ONE NIGHT IN THE CABIN HOUSE (Completed...)

2

They were inside the wood house and was staring about the deserted place. Lee and Bateman had managed to convince Justine that what she'd seen was but her imagination.
'Come on, Justine. You must've envisioned it. We all imagine things.' Bate had urged.
'There's no such thing as ghosts.' Lee spoke.
The room was an old chamber with a dirty window and tatty curtain. It was spacious with a single bed and stove. They saw the pictures of a black woman with three children scattered at every corner. Bateman looked at the face of the pale woman gazing back at him. The children on the image were moody.
"This should be the owner of the house." Claire took the words out of Bateman's thoughts. She was pointing the torchlight at the images.
"Where could they be?" Gracia said looking at all over the place.
"Here appears abandoned. Maybe they'd moved out." Justine who was still trying not to remember what she'd seen a while ago utters. She was leaning against the wall.
"If they'd moved out they would take their belongings with them." Lee points at a sack with worn out clothes. The zipper was spoilt and some clothes were out of the bag while some still remained inside.
"Something isn't adding up." Justine folds her arms.
"Can we quit acting like a group of investigators and rest, tomorrow is going to be a stressful day finding the car and our way back to the lodge." Claire who heaved a deep sigh said.
"She looks like she's troubled." Gracia was speaking about the lady on the picture.
"Kind of." Bateman agrees.
Claire was going over to the bed. She sat on the edge. "We should keep the room warm till tomorrow." Claire was rubbing her hands together. She was cold. Her eyes went to the small stove near the wall.
"I didn't bring the lighter with me." Justine says.
"I did." Claire took the cigarette lighter out of the pocket of her thick coat and throws it to Justine. Justine checked the kerosine and was lighting the cookstove.
"Eww, it's stale." Lee kicks the pot to a side and it made some chattering noise. "so disgusting." He spits. Lee had opened the small pot to see if something was inside. Looking at his face, discomfort was written all over and Justine realized and smiled. "Be patient Lee, it's only going to be one night, okay."
Gracia walks into the inner small space of the house. It was covered with layers of dust. She saw spiders and cobwebs and some documents laying on a stool. Gracia thumbs through the papers and saw the name 'Marylou Bellamy' written on it with three different signatures. She noticed that some of the sheets have been torn away. Marylou had borrowed a loan from someone on the 6th of June 1689. Gracia became shocked. It's been 311 years now. She calculated immediately.
"Bate. Claire. Lee. Justine." She was calling. The four of them was going into the place. Bateman was the first to enter. "look. The date signed here is 6th of June 1689, we are in the year 2000, Bate." She showed them.
"It's 311 years ago?" Justine was amazed.
"Yes." Claire was looking at the document. "311 years since she borrowed money."
"The owner didn't relocate after all, she'd died." Bateman said.
"Wow." Lee said lowly.
"I can't believe we are inside a place over 300 years old. That's the reason why it looks so shabby." Claire stated.
"What of the three children in the picture?" Justine said.
"Must've died too." Lee replied.
"Or moved out?" Gracia says.
"I don't think so." Lee shook his head.
"She should have great grandchildren?" Justine utters.
"I wonder what it says..." Claire's torch light had caught a folded paper on the wood floor very close to the wall. "It's poorly written." She gazed on the words. "plicehalpmomshihazababy."
"What does it say?" Justine was coming to her.
"I don't know."
"It looks like it was written by an amateur." Justine fixed her eyes on the paper.
"P-l-i-c-e-h-a-l-p-m-o-m-s-h-i-h-a-z-a..." Claire was trying to spell out the words.
"Let me have a look." Lee was looking at it. He stared at it for some time trying to figure out what it says. "I think it says, 'please help mom she has a baby.' The writer is definitely a kid. He or she used the sound alphabet when writing it." He handed the paper to Bateman who had stretched forth his hand. They were impressed.
"He." Gracia muttered.
"What do you mean?"
"The child writer. It's a he. The picture, it's three boys with their mother, Marylou." Gracia indicated.
"Why did the kid write so." Justine asked.
"Probably somebody wanted to hurt his mum?" Lee shrugs.
"Or she'd a sickness that could take a life." Claire assumes.
Gracia was thinking and said. "When he said he's mum has a baby, it meant that he's mother was pregnant. Could she be the lady Justine had seen back then in the woods?" Gracia's words made Justine afraid.
"She said her feet wasn't touching the ground, Gracia." There was fear in Claire's voice.
"Maybe you'd seen a ghost." Gracia turns to Justine. She couldn't see Justine's face properly but was very convinced that she was terrified.
"Hell no." Lee disagreed. "Ghosts aren't real." He refused to believe.
"I think they are, Lee." Gracia said.
"Can we stop talking about ghosts and rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." Claire reminded, and walks out of the little room.
"Awkward." Bateman whispers, referring to the tatty home. He followed Claire out and one after the other they were leaving the dusty chamber.
They'd settled at where they deem comfortable. Claire was now laying on the bed with her lids closed. Justine and Lee used some of the worn out clothes to make a mattress. Bateman was sitting close to the fire likely for warmth, and Gracia sat on the floor with eyes glancing at every area. The rain had started falling so heavily, that the downpour could flood the entire city of Reshforf, and Bateman wondered what they would've done if Lee hadn't found the cabin. Few hours passed, and all of them except Gracia had drifted off. Gracia couldn't fall asleep after knowing that she was inside a place that has lasted for ages. She was thinking about the letter and why the writer had written it. Who did he write it to. She wonders. Moments after, Gracia thought she saw a shadow walk pass at the east side of the window. She blinked twice trying to be sure of what she'd seen. She was staring at that very direction when the shadow moved past again. Gracia was alarmed. She slowly crept to where Bateman was laying with eyes closed and tapped him heavily. "Wake up, Bate."
"Urrgghhh, go to sleep." He groaned.
"Bate, there's someone at the window." She spoke softly. Bateman didn't turn. He was still asleep. Gracia was crawling with her hands and knees to where Claire was sleeping. She knew Claire was a light sleeper. "Claire." She whispered. "Claire?" She was tapping on Claire's shoulder.
"Yea?" Claire was lifting her eyelids.
"Claire, there's something at the window." Gracia said calmly.
"What is that." Claire asked.
"I don't know but I saw a shadow." She responded.
"Did you say a shadow?" Claire's eyes flared open.
"Yeah." She was thankful that Claire was awake.
"Of who?"
"I don't know. I saw it cross over that window twice." She points as she tells her.
Claire yawned and scratched her eyes slightly. "Are you sure?"
"I am. Claire, I have a feeling that we could be in danger."
"It's just a feeling. Look, say a prayer and shut your eyes, you wouldn't know when you pass the night until morning, okay?" Claire slaps lightly on Gracia's face and retired back to bed. Why don't they listen to me. She thought aloud. She dragged her knees and hands back to where she'd been sitting. Gracia did the sign of the cross. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep but couldn't. Gracia felt that something or someone was lurking in the room and opens her eyes thinly to see the shadow on the window again, this time it wasn't moving. It was standing still. It appeared like it was looking at every one of them inside. Gracia didn't know when she screamed and that alerted everyone. Justine woke up with shock, Claire's eyes were alarmed, Bateman was sitting up and Lee pulled the wrapper he'd used as a blanket away from his face. He was wide-awake.
"What happened, Gracia?" Justine was going to the frightened lass. They were curious.
Gracia looks at the window again and saw the shadow was gone. "There. It was there." She was pointing at the dirty curtain.
"What, what was there?" Justine looks at where she pointed.
"I saw a shadow. It was standing there." Her gaze was on the curtain.
"A shadow?" Justine was astonished.
"Gray, it might just be you imagining." Claire was doubting.
"I'm not, Claire. You all have to believe me." She was crying. "Something is weird around here. I believe we're in danger. I can...i can feel it." Gracia was stammering.
Juliette sighs. "I believe you. Guys, I believe her. I know what I saw back there in the woods. This place might be risky."
"Come off it." Lee scoffs. He didn't believe anything they'd said. Lee threw his gaze at Gracia. "So tell me, what was the shadow like?"
"Lee, this is not funny." Justine said to him.
"Of course it's not. But to me, it seems like a joke." He concluded and was laying back on the clothes.
"Gracia, you have to calm down. Besides, what do you suggest we do? Go outside in this storm? we are going to be get drenched and we might die." Claire said.
Gracia breathes in. "i'm scared, Justine." She cried.
"Shh, don't cry, everything is going to be alright. After we've locate our lodge tomorrow, we would take the flight back to Townfriday." Justine was consoling. Gracia's head was on her shoulder and she was patting it.
"We should go back to sleep." Claire stretches and her eyes went to the stove that was keeping the room warm and was providing a bit of light for them.
"Or haunted." Bateman who paid attention to the dirty window said lowly. He looked like he'd seen something.
"What do you mean." Claire asked.
"Gracia was right." He said.
Lee sat up with surprise. "I saw the shadow move just now." Bate continued, and was standing. Seconds afterwards, there was a loud bang on the tiny door.