Rain whispered against the window, a soft, endless murmur that blurred the boundary between night and silence.

Ed sat on the edge of the bed, scrolling through his phone aimlessly.  

His thoughts kept circling back to the lake—the shimmer of that humanoid reflection, the look in its eyes. He needed a distraction.

He hesitated a moment, then opened his messages.  

*Marline Cain.*  

He’d saved her number days ago, and somehow, her name on the screen felt like an anchor to something real.

He started typing, *“Hey, it’s Ed. Just checking in—”*  

but before he could finish, the phone slipped from his hand and fell to the floor with a dull thud.

“Great,” he muttered, leaning over to pick it up.

As his fingers brushed the cold tiles, he froze.

Something else was under the bed.

A corner of paper—aged, yellowed, brittle—peeking out from the darkness. He hesitated, then reached for it.

The paper came free with a faint tear.  

The handwriting was jagged, shaky, and uneven, as though written by someone terrified.

*I can’t leave this place.*  

*Please, someone help me.*

The words crawled across the page like they were still moving.

A shiver ran down Ed’s spine.  

He checked the clock—01:23 a.m. The ticking was louder than it should have been.

He grabbed his communicator and dialed Monna. “Hey, uh… I found something. You should come see this.”

No response for a few seconds. Then her voice, groggy but alert: “You found what?”

“Just—just come to my room. Now.”

Within moments, there was a knock.  

Ed opened the door, and Monna stepped in, hair slightly tousled, gun holstered but hand near it. Her eyes scanned the room immediately, every corner, every shadow.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

Ed handed her the paper.

Monna took one look at it—and went still.

For a heartbeat, she said nothing. Then she exhaled, slowly, through her teeth. “Damn it.”

“What is it?” Ed asked. “A prank? Some old guest’s note?”

She shook her head. “No, rookie. It’s worse. Much worse.”

She walked to the window, pulling the curtain aside. Outside, the rain hadn’t stopped—but the streetlights that had lined the road earlier were gone. So were the trees.  

Beyond the parking lot, there was nothing but fog. Endless, shifting fog.

Monna turned back to him.  

“Listen carefully. This place—the *Lakeview Inn*—it’s not just a building. It’s **Entity ARC-031**, codename: *‘The Inn That Waits.’*”

Ed’s blood ran cold. “You mean—”

“It’s an anomaly. A living structure. It appears to travelers who need rest. People who are tired, lost, or desperate. It gives them a room…” She looked around, eyes narrowing. “…and keeps them.”

He stared at her. “And you knew about this?”

“I knew the file. But I didn’t think it was still active.” Her jaw tightened. “It was reported neutralized five years ago—structure collapse, zero activity since. But I should’ve known better.”

The lights flickered.

Somewhere down the hallway, a door creaked open by itself.  

The faint sound of footsteps echoed—soft, uneven, like someone dragging their feet.

Ed’s voice dropped to a whisper. “There’s someone else here.”

Monna drew her sidearm, motioning for him to stay back. “No. There isn’t. Not *really.*”

“What do you mean?”

She glanced toward the door, her eyes sharp. “The Inn makes you think you’re not alone. It recreates the people who never checked out.”

The sound grew closer—a faint hum, almost like someone whispering words too quiet to catch.

Ed felt the air thicken, heavy with static.

Monna turned to him, face pale but steady. “Listen, rookie. We might not get out tonight. If the Inn’s fully active, exits won’t lead outside—they’ll just loop.”

He swallowed. “You’re saying… we’re trapped.”

“Yeah.” She gave a grim half-smile. “Welcome to the real A.R.C., kid. Sometimes the anomaly finds *you.*”

Another flicker—the lights dimmed to a weak orange glow.  

Somewhere, a bell rang once.  

Then came the sound of footsteps again—closer this time.  

And through the crack beneath the door, two faint shadows appeared.  

Standing.  

Waiting.  

As if the Inn itself had realized its new guests were finally awake.