The Legend of Youngs Corner XXVIII

PART XXVIII
Unlocking the Locked Door

The second cabin, the one that rested on the ledge of a hill, the only one we never entered.

There was a thick wooden door, probably oak. At eye level hung a metal insignia with the vague shape of an S. From afar it looked like a mass entanglement of curving lines but up close the letter’s form could seen. I still did not know what the letter stood for.

“So how do we do this?” Nick asked.
“Not sure,” I said.
My eyes gazed at the door knob. Above it was a latchet and an old rusted masterlock hanging from it keeping the door shut.
“We’ve already tried brute force,” I told him. “No one can push that door down.”
“I have an idea,” said Joe. “Give me the hammer.”

I gave it to him.
“We need to pull the lock away from the door.” Joe explained. “Someone can wedge the screwdriver between the latchet and the door and push the latchet and the lock away. Then I’ll hammer it off.”
It sounded good enough. So Nick positioned the screwdriver and Joe started to hammer. And after about 5 minutes with limited success, and lots of noise, I spoke up.
“This is taking too long. Get the screwdriver out of there and just hammer as hard as you can on the lock. Its rusted, it’ll give way,” I said with a cold breath.
“Anybody want to take over?” Joe asked.
“Hand it over,” Nathan stepped up and took the hammer. And after 4 or 5 strikes against the lock with all his force, the locked cracked and fell to the ground with a thud.

A loud creak emanated from the wooden door, almost as if it hadn’t been open in years. But how’s that possible? The Old Woman was just here four months ago. And if she didn’t go inside the cabin then what on earth was doing here? And why was she taking her dog for a walk at midnight?!

“Hey man,” Nick tapped me on the shoulder. “You ready?”
“It’s the last cabin, my friend,” I said to him. I took a step forward, listening to the soft crunch of snow beneath my feet. “I’m glad you’re here at the journey’s end.”

But the journey wasn’t over…