I must have dozed off. The last thing I remember is descending into the cabin, sitting down on the bed, and that's it... Someone is sitting next to me. Blinking my eyes open, I see Mel and Todd sitting on the opposite bed, both of them deep in sleep. Turning my head, I see Nolan. I'm propped up against his shoulder, and he's reclined against the wall. He looks worn out...

I hesitate to move away from his shoulder. There's an odd warmth, a comforting feeling... Hell, what's going on with me? This is all unfamiliar territory... Have I ever felt like this before?

I think back to school, maybe there was a girl I liked and then a boy... I just... never was confident enough to think that someone might like me back. And I quickly fled into music from misery. I could express all I wanted through a song. Because there was no one to confide in... because it was too awkward to discuss... And now, here I am beside Nolan. I feel this warmth and treacherous weakness that makes me want to imagine that we're closer than I've ever been with anyone else.

What the hell did we do in that hotel room? Maybe I don't imagine things, and Nolan likes me... just a tad... I mean, he did end up lying naked beside me...

I think if we had sex, something would've hurt... I was too drunk to do anything to Nolan. And I don't believe that Nolan could have taken advantage of me. So, how did we end up undressed?

Nolan is restless in his sleep, tossing and turning. I instinctively snuggle closer to him, but then I notice that Mel and Todd are already awake. I quickly sit up, feeling like I've been caught.

The captain's voice resonates from above, and we all climb to the deck together. The captain gestures ahead. Slowly emerging from the mist is an island, its jagged edges rising unevenly above the water. Further up, a bit obscured, stands a grand mansion.

Our boat gradually approaches the shore, the pier appearing before us, swathed in a milky mist. The features of the mansion can only be guessed in the distance, like a huge beast lurking somewhere there. Although Nolan said the island was well protected, none of us feel safe here, including Nolan. I look with regret and anxiety at the sailing boat, it feels like the captain was glad to finally leave this gloomy place.

As soon as we step onto the pier, Mel dashes towards the mansion.

"Wait!" Nolan's voice echoes after her. Mel halts in her tracks, turning to him with a puzzled expression. "Hold on."

"What?" she retorts, her brows knitting together. "You said this place was safe."

"Yes, but..."

"You said they were supposed to reach the mansion by now, right?" Mel presses on.

"Yes, but..."

"What 'but'?" Mel's patience is visibly thinning. "Either you explain right now why I shouldn't run in search of my mother and sister, or you can go to hell," she spitefully stamps him with words. I hate that Mel is so rude to Nolan. I don't think he's to blame. Sure, he's tight-lipped, but he's genuinely concerned about his father, and he can't be entirely indifferent to our worries either. At least, that's what I believe.

"Stay close to me," Nolan states calmly yet firmly, drawing a gun from his side. Mel and Todd both glance at Nolan and the weapon, then let Nolan lead the way. Todd grabs a hefty stone from the ground.

The path to the mansion winds through green hills and stone ridges. It ascends steeply and ends at an imposing iron gate, which creaks as it swings open, letting us into a well-groomed garden with trimmed lawns and fruit-bearing trees. We walk past fading flower beds, past a fountain with a sculpture of a woman pouring water from an amphora. I notice a glass conservatory and remember that Nolan mentioned his father's passion for growing roses.

With each step, my worry for mom and Stacey deepens. Everything around seems dead and frozen, lost in time and space, as if there is no world outside this foggy island, and we have become its captives.

Finally, we reach the estate. And I thought the yacht was big... But this house is just enormous. The mansion, a three-story structure crafted from dark stone with a mezzanine and stately columns, stretches left and right with massive wings with countless rooms with no hint of anyone's presence. More precisely, it seems that if there is someone there, they are hiding and waiting. A shiver courses down my spine, spurred by either the damp chill in the air or fear.

"As I see it, we can not count on a warm welcome," I remark with a nervous chuckle, but no one answers. Everyone is too absorbed in surveying the mansion's foreboding facade. Finally reaching the imposing front entrance, a thought occurs to me.

"Maybe it was better for us to go unnoticed through the back door or something?" I suggest carefully.

"I need to check something first," Nolan responds. He approaches the door with an intercom, some kind of newfangled device that can replace the butler, as I understand it. Nolan enters a code into it, and the screen springs to life, displaying various camera feeds. He scrolls through the images until one frame captures a fleeting figure in its lower half, moving swiftly by. Nolan freezes the footage and plays it back at normal speed, and then continues to scan through the footage as if searching for a particular clue. Mel's fingers tap impatiently on her opposite elbow, Todd leans on a pillar while gazing upwards.

Rooms appear on the screen, empty and lifeless, and for some reason, it scares. Nolan tightens his jaw.

"There's no one here," he finally states.

"Meaning what, exactly?" Mel questions. "Where is everyone then?"

Nolan massages his forehead with a heavy sigh. "Let's go inside first."

"And drive ourselves into a corner?" asks Mel.

Nolan looks at her with narrowed eyes. "Firstly, there are weapons in the house. Secondly, there are rooms inaccessible to outsiders unless you know the way. Thirdly, aren't we cornered already? Where would you escape from this island?"

Nolan's arguments annoy Mel, but she has nothing to cover. Nolan enters the code, and the door opens. Casting wary glances around, we venture inside.