The Legend of Youngs Corner XXIV

PART XXIV
The Enveloping Horror

Silence.

Some sat with eyes open.
Some sat with eyes closed.
Some let their heads fall to the table.
As for me, I didn’t believe.

Some of the veterans feigned excitement upon hearing the news, but that was only to hide their horror. It seems our worst fears had been realized. The Old Woman had never left. She had never abandoned her rotten home. So many questions arose, but there was only one that concerned me: Where was she that night, the night we were there?

Was she watching as we broke into her home? Was she watching as we stole from her? Was she lurking somewhere in the woods, and our group just happened to pass her by? I thought she was dead. It was that assumption that convinced my friends it was safe to journey into the woods. But I was wrong, she was alive, and I led my friends into the heart of danger. What was I thinking?

“Bobby, I didn’t, I mean, if I had known I would never have taken-”
“Look,” Bobby said, “it’s alright. We all took that risk. Hey, it added to the adventure.”
“I know, but-” I started to say.
“Listen, I’m as scared as you. It’s not your fault.”
“She could have been there. We could have been seen. We could have been killed!”

I became silent after that. We all did. Until Nick spoke up.
“I guess that means we’re not going up tonight?” he said.

We didn’t speak of the cabins for the rest of the night. We left Denny’s not knowing what to think. Driving home at night, this night, was not a particularly enticing idea. And when I finally pulled into my driveway, I had still the walk to my house. My eyes never left the sight of the forest, far across the field, stretching across the hill, with a mist of fog rising above it. I trembled as I put the key in the door. Once inside, I filled a glass with some cold water. It was going to be a long night.

I was safe from the woods for now. But I knew, that someday, I would face them again…