Lethal Confessions

Shawn's body lay in a disturbing position; his arms were twisted in wierd angles on either side of him and his legs were spread apart, his left foot missing a shoe. His head was turned to the right and mouth halfway open as if midway in a scream. Blood flowed from a huge gash in his neck, being washed into soil by the rain. His right hand was missing.

With heavy steps, Alexandra inched closer to the body, her tears silently falling as she did so. She dropped to the ground by his side and cautiously touched him, his icy cold body chilling her fingers. "Shawn," she sniffled. "Shawn. Please, wake up." She grabbed a fistful of his clothes and tugged, her weeping turned into a full-fledged cries. "Shawn!"

...

Cassandra sat still beneath the comforters and waited. Her eyes browsed the room and fell on the figureheads decorating the wall above the fireplace. She identified a moose, deer, bear and a number of other animals. The cobra caught her eye. It was in the middle of the rest, staring straight ahead and stood out with its olive green skin and sharp-looking fangs.

She gazed at it for a while, a shiver running down her spine when it's black eyes turned red. Cassandra blinked and rubbed her own eyes before looking again; the eyes were back to normal, black as darkness.

She suddenly felt as if she was being watched and wrapped the comforter even tighter. She heard a creak and her head snapped to the hallway. Sophia? It was empty. She had not seen her since she left for the basement, after Shawn; and that had been almost an hour ago.

She heard another creak, upstairs this time. Chucking the comforter she walked down the hallway, stopping at the end. She glanced at the basement door, Sophia had gone there and she hadn't seen her exit. But the noise had come from upstairs; that was where she probably was.

She went up the stairs and inspected all the rooms. "Sophia. Sophia." There was no sign of her; her things were also untouched, exactly how they had left them earlier.

Leaving the floor, her next stop was the basement. She wasn't there either and the boxes that had been arranged beforehand were now scattered, with their contents out.

There was an eerie silence and the air in the room was stifling, as though someone was slowly sucking it out. The overhead light flickered continuously and Cassandra thought she saw shadows dance in front of her with each flicker.

She didn't like the atmosphere and moreover Sophia was obviously not here so she had no reason to stay. She quickly turned back and gasped.

In front of her stood a girl with jet black hair that was flowing although there was not even a slight breeze in the air. Her eyes were red and blood dribbled from her mouth, dropping to the ground in rhythm splat, splat, splat. Her arms and legs were bound and a dagger with a wooden handle stuck out from her torso.

"Help me. Please help me."

Cassandra's heart jumped into her throat and she staggered backwards but tripped, her butt hitting the ground. The figure floated slowly towards her, her blood trickling to the ground, splat, splat, splat.

Fear gripped Cassandra as the figure reached out to her. "Help me. Please help me." The grey fingers with gnawed nails brushed her face and she prepared to scream when the lights suddenly went out.

...

The rain continued to fall in heavy torrents accompanied by more thunder and lightening. John, soaked to the bone, stared as Alexandra wept over Shawn's body. He didn't want to see it up close; he already knew what he needed to know.

He heard what sounded like a soft hiss and looked onwards, into the darkness of the trees ahead. Alexandra had heard it too, peering ahead as well, in between sobs and sniffles. Two red dots blinked back at them like beacons. They both stayed still, as if waiting for something to happen. Abruptly, an object flew in their direction and landed in front of Alexandra; it was Shawn's right hand.

They gaped at the mangled body part, and Alexandra took in the sight of gruesome and torn flesh and immediately felt sick to her stomach. All the beer she had consumed previously, threatened to make an entrance.

The grabbing and pulling of her arm brought her back to her senses and she allowed John to drag her away before the next hiss sounded, louder and more menacing.

On their way they met Philip, who took one look at them and just dashed with them back to the cabin.

...

The lights came back on. The hideous thing was gone and so were the blood drops. It was as if nothing had happened. She quickly got off the ground. The air wasn't as stifling and the dread she had felt from before was strangely replaced with calm. Without as much as a second thought, Cassandra bolted from the place.

Back in the living room Cassandra tried to catch her breath but immediately sucked it in in surprise when the main door burst open and John, Alexandra and Philip bustled into the room from the rain.

Alexandra immediately sunk to the ground with John following suit and Philip leaning against the wall. Burying her head in her arms, Alexandra resumed her sobs and weeping, John trying his best to comfort her.

"Where's Shawn?" Cassandra questioned. No one answered. "Where is he? Where is Shawn?"

"He's—he's—he's—someone—ki..." Alexandra trailed off, her voice getting lost in the weeping and sobbing.

"Well?" Cassandra asked expectantly. "Someone should say something."

"Shawn," John began. "is—"

Loud knocks on the door interrupted him. Cassandra hurried to open the it.

"No!" John warned but the door was already wide open and Cassandra could only gawk at the visitor.