He opened his eyes. It was 3am. He had fallen asleep in the living room, in front of the TV. They had moved recently and he had that feeling that it was not their best decision ever. He heard footsteps coming from the 2nd floor, slow but steady. The floors of the house were wooden and easy to hear. “Jessy”, he thought. He walked the stairs for the 2nd floor, passed by the baby’s room, it was very dark, but he could see Jessica above the sleeping baby, singing, or more like murmuring.
-Jess, it’s late, you got work tomorrow, come to bed.
She kept murmuring, as if trying to put the baby to sleep.
-Jess, baby.
-Shhh, she simply replied.
He then continued walking on the hallway and get to the bedroom at the very end of it. Jess would come along soon, he assumed. His footsteps were the only thing he could hear. It was a silent, dark night, the hallway lights were not working, for some reason. He reached the bedroom, tried to turn on the light, didn’t work either. “Strange night”, he thought. He removed his clothes, when he noticed someone on the bed, under the blankets. He approached slowly, trying to see in the darkness, almost worried. It was Jessica, his wife, sleeping. He froze, then quickly ran towards the baby’s room. They were gone, both his 4-month old son and what seemed to be Jessica. He was shocked, confused, the kind of reaction when you can’t even realise what the hell had just happened. He ran downstairs to look around when he saw that the main door was now open. It was the middle of the night, in a house surrounded by woods, but he would sweep the whole area rock by rock till he finds his son. There was no time for thinking, it was time for actions. He walked towards the dark forest, slowly and carefully. He could barely see a thing, and the cold breeze could only give him chills. As the adrenaline levels were decreasing to normal again, fear kicked even harder. “Can I do this?”, he whispered to himself. “Yes I can, yes I can”. It was so dark and quiet, as if god had forgotten about this place. No moon, no stars. Fallen trees in the way, the creepy sound of the cold breeze, and his heavy breath were his only companions. His knees were starting to shake. Was it the cold? Was it the fear? He couldn’t tell anymore. He thought a small break would help. He sat down with his back against a tree, trying to put his thoughts in a line. He would get over the fear, get up and get his son back no matter what. That’s when he heard it again. The murmuring. It was moving, all around him. He couldn’t see, he could only hear it approaching from all over. He heard steps, but couldn’t tell where they were coming from. Mh-mh-mhh, a low voice, approaching.
Jessica opened her eyes. It was 4am. Both her husband and the baby were missing. The entrance was open. She walked outside. There was only darkness all around the house.
-John! she called for her husband. John! JOHN!!!
No answer. She was really worried now. Went back to the bedroom and got her cellphone to call for help. Police, friends, anybody. No signal.
-Shocker, she said ironically. She put it in her pocket, took a flashlight, a kitchen knife and their flare gun with her, the latter due to her husband having served at the navy. She started walking towards the woods, scared and cold. It was winter, simply putting on a jacket wouldn’t help much.
-John.. John!! No answer. She was terrified, helpless, desperate. She checked her phone again, it now had a bar. She called the police.
-Hello! Ehm.. We’re outside Vermont near the south road, by Crystal Lake’s forest. I need help.. My husband and son are gone.. please help us..
-Calm down ma’am we’re coming right away, just stay where you are!
Easy for him to say… She had to find her family before it was too late, so she kept walking, till she heard a creepy murmur. It was close, coming from the trees surrounding her. She saw a silhouette that looked like a woman, approaching her from behind. She started running away, she knew the knife wouldn’t help her much and she had to use the one flare she had wisely. She kept running, never looking back, till she saw a cabin. She stopped and looked around. The murmuring had stopped, the silhouette or her family nowhere to be seen. She looked at the cabin in front of her. It was small and the lighting little, as she could see from the windows. As she started approaching it, she heard quick footsteps approaching her from behind. She froze for a millisecond but then she thought she had to do something, so she turned around and tried to use the knife.
-Nooo Jess, it’s me!
It was John, she was about to stab him on the chest.
-Oh my god, I’m sorry baby. What happened?
-Someone took our son, that’s what happened. I went out to look for him when I heard that creepy singing or murmuring or whatever. I hid and shortly after I saw you running. We gotta check out that cabin. Give me the knife and you keep the gun.
-Alright. I have also called the police, they’ll be arriving soon.
They approached the cabin, circled it, but the windows were blurry. They pushed the front entrance slowly, it was a little dark with only a couple of candles lighting the inside. There were dozens of jars filled with water and human parts inside them. Eyes, hands, organs from people of all ages. There was a table with three chairs, there were 3 plates on it with human parts, as if someone was actually having humans for snack.
-Holy s**t! What kind of sick f**k would do that?? Said John, being scared but disgusted at the same time.
They heard a baby cry. There was a bed in the corner, their baby was on it, alone, crying.
-Oh my god, my baby! My baby! My darling, you’re safe now, said his mother in relief.
They quickly left the cabin and tried to run their way back to the house. They heard the sirens from far away, the police had arrived. They were sure they’d make it back now.
-Help! HEELP! They started shouting
They heard screaming coming from the cabin, someone was angry thst the baby was gone. They kept running when John fell on the ground.
-AAHHH! What the hell!!!
He was caught on a bear trap.
-Oh no, John! Oh my god, are you okay? Who would set a bear trap here?
-Well no hunter lives nearby, actually, noone lives nearby, so they did! Help me open it. Ahh, damn it.
They tried but couldn’t open it, the steps behind them were getting louder and the sirens were not far.
-Jess, you gotta go baby. They’re coming. Go get the cops and they’ll help me, don’t worry, I’ll be okay!
-No, I’m not leaving you John!
She shot the flare gun in the air. It went very high in the sky, making a big, long sound and lighting the whole area. The steps stopped, it must’ve scared them away, temporarily.
-They’re gone. Go Jess, I’ll be okay, hurry.
-Alright, alright, I’ll be right back baby. She kissed him and ran towards the police.
-I’m never buying a house in the woods again, thought John to himself. Peace and privacy my a*s!
She ran and ran till she was stopped by five police officers running towards her.
-Are you okay, ma’am? We saw the flare.
-Yes, officers. But my husband needs help, please follow me.
That moment they heard a scream. It was John. They quickly ran towards him. The bear trap was disarmed and he was gone. They walked towards the cabin while scanning the area at the same time. The cabin was empty, and John was nowhere to be found.