected with the wooden wall. He shifted palm shifted to the right and felt the cool metal of the doorknob to the front door. "The door's over here, guys." He called out. "Jack, something's really wrong, I have a bad feeling." Jack felt Letovie's hand touch the back of his shirt. He attempted to twist the knob, but it stayed in place. "It's locked or something, the door's not opening." He tried to say this steadily, but his voice wavered uncontrollably.

       "What do you mean 'the door won't open'? Break it down!" Aunia called. Jack gripped the doorknob with both hands and attempted to twist it again. When he was met with the same result, he stepped back and planted his feet, putting his whole body into opening the door. "I'm gonna break this window over here." Nathan said from behind him. Nathan moved briskly across the carpeted floor, grabbing a chair placed at a table in the other corner of the room. Jack stepped back from the door. "Who locked it?" He asked. Letovie's grip on his shirt tightened. "Jack... Jack, it's getting worse! Jack!" Nathan struck the window with the chair. It bounced off the window and clashed to the floor.

       Then, everyone ceased their movements. A low growl came from one end of the room. Jack slowly turned his head towards the sound. He could barely make out the figure of what appeared to be an abnormally large, black dog. He could see the whiteness of its teeth as it snarled. Letovie's grip on his back began to draw blood. The liquid oozed down his skin and he shivered. The paralyzing fear had returned inside him. The creature let out a vicious bark and Aunia screamed. It ran forward, but Jack was unable to run. He felt Letovie let go of him and he saw her in his peripheral running towards the kitchen. "Jack, run!" She yelled back at him. Aunia and Nathan sprinted across the room towards the stairs. Jack heard items being knocked over as they retreated up the stairs. The creature had chose to follow them.

       "Letovie?" He called quietly. "I'm okay..." He felt her behind him once again resting her hand on his arm. "Open the door, Jack. We need to leave. We need to leave before it comes back." There was a calmness in her voice that unsettled him. He turned to look at her. Jack wasn't sure if it was the lighting of the moon coming through the windows or the intensity of the situation, but she was different. A smile was placed on her face. Her skin seemed to be a pale, light blue color. Her eyes had a golden glow to them that he had never seen before. "Hurry, honey." She urged. That's when he knew that he had lost her, too. This disease that was spreading through the cabin, that was assisting the black creature attacking his friends at the same moment, had infected his wife. "Jack..." He pushed her back and she stumbled away from him, falling back on to the floor.

       Jack turned and slammed his body into the door, feeling a sharp pain spread through his arm. He stepped back and tried again, amplifying the pain further, but he heard a crack. With one final blow, he collided with the earth, a soft padding below him. Brightness surrounded him and pained his eyes. The change was so abrupt, he tried to shield his face. He glanced up to find himself in the middle of a meadow. He was surrounded by bright red flowers and as he rolled over on to his stomach, he saw that the cabin was gone. He laid there, the intensity of the sun already beginning to make him sweat. Letovie entered his mind, but he knew what had become of his wife, and he didn't want to picture her suffering any longer. So he laid there, letting his mind drift into the sun.