Narrator

The first odd thing happened before we even reached the cabin.

We passed a handmade sign nailed to a tree at the edge of a pull-off.

It was just a plank with black paint, the letters uneven like someone had done it in a hurry.

It said, Turn back after dark.

No name of a property.

No phone number.

Nothing official.

It wasn't the kind of no trespassing sign you see everywhere.

It felt personal.

Eric laughed and said it was probably a Halloween decoration.

Maddie took a photo through the window.

Nora didn't laugh, but she didn't argue.

She just looked at it too long, like she was trying to decide if it was a joke or a message meant for one person.

The cabin sat at the end of a short spur off the gravel road, tucked into a bowl of trees with one open view toward a lower ridge.

It was exactly like the pictures, which should have been comforting.

Instead, it felt like arriving at a set after the crew has gone home.

Everything was placed correctly, and that made it feel staged.

The porch was wide, the swing hung from thick chains, and there were wind chimes made from cut metal tubes that looked too heavy to move much in a breeze.

The front door had two locks, a normal deadbolt and a second one that was older, like something you'd see on a cellar door.

There was also a hook and eyelatch higher than eye level, placed like it was meant to keep something out, or keep someone in.