???
THE SOUND OF the car engine stopping woke Kei from her sleep, she wandered her eyes from her surrounding and smiled when she saw the rustling treeline outside, they had finally arrived at their destination.
'damn, it's so pretty and the air is so fresh'
"Let's go, babe?" Her boyfriend's voice pulled her back. She had been so busy admiring the view that she almost forgot he was still beside her in the driver's seat.
She smiled sweetly and nodded. They got out of the car and stared at the cabin in front of them. It wasn't that big, just a two-story cabin, but she didn't mind—she could actually stay here forever.
She'd been stressed from work these past few months, so her boyfriend, Res, had suggested that she take a break. Knowing she needed fresh air, he rented this cabin in the woods for a week. He wanted a longer vacation, but Kei couldn't afford to be away from work for more than that.
Inside the cabin, Res checked the first floor for safety while she proceeded upstairs to unpack their things in the bedroom.
The bed sat in the middle of the room, with a large window on the left side. A tilted mirror rested in the corner, angled toward the door.
Kei set everything up, and went downstairs to cook for dinner. When they finished eating, they went to bed to get some rest 'cause they had a long ride after all. Kei is scrolling through her cellphone till she finally feel sleepy, she turned off her phone and put it under her pillow.
---
KEI JOLTED from her sleep from unknown reason. The room was pitch dark 'cause she doesn't like sleeping with lights on. She glanced at the bedside table, and saw the time— 2:41 AM.
She slipped her hands under her pillow to reach for her phone, but her hands touched something else— her brows furrowed, it feels like a book. She grabbed the thing along with her phone, she pulled herself up in sitting position and turned on the lamp beside her.
Kei took a proper look of the thing she took under the pillow, it's a notebook. There's a letter embroidered in the cover: K
Scanning the notebook, she realized that it's actually a diary, but there's only 5 entries.
Day 1
September 6, 2025
“I just arrived here in Cabin 115 with my wife. We decided to spend some time together since we're expecting. And once the baby is born, we won't be able to enjoy moments like this anymore. This is going to be the best vacation ever...”
Day 2
September 7, 2025
“We're having the time of our lives. The view, the peace—everything feels perfect. Earlier this morning, we discovered a waterfall. We swam until we were too tired to swim anymore, then we took a stroll in the woods...”
Kei smiled to herself. They seem like such a lovely couple. Clearly, these two had stayed in the cabin before them. They must have felt bad for leaving their diary behind.
She's getting kind of sleepy so she decided to read the 3rd entry and then she'll go back to sleep. But her forehead creased while she's reading the 3rd entry.
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Day 3
September 8, 2025
“We had another long and fun day together. It's now 7 pm, and my wife is cooking dinner.
"Kyle! i left my sweater outside, can you grab it for me?" i heard my wife call from the kitchen.
"sure, hon" i responded and headed to the door.
The moment I stepped outside, the cold air instantly greeted me, it's dark out and the only source of light is the one coming from inside the cabin and the glow of the full moon above.
I saw the sweater over the chair, I quickly grabbed it, and was about to turn back inside when something caught my eye.
There's someone standing in the treeline facing the cabin.
A man.
I couldn't really see his face but I'm sure he's watching me. 'is he lost?'
I lifted my hand, waving to signal him that i saw him but he stayed motionless and just kept on staring at me. I waved at him again but still no response. I'm hesitant, but decided I'd better approach him, but just as I took a step forward—
"Kyle! what's taking you so long?!" Mitch's voice startled me, so i turned towards the door for a second, but when I looked back at the treeline—the man was gone.
Wth? 'I just took my eyes off him for a second and now he's gone?'”
'weird' I scanned the surrounding trees but there's no sign of the him, i shook my head and went inside.
Kei frowned, 'weird and creepy' she thought. "Guess I'll just read til the end then." she whispered.
Day 4
September 9, 2025
“I'm scared. Something else happened tonight.
I woke to the sound of knocking.
Slow. Even. Too steady to be random—like someone counting the beats, almost inhuman like. One knock... pause... knock... pause.
I glanced at the clock on the bedside table, it's 2:30 am. who could be knocking at people's door at this hour? and in the middle of the woods?
i was pulled from my thoughts when the sound moved. First on the right side of the cabin. Then at the back. Then on the left.
Then silence.
suddenly, it stopped. I held my breath as I heightened my senses to feel my surroundings. I'm getting nervous at this time. I almost jumped out of the bed when a heavy thud crashed onto the roof. My whole body tensed. Something was up there.
I got goosebumps all over my body and my heart started beating fast as i hear footsteps in the roof. Each step creaked across the wood, moving toward the side of the cabin where the big window was. and when it's finally reached the edge, I froze and my heart stopped.
After seconds
knock
My heart feels like it's going to explode when i heard a knock in the window
It's pitch black outside and I can't see what's behind the glass window. my whole body is shaking, my hands are sweating, and my heart is beating fast as the knocking quickened, louder, faster—until it was pounding the window.
I screamed when a hand touched my shoulder...
"Kyle, what the hell?" I was brought back to my senses when I heard my wife's voice. Mitch turned on the lamp and tried her best to calm me down. I tried telling her what happened but she wouldn't believe me. I don't know what to do.”
Kei is prickled with goosebumps just by reading the diary's content, "what the hell happened here?"
She glanced at the wide window on her left, she suddenly felt her heart race remembering what she just read.
Sceptical if she should still continue, she turned the page to the last entry.
Day 5
September 9, 2025
“It's in the basement.
We're going to die.”
A chill ran through Kei's body. Her hands shaking as she snapped the diary shut.
The words etched deep into her mind:
'It's in the basement. We're going to die.'
Her breath hitched. Her skin crawled. She didn't want to see but she couldn't stop herself. Kei feels like she have to know.
She shook Res to wake him up.
"Res..." her voice was barely above a whisper. "The basement."
Res gave her a confused look, but feeling groggy, he stood up to escort his girlfriend.
Together, they entered the dark basement, the wooden stairs creaked under their weight as they descended.
The beam of their flashlight swept across the basement
The light caught something dark on the cement floor. Something red. A drag mark.
And then—a body.
A lifeless body sprawled on the floor, mangled almost beyond recognition. The skull was caved in on one side, blood pooled thick around it, sticky and half-dried. Jagged bruises circled the throat—neck almost broken, as if someone had strangled this person to death. The left arm bent at an impossible angle, bones peeking beneath the skin. Mouth was frozen open in a silent scream, teeth shattered, lips torn.
Beside the corpse lay a cracked phone, splattered with blood.
Kei covered her mouth, preventing to scream. Res's grip on the flashlight trembled.
Kei reached for the phone. She ran through it till she saw the last message sent from this device.
"Mom, Kyle's acting weird. I think he's off his meds again."
???
THE POLICE arrived and immediately scanned the area. They slid the diary in the evidence bag. Kei and Res watched as the police exchanged grim looks, whispering to each other.
Two officers escorted them to the car and drove in silence. Nobody said a word.
When they arrived at Kyle and Mitch's house, the front door was ajar. It doesn't look like someone's living there—almost looks abandoned.
"Stay here," one officer ordered, but Kei and Res followed anyway.
They found Kyle in the bedroom.
His body hung from the ceiling, the rope biting deep into the swollen flesh of his neck. The chair he'd kicked over lay on the floor. His eyes bulged wide, reddish and lifeless.
On the top of the bed, lays another notebook. One line was written on the first page, scrawled in dried ink:
Day 11
September 15, 2025
"I thought the monster was outside the cabin, but turns out it was inside all along...
It was me"
? END ?
