The Cabins Off Route 285 Excerpt
“93 bottles of beer on the wall. 93 bottles of beer! Take one down pass it around. 92 bottles of beer on the wall!” The teenagers chanted as the van sped along the country road.
“Alright. Alright! That’s enough. Can’t you come up with anything more interesting?” The teens looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders. The driver sighed, glancing over at the passenger seat with a weary look.
“Why don’t I teach you a new song?” the passenger suggested. “Just repeat after me. The Princess Pat.”
“The Princess Pat,” chorused the teens. The driver’s shoulders loosened by the time the song finished. The teenagers chatted away with each other. The woman in the passenger seat leaned over to the driver, putting a loving hand on his back.
“Everything will be fine.” The driver gazed into his wife’s eyes and smiled.
“I suppose you’re right.”
“So, Mr. McKennely,” said a boy with ruffled blonde hair, leaning over the driver seat. “When are we gonna get there?”
“Sit back down in your seat, Ben,” Mrs. McKennely scolded.
“Like I told everyone before, this is a couple days journey, so not until tomorrow evening.”
“Wait, are we stopping in a hotel or something?” Ben eyed them with anticipation and excitement.
“No,” Mr. McKennely reminded. “A hotel would cost way more money than we have to spend. We have called a special camp and they are allowing us to use one of their cabins for free.” He saw the look of apprehension on Ben’s face in the rearview mirror. “It’ll be fun! Besides, it’s only for one night.”
“Well, how long until we get there?”
“Not long at all. Maybe another half hour? We should be seeing signs pretty soon.” Not more than twenty minutes had passed when they began seeing signs for the camp. Moments later, they pulled into a beautiful cabin ground. They parked at the main lodge and piled out. The grounds seemed quite deserted, but as they walked into the lodge, the sound of laughter and voices filled the air.
“You guys stay put while we get our cabin registered, or go into the camp gift shop,” she glanced around, “if you can find it. We’ll be back. Stay out of trouble.” She burned a few warning glares into the boys which the girls giggled at and trotted off.
“This place is kinda creepy, don’t you think?” one of the girls whispered as they shuffled further into the lodge towards some couches. The surrounding people stopped and stared at them. The girl jumped as one of the boys grabbed her shoulders from behind.
“Probably because it’s haunted by ghosts, Becky.” She glared at him as he made eerie “oo’s” in the background.
“It’s not funny, Tyler,” another girl scolded. “This place is creepy. I don’t know why we have to stay here.” The group of teens plopped on a few couches. They talked amongst themselves as the people who stared at them resumed their previous conversations.
“They act like puppets, like we’ve interrupted their play,” mumbled the last girl loud enough to interrupt a nearby conversation.
“What are you muttering about this time, Jan?” a boy said, rolling his eyes at her.
“Nothing,” Jan denied, studying her hands. Something felt wrong, but Jan always felt something was wrong. She wasn’t about to give the group more to tease her about.
“Be nice to Jan, Alex. She’s done nothing wrong,” Becky said. Jan flashed her a timid smile.
“Alright kids! Ready to go and check out the cabin?” Mr. and Mrs. McKennely returned to find the kids splayed on the couches. Mr. McKennely swung the cabin key out in front of him. The teens scrambled to their feet at once with many resounding yeses. As they left, Jan looked back over her shoulder. The people had quit what they were doing again and studied the newcomers. A stone of dread dropped into her stomach. This place was strange. She couldn’t wait to leave.
☠ ☠ ☠
“Here we are kids.” They parked the van in front of the cabin. The kids pulled their duffel bags, sleeping bags, and pillows from the back, heaving them inside. The inside was musty but pleasant looking. “There are rooms upstairs. One for the boys and one for the girls. No mixing.” Mr. McKennely held his finger up threateningly. The kids scurried upstairs to claim their beds. Mrs. McKennely sauntered over to her husband, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Everything will be fine, dear.” She kissed him. “Now let’s get started on this dinner. We’ve got seven teenage mouths to feed.”
With a full belly, Mr. McKennely relaxed. With the kids back in their rooms, he stretched his body while sitting at the table.
“How about a walk, my dear? Shall we explore these beautiful grounds together?” Mr. McKennely asked his wife.
“I couldn’t be happier to accompany you,” she beamed at him. They alerted the kids and set off, wandering the paths of the grounds. The sun began setting, but they were lost in each other’s company, deciding to take a detour into the forest. They hiked along for several minutes before a noise reached their ears. They whirled towards the sound, leaving the trail and scouring deeper into the wood. The sound grew louder and clearer; a chant rattling through the trees. They glanced at each other and frowned. Suspecting their teenagers to be behind it, they continued on until at last, they could see a large fire with many people dancing around the flames. They were chanting, but the McKenney’s could not make out what they were saying. One thing was for sure; those were not their teenagers. The drone grew louder, the dancers moving faster and growing more wild by the second. Mr. McKennely peered closer at the dancers. He leaned forward, using a branch for support.
Snap. He rolled down the slope towards the fire. Mrs. McKennely watched in apprehension as the dancers suddenly stopped and stalked towards her husband. Mr. McKennely got up. They closed in. There was something too familiar about these people, but it was hard to tell in the flickering flames.
“I am so sorry,” Mr. McKennely began. “I didn’t mean to intrude. My w-” He stopped himself. He didn’t trust these people. “I was walking along and saw you.” The faces were close enough now that he began to recognize them. “Wait, you are the guy from the office. The registration guy. You gave me my keys. What’s going—”
“Silence!“ The man cut him off. “Trespasser! How dare you come into our sacred vigil. How dare you interrupt our worship!”
“I’m…I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”
“Silence, dirt! Trespassers will not speak. Trespassers will be punished!” The man boomed. The rest of the people roared and circled Mr. McKennely, chanting again. They closed in on him. Mrs. McKennely couldn’t hold it in any longer.
“Robert!” she screamed. The chanters spun towards her. The leader of them made a whooping noise, waving a carved wooden staff above his head.
“Run Evaline! Run for your life! Get out of here! Go!” Robert yelled above the hollering noise before being knocked out by a swift blow to the head. Evaline turned and ran. She shot back towards the cabin, but heard the sounds of pursuit behind her and changed her course. She would lead them away from the kids and if she could, she would run until she found another town. She would come back and rescue him. The kids would be fine, she assured herself. They had done nothing wrong. They wouldn’t be punished. They would be fine. She put extra force into her sprint, now running through open land. She sped along for what seemed like hours until she no longer heard any sound except the pounding of her feet on the ground. She was exhausted, but she had escaped.
So far.