What You Waited For
Chapter 1
"Amelia! Amelia where are you? This isn't funny, Daddy's gonna be really mad at us if we don't get back soon!"
A small giggle threatens to escape from a small girl hiding behind a dense thicket of bushes not far off the hiking trail. She watches her sister follow after her when leaving the safe haven around their family cabin, and decides that it will be more fun to watch her wander around on her own, thinking she's alone. She knows that maybe it's a little mean, but with the way Maddie keeps calling after her, she needs to press a hand to her mouth and muffle the laughter that wants to be let out.
Eventually, it seems like her sister gets fed up with her search and begins to turn back. Feeling a bit put out, Amelia pops out from her hiding place and steps back onto the path. She doesn't call out to Maddie, instead she watches for only a moment or two as her sister's retreating back grows small and shrugs off the loss. It's not her fault if her twin gives up too easily, she's not going to let it ruin her vacation.
With that in mind, she turns right back around and starts down the path like was their original plan before turning it into an impromptu hide and seek game.
Their father, Alfred, is supposed to be exploring the forest with them, but he was held up by a call from work. It always makes Amelia more than a little smug to tell her friends that her daddy's job is to make video games. Almost all of the games in their house are ones he helped make, although she and Maddie aren't allowed to play half of them. He says that they're too scary for little girls, but she's almost six! She's big enough and brave enough, and it is with this thought in mind that she decided to take on the forest without her dad.
With the lake being off limits to them without the supervision of their father, and Amelia already semi-breaking the rules by running off without Maddie, she decides that she'll keep to the nearby trees. It's not as fun as it would be had she stayed by her sister's side, but at only five years old and it being one of the very few times away from her father, Amelia feels too adventurous to know the difference.
She hums to herself as she walks, gets distracted at every little thing she comes across, and picks at the nearby flowers growing. She reaches out for another when a small bee comes flying out from inside the petals. Amelia leaps back, even drops some of the flowers in her hand and swats at the bug. It doesn't leave her alone, and she does the only thing she can think of to get rid of it; she runs away.
Amelia steps off the path again, runs further into the more untamed parts of the forest to lose the insect and only stops when she's sure that it's not chasing her anymore (though it really hadn't been to begin with).
It's quiet for just a second, and she thinks she's finally safe, but then she hears it again. A buzzing sound that starts out low, almost so that she's unable to really hear it unless she listens for it. It grows louder, and thinking that her bee menace has come back, starts to run again. Though no matter how far or how fast she runs, she can't get rid of the buzzing following her. It isn't until she trips over her own feet and goes flying to the ground does she stop, and then it's only because of how badly she's skinned her knees that she even forgets why she has been running in the first place.
Amelia looks around. The forest has gotten thicker and darker, and it's become quiet. Save for the constant buzz of white noise, it's too quiet. A small shiver runs down her spine, and for the first time this afternoon, she's starting to feel scared.
She sniffles and rubs at the tears forming in the corner of her eyes, even rubs at the raw skin on her legs and stands up then. It's probably best that she get back to her family now. Yes, to her that sounds like the best idea in world right now. Another quick look around shows her that her way back is not in front of her, she'll have to turn around to get to the cabin, and when she does that's when she sees him.
It's too quiet, though they don't notice it at all.
What with their stifled giggles, and half-regarded attempts of scaring each other while trampling around in the dark with only their flashlights in hand, there's no way something as eerie would be observed. Though the self-proclaimed leader has been camping in a wilderness very much like the one they find themselves in now, she's far too immersed in showing off her bravado to realize that there is something definitely off about their surroundings.
"I can't see a thing, it's too dark."
"What? Not even those shadows against the tree there?"
"What?!"
"Amelia, shut up!"
"You don't see anything, you're such a liar!"
"I dunno, guys, I think she's telling the truth. Listen."
They all quiet down at Eliza's words and for the first time since they've left their bunk they hear just how much silence there is surrounding them. Perhaps, left a little longer undisturbed, one of them might have notice the suffocating feeling that begins to grow around them, and that of the predatory feeling of being watched. As it so happens though, as always when it comes to the pair, Julia catches on to Eliza's plan and jumps at the girls huddled together to keep warm from the cold, shouting to spook them and does just that. It effectively ruins the atmosphere.
"Julia, that wasn't funny." Monika scolds her elder sister, to which she's only laughed at.
"You gotta lighten up," she says. "Amelia's fine with it."
Amelia is not fine with it, in fact she's terrified enough to the point where her hysterical cries can be reduced and hidden with laughter. She makes sure that's what it comes off as and rubs at her arms to make is seem like her trembling is coming from her decision to leave her jacket behind and not from the scare she just got.
"No, dude, okay, that was pretty messed," she does say. "I mean, funny and all, but you're gonna scare, like... Alicia, or someone."
"I'm fine. I thought it was pretty funny at the end."
Amelia's wary glare towards the other girl does not go unnoticed. Though before anyone is able to comment on it, she strides forward to the front of the group and says, "Whatever, let's find this thing already. It's freezing out here."
"I told you to bring your jacket," says Alice. "Or to at least where a shirt that doesn't just cover your nipples."
"My boobs are covered completely, thanks mom."
"As terrible as it is to agree with Alice for once, Amelia, even I have to agree at the impracticality of wearing a crop top this late while walking in the woods. That, and it's an ugly print, the color doesn't even look good on you."
"Marianne, I swear to god..."
What she swears goes by unknown, not a moment later do they come to a small clearing in front of the entrance of a smallish cavern. A groan of disappointment sounds out from the back of the group.
"I came all the way out here for this?!" cries Julia. "This is bullshit, I thought it was gonna be bigger."
"That's what she said," Alice mutters under her breath and causes Marianne to laugh.
"Very funny," Amelia growls. She puts her hands on her hips and cocks her head to the side. "Look, I only heard about this place from the dudes, kay? I didn't know how big it was gonna be or whatever, I just wanted to check it out. None ya had to come out here with me."
"And let you go off and get lost?" Monika asks her. "I'm not going to be taking the fall for a missing person's stupidity."
"I've done this camping bit before, y'know. I wouldn't die out here."
"Maybe," says Eliza. "With that shirt and all."
"Can we lay off the shirt?! Is that a thing we can do?!"
"Hey!"
The fighting stops just enough for them all to notice Alicia at the mouth of the cave, her flashlight shining off the interior and she beckons them all to come closer.
"It goes in pretty deep!" she cries happily.
"That's what she said," Marianne mutters, and Alice only bothers to hide her chuckle with her hand.
True to Alicia's words, the cave does go inward some ways, and while that itself is entertaining, it doesn't hold their attention for very long.
"This is boring," says Julia, and for once everyone agrees.
"I thought there might be some guy swag or something," Eliza says and kicks at a rock. "There's not even dick drawings on the wall."
"What the hell is guy swag?" asks Alice, to which Eliza only shrugs.
"If a place is interesting, you'll always find a used condom. Fact. I always find one when we clean the stadiums the day after home games."
"Okay, that's just really gross."
"We can draw some boobs on the wall," Marianne suggests to bring up a new subject. "Mark our territory and declare ourselves to be the sole explorers of this cave."
"Are you gonna need someone to model?" Monika asks.
"Maybe."
"Then no."
"I don't mind," says Alicia.
"I said no!"
"Total bust," Amelia sighs and shines some more light on the walls. "Y'know, I've never actually visited this place but I always heard about it. What a letdown."
Sensing the truth depths of her disappointment, Marianne comes to stand next to Amelia and places a hand on her shoulder as a sign of comfort. "That's what she said. And I think that's the bigger tragedy here."
The comment may have Amelia smile, but that doesn't stop her from saying, "You can be a real pain in the ass."
"That's what he said," Eliza says while passing them by for the exit. "You guys ready? I'm ready."
"I'm out," says Julia and both her sister and Alicia follow after.
With more than half of their group gone, the other three have no other option but to follow. With one last look around the place, Amelia soon follows after her friends. In no time at all they're back on the path leading to their cabin with both mindless chit chat and comments of how terrible this adventure really was keeping them entertained on the trip back. This all gets put to another stop, when Amelia calls for their attention.
"Hold up guys," she says and steps off the path towards some bushes. "I gotta pee."
A small collection of groans go through the small group as someone (Monika) asks if it's really necessary, can't she just hold it?
"I'll only be a few seconds!" she promises and heads further into the bushes to be out of sight.
"Hurry up, it's getting colder out here," Alice calls out to her while some of the other girls mutter to themselves about the very same thing.
She ignores them, of course, and actually decides to take longer than really necessary just to teach them a lesson in patience. It's what they do to her all the time after all, she should repay the favor.
"Isn't there a joke about a bear taking a shit in the woods?" she hears Julia ask.
"What?!"
"Julchen..."
"No," Eliza says. "It's not a joke, it's like a rhetoric."
"A what?"
"A rhetoric."
"I heard you the first time, I don't know what that means is what I mean."
"Hey what was that?" Alicia asks suddenly.
"Not this again."
"Really?"
"No, I'm serious. Look."
Still crouched, Amelia listens just as carefully along with the others. Not one of them is making a sound and just as she's about to call out to them to make sure everything is alright one of them inhales sharply and another cries out weakly. Then it's an onslaught of feet against the dirt paths. They're running, and they're running fast.
Amelia curses loudly and bolts up. She's pulling the zipper of her shorts up while running after her friends and trying to steady her flashlight all at once.
"Wait!" she calls. "Wait up! You assholes!"
In an attempt to get her button done, her foot catches against a sprouted root. She goes flying towards the ground, lands with a heavy thump and isn't even able to keep the groan of pain at bay. She hisses while standing back up, her knees are skinned and so are the sides of her wrists.
"Fuck my life," she grunts and straightens herself out.
It's then that she sees how utterly alone she is, and just how nerve wrackingly quiet her surroundings are. She swivels around, looks for her flashlight and spots it not even a foot in front of her. She jogs over and picks it up. The second she touches it, the light beings to shakily go in and out of focus before it sputters and dies completely.
"Fuck my life!"
She presses a hand to her forehead, takes a deep breath.
"Okay, no this is okay, I just gotta be careful on my way back is all. Let my eyes adjust, and just walk down this path. Yeah… Yeah, okay, I got this."
Amelia takes a deep breath. It does the trick, she's a little more calmed for her walk back.
That's when she hears it.
It starts off quietly, almost non-existent. Just a low buzz. She gulps, trying to pay it no mind. After all, it's probably just the cicadas. They're usually active this time of night, right? Yeah, that's what it is. She continues on her way back to the cabin.
It gets louder. She stops in her tracks, a shiver going up her spine. That is definitely not bugs she hears. It's too unnatural to be cicadas, its frequency too high. She whips around trying to find the source, but nothing is forthcoming. Still, it's a constant, louder buzz now. Her breath begins to speed up again, and she turns back to the dead flashlight in her hands, shaking it a little more vigorously this time.
"Fuck, please!" she pleads with it, hoping that simultaneous begging and rattling will bring it back to life. There is no such luck.
A twig snaps and her head shoots up. The air around her is absolutely dead and still. She quickly turns back around and just begins to fast walk down the path. The cabin really can't be that much further, soon she'll be inside with her sister and friends, she'll tell them about this and they'll say she's being a baby like always, and maybe the next morning she'll be able to laugh about it -
The buzz has gotten louder and evolved into static. Unable to take it anymore, Amelia breaks into a full-out run. She believes she can handle tension a lot better than her friends think, but even this is too much.
The static only gets louder as she runs. As she passes by thick foliage, it rustles violently. Shrieking, she stumbles, scraping her palms against the ground while her legs slip beneath her, still trying desperately to create forward momentum.
She finds her footing again, and not a moment too soon.
The thing, the thing that is most definitely pursuing her now, has come out of the bushes, and she can hear its rapid footsteps behind her. She's not sure how she can hear them -over the rush of blood in her ears or the god awful static - but they're there, and she dare not look behind. The white noise is all consuming in her head, she can't even hear the rapid pump of her heart anymore.
The cabin finally comes into view and Amelia's legs pump faster and harder than they've ever done before. With a final jump that would make an Olympic track athlete proud, she makes it into the clearing.
Amelia lunges at the handle and tugs at it hard. It doesn't budge and she finally lets out a sob. The noise - that static - is getting to be too much and she has no idea what it means, if anything. It could be just in her mind, too frightened from being left behind in the perfect setting for too many horror movies that she shouldn't watch because of what they do to her, but all the same the building frustration of being nearly home free is almost too much to bury.
"Open the door!" she shouts. "It's me for fuck's sakes! Open the door!"
She ends on a shriek and a flurry of knocks against the wooden frame that don't stop until the door is flung open. It's Madeleine on the other side and at the very sight of her own sister, Amelia flings herself at the other girl and latches on. She bites down on her lip as questions of what had happened are asked and whether or not she's okay for fear of letting go enough to the point where she'll start crying.
She won't cry. Not now, not ever.
"Amelia," Maddie calls out to her and is the only one granted her sister's permission. "What happened?"
Thinking back on it, remembering not only the sights but the sounds of something clearly following after her… and it all feeling… somewhat familiar…
"Nothing," she says, bites down the truth that wants to spill out from her lips. "Nothing happened, obviously, I'm right here, but what the fuck?! What the hell you guys, you all just fricking ditch me when you get scared shitless like nothing would happen to me?! Thanks, friends, total thanks!"
"Hey!" Julia yells at her from her top bunk. "Survival of the fittest, it ain't my fault if your ass had to stop to take a piss."
"Oh, shut up, admit you were scared and took off first," says Eliza and throws a pillow at the other girl. "And sorry, Amelia, but it was horror movie mode out there, I lost myself to a hive mentality."
"That's just as bad as an excuse as the one I gave!"
"I wanted to wait for you, but Monika was dragging me away," says Alicia.
"Sure, we all believe that," Marianne scoffs.
"Like you would have done anything different," Alice tells her. "You threw me behind to run up ahead."
"So why didn't you wait for Amelia then?!"
"Why did it have to be me?! You were closest to the back!"
"And get myself killed?!"
"Ah ha! So you would let a friend get killed!"
"So would you! So would all of you!"
"Alright, that's enough!" Amelia shouts and effectively shuts them all up. "I'm done with this, I'm over it. To hell with ya'll, I'm going to bed. I'll deal with your ugly faces in the morning."
While her sister does call out for her again, most likely to ask her to calm down so they can settle the matter all together now instead of later, Amelia ignores it all to pull of her top and climbs into her own bunk at the far side of the cabin. Not minding the light still being on and the chatter going on around her, she turns over and pulls the blankets up over her head and wills herself to fall into an uneasy sleep.
She does in the end, manage to fall asleep. Eventually, all the girls turn in for the night and the bunk goes quiet.
Though while everyone else is apparently able to put the night's events behind them and find some rest, Amelia begins to toss in her sleep. She ends up in a half daze, not completely awake but no longer able to sleep as well as she had managed. Perhaps it has been because she forced herself to bed too early, or perhaps it's for the more likely reason that unlike the others, her own experience with the woods doesn't allow her a sound rest. Instead, it leaves her lingering somewhere between conscious planes.
Which would make what happens next either a blessing or a curse.
With the lights out, the only source of illumination comes in the form of the slight glow of moonlight peeking through from the bottom of the curtains. It's disturbed when a patch of shadow passes by, gone by unnoticed by the girls inside. All the girls, except for Amelia, who despite having her own bed far away from the window, is still able to sense what is happening for whatever reasons.
Her ears twitch when a small jolt of the knob rings out too clear to her in the silence of the room. The twist of the knob and the small push of the door is the same, too loud for the actions that are taking place that allow Amelia to hear it all.
It must be a dream, she thinks to herself. It has to be, because there is no way that Maddie would leave the door open like that. She knows her sister too well to think that anything could get into their cabin so easily. All the same, she keeps still and strains to hear.
The footsteps, so unlike the ruckus being made before, are almost too noiseless to pick up. The only warning of anything making its way around them all is the faint shuffling of clothing and creak of old floorboards weighted down with every move. Along with this, she can hear her heart speed up and blood rush into her ear as again, a tinge of fear takes over.
She remains still, doesn't make a sound, continues to want this to only be a dream because of what has happened and nothing more. The more she presses herself to believe so, the lighter the footsteps become and the calmer she is. An overactive imagination, she begins to think. That's all it is, that's all it is…
Even in the darkness, there's no mistaking the large shadow that blocks what little light remains from falling on her.
Amelia, in her dreamlike state, reacts and rolls onto her back. Very slowly, does she open her eyes and squint out into the darkness, only to find herself staring at the outline of a very tall figure with features she is not able to make out.
Fear again, and though her first instinct is to scream, to alarm her friends on this intruder, she can't help but remember this. It's so similar to the dreams she's had before, once upon a time when she was younger and the same nightmare would happen again and again. They always seemed so real, and she would always wake up to the sounds of her father hushing her and coddling her.
Telling her that it was only a dream. It's only ever a dream.
This is what she tells herself as she gulps loudly and turns back over. The mantra repeats in her head while she makes herself comfortable, closes her eyes again, and tries to control this irrational fear.
It doesn't last long, because she hears the footstep again. Louder this time, closer than before, almost like the noise is deliberate, as if this person or creature refuses to be brushed off and ignored. The steady pacing of the steps come around and only stop when coming to rest right in front of her. Unable to help herself, Amelia opens her eyes once more.
Still, nothing much to make out, just a long tall figure, dressed all in black and that's all she bothers to notice, she cannot will herself to look any further than what she already sees. She can feel a lump in her throat, and she tells herself that this is only a dream.
"This isn't real," she mutters to no one but herself. "This can't be real."
She gathers her blankets, rolls to face the other way, turns her back to the figure and takes in a deep breath. Her eyes are closed, she's ready to sleep.
A moment passes, and just when she becomes comfortable enough to drift off once more, there are footsteps again, and the faint buzz that she had heard earlier in the dark only hours ago. There's not steadying her fear now, it's becoming too large to control and it's almost as if she screams at herself internally to wake up already, wake up and realize that none of this is real just as the same even paces round her bed again, growing louder and louder as they come to stand right in front of her.
There are tears prickling at the corner of her eyes, her breathing is coming out unsteady, but again, she isn't able to control the urge to look and once again open her eyes.
There isn't anything but a black void to stare into, a dank abyss of nothing that threatens to swallow her and yet she can feel the presence of an actual being standing right in front of her, for her, and she has no idea why.
She rolls right onto her back, blankets pulled over her head with hands pressed hard against her eyes as small tears spill over and stain her cheeks. She wipes at them furiously, because this is only a dream! These are things that happen in horror movies and ghost stories not in real life-
Something pushes into her mattress.
A scream lodges in her throat as the bed around her shifts under new weight and begins to crawl right up next to her. The blanket blocks her view, but she can feel every little bit of an actual person come to rest next to her and even press right up against her.
Another solid body is lined up against hers, she can feel it through the blanket and begins to panic. This can't be happening, it shouldn't, it can't, and yet it is and the next breath she takes is almost a sob as she grasps at whatever nerves she can gather to just stay calm.
A large deep breath that comes out shakily, one big swoop of air and she struggles to take in another. And yet, her hands grab at the edges of her blanket, pulls them down only enough so that her eyes are unveiled and turns her head to the side.
White.
From black to white, there is nothing but a pale white face that stares right into hers, holds her stare even with no eyes of its own, and presses even harder against her. The buzzing returns and turns into an ear piercing static that fills her ears and takes over entirely.
She opens her mouth to let out a scream, but it goes unheard. The static over takes it, and her vision goes completely black.
Authors' notes:
Shout-out to my awesome collaborator, VioletLolitaPop, for all the hard work she's put into this story with me. Without you, I don't think this story would've ever seen the light of day. And shout-out to Bai-Marionette for cheering us on!
As always, reviews are appreciated!