12:30 a.m. :-

In the living room, Zaire had fallen asleep on the couch, while Ignatius, still awake, flipped through an old magazine he’d found on a shelf. The fire had dimmed, casting eerie shadows across the room.

From somewhere in the distance, the faint sound of waves began to fill the air. Ignatius frowned, sitting up. “Do you hear that?”

Zaire stirred, rubbing his eyes. “Hear what?”

“The sound of waves. It shouldn’t be that close, right?”

Zaire sat up, listening intently. The sound was faint but unmistakable—waves lapping against the shore. “We’re way too far from the beach for that…”

Ignatius shrugged, his confidence fading. “Maybe it’s just the wind.”

They both knew that didn’t add up.

3:00 a.m. - The Attic Thud

Rai, who had dozed off briefly, woke with a start to a loud thud from the attic above. He shot up in bed, heart racing. Dionne slept soundly beside him, completely unaware.

Rai slipped into the hallway, where he found Ava standing outside her room, eyes wide with fear. “Did you hear that?” she whispered.

He nodded. “It came from the attic.”

Zaire and Ignatius appeared from the living room, looking equally unnerved. “What was that noise?” Ignatius asked, all traces of bravado gone.

Samera emerged from the room behind Ava, her face pale. “We can’t just ignore it. We should check it out.”

Reluctantly, they gathered at the base of the stairs leading up to the attic. The narrow staircase seemed even more ominous in the dim light of the hallway.

“Let’s just take a look,” Zaire suggested, trying to keep the peace. “It’s probably nothing.”

They ascended the stairs slowly, every creak of the floorboards amplifying their nerves. When they reached the attic door, it was slightly ajar. A cold draft blew past them, and for a moment, no one moved.

Ava, heart pounding, pushed the door open. The attic was full of dusty boxes and old furniture, nothing particularly out of place—except for a large trunk in the corner, which appeared to have been moved.

Samera stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the trunk. “What’s in there?”

Before anyone could stop her, she unfastened the latch and opened the lid. Inside, an assortment of old maps, books, and strange artifacts lay, untouched as if someone had placed them there years ago. A faint, eerie light glowed from within, casting long shadows on the walls.

7:00 a.m. - Descent into the Unknown

The early morning light seeped through the windows, casting long, soft shadows across the floor. Despite the brightening sky, the atmosphere inside the house remained heavy. Ava’s fingers drummed nervously against her phone. She had spent the last few hours editing footage, her mind preoccupied with the strange events of the night. Every thud, every creak—they were all saved on camera, waiting to be uploaded. This was what her audience craved: real, raw mystery.

But she wasn’t sure anymore. The caretaker’s warning echoed in her mind, telling them not to venture to the beach. And yet, she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about it the thrill of discovery, the fame that awaited. “What if this footage goes viral?” she muttered under her breath.

Across the room, Zaire paced, his hands running through his hair. “I don’t know, man. We’re just sitting here, waiting for something to happen. It’s the beach. We should be out there. That’s why we came, right?”

Ava’s eyes flicked to him. Zaire had always been calm, almost too casual about everything. She noticed how he never seemed truly scared, even after the strange noises last night. “Why does he want to go so badly?” she thought.

“I’m telling you, we need to leave,” Samera whispered, sitting beside Ava on the couch. Her voice trembled. “That cry we heard… that wasn’t an animal. There’s something dangerous here.”

Ava felt a pang of guilt. Samera was her best friend, the only person she trusted. But she couldn’t shake the gnawing hunger for content. “Maybe this is what we’ve been looking for. What if we’re the ones who uncover the truth about this place?” Ava said quietly.

Samera looked at her, concern etched across her face. “Ava, it’s not worth it. We should just listen to the caretaker.”

Rai stood near the window, his gaze fixed on the distant beach. Dionne was beside him, her hand gripping his arm. “I don’t know, Ava,” Rai said, his voice low. “Maybe Samera’s right. That noise… it felt like a warning. Maybe we’re in over our heads.”

Dionne nodded quickly. “We shouldn’t go. It doesn’t feel safe.”

Ignatius, who had been sitting quietly in the corner, suddenly spoke up, his tone dismissive. “Look, we can’t be scared of every bump in the night. We’re here to explore, right? So let’s explore. We’ll go during the day. What could possibly happen?”

Ava glanced at Ignatius, her gut twisting. His confidence seemed almost forced, like he was hiding his own fear. Or something else. “Is he trying to downplay the danger because he knows more than he’s letting on?”

Zaire finally stopped pacing, leaning against the wall with a calm expression that didn’t match the tension in the room. “I think Ignatius is right. We didn’t come here to sit around and freak out over noises. We came for the beach. We can handle it.”

The words hung in the air. Ava felt the pressure building. Each of them had their reasons for being here, but were they really on the same page? Was this just an adventure for Zaire and Ignatius, or something more?

Samera folded her arms. “I don’t like this. We’re ignoring all the signs. The caretaker warned us for a reason.”

Ava bit her lip, torn between loyalty to her friend and her own ambitions. “I need to film this, Samera. It could be the break I’ve been waiting for. But… we’ll stick together. We go during the day, like Ignatius said.”

Samera sighed heavily, defeated. “Fine. But I don’t have a good feeling about this.”

The group shifted uncomfortably. Dionne clutched Rai’s arm tighter. “I think we should wait. Maybe we can leave tomorrow.”

Rai looked conflicted. “I don’t want to split up. But we came for the beach…”

Zaire’s voice cut through the tension. “We go to the beach today. End of discussion.”

Ava felt her heartbeat quicken. There was something strange about Zaire’s insistence. Was he just being practical, or did he have his own agenda? She shot a glance at Ignatius, who had gone quiet again, his eyes cold and unreadable.

Ava’s mind raced as they made their decision to explore the beach. She needed this footage, but what if one of them had a hidden motive? What if this trip wasn’t just about a vacation for everyone? She looked at each of her friends, trying to read their expressions, but it was impossible to tell who might be hiding something.

“We go at sunrise,” Ava said, standing up. “But we stick together, no matter what.”

                                                                                                                                                           (Truvale Astra)