[ WP ] Today , you went into the room your parents told you to never go in .

The unmistakable aroma of the air wafting off of the lake tingled his nostrils as they finally arrived to their destination. 10 hours in a 1970 Chevy Kingswood station wagon, that dad toted as `` the tank'' had taken it's toll on the entire Thurmont clan. 15 year old Zach tried drowning out the sound of his 8 year old sister ’ s insistent nagging as to when they would arrive at the lake house, by delving into his favorite C.S Lewis book. As much as mom tried to quell Samantha's whining, the 8 year old proved her persistence and managed to carry on for what seemed like the entire drive, only quieting long enough to devour the brownies Mom had brought along for a snack, making it impossible for Zach to get any reading done. His mind was hardly in a place to read anyway. This summer was supposed to be one of glorious adventure with his friends. The morning of their departure his parents practically had to drag him out of his room and stuff him into to the back seat of the busted up wagon. Zach sat sad and helpless in the rear view seat as the tank pulled out of the drive. When they arrived, the night sky had consumed the dusk, and all that could be seen was the poorly lit walkway about 20 yards from the gravel driveway that led to the most rickety pair of steps Zach had ever dared climb. Each step giving more than the last, certain to give way with the slightest misstep. Samantha quickly took note of the dilapidated steps, and aptly refused to climb the treacherous structure. Zach, ignoring Samantha ’ s tantrum, braved the steps, carefully planting his feet in the most strategic places to avoid a total collapse. He managed his way to the front door and quickly found the hide-a-key so ingeniously hidden under the damp front door mat. Pushing open the pale wooden door, Zach reached in to the right side of the wall, slid his hand half way up from the floor a flipped the light switch up., He patiently waited for the light to flicker to life, to no avail. `` Guess the breakers blown'' shouted Dad as he stumbled to the top step, Samantha holding onto his neck for dear life. `` There's a lantern right inside, wait here''. Dad faded into the darkness for a few seconds before returning with a kerosene fueled flame, dancing inside a blue hued glass lantern. The Thurmont family all piled into the small stale living room which was overcome with the smell of mildew and kerosene. Zach collapsed on the couch, exasperated by the long day. “ I will call Randy in the morning''. said Dad. Randy was a friend of the family who lived a few miles down the road from the Thurmont cabin. He was charged with keeping an eye out on the place during the winter. Mom, sensing Samantha had exhausted herself from the endless outbursts of the day, said her goodnights and headed for bed with Samantha closely trailing behind. Zach, fearing Dad would soon retell the story of how he and Mom had come to find this cabin 100 years ago or whatever the story was, hastily headed for the steps and up to his cramped back bedroom, leaving Dad to rustle up a fire all alone. As Zach hurried up the rickety staircase Dads voice rang out stopping midway between the living room and freedom. `` Goodnight, see you in the morning ” Dad's voice rang out. “ Also, Remember the rules of the lake house, let your mother and I know if you go somewhere, and do n't go into the shed.'' Zach breathed a sigh of relief elated that he had gotten away so easily. He never understood why his dad was so intent on keeping out of the shed. He assumed it had something to do with the fact that the thing was barely standing. but never had enough curiosity to care about exploring the forbidden structure. He would much rather head to Ron's house about a mile up the shore. Ron had a huge house with all of the amenities, A.C, XBOX, jet skis, and endless supply of root beer, and Zach's arrival was always a welcome event in Ron's otherwise lonely existence. 
 
 The next morning arrived sooner than Zach had desired. Staggering to his feet, Zach threw on his favorite camo shorts, and a tee and headed for the kitchen. Hurriedly making his way toward the door, he grabbed an apple, barely managing to get out `` I'll be at Ron's'' before slamming the back door. A short 5 minute walk and Zach was making his way up the driveway toward the large white house. Ron's mom answered the door, excitement consuming her as she greeted Zach, only outdone by Ron's enthusiasm as he turned the corner and saw Zach at the front door. They spent the rest of the day lounging in Ron's room, chugging more root beers than one person should consume in a single day, and mindlessly playing RPG games. Around 9 Zach he had n't checked in with his parents all day, He politely asked to use the house phone to call his mom. scarfing down 3 or 4 chocolate cookies, he sat on a kitchen stool listening to a redundant ring on the other end of the line. `` You have reached the Thurmont's, leave a message''. I'd rather not Zach thought, as he hung up the receiver. Feeling satisfied, he hopped off the stool and headed back toward Ron's room when Ron's mother interrupted. `` Zach, you are welcome to stay as long as you'd like but you must let your parents know you're okay. Why do n't you and Ron run to your cabin and see if your parents are there.'' Zach not willing to jeopardize his luxurious accommodations quickly obliged. He hollered for Ron as he slipped his worn out sketchers on, and the two headed out the door, grabbing a handful more of cookies on their way out. 
 
 In less than 5 minutes Ron and Zach had reached the outskirts of his family cabin. Making their way through the thick untamed yard, they arrived at the death trap known as the front stairs. By the time Ron had hopscotched his way to the top step, Zach was already in the living room. `` Mom'' the call echoed through the empty house. Several long seconds passed, as the boys waited hushed, waiting to hear any response. Nothing, quiet. feeling that they had made a considerable enough effort to satisfy Ron's mom, the boys turned and headed for the door. Zach in a hurry to get back to the paradise of controlled air temperature and chocolate chip cookies, hurdled himself off of the porch, clearing all of the steps and landing on both feet in the front yard. Ron, knowing his height and athletic ability left something to be desired, opted for a step by creaky step descent. As Ron reached the bottom step, Zach, being impatient, turned and headed for the path that lead back to Ron's house, but before he could take his third step through the dense lawn, he heard Ron's voice calling for him in a low frightened tone. `` Zach'' Ron called, almost whispering `` What is that?''. Zach turned around, unable to hide the annoyance from his face `` what is what Ron?'' Ron pointed towards the side of the house, across the lawn where the hut of a shed stood clinging to the wood line. Zach followed Ron's finger to the soft amber glow shining through the cracks in the doorframe of the shed. `` It looks like your shed is on fire'' Ron cautioned. `` Yea the shed is on fire, sure Ron!'' Zach responded, sarcasm dripping from his words. `` No one uses that shed, it's probably just a light or something''. Zach assured Ron. The two shrugged it off, and turned to head back to the path, when the unmistakable scream of a girl burst out from the shed. Before they could react the door swung open, and the glare of a lantern flame illuminated the opening. Out from the small shed came a large man, dressed in all black, face shadowed by the light surrounding his large frame. He looked like a giant, his shadow spilling out of the doorway 15 feet across the yard and meeting the now trembling feet of the two boys. Whoever this was, they had n't yet spotted two young figures that stood helplessly a few yards away. As the boys watched in horror the man walked out of the shed made a quick turn and headed for the woods, carrying a large object over his shoulder. In a few seconds the large figure had disappeared into the tree line, leaving the two teens standing frozen with fright, unable to muster the courage to turn and run. After a few moments, Zach snapped back into reality and quickly realized that whoever had come out the shed would probably soon return. He turned to Ron gave him a firm shake and whispered that they need to get out of there. Ron still in shock could barely muster a head nod in agreement. The two boys, as quiet as they possibly could, turned and headed away from the shed. They tip toed silently across the yard, and into the shadows, doing everything possible to not make a sound and alert the man of their presence. They were a few footsteps from the path back to Ron's when the echo of a stick snapping under one of the boy ’ s feet rang out and everything went black. The next thing Zach remembered he was waking up to the familiar dancing flame of lantern light with a throbbing headache. As he regained consciousness, he slowly lifted his head to try to get his bearings. The first thing he noticed were the binding leather straps that were tightly bound to his wrists, feet, and chest. Panicked, he violently thrashed his body, feeling the weight of the leather bindings tightening with every attempt. As he thrashed something caught the corner of his eye. He body went limp as the gruesome sight across the room came into focus. Hanging like the prize antlers of an ten point buck on the opposite wall, were the severed heads of Ron, Samantha, Mom, and Randy. Blood stained the walls in thick red streams as it streaked down the warped walls. Overcome with emotion Zach let out a horrifying scream. never seeing the cold metal of a bearded ax hurling through the air towards his exposed neck. one swift swing was all it took. Moments later Zach's father stood over him, holding the blood stained ax, admiring the newest ornament to add to his growing collection. Ever satisfied with today's haul Zach ’ s father threw his lifeless body over his shoulder and headed for the woods. 

