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It was a magnificently beautiful drive out into the country where we would spend the next couple of weeks away from civilization. A recent snowfall left the countryside covered with a soft, pure white blanket. This last storm was a heavy one which left some trees leaning in one direction from the weight of the billowy snow nestled in their branches.

Many farmers who tended the local fields lived on this secluded road, and together they came out and cleared the main route along with a few smaller roads. The snow, moved using tractors and other farm equipment, was packed to the side and created a five-foot wall. With the exception of these few places, the soft white blanket was untouched and pristine.

I was so glad to have the opportunity to drive out here with Cynthia, my wife of six months, and our two best friends Walter and Margret. The company for which I worked owned a luxury cabin deep in the woods past all of these farms at the top of a mountain. It was a place usually reserved for the executives, but due to my excellent performance recently drawing to the firm several large accounts, I was given two weeks off and access to the cabin for that time.

The cabin where we were going to stay was far from any cell towers, meaning we would have no cell connection the whole time we stayed here. The idea of spending time away from phones, television and the internet did give me a small amount of anxiety, but I was excited to be off the grid even if only for a short period of time.

It would be nice to cozy up to Cinthia in front of a warm fire, both of us covered under a warm blanket, and drinking hot buttered rum. The cabin had a fireplace in each of the three bedrooms, in addition to one in the den, the living room and in the game room. They functioned with either wood or gas, and there was a stack of split wood provided for us outside. With another couple in the house, we would have a private fire place away from them when we wanted one.

My car, or any one of our cars for that matter, never would have made it through the heavy snow that still concealed the ground. Knowing this, the firm rented me a large four-wheel drive off-road truck for my trip just in the case we did run into such weather. I am so glad they did, because the trip would be at an end hours ago if not. I still worried about our safety at first, but this huge monster seemed to have no trouble on the new snow fallen on the areas already cleared. I was sure once we passed the farmers’ roads the drive would be much worse, but I had confidence we would make it safely to our destination.

I was right in my assumption. When we reached the private road leading up to the cabin, the semi-cleared road ended. I now faced a gradual uphill climb in snow every bit of three feet deep. My friend told me not to attempt it; that we should turn around and go somewhere else, but after driving this beast for a few hours, I was sure it could easily make the climb.

There were a few times I thought I might get us stuck. Every time I heard the tires slip and spin on the snow, I thought that was it; we’re going to get stranded in this truck out here past the edge of any cell coverage. We made it through every time though. After a long, anxious hour of plowing this massive truck through the snow, we finally reached our destination.

I could hardly believe what I saw when we rounded the top of the hill. The cabin sat in the middle of a large opening with only the occasional tree here and there. Surrounding the area was a double ringed pathway of trees. What were possibly bushes were obscured by the snow and were nothing more than rounded bumps at the snow’s surface.

The cabin was absolutely incredible. It was a two-story rustic log structure. Large heavily insulated windows took the place of walls for half of the downstairs area as well as each bedroom upstairs having large windows and glass doors for the outer walls so occupants could look out over the beautiful landscape. I guess we did not really have to worry about privacy since the firm owned all the land for ten miles in every direction. Still, I hoped there were drapes or something to provide additional seclusion for when my wife and I wanted to be intimate.

It was a bit of work trudging a path from the truck to the cabin. I led the way and Walter followed, clearing as much as we could so that our wives would not have so much trouble. We were covered in snow up to our armpits by the time we got to the front door. I let the ladies in and my friend and I went back to get the luggage. It was very difficult to carry much with our narrow pathway, so it took us several trips to get everything inside.

Cynthia already had our room picked out by the time Walter and I were done, so I went straight up there to get out of my snow-caked clothing. I was quite shocked by how large the bedroom was. It had a king-sized bed. There was a poker table and five chairs, two couches and a loveseat, two very nice dressers and a vanity table. Six lamps spread about the room. Each one of them was of a different size but the same design. A table sat next to the massive window and door that made up the north wall. Various decorations were placed around the room with the skills of a professional decorator.

Adjacent to our room was a bathroom larger than my bedroom at home. The shower could comfortably accommodate six people, there were two toilets, and two sinks and mirrors. It even had a bidet’ directly between the toilets. This place was absolutely spectacular, and I thought I could really see me spending the rest of my life out here.

After a moment to take in all the luxury surrounding me, I got into the shower and removed my clothes. The snow began to melt a little, but most of it was still frozen. I dried myself a bit with a towel and redressed myself in some fresh clothes.

It was a long drive and everyone was famished from the ride. I promised them I would cook us dinner once we got here. I was tired and cooking was one of the last things I wanted to do now, but I made a promise.

Cynthia and I immediately started talking about our bedroom the moment I came down the stairs. Our friends joined in and we all took turns marveling over the beauty and luxury of this place. None of us ever stayed anywhere quite as upscale as this cabin. Unless I climbed high up the corporate ladder, this would probably be the last time I stayed somewhere like this.

I kept dinner simple and quick. Everyone was hungry, and I certainly did not want to cook anything fancy or difficult. I settled for hamburgers and home fries. We all ate rather quickly then retreated to another room.

One single dark stained wooden wall divided the downstairs lengthwise with an additional room at each end. It made me feel a little more comfortable knowing someone could not see straight through the building.

Two leather couches, a loveseat and four chairs lined the wall. The furniture was arranged in a slight semi-circle formation to encourage conversation, but they all faced the window well enough to have a pleasant view of the beautiful snow outside. A large fireplace built in with the windows crackled and popped while providing a soothing, warming radiation.

Even though it became dark hours ago, we could still see the outside rather well. The moon was almost full, illuminating the white snow, which in turn seemed to make it even brighter. It was definitely a sight to behold. I could not wait to see it in the daylight.

Eventually Cynthia and I said good night to our friends and climbed the curved staircase to our room. Even though we were still newlyweds, and our desire for each other stirred a bit, we were both too tired and stiff from the ride up here. We simply had to wait until tomorrow for that. Instead, we removed our clothes and climbed under the heavy down comforter covering the large bed. With Cynthia snuggled in my arms, we drifted off into a deep sleep.

I awoke to the aroma of freshly brewed coffee. I rolled over to look at Cynthia, but she was not there. I donned a bathrobe provided as another step in the luxury of the cabin and went downstairs to join her. I found Margaret was there with her. The two sipped their coffee and talked softly to one another so as not to wake us men.

When she saw me, Cynthia got up and gave me a kiss on the cheek. After bidding me a good morning, she went over to the counter and poured me a cup of coffee. My wife knew exactly how much cream and sugar I liked in my morning cup of joe, and she made it perfectly. I gave her a peck on the cheek – I had not yet brushed my teeth – and told her how much I loved her. She smiled, kissed me on the forehead and sat down beside me.

I was on my second cup of coffee before Walter came out of their bedroom and started down the stairs. He remarked on how well he slept the previous night. The beds were indeed unbelievably comfortable, and it was so quiet and serene.

Walter and I cooked breakfast as the four of us discussed what we would like to spend the day doing. Margaret suggested we stay in today. We did have the cabin for two weeks. I thought we should go outside today, and use tomorrow as a day to get warmed back up. After everyone shared their input, we decided to take a walk through the long grove of trees that surrounded most of the property. Under those tall evergreens, we did not need to worry about the snow being too deep. I imagine that was the reason for the specific design in the first place.

It was cold, and the wind was eerily calm. Snow continued to fall lightly, but we all adorned adequate clothing to protect us from the elements. It was nice not to have the wind blowing on us, but there seemed something spooky about it. Perhaps it was only the feeling of seclusion of being so far from any electronic devices and cell phones. I was not used to being off the grid and not having my phone when I needed it.

Initially I thought the trail between the evergreen trees would take a regular circular path around the cabin. Once we got to the trail and started walking, we found it contained many curves, some subtle and some rather sharp. In a few places we made right turns, only to find the trail turned back to its previous direction not more than a hundred feet ahead. I wanted to see down the length of the trail as the beautiful snow found its way between the treetops. Instead, I found at any given point we could see no more than two hundred feet before us.

Walter made a remark that he would like to see this walking path from a helicopter. I was in agreement. I wondered if the pathway formed a specific shape of some sort, or if this design was chosen for other reasons. We all found it a bit odd, almost like the gardener planting the trees was absolutely inebriated at the time.

This was one of the reasons I did not like being without my computer. I could look at detailed satellite images of the grounds if I had it with me. I would have to settle with looking at the specific shape of the tree lined walking path after my vacation was over.

It took us nearly two hours to complete the walk around the entire trail, and we were all more than ready to drink something hot in front of a roaring fire. I jumped, and Cynthia nearly crushed my hand when a high-pitched shriek pierced through the still air, followed by a thunderous cracking sound. We all remained silent for at least a minute as we looked around for what could cause such a haunting sound.

Finally, I broke the silence by asking if anyone knew what that was. It was a rhetorical question, as I knew they had no more an idea of what it was than I did. I suggested the high-pitched shriek may have come from a bird of some sort, a screech owl perhaps. That still left the question of the giant cracking sound. Eventually we managed to console ourselves with the idea the bird let out a screech immediately before a large tree fell over and cracked.

I don’t think any of us really believed that, but it was enough to make us feel at ease. This idea seemed plausible enough. Even if it was not an owl and a tree, there must be dozens of things that could explain the noises. It could be something as simple as a loud bird causing a small avalanche in the loose snow somewhere.

After getting changed, I got some milk heating for hot cocoa while Walter moved the two couches closer to the fireplace in the main room. I made four hot mugs of the chocolatey drink and carried them over to the others. Once I gave the other couple their cups, I gave Cynthia hers, slid the tray under the couch, and joined her under a plush blanket. None of us said anything for a little while. We all sipped our drinks and stared at the fire.

I pointed out the fire was burning down, so I got up to get some more firewood. Walter offered to help, and we got a large stack of wood inside in no time. I flattened out the coals a bit and added more fuel. It popped and cracked a lot, so I closed the screen around the fireplace to help protect the building from being burned.

It was only a few hours after noon, but this time of year the sun would be down in only a few more hours. Once we were all warmed back up, we decided to find a game we would all like to play out of the large selection provided. It was not hard to find one out of all of them available that we all liked. Everyone else got the table ready as I heated up more milk for some cocoa.

It was snowing outside rather hard by the time I got our drinks to the table. The sun was not fully set, but the snow obscured enough light to make it dark outside. I discovered a large, fully stocked freezer, so halfway through our game I threw a frozen lasagna in the oven.

Following dinner, my wife and I retreated to our room. I did not care if there was no one else around for miles, I closed both the blinds and curtains to obscure the large window that made up most of the north wall. Tonight, we were both in a romantic mood, and unlike the previous night when we went to bed and went right to sleep, we were well rested and had plenty of energy.

I turned around to find Cynthia lying naked in the large bed. She hit me with a seductive glare, gave me a long look at her perky breasts, then pulled the plush comforter over her body. I would prefer to make love to her above the covers, but it was a bit cold in our room. I let the wood fire burn out and did not light the gas burners before we went out on our walk, so the temperature was a little below comfortable.

I quickly slipped off my clothes and climbed under the comforter. Pulling my wife close, I began gently kissing her neck. The bed was so incredibly comfortable, I think it made the experience that much better. Being in such a luxurious place surrounded by a winter wonderland probably did its part as well. We were still newlyweds, and our sex life was great, but tonight we achieved a whole new level of ecstasy.

When we met, we were both regular smokers. We made a vow to one another that we would give up cigarettes before we got married, which we did successfully. The one time that we did allow ourselves a single cigarette was for after lovemaking like we experienced tonight. Both of us got in our soft, white bathrobes and took a seat by the window. I opened the curtains and blinds enough to get the window cracked open a bit. Sitting by the cold window so as not to smell up the whole room, we smoked our cigarettes as we looked at each other flirtingly. We were halfway done smoking when it happened.

A loud screech, just like the one we heard earlier in the day, tore through the quiet winter night. It was so loud, Cynthia and I jumped away from the window. I couldn’t tell how far away it was, but it sounded very close. I could not even say from which direction the terrifying screech came. All I could say is it was loud and sudden.

Less than a minute later, there was a hard, rapid knock at our door. It was Walter and Margret. The door was all the way across the room, so I hollered for them to come in. They entered with panic-stricken faces. Walter asked in between heavy breaths if we heard the noise, and I told him we most assuredly did. I never saw Walter acting quite like this, like a terrified little child wanting in the safety of mommy and daddy’s bed. That was when he informed me the noise came from right outside their room. They had the glass door open to allow in some fresh air when the thing cried out in the darkness. They hastily closed and locked the door, then came straight to our room.

I continued to suggest it was a screech owl. I heard them before. They were surprisingly loud, but they really did not sound like this. Perhaps it was another subspecies of owl. It was very hard to describe, as it sounded like nothing I ever heard before.

I went downstairs and made us some decaf coffee to drink as we allowed our nerves to settle. All four of us sat in my and Cynthia’s room for well over an hour before we all started to get sleepy. Margret and Walter were too scared to go back and sleep in their room. Instead, I helped Walter pull the two couches together face to face and Cynthia got them some pillows and blankets from one of the oversized closets.

Cynthia and I both had our concealed carry permits, and we each set our pistols on the end tables so they could be ready at a moment’s notice. Walter retrieved a short barrel shotgun that was stored downstairs with multiple other hunting firearms, loaded it with three shells and set several more in the chair he pulled close to the couches.

Nothing else strange happened during the night, but none of us got much sleep. After a quick breakfast, our friends retired to their room and we to ours. Exhausted and with our bellies full, it was not difficult to get back to sleep. My wife and I slept well past noon, and our friends did not get up until an hour after that.

The snow was falling heavily, so we stayed inside and played a few games. Margret made us some cocktails as we had fun in the warmth of being inside. We played games, talked and had a few drinks. None of us mentioned the subject of what happened last night. I think everyone was waiting for someone else to bring it up.

Two more nights passed and nothing out of the ordinary happened. We heard no strange screeching throughout the night. The only thing we heard was the wind as it picked up speed during the evenings. Everyone was finally getting past the fear at night of whatever could be making such a horrific sound.

On the fifth day, the air was still, the sun was shining some, and the temperature was one degree below freezing. It seemed like a nice winter day, so we opted to do some cross-country skiing. We really did not get to see much of the grounds from our oddly crafted walking trail, therefore we thought this would be a better way to see the beauty of the estate. Given recent events, we thought it wise not to leave ourselves unprotected.

Cynthia and I both carried the pistols we always carried. In addition to that, Walter had the shotgun, the wives had two smaller rifles, and I carried over my shoulder a high-powered deer hunting rifle. All four of us had training in firearms and were aware of all the protocols and safety measures, so we felt confident in our ability to use the guns properly if it was ever necessary. I did not know what we expected to encounter, but what if anything it was, we would be ready.

The grounds the firm owned were vast indeed. The cabin in which we stayed was at the top of a gently sloping mountain. Once past the walkway of trees, the land opened up to a wide plane with a gradual slope. Far up ahead, judging by the way the trees fell below the horizon, it looked like the terrain might drop. Our other options were through a forest to the left or toward a frozen lake to our right. We decided to come back to the lake later with our skates, leaving the long trek toward the drop off as our final option.

The sun was shining brightly which almost felt like a heat lamp against our dark clothing. There was virtually no wind to speak of, and the freshly fallen snow was smooth and beginning to pack. The surface was perfect for today’s activity. I joked that we looked like a bunch of yeti hunters dressed like we were, all of us packing heat. We seemed like something out of a cheesy horror flick. I guess no one else found the humor in that, as I was the only one to laugh at my joke.

I regretted my little jest after I saw the looks on the faces of my wife and the others. It was several nights ago we last heard that horrible screech, but my joke apparently brought it back to the forefront of everyone’s minds. I felt bad as it seemed I ruined everyone’s good time. No one said anything for the next thirty minutes. Instead, we all kept a close eye on our surroundings. We intentionally stayed out in the wide open when we started today’s adventure so as to avoid any places from which something might surprise us. Even that did not stop us from keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

Walter finally broke the silence when he pointed out the treetops appearing from behind the increasing slope. We continued on until we could see the grade of the hill increase much more abruptly. By the look of it, if we continued much further, we would find ourselves going down a steep hill into a forest. All of us agreed this would be a good point at which to turn back toward the cabin.

The conversation finally resumed as we followed our tracks through the snow back to the warm cabin. Everyone was careful to avoid the subject of the screeching or of anything eluding as to what the sound might be. We almost sounded like two unfamiliar couples in a waiting room talking to pass the time without really saying much at all.

I began making a batch of chili shortly after our return. I thought that would be something hot and heavy, good for returning from being out in the cold. As I got our meal started, Margret selected a bottle of red wine from a fully stocked cellar. After a minute of struggling with the corkscrew, she finally popped the cork and poured each of us a glass. We were on our second glass before everyone began to loosen up again. By the time dinner was ready, we were almost finished with our second bottle.

Following another bottle of wine with our meal, we were all giddy and laughing after we finished eating. We were all rather weary from the day’s exercise, and the wine and heavy meal did all but knock us out. It was still rather early, but we retired to our rooms anyway. Cynthia and I shared a nice hot shower together before climbing into the large comfortable bed for the night.

It snowed most of the next day, so we all decided this would be a good time to stay in the warmth of the cabin and enjoy the luxuries inside. Most of the day we spent reading, talking or staring at the roaring fireplace. We started to play a board game at one point but did not get far into it before we grew bored with it. Quite frankly, we all had a bit too much to drink last night and playing a game did not set well with the moderate hangovers to which we awoke.

The next morning everyone woke up feeling refreshed and well rested. The sky was nice and clear, and we thought this would be the perfect day for going ice skating out on the frozen lake. We did not get a very good view of it when we were on our cross country hike a few days ago, but it looked like it was a rather large lake. We gathered our skates, dressed in layers to keep us warm, donned our snow shoes and started off toward the location of today’s recreation.

The lake was a little farther away than we estimated, and it took us nearly forty-five minutes to reach it. It was indeed quite large. There was a nice small area rather free of snow that we reached first, but the lake itself extended a hundred yards before making a turn into a forest. None of us was any sort of professional skater, so this small area closest to the cabin was just right for us.

We had fun playing around on the ice for several hours before we realized how worn out we were. Playing tag on the ice was most enjoyable and made us feel like little kids again, but we expended a lot more energy than we realized. We got out of our skates, into our snowshoes and headed back to the cabin. The walk back seemed twice as long as the walk here because our legs were exhausted from overdoing it with the skating.

We were still five minutes from the cabin when we heard that unholy shriek rip through the still air like a jagged blade. All of us dropped what we were carrying and readied our firearms. This time I could tell the sound came from the direction of the lake. If I were to guess I would say it probably came from the forest that partially encircled the larger part of the lake. It did not sound like it came from the area we just left. The haunting screech sounded much further away than that.

The four of us stood with our weapons ready scanning the horizon for anything, anything at all out of the ordinary. I could not say how long we stood like that, but eventually Walter told Margret and Cynthia to go inside. My wife began to put up a protest, but when I agreed with Walter, both women went into the house.

We again attempted to speculate what could be causing such a terrifying noise, but neither of us had a clue what it could be. This was louder than any owl I ever heard, and it did not sound like any other form of natural wildlife either. This is when we began to wonder if we were dealing with something outside of the natural, something supernatural.

My friend and I decided that was enough. We had some fun while we were out here, but it was not worth the terror this thing was causing us just to stay for another week. We decided we would leave for home in the morning, not wanting to attempt that drive in the dark. Several feet of snow fell since our arrival a week ago, so we knew the road was going to be worse than before.

The ladies were waiting in the small sitting area immediately inside the front doors. We no sooner entered the cabin when our wives informed us, they had enough fun and were ready to return home. I was glad we were all on the same page with this one.

The third bedroom of the cabin had two queen sized beds, rather than a single king sized like the other two bedrooms. We decided to sleep in there tonight. We did not get any privacy to speak of, but we all felt more comfortable in a room together than separated by a thick wooden wall. We had every firearm in the house in the room with us, including our own personal handguns. If something natural or unnatural tried to get us, we would put up a hell of a fight.

It was around two in the morning when we were awoken by the deafening sound of metal twisting. It did not last long, but it was astonishingly loud. Walter and I each threw on a jacket, picked up a shotgun and went running down the stairs. I handed Cynthia my pistol before getting out of the bed.

When we got to the front door, neither one of us could believe our eyes. The heavy-duty pickup truck we used to drive up to this cursed place was tossed over and nearly standing on its end. The frame of the vehicle was twisted from front to back. Something, this screeching thing, not only had the strength to lift the truck, it warped the frame as easily as a child might twist a lump of clay.

Suddenly the guns we had in our hands felt absolutely useless. Anything that could do such damage to a large and sturdy vehicle like that would probably not even notice a blast from one of these shotguns. We silently watched out through the wall of windows for I could not say how long. I do not know how much longer we would continue to stand there and scan the snow outside, but one of our wives made the “psst” noise at us from above.

That snapped us out of our temporary state of shock. Walter and I ran back up the stairs and told our wives to gather up as many blankets and pillows as they could and get them to the basement. Walter helped me gather up all of our firearms and ammunition which we carried down as we remained alert and protective of the women.

I told them just to toss the bedding to the first floor and we could gather it from there. It would take too many trips up and down the stairs to get everything, and I did not want to waste any more time than we absolutely had to waste. Walter checked the gun cabinets and gathered up all the ammunition he could as I helped Cynthia and Margret get the bedding tossed down into the basement.

I had them help me gather up what food and water we could. The three of us met Walter at the base of the stairs. After closing the door behind us, Walter and I began to look for anything heavy and sturdy we could use to barricade the door, not like that really even mattered.

I asked Cynthia to take an inventory of our food supplies while Walter and I separated the ammunition for the individual weapons.

Margret began trembling and flailing her hands, then started screaming “What is it? What is it?” over and over.

Walter jumped to his feet and took her in his arms tightly. It was at this point I realized we never told them what we saw outside. Instead, we had them start gathering supplies and hiding in the basement.

Margret was now crying on Walter’s shoulder, and I told her we still did not know what it was. We never saw anything. I hesitated before I told them about the truck.

“But, but, but how are we g-going to get out of here-er?” Margret asked through her sobs.

I did not know. I was flat and honest with her and told her that I did not know. The snowfall over the last week surely filled back in the path we plowed through the snow on our way up here. We knew the ways behind the cabin either led to a forest, an impassable decline, or the lake encircled by another forest. Without our truck, the only way we were going to get out of here was on skis or snowshoes.

It was cold down in the basement, but we did find several kerosene space heaters. The blankets and pillows helped a lot. Unfortunately, we were in bed sleeping when this happened. I at least wore boxers and an undershirt with the jacket I threw on. Walter did not even have on the shirt. Our wives wore robes, with nothing but under garments on beneath them. We went from total comfort to huddling together for heat.

We stayed down there for a little over an hour and did not hear anything else. Now that we had a little time to calm down, I told Walter and Margret to try to get a few more hours sleep. I would wake them up later and take a few hours for Cynthia and I to sleep. We would try to figure out what we were going to do then.

Margret, exhausted from crying and nestled in her husband’s arms fell back to sleep rather quickly; although, I was not sure if Walter ever went to sleep himself. He laid there with his eyes closed holding his wife, but I never heard him snore or anything else to indicate he was sleeping.

When it came turn for my wife and I to take a chance at a few more hours of sleep, we had no difficulty dozing off. We finally warmed up wrapped in a comforter and several blankets. The stress and anxiety of the last few hours took its toll on us and we were out in no time.

When Walter finally woke us up, it was almost eight in the morning. He told us they heard nothing unusual during their time of keeping watch for the group. I really hoped that meant whatever this thing was, was gone. I hoped that, but I did not believe it. Each time this thing revealed itself, it did so with significant time gaps. This told me whatever the screeching thing was, it resided here in these mountains. Perhaps it lived exclusively in this area.

Having left all of our clothes upstairs, we began to search the large basement for something to put on to keep us warm. Walking around wrapped in blankets was not cutting it. We had to find some better way of keeping warm or we would not live long enough to figure out how to escape.

Margret found a heap of clothing behind one of the many wine racks which occupied the basement. It seemed odd that, in a house so well kept and organized as this one, there would be a heap of clothes thrown in a back corner like this. We did not take too much time pondering the discovery of the clothes before we started putting on everything that fit.

I was slipping on a pair of insulated snow-pants when I felt something inside one of the pockets. Reaching in, I pulled out a small, leather-bound notebook. It was not much bigger than two by three inches in dimension, and probably only fifty pages thick. I flipped through the pages quickly and saw it was about two thirds full. The writing was small, but not too small so as to be difficult to read. It looked like someone was trying to fit as much information inside the tiny booklet as they could.

As the others continued to try to put on as much clothing as they could, I began reading the first few pages of the notebook. The author was a guest at this cabin along with five others with whom he worked. All of their names were listed and the author indicated who was married or otherwise in a relationship with another of the guests.

Their trip started much like our own. They were awarded two weeks at this cabin for the exemplary work they performed at the company with which they were employed. The name of the company was not listed, so I did not know if it was the same firm for which Walter and I both worked.

The author described the screeching with which we were far too familiar beginning on the third day of their trip. It was clear they were every bit as afraid of that sound as we were. This group was unable to flee because the vehicle they arrived in could not get through the snow that fell over the course of their first three days here.

When scouting possible escape routes, the group discovered the same thing we did. It was impossible to go down the steep slope, and the forest and lake areas provided too much concealment for whatever was stalking us. We were unaware of this until now, but there were sheer rock faces on either side of the road leading up here according to this notebook. If that was the case, we would not be going down that way either. Our only hope was to either take the road that brought us here, flee into the forest or try to make it out of here on the icy lake.

At the top of the third page was the date. This entry was made January 12, 1964. That was nearly sixty years ago.

I continued reading the notes and my blood ran cold when I reached page six. Here the author describes the first casualty. No one saw what happened. They all heard the terrifying screeching noise and a crash. The next thing they knew one of their members was gone, but his clothes remained behind. Suddenly I realized we were probably wearing clothes people died in. I kept this bit of information to myself.

Two days later came the second death. This time three of the survivors saw what happened. The deep snow erupted directly behind one of the vacationers. The author described it as jellyfish like, but with three wings spaced equally around the body. The author went on to explain it had more of an elongated shape rather than being round like a jellyfish. Its body was transparent and was an almost sky-blue color. The creature engulfed the unfortunate man. The thing began to vibrate until it reached a certain resonance. At this time a deafening screech radiated from the thing. The man it engulfed quickly dissolved and became a part of the blue mass.

I tried not to show my distress, but Cynthia could definitely tell something was wrong. I could not hide the fact this disturbed me deeply. She asked me what it was, but I told her to please let me finish reading it and I would explain it to them.

One by one the vacationers were consumed by this massive creature. Then, out of the blue, the author mentions a book he found out in one of the storage sheds when he was looking for something to provide some heat. The book was hundreds of years old, but talked about the exact kinds of things happening. It described a creature from beyond the stars that, with many other super powerful beings, made Earth their home millions of years ago. The only way to keep these demi-gods appeased was to feed them, to offer them sacrifices.

That’s what we were. We were nothing but sacrifices the firm sent out here. I could not fathom what the situation with the firm was. I began to speculate it was nothing more than a cover, a front for some dark and secret group or fraternal order. I worked my tail off for them, and they rewarded me by using me by sending me off to my death.

I told the others what I read in the notebook. Very hesitantly I explained how the people in this other group died. I really felt I should keep that information to myself, but Walter, Margret and Cynthia had a right to know what we were up against. I did not want to scare them any more than they already were, but they needed to know what we were facing.

Gathering together our weapons seemed pointless after this new revelation, but we gathered them anyway and filled our pockets with the corresponding ammunition. The author of the little notebook never said anything about guns, so they may not have even tried using firearms against this thing.

There was only one way we thought we might get off this mountain and away from this eons-old beast not of this world. We were going to have to use the cross-country skis and go back down the road that brought us up here. There simply appeared there was no other way we were getting down from this mountain. We loaded several backpacks with food and bottled water before leaving behind the protection of the cabin.

Cynthia and Margret got their first look at the truck when we stepped outside. Walter and I got our first good look at it in the clear light of the morning. It stood on its back end with the twisted look of a licorice whip. The thought of facing something that could take a two-ton truck and do this was more than overwhelming. Walter tried keeping our wives’ attention focused on something else, anything but the twisted wreckage.

I got the chills, and not from the cold, when we passed through the pathway of trees we walked during our first day here. Now I could not help but wonder if the odd shape of that trail created an occult symbol of sorts. Something deep inside of me told me walking that path was what started this all for us.

For the most part the descent was gradual and easy to manage. There were some parts that made us put our weapons around our shoulders and use our ski-poles to keep our balance as we transverse steeper, more difficult terrain.

We seemed to be making good time. I estimated we traveled slightly over ten miles in the first two hours. I was not sure how long this private road was, but I was sure we would make it out to the farmers’ road long before nightfall. That at least appeared to have regular traffic, and it was our hope we could find someone to drive us away from this place.

Shortly after that, everyone stopped and glanced around at everyone else in a panic. We all felt the low-humming vibration in our feet and legs. I think we all knew exactly what was about to happen. The biggest question on my mind at this precise moment was, who was it going to happen to.

The snow behind Walter erupted like a geyser. The rest of us were petrified the instant we saw what it was. The horrific thing had a body shaped more like an ear of corn. It had two wings pointing to the top and two wings pointing to the bottom of its body. Rather than flapping, the gelatinous wings flowed like membranes in the water. Its transparent, icy-blue body was horrendously beautiful and ungodly terrifying.

The gelatinous body unfurled and opened up creating what looked like a giant maw twenty feet in diameter. The top of the giant mouth had what resembled needle-like teeth about an inch in length, but the closer to the center of the body the maw got, the longer the teeth became. The thorny teeth again reduced in size as they reached the bottom of the mouth. Moving so fast, we did not even have time to think, the widespread maw wrapped around and engulfed Walter.

The loose snow began to dance at the surface as the vibrations began to build. The creature’s body began to ripple as it built up power. Suddenly a screech so loud it literally threw us to the ground came from the monstrous thing. I looked up in time to see the look of terror on Walter’s face before his body dissolved and became part of the blue mass. A few seconds later it expelled his clothing, guns and anything that was not human flesh. In less than two seconds, it flew thirty feet into the air, then reversed course and plunged directly into the snow.

Margret began to scream. She could not get up because of the way she fell, so she began to frantically start unlatching her skis. I kept telling her not to do that. I told her I was coming to help. Without the skis to distribute her weight, there was a good chance she could fall down into the deep snow. Before Margret removed both her skis, Cynthia reached her. Cynthia helped Margret get her other ski back on and helped her stand.

As fast as she could, as fast as all of us could, we shuffled along the snowy surface until we reached where all of Walter’s possessions were discarded. Margret dropped to her knees in tears. We all watched this thing consume Walter in a matter of seconds. I was so terrified; it was hard to think. I could not believe we watched this thing from another world digest my best friend and spit his belongings back onto the ground.

Cynthia and I allowed Margret a couple of minutes to mourn, but we knew we had to keep going if we were ever going to escape this thing. My wife shook Margret by the shoulders a few times to try to get her to come out of the state of shock she was in after watching her husband melt away inside the unholy thing. When that did not work, Cynthia gave her a few gentle slaps on the cheek. This was enough to rouse Margret from her shock and grief sufficiently enough to get her to listen.

Margret did not want to leave, and I explained there was absolutely nothing she could do for Walter now except to survive. I had to get Margret to understand her husband would not want her to die like he did. This thing could be lurking about anywhere as it appeared to have the ability to move through the snow unhindered. Perhaps it used those strange membranous wings to pull itself through the deeply packed snow.

This was when I noticed the spot from where it emerged and again disappeared below the surface appeared completely undisturbed. If it were not for my friend’s belongings lying on the ground, I would not believe anything was ever there, that anything ever happened. It did not make sense how something that large could burst forth from then dive back into the snow and leave no trace of it ever being there.

As I stared at the apparently untouched snow, Cynthia motioned for me to come help her with Margret. We grabbed her under the arm and lifted her to a standing position. I took her by the chin and told her she had to come with us. I was not going to leave her behind to freeze to death, or worse. I did not know if she was hearing me, so I said it again then asked if she understood. Feebly she nodded her head. I picked up Walter’s wedding ring and placed it in Margret’s hand. She took one last look at his things scattered on the ground and we were once again headed down the slowly sloping, snow-covered road.

A couple of hours later we rounded a bend and I could see where the trees lining the road widened into a field. This must mean we were close to the farm area we passed on the way in. Surely the people here could help us. They somehow managed to live and work so incredibly close to this unholy thing but not be subjected to its hunger.

We picked up the pace a bit when we saw this in an attempt to get off the firm’s property up here in the mountains. All we had to do now was find a farmhouse close by and we believed we would be safe. In twenty more minutes, we arrived where the forest opened up for what we thought was a field. Standing there, our shoulders drooping from desperation, we could not believe what we saw. The three of us stood there at the edge of a frozen lake.

We passed no such lake on our way in, and we certainly did not pass any turnoffs on our way back down. This had to be the way we came in, but the fences lining the farms were not present. The snowy road simply ended as it reached the frozen water’s edge. Turning around was not an option. It would take us forever to hike back up that long sloping road in cross-country skis. We could possibly make our way across the surface of the lake, but we always faced the threat of the ice cracking and giving way underneath us. Our third option was to stay on land, and work our way around the lake staying as close to the edge as we could.

This turned out to be much more difficult a task than anticipated, so we chose to move across the lake. Staying fairly close to the land where the ice was the most solid, we tried to make our trek as straight of one as we could. A straighter route meant a quicker journey. At this point we had no idea of where we were going, but the quicker we got away from that cabin and its surrounding land, the better.

It began to snow on us as we rounded a large bend. We had to take a small detour around what I first thought was a six-foot-tall mound of snow. When we got a little closer, I saw it was in fact a circular stack of large ice chunks. It looked like something burst out of the center of the ring throwing huge pieces of ice out of its way. By the look of it, it happened more than once. I wondered if this could be the crashing sound we heard, but that came from the other side of the firm’s property.

The sun was getting close to setting, and we could see lights up ahead. We finally found one of the farm houses out here. I never felt such a sense of relief as I did when I spotted that domicile off in the distance.

It was thoroughly dark by the time we reached the other end of the lake, and none of us brought a flashlight with us. Even our cell phones were in the twisted wreck that was once our truck. We reached the edge of the lake, and we had probably twenty more minutes before we reached the house with its illuminated windows.

Margret then Cynthia began to sob, and I lost my last glimmer of hope of making it out of this situation. The falling snow obscured our view of the house too much until now when we were about ten or twelve minutes away. It could not be possible. I felt like I was going to vomit. We approached a nice log cabin with a glass wall along one side, and a twisted pick-up truck out in front. We traveled downhill in one direction, but here we were standing in front of the cabin in which we stayed for a week.

Was it possible this whole estate was a prison with no way out?

The whole time in our attempt to escape, we dropped lower and lower in elevation, so this should not be possible. It was as if when we reached one end of the property, we ended up at the opposite side. This place was circular and I truly felt at this point there was going to be no escape. There would only be hiding in fear until death came one way or another.

When the ground began to vibrate deeply, all three of us knew what was about to happen next. Cynthia was leading the way, I was following the rear, and Margret was in the center. Knowing it would do us no good, we still tried to pick up our pace. Suddenly the ground erupted in front of my wife and there was that ice blue gelatinous pillar; its wings flowing in the air with a fluid rippling motion that was almost hypnotic.

The creature began to unfurl its body, and before I knew it Margret leapt forward and knocked Cynthia to the ground. The ancient beast engulfed Margret with its massive maw and drew her into its body. It began to vibrate, but it never let out the horrible shriek. Instead, it released a low hum before spitting out our friend’s belongings. This time it did not immediately plunge back into the snow. It hovered in place, released a large, colorless, crystal onto the ground. Only then did it dive back into the deep snow.

I rushed over to Cynthia as fast as I could and helped her back to her feet. Tears ran down her red cheeks, freezing when they hit the rim of her hood. I really did not know what to say to her other than to hurry and get back inside the cabin. This thing always seemed to attack outside. Perhaps if we stayed inside long enough, we could wait out the snow. It was my last hope that this thing would not be mobile once the ground thawed.

We were no more than twenty feet away from the door of the cabin. Cynthia was in front and I stayed as closely as I could behind her when the creature burst from the snow. My wife turned back to me with a look I never before saw on her face. It was a look of sorrow, despair and hopelessness. She told me she loved me and to get in the cabin as quickly as I could before she lunged toward the beast. It unfurled its maw and drew Cynthia into its body in an instant.

I screamed in horror as the thing let out a low hum before totally dissolving my wife’s body right there in front of my eyes. As it dropped another large, teardrop shaped crystal to the ground, I tried to leap at the thing. The unearthly being dove back into the snow before I could reach it, leaving everything my wife carried behind.

I dropped to my knees and sobbed. I could not believe Cynthia was gone. Removing my gloves, I picked up my wife’s wedding band and slid it onto my left pinky adjacent to my own ring. For how long I sat there crying, I could not say. It felt like hours, but it could be minutes. Eventually I stood back up and made it the last ten feet to the door.

I stood inside the entrance room staring out the window until the sun began to rise. All I could think about was that look on Cynthia’s face the moment before she gave herself to that thing. She sacrificed herself so I could make it to the cabin.

That was it. I finally understood. I retrieved the small notebook I found in this jacket. It did not take me long to find a pen, and I sat down and began to write.

Starting with the date, I explained quickly what happened to my friends and eventually to my wife.

‘Leave now, if it is not already too late. If that thing has you trapped in this frozen hell, it is going to get you eventually. I know that is not what you want to hear, but it is the truth. You were sent here as a sacrifice to this being by the firm. I do not know who they really are, and why they offer sacrifices to this eons old creature. All I can tell you is this. It is not enough for the thing to feed on those brought here. The sacrifice must be willing.

‘I believe the firm wants the crystal produced when the creature feeds on willing sacrifices. If you heard the unholy beast’s screech, you are probably already trapped. I offer you this advice. Offer yourselves willingly to this thing. Perhaps if the firm obtains enough of these crystals, it will not need to send as many people here to die.

‘I leave this notebook where I hope you find it, but hope those from the firm do not. Add to it anything you discover in your own dealings with the beast. Now, I go to join my wife and friends.

‘May God save your souls from that demon from the icy lake.’

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