The Dweller

Chapter 5

Part 5 of a legend in a Wisconsin lake and a recently discovered body of a missing explorer from two hundred years before.

Only the hoots of owls or the occasional whippoorwill calling out now and then interrupted the silence in the muted old-growth forest. The sounds quickly vanished like the creatures hidden from our sight amid green foliage as we walked. Lisa appeared lost in her thoughts while I looked over the thick growth around us. For some strange reason, the feeling of being watched kept sending chills along my spine. As I attempted to forget the sensation, I noticed Lisa focusing in on the darkest places with the camera. Her monologue on the video told me she carried the same feeling.

When we reached the crest of a ridge, a dark building loomed in the distance. The imposing two-story structure displayed the look of a ski lodge with massive logs stacked up to a steeply pitched slate roof. We stopped for a moment so Lisa could get more video as we walked the vague trail. While she was recording and talking to her camera, I saw the windows were unbroken, which was strange for an abandoned building.

“You won’t see unbroken windows on something left to the elements back in our town,” I pointed out.

“Yeah, the state tries to keep it updated. Bob told me that no one stays around this area very long,” Lisa replied as she pointed the camera at me. “He wondered why the local kids didn’t come out here. I guess it’s too far from any town. Even when they tried to get hunters to stay overnight to help fund maintenance of the place, many of them refused. They complained about the noise.”

She noticed my incredulous expression.

“Hey, I’m just the messenger. I know it sounds nuts.” She shrugged.

After a few steps, Lisa shut off the camera and stopped.

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