Editor’s Note: I’ve always been proud of the fiction that the SoBros Network team has produced throughout the years, but The Widow’s Mountain always comes to mind right away when I think about our collection here. It was such an ambitious leap of faith at the time for its author, our good friend “Cadbury.” We didn’t have a whole lot of fiction on the site at the time, and I definitely hadn’t compiled a book of it. But, we were sorting it out because that creative fire was burning brightly within us. That’s why I was so impressed by Cadbury’s first effort in this style of writing. The atmosphere is incredible. The plot is fun. And, the story is ripe with Spooky Season vibes as October approaches. You guys have seen me write in recent weeks that I’ve been digging through old memories, and when this one popped up, I knew I had to give it a re-run. For the first time in all its glory, I decided to combine the four parts that this story was released in and run it as one piece on the site. All these years later, I still read this and think, “damn….well done, Cadbury.” ‘Tis the season. -Stoney
The Widow’s Mountain
What was supposed to be my first, real job never went as planned. In fact, the first week provided such trial and tribulation that it changed my life, and the lives of others involved, forever.
I was 20 years old and had just left college after only two years of study. After telling my parents a simple lie of wanting to explore other schools and potential Masters programs, I packed up whatever I could cram into my dad’s 1978 Chevette and headed west. Eventually, I found comfort in a secluded ski-resort town deep in the Teton mountains of Wyoming.
Arriving in late Fall, I enjoyed the emptiness of the place. It almost felt like a ghost town most days. I simply moseyed around at first, taking in the fresh mountain air while living out of a road-side motel near the base of the large, surrounding mountains.
This lasted a few weeks until I noticed a Help Wanted sign in the window of the laundry mat. The ad was for several open positions at the local ski resort and hotel. Sparking my interest the most was the need for Search and Rescue personnel. I had no professional experience, but figured my summer life-guarding at the local pool back home and achieving the rank of Eagle Scout might give me an edge over other candidates. So I scribbled the number in my pocket notepad, which was mostly used for sketching the surrounding scenery, and rushed back to the motel.
“Thank you for calling Big Valley Ski and Sky, we are currently closed until the start of ski season in December,” a female’s voice softly responded after dialing the number from my motel bed.
A long, silent pause lingered before the voice returned, “…Hello? Are you there?”
“Oh!” I quickly rambled, “I…I uh was calling…uh help wanted sign in town.”
“Ok…you’re calling about a job?” she asked, confused.
“Yeah, I uh…sorry, I thought from your tone that it was an answering machine.” I stated, still stammering.
“Ha!” She laughed, “Oh no, no answering machine here on the mountain. Not that fancy. Hell, the phone lines barely work if we get a bad storm. I’m guessing you’re not from around here?”
“No.” I replied, “I’ve just moved to the area and I’m looking for work. I was wondering if there was still an opening on the Search and Rescue team.”
“Yeah, we could always use a qualified S & R member. What’s your experience?” She inquired.
“Well, I have years of first aid training and practice. And I’ve been skiing a few times when I was younger.” I said, instantly regretting the naiveté of my response.
“That’s….that’s it?” She seemed confused, and with good reason.
“Yes….but I’m a hard worker and have tons of free time at the moment to learn more.” I said, trying to polish my previous response.
“Well, we’re getting our staff geared up for the ‘87/’88 season and could use all the help we can get,” she replied. “They’re calling for quite the winter up here this year. How about I schedule you to come speak with our manager tomorrow afternoon and go from there?”
“Yes, absolutely. I’ll be there!” I said.
“Great, so just come out here around 2 o’clock.” She continued, “Head up the mountain road about 6 miles, turn left into our maintenance drive and park on the back side of the hotel. If you get to the dead-end at the old widow’s house, then you’ve gone too far. Don’t go near her cabin, just simply turn around and head back down the mountain until you find our entrance.”
I responded, “Sounds good, thank you so much. I’m looking forward to it.” We ended the chat and I returned the receiver to the phone base.
The next day, I drove out to the resort and met the voice behind the phone call, Sammi. She was a petite beauty who, similar to myself, had left home a few years back and found solace in the quiet mountain life. It took everything in me not to focus on her sweeping, blonde hair as she showed me around the 30-room hotel at the base of the resort.
The building was U-shaped, with guest rooms on both sides, surrounding a small courtyard out back which contained a few scattered chairs and an open fire pit that looked out on the main slope of the adjacent mountain. The help-desk was to the right of the lobby, directly across from a large bar adorned with mounted wild-life and rugged, wooden trim that solidified the warm lodge feeling.
A few years my senior, Sammi seemed very seasoned in the lingo of snow skiing and resort life, something I knew absolutely nothing about. I tried my best to retain everything she was telling me, even writing information on my notepad at times, but every time she looked my way, I was lost in her dark-green eyes.
Thankfully, the manager entered the lobby and saved me from the Sammi-trance I found myself stuck in.
“How’s it going?” He asked as we walked down the centered stairwell into the lobby to meet him. “You must be the eager-beaver looking for work on the S & R crew. Welcome aboard.”
He stepped toward us and extended his hand. He was older than Sammi, in his early forties at least, but had a much younger atmosphere about him. He had long, light-brown hair wrapped behind his ears, and wind-burnt cheeks suggesting he spent most of his time out on the mountains.
I shook his hand and replied, “Yes sir, I’m Robert. But people call me Bert.”
“Nice to meet you, Bert.” He stated as he motioned for me to follow him towards a door that read ‘Staff Only’ and continued with his spiel, “My name’s Tom and I try my best to keep things flowing smoothly around here. I see Sammi gave you the grand tour of the hotel, so I’ll take you back here to the staff quarters and then we’ll check out the rest of the slopes and designated zones.”
We walked through the kitchen and down a hallway until we reached the adjacent structure which read ‘Staff Housing- Men’ on the door. The building was separated into a handful of rooms, each containing two beds, and connected at the rear to a single bathroom with two stalls for toilets and one shower.
Tom explained the details for the living quarters, “Guys go in here, and there’ll probably be about five or six of you staying for sure. A couple of dudes live in town and commute out here during the day, but might need a place to crash some nights in peak season so we’ve got some folding cots to throw in if needed.”
“Where do the girls stay?” I asked, trying to hide my eagerness for more time with Sammi.
“We’ve converted a few guest rooms on the other side of the hotel for the female staff. This extra building is the furthest I can get you greenhorns away from everyone else, so please for the love of God behave yourself…especially around the guests,” He said with a stern tone, but as he cracked a slight smile, I could tell there was fun to be had on the grounds.
We continued out to the ski lift behind the hotel, at the base of the main slope. The property covered nearly three surrounding peaks, but most of the designated routes and lifts were contained to this first mountain. Tom said the Natives that used to inhabit the area called it Pauwau, which he couldn’t directly translate, but claimed it meant, “Lonely bear or something.”
After sorting through the Search & Rescue storage shed, Tom provided me with a few essentials: a first aid bag, a short-range radio for communicating, and a bright-red winter jacket marked with a white first-aid cross on the back.
We trekked back to the hotel. I noticed Tom had picked up his tempo a bit.
“After you get your belongings all sorted, I’ll have Chad or Jonny make sure you get all the rest of the info for the job requirements and what’s expected from the staff,” He spoke swiftly as we re-entered the lobby. “Those guys should be up here in a few hours to get settled in before the storm. Not sure if you heard, but sounds like Mother Nature’s gonna give us an early dose of suckage. They’re calling for a massive blizzard to hit in a few days.”
“No, I haven’t heard.” I responded, “I wasn’t really prepared for that. I had no idea blizzards happened this early in the year.”
“They don’t.” He stated abruptly, “I don’t think there’s been a bad storm this early in about 50 years. Guess we were due for it.”
With that foreboding statement, he ended our conversation and continued with his plans for the day. I made my way back to my dad’s old Chevette and grabbed my bags. As I turned back to the hotel, I caught a glimpse of dark clouds on the horizon.
In the moment, I only saw beauty as the grey, low-rolling clouds contrasted against the mountain peaks. Never could I imagine the absolute horror this storm would soon inflict as we became isolated, fighting for our lives.
As I unloaded the final boxes from the resort’s work truck, I took a moment to look at the snow accumulating in the front lot of the hotel. It had been three days since I started working at the Big Valley Ski and Sky, and so far, we had been moving effortlessly in an attempt to stock the place before a massive blizzard hit.
I was teamed up with my fellow Search and Rescue colleagues, Chad and Jonny, who were trying their best to provide me with an orientation during the prepping-frenzy.
“Immobilization is key with the serious injuries.” I remember Jonny telling me as we picked up our last supplies in town that day, “Get the hurt skier strapped tightly into the toboggan and haul ass down to the shed.”
The shed he referred to was our Search and Rescue cabin tucked near the woods, about a hundred yards up the main slope from the hotel. Inside we had first aid equipment, a wood stove, and a CB radio to contact emergency services in town.
“Don’t worry, dude,” Chad chimed in. “We mostly get beginners twisting their knee, then looking for some free coffee and a lie down. But if any of them are major-hot babes, then I suggest some alone time by the fire with a possible foot rub to ease their pain.”
He laughed and motioned for me to squeeze in the middle seat of the truck, as he used the passenger door mirror to check his near-perfect, sculpted hair.
As Jonny hopped into the driver’s seat, he followed up on Chad’s remarks, “Listening to this dweeb is a sure-fire way of getting slapped by a guest, and probably fired. Watch what he does…and do the exact opposite.”
I hadn’t quite found my way of mingling in with their constant quips, but I enjoyed the distraction they provided as my first experience with a snow storm loomed ahead. We drove away from town and back up the mountain as the road began to turn white from the light snowfall.
Back at the hotel, I sat the last cardboard box down in the lounge. Chad was already behind the bar unloading several bottles of whiskey, while occasionally checking himself in the massive mirror along the wall.
“First things first,” he announced, turning to stack the bottles neatly against the mirror. “Blizzards are usually good for at least one thing…and that thing is drinking.”
“Won’t we be busy trying to fight the storm or something?” I asked genuinely.
“You’re planning to fight a blizzard?” He mocked, smirking at me with one eyebrow raised.
“Well, I don’t know. I just figured we might have to do…something,” I responded and began unloading bottles of wine from the box in front of me, sliding them down the counter towards him.
He stacked the wine and continued explaining, “Listen, we don’t have any animals to look after and we don’t have any guests yet. We’ll likely lose power, phone lines will go down, and I can only play Rummy so many times before I lose my mind. So we do the only sensible thing: we get close to the fireplace, we drink, and we wait.”
Honestly, that didn’t seem like a bad plan. It’d be nice to take a break after all of the early prep-work we had been doing in the days prior. Plus, this would finally give me a chance to catch back up with Sammi, the beautiful staff member who I’d met on my first day, but had only caught glimpses of since.
As if he was reading my mind, Chad added a final tidbit, “And hey…I’ve seen you checking out that blonde bombshell, but keep in mind, her and Naomi are the only female staff up here. That means all is fair in love and war, and I won’t let you stand in the way of any potential storm hook-ups.”
For the first time, I could tell he was mostly serious. Deep down I hoped Sammi wouldn’t really fall for his extraordinary level of sleazy, but then again, I really didn’t know anything about her.
Looking for any excuse to catch a break from Chad’s uninterrupted plans of debauchery, I hurried over to the resort manager, Tom, as he walked out the back door into the courtyard.
“Hey Tom,” I called out, hoping he could use an extra set of hands. “Just about finished up with everything in the lobby, need anything else doing?”
“Bert, just the guy I was looking for,” He spoke, turning his head slightly while walking briskly out past the courtyard. “I need you guys to run a box of supplies out to the widow’s cabin. Naomi is getting the box now and knows the trail that connects over to her property.”
I didn’t realize it at the time, but Chad had followed me out to the courtyard and spoke up from behind, “Wait, really? I didn’t think anyone ever went down there.”
“I don’t think anyone does, but we’ve got a few hours before the storm is supposed to get bad, so I figured we should at least do our good deed for the month.” Tom stopped and ushered us through the courtyard gate before turning and heading back into the hotel, “Plus, we should make sure that lady is still alive…you know, in case we need to report something down to town.”
“Shit, she’d better not be dead. I’m not in the mood for dead bodies today,” Chad mumbled as we waved down Naomi and began our trek through the woods.
Naomi was young, in her early twenties. She was Native American and I had been told her family was rooted in the surrounding area. She was extremely bubbly at times, always smiling and inquiring about someone’s day or what their interests were.
The snow had been falling lightly for the past hour or so, and it was the most peaceful moment I had witnessed since moving to the area. The trail was still visible, although the gradual accumulation of snow would’ve made it difficult for me to navigate on my own. The surrounding Aspen trees provided a slight break from the wind as the temperature began to drop, and the silence from the snow was only interrupted by our occasional conversation.
Naomi was wearing a button-up knit sweater but had left the top few buttons undone. I noticed an arrowhead bound by small strips of leather and attached to a necklace draping just above her breasts. The arrowhead was a unique shade of copper and slightly translucent, about 3 inches in length.
“Your necklace, it’s nice,” I remarked as we continued on our hike.
Naomi glanced down and held it between the fingers on her left hand, “Thanks! My grandmother gave it to me before she passed. It’s supposed to have special powers and ward off evil spirits or something.”
“It must do something special, I’ve never seen a rock look like that.” I confirmed. Curious about her past, I continued, “So, you’re probably the only staff member actually from here then, huh?”
She let go of the necklace and responded, “Well, my people lived on this mountain for a long time, but not anymore.”
“Oh, did the resort have anything to do with that?” I inquired, trying not to make light of the situation.
“Not really, it was long ago,” she replied. “They left as the area began to attract more and more settlers, but apparently it was their own decision to leave.”
“That’s rough,” Chad chimed in. “New neighbors are the worst.”
“Yeah especially when they curse the place!” She laughed.
“Cursed?” I asked, confused.
“Yeah..well supposedly that’s why they left. I was told the settlers came and then all of the sudden the mountain was surrounded by evil,” She explained. “That’s why some still call the mountain Pauwau.”
“Oh yeah, Tom mentioned that name before,” I said. “Means Lonely Bear, right?”
She let out a deep laugh, “Tom said what?! No, no, no…in our Blackfeet language it basically translates to a shaman, but for this place, they say it more like The Witch.”
“Well fuck me,” blurted Chad. “I’m glad you’ve got that magic necklace then!”
Naomi’s laughter slowly stopped as the conversation dwindled, shadowed in mystery.
“Yeah. Yeah I guess you’re right,” she said, clutching the arrowhead again.
We continued along the path for a few more minutes, then arrived at a small cabin at the edge of a steep slope. The cabin was essentially the dead-end of the mountain road, which had been paved up to the resort, but was only loose gravel this far. It seemed much older than I expected. The foundation was comprised of random stones entirely covered in moss. The logged walls were shifted in some areas of the structure, which seemed ready to slide off the mountain at any moment.
There was no vehicle around, and no smoke coming from the chimney, but still we decided to check for signs of life. Chad went straight for the front door.
“Hello?!” He shouted, while knocking several times, “Anybody home? There’s a storm coming, we brought some gifts…”
I followed Naomi around the side of the cabin, where we found a door slightly ajar. Without hesitation, Naomi strolled through and began looking around. I motioned for Chad to join us and followed her inside.
“Hellloooo?” Naomi called out in a low voice.
“Clearly she’s not here, guys,” Chad moaned. “Let’s leave the box and get back to the hotel. I’ve got a bottle of muddy water with my name on it.”
“Alright,” Naomi sighed. “Just check around to make sure, then we’ll head back.”
Naomi found a clear space by the sink to set down the box of supplies. She pulled out a carton of eggs and wrapped deli meat from the box, then placed them in the refrigerator.
“Maybe she’s down in town,” She called out. “The fridge is about empty, she’s probably getting groceries anyways.”
“Either that or she just doesn’t eat regular food,” Chad speculated, shrugging his shoulders.
He walked over to a bookcase in the main living area, while I examined photographs on the wall. They were all black and white, and most seemed to be old family portraits with no smiles, likely early settlers to the area. Given the age and primitiveness of the photos, I gathered this widow must be very elderly now.
In the center of the wall was a photo of the cabin, nearly buried in snow, with two young women sitting on the front two steps. The cabin seemed newly built in the photo, no structural issues or moss on the foundation. Both women were bundled from the cold, but seemed happy and smiling. One woman had light hair, while the other had a darker color and braced herself with a hand-woven, straw broom. In the lower right corner of the photo there seemed to be a date, but all I could make out was a ‘1937’.
With my face nearly an inch from the photo, I was quickly startled by Chad shouting, “Ho-ly shit!”
I stepped back and looked over to his side of the room, where he stood clutching something in his hands.
“Dude, this is one of ours,” he remarked, now holding out the item for me to see. “It’s a personalized multi-tool from the resort. The old school Search and Rescue guys must’ve been issued this.”
He handed it to me. It looked to me like an old Swiss Army Knife, which held two types of sharp folding blades, an assortment of screw driver bits and a corkscrew. Engraved on the side read: Pauwau Ski Resort Search and Rescue.
Naomi walked over to see the knife, then told Chad, “Cool. Now put it back and let’s go.”
“What?” Chad questioned, “This is one of ours. She probably just found it up here, now I’ve re-found it and am taking it back to hotel.”
“No, you are not,” Naomi demanded. “Put it back, damnit!”
“Whatever,” Chad shrugged and turned back to the bookshelf. “You’re right, let’s get the hell out of here.”
Chad was the first out of the opened side door as Naomi followed. I pulled the door shut on my way out and turned the corner. While crossing the gravel road towards the trail, the hair on the back of my neck stood up as a ragged voice softly murmured behind me.
We couldn’t make out the words, but all three of us stopped in our tracks and sharply glanced back towards the cabin. On the front stairs stood a short, elderly woman with bright white hair in a heavy coat. She was hunkered over with poor posture, but braced herself with an old broom and slowly swept Chad’s mud tracks from the steps.
She looked up with a half-smile and sniveled, “Storm’s coming, eh?”
She stood still and continued to stare as if she was looking straight through me to the others. Then she swiftly scurried the broom across the steps again, but never looked away.
“Yes…yes ma’am,” I stammered. “There’s a bad storm heading this way. We brought some food and things for you just….just in case.”
She finally broke eye contact and glanced up at the sky.
“Oh yes,” she confirmed in her frail voice, then lowered her gaze back down to us. “Storm’s coming. You should hunker down.”
She stopped sweeping and stared again with a wider grin. Her mouth was open slightly, displaying what few, rotten teeth she had left. The stare lasted a few seconds, but to us it seemed like eternity.
Without hesitation, we turned and began swiftly walking away down the path. None of us said a word as we dashed back to the hotel, but I noticed something that didn’t need words to speak for it. For the entire snow-filled hike, Naomi desperately clutched her necklace, not once letting go.
It was just past 4 p.m. when Naomi, Chad, and myself made our way back to the hotel. The snow storm’s intensity had picked up and I was glad to be far away from the widow’s cabin. I assumed from the silence that Naomi and Chad were thinking the same.
As we stomped the snow from our boots and removed our coats, Tom, the resort manager, called out for us from the other side of the large lobby area. He was crouched down by the stone fireplace near the edge of the hotel bar, stoking a freshly made fire.
“Was she home?” He asked.
No one spoke at first.
We glanced at each other and eventually I spoke up, “Yes sir. And we dropped off the box of supplies.”
I didn’t intend on leaving out the details of us snooping around the widow’s cabin, or how she seemed to appear out of nowhere as we were leaving. But I was still struggling to comprehend the strange encounter with her and how she even survives out there on her own.
“That’s good,” Tom replied. “Thanks for taking care of that.”
Tom seemed uninterested in further details anyway as he remained focused on the fire building.
We slowly crept our way into the bar and Naomi sat down in a leather chair near the fireplace. Chad went straight to the counter behind the bar and grabbed an unopened bottle of whiskey.
As he stripped the wrapper and removed the cork, he held up the bottle towards us.
“Cheers, guys,” He uttered. “To the first blizzard party of the ’87/ ’88 snow season.”
He took a large swig from the bottle and slouched down on the couch opposite of Naomi’s chair. I stood around for a moment, still unfamiliar with the staff customs as I was only three days in on the job.
Thankfully, Tom took a break from adding wood to the fire and walked over towards me.
“How about a drink?” He asked.
“Yes, sir,” I said without hesitation.
Tom stole the bottle from Chad as he walked towards the bar, then grabbed four glasses from the counter. He filled each glass halfway then handed them to each of us, keeping one for himself.
“How about a better toast?” He requested. “To the first blizzard of the season, but also to Bert looking forward to his first year with us. Cheers, everyone.”
We raised our glasses in each other’s direction. Tom’s glass and mine made slight contact, then we drank. For the first time in the past three days, I felt as though I was allowed to relax. I sat on the couch with Chad as Tom went back to the fireplace. We sat in silence for a few minutes until we heard creaking from the main stairway to our left.
It was Sammi.
She was strolling down the steps, running her fingers through her freshly washed, damp hair. Wearing a loosely-flowing, black gown with sleeves running halfway down her arms, she held up one side of the dress to keep from tripping as she walked towards us. I tried my best not to stare as she sat directly across from me in the chair beside Naomi.
Tom strolled back to the counter and poured another glass for her. As he handed off the drink, he turned to us.
“I’m heading to the shed to check in on Jonny. I’ll see if he wants to join us for a drink,” he informed and walked towards the back of the room.
He grabbed his jacket and headed out the back door, making the 200 yard trek to the Search and Rescue shed near the main ski slope.
My focus immediately went back to Sammi, with her long, blonde hair and dark-green eyes. I tried hiding my urge to stare by occasionally glancing around the lobby, examining the mounted animals along the walls. It must have been fairly obvious as she quickly addressed my interest in the décor.
“That one’s my favorite,” she stated, nodding towards the ram’s head above the fireplace.
I hadn’t noticed before, but now it somehow stood out amongst the others. The ram’s horns formed a full 360 degree curl alongside its face and snout, which seemed to be angled down with a menacing glare. I felt an uneasy tension from the mounted animal’s presence and looked back to Sammi, as she peered at me with a half grin and focused eyes.
We locked sight for what seemed like an eternity, but were eventually distracted by the flash of headlights through the front windows.
It was nearly dark now, but there was enough light to see the tan, diesel-powered Mercedes slide into place out front. Chad and I walked over to the lobby door to investigate and watched as a young woman grabbed a suitcase from the trunk and stomped through the snow towards us.
She seemed quite affluent, dressed in fur-lined boots and a high-quality, turquoise jacket with a matching wool-knit cap. Even in the low light I could see her piercing blue eyes and blonde hair.
“Nice,” Chad whispered as he winked at me. “Another blonde.”
“That’s enough, Chad,” Sammi scolded from behind us. “Why don’t you help her with her luggage. I’ll get her checked in.”
Sammi glided over to the Guest Services counter in the lobby as Chad rushed down to help the young woman with her suitcase.
“Thank you so much,” She expressed, quickly handing over her bag. “You’re such a gentleman.”
“Oh it’s nothing.” He lead on, “Pretty girls should never carry their own luggage.”
They stomped the snow from their boots and walked inside as I held open the door. Chad continued sparking up a conversation.
“What on Earth brings you out here in this storm?” He inquired, setting her bag down by the stairs.
“I’m supposed to be meeting my sisters here, but I decided to get an early start,” she explained. “I thought I’d try to get ahead of the storm and all.”
“I’m surprised you even made it up the mountain,” Chad expressed, as he rubbed her arm for warmth. “It’s nearly white-out conditions out there, Miss….”
“Edith, my name’s Edith.” She responded as she batted her eyes at him.
Just as quickly as Chad’s flirting seemed to progress, the lights in the lobby flickered and went out. The main area was now dark, with the only light coming from the fireplace. The light bounced around the room, casting moving shadows of furniture along the walls.
As we moved back towards the fireplace, I noticed Naomi had never got up with us. She remained sunk into the seat cushion, pressed against the back of the chair with her hand firmly gripping the arrowhead necklace on her chest. She had been silent since we left the widow’s cabin, and now appeared on high alert.
In the moment, I assumed it was due to the power outage, or perhaps the unexpected guest interrupting our staff drinking session.
I didn’t have time to give it much thought, as Sammi tugged on my sleeve and asked me to help her find some candles. I quickly obliged and left with her as Chad grabbed several bottles of Schlitz and herded Edith over to the fireplace.
“You deserve a warm and relaxing evening before your sisters get here,” he said as he scooted the couch closer to the fire. They snuggled close as Naomi remained focused in her chair, while me and Sammi headed towards the back of the hotel.
With a small flashlight in my hand, we worked our way down the long corridor past the kitchen and entered the storage room. Sammi grabbed my hand and guided me towards a shelf along the back wall. We pulled several boxes out and combed through them.
I filtered through a box with tools, a few small candles, and kitchen utensils. I stacked the candles over to the side and moved on to the next box.
The box contained folders with random paperwork. I passed through a few files with guest lists, inventory sheets, and insurance documentation. The last folder tucked in the box was slim, which at first I thought was empty. Upon second glance, I noticed a single newspaper clipping from 1937. I pulled the paper out and shined my flashlight across the headline: Multiple Staff Missing, Several Dead, at Local Ski Resort.
“Sammi, check this out,” I said and motioned her over with my flashlight. “Looks like something bad happened here.”
I skimmed through the article and handed it over to Sammi.
“Apparently there was a bad storm that night and they never found some of the staff,” I explained, paraphrasing the article. “And the rest they found mutilated out in the snow, likely by wolves.”
As terrible and foreboding as the article should have seemed at the time, I was still entranced by Sammi’s presence and the fact that she asked me to come back here with her. She took a look at the newspaper clipping and placed it back in the box, almost shrugging off the severity of the story.
“Yeah, must’ve been wolves,” she dismissed and opened another box.
“Bingo!” She exclaimed.
She pulled out a few large candles and two Coleman lanterns, which felt as if they still had fuel in them. The mantles were burned out, but we found several spares further in the box and replaced them. I gave the primer several pumps and slowly opened the fuel valve. With a book of matches also found in the box, I struck one to light both lanterns, then the candles.
As I adjusted both of the lanterns’ fuel valves and let them hiss away, I caught Sammi staring at me. Assuming this might be my only chance alone with her for a while, I leaned in for a kiss.
She backed away and pushed her hand out to stop me.
‘Nice one, dumbass,’ I thought to myself.
“Listen,” She said, “You’re sweet…but we can’t get close.”
“It’s ok,” I tried to recover. “I know this is probably just a fling. We don’t have to take it serious.”
“No, it’s not that.” She continued, “Things are about to get hectic around here and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
I felt deflated and passed off as too young, but mostly embarrassed.
“It’s fine,” I replied and walked out of the storage room with a lantern in each hand. “I can handle a little on-the-job-hook-up, but I guess I’ll just go back to being the new kid.”
“You don’t understand,” She called out, following me out of the room. “There’s something you should know…”
Before she could continue, I saw two shadows stumbling down the hall. I held the lanterns out and saw Chad with our new guest, Edith, walking towards us. We met in the middle of the corridor and I handed off one of the lanterns to them.
“We’re uh…we need to get something out of the bunkhouse,” Chad slurred.
I was stunned at how quickly he was able to convince her to head back to the staff quarters, but didn’t care too much as I was mainly focused on getting back out to the lobby. The open bar seemed very appealing now.
I exited the long corridor into the lobby and saw Naomi was now seated on the couch, staring towards the front door at the opposite side of the room. I felt a cold draft coming from that direction and assumed we may have left the door open.
I walked over to the front of the dark room, lantern held out and guiding my way, when I saw a figure in front of the open door.
It was the widow.
She was stood still, staring back at Naomi with a half-smile. I stepped around her and pushed the door closed against the howling wind and snow. As I turned back with my lantern, I noticed she was slouched to her right side, firmly holding her straw broom upside down as if it were her walking cane. She was in a rough state, hair unkempt and bare footed.
“Ma’am,” I quickly stepped towards her. “You must be freezing! Get in here by the fire.”
She pushed her broom in between us as I approached. I came to a quick halt and began to take a step back.
“You,” She grunted. “You have something that belongs to me.”
“I…I don’t know what you mean,” I stammered, confused.
“You stole from me,” She accused, looking straight through me.
I looked back at Naomi. She remained pressed against the couch, gripping the arrowhead around her neck so hard that her hand was bleeding.
‘The Knife,’ I thought to myself. ‘The fucking knife. Chad must’ve kept it.’
I tried reassuring her, “Listen, I’ll be right back. I know what you’re after and I’m really sorry. Just stay right here.”
I turned and rushed down the corridor, hoping Chad had the knife and was willing to give it up. As I turned the final corner towards the male staff housing-quarters, I could hear George Michael’s Careless Whisper blaring in the room. I slowed down, trying to prepare myself for the scene I might be walking in on.
I stood still at the closed entrance, listening to laughter and running water among the music. I turned the handle, slowly opening the door. I could see straight to the end of the room, past the bunks, to the bathroom sink and mirror. Chad was standing there with a towel wrapped around his waist, fixing his prized-hair.
Before I could say anything, Edith came walking up on his right, naked and dripping wet from the shower. I panicked in the moment and didn’t want them to think I was spying, so I stood still and remained silent. As I planned how I was going to notify them of my presence, I watched as Chad grabbed a cotton swab from the counter and clean his left ear. Then he swapped hands and shifted to his right ear.
All of the sudden, Edith stepped behind him, reared her arm back and smashed her right hand into the side of his head, jamming the cotton swab deep into his ear canal.
Chad buckled over in pain and began screaming, while frantically pulling the cotton swab from his ear. Blood began to pour from the side of his head as he fell to the ground.
Just as I began to step forward to help, I watched as Edith’s head tilted back, her mouth opened to an inhuman-like size. Her jaw appeared dislocated and shifted several inches as she pounced on Chad’s panicking body, biting out large chunks of flesh from his head and neck.
She took a few short breaths and chuckled as Chad’s screams gargled to a silent moan, smiling over him with blood pouring from her mouth.
Finally, my legs regained life and swiftly backed me out of the room towards the long corridor. I couldn’t save Chad, and I needed to warn the others. But most importantly, I needed to protect Sammi.
The lantern swung violently in my hand as I lunged down the corridor of the hotel. With every few steps, I looked back over my shoulder, worried she had followed me out of the room. As the light bounced around the walls, the hall behind me was vacant for now.
She’d been in the hotel for less than two hours, but our recent guest, Edith, had just seduced my colleague and likely killed him in our bunkhouse. I was still trying to comprehend the scene I’d just witnessed.
I had a few drinks just before the incident, but was sober enough to know Edith wasn’t normal. Her jaw had contorted as she bit into Chad’s face and neck. I couldn’t make sense of it, it was surreal.
My main focus now was to get everyone else to safety. Unfortunately, this meant dealing with the mysterious widow in the lobby who had appeared in the middle of the raging blizzard outside.
I turned the final corner down the long corridor and could see light from the fireplace illuminating the lobby and bar area. The scene was almost the same as before. Sammi was standing by the bar and looked up as I came running in. Naomi was gripping the edge of the couch, eyes fixed on the widow, who was at the edge room. She stood almost in the shadows, leaning on her broom handle for support.
As I came to a stop, the widow called out in her feeble voice, “where is it?”
I took a moment to catch my breath, then began grabbing the candles and other supplies we had gathered for the power-outage.
“It’s gone,” I answered, referring to the knife Chad had stolen from her cabin earlier that afternoon, “and so is Chad.”
“What do you mean he’s gone?” Sammi asked, “What’s going on? What are you doing?!”
“I don’t have time to explain,” I stated. “We need to move up to the shed and get on the radio!”
“They’re monsters,” Naomi stated calmly.
I stopped my frantic gathering and watched her. With one hand grasping the arrowhead pendant around her neck, she remained focused on the widow.
“She’s evil. They both are.” She continued, “This is the evil that drove my people out. They’re here for blood.”
There was a silence in the room as shadows bounced from the fire’s flames. The stare-down between Naomi and the widow progressed. The widow’s head was now tilted slightly askew, she bore a devilishly-open grin. A few black teeth were visible behind the saliva gathered at the edge of her mouth.
“We have to get out of the hotel!” I shouted, “Naomi’s right, something bad is happening and we need to get up to Tom & Jonny before it’s too late.”
I threw the supplies into an empty box by the bar and handed the lantern to Sammi. I had no idea what Naomi was feeling in the moment, but at least we were on the same page.
The power was out and phone lines were down. I knew our only hope was the radio in the Search and Rescue shed, where Tom and Jonny had been this whole time, unaware of our situation down in the hotel.
The room was silent and still. Nobody moved.
I watched the widow. She seemed so frail, it didn’t make sense how she showed up to the hotel in the middle of the blizzard on her own. Even with the broom she held as a walking stick. The same hand-woven broom she used to wipe our muddy boot tracks from her steps earlier in the day. The same broom she held in her earlier years, posed beside another young woman in the photo I saw hanging in her cabin.
Then it hit me, ‘The photo.’ I now realized who the other young woman was.
It was Edith.
Before I could find the words to say, Sammi spoke up, “You guys are crazy. There’s nothing evil going on. We just need to help this old widow find what she’s looking for and then we’ll go call for help.”
“Is that what you think of me?” The widow interjected, her voice croaked weakly.
She began to step forward and directed her stare towards Sammi. Naomi stood and braced herself against the couch, seeming ready to pounce across the 20 foot space that stood between them.
“I’m not just some old widow.” The old woman stopped, and her head straightened.
Her chest puffed out as she took a large breath and stiffened her shoulders.
With a deep, guttural roar, she shouted, “I’M A FUCKING WITCH!”
With her mouth wide open, she lunged towards us. I dropped the box of supplies and rushed to grab Sammi out of the way. As the widow came within a few feet of us, Naomi rushed in from the left side and smashed her to the ground.
In a quick motion, Naomi ripped the arrowhead from her necklace and plunged it toward the widow’s head. The powerful blow stabbed the arrowhead through the front of her skull.
She pulled it out and hammered back for a second swing. She smashed it down again, where it entered through the widow’s eye.
As soon as the second strike landed, the widow let out a deafening shriek. Naomi tried scrambling to her feet, but was too slow. The widow’s torso bent upwards and erupted in an explosion of bright light, emitting a powerful shockwave that knocked us all back.
The room went dark as the widow’s scream echoed out. The fire had been extinguished and the windows were all shattered. I struggled to my feet and picked up Sammi. I fumbled around inside the box of supplies, grabbing a book of matches and a candle. I lit the candle, then the lantern.
I moved the flickering light about and searched for Naomi. She was no longer among us or near the furniture by the fireplace. I stepped behind the bar and found her lying unconscious among piles of shattered glass, arrowhead still clinched in her hand.
“Sammi,” I called out. “Go up to the shed and have Tom radio for help. I’ll get Naomi fixed up and we’ll be right behind you.”
Sammi took the lantern and ran out the back door of the lobby.
I rushed over to the fireplace, trying to find anything I could use to carry Naomi out of the hotel with. I settled on the coffee table that had been forced on its side from the previous explosion. The table was missing two back legs, so I placed the widow’s broom handle behind the remaining front legs and brought it over to the bar.
Using a thick blanket that had been draped over the couch, I wrapped up Naomi, set her on the makeshift stretcher and began the hike up to the shed.
By now, there was over two feet of snow on the ground and the storm was still pounding. I pulled against the broom handle, dragging the table and Naomi along the steep incline of the ski slope. The Search and Rescue shed was only 200 yards uphill from the back of the hotel, but it took every ounce of energy to pull us through the piercing wind and snow.
As we neared, I could see light through the windows and open door.
The ground finally leveled out ten feet from the shed, so I brought the stretcher to a halt. I could see shadows moving around inside. I reached down and grabbed the arrowhead from Naomi just in case.
I came within a few feet of the shed as a shadow neared the entrance. In one swift step, a figure appeared in the doorway. It was Edith.
The light behind her shone brightly through her hair, which was now matted and dark red with blood. She turned just enough for me to catch a glimpse of her face. Her eyes were foggy and glazed over, as fresh blood dripped from her mouth and cheeks.
“Look at what we have here,” she laughed. “You’ve brought me another meal.”
I was frozen with fear and shock. I figured if she had made her way up here to kill Tom and Jonny already, she must’ve killed Sammi as well.
Suddenly, the fear and shock turned to anger. Overwhelmed with rage, I swung my arm back, arrowhead in hand. As I lurched forward to attack, Sammi jumped into the doorway and pushed Edith aside.
“Stop!” Sammi screamed.
I pulled back, relieved that she was ok. Then unexpectedly, Sammi grabbed my head and smashed it into the side of the shed. Her grip felt as strong as ten men. I was stunned and fell to my knees in the snow.
Sammi looked down at the ground, blood covered her face and hands.
“You have to get away from her, Sammi!” I spat, trying to regain my bearings, “I saw her and the widow in a photo together at widow’s cabin earlier. Naomi was right, they’re evil!”
“Bert, I tried to tell you, but you wouldn’t listen,” Sammi responded with guilt in her voice.
“I don’t understand,” I replied. “Tell me what’s happening!”
“Who do you think took the photo?” She answered.
Edith’s laughter returned, “Oh, dear sister, you always did have a soft spot for the boys up here.”
“Let it go, Edith,” She scolded. “We’ve had enough for this feeding. It’s time to leave.”
“Oh fine,” Edith said. “Where’s Agnes?”
“She killed her,” Sammi answered, pointing to Naomi on the stretcher. “But no need for revenge, she won’t last much longer.”
Sammi and Edith walked out of the shed, grabbed the widow’s broom and walked towards the trees.
The snow around me was melting from the blood dripping out of the open wound on my head. I was dazed, trying to wrap my brain around the chaos that had just taken place. I was now being left alone with four dead friends and colleagues as I sat exposed in a horrendous blizzard.
I crawled inside the shed to call for help. Just as I pulled myself up to the radio, a hand on my shoulder spun me around. Sammi had come back and leaned down in my face.
“No one will believe the truth that took place,” She said. “They never do. Blame it on the wolves.”
She leaned in, kissed me, then turned and walked away.
“I’m sorry we met at a bad time,” she called out, “maybe I’ll see you next time around.”
Then she was gone.
I never forgot the horror of that night, and I never will. My naiveté brought me into the situation, and it may have saved my life.
Over the years, the guilt has remained heavy on my shoulders, and those souls lost must be avenged. I will be ready when they feed again.
Now, as I sit here alone in the cabin at the end of the mountain road, Naomi’s necklace gets heavier every day. The storm is coming.
