ONE NIGHT IN THE CABIN HOUSE (Completed and NOW Edited!!...)

8

The entire room seemed to vibrate as the voices from the walls persisted. A child's sorrowful pleas mingled with a woman's terror-stricken screams, while the rooftop trembled as if someone were walking on it. For the three girls, standing frozen in shock and fear, the room had become a living nightmare. Their faces were pale, their bodies trembling. The cacophony grew increasingly chaotic before abruptly quieting, leaving an oppressive silence so deep that they could hear a pin drop.

"We're being tormented as if we've committed some sacrilegious act," Claire said, her eyes brimming with tears and her throat dry. "I'm losing my mind. I might go crazy before we ever get out of here."

"We need to stay calm," Gracia urged. "I don't know why, but something keeps telling me there's a reason we're here. We need to figure out what it is."

Claire looked at her, bewildered. "Figure out what?"

"I'm not sure," Gracia replied, her flashlight sweeping across the room. "But we need to search for something."

Justine remained silent, lost in her thoughts. She missed her father, Mr. Georgetown SC, who would have been calling her by now, unable to reach her if she never answered again. Since her mother's death ten years ago, he had been both father and mother to her and her elder sister, Jolie, who was currently in Bandoos on a business deal. Mr. Georgetown had called her early that morning, knowing she was always up before 5:00 a.m. for yoga. She'd told him she was in Hillsdale, knowing he would disapprove of Reshforf, which he had always labeled as a dreadful place. He'd seen the old city on the news and called it the worst town ever. To Justine, it seemed personal, though she never asked him. She remembered his last words before she hung up: "I know you'll be busy having fun, but don't forget to call me, okay? If you don't, I will." His voice was filled with the love she cherished.

"Well, it's been chaotic," Justine said, her eyes clouded with sadness.

"You mentioned Sarah was trying to tell us something?" Claire asked, watching Gracia sift through a tatty bookcase.

"We weren't paying enough attention."

"What do you mean? We were silent while those horrific noises were going on."

"You weren't paying close enough attention," Gracia said, her gaze fixed on a nearly broken piece of furniture beside the bed. She rifled through the papers she found there.

"Did you?"

"I didn't either," Gracia admitted, thumbing through a worn-out book filled with hastily scrawled recipes.

"I'm surprised you're so focused on finding something that might not even be here," Claire said.

"It's important to at least try," Gracia replied, not taking her eyes off the papers.

"I don't think you'll find anything that'll help us escape," Claire said.

Gracia bit her lip and shot Claire a long, wordless look. "It's unwise to do nothing while we're unsure of our safety. You know that, right?"

"I'm doing nothing because there's nothing I can do to—" Claire's words faltered.

"Don't give up hope," Gracia said, stifling a yawn.

"I've already given up hope."

"Claire..."

"Fine," Claire sighed loudly. "I haven't given up, but with every passing second, it feels like my hope is slipping away."

"Everything is going to be fine," Gracia said, wishing with all her heart that it would be true.

"You're the victim of your own circumstances. Chew the skin off," Justine recalled, and the other two looked at her. "And then there was the woman screaming. Doesn't that sound like she was tormented by something, and we heard a demon speaking?"