16 Sep The Body in the Lake

The winter winds howled through the trees surrounding Whispering Pines, a small, isolated town known more for its exceptional cold than for anything that would draw outsiders. The town was built on the edge of a large, deep body of water that locals called Blackwater Lake, a name that fit better in the depths of summer when its contents turned an inky black under the shadow of the surrounding pines. But in winter, the lake transformed, its surface freezing into a sheet of glass so clear that one could see straight through to the bottom, where old fishing traps and the detritus of past seasons lay trapped beneath the ice.

Carl Donovan stood at the edge of the lake, his breath puffing out in clouds of vapor, his eyes narrowed against the sharp bite of the wind. He was a man of few words, a product of the kind of life that left little room for idle chatter. The deep gravel of his voice hinted at years of cigarette smoke and late nights spent by the fire, staring into the flames and wondering what life might have been like had things turned out differently. But those thoughts were for another time. Now, there was only the ice and the sound that had woken him in the dead of night.

It had started just after midnight, a low, rumbling hum that shook the walls of his cabin and pulled him from a deep, dreamless sleep. At first, he’d thought it was just the ice cracking—a natural enough occurrence when the temperatures dropped so low that the very air seemed to freeze in place. But as he listened, the sound grew, shifting in pitch and tone until it became something else entirely, something that set his teeth on edge and sent a shiver down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold.

Carl had lived by the lake for nearly a decade, moving out here after the events that had driven him from the city—events he didn’t like to talk about, not even to himself. He knew the lake better than most and had spent countless hours fishing in the summer and traversing its frozen surface in the winter. But this sound was new, unfamiliar, disturbing him in a way he couldn’t quite put into words.

He’d tried to ignore it, pulling the covers up over his head and willing himself back to sleep, but the sound had persisted, growing louder and more insistent until he could no longer pretend it was just the ice. It was something more, something demanding an investigation.

Pulling on his heavy coat and boots, Carl grabbed his flashlight and headed out into the night, the beam of light cutting through the darkness as he made his way down the narrow path to the lake. The snow crunched beneath his boots, the only sound in the otherwise silent night. Even the wind had died down, as if the world were holding its breath, waiting for something to happen.

As he reached the edge of the lake, Carl stopped, his breath catching in his throat. The ice was clear, as it always was, but there was something different about it tonight, something that made his heart race and his palms sweat despite the freezing cold. He stepped closer, shining his flashlight down onto the ice, and felt his stomach drop.

“What the hell?” Carl muttered.

There, beneath the surface, was the outline of a human body, floating just beneath the ice. The face was turned up towards him, eyes wide and unseeing, mouth open in a silent scream. The features were distorted by the refraction of the ice, but Carl could still make out enough to know that this was no ordinary drowning victim.

He dropped to his knees, pressing his face closer to the ice, trying to get a better look. The body was perfectly preserved, as if it had been frozen in time, the cold preventing the usual processes of decay. But that wasn’t what made Carl’s blood run cold. It was the fact that the body seemed to be moving, drifting slowly beneath the ice as if it were being pulled by some unseen current.

Carl scrambled back, his heart pounding in his chest. This wasn’t right. It wasn’t natural. He needed help.

He turned and ran back to his cabin, the sound of his breathing loud in his ears. He needed to call Jake and Tom, the only two men in town who might believe him. They had been his friends for years, ever since he’d moved to Whispering Pines, and they had shared enough strange experiences in the woods and on the lake to know that sometimes, things happened out here that couldn’t be explained.

Carl reached his cabin and grabbed the old rotary phone from the wall, dialing Jake’s number with shaking fingers. The phone rang once, twice, and then Jake’s voice came over the line, gruff and sleepy.

“Yeah?”

“Jake, it’s Carl. I need you to get over here. Now.”

“What’s going on, Carl? It’s the middle of the night.”

“Just get over here. And bring Tom. I need to show you something.”

There was a pause, and then Jake sighed. “Alright. We’ll be there in ten.”

Carl hung up the phone and began pacing the cabin, his mind racing. He didn’t know what was going on, but he knew it was bad. He just hoped that Jake and Tom would be able to help him figure out what to do.

* * * * * *

The old floorboards creaked under Carl’s weight as he anxiously trotted back and forth, doing his best to maintain his composure. The seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness as he waited for Jake and Tom to arrive. Outside, the wind had picked up again, rattling the windows and sending flurries of snow spiraling through the air. He could still hear the faint, otherworldly hum in the distance, the sound seeping into his bones and making his skin crawl.

Finally, headlights cut through the darkness, and Carl heard the crunch of tires on snow as Jake’s old pickup truck pulled up outside. He grabbed his coat and opened the door just as Jake and Tom were stepping out of the truck, both men bundled up against the cold.

Jake, a burly man with a thick beard and a no-nonsense attitude, gave Carl a concerned look as he approached. Tom, leaner and a bit younger, followed close behind, his curiosity evident in his wide eyes.

“What’s going on, Carl?” Jake asked, his voice gruff with sleep.

Carl motioned for them to follow him inside, glancing nervously back at the lake as he did. Once they were inside, Carl quickly relayed what he had seen, his words tumbling out in a rush. Jake and Tom listened in silence, their expressions growing more serious by the minute.

When Carl finished, there was a heavy silence. Jake scratched his beard thoughtfully, his eyes narrowing.

“A body under the ice, you say? And it was moving?” Jake’s tone was skeptical, but there was a hint of unease in his voice.

“I saw it with my own eyes,” Carl insisted. “And the sounds… they’re not natural. I don’t know what they are, but they’re not just ice cracking.”

Tom shifted uneasily. “You think it could be something… else? Something not from around here?”

Carl hesitated, his mind racing. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but deep down, he knew there was something terribly wrong. “I don’t know, but I think we need to find out.”

Jake nodded slowly, his skepticism giving way to resolve. “Alright. Let’s go take a look. If there’s a body under the ice, we need to know for sure.”

The three men bundled up and headed back out into the night. The wind had died down again, leaving the world in an eerie silence, broken only by the crunch of their boots in the snow. Carl led the way to the edge of the lake, the beam of his flashlight retracing the steps he’d taken on his earlier trip.

As they reached the spot where Carl had seen the body, the hum returned, louder and more insistent this time. Jake and Tom both froze, their eyes widening as they heard it for the first time. It was a sound that defied explanation, a mix of deep, resonant tones and high-pitched screeches that seemed to come from all directions at once.

“Jesus,” Tom whispered, his breath fogging the air. “What the hell is that?”

Carl didn’t answer. He was too focused on the ice beneath his feet, desperately searching for the body he had seen previously. But to his horror, it was gone. The ice was perfectly clear, the surface unbroken, as if nothing had ever been there.

“It was right here,” Carl said, his voice tinged with panic. “I swear it was right here!”

Jake knelt down, pressing his face close to the ice. “I don’t see anything, Carl. Are you sure you—”

He was cut off as the sound grew even louder, a low rumble that seemed to shake the very ground beneath them. The ice beneath Jake’s knees began to crack, spiderwebs of fractures spreading out from where he knelt. He scrambled back, his face pale.

“Get back!” Carl shouted, grabbing Jake’s arm and pulling him away from the cracking ice. The three men retreated a few steps, watching in horrified fascination as the cracks continued to spread, forming a strange, intricate pattern that none of them could decipher.

Tom pointed to the ice, his voice trembling. “Look at that. It’s not just cracking randomly… it’s forming something.”

Carl’s eyes widened as he realized what Tom was saying. The cracks were forming a symbol, something that looked almost like a glyph or a rune. It was unlike anything Carl had ever seen, a design that seemed calculated in its complexity.

“This isn’t natural,” Jake muttered, his voice barely audible over the sound of the cracking ice. “This is… something else.”

Carl didn’t need Jake to tell him that. He could feel it in his gut, a deep, instinctual fear that told him they were in way over their heads. But before he could say anything, the ice beneath them began to glow, an eerie blue light pulsing up from the depths of the lake.

Tom gasped, stumbling back as the light grew brighter, illuminating the entire lake. The hum had become a roar, vibrating through their bodies and making it impossible to think. Carl fell to his knees, clutching his head as the noise threatened to split his skull.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the noise stopped. The light faded, leaving the lake in shadow once more. The three men lay on the ice, gasping for breath, their minds reeling from what they had just experienced.

It was Carl who recovered first, his voice cutting through the silence. “We need to get out of here. Now.”

Jake and Tom didn’t argue. They scrambled to their feet, helping each other up as they stumbled back towards the shore. But as they reached the land, Carl turned back for one last look at the lake.

His breath caught in his throat as he saw it: a dark shape rising up from beneath the ice, its outline blurred by the water. It was enormous, larger than any creature he had ever seen, and as it rose, he could make out the faint glow of lights beneath the surface.

Carl didn’t wait to see more. He turned and ran, his heart pounding in his chest. Whatever that thing was, it wasn’t from this world.

* * * * * *

Carl, Jake, and Tom reached the safety of the tree line, their breaths coming in ragged gasps as they collapsed against the thick trunks of the nearby pines. The bitter cold of the evening seemed to have little effect on them now; they were too shaken by what they had just witnessed. The lake behind them was quiet again, its surface smooth and unbroken, as though the object they had glimpsed was nothing more than a shared nightmare.

But Carl knew better. He could still feel the vibrations of the strange hum resonating in his marrow, the afterimage of that otherworldly light lingering in his vision. Whatever they had seen, it was real, and it was dangerous.

“We need to leave,” Carl said, his voice low and urgent. “Whatever that thing is, we can’t stay here.”

Jake nodded, his face pale beneath his beard. “Agreed. But what the hell are we dealing with here, Carl? That wasn’t some freak ice crack, and it sure as hell wasn’t anything natural.”

Tom, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, finally spoke up, his voice trembling. “It’s them, isn’t it? Aliens, or whatever the hell they are. I’ve heard stories, you know, about strange lights in the sky, people going missing… I never believed it, but now…”

Carl didn’t answer. He didn’t want to speculate, didn’t want to give voice to the fear gnawing at his gut. He just wanted to get as far away from the lake as possible. But as they turned to leave, the hum returned, louder and more intense than before.

The ground beneath them shook, and Carl stumbled, barely managing to stay on his feet. Jake and Tom grabbed each other for support, their eyes wide with terror as they looked back towards the lake.

The ice was glowing again, but this time, it wasn’t soft and diffuse. It was a blinding, pulsing brightness that shot up from beneath the surface, casting long shadows through the trees. The hum grew into a deafening roar, and the ice began to splinter once more, the fractures spreading out in a rapid, deliberate pattern.

Carl’s heart raced as he realized what was happening. The cracks were forming yet another symbol, larger and more complex than the first, and this time, they were spreading towards the tree line, towards them.

“We have to move!” Carl shouted over the noise, grabbing Jake and Tom and pulling them away from the shore. But it was too late.

With a deafening explosion, the ice beneath them gave way, and the ground lurched beneath their feet. Tom cried out as he was pulled towards the edge of the breaking ice, his arms flailing as he tried to grab hold of something solid. Carl reached for him, but the ground was slick with snow and ice, and he slipped, falling hard onto his side.

Jake was the first to reach Tom, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him back from the edge. But the ice was relentless, the cracks spreading faster and faster, closing in on them as they scrambled to their feet and ran.

Carl’s lungs burned with the effort, but he forced himself to keep going, dragging Jake and Tom along with him. They were almost to the safety of the woods when Carl heard the sound that made his pulse quicken: the collapse of ice beneath Jake’s feet.

Jake’s cry of alarm was cut short as the ice gave way beneath him, and he plunged into the freezing water below. Tom screamed and sprang into action, prepared to risk his life to save his friend, but Carl grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

“We can’t help him!” Carl shouted, choking back tears, his voice raw with emotion. “We have to go!”

But Tom wasn’t listening. He broke free of Carl’s grip and charged in the direction of the lake, desperation overriding his sense of self-preservation. But it was no use. The frigid waters were already draining Jake’s strength, his hands clawing at the ice, his eyes wide with terror as the icy grave swallowed him whole.

Carl was adamant they were out of time. The ice was still cracking, the light beneath it growing brighter, more intense. He grabbed Tom by the shoulders and shook him, forcing him to focus.

“Tom, we have to go! Do you hear me? We have to go now!”

Tears streamed down Tom’s face, but he nodded, the hopelessness in his eyes nearly breaking Carl’s resolve. They turned and ran, the sound of the cracking ice and the blinding light following them as they fled into the safety of the forest.

They didn’t stop running until they reached Carl’s cabin, gasping for air, their bodies shaking from more than just the cold. Inside, Carl slammed the door shut and locked it, leaning against the heavy wood as if it could keep out the horrors they had just witnessed.

Meanwhile, Tom collapsed onto the floor, his hands trembling as he buried his face in them. “He’s gone, Carl! Jake’s gone! What the hell are we going to do?”

Carl didn’t answer right away. He was too busy thinking, trying to make sense of what had happened. But there was no sense to be made, no logical explanation for the things they had seen. All he knew was that they were in danger, and that they needed to get out of there before it was too late.

“We’re leaving,” Carl finally said, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at his insides. “We’re going to pack up whatever we can and get the hell out of this town. Tonight.”

Tom looked up at him, his eyes hollow. “And then what? Where are we supposed to go?”

“Anywhere but here,” Carl replied. “We can’t stay, Tom. You saw what happened. That thing, whatever it is, it’s not going to stop. It’s only going to get worse.”

Tom nodded, his shoulders slumping in defeat. “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right. Let’s get out of here.”

They moved quickly, grabbing what little supplies they had and shoving them into bags. Carl kept glancing out the window, half-expecting to see the light from the lake creeping towards the cabin. But the night remained dark, the only sound the howling of the wind outside.

Finally, they were ready. Carl slung his bag over his shoulder and looked at Tom, who was standing by the door, his hand resting on the knob.

“Ready?” Carl asked.

Tom nodded, but before he could open the door, the hum returned, louder and more menacing than ever. The walls of the cabin shook, and Carl felt the floor beneath him vibrate with the intensity of the sound.

They exchanged a panicked glance, and Carl moved to the window, peering out into the night. His heart nearly stopped when he saw it: the ice on the lake was glowing again, brighter and more intense than before, and the light was spreading, moving towards the cabin.

“We have to go, now!” Carl shouted, grabbing Tom and pulling him towards the back door. But as they reached it, the ground shook violently, and the light outside intensified, flooding the cabin with a blinding glow.

Carl threw open the door and they ran, the light and the noise pursuing them as they fled into the darkness. But their pursuers were faster, overtaking them in seconds, and Carl felt his body freeze, paralyzed by the blazing intensity.

And then, everything went silent. The light vanished, and Carl found himself standing in the darkness, alone.

“Tom?” he called out, his voice trembling. But there was no answer.

Carl turned in a slow circle, his breath catching in his throat. The night was silent, the wind gone, the echo of the hum receding rapidly. He was alone.

And then he saw it: the lake, perfectly still and clear, its surface reflecting the stars above. And there, beneath the ice, was the body of a man, floating just below the surface.

Carl’s heart stopped as he recognized the face, the lifeless eyes staring up at him in a silent scream.

It was Tom.

* * * * * *

Carl stared in horror at the lifeless body of Tom beneath the ice, his friend’s face frozen in a mask of terror. The realization hit him like a punch to the gut—Tom was gone, just like Jake. He felt his knees buckle, the weight of the night’s events crashing down on him all at once. The cold seeped into his very bones, but he barely noticed it over the numbness that had taken hold of his mind.

He didn’t know how long he stood there, staring down at Tom, but eventually, the survival instincts buried deep within him took over. Carl forced himself to turn away from the lake, to tear his eyes from the horrific sight and focus on what needed to be done. He was the only one left, and if he didn’t get out of there now, he would be next.

Carl stumbled back towards the cabin, every nerve in his body screaming for him to keep moving, to get away from the lake and whatever it was that lurked beneath the ice. The night was eerily silent now, nature itself gone quiet, the hum no longer reverberating through the air. It was as if the world was holding its breath, waiting for him to act.

He reached the cabin and threw open the door, his mind racing as he frantically gathered the last of his supplies. He needed to leave, to put as much distance between himself and the lake as possible. But even as he packed, the image of Tom’s frozen face lingered in his mind, grief threatening to overwhelm him.

Carl was halfway through stuffing a bag with food and blankets when he heard it—a faint, almost imperceptible sound coming from outside. It was soft at first, barely more than a whisper, but it quickly grew louder, filling the cabin with a low, disconcerting rumble.

His heart raced as he dropped the bag and ran to the window. The lake was glowing again, but this time, the light was different. It was pulsating slowly, as if the very earth beneath the lake was alive and breathing. The hum intensified, shaking the cabin’s walls and vibrating through Carl’s chest like a living thing.

Carl knew what was coming. The light would spread, the ice would crack, and then he would be next. But something inside him snapped, a primal instinct that had lain dormant until now. He refused to die like this, not after everything he’d been through. Not without a fight.

He grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder, running to the back door. As he reached for the handle, he heard the ice outside begin to crack, the sound echoing through the night like a gunshot. He knew he didn’t have much time.

Carl burst through the door and into the night, the freezing air biting at his skin. The light from the lake was growing brighter, casting an eerie glow over the trees and snow. He didn’t dare look back; he couldn’t afford to lose even a second.

He ran as fast as his legs would carry him, his breath coming in ragged gasps, his heart pounding in his ears. The hum followed him, growing louder and louder, until it felt like the very air was vibrating with the sound. The light was spreading, creeping towards him, and he knew that if he didn’t get away now, he would be swallowed by it, just like Jake and Tom.

But as he reached the edge of the woods, something strange happened. The light stopped spreading, halting just at the tree line. The hum faded, replaced by a deafening silence that pressed in on Carl from all sides.

He slowed to a stop, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. The world around him was still, the only sound the crunch of snow beneath his boots. Slowly, hesitantly, Carl turned to look back at the lake.

The light was gone. The ice appeared perfectly smooth and clear, as if nothing had ever happened. The night was dark, the stars twinkling innocently overhead. It was as if the lake had returned to its natural state, erasing all traces of the horror that had just unfolded.

But Carl knew better. He could feel it in his soul, a deep, unsettling certainty that the danger was far from over. The lake might be quiet now, but whatever was down there was still waiting, still watching. It had claimed Jake and Tom, and it would continue if it weren’t stopped.

But Carl couldn’t put an end to it. Not alone. He needed help, and he needed to get as far away from Whispering Pines as possible before the lake returned for him.

He turned and continued running, the darkness of the woods swallowing him up as he fled. He didn’t know where he was going or what he would do when he arrived. All he knew was that he had to survive, warn people, and ensure no one else ended up like Jake and Tom.

* * * * * *

Carl sprinted until he was miles away from Blackwater’s shores, his inhalations shallow and painful. He stumbled through the snow, his body aching with exhaustion and cold, but he couldn’t let himself rest. Not yet. Not until he was far enough away to be safe.

Finally, he reached the edge of the woods, where the trees began to thin out, giving way to the snow-covered fields that stretched out towards the distant town. He could see the faint glow of lights in the distance, a sign that he was nearing civilization. He was almost there.

But as Carl stood at the edge of the forest, catching his breath and trying to steady his racing heart, he heard it again—the faint, unmistakable droning. At the moment, it was soft, barely perceptible, but it was there, coursing through the air and sending waves of goosebumps up and down his arms.

He turned slowly, dread pooling in his stomach as he looked back towards the woods. There, through the trees, he could see the faint glow of pulsating cerulean light.

The hum grew louder, and Carl’s blood ran cold. It was following him. Whatever was in the lake, whatever had taken Jake and Tom, wasn’t finished yet. It was coming for him, determined to conclude its fiendish game of cat and mouse.

Carl’s legs trembled, his body screaming at him to run, but he couldn’t move. He was frozen in place, paralyzed by the fear that gripped him like a vise. The light was getting closer, the telltale thrum rising to a crescendo as his predators approached, and Carl knew that there was no escape. Not this time.

He closed his eyes, bracing himself for the inevitable. But just as the light was about to overtake him, it stopped. The inhuman murmur faded, leaving only the sound of the wind rustling through the trees.

Trepidatiously, Carl opened his eyes, his heart still hammering in his chest. The woods were dark and still, and Carl slumped to his knees, exhausted, teetering on the verge of madness. Once again, he’d been spared…but why?

Six Months Later

The sun blazed overhead as Carl walked along the sandy shore of a secluded tropical beach. The warm, salty breeze ruffled his thinning hair, and the sound of the waves crashing gently against the shore was a soothing balm to his frayed nerves. After leaving Whispering Pines, Carl had traveled far, as far as he could, seeking refuge in a place that was the complete opposite of the cold, foreboding lake that had nearly claimed his life.

Here, on this small coastal island in the Caribbean, Carl had found some semblance of peace. The days were filled with sunshine and warmth, the nights quiet and calm, the sound of the ocean lulling him to sleep.

He had taken up residence in a cozy, brightly painted bungalow near the beach, spending his days swimming in the crystal-clear waters and his nights enjoying the simple pleasures of island life. The locals were friendly, the food was good, and for the first time in months, Carl felt like he could breathe again.

But sometimes, even in the midst of paradise, when the sun dipped below the horizon and the shadows grew long, Carl would find himself listening for the faint hum, the one that had haunted him in the frozen wilderness. It never came, but the fear remained, ever-present, at the edges of his consciousness.

One afternoon, after a leisurely swim, Carl decided to take a walk along the shore. The tide was low, revealing a series of shallow tide pools nestled among the rocks, brimming with life. The water was so clear that he could see every detail of the coral and the small, colorful fish that darted in and out of the crevices.

As he walked, Carl’s thoughts drifted back to the life he had left behind, the friends he had lost. The warmth of the sun on his skin and the beauty of his surroundings did little to ease the ache in his chest. He had come here to forget, but some things were impossible to leave behind.

He was about to turn back when something in one of the tide pools caught his eye. It was just a glimmer, a flash of light reflected off the water’s surface, but it drew his attention. Carl stepped closer, peering down into the pool.

At first, he saw nothing out of the ordinary—just sand, shells, and strands of seaweed. But as he looked closer, a chill ran down his spine. There, beneath the surface, partially obscured by the shifting sand, was the outline of a human face.

Carl’s breath caught in his throat.

The face was pale, almost translucent, with wide, unseeing eyes. The mouth was slightly agape, as if frozen in a silent scream. He knew that face—it was the same one he had seen beneath the ice at Blackwater Lake.

His heart pounded in his chest as he stumbled back, nearly losing his footing on the slick rocks. The tide pool began to shimmer, the water rippling as if disturbed by an unseen force. Carl’s mind raced, his thoughts a jumbled mess of fear and disbelief.

No, his mind reeled. It couldn’t be. He was thousands of miles away, in a different world, warm, beautiful, and safe. This wasn’t possible.

But the evidence was right in front of him, staring up at him with cold, dead eyes. The all-too-familiar droning returned, faint at first, but growing louder with each passing second. The water in the tide pool began to glow, a ghoulish blue light that pulsed rhythmically, in time with the sound.

Carl took another step back, his instincts screaming at him to run for his life, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the sight before him. The body beneath the water began to move, drifting slowly toward the surface, as if reaching for him.

Carl turned and ran, his feet slipping on the wet sand as he fled down the beach. The hum made chase, growing louder, more insistent, the light from the tide pool casting strange shadows on the sand. He didn’t dare look back—he knew what he would see.

He reached the bungalow and slammed the door behind him, struggling to keep his wits about him. The hum was omnipresent, vibrating through the walls, the floor, his very being. Carl grabbed his bag and began stuffing it with whatever essentials he could find.

A moment later, as if the futility of his efforts had finally become clear, Carl’s hope disintegrated, and he stopped everything he was doing. The nightmare had followed him across oceans, across continents. There was no escaping it.

Carl calmly exited the bungalow, expressionless, and for the first time, laid eyes directly on the source of his torment, and fell to his knees, defeated.

The beach was bathed in a blinding flash, the brightness searing Carl’s vision. The light enveloped him, and with a final, deafening shriek of agony, Carl Donovan vanished.

When the light finally faded, the tide pool was empty, the water clear and still. The sun dipped toward the horizon, casting long, golden shadows across the beach. The warm breeze rustled the palm trees, and the waves lapped gently at the shore. To any observer, the scene was idyllic, serene—paradise undisturbed.

Epilogue

Halfway across the world, in a remote village nestled deep within the mountains, a young woman stood by the edge of a glacial lake. The air was crisp, the water still and clear, reflecting the towering peaks surrounding it.

As she knelt to dip her hand into the icy water, a strange shimmer caught her eye. She paused, her fingers hovering just above the surface, and leaned closer. There, beneath the water, something glowed faintly, a cerulean light that seemed to pulse with a life of its own, beckoning her nearer. And then the hum began, soft at first but growing louder, filling the air with its haunting resonance.

The light grew stronger, rippling just beneath the surface, and as she peered closer, the young woman saw a face staring back at her—pale and lifeless, with its eyes wide and its mouth frozen in a silent scream. She clutched at her chest as recognition dawned; the face was that of a man, his features twisted in terror.

It was Carl.