Frostbite

White flakes began floating gently, a contrast to the tree bark and pine needles that surrounded the car driving farther from civilization. Aimee pressed her head against the window and groaned.

“It’s snowing,” she said.

“I know! Isn’t it great?” Elaina grinned, then quickly focused again on the road.

Aimee sighed and rolled her eyes. “Of course you like snow.”

“I thought you liked snow, too?”

“I do! When I’m tucked away inside our apartment drinking hot cocoa, safe in the knowledge that if I need to venture out, the doorman will make sure the front walk is shoveled before I step foot out of the building and into my waiting taxi. I don’t like it when we’re driving in it to a remote cabin that probably doesn’t even have Wi-Fi.”

“It’ll be fun!” Elaina said. “Besides, you won’t need Wi-Fi.” She winked.

Aimee sighed and watched the snow.

They swung open the cabin door, and the look Aimee gave Elaina when the musty smell hit them was only one of many to be expected during their stay.

“It’ll be fun,” Elaina said and plastered a grin on her face.

Aimee rolled her eyes and dropped her luggage. “Why is there a bed in the living room?”

“I told you it was a one-room cabin.”

“You definitely did not.” Aimee crossed her arms and pursed her lips.

Elaina scanned the room. “Look at the fireplace! Isn’t it beautiful?”

Aimee huffed. “Well, the bathroom better have four walls and a door, or I’m high-jacking the rental and you can play lumber Jill all winter.”

“It does!” Elaina called after she’d opened a closet and a pantry door. “There’s even running water!” She flushed the toilet.

“You shouldn’t have to announce that.”

After a lot of smoke, coughing, and watery eyes, there was a roaring fire in the fireplace. There was also whiskey in the hot cocoa as they settled in for the night.

As their anxieties died down with the fire, Elaina looked out the back window. “It’s really coming down out there.”

“Guess I can’t hijack the car in the middle of the night then.”

“You won’t want to by the time I’m through with you.”

Aimee giggled as Elaina chased her to the bed.

“Elaina! Elaina! Wake up!”

“What is it?” Elaina wiped sleep from her eyes.

“Something was knocking on the window,” Aimee had the covers fisted in front of her face.

Elaina yawned. “It was probably a bird or a tree branch or something.”

Aimee shook her head. “I’m scared.”

“Oh, Honey,” Elaina sat up and wrapped her arm around her. “There are constant noises in nature just like in the city. You’re just used to the ones in the city. We’re fine!”

“I want to go home,” Aimee said, tears threatening.

“Oh Sweetie. I’m going to build up the fire again. Then I’m going to take your mind off of anything but what’s going on in this cabin.”

Elaina stepped from the bed, hissing as her bare foot touched the cold floor. She stopped when they heard a BANG! BANG! BANG! The women looked at each other as the wall seemed to heave with each blow against it. Neither moved as they waited.

After a few moments of silence, Elaina tip-toed to the window, moving the curtain ever so slightly. She couldn’t see anything in the darkness, so she went to the back door and flipped on the outside light, then went back to the window. The glow was enough to see the tiny clearing behind the cabin.

Elaina turned to Aimee. “I think someone is outside.”

“You think?” Aimee’s shrill voice was muffled by the blanket she held. “What did you see?”

“Tracks. From the woods.”

“Let me see,” Aimee said, padding across the cold floor. When she pulled back the curtain, a face stared back.

Aimee jumped back and Elaina wrapped her arms around her.

“What was that?” Elaina breathed. “Its head was…lopsided and…big.”

“What does it want?” Aimee asked.  

Elaina shook her head. They stared at the window until they heard a THUD on the roof. They both looked up. THUMP. THUMP. THUMP. With their eyes, they followed the steps making their way across the roof. Then silence.

It—whatever “it” was—stopped at the chimney. Elaina ran over and added wood to the fire, stirring it frantically to get it to ignite. Once it was blazing again, she stepped back.

Hearts thumping, breaths quick, and eyes towards the ceiling, they waited. An ear-piercing, inhuman scream erupted throughout the cabin. They put their hands over their ears and closed their eyes. When it stopped, smoke began filling the cabin.

“It blocked the chimney,” Elaina said and ran to the fireplace to adjust the damper. It didn’t help.

“What do we do?” Aimee asked.

“We should open the windows and doors.”

“We can’t do that!”

“We’ll die of smoke inhalation if we don’t.” She looked up. “It’s smoking us out.”

“What is?”

“I don’t know and I don’t really want to find out. Grab what’s important and what you can run with.”

“Why?”

“We’re going to make a run for it.”

The smoke was getting thicker and Aimee’s eyes were watering. She nodded and searched for her shoes and purse. Elaina did the same, checking her phone for a signal as they headed for the front door. No service.

“I’m not going to unlock the car yet—the lights will tip it off. I’m going to throw open the door, and we’re going to take off. I’ll push the unlock button when we’re almost there. Try to be as quiet as you can.”

They were both coughing and trying to see through the stinging smoke. They counted together to three and opened the door.

Aimee sprinted to the car, Elaina on her heels. They were almost to the car when the keys fell from her hands. She heard the clank on the ground, but her eyes were still sore from the smoke and it was dark outside. She frantically palmed the ground until she felt the plastic fob. Picking them up, she hit a button. All the lights flashed and the horn blared. Panic button. Appropriate, she thought.

Aimee was waiting at the car. “Hurry!” she hissed.

“I’m trying!”

She hit the lock button with trembling fingers, and she looked down to find the unlock button. Finally hitting it, she looked up. Aimee nodded to hurry up, then stopped. Her eyes went wide and she was yanked down and pulled across the ground. Her scream didn’t escape her throat until she was halfway to the edge of the woods.   

Elaina ran to her and watched as she was drug off by a dark figure. It stood upright like a man, but with a larger frame and unclothed. Some bones showed, escaped from the skin, while others strained to be free. The smell permeated her thoughts and she felt her face scrunch up reflexively, even as she ran after them. She dove for Aimee’s outstretched hand, their fingers brushing, but a tug pulled them farther apart. By the time Elaine made it to where they disappeared into the forest, she couldn’t tell which way they’d went.  

Elaina sank to her knees, sobbing. She turned and threw up, wiped her mouth, and ran back to the car. The keys were gone again, everything being thrown in an attempt to reach Aimee. She felt around the car again, her eyes still stinging from the smoke, retching, and sobbing. Somehow, she found them and pulled herself into the car.

As she turned the key, another blood-curdling non-human scream came from the woods. Her heart tried to jump out of her chest. Already trembling fingers struggled to work correctly.

Finally throwing it in reverse, she began moving—but something jumped in her path. It was the creature, gaunt and hunched over, with something dark dripping from it’s claws.

She punched the gas and the car lunged backwards. The creature jumped on top of the car, denting the roof when it landed. She slammed on the breaks, causing it to fly off. When it landed, she continued backing up. Recovering quickly, it launched onto the hood, reared back and smashed the windshield.

As the glass covered her, she reflexively shielded herself. Her foot stayed on the gas, however, plowing the car into a tree.

Ears ringing and blood dripping from her face from her head bouncing off the wheel, she put the car in drive. Her foot just touched the gas pedal when her door was ripped off and tossed away like the daily newspaper. A scream stuck in her throat when the creature pulled her from the vehicle. Its eyes—human, but somehow wrong—were sunken into its skull.  Its long fingers wrapped around her neck and squeezed. Her feet dangled as it roared in her face. The warmth running down her leg when her bladder released barely registered as she stared at the gaping maw coming at her.

The sheriff’s jeep turned down the road to the cabin. Four-wheel drive was a prerequisite for a vehicle in this area. Especially now that so much snow had fallen.

“Maybe they just lost track of the days since there’s no phone reception up here,” the deputy said.

The sheriff shook his head. “The way their friends talked, the one was reluctant to come to the wilderness in the first place. I’m sure she was counting the days until she got to leave. Even if the other was an ‘avid outdoorswoman,’ I doubt they would extend their stay three days past when they were supposed to be home.”

They continued up the drive until a car came into view. Both got out of the jeep and slowly approached the car that was backed around a tree. The driver’s door was fifty yards away from the car, the twisted metal hinges sharp edges appearing softened by snow. The men exchanged a look and they drew their guns.

They announced themselves, but silence greeted them. They proceeded closer. A pile of snow on the dash replaced the windshield.

When the deputy reached the driver’s side, he paled. “Oh my God.”

His superior made his way over to him. Blood splattered everything not covered by snow. When the deputy took a step, the sheriff told him to stop and pointed at the melted footprint left by the officer.

Pooled blood had frozen into a red patch of ice under the snow.

“Step exactly where you did, and go call it in.”

The sheriff waited for the deputy to return, and together they entered the house. Luggage was open, clothes half hanging out, waiting for its owner to put it back. The fireplace was nothing but cold ashes, but the smell of smoke was heavy.

After clearing the space, they went back out to wait in their vehicle for backup. Turning one last time to look at the cabin, the sheriff noticed two dark spots on the roof.

The deputy turned to see what he was looking at. “Are those…”

“Footprints.”

They hurried back to their jeep.