No no

Andria had been planning this trip for months. This was her first vacation that she had planned herself. It made her feel like an adult. She had found this cabin online and thought that it would make the perfect getaway for winter break. It was old fashioned, yet it had modern day appliances and heating and plumbing. It was away from the city, yet a half hour away from a small town she could visit. She didn’t hesitate and made a booking. Andria let her parents know where she was going and when she would be back.

The drive to the small town was three hours. The whole time Andria listened to an audio book called the Shining. The air outside was a biting cold. The kind of cold where it feels like someone is poking a needle into your skin. When she rolled into town, she noticed something a little odd. The town was very quiet. A choking, or holding your breath quiet. She couldn’t tell which. She shrugged it off. Small towns are supposed to be quiet, aren't they?

Andria parked outside of a convenience store and packed as many things as she felt she needed. The cashier, a gruff old man with gray eyes, regarded her with concern.

“Are you goin’ into one of the cabins in the mount’ns here?” he asked.

She nodded, not wanting to give too much information to a stranger. He leaned forward in a serious tone. Like he was about to tell her about a murder.

“If you hear or see somethin’ strange… Anythin’ at all… Get out of there. Even if you have to run. Just get out of there.” he warned her.

Andria nodded slowly and grabbed her things. She thanked him and briskly made her way back to the car. He was probably just trying to scare her. He must have been so bored. She shouldn’t have put that audio book on, it was making her anxious.

She drove to the cabin. As soon as she crossed the threshold of pavement to the dirt road, she noticed a few things. One of those things was the road itself. It was muddy and clumpy. Andria found herself bouncing around in her seat. At one point, she wasn’t being careful enough and hit her head on the window on her car door. She rubbed her head in annoyance as the outside world slowly disappeared, and the trees gathered around the car. Other than the road and the surrounding forest… She had noticed that for some reason, she decided the best thing to do while driving on this road is to remain perfectly and utterly quiet. She didn’t even yell out when hitting her head on the window. Andria had no idea why she felt the need to be quiet. It was just… that there was a reason. Like an old piece of knowledge had been stored inside of her. Soon enough, that feeling faded when she got to the cabin. Relief flooded her system. She brought her things into the cabin. She was relieved to find it already warm. 

As soon as Andria made herself at home, she noticed the book. It was a little pink notebook with all of the guests thanking the host for their stay.

Perfect place for a honeymoon. Would come again.

The trees are so beautiful in the autumn!

If you hear the words “No No” get out of there!

Andria paused on the last one. That one was a weird one. She closed the book and made herself some popcorn and turned on a movie. As she watched the characters talking about a monster they caught, she felt herself drifting slowly off to sleep.

When she woke up, she woke up with a jolt. Like someone had poured icewater on her. She looked at the clock. It was three in the morning. Strange. She didn’t remember going to sleep. Andria looked at the window outside. There was a blizzard outside her window. A blizzard so thick that the world outside seemed nonexistent. She felt so glad that she had extra supplies.

She put her bowl in the sink and went to bed. As she entered the bedroom she heard: 

“No no.”

Andria stopped. The sound was so quiet, she wasn’t sure if she was imagining it. She looked around. No one was here. She listened some more. Nothing. She shook her head and went to bed. 

The next morning, Andria got up and made herself some scrambled eggs.

“No no.” 

She paused. There was that sound again. Just as faint as before. She listened for it. Nothing. She shook her head and brought her food to the table. She was just imagining things. That’s all.

That evening, Andria made herself some hot chocolate and sat on the porch. She had spent a good few minutes shoveling snow off of the porch, and a lot more shoveling the snow off her car. She sat down and let the steam of the hot chocolate climb up her face, taking in the scenery around her. She watched the cardinals dart from tree to tree among the snow covered trees. They looked like spots of red blood on a pure white sheet.

Andria smiled. She wanted to get a picture of one of them. She stepped back into the cabin.

“No no.”

She stopped. Just for a brief moment, then shook her head. She grabbed her camera and stepped back outside. All of the cardinals were gone. Except for one. This one was on her porch. On its back. It was wriggling. Then it stopped. The light leaves its eye. Andria put her hand over her mouth in shock.

“You poor thing!” she cried out.

Andria didn’t know what else to do, so she grabbed a box that used to carry a lantern and with a paper towel, she gingerly put the red bird into the box. She went towards the tree line and placed the bird in the snow and covered it.

“No no.”

Andria sprung up. That voice. It was so faint before, but now, it was as if someone was whispering right in her ear… She briskly walked back to the cabin. She remembered the old man’s warning, and the written message in the book. She let out a weak laugh.

“I’m being silly.” she whispered.

She locked the door and drew back the curtains. She made herself some chicken and watched a movie. Trying to make herself forget about the bird. The bird, and the voice. After the movie, she went right to bed, and went to sleep.

Andria woke up at three o’ clock in the morning. Her stomach churning. She scrambled to the bathroom and lurched forward over the toilet. She soon emptied most of the contents of her stomach. When she was finally done, she stared in horror. Among her discarded dinner was a singular red feather. How was this even possible?

“No no.”

Andria stood up in anger. Her fist clenched. She had enough.

“No, what?! Whoever you are, knock it off!” she snapped.

Then she heard it. Tap. Tap. Tap. She froze. Tap. Tap. Tap. She slowly made her way to the living room. It was dark. She felt the cold caressing her spine. Tap. Tap. Tap. She stopped in her tracks. Outside of her window was a man. The man was wearing a suit as red as a cardinal's feather. She couldn’t see his face. He lifted a long crooked finger to the window. Tap. Tap. Tap. Andria couldn’t move. She is trying to comprehend what is happening. Something wasn’t right about this man. She didn’t even think that he was human. Then the man slowly pointed his finger upwards, and in a mocking gesture, started wagging it, as if he was scolding a toddler.

“No no.”

Andria fainted onto the rug.

It was a still evening when she woke up on the floor. She realized that she slept for most of the day. And that man… She leapt up with lightning speed and began to pack her things. She didn’t care about neatness. She just threw everything in the car and got in. Her hands were shaking as she put the keys in the ignition. She tried to start the car. It started up, and then died.

“No…” she whispered.

Andria tried starting it again.

“NO!” she yelled.

She started it over and over again. Nothing. She wanted to cry. She grabbed her phone and called the police.

“911, what is your emergency?”

“I’m at the Snowy Hill’s cabin and my car won’t start, and there is someone in the woods!”

“Okay ma’am, we’ll have the police there in an hour, I need you to stay on the line with me, okay?

Andria’s mouth gaped open. On the forest’s edge, near the place she had buried the cardinal, was the man. He was wearing a red suit, pristine and clean and bright against the snow. She couldn’t see his head. His head seemed to stretch all the way to his back.

“Ma’am? Are you still there?”

“His… head…”

“Ma’am, are you in the car?”

“Y-yes.”

“I need you to lock your car. Okay?”

“Okay.”

She locked her car doors. She stared at the man. The man didn’t move.

“Ma’am, is there someone else there?”

“Yes, but I don’t think he’s human! His head… it’s not right at all! It’s… No… No! He’s walking towards me!”

“Ma’am, stay calm, the police will be there in less than an hour.”

The man stopped twenty feet away from her car. He lifts his pointer finger and waves it aside. Andria’s passenger door swung open. She screamed and scrambled out to the other side. She burst into a run down the road. Not looking back.

“Ma’am! What is happening?!”

“He opened the door! I don’t know how! He’s not human! I’m making a run for it!”

“Ma’am!”

Night fell quickly around Andria as she sprinted down the muddy road. She was scared to look behind her. She was scared to slow down. It was getting so dark that she could barely see where she was going. Then she tripped on a root. She went down so hard that the air was knocked out of her lungs.

“Ma’am! What is happening now?!”

Andria lifted her head. She froze in horror. The man in the red suit was standing in front of her. Right by where her phone fell. The man’s neck started to contract, and his head was upright. She couldn’t focus on the rest of his face. Only his smile. His smile showed too many teeth, and was wider than it was possible for any human being to smile.

“Ma’am!”

The man looked at the phone, he picked it up, and hung up the phone in a calm manner. Andria was frozen in place. A chill washed over her. It was starting to snow. The man looked back at her. He raised his pointer finger and slowly wagged it.

“No no.”