The Last Footprint in the Snow

The snow still fell after six hours, and my parents weren’t home. The sun had set almost two hours ago, and it was pitch black outside. The strong February winds made my house creak. I had questioned sleep, but I needed to wait for my parents to arrive. The white snowflakes that kept falling were now getting very boring to watch.

The moon was halfway towards a full moon that night, but somehow, I could see something in the snow as I stared. I couldn’t tell what because it was very dark, but I noticed that, whatever it was, it went in the direction of the woods.

Our woods were very dense, shrubs and thickets grew in every space they could find, and one could barely walk in them. I had no idea what walked or crawled in there; I never had a desire to find out. And that is what made me scared, very scared.

“I have to find out what was in the snow, I have to,” I told myself. I got up out of my chair and crept toward my back door. My hands were trembling as they twisted the lock on the door.

When I opened the door, the wind sped in, as well as the snow. I walked out, I slammed the door shut, and looked out in the direction of the woods. What caught my eye was a note that had been left on the table of my front porch.

I walked, being highly aware of my surroundings, to the note on the table. The note was, in fact, turned over. I turned it back over and was confused to see that it showed a map, with my woods and the road at the front of my house all pictured. What scared me most was that it showed my house drawn inside a bright red circle.

I stared at it, confused, horrified. I didn’t want to follow in the footsteps. I even wondered how I even opened the door, I’m usually always scared, especially at night, and even more when my parents aren’t home. I can just guess that the curiosity took over me.

I stared at the dark outside that stood before me. I imagined all the creepy forest animals I had heard of: bears, Bigfoot, wolves. Even though I was horribly scared, something made me step forward toward the dark, creepy woods.

As I stepped into the snow and away from my bright porch lights, I could barely see anything in front of me. I thought I was being watched, but I said it was just my imagination.

The path I usually took had now become very overgrown, making it very hard to place my feet. After five minutes of walking, I came to the boundary between the woods and the grass.

I could see a cabin in the distance very faintly, and again my curiosity took over, and I found myself walking into the dark, dense woods. I heard a wolf howl. Then another. Almost every sound made me jump, but something kept me walking, something wanted me in that cabin.

The cabin looked almost a hundred years old. It had many cracks in the walls, and nails had come out of the structure, which then made me wonder if any had fallen to the ground. While being very careful of where I stepped, I made my way to the door. It was a run-down wooden door that was slightly ajar.

I looked down at the ground and noticed that the footprints had been here. I didn’t even see a person making them; they just appeared.

The wind picked up even harder, which made the cabin creak. I even thought that it might just crumple, but it has been here for years, so I didn’t worry about it too much. I knew that if I had any chance of finding this footprint maker, it would be inside. I hoped and prayed that I would find nothing inside.

As soon as I even touched the door, I knew that it would be hard to open it. The snow had piled up by the door, making it almost impossible to open. I also realized that the door probably went a foot deeper, but the snow covered my view.

Thankfully, though, the wood was old and rotten, and I managed to pry open the door, although when I let go, the broken door would slam shut again. I just squeezed in right as the door was going to hit my back.

The cabin was as dark as a cave. I could barely make out tools and supplies on the wall, but couldn’t see down the rest of the cabin.

I wasn’t fully scared in this moment because my friend had been here in the summer once, but still, a lot has changed.

I didn’t want to continue further; I thought I was being watched by something. I walked just a little more and could make out a table, but still it looked as dark as space.

I shot a glance behind me and saw it. A pair of green glowing eyes was staring at me from the corner of the cabin.

As soon as I saw it, my skin almost leaped off of me, I took a run toward the door, and the pair of eyes started moving. I ripped open the door just as I saw an arm extend near the floor toward my legs. I was thankful to see the moon peering at me through the trees.

I stood in relief, thankful I had escaped, but also ready in case I saw it again. After a while, I heard one big “MEOW!” From inside the cabin. And then I knew that it was just a cat, and I was making a fuss about nothing.

I also discovered that the footprints actually didn’t go inside the cabin at all, but rather around it.

Again, I was very reluctant to walk around the cabin as the creeper could be right around the wall. But something made me go, some curiosity pushed me forward around the wall. I peeked around the corner and only saw snow falling, thankfully.

I continued to another corner, but I saw something this time, something that made me shake. The porch lights were flickering, the door was wide open, all the light had been turned off in the house, and the footsteps were leading right into my back door.