Episode 9

... The Flashback ...


Tina had gone camping with her family on multiple occasions. Sometimes to go fishing with her father, sometimes just to make smores with her mother and sister. But today felt different.
Instead of their usual campsite, they stumbled upon a cabin in the middle of the woods. Tina preferred tents; they always got torn down so they never harbored cobwebs and spiders. This cabin had a look about it that promised a spider domain. The wood had discolored patches and the roof dipped down in one area like it was slowly melting.
Tina, her sister, and mother all waited in their station wagon a safe distance from the cabin. Her father told them to stay put while he scoped out the place, but he took his time.
"Why are we here mommy?" Tina asked.
"Remember your aunt, Donna?" Tina's mother smiled warmly from the passenger seat.
"Yes!" Tina beamed. Her sister showed mild interest in the car seat next to her. Tina took pride in being the older sister, using a seatbelt buckle like her mother.
"She wanted to meet us for camping this time! She even brought those big candles you like," her mom explained.
"Why didn't we just go pick her up?" Tina asked, "I don't like this place."
"No? I thought you loved trees?"
Tina nodded, the wavy dark curls around her face dancing, "I do... but just not this place."
Her mother continued to smile, but her eyes showed some understanding, of what, Tina wasn't sure. If no one liked it here why did they come, Tina thought.
"Daddy?" Tina's sister whined.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" their mom cooed.
Suddenly, her tiny young face scrunched in terror, "DADDY!"

The car shook as if it were hit by a train. Tina's father appeared from the air and landed on the windshield, splintering the glass into several pieces.
"Ed!" her mother cried, "... Ed!" Shaking crystal shards from her sweater, she leaped out of the car. Tina trembled, the shock paralyzing her entire body. Her father's dead eyes gazed at her from the other side of the glass. Blood oozed from his face out of every escape possible; eyes, ears, nose, mouth...
"Daddy! Daddy!" her sister shrieked.
The air, already chilled from the up and coming fall season, got colder. Tina could still see where the sun shone, but a thick dark layer of haze appeared, turning their bright day overcast. The uneasiness she sensed earlier only increased, of course from seeing her father in this state, but another horror that she couldn't explain. Like something awful was watching them.
"Mary!" Tina could hear her aunt's voice in the distance, "Mary! Help me!"
Her mother gasped. Clearly shaken, she stumbled to Tina's side of the car, "Sweetheart... Stay with your sister. H-hide in my jacket. Don't leave the car for any reason, and DON'T look outside. Close your eyes..."
"But mommy..." Tina sobbed, "What's wrong with daddy?"
Her mom removed the little one from her car seat and sat her on Tina's lap, "Stay together, close your eyes... I'll be right back."
"No, no, mommy..." Tina tightly grasped her mother's hand, but she slipped away. Her sister cried, digging her miniature fingernails into Tina's shirt.
They sat together for what seemed like hours, but surely only a few minutes or so. Before, Tina could hear both her mother and aunt yelling, but things had gone eerily silent.
"M-Mommy... Mo-Mommy..." her sister hadn't ceased crying. Tina did her best to soothe her whilst soothing her own nerves. Neither of them dared to peak beyond the shield made by their mom's jacket until a tapping noise made Tina jump. The sweater material slid from her face, did their mom return? Or Donna?
Her little heart nearly stopped. Staring at them from the window closest was a dark man. Dark as night. He had no features, almost as if he were only a shadow. His finger tapped repeatedly on the glass, and once Tina made eye contact with him, he stopped. She couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. Then he ripped the door open.
Tina crawled to the other side of the car, dragging her sister along with her. The shadow leaned into the car reaching his arm towards them, but before he got too close Tina threw herself and her sister out the door and onto the cold ground. Her knee scrapped something sharp, but fear numbed all pain.
Tina prayed and prayed that her father would suddenly wake up, push himself off the windshield and rescue them, but he remained asleep, bleeding.
"C'mon..." Tina pulled her sister's hand. The girls squealed, certain they were being pursued. Their short legs carried them into the woods, deeper and deeper into the branch infested depths. Tears fell from her face and her bottom lip shook something terrible, but she fared better than her sister. Her pitiful screams echoed in the wilderness.
When they approached the cabin, the front door stood ajar and a puddle of red soaked the porch. Tina wrapped her arms under her sister's bottom and lifted her up so her feet wouldn't get wet.
"What is it!" her sister sniffled.
Tina decided not to answer. They had to hide somewhere. As soon as they made it inside the cabin, she set her sister down and slammed the door shut.
"Hide," Tina said, "We need to hide. Like hide and seek..."
"Hide and seek..." her sister pouted, her cheeks turned into bright red cherries.
The cabin didn't hold much, a simple dining area, a fireplace, some old furniture; everything layered with a generous amount of dust. A tall wardrobe sat at the end of the room, perfect width to fit them both. Tina shooed her sister towards it and crammed her inside. "Don't... Don't!" she cried again.
Tina had to secure the door. She didn't know where mom was or Donna, but she knew the shadow man followed them. Before securing herself next to her sister, she grasped at whatever courage she had left and ran to lock the front door. Just as her fingers reached the lock, banging came from the other side.
Tina fell backward. The force from the other side made her legs limp, but she managed to crawl back towards her terrified sister. They clung to each other, hiding in the empty wardrobe, smelling of dust and rust, as their pursuer's banging shook them both to the bone. Her sister screamed endlessly, and Tina tightened her arms around her.
Just close your eyes...