The Cabin

Chapter 14

Three days had passed without incident. Melanie had been on edge for the first few days, but had finally allowed herself to relax within the cabin, assuming everything she'd experienced had simply been her mind playing tricks on her, either due to stress or brought about by Mel's prior taunting.

Over the weekend, the atmosphere within the cabin seemed light and comfortable. The interior of the cabin even seemed brighter, as though the sunlight was suddenly able to permeate further into the building.

Monday morning, Melanie woke early to work out in the gym before rehearsals. Very gradually, the air within the room seemed to thicken. She had been doing pushups, and found it progressively more difficult to breathe, like someone had wrapped their arms tightly around her chest and slowly increased their hold. Thinking she'd overexerted herself, she stopped what she was doing and sat back on her heels. She inhaled deeply and exhaled, trying to catch her breath, but something seemed off. Worried she might be having another episode like she'd had previously, she walked quickly out of the gym to be near someone in case she collapsed.

She froze when she saw the two cleaners in the sitting room. They were facing the fireplace, but turned and locked eyes on her as they sensed her presence in the room. Without a word, they quickly scurried to the upper level to begin cleaning.

Melanie's entire body tensed as she looked up at the top of the stairs where the women had disappeared. Something about their presence had triggered something, either within herself or the cabin. The calm she'd felt was suddenly sucked from the room and the natural light from the windows grew dim as clouds crawled over the sun.

She looked over at the fireplace, wondering if they somehow knew about the Ouija board. She apprehensively walked toward the hearth, staring into the ashes and burnt logs, trying to find any discernible pieces of the board. She couldn't find anything that would give away what she had done.

Her chest still felt uncomfortably tight. She instinctively put her hand to her chest and inhaled deeply, sinking onto the nearby love seat in an attempt to relax and hopefully make the feeling go away.

"Melanie?" Victoria asked, her voice laced with concern. She had a mug of tea in hand as she entered the room from the kitchen and she quickly set it on one of the side tables as she sat next to Melanie, then gently wrapped her arm around her as she watching her worriedly.

"Is this what it was like before?" Melanie gasped, pulling in another deep breath.

"A little bit," Victoria replied. "You're much more lucid than the other times."

Melanie had begun shaking and she clutched the arm of the love seat tightly as panic washed over her. Her breathing soon changed from slow, deep breaths to short gasps. The room felt as though it was closing in on her and her ears began to ring, making it difficult to hear Victoria as she tried to help Melanie calm down.

Kevin and Howie descended the stairs from the upper level and, seeing Melanie in distress, they hurried toward the girls, both of them assuming Melanie was having another episode. They sat around her, calmly encouraging her as she focused on her breathing.

"Remember, this could just be anxiety," Kevin explained softly. "The worst thing that's going to happen is you might pass out, but you're going to be fine." Melanie looked at him, her eyes wide with panic, and she nodded, trying to force herself to calm down. They continued talking to her until the wave of panic dwindled and the tightness in her chest dissipated. Melanie panted, catching her breath, and she released her grip on the couch cushion.

"Maybe it was just a panic attack last time," said Victoria, running her fingers through Melanie's hair as Melanie settled. Melanie nodded, colour rushing to her cheeks.