A Deadly Winter Retreat

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WE GATHERED IN the living room. An ominous knot of worry hung in the air as if a knotted rope was stuffed into our mouths, preventing us from speaking. The silence and tension were eerie.

A tapestry of worry and discontent painted across our faces. My lips sagged into a frown, mirroring my inner unease. Gina's eyes glistened with a glossy sheen, betraying her turmoil, while Troy's quiet disposition spoke of his imminent concern.

I gazed out of the nearest window, pondering on the current state of things as my eyes unconsciously followed a trail of frost as it traced a distinct pattern on the windowpane. This situation was playing out to be more bizarre than even the Twilight Zone could conjuncture.

The old, lonely woman who owned the town's favorite bakery and whose husband had just passed away was sitting right there with us. It's such an indescribable feeling to have this mysterious layer added to an eerie and peculiar situation.

Glenna and the two individuals who had accompanied her had entered our cabin. They stopped on the front doorstep, bending down to remove their wet and frost-filled snowboots. The petite woman meagerly walked further into the house. Glenna and the tall man followed behind. A sense of unease and terror was masquerading through the air like a heavy cloud hanging over the room.

Glenna sat on the couch, and the petite woman sat beside her. The tall man stood near the window that looked out to the front of the cabin. As he gazed out of it, I noticed a perplexed look.

"Can I offer you a cup of tea, water, or coffee?" I asked them, shifting my gaze from the woman and Glenna to the man.

"I'll have a glass of water, please," the woman responded. She took off her pink beanie and set it down on her lap.

Glenna's brown eyes met mine, "This is my daughter, Dana." Glenna introduced herself while she removed her giant white parka, sliding her arms out of the sleeves one at a time. "And the tall man is Mike, my son-in-law. He and Dana are married." She added with a gentle smile.

Ah, now the puzzle pieces fit together seamlessly.

As Glenna got comfortable, she verbally replayed the frightening story of them being chased down by an unknown assailant in a brown van. It happened near their cabin, more than ten miles north of ours. I scooted closer to Glenna, listening intently to the retelling, and caught similarities in her story, which mimicked our own. One was the distinct appearance of a brown van, causing a flood of questions to swirl in my mind.

"Did you catch a glimpse of the person behind the wheel?" I focused on Glenna's eyes, captivated by her story recollection.

"No, Mike was driving." Glenna offered, "I think he knows better than I would."

I turned my head toward Mike as he stood leaning against the wall.

"Mike?" I called, startling him as he quickly turned toward me.

"Yes?" His big hazel eyes gazed into mine.

"Did you glimpse the person driving the brown van?"

Mike shook his head and turned to gaze out the window.

A chaotic storm of confusion only added another complex layer to an already delicate situation. The most recent mysterious letter slipped underneath the cabin's door and injected fresh unease into our midst, informing us that the depraved assailant was now stalking us. Who knew what kind of deranged individual we were dealing with?

Amid the whirlwind, Glenna's unexpected arrival with her daughter and son-in-law on the doorstep of our cabin, miles away from our hometown, was unsettling. This felt similar to a delightful twist in a horror movie— the kind we all loved so much. But now, this was our chilling reality.

Dana sat on the couch, her petite body shaking lightly from either the chill or the terror of the brown van. A look of distress was etched across her face as she rubbed her hands together as if she were seeking warmth.

Glenna's gaze softened, her warmth bridging the distance. My curiosity was piqued, and I couldn't help but ask, "What brought you all out this way?"

"Mom wanted to go on a trip to Pine Glacier Hills," Dana began as she peered at Glenna, "I also thought it'd be great to spend a few days up here, you know, being that we hadn't been back up here since we were kids."

"Did you all used to come out here often?" I asked, my demeanor composed.

Dana nodded, "Yes, we did, until Dad passed a few years ago." Her mouth curved into a frown as she spoke, "Which also prompted Mom to sell the bakery, unfortunately."

Mike must have sensed a shift in the conversation. He smoothly changed its course, turning his focus toward me.

"What brought you all up here?" Mike inquired, turning his gaze from me to Dana while she cradled her cup of tea as if Dana were the one to spew my answer.

"Troy and I come up here every year," I explained, "This time, we decided to extend an invite out to our circle of friends."

As I began to retell our story of horror, from the mysterious letters that had haunted Troy and me to Dave and Lena's sudden disappearance and the unfortunate demise of Leroy, And, now to the recent arrival of another letter that was just mysteriously slipped beneath the door of our cabin. Glenna's eyes widened in genuine disbelief at the retelling of my current and twisted life events.

"Trish, my darling," Glenna's voice carried an undertone of empathy, "I had no idea you were grappling with so much."

"I didn't want to get everyone all worked up, so Troy and I kept it between ourselves, hoping it was just some bored college student playing around with us." I lowered my head in disappointment.

Glenna and I were in the midst of our conversation when unrelenting banging at our door startled us, sending a jolt of unease through my veins.

My muscles coiled with tension as I leaped up off the couch. The thought of Lena standing out at our doorstep, relentlessly banging at our door, seeking refuge, propelled my urgency to get there as fast as possible.

Without hesitation, I hastily twisted the knob. A metallic click echoed through the air as I unlocked the door and swung it open as if my life depended on it.

"Dave!" I said with shock, "What happened to you?!"

Dave stood there, a mess of blood and bruises that turned my stomach. His t-shirt was smeared with red stains, and his face was a canvas of purples and greens like he'd been painted with pain. One eye was swollen shut, making him look like he'd gone a few rounds with a heavyweight boxer. He appeared to barely be clinging to life, a sight that hit me like a ton of bricks.

My heart plummeted and dropped into my stomach.

"Dave!" I sobbed, "What happened to you?!"