Shoes

It was a cold, regular, winter night in my North Carolina cabin. I was on a 2-week trip to the mountains in North Carolina to just relax and get away from the city. I picked a nice, cozy cabin, nestled high into the mountains. There were only a few other cabins besides mine, and most looked abandoned. It was my first night that I arrived at the cabin, it was a long drive through the inclines and many trees. It was on a secluded little flat overlooking the side of the mountain, surrounded by trees on all sides except facing north, which had a beautiful overlook onto the road and the countryside. I was unpacking my things, the cabin looked really nice, I was surprised at the price I got it for, relatively cheap. It was almost like pocket change compared to what I made. I wandered inside the house, it was well stocked with furnishings of all sorts. It had a chimney on the right side of the house, a kitchen near t he front door, a porch, a bathroom, and a bedroom. The bedroom looked very comfortable, along with the furniture. The place sported a nice tv, it was good to have modern amenities out in the countryside. That night, as I was preparing to go to sleep, putting on my freshly folded nightwear from my suitcase, I heard a noise. It wasn't a typical noise you'd expect to hear on a normal night in the wilderness. It sounded like footsteps, leaves crunched outside, it sounded like something was walking near my little cabin. I shut my tv off to hear it a little better. It stopped. I was a brave guy, so I assumed it was simply some wildlife outside and continued watching the 10:00 news. Then, it came again, but this time the footsteps were much closer, I could clearly hear them now, with out the need to turn the tv off. This time, I was a little scared. But as I said  I was a brave guy. I grabbed my shoes and my flashlight and wandered outside. My car was still parked where it should be and it was a very beautiful night. I heard an owl hooting in the distance. I proceeded around the perimeter of my house, aiming my flashlight at anything and everything. The only thing I saw were trees and brown leaves on the ground. I went around the house until I got to the window next to the room I was sleeping in. I aimed my flash light. I saw two shoes, perched up right next to my window on top of the forest ground, and what looked like visible foot steps leading up to my window, but the strangest part was, the footsteps were marked by fresh blood, each visible footstep was visibly stained red. I tried to find a valid explanation in my head on how this could have happened, imagining  maybe someone had gotten into a serious accident and was bleeding heavily, and they were seeking help? But I still could not explain the shoes. Who would just randomly drop off their shoes near someones house? I aimed my flashlight at the shoes and examined them. They looked like really old and worn out dress shoes, maybe 10 to 20 years old with visible holes and tears in the leather. It was clear these shoes were no longer usable as shoes and served no mere purpose other than as trash. I picked up the shoes, and felt inside, I felt what almost felt like a stone. I pulled it out. It was half of a human foot! The bones at least.. but the worst part was, the bones were splattered with blood! Unable to explain anything and fearing for my life, I hurried back home, my heart racing. I locked up well that night and shut \e very window. I kept my gun at my side in the drawer. An old revolver loaded with 6 bullets, shall I ever need to use it. I managed to get to sleep that night, but I had a horrible nightmare that spooked me horribly. I dreamt I was sleeping in my bed, as normal, but that a man was looking through my bedroom window. But this was no ordinary man, his eyes were very menacing and he had a horrible evil grin, and he did nothing, except occasionally scan the room and glance at me, as if he hoped to get inside and grab something of mine. I could do nothing except stare at him helplessly. I woke up tired the next morning, unable to get a decent amount of sleep. As I got out out of bed, I noticed something peculiar. The keys to my cabin were missing. I kept them right by the front door, on the key ring. Maybe someone had gotten in and stolen them? Some kids trying to play a cruel prank? I would have called the police, but I had an unregistered gun. If they searched the place I would surely get arrested. So I kept quiet. I proceeded about my normal day, enjoyed breakfast and lunch, sat by the fireplace, and bathed in the jacuzzi inside the cabin. I walked outside to check on my car, making sure whoever was out there hadn't messed with it. What I found scared the life out of me. Bloody footsteps led all the way from the forest, to my front door, and to every window around my cabin. I was scared, too scared, too check the window by my bedroom, for surely there would be bloody footsteps there too, and the man watching me wasn't a dream. But I mustered the courage and went over there. The shoes still lay in the place I had found them. I went over to my window, it was jammed, and covered in finger prints. Someone had tried to get in t o My house. This vacation was turning into a nightmare for me. I decided not to sleep that night, I wanted to see what was really going on. I stayed up that night, revolver in hand, ready for anything. Nothing happened for most of the night, but at 12:30am, I heard a sound that nearly made me jump out of my bed. The footsteps sound had returned, in the same manner as it happened the first time. I hid behind my bed, I was too scared too look at the window. I just waited until the footsteps got close enough, and clenched the revolver in my hands. Eventually the footsteps stopped, right in front of my window. My heart froze, I sat motionless against my bed, not wanting to look towards the window. Eventually the footsteps kept going, this time around the perimeter of my cabin. They stopped about at my front door. I heard a knock at the front door. My heart b egan to race uncontrollably, I dared not move from my spot, and kept my eyes focused in the direction of the noise, my sweaty palms clenching the revolver. There was a piercing silence, and what seemed like the longest seconds of my life. I heard the most unbelievable thing. My front door was UNLOCKED with a key. I was shocked. I sat, heart racing. Footsteps hobbled inside the house. They slowly hobbled to my bedroom door, *step* *step* *step* I was near ready to faint, but I kept my composure. The steps came closer still *step* *step* *step* until they were right outside my door. Complete silence befell the whole house, I was sweating and trembling uncontrollably. I aimed my revolver at the door, ready to shoot. The door opened slowly, and creaked loudly. The man I had seen before peeked his head in, only half e xposing his face. He was smiling an evil grin, simply staring at me. He stepped in, he wore a suit, dress shirt,and pants. He was barefoot. His feet were simply bones, and bloodied, one foot was severed in half. I was paralyzed, I couldn't even pull the trigger of my gun. He just stared at me, smiling that evil grin, he seemed to be glancing at something behind me. I pulled the trigger *click* I'd forgotton to load my gun! I frantically trembled, and dropped the gun, paralyzed with fear. Slowly, the man looked at me ominously and muttered "You have some nice shoes"