The Cabin In The Woods

“How much furtheeeer?” I ask, quickly getting tired of all the uphill walking.

We are currently ascending an uphill and narrow paved path along the thick woods. Ryusejima is in fact an island with mountains on one side, such as these, and the sea on the other. Man, I miss the concrete pavements of Tokyo’s streets already…

“Not long now, we’re almost there!” Daichi replied energetically as always, walking ahead.

“Hey guys, we sure we don’t wanna head back…?” Hana stated as we all turned to give her a look. Figured it was time for her to start having cold feet, since she looked reluctant right from the get-go. “…I mean we’ve been there many times already… right?” She continued, after a long pause.

“Pfft… You’ve been there what, once? Twice?” Daichi smirked at her as Hana looked away embarrassed.

“Haha, me? Naaah, I’ve been there… many times before!” She replied, faking a confident smile. “Right, Emi?” She looked at her friend who was checking a device in her hands.

“Hey, there’s no signal here!” The girl stated, completely ignoring her friend’s question.

AT LAST SOMEONE WITH A SMARTPHONE!

I think to myself, as I sneak a peek over her shoulder.

WHAT’S WITH THIS OLD-ASS MODEL? That’s like, right after the flip=phone era!

As I realized I was getting my hopes up for nothing, Hana’s little sister spoke.

“Heh, my sister gets scared easily…” She stated with a smug grin as I glanced at Hana.

“Ha ha ha, dear sister… how does a week with no video games sound?” Hana said without breaking face, as her sister squealed lowly.

“Oh somebody’s scared…” I smirk at her, looking at her sideways.

“Pfft! Me? Scared? There’s no-“ Just as she denied my accusation, a rustling noise in a nearby bush caused her to pause momentarily.

“You know, there are a bunch of stories about werewolves in Ryusejima, right?” Daichi commented, while Hana gulped audibly.

“You’re just making this up…” She voiced shakily.

“Nah it’s true, I’ve heard of ‘em too.” Then Emi joined in.

“Wait, there are actual wolves in Ryusejima?” I asked.

“Nah, just werewolves.” Daichi gave a nonchalant reply.

How does that work?

“They also say the souls of the dead roam around at night, deep in these woods…” Chinatsu said in an ominous and creepy voice.

“Chinatsu!” Hana voiced in a reprimanding tone, as we all, despite her, chuckled.

As we were getting closer and closer to that small, abandoned cabin, I could feel Hana walking closer to me. She must really not like this stuff….

“We’re here.” Daichi stated, as he came to a halt in front of a wooden, run-down cabin.

“So this is the place…” I murmured while noticing Hana turn as pale as a sheet of paper next to me.

“Who would like to do the honors?” The other male of the group asked, stepping to the side.

“I can’t be going first, I need to film your reactions!” Emi smirked and looked at Hana and me, getting her phone ready.

Pfft, she thinks I’m scared? As if!

“Try not to get too clingy there, Hana-chan.” The blonde girl winked at her friend who shook her head a little more than necessary.

“No, nope! I’m good! Not scared!” Hana voiced, without stepping away from me.

“Hmph, since you’re all cowards, I’ll take it upon myself…” The youngest of the group stepped forward.

Seriously…? And who taught her to speak like that anyway?

“Wait! I… We’ll go!” Hana stopped her sister and grabbed my collar, dragging me to the front.

“Why me too..?” I whined as I was getting dragged.

“You seriously want a little kid to go first?!” Hana soon gave me her reprimanding tone as well, as I stole a glance at Chinatsu, who had a smug grin on her face.

What’s with this kid?! She seriously doesn’t give a damn!

I quickly switched back to Hana, who was narrowing her eyes at me, her big sister nature kicking in.

“Okay, okay…” I sighed and turned towards the old wooden door. “…You guys… ready?” I looked back to check, and noticed that Daichi was missing.

“Yeep!” Emi voiced nonchalantly giving a peace sign with one hand, while holding her barely-a-smartphone on the other. Chinatsu nodded confidently while Hana gulped.

I bet they’ve got something planned here, and Hana hasn’t seemed to notice…

“Okay… I’m opening it…” I say as I grip what used to be a doorknob and slowly push the door open.

The inside is quiet and dark and with the only source of light being Emi’s phone, I can’t make out much of anything.

“See? There’s nothing here…” Hana voiced, the floorboards creaking under our feet. Just as everyone had entered the small cabin, we heard a loud noise, and right after that…

“RUUUAAAARGH!” A mighty roar came from straight ahead.

“AAAAAHHHH!” “WOAAAAAHHH!” The first scream came from Hana who clutched tightly at my arm, squeezing her eyes shat, while the second was a reflex reaction from me.

Of course the roar came from none other than Daichi, who had hidden inside as we were debating outside the cabin.

Damn it! I knew it, and I still got startled!

“HAHAHA! Did you see their faces!?” Daichi started laughing loudly as he moved towards Emi, who had finished recording and was chuckling at the video playing on her screen.

“Check it out, their screams are hilarious, LOL!” Emi joked, as she turned her phone towards us.

Who says LOL out loud like that?

Just as I think that, the video replays to the part where we scream and notice that only I and Hana were startled. My first reaction is to look at Chinatsu, the 10-year-old with us…

She’s still smirking! WHAT IS SHE?

I think as I notice her just standing there, smiling mockingly at the video.

“I hate you, guys…” Hana says still clutching my arm and shaking like a leaf.

“Hmmm, you got so scared you just HAD to cling to Yukky’s arm, huh?” Emi pointed out as Hana finally noticed, her face going red.

Yukky? What’s that? A nickname?

“I-I-I w-wasn’t scared!” She immediately separated from me and furrowed her brows.

”Yeah, yeah sure you weren’t…” I cross my arms and smirk at her for the umpteenth time today. Just as I say that, the video, that’s probably on loop, replays the part where we scream again and Hana’s face goes red. “There’s no shame in admitting it, you know.” I shrug as she stares daggers at me, clearly embarrassed.

“Hey! You screamed too, didn’t you!? You did, right?! And we’ve got proof!” Now it’s time for HER to go into the offensive.

“He did, didn’t he, Emi?”

“Oh yeah, he did!” Daichi replied while Emi nodded with a smirk and replayed the video back for us.

Oh crap, I had forgotten about that…

“Oh please, I was just pretending! I mean, I noticed Daichi was gone!” I reply trying to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Oh yeah? In that case, I was pretending too!” Hana crosses her arms over her chest. “…Or maybe you ACTUALLY got scared! There’s no shame in admitting it… right?” She finally gave me a smirk, as the color returned to her face. In the meantime, as I was thinking for the best comeback, the others chuckled at the banter between us.

I swear, they’re enjoying this way too much!

“I say they’re both scared!” Chinatsu joined in on the teasing.

How am I getting owned by a 10-year-old?! What has my life turned into?!

“I believe Hana hugged Yukky on purpose!” Emi raised her hand.

“Yep, and HE was too scared to notice!” Finally, the last blow was dealt by Daichi, who raised his hand up as well.

“There’s no wa-“ Just as Hana and I are about to retaliate, a different, shriller, and certainly more ominous voice interrupted us.

“…Who dares interrupt my slumber??”

We all froze.

“Did you guys hear that?” I turn to face Hana, whose face lost all color, just as quickly as she regained it.

“GO AWAY BEFORE I RIP YOUR HEARTS OUT! AND NEVER COME BACK!” The voice’s volume rose as we all took a look at each other and screamed.

“AAAAHHHHHHH!!!” Without even processing our actions first, we all scrambled towards the door and ran down the path from which we came. I didn’t even know where I was going, but all I knew was that I had to get away.

Note to self: Never visit the haunted cabin in the woods again…

Right after the kids left…

“Phew…” A middle-aged lady with a flushed face cleared the sweat of her forehead and smiled to herself.

“That will teach them not to call me old again…!” Ms. Yui, the English teacher, said proudly, puffing her chest out, as she merrily headed out of the cabin herself.