Hey, Nick, can I have some of the popsicles? Please? As
she yelled out to me while I was laying on the couch with an ice
pack resting on my chest. It was a hot, humid day in the
middle of the rural outskirts of upstate New York on a Friday afternoon. My
younger brother and I had just gotten home from school, board as hell while
we boiled alive indoors and outdoors. No, we have to wait until Wednesday.
But it's my birthday, so I should be able to have one,
Asher said, in an annoying, entitled tone. Not your birthday till Wednesday,
dude, Plus mom and dad said. I was annoyed, uncomfortable,
sweating, and felt like a husk. I was fourteen, while my younger
brother was turning eleven. We were home alone until Sunday morning while our parents
were out on a business trip. Asher closed the freezer door after peeking inside,
and lazily walked over to the couch, where he fell over and landed
on top of me. Do what the hell get off me? I yelled
out. I'm bored. He groaned, Yeah, okay, I literally don't
care, I said. I shoved him off the couch and he got up,
looking out on to the porch. Can we go look for snakes outside?
He asked, you can. I'm tired. I closed my eyes,
wanting to take a nap. You're always tired, he said, as he
walked over to the glass sliding door. I watched him look out the window,
feeling too weak to move. It was so hot it felt like I
was melting into the couch. Mom and Dad had all this time to go
on dinners, trips, and visits, yet they didn't have time to get
someone to fix the hair conditioning. A knock from the front door echoed through
the house, catching Ash's attention. He stood up and went to answer it.
Don't answer it, I said, in a weak, monotone voice.
Why cause it could be a serial killer waiting to make you his next victim.
Shut up, Nick, you're not funny. The knock then evolved into
multiple fists pounding at the door. It's just the FBI. Open up,
you're all under arrest. Jacob's muffled voice yelled from the other side of the
door. Okay, open it, I said, annoyed. Asher raised to
open the door, letting Jacob and Trevor inside. They were the two closest
friends we had, both of them in the same class as me. They
raised inside, and the disgusting odor of hot sweat permeated off of them.
Nick, you'll never guess what we found in the woods, Trevor excitedly yelled
out, We found an abandoned treehouse. Jacob followed up. Trevor help her.
Jacob and they both looked at me, ready to run back outside.
My interest was piqued as I sat up on the couch where at I curiously
asked. It's further past the quarry, Jacob said, trying to catch his
breath, like a fifteen minute walk past it. I want to go,
please, Nick, let's go check it out. As she yelled out,
I sighed, getting up off the couch. I looked at the time as
though I had something important coming up. At three sixteen pm, the three
were staring at me excitedly waiting for an answer. Yeah, all right,
I guess, I said, shrugging my shoulders. Yes. Trevor yelled out,
all right, let's go quick. Trevor ran out of the house,
followed by Jacob and Asher. I jugged towards them and exited the house.
They all hot on their bikes that were hastily thrown on the messy, toy
covered lawn. Mom and Dad had told us that we needed to clean the
front and backyard, but our logic was to wait until the last second before
touching anything. We were two geniuses competing with Tesla's IQ. Our house was
completely surrounded by miles of woods and a small quiet road. The nearest neighbor
was a mile and a half away, so if anything were to happen at
home, then we were on our own. I honestly don't know what our
parents are thinking during that point of time. Always going out, We drove
about a mile and a quarter down the road on our bikes, the wind
feeling amazing against my sweaty face. Afterward, we drove onto a trail off
to the side of the road and continued through the forest. The sun was
beaming through the trees, most of which were just barely grown back the leaves.
When we finally got to the quarry, Jacob and Trevor slowed down and
got off of their bikes. Asher and I shot each other confused glances.
Why are we stopping, I questioned them. The treehouse isn't on the trail,
Jacob said, panting, as though he had been running the whole way
here. How the hell did you guys even find it? I asked.
We were looking for a new spot to catch water snakes. Trevor yelled out
as he dropped his bike and quickly walked towards the thick forest. Asher and
Jacob, along with myself, quickly followed behind, all eager to see this
treehouse. Trevor, Jacob and I had always dreamed about having a treehouse or
something of that matter to hang out in and have sleepovers inside, like headquarters
for our group. Since this was out in the middle of absolutely nowhere,
it would most likely need some touch ups, which we could easily do over
time. Ah, I'm tired, Asher whined. Quit being such a baby,
I said, not wanting to deal with this crap. You know it's
going to be a long walk, I know, but still, can we
stop for a second, Asher said, trying to sit down. No,
we're literally like five minutes away, Trevor said, not turning to look towards
Asher. We continued on, Asher continuing to whind the entire way. He'd
always been whiny and entitled, but I still felt bad for him since he
didn't really have a lot of friends because of it. But unfortunately that's what
happens when mommy and Daddy don't know how to say no. I'd be lying
if I said I wasn't excited out on my mind to see the tree house,
though, but I wanted to look cool and keep calm on the outside.
After about twenty minutes in total of traveling through the forest, leaves crunching
under every step, birds singing and chirping, accompanied by the noises of a
pratty little brother, we finally arrived a very tall, skinny oak tree sat
in a small clearing about fifty feet away from any trees. It was a
strange sight, but it made sense why whoever built the tree house chose that
particular tree. The tree house itself was decent sized, provided enough room for
about five kids our age to sit comfortably inside. It wrapped around the tree
about thirty feet in the air, and a singular ladder led inside. It
seemed as though it had been there for so long that the trees added more
around the edges of it like it was clay. The treehouse was in amazing
shape, a little dusty, but no rot overgrowth, nothing at all.
Dude, this is amazing, I blurted out, Have you guys gone inside
yet? Nah, Drevor said, shaking his head. We wanted to get
you guys first. He looked over at us with an excited grin. It
was an amazing sight, for sure. The wood of the treehouse was a
light color, almost a whitish yellow. Fine details were all over the outside
of the walls and windows painted red and dark brown. This was the kind
of treehouse that was made by a father who had a passion for craftsmanship,
made specifically for his young children to make wonderful memories inside. Yet for some
odd reason, it was out there, almost three miles deep in the woods.
We didn't question it, though I wish we would have. But we
were young, stupid, and naive. At least that's what I keep telling
myself. I went up next to the ladder and rested my hand under the
tree. However, I instantly pulled it back. The bark of the tree
fell off. In fact, it didn't feel like tree bark at all.
It was somewhat warm, with a soft, newbug leathery feel. I slowly
went to feel again it was definitely not bark. I couldn't even keep my
hand on it for longer than two seconds without feeling disgusted. I honestly thought
the tree was rotten, which made me hesitant to climb up the ladder.
I didn't say anything, as did not spoil the mood, so I stood
back to look back up at the treehouse again. Trevor, Jacob, and
Asher plabbed about their ideas of what they could do with the treehouse. Treffor
and Jacob always tried to include Asher and stuff, which was nice, but
I still always felt annoyed with his presence most of the time. Jacob asked
who should go up first. Trevor and Ash both instantly said they would,
so they did rock paper scissors to settle and who would be the lucky number
one? Trevor one, making Asher a bit upset. Trevor smiled and told
him that its best he goes at first, just to make sure it's safe.
Asher surprisingly shut up, finally understanding the concerns from someone else's viewpoint other
than his own. I was a bit annoyed since he never listened to me,
but whatever. Drefford started to make his way up the tall, skinny
ladder, all of us waiting in anticipate patient for what he would see up
there. The subtle wind caused the trees to sway in a strange way,
like he was doing his best to blend in with the other trees around it,
but didn't know how. That's the best way I can describe it.
When he finally reached the top, he didn't say anything. At first.
We couldn't see him as he had entered the treehouse. What's it look like
up there, Jacob yelled out. It's pretty empty, only a couple of
cobwebs. Trevor yelled back. Asha then started climbing up the ladder eagerly.
I stopped him, and he looked back at me with an annoyed expression.
What he whined. I was about to say something, but I tripped over
my tongue and couldn't remember what I was going to say. Just let him
go, bro, Jacob said, with a face of pity. I motioned
for him to go, and he continued up the ladder. In that moment,
a strange gut feeling washed over me, like a primitive instinct was kicking
in. I didn't say anything, but I felt sick to my stomach.
I didn't want my brother going up there, but What was I going to
say, you can't go up there? Because I said so? Yeah.
Right after Asher got up there, him and Trevor called out to us to
join them. Jacob started climbing up the ladder next, and I was debating
if I should follow. After my turn came and I began to slowly make
my way up the ladder. I felt much higher than what it seemed from
the ground. The soft wind blowing against my face, the sound of the
branches swaying and brushing up against each other echoed through the trees, almost sounding
like a deep groan of a sleeping giant. When I finally reached the top,
I rested on the floor of the tree house, looking around at the
interior. The tree was in the center of the room, with what looked
to be faint vomits sanes covering the wooden floor. It even kind of smelled
like vomit. Jacob pointed out the smell and said they could bring some air
freshness when they came back with some decor. The feeling in my stomach got
worse looking out the windows, seeing the seemingly infinite void of trees around us,
instead of the nice, cozy backyard of a small home made me feel
uneasy. Something was off and it was eating me alive, my excitement slowly
diminishing. Meanwhile, the others were still geeking out over the place. So
what shall we name this place? Jacob asked, The cool Kid's club with
three k's Trevor giggled. As they went back and forth. I noticed something
on the tree itself, a strange mark, just about three feet wide.
It was like a seam in the bark, curved inwards into itself, very
similar to two flaps of fat. I've seen some pretty strange tree formations,
so I brushed it off. I tried keeping cool, but this pit of
my stomach was forming into a black hole. So I made up an excuse
for us to leave. Why don't we go back to our place and get
some stuff to bring back here, I said, having no intentions of returning.
We can bring snacks, Yeah, all right, Trevor said. We
can also stop by my place to get my backpack to fit more stuff.
Asher was clearly upset. But I don't want to go, he whimpered.
We're literally going to come right back, Jacob sighed, So I can stay
here and wait for you guys, Asher argued, no, Mamma. Dad
told me to keep an eye on you at all times. I argued back,
Well, it's almost my birthday, he said, folding his arms.
After a little more pointless arguing, he begrudgingly agreed to come back down.
I was relieved to finally get out of there, but when we got to
the bottom, I saw Jacob look at Asher with a guilty expression. It's
not his fault. He felt bad for him, even though we were coming
right back to cheer him up. He handed Asher a small army knife he
got from boy Scouts and told him he could carve all our initials into the
tree at the top, so that way people would know it was ours.
Asher little with excitement, and his mood instantly shifted. Why don't I come
with you, I said quickly. I can do this by myself. I'm
not a baby, Asher said, annoyed with me. I wish I'd stopped
him. I wish I could have done more, something, anything more,
but I didn't. I watched as he eagerly made his way up the ladder,
carrying the knife and honor of marking our territory. Jacob and Trevor cheered
him on as I nervously watched. Hell yeah, Asher, Trevy yelled,
you caught this birthday boy. Jacob followed after. I didn't know why I
was nervous, but I just was like my guardian angel was screaming at me
to go and get him. Unfortunately, that would be the last time I
ever saw him again. The tree groaned with the wind. Something was definitely
off. Asher got to the top and went to carve the names, but
I lost sight of him. Yo is everything okay, man, Jeff asked
me. Yeah, yeah, I'm good, I replied back. My eyes
were dead focused on the treehouse, and I could feel Jacob and Trevor looking
at me for a few more moments before turning their gazes back to the treehouse.
I was imagining Asher struggling to even leave a mark in the tree with
his little noodle arms. Usually, I thought like that would make me laugh
internally, but I only felt sad, the type of sadness when you see
someone who hasn't had a good life or is struggling physically spill their drink everywhere,
or trip on a treadmill at the gym. As silly as that is,
I shook the thought off and looked back up at the treehouse. We
waited for a few minutes with no call outs from Asher. Do you need
help up there, Jacob called out. Jacob and Trevor chuckled, waiting for
a response. A few seconds went by, only to be greeted with nothing.
Asher. I called out, we were all waiting for a response,
but nothing came. I wanted to assume that he was dead focused on carving
those initials, but after we called out some more, we still got no
response. Asher, stop messing around, man, Trevor yelled out. I
then grabbed a hold of the ladder, making my way up, anticipating Asher
jumping out at me at the entrance. As I made my way up,
I could have sworn I saw movement underneath the bark, like there was something
trying to escape from it. It reminded me of when a snake swallows a
rat or something of that size, when you see that lump moving down its
throat. However, I saw it for about a second, so I assumed
that it was the tree swaying in the wind or something like that. I
got to the top and looked around but saw nothing Asher, I said aloud,
assuming he was behind the other side of the tree. I crawled inside,
and the now stronger smell of vomit and bile assaulted my nostrils, causing
me to tear up. I crawled all the way around, but he was
nowhere to be seen. My stomach dropped. Where could he have gone?
I looked at the floor and saw the army knife lying there in a puddle
of what looked like greasy yellow slime. I took a good look at it,
and then turned my attention towards the tree. The same mark I saw
before had slim dripped down from the tight crevice, with a new small mark
above it, looking like a little scab. The sight reminded me of the
close mouth of a toothless old person, saliva running down their lips. You
look like ashes started carving, but didn't finish. I just sat there,
trying to process what I was looking at. Jacob and Trevor were calling out
to me, but he didn't register with me. A thousand thoughts raced through
my head. I wanted to throw up. It was at that moment and
the screams of Jacob and Trevor yelling out for me to come down finally got
through to me. I nearly fell all the way down as I quickly hurried
down the ladder. As soon as I reached the bottom, I saw why
they were screaming for me. The tree was breathing. It wasn't the wind,
it wasn't an illusion. It was literally breathing, letting out a soft,
deep gurgled groan with every breath. I couldn't believe it. It felt
like a dream, but it was real, as real as you and me.
The tree house was alive, and it had made a meal of my
baby brother. The strange movement I saw when climbing up the tree was Ash's
silhouette trying to kick and escape from its throat as it swallowed him. The
thought made me shaken fear uncontrollably. I thought I would pass out driven Jacob
ran for it, but I sat there for a few more seconds, with
my thoughts racing. I could only imagine the fear Asher had been experiencing at
that moment, screaming out in terror, calling out for someone to save him,
his cries unable to be heard, not being able to escape his claustrophobic
fate, being digested alive with no one to help him. Knowing that Mom
and Dad didn't know where he was. He had gone up there, excited,
thinking that he was finally part of the friend group. Instead, he
had been eaten alive by a treehouse, or at least something pretending to be
a treehouse. The bark of the tree was squirming, like there was muscle
twitching and contracting underneath it. The branches started moving in an alien like way,
something I'm unable to describe further than that, the sounds of a deep,
monstrous, wet, gurgling noise echoed through the forest. As I followed
behind Jacob and Trevor. He made it back to the quarry, where we
hopped on our bikes and rode to the nearest police station, about five miles
away. What happened after that was a blur. I don't remember much,
but what I do remember is that we told the cops that my brother got
eaten by something through incoherent cries. We came back to the spot with the
police, but the treehouse was now gone, not without leaving a giant crater
in the ground. Although they were presented with a strange hole that didn't explain
why my brother was missing. We were taken to the police station for questioning.
We were separated into different rooms to explain ourselves. The police was stumped.
All three of us stories matched up perfectly with each other, so we
were either great at lying or we did in fact witnessed something supernatural. A
call to my parents explaining the situation, and they rushed over as fast as
they could. My mom and dad were heartbroken. They never believed my story,
though they rarely went on trips again, and if they did, they
brought me along. I'm pretty sure Mom and Dad think I did something to
him, and I don't blame them. Asher remains missing to this day.
I feel so stupid. It's my fault. I didn't stop him. I
want to blame Jacob for giving him that stupid army knife. But deep down,
I'm still drenched with the guilt of thinking that I could have prevented everything
all by not having him enter the door. Maybe then Jacob or Trevor would
be missing, perhaps both, but at least my brother would still He'll be
here. As selfish as that sounds. Seventeen years later, I have a
child of my own turning nine next week, and a beautiful wife. I
rarely speak to my parents, or any of my family for that matter.
These events still linger in the back of my mind like a parasite, something
I'll never be able to forget. I live about seven hours away from where
my childhood home was. Since my wife didn't feel comfortable leaving a hometown,
I've decided to write all of this down the best I could remember, because
when I got up this morning to complete my daily ritual of making my coffee
to stare out the backyard window, I saw something that took me back in
time. Far out in the true line, past the family of deer eating
the grass, stood something unnatural that did not belong there, the same treehouse
from all those years ago.