I look around. It’s just as dark and musty as I remember. I slowly and quietly walk around the cabin, not daring to make any sound. I hear a creaking sound on the floorboards upstairs. My heart starts to race. I debate whether or not I want to investigate the sound. I pull myself together and timidly head upstairs. I walk down a long, dark hallway. 

                The floorboards creak and shudder under my snow boots. There are two doors on each side of me, and in front of me there is a tall door that is slightly ajar. I slowly approach the door and peek inside. There is a dim fire going in the fireplace which is in the far right corner of the room. Its dim, eerie light illuminating the room. There are two tall windows on my front left and right. Various things, such as papers, old clothing and ink are spread around the room. There are also blood stains on the walls and floor. Directly in front of me there is a tall mirror. I timidly start to approach it when I suddenly hear slow footsteps and soft, heavy breathing right behind me. I freeze in position, unsure of what to do next. 

                  I can hear them getting closer and closer. The breathing is getting louder and the room is getting colder and darker for some reason. I don’t know if I want to turn around. Suddenly, the footsteps and breathing stop, and the cabin is dead silent again. Still frozen in place, I hesitantly decide to turn around. When I turn around, at first it looks like no one is there. But as I squint further into the darkness, I see a shadowy figure with an axe.

                “H-hello?” I timidly whisper. “Is anyone there?” The figure doesn’t answer and instead stays still. The axe shifts in their hand. I decide to try again.

               “Ben? Is that you?” Still no answer, but the figure does move closer a couple of steps.

              “It’s me, Dylan! Your best friend!” The figure stays silent but moves closer a few more paces. The axe still nervously shifting in their hand. There is a brief moment of silence between us before they speak.

              “D-Dylan? Is that you?” They ask. It’s Ben! His voice is deeper than I remember, and has kind of an echo to it. It’s almost as if two people are trying to speak over each other. I smile and walk forward a couple of steps.

             “Yes! Ben! I-It’s me!” I excitedly shout. I can barely make him out. All I can see of him is his shadowy outline. But if I could see him, I bet he’d be smiling.

             “How...did you find me?” He asks, a slight change in his tone of voice.

             “Well I figured that you’d be out here...at the cabin...” I reply. There is a moment of silence before he speaks again.

             “Y-you shouldn’t be here...” he says. Confused, I reply with,

             “Huh? Wh-What you do mean?”

             “Well...I’m glad you found me. Really, I am...” he pauses. “But, it’s not safe out here.

Not with me...” Still confused I try to speak again.

             “Ben, I-I still don’t understand...wh—“ He cuts me off.

             “Dylan. Do you remember that night when the two of us came out here?”

            “‘Course I do!” He continues.

            “Do you remember when Emily took me away?” I shudder, even just thinking about it, especially here, gives me an uneasy feeling. I sigh. 

            “Yeah...”

            “Well, when she dragged me into that room, she...did some very bad things to me, and basically killed me...”

            “Wait...” I say. “What do you mean “basically”?” The axe shifts again in his hand.

            “You know how she said she needed human souls?”

            “Wait, how do you know about tha—“

           “Just...let me finish...” I sigh.

           “Okay...” He continues.

           “She said she needed human souls. She needed them to become stronger or be free? Well, when she was about to “kill” me, she made a deal with me. She told me that if I gave her my soul, then she wouldn’t lay a finger on you. She said she only technically needed one soul to free herself.” 

            He pauses.

            “Well, before I was able to make a choice, she slashed my throat, stabbed my heart and took the soul. The last thing I remember her saying was, “it is done”.” He paused again.

            “After she did that, I...something felt...wrong. It felt like something was missing from me. And after you left, I started feeling really weird. I was having headaches, I was super tired and I felt...different.” He pauses. The axe shifts in his hand once again, and his grip tightens.

“And...one night, I heard voices. They were more like whispers, but they were in my head. Then, one voice, cold and clear, spoke above the rest. It started by first trying to comfort me and gain my trust. Once it had done that, I started noticing changes about me. Such as, suddenly forgetting certain parts of my day. Forgetting where I was and what I had been doing. Suddenly finding myself out in the middle of the woods, and then back in the cabin with an axe. I tried to leave, but it wouldn’t let me, and any time I got close, I got this awful headache.” He pauses again and there is silence between the two of us for a couple seconds.

             “I also found these black ink stains on my clothes...” He shows me his football jersey, which is covered in blood and ink stains.

“Whoa…” I reply, stunned.

“Anyway, I’ve rambled enough. You should get going.”

“No. Ben I’m not—“ Suddenly, a huge gust of wind fills the entire cabin and the door slams shut. I can tell that something is “off”. I can’t hear Ben.

“Ben?” I timidly ask into the darkness. No response. I try again, but still no answer. The cabin is dead silent. I look around the cabin, scanning my surroundings, but still no Ben.

“Ben? Where did you go?”