That night hardly anyone could sleep. Rosey had her phone playing the white noise of a college party. I laid in bed facing the ceiling, just feeling the bags under my eyes growing.
Dialogue was traded among party goers in the sounds such as, “This is the craziest party I've ever seen!”
Just as I thought I could tune it out I hear one of them drunkenly yell, “Let’s go driving!” Promptly it was followed by loud police sirens and someone getting handcuffed while crying. Another saying they were too young to die.
The next span of time being ambient sounds of jail. I wiped my hands over my face with a quiet growl, “I swear. Is this just an entire freaking show?”
I rolled to one side while desperately clutching my pillow to the side of my ears. But then I heard something else. Straight ahead now were my drawn curtains. I lifted the pillow from my ears as I heard it again. A small scratching sound on wood. It wasn’t from Rosey’s show either. It came distinctly from outside my window.
I slowly sat up while inspecting the sound as it happened again. It was similar to a squirrel chewing on wood but seemed much larger of a bite everytime. It was all in the same spot though. Something literally gnawing on the side of the house.
I grabbed my phone from the night stand and turned on its flashlight. I got up and headed out of my room. The lights were all off and no one else was awake so I made it to the front door with no issues. It felt wrong opening it however. It still had no locks and not even a slight creak as I stepped out.
Most of the yard in front of me was already lit up by moonlight. I headed down the steps and towards the back of the house slowly and carefully. My grip on my phone was tightening as my other hand gripped my pocket knife.
Turning the corner I saw the backyard had short grass leading to a thick tree line full of brush and low hanging branches.
It was hidden amongst the leaves well above eye level. What seemed like a ring of hundreds of eyes peered down at me from the dark. My phone’s light didn’t quite reach and neither did I dare to step closer.
It spoke quietly but sternly. Something otherworldly lingering behind its tone, “Michael, is it still?”
I stuttered out, “E-excuse me? Who are you? What are you?”
“I am the angel of hoaxes. I show myself to you as a likeness. I bear a warning. If you do not heed it, then surely wrath will fall upon you. Taking the form of that you will forever dread.”
My eyes widened as my hands continued to shake. Surely this thing isn’t real. But there wasn’t anything to lose in listening to it, “What is the warning?”
Its figure began to steadily creep out towards me. I instantly stumbled further back until it stopped, “Your own ransom is to be paid in wisdom. With it the mighty against you will fall. Bring me the weakness of this lodge’s ruler by the next full moon and God will show you mercy.”
I stayed quiet a moment before having another bad idea, “...you said you were an angel of hoax. How do I know that’s not just a hoax itself? How do I believe you're not lying to me?”
“You fail and no amount of nails or claws will help you dig your way out of a metal coffin,” behind it rose a pair of massive feathered wings, “You are going to die. At least postpone it.”
With a single strong beat of its wings, it flung itself back into the woods with a gust of wind. The sudden lunge made me jump and nearly drop my phone as I stood watching the treeline for a few minutes. The night bugs slowly began to make noise again, drowning out the heart beat in my ears.
I glanced at my surroundings again. What I had just seen seemed like a dream but I never woke up. I collected myself again as I quietly walked back to the front of the lodge. Remembering the doors having no locks I was struck with more fear. Anything like it could just walk in at any time and no one would know. Cryptid or not, we were all sitting ducks.
I hesitantly head back inside and into my room. The sounds of Rosey’s white noise was still muffled by the walls. The large window beside my bed was just another breach of privacy staring into my space. Nothing felt safe anymore. I stood by my bed looking at it in fear before my eyes turned to Grumble Snort, the small stuffed bear on the shelf. I reached out and grabbed the plush as I looked at the rest of the room. A tall ornate wooden wardrobe stood in one of the corners. My grip tightening on the plush as I opened the doors of the wardrobe and climbed inside. I closed the door behind myself.
This felt stupid but everything else was more terrifying and empty. I sat with my back to one of the sides and checked my phone. It was 4am already. The background behind the time being a photo of the full moon.
I unlocked my phone and went to the browser to search as I typed, “Next full moon.”
The search suggestions filled it in on the first word. I read the top result, “29 days.” I turned off my phone, returning to pure darkness and thought to myself. With no real job and a month before I could even start on this job, I had plenty of time on my hands to do something. Maybe to get out and escape. But I could never have the guts to run away. Not actually. I turned my phone on again. I looked back at all the emails. Every action planned out in careful detail in simple bullet points. Even my argument with my father. But he wasn’t supposed to get hurt. Everything in me wants to go back home, see if he’s ok. See if mom was ok. See if she was even mad at me for stealing the cash I used on that coffee maker. But that wasn’t allowed either. I had to stay in Wickerwoods. The scripts made running away seem so much easier than it actually is in real life and I still struggled even with pretending. My eyes rested on the script stating that we argued until I got to the bus station. I could remember his improv. Him trying to argue yet not hurt my feelings, bending the rules just for me.
I sighed to myself again as I set my phone down and leaned my head on the back of the wardrobe. Maybe I’ll just waste the time by working on writing a more compelling backstory like he suggested. Work on my ransom notes some.