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A rocky desert resort in Arizona was definitely a big change from the mountain ranges of Montana. My wealthier distant family had a friend that was leasing out their isolated desert cabin down south. I still remember my uncle Henry's sneer as he told my father, his younger brother, how much it costed. Pompous asshole.

Jolene and Kurtis, my two cousins, accompanied me on the drive down. They recently both got signed on as models in Austin thanks to my uncle's connections. "The new LA" they called it, as if their distant family could ever afford to even sleep on the street there. I said yes as a getaway from the colder state, but with my company, I knew I had distance myself when we got to the resort to truly call it relaxing.

In the SUV, I endured the superficial chattering of Uncle Henry, Aunt Judy, and their "twenty three year old gifts from god." It had to be worthwhile, this cabin Henry's broker friend owned. We stopped for a night in Salt Lake City. My distant family paid for the best hotel rooms for us, a gesture I appreciated. Jolene and Kurtis immediately fucked off as soon as they could. Whether they were tired of being around me or they were filming TikToks for their agency didn't matter– I liked the space.

Aunt Judy was more welcoming than the rest of them, and catching up with her was worthwhile. She encouraged me to "escape the rat race" like her kids did. I jokingly suggested doing modelling instead of IT work. She was right on one thing: I needed to escape and see more of the world.

We made it to the cabin the next afternoon. Not far from Flagstaff. It wasn't as big as I thought it would be, but what it lacked in size it made up for in upscale furnishing and TWO pools. The AC was top notch, and my uncle's friend had packed it full of booze and snacks. Uncle Henry and Jolene were visually disappointed in the size, the latter demanding the largest room like a princess.

A lone, dead tree was the only type of foliage I could see in the distance. It felt very out of place in such a desert.

It was out of place for a reason.

My room had a small window, maybe four feet tall and wide. I questioned whether or not I could fit through it in case of a fire, but I couldn't complain. It faced away from the sun at night. There was no screen on the window, but there were no bugs or vermin in the area able to slip through. I doubt a rabbit or raccoon would wander far enough into the rocky desert to even come near the cabin.

My cousins got the more lavish bedroom, but they also had to share the bed. Who knew telling someone that you fart in your sleep would get you a solitary bed? After being cramped elbow to elbow in the SUV with them, I needed all the space I could get.

After unpacking I enjoyed myself for the day, mostly relaxing in the pool. Jolene lathered herself with as much tanning lotion she could muster, and Kurtis stayed exercising in the shade. "The sun may damage my transplant and I need this thick hair for my next shoot!" he would whine every time his twin sister would usher him over.

The breeze was hot in the day, and I noticed it battering the branches of the lone tree. The limbs swayed in the wind, bending. It was rotten for sure.

I took a break from the pool to examine this tree. The bark was flayed and brittle, like ribbons barely holding onto a dancer. Something irregular caught my eye. There were footprints behind the tree, leading across the desert. I figured they looked like a human's but they were too far spread for a normal person's stride.

In another direction, paw prints from what looked like a coyote or a fox also lead to this tree from the desert.

Eventually my cousins joined me in the pool. They attempted human conversation for the first time this trip. How was my job? Was I going on lots of dates? What did I want to do with my life? It was a nice change from their "influencer" dialogue. Hell, Kurtis even offered to show me how he injects his Tren.

It was going well until I mentioned the tree. They seemed a little unnerved at first, but Jolene quickly brushed it off as me playing games with them. They took off in unison.

The day began to wind down, and I almost envied not having a view of the sunset in my room. As I worked on a personal project upstairs I noticed the tree was different. Its branches had folded around itself, like someone folding their arms as they shiver.

I asked my uncle what the deal with that was and he suggested I drink another beer before shooing me off. I went to bed early, the sounds of my cousins talking and laughing upstairs somehow acted as white noise for me to fall asleep to.

I woke up in the night and checked my phone: 2:35am. Upstairs was quiet, but my ears were perked on a different sound.

It was from a distance, the normal sounds you hear when someone's having a conversation just out of earshot. I couldn't make out any of the words, but there were occasional pauses and chuckles. Having the window open to let in the nice breeze also made whatever was talking outside easier to hear.

The voice sounded...synthetic, and older. After attempting to fall asleep to it, I noticed it was getting louder. My brain was fully alert at this point. I didn't recognize the voice up close, and it was murmuring far too fast to understand it.

It nearly sounded like something chanting a spell, and it was getting closer and closer. It wasn't a family member, and it was closing in on the window. I was terrified, but assured myself it probably wouldn't fit through.

I heard it tap against the side of the house and immediately darted under the covers. The blanket, when stretched thin, was semi-transparent. I could still see from under my hiding spot. Taking a deep breath I could smell something rotten. I weakly suppressed a cough. I had hoped I was quiet enough for it not to notice.

I was wrong.

Through the open window two arms reached in, gripping the edges of the window. They were dark, and full of holes. The chattering was now directly above me, louder and angrier sounding. Staying still was my best bet.

Then this thing slowly began to put its head inside, Its head was like a decaying human's with the jaw unhinged and unmoving. The noises stopped. The thing's head began twitching in all sorts of directions, and it made this gut wrenching clicking sound- like bones being snapped over and over.

As if I wasn't in the clear, its arms stretched into the cabin, this time gripping the sides of my bed. It was mere inches from grabbing onto my legs. I thought about it for a moment, fighting back. I was too scared to move, though.

I think it knew something was hiding under the covers, because it began to lower its ever-moving head lower towards the blanket.

SLAM

My door was thrown open by Aunt Judy. I suspected she heard the noises just like me. The thing paused like a statue. Aunt Judy shrieked and this thing reared up. This was my chance.

I threw the blanket upwards, and the creature thrashed trying to get it off of its face. I quickly slammed the window shut, slicing one of its arms clean off. It pushed me away and retreated into the desert. I could hear it scrambling through the rock and sand for quite some distance. It left a slimy, black trail with it. It was also splattered onto the window.

I profusely thanked my aunt for saving me, but she said I saved myself.

The police were called, taking them quite some time to arrive. The other three were pissed that the cops woke them up, but I couldn't of cared less. The arm that I had taken off began turning into spongy, rotting wood. I offered it to the cops, who reluctantly took it. They had brought forensic investigators with them, who took samples of the what I could only assume was its blood.

Despite everything we stayed another night, and I was more than happy to sleep on the upstairs couch. I was on edge for most of the day, as was my aunt. The others were themselves, indifferent to our change in demeanour. They kept to themselves, which helped me attempt to wind down for another day.

I couldn't take my eyes off of the distance. The tree was gone. It was no tree, but something far more sinister. Would it appear again? Would cutting it or burning it save us from another attack? I wanted to try if I saw it again- but fortunately I didn't. Nobody did.

My aunt catered to much of my needs, and even let me take shotgun on the way home. Uncle Henry was also a bit quieter as we began to take off from the desert cabin.

I felt a bit of weight off of my chest knowing we were moving. I think my uncle's friends should sell the place if they're going to be in danger. I sure as shit am not going back.

It wasn't long before my cousins started complaining about trivial things with their modelling careers, but I ignored it. Something eventually caught my attention on the drive.

A curious coyote darted out behind some rocks and began following the SUV. I didn't think much of it until aunt Judy implored we stop the vehicle to look at it. It stopped too, staring blankly at us. I noticed it was missing a paw, and a sense of dread began to lump in my throat.

And as we sped out of the desert, I could see its head twitching rapidly.