The shrill screeching of rubber tires echoed into the cold, damp night. Snowfall blinded the windshield, almost as if it was a veil shrouding a bride’s face on her special day. However, this day was anything but special; it was as far from it as it could possibly be. Dahyun scrunched her face, burning rubber and smoke filling her nose, as she slowed the car to a sudden stop, burying the burning tires in the thick snow that covered the ground as far as the eye could see. Snow twinkled around her, resting in her dark black hair, making the strands glisten as though they were sparkling. The only light reflected on the shiny white snow was from the moon, bright and beautiful, yet not nearly bright enough to comfort the girl, who had as of now opened the hood of the stammering car, little hums slowly giving up as the car shut down. 

The hood slammed shut, and Dahyun heaved a sigh, slumping against the car. She shut her eyes tight, panic rising in the form of heaps of heartbeats, fast and anxious, but she kept her composure. Her cheeks burned a bright, fiery red, and her nose numbed, frost beginning to bite on all her body. She opened her eyes suddenly, ignoring the stinging pain caused by the wind, and took a long, hard look at her surroundings. There were the beginnings of a blizzard, and she knew she’d have to figure out something, or else she guessed that she’d die there. The car’s heat would soon wear off, and she’d be left lonely and defenseless to the frigid temperatures of the winter’s breath. She was surrounded by trees, trees and more trees; it was safe to say that she was, in fact, in the middle of nowhere, with no shelter, food, or water. Just a wrecked car and a half-empty bag of Cheetos in the backseat. 

When she was about to give up, and accept her fate, she noticed a yellow light in the distance, not far away from her car, though the trek seemed still a fair, painful walk. She decided it was her best bet, as it appeared to be a cabin, dark pine wood walls barely visible glowing a dim yellow from the lights. 

She trudged through the snow, the snow melting into her socks and nipping at her toes, but she couldn’t feel it very well, the numbness taking its affect all too soon. The winds had picked up, whirling large chunks of snow her way, wind splintering into her face and making her whole body set on fire. The parts that weren’t numb, anyway. 

The trees seemed to clear to make way for the cabin, and as Dahyun approached closer and closer, she began to notice just how huge this cabin was. There were no cars in the worn cobblestone driveway, and spider webs littered a dozen old, dusty lanterns scattering the lawn, and covered the frosty windows, though the cabin itself looked abandoned—untouched, in reality. The lanterns were dim and glowed a nasty orange, nearly something out of a horror movie, and Dahyun shivered for the umpteenth time, deciding setting camp in a horror shack would be much more preferred than freezing to death. 

She slowed her hasty steps to a slow pace, brushing her fingers over the dark, rustic door, bringing her hand slowly down to the brass doorknob. The rust scratched against her freezing hand excruciatingly, eliciting a low scream of pain from Dahyun. She snatched her hand away from the knob, as if it had been burnt, and stared at it. Her hands were pale, nearly turning blue, though a pink tint quickly rushed over them. Luckily, there were no open cuts left, so she pulled her jacket sleeve over her hand and tried the knob again.  

The door creaked open slowly, letting out a piercing shriek as the cobwebs fell along the frame, parting off the door. Dahyun felt her eyes adjust to the newly found lighting, her nose picking up the faint scent of old books and rotting wood. Her gaze wandered around the place, and it seemed she was in the living room, judging by the worn velvet couch, however there was also a peculiar sight. Even though most everything was covered in a sheen of dust, the couch laid perfectly laden with expensive, deep red velvet; it appeared smooth and clean, perhaps clean enough to eat off of. There was a small, boxy television resting on a brick fireplace, ashes covering the burnt wood, however the whole house seemed to omit a certain warmness that Dahyun would indulge in over the cold blizzard outside. Another strange thing she noticed, was that there was a bowl of food resting on a dark-oak, fancy carved table which sat in front of the couch. 

She slowly walked over to it, shoes clacking loudly on the stone floor, echoing out into the empty house, and Dahyun physically cringed. If there was anyone in this house, they definitely knew she was there now. She froze in her spot, not daring to move a muscle, until a few moments passed, and she heard nothing—or rather no one, and she continued pacing slowly and carefully towards the table.  

Since she was closer, she could clearly see the television, and yet another strange happening occurred. She could see her reflection, clearly. Only a light coat of dust covered the screen, not nearing the amount coating the rest of the beat up, old yet expensive looking furniture around the rest of the living-room. Her eyebrows furrowed. 

Her eyes shifted back to the bowl of food, and it appeared to be a soup of sorts. However, Dahyun noticed that there lacked any sign of fermentation, and the bowl was shiny, made of rich china and gold designs branching across it. It was a beautiful sight, albeit a little unnerving as to why it was the only thing she had noticed so far that had appeared nearly brand new. Everything else looked dated, old-fashioned, and ragged in some fashion. 

Dahyun felt her stomach growl angrily, and at this point, she wished she just brought those Cheetos with her. She would argue with her stomach later. She hesitantly wrapped her hands gently around the bowl, bringing it closer and closer to her face. Then she sniffed it. She expected something rancid and repulsive, however that never came. Instead, much to her stomach’s vexation, she was met with the scent of fresh herbs, spices, and broth. Her eyes widened, and she peered suspiciously into the bowl, as if decoding its ingredients. The liquid was light brown in color, and a few vegetables swam in the broth—broccoli, potatoes, carrots—along with a few pieces of meat, which she assumed was some beef. It looked delicious, and smelled even better, so naturally she looked around the house, before smoothly setting down the bowl. She plopped herself on the velvet couch, and leaned more into the soft, fluffy pillows even more, finding the warmth and comfort it offered reassuring and relaxing. She closed her eyes, heaving out a soft sigh, and brought herself back to the bowl in front of her on the table.  

She brought it to her lips, and let the lukewarm liquid run down , setting her body on fire, much contrasting the previous state she was in. It was an incredible feeling, her body warming up and her stomach groaning in contentment, finally receiving a meal after so long of surviving a long car trip with just half a bag of cheetos. 

--- * --- 

Dahyun set the bowl back down on the table, having ravenously gulped down its contents within mere minutes, and decided to try out the television. She dragged herself from the couch’s comfortable grasps and walked over towards the box. 

She tried turning the tv on, however it just wouldn’t work. She tried again, and again, her finger spamming the button on and off, then decided to look behind the tv. She noticed the wires were a mess, all tangling together with each other, and she took a moment to decide what the hell she was looking at. She bent over further behind the tv, using a piece of cloth she found hanging off the couch to swat away at any unwanted cobwebs or dust, and felt around for any stray cords.  

Finally, she felt her hand hit something, though it wasn’t a cord, that was for sure. It felt like cardboard, rough and solid, but she easily bent it. It was relatively small, so she easily slid it out of the crack between the tv and the splintering wall. 

Dahyun dusted off the box, blowing the excess particles off, breaking into a coughing fit shortly after. She swatted away any dust hanging in the air when her coughing died down. The box was closed off feebly with weak tape, covering just one way across the top, so she easily broke into it with a spare key she kept in her wallet. 

Inside the box, were a handful of cassette tapes. She pulled each tape out carefully, then noticed a tape player buried at the bottom of the box, mingled with webs of plastic film that had fallen out of a broken cassette tape. She glanced at the rest of them and noticed that they were all each numbered. There was 1, 2, 3, and 4, and she made out that the broken tape was labeled with 5, the writing on it was scratched and barely readable. 

Dahyun’s eyebrows furrowed, as she pulled out the tape player. She pushed the tape that was labeled ‘1’ into it and pushed the button. She hadn’t expected it to work, however she was surprised when she heard a feminine voice boom into the room, making its way to her ears. 

‘Log 1, date August 12, 1887. This is JM again. The strange girl is lurking, yet again. She hides behind trees. She thinks I can’t see her. She’s wrong. What a peculiar girl; I have yet to catch her name. The winds don’t tell that information so easily. I want to know who she is. I want her to stop following me, for I cannot allow her to see me. My guards have warned me to rid of her. I still have a heart. I’m not supposed to have a heart, I presume, but I’m sick of having bloods stain my hands and my corsets.’ 

Dahyun listened carefully. At this point, she was sure she was starring in a new Hollywood horror movie film. It was so cliché, however something in her told her that this wasn’t a situation of the sorts. This was something else entirely. This was history. And whoever JM was, this was her story.  

And she’ll listen so long as she’s trapped behind the confines of this splintering oak cabin. 

A/N: I was gonna wait until Wildflower was done before I started writing another story, but i have so many ideas and im too excited i cant help it. Anyway, heres another story to look forward too, and any of those mystery-action lovers out there- this one goes out to you. itll be a lot different from what im used to writing, but that makes it cooler, right? anyway, ill continue writing wildflower, and i have some oneshots i have planned too, so there'll be a lot to look forward too. ciao!