Starfall [Cabin in the woods]

October had finally brought some decent weather, and for the first time in months, Starfall had absolutely nowhere they needed to be.

No concerts, no interviews, no soundchecks at ungodly hours. Crowley had somehow managed to clear their schedules for an entire week, something he'd been threatening to do since Icarus nearly broke his ankle jumping off a speaker during their last tour.

His solution? A cabin in the mountains. Five days of fresh air, decent sleep, and hopefully no police reports.

Naturally, the boys had other plans.

They'd barely been there six hours before Thatch discovered the hot tub was broken, Zeke got them lost trying to find a grocery store, and Icarus nearly started a fight with a raccoon that had been digging through their trash.

Crowley was beginning to regret every decision that had led him here.

"Place looks like somebody's grandma died in it," Zeke announced, dropping onto the hideous floral couch with a bag of popcorn.

"Could be worse," Thatch replied from the floor, where he'd been sorting through a stack of horror movies he'd insisted on bringing. "Could've brought us camping."

"Don't give him ideas," Nyx muttered.

Outside, rain tapped against the windows, occasionally interrupted by wind rattling the porch furniture. The cabin wasn't particularly modern, with its wood-paneled walls, faded rugs, and an ancient television that had taken Icarus nearly twenty minutes to figure out. Still, the fireplace worked, the refrigerator was stocked, and nobody had to share a bathroom with an entire tour bus.

Crowley considered that a godsend.

By eleven, they'd settled into a horror movie marathon. Thatch had claimed the recliner, Icarus was stretched across one end of the couch, and Zeke had somehow convinced Nyx to share a blanket despite taking up most of it himself.

On the television, a woman crept down a dark hallway toward a basement door.

"Don't fucking go down there," Icarus complained around a mouthful of chips.

"She's obviously going down there," Thatch said. "That's the whole movie."

"Then she's a fucking idiot."

Zeke leaned forward, watching through his fingers. "Nah, dude, there's definitely something behind that door."

Nyx pulled the blanket higher. "You've seen this movie before."

"Yeah, but I forgot what happens!"

The woman opened the basement door.

Something lunged out of the darkness.

"FUCK!"

Zeke practically launched himself into Nyx, sending popcorn scattering across the couch. Nyx swore as an elbow caught him in the ribs, while Thatch laughed so hard he nearly spilled his beer.

"Oh, you're such a pussy!"

"SHUT UP! That was loud!"

Crowley, sitting in the armchair nearest the fireplace, didn't bother looking up from his phone.

"You're cleaning that up."

"Why me?!"

"Because you're the one who threw it."

"I didn't throw it! I reacted!"

"React with a damn vacuum, then."

By the time the credits rolled, Zeke had consumed half the snacks, Nyx was threatening to make him sleep outside, and Icarus had declared the movie a waste of two hours despite jumping at least once himself.

Thatch was already reaching for another DVD when Zeke sat up.

"OH! Wait, wait, wait. I got something better."

Icarus groaned. He knew that look. Whenever Zeke got that mischevious grin, somebody usually ended up injured, embarrassed, or both.

"No."

"Dude, you haven't even heard it!"

"Don't need to."

Zeke ignored him, twisting around to face everyone. "Okay, so remember that gas station we stopped at earlier? The one with the creepy old guy behind the counter?"

"The one you asked if they sold bear spray?" Nyx asked.

"THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT."

Thatch snorted.

"Anyway, he told me something about these mountains. Apparently, there's this old logging road about a mile from here. Nobody uses it anymore because back in the seventies, this family disappeared while they were staying at a cabin up there."

Crowley finally looked up. "What family?"

"Dunno. Some family. Can I finish?"

"Well, you're doing a shit job so far."

Zeke flipped him off before continuing.

He told them about a couple who'd brought their daughter into the mountains for a weekend. About a storm that knocked out the electricity, strange knocking at the windows, and muddy footprints appearing inside the cabin despite every door being locked. The family had called the sheriff's department twice before their phone line went dead.

By the time the police arrived the following morning, the cabin was empty.

No luggage missing. No signs of a struggle. Dinner still sitting on the table.

"And the weirdest part," Zeke continued, lowering his voice, "was that they kept hearing the woman laughing whenever they searched the place. But nobody could figure out where it was coming from."

Nyx frowned. "Okay, that's actually horrible."

"Right?!"

"How'd the gas station guy know all this?" Icarus asked.

"Because it happened here, dumbass. Anyway, they searched the woods for three days before this one deputy noticed something weird about the cabin."

The fire popped behind them.

Zeke waited until he had everyone's attention before leaning forward.

"There was this really nasty smell coming from underneath the floorboards. So they started pulling them up, right? And underneath, they found this little crawlspace. Except there wasn't supposed to BE a crawlspace."

Thatch had stopped messing with the DVDs. Even Crowley had set his phone aside, his brows drawn together as he listened.

Zeke grinned.

"So the deputy crawls down there with a flashlight. He gets about halfway through when he hears somebody breathing right next to his ear."

"Fuck that," Nyx whispered.

"And when he turns around..."

The lights flickered, convenient. Everyone looked up briefly.

"...there's this pale ghastly woman standing behind him. Except her face is all wrong, and she's smiling, and the deputy starts screaming because he realizes..."

Zeke suddenly slapped both hands against the coffee table.

"THEY FOUND THE BODY!"

Thunder cracked overhead. Then front door swung open with a tremendous BANG.

"AAAAAAAAH! FUCK!"

Zeke screamed loud enough to drown out the storm, scrambling backward and scrambled climbing over the couch. Nyx abandoned the blanket entirely, bolting toward the kitchen before catching himself against the counter.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

Thatch shot out of his recliner, knocking his beer onto the rug as he grabbed the fireplace poker. Icarus was already on his feet beside him, fists clenched, looking ready to beat the shit out of whatever had just interrupted their evening.

"WHO THE FUCK IS THAT?!"

"PUT THAT DOWN!" Crowley barked at Thatch, nearly tripping over the coffee table as he stood. "Jesus Christ, you're gonna put someone's eye out!"

Wind swept through the open doorway, bringing cold rain across the threshold. The porch light swung overhead, briefly illuminating the figure standing outside. For what felt like minutes, nobody said anything. Then Zeke slowly lowered his head from behind the couch.

"...Oh."

Thatch stared at the fireplace poker in his hand debating on setting it down. Nyx emerged from the kitchen, one hand still pressed against his chest. "I hate every single one of you."

Crowley rubbed his temples. "Can somebody PLEASE close the god damn door?"

Icarus, apparently the only person still prepared to fight, stepped forward with an incredulous scowl. His grey-blue eyes moved over {{obj}} before flicking toward the dark driveway beyond the porch.

They were miles from the nearest town, it was pouring rain, and some random person had just appeared at their cabin in the middle of the night.

He raised an eyebrow.

"Who the hell are you?"

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