Stolen Tongues

The newly engaged Faye and Felix drive toward her family’s mountain cabin on Pale Peak, in the Rockies. Felix is working on his PhD in English and Faye works as an animal keeper at a sanctuary. The cabin is adorable, the surroundings peaceful.

Faye looks through tourist brochures, identifying things to do, and Felix describes the “rich […] Native American history and lore” of the area (17). He points out, however, that it is difficult to find depictions of Indigenous peoples that deviate from stereotypes. Typically, these groups are presented as “mysterious,” and their cultures are exploited for commercial purposes.

Late that night, Faye wakes Felix and tells him someone is outside. She hears someone calling for help, and Felix hears it too, but he says it could be an elk. Faye doesn’t agree.

The next day, Felix finds no evidence of an intruder; there are no tracks in the snow. He and Faye go for a walk in the woods, and on their return, Faye feels certain she hears someone crying.

They walk right underneath a gigantic object that Felix believes to be a dreamcatcher made of bones, twigs, feathers, and twine. It was not there when they passed through before, and there are now footprints circling the tree. Whoever hung it there had a clear view of their cabin. Felix and Faye are unnerved.

Cell reception is spotty, but Faye calls the ranger station and William Pike, a trooper, tells her that children often play pranks on tourists. Suddenly, something bashes into the kitchen window, but Felix finds nothing outside.

That night, Faye wakes Felix because she can hear the crunching of someone’s boots in the snow. Felix believes someone is looking for a way in. He goes outside to check, but cannot find any footprints. When Faye falls back asleep, she has a terrible nightmare. Felix explains to the reader that she has an undiagnosed sleep disorder that includes talking, sleepwalking, and night terrors that linger even after she awakens. These episodes are triggered by stress. She tells Felix that, in her dream, someone with no soul wanted to eat her. He thinks of the “dreamcatcher.”

Felix and Faye’s mood is definitely changing. More snow came overnight, and Felix finds tracks today. Faye tells Felix that her dad, Greg, used to have night terrors too.

Suddenly they hear a wailing outside, and Faye identifies it as her dead grandfather’s voice. He yells that he is lost, imploring anyone for help, and Felix must hold her back from running outside.

That night, an eerie, silent stillness descends on the forest, and Felix notes that their rental car is encased in ice. Then he hears his mother’s voice outside, though she is in Massachusetts. He tries to follow the voice, and feels something is intentionally luring him into the woods. He sprints back to the cabin, realizing that the therapy he underwent wasn’t as effective at helping him control his anxiety as he thought. He’s sure there’s something “far worse” in the woods than teenage pranksters.

Faye falls asleep early, leaving Felix alone. Looking out the bathroom window, he sees a person moving through the trees. Then he hears a devilish laugh just outside and an old, angry woman asking questions. Next, he hears Faye—still asleep—responding to these questions. From her speech, Felix can tell that the woman has asked about the cabin, his name, and more.

When Felix tries to wake her, Faye speaks in a voice not her own; it is “otherworldly.” Faye awakens when Felix screams, but she cannot remember her dream. She believes the place is haunted and wants to leave. From outside, they hear a child singing, and when they look, they see a man in the distance. The child sings louder, reminding Felix of someone who is learning to speak. Another voice calls out, asking someone when they can go inside. Felix turns on the lights outside the bedroom and sees a woman silhouetted against the curtain.

Felix and Faye spend the rest of the night hiding in the bathroom. Faye transcribes the voices. There’s an adult man, a teenage girl, a child, and Faye’s grandpa. At various points, the voices discuss Faye and Felix as well as dead bodies buried nearby.

By morning, the couple is sick with stress, and Felix finds dozens of tracks through the snow. Felix calls Faye’s dad and the ranger station, asking for someone to come get them as soon as possible. Faye begins vomiting and eventually goes to sleep. Felix tries to grade papers. He dozes off, woken by a strange light flickering in a pattern outside the door. He checks on Faye and finds the bed empty.

He rushes outside and sees her, facing the woods, atop their car, naked. Felix calls her, and she moves oddly, rushing toward the forest. Just as the worry dawns on him that she will freeze to death, he hears her sleepy voice behind him. He’s certain he’s being lured now.

Just before dawn, Pike and Faye’s father arrive. Faye sits in her dad’s truck while the men grab their things. Pike admits that people on the mountain do sometimes report “all kindsa hubbub in the wee hours” (57). On the way down the mountain, Faye vomits several times, and Felix—an emetophobe—tries not to hear. Greg wants to take her to the hospital.