“Congratulations! You have won the holiday getaway to Gatlinburg. You are allowed to bring two of your friends along with you. Please find the details of your accommodation and other info in the attachment enclosed,” read my email. I just couldn’t believe my eyes. I had won an exotic vacation to a log cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. And the best part- I was entitled to take two of my friends. I texted my friends, Jen and Alice, asking them to come immediately, and checked Google maps. It was around 350 miles away from Raleigh. Jen and Alice became jumpy once they came home. “When do we start?’ asked Jen. Her round eyes seemed to pop out and her fair skin was flushed with excitement. “Right now! The voucher is valid only for two weeks. We don’t have any exams scheduled for the next week. So we can have a relaxing vacation over the weekend,” I said. “Sure! Let’s go gals. I’ll get ready soon,” said Alice excitedly. Alice went inside and changed to a striped T-shirt and distressed jeggings. She tied her layered tresses into a high ponytail. Her oversized glasses hid her small face. “Chloe, you look like an angel in the mauve maxi dress. I envy you for your perfectly smooth skin, body, and hair,” said Alice. “Thank you,” I replied as I hurriedly packed my bag. It was almost noon by the time we got ready. We were all set. “I remembered to carry your diet shakes, Chloe. You missed them,” said Jen as she locked the door. “Thanks, Sweetie. You remember all trivial things but not your science formulae. Right dumbhead?” I chuckled. Jen frowned at me. We got into the car. Before heading to the highway we stopped at a convenience store to pick up some essentials. *** It had been almost three hours since we had left. Playing music in high volume, we drove, taking turns. I enjoyed the scenic drive. The mountains seemed to have crowned canopies displaying the myriad shades of autumn. Dark clouds were looming above and soon they broke out, pouring incessantly. “Turn off the music Chloe. Concentrate,” said Alice shivering with the sound of the thunder. “Stop being a freak. We are not caught in some kind of a hurricane,” said Jen. As I drove further down the road, I saw someone cross the road. It seemed like a young man from a distance. He just stopped midway. I honked at him so that he would give way. But he didn’t seem to budge. I then flicked the indicator lights a couple of times hoping to alert him. For a moment I was taken aback by what I saw. The man turned around giving me a cold stare. He had blood splattered on his shirt. And I could see that he was holding something. Wait...Could this be real? A broken limb… I was shell-shocked and pressed the brakes. “Are we there yet?” Alice and Jen remarked being jolted from their sleep. “Do… you see that man?” I asked them with a shuddering voice. They both rubbed their eyes to see what it was. “I think it’s a tree,” said Alice who was fumbling to find her glasses. “Yes, nothing else that catches my eye,” said Jen sounding puzzled. “That Zombie. Can’t you see him?” “Nope! Chloe, I guess your eyes are tired and you just need a break from the driver’s seat,” said Jen. I mustered the courage to look outside once again. He was gone. Was my mind playing games? I asked Jen to drive and just decided to rest. “Are we there yet? We ought to have reached there by now,” I asked Jen after an hour, as she checked the map again. “Soon we will,” she said. Jen kept driving until the road ahead forked. There was a signboard in the road that turned right. It said “Log Cabins”. “This must be it. I’ll take that road,” said Jen. It was more of a roller coaster ride after that. We just hoped our car continued to cooperate. As we proceeded further there was a graveyard to our left. It stretched for almost half a mile. It seemed unusual. And strangely, there were several stone mounds. “The Cherokee Indians are said to inhabit this place, Chloe. They are spiritual people and they have unique burial customs,” said Jen. “Interesting, let’s go,” I said cutting her short as I was not interested in any historical information. The image of the zombie still loomed before my eyes but I tried my best to ignore it. Finally, after a mile, there was a huge board to our right that read “Welcome to Pigeon Cabins”. “Hurray!” we exclaimed with joy for having finally made it. We parked the car. It seemed strange that there were no other cars in the parking lot. “Chloe, Jen! Are we the only ones here?” asked Alice “Seems like. At least, we would have some privacy,” said Jen. We went inside. A flickering lantern illuminated the reception. A layer of dust had settled on the distressed wooden couch. Cherokee artifacts and pictures portraying rituals hung down from the walls. A Cherokee woman came hurriedly from another room as we stood gazing at the pictures. She wore a long beaded jacket, a cotton blouse, and a full skirt decorated with ribbon appliqué. “Welcome to Pigeon Cabins! I’ve been expecting you. I am Noya, the manager here,” she said in a queer accent. After completing the formalities we took the keys to the cabin. “Enjoy your stay! Since it’s a mountainous region, the network could be intermittent. And by the way, this is Zendell, my assistant. He can help you with anything,” she said and pointed at him. We looked at each other doubtfully. He was six feet tall and had a deep scar on his face. His braided hair was adorned with feathers. Though he grinned at us, something was unsettling about him. “Thank you. But we wouldn’t require any assistance,” I said, trying to avoid his stare. We were completely exhausted and ready to crash for the day. As we exited I saw a window to my left. There was a boiling cauldron, a lot of herbs scattered around, charms, and manuscripts in different sizes. “What are those?” I asked her being curious. The manager furrowed her brows curtly replied, “I respect privacy. Enjoy your stay,” and just banged the door after us. “She is a medicine woman. She is a healer,” said Zendell. He seemed to have read my mind. “Thank you very much,” I said. I chose not to delve further. “Uwoduhi! Let me know if I can assist you anytime,” he said. We just nodded our heads but didn’t want him anywhere around us. *** We were given a map along with the keys since the cabins were a few yards away from the main office. As we walked towards the cabin along the path that was dimly lit, I suddenly saw a silhouette moving behind one of the trees. It alerted my senses. “Guys! I have a feeling we are being followed.” “It could be a bear. Smoky mountains are known to have bears. We’d better hurry now,” said Alice. “No Alice. It seemed more like a human,” I said. “Sounds creepy,” said Jen. I just decided not to speak about it further and hummed a familiar song to take my mind off from whatever I thought I had seen. Within a few minutes, we reached the cabin. It was nestled amidst a canopy of trees. The ‘Little River’ was very close to the cabin. It was a perfect spot for a relaxing vacation-swim, canoe, fish. We unlocked the door and entered the cabin. It had a huge seating area with a comfortable couch, a television, and a kitchenette. There were two bedrooms. One had a twin bed and the other had a queen-size bed. “I can’t sleep alone. I opt for a room that has a queen bed. Jen, can you give me company?” asked Alice. “Sure. Chloe, can you take the other room?” asked Jen. “Ok,” I said. I didn’t mind. We finished up the sandwiches that we had carried along with us, chatted for a while, and went to bed. The image of the zombie kept hovering back and forth in the darkness of my shut eyelids. I fell asleep after a while. “Bang!” I heard a loud noise that shook me awake. I woke up with a thumping heart and was shocked to see the window behind my bed wide open. I thought it was just a gust of wind. But then within a few seconds, I heard the sound of footsteps that seemed to be moving towards the direction of the river. I wanted to wake up my friends but chose not to disturb them. However, I was curious to find out what it was. Mustering all the courage I had, I opened the door and left the cabin, carrying my cell phone along with me. It was very gloomy so I tried to use the flashlight on my phone. The continuous chirping of cicadas flooded my ears. As I neared the river I suddenly felt something brush against my back. A cold shiver ran down my spine. I froze for an instant but avoided turning back and proceeded ahead at a faster pace. Soon, I heard footsteps that seemed to match my pace. It stopped whenever I stopped.  I finally, turned around preparing myself to face whatever it was. I became speechless with terror. All the hairs in my body standing at their ends. It was the Zombie, giving a blank stare at me. I could not scream. My voice echoed silently behind my pursed lips. My heart started beating rapidly. With a rush of adrenaline, I began running in the direction of my cabin. Though I didn’t turn back I could hear footsteps following me to the cabin. I fumbled with the keys to open the cabin door. Before I shut it close I quickly used my heightened senses to click a picture of the zombie so that I could show it to my friends. Gasping for breath I woke up Jen and Alice. “Jen, Alice…Wake up. I just saw something terrible.” They woke up.   “You look so pale Chloe. What happened?” asked Jen. “It is that Zombie, whom I saw during the drive. He’s back.” I narrated everything that had happened a little while ago. Jen and Alice listened to me intently. “Zombie? Come on, Chloe,” said Jen. “Wait! I have proof. I just clicked a picture before I hurried back to the cabin. You can see it for yourselves. We should alert the manager,” I said frantically. Jen grabbed my phone and scrolled through the gallery. “Chloe! I think you had a nightmare. There’s nothing in here,” said Jen. “Jen is right. Let’s not disturb the manager now,” said Alice. “Ok.” I was beginning to doubt my sanity. “Just sleep. You’ll be alright sweetie,” said Jen. I drank a bottle of cool diet shake and went to bed. As I was asleep, my subconscious mind suddenly seemed to tell me that the door was not locked properly. I tried to ignore it. But I wasn’t able to subdue the thought after a point in time. I woke up and walked towards the front door. I pulled the doorknob to check if was latched properly. As I held on to the knob, I felt a force on the other end trying to enter inside. I shuddered. My fidgety hands tried hard not to let the force overpower me. I called out for Jen and Alice. But they had locked their rooms shut. They couldn’t hear my soft scream. After a lot of struggle I succumbed. The door banged open. It was…The ZOMBIE. He was advancing towards me with an ominous stare. I scampered. He followed me wherever I went. My fervent eyes searched for something to defend myself. At last, I saw a rake lying in a corner. I picked it up and began hitting the zombie in a desperate bid to sever his head. Hearing the commotion Jen and Alice opened their bedroom door and came out. “Chloe! What happened? Why are you holding a rake?” asked Jen. “Jen, Alice. Run for your lives. The Zombie is back. Look,” I said pointing my finger to the creature. “Chloe. There is no one here. Something is seriously wrong with you,” exclaimed Alice. “What? Are you two out of your senses,” I said and as I turned, I could not believe it. He was gone, once again, making me look like a complete lunatic. “No, it can’t be. Believe me. He was here, just now. I am not acting weird. Please,” I couldn’t control the deluge of tears that flowed down my eyes. They looked at me sympathetically. “Alice you sleep alone. Let me sleep with Chloe,” said Jen, comforting me. After that, I didn’t know what happened to me. I guess I was too tired. I crashed onto the bed. My head hurt a lot. Finally, I woke up to the sound of ambulance sirens. “Chloe! Wake up. It’s going to be ok,” said Alice. “What’s that sound?” I asked. “Yesterday while you were asleep, you woke up yet again. I saw you take a butcher’s knife from the cabinet. And then you began running around the cabin, swearing to destroy the zombie. I pacified you and then you slept. We then decided it would be best to dial 911 and seek medical attention. We feel bad for what you have been going through,” said Jen. “I don’t recall that incident. I never did that,” I said. Or did I? From the expression on their faces, I could make out that they did not believe me anymore. When did I become mentally unstable? I’ve never had a history of delusions. As the paramedics came to take me I began yelling at the top of my voice. “I’m not insane. Leave me alone.” They shoved me into the ambulance and quickly gave me a shot. I felt drowsy and as the ambulance exited the building I saw the manager standing near the gate. She had an unsettling expression. Everything became a blur after that. *** I was in the hospital. I felt groggy most of the time and was unable to register any of the happenings in the hospital. I must have been sedated. Finally, after a week, Jen and Alice came to visit me. “We are waiting for you to come back, Chloe,” said Alice. Jen smiled at me apologetically. “The doctors have said I’m mentally unstable and I still need to be monitored. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to lead a normal life, ever again,” I said in between my sobs. Meanwhile, Alice heard her phone beep. “Chloe dear, I have something important to attend. I will come tomorrow to visit you again. Until then, take care. Jen will stay with you for a while,” she said leaving the place in a hurry. “Jen! Why did this ever happen to me?” I said holding her hand. “Serves you right, you loser! I have been rejoicing your absence,” she blurted out after a few moments of silence. “What? What are you trying to tell me?” I was clueless. “How will you know, sweetheart? You were oblivious to the mental stress and pain that you were causing me. It all started the day I befriended you. You were always the popular one in school- with the professors, girls, boys, everyone. You got the research assistantship, the awards. When you were with me I was always sidelined. Don’t you remember telling me many times that opting for science was my worst mistake? You called me a dumbhead at times and everyone would burst out laughing. During such times I had wanted to vanish into thin air.” “Jen! I never meant to hurt you.” “Wait till I finish. And then I decided, enough was enough. I wanted people to think that you were insane. My father is a Cherokee Indian. My distant aunt, the manager of the Pigeon Cabins is a medicine woman and well versed with witchcraft as well. She brews herbs mainly to heal others. My father was the one who financed her business and helped her during many instances, so she was indebted to our family. I had visited her and requested that she use her skills to prepare potions to mess up your mind. She agreed after a lot of persuasions. She gave me potent potions that I could mix with your diet shakes, a month before we went to Gatlinburg.” “Gosh! I gulped those diet shakes many times.” I was shocked. “Yes, you were completely oblivious to it. But her potions didn’t seem to affect you. My aunt said it would take time. I was getting restless. Then she said she said proximity to her rituals could help. The holiday getaway contest was just a trap laid by me to lure you into that location. However, I doubted her skills so I came up with my Zombie plan in addition to her rituals to see immediate results.” “Unbelievable! How could you stoop down to such levels? Then who was the zombie?” “Zendell! Money can do all the magic. He agreed to my proposal. Even my aunt is not aware of what he did. The zombie that you saw before we reached the cabins was not your hallucination. It was Zendell, dressed as a zombie. I had hidden Alice’s glasses so she couldn’t make out what was in front of the car. And during other encounters, I made sure Alice never saw him. The pictures of the zombie you clicked- my agile fingers erased them quickly. I think more than the potions it was the zombie encounters that tormented your mind greatly. The last encounter, I just made it up. You believed that and so did Alice. Now, who is a dumbhead? Ha ha…” “Jen! I will tell everyone about what you did.” “Calm down! People will only think your mental condition has worsened.” Suddenly I saw the door open. Alice stormed into the room. “Jen! Your game is up. You were being watched. Your conversation was recorded. I had a feeling something was fishy during our stay at the cabin. While we were at the cabin, I saw you intently speaking with the manager. I heard her say something about ‘witchcraft’ to you, though it didn’t make sense to me during that time. And the zombie- it did not add up, Chloe has never had such episodes before. And then, after we returned I found something… A family photograph fell from your diary. Guess who I spotted in it… Noya. I was shocked. So I decided to investigate by taking another trip to Gatlinburg. I informed the cops too. “Damn! So Alice, you just lied that you had an emergency and went to Gatlinburg instead,” yelled Jen. “Yes! However, I was surprised to learn that Noya was not the culprit- she never gave you the evil potions- they were herbal teas. She said she couldn’t betray her ancestors and the wisdom she had acquired. Her rituals were only to heal people, never to hurt them.  She had just lied to you that the potions would take time to work. I was with the cops while they interrogated her. She was afraid you would go to another medicine person for your evil intentions had she refused. Your conversation with Chloe, about her potions not working, has cleared the air.” “And how did you find out about Zendell?” I asked Alice. “Well! I had a strange feeling about Zendell ever since we met him. He was the next person I suspected. Though he had gone to his hometown, Noya cooperated by giving us the keys to his cabin. Voila! We found face paint and zombie accessories inside. He was nabbed and made to confess,” said Alice. Jen stood appalled. There was no room for escape now. “Don’t take me,” screamed Jen as she was escorted by the cops. “Jen! You can’t escape now,” I said. I wondered how her mind could be so twisted. Once Jen left, Alice hugged me. “Just consider everything to be a nightmare. I feel sorry for the mental trauma you have been through. You will bounce back soon,” she said.Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks. I felt relieved finally. *** It took almost three weeks for everything to settle down. I was back at school. I was intently listening to one of the lectures. Suddenly I saw a face appear at the window. Zombie…? But Zendell’s gone. Then who could it be? A cold shiver ran down my spine. *** Glossary: Uwoduhi – Beautiful lady in Cherokee language References: Cherokee Indian Reservation : https://digital.lib.utk.edu/collections/islandora/object/pcard00%3A100203Cherokee Burial Customs : https://accessgenealogy.com/north-carolina/cherokee-burial-customs.htm Cherokee witchcraft http://nativeamericanantiquity.blogspot.com/2013/05/cherokee-witchcraft-nunyunuwi.html Cherokee Magic http://www.thepeoplespaths.net/lit/CherokeeMagic.htm Penmancy gets a small share of every purchase you make through these links, and every little helps us continue bringing you the reads you love!