Chapter 3: The Footsteps That Follow
The storm hadn't let up all night.
Rain lashed at the cabin roof like angry fingers, and thunder growled from deep within the clouds. It was as if the sky itself was warning them to leave. But they stayed, huddled inside the dusty old cabin, trying to sleep while the forest whispered to itself outside.
Sana was the first to stir.
Her eyes snapped open, and she lay frozen for a second. The air in the room felt thick, like it was holding its breath. She sat up slowly, the creak of her sleeping bag sounding too loud. That's when she heard it.
Crrrkkk… Crrrk.
Footsteps. Just outside the cabin.
Slow, dragging steps. Not like someone hiking. More like something... pulling its weight forward.
She leaned toward the window but saw only the curtain gently swaying from the breeze sneaking through the cracks.
Sana nudged Eli. Wake up.
He blinked, half-asleep. What?
Shhh. Someone's out there.
Kade groaned. This better not be a prank again.
I'm serious! Sana hissed.
The footsteps circled the cabin. Slow. Deliberate.
Then... they stopped.
Eli was fully awake now. Okay. I heard that.
All three of them stared at each other in the dim glow of morning. The power hadn't returned since last night, and the flashlight lay across the floor, its batteries dying.
Maybe it's an animal, Kade whispered.
Animals don't wear boots, Sana said coldly.
Then what
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The window.
They jumped.
Did you see that? Sana asked, rushing to pull back the curtain.
Nothing. Just fog on the glass.
Okay, we're leaving. Now, Kade said, standing.
But as he took a step toward the door, it creaked.
On its own.
The handle twisted slightly.
Then… stopped.
No one opened it.
Just the sound of rain again.
And a single bootprint in the mud outside the window.
Eli's voice cracked. Guys… that wasn't there before.
Sana slowly backed away. We have to figure out what's going on. What if this place really is
Haunted? Kade said bitterly. We joked about it, but now I'm starting to believe it.
They huddled together. Something didn't feel right about the air anymore. It was colder, heavier. And the house felt… awake.
Let's check the rest of the cabin,Sana said. Maybe there's another way out.
They moved room to room a dusty kitchen with cracked tiles, a hallway with photos that had long since faded, and a locked door at the end of the hall.
Sana paused. We didn't notice this last night.
It was probably just hidden behind the shelf,
Eli said, already trying to jiggle the handle.
It's locked. Figures.
Sana noticed something above the door carved faintly into the wood:
Don't Open What Was Never Closed.
What the hell does that mean? Kade asked.
No idea,Sana whispered, but I don't like it.
Suddenly, the sound returned.
Footsteps. Inside the house.
All three of them froze.
No, Kade said. No no no. No one came in.
They're not from outside anymore, Eli whispered, panic rising in his chest. They're here.
The lights flickered. Once. Then again.
The flashlight rolled off the table.
The footsteps stopped.
They were right behind the locked door.
Sana stepped back. We need to leave. Through the back.
They ran to the rear door but it wouldn't budge.
It was nailed shut.
Eli turned toward the living room. We need to break a window.
But it's raining outside
You'd rather stay and meet what's behind that door?
The choice was made.
Eli grabbed a chair and smashed it through the front window. The glass shattered with a scream of its own. Rain poured in, drenching the floor.
Go! he yelled.
One by one, they climbed out into the cold.
As they turned to run, Sana looked back and gasped.
There was a shadow behind the glass. Not a person. A shape. Tall. Crooked. Watching.
The cabin door creaked open on its own… and a soft voice echoed from within.
You shouldn't have come.
They ran. Through mud. Through branches that clawed at their skin. Through a forest that didn't feel natural anymore.
The path they came from?
Gone.
The truck?
Gone.
The storm?
Still raging.
And the feeling that they were being followed?
Stronger than ever.