-Written By Robert Lewis
(Reading Time: 10 min Approx)
Graduation is finally here. Class of 2018, I didn’t think we would ever see this day. It’s kind of bitter sweet really, we are moving on to bigger and better things, but the days of hanging out with our friends is coming to an end. We decided to have one last bash to go out in style. The four of us made plans to go to this cabin out in the woods in southern Illinois. Jacob’s dad told him about it, and said it was a great place to take girls. Jacob, me, Tonya, and Susanne all loaded up in the jeep to spend the weekend at the old cabin.
It was literally out in the middle of nowhere. We drove about two hours south of Springfield, when we came to an old gravel road that went to the right into the woods. It was a long road, about five miles or so back. As we pulled up you could tell it had been abandoned for quite some time. There was dust and cobwebs in the windows and corners of the doors.
Single file we piled through the door into the small cabin. It was dark and filthy with dust and cobwebs. The girls were going to clean up some, and Jacob and I were going to go gather some wood to build a fire for the night. There was no electricity in the old cabin, just oil lamps and a wood cook stove. There was an old hand pump for water just off the porch, and an outhouse about thirty feet away.
It was so quiet and peaceful out here, with nobody around for miles and certainly no cell reception. As we made it back to the cabin with our arms full of firewood Jacob said, “Adam, why don’t you check the outhouse for critters, make sure it’s safe to use before we need to.” I set the wood down on the porch and walked over to the half rotten wooden outhouse. With my foot I kicked the door open, and peeked in.
To my surprise, it wasn’t in bad shape at all, and the cabin seemed to be dirtier than it was. “We’re all good Jacob.” Tonya and Susanne came out and said “well, it looks much better in there now.” Tonya came over to hug me, we have been dating since freshmen year. Jacob and Susanne have only been together a few months, though he had a crush on her since elementary school.
Night fall was approaching us fast and we decided tonight we would just pile our sleeping bags in the middle of the cabin floor next to the fire. It was nice and cozy next to the fire, but this old cabin had a spooky factor to it. Susanne woke up in the middle of the night and said, “I’m going to the outhouse.” She lit one of the oil lamps and carried it with her out the door. Several minutes had passed, and she didn’t come back yet. Jacob said jokingly, “she must have fell in.” He got up and lit another lamp to go find her.
About twenty minutes passed and they still hadn’t returned.
Tonya said, “baby, I’m getting worried about them.” “I’m sure they are just having some alone time honey.” We started to kiss and enjoy our own alone time. Suddenly, we were startled by loud screams. It sounded like Jacob. I jumped up and told Tonya, “stay here, I’ll be right back.” “No, baby don’t leave me alone.” “I have to, he screamed for a reason, it might not be safe out there.” I said, “don’t open the door unless you know it’s us.”
I lit a lamp and walked outside, looking all around trying to see anything in the dancing shadows of the oil lamp. I went towards the outhouse since that is where they were supposed to be. I opened the door and it was empty and showed no signs that anyone had been in there since I checked it earlier. I wasn’t sure if I should call out to them or stay stealthy and quiet. I had no idea what I was up against, if anything. The idea that this could be a prank crossed my mind and I almost got mad, but then I realized, what if it’s not. I made a large circle through the woods around the cabin and saw nothing.
As I headed back to the cabin, I looked in the jeep to make sure they weren’t in there. I noticed the keys were still in the ignition, so I reached and got them sticking them in my pocket. Suddenly I hear another loud scream from off in the woods somewhere, only this time it was Tonya. I ran into the cabin and it was empty.
Now I’m in panic mode running through the woods looking and calling out to them. It was hard to tell what direction the screams came from as they echoed through the trees. As I was running, I stumbled over something falling flat on my face. I scrambled to relight the lamp to see what I had tripped over.
I gasped in horror as I saw Jacobs blood covered body ripped to shreds. Quickly, I looked all around the area for the others, then I saw Tonya, laying in a pool of blood her body torn to pieces. I ran as fast as I could back to the jeep and sped all the way to the next town.
The sheriff said they would investigate first thing in the morning, there was nothing they could do. I took them to where I saw them, and there was nothing there, not even a spec of blood. The sheriff told me you’re not the first to report an incident out here that is unsolved. Years have passed, and I still wonder what happened to my friends and girlfriend. The cabin has since been torn down.
-Written By Robert Lewis
