John kept staring at the dark horizon for several long seconds.
The shape he had seen… whatever it was…
Had already disappeared back into the depths.
The sea looked calm again.
Silent.
As if it had swallowed its own secret.
He looked down at his phone.
Still dead.
No signal.
No response.
He pressed the power button again.
Nothing.
A cold unease settled deeper inside him.
The first sign came quietly.
Too quietly for most people to notice.
The lights along the harbor flickered once.
Then again.
John frowned slightly and looked around.
A few people had gathered near the edge of the water now,
Speaking in low, uncertain voices.
"Did you see that?"
"The lights…"
"It's probably nothing…"
The usual words of reassurance that are said .
when no one understands what is happening.
Then, without warning—
everything went dark.
The entire harbor was swallowed in darkness.
Streetlights.
Cafés.
Buildings.
Even the distant lights on the hills vanished at once.
A few seconds of complete silence followed.
Then the reactions began.
Voices rose.
Confused.
Uneasy.
"What happened?"
"Is this a blackout?"
"My phone stopped working—"
"So did mine!"
John turned slowly.
The town behind him was now nothing but shadows.
Only faint outlines under the dim glow of the moon.
For a moment, the darkness felt heavier than it should.
Not just the absence of light…
But something deeper.
As if the island itself had been cut off.
A child started crying somewhere nearby.
A door slammed.
Footsteps hurried across the stone streets.
The calm of earlier had vanished completely.
John took a slow breath and forced himself to move.
He needed to get back to the hotel.
Now.
The way back felt longer than before.
Without lights, the narrow streets seemed unfamiliar.
Shadows stretched in unnatural shapes across the walls.
People stood outside their homes, speaking in anxious tones.
Some looked toward the sea.
Others toward the sky.
As if expecting something else to happen.
John walked quickly but carefully.
His senses were sharper now.
Every sound stood out.
Every movement caught his attention.
Halfway to the hotel, he slowed.
Something wasn't right.
The wind had stopped.
Completely.
The air felt still… almost heavy.
He looked up.
The sky was clear.
Too clear.
No clouds.
No movement.
Just darkness.
Then he heard it.
A low hum.
Faint.
Barely noticeable.
But steady.
John turned slowly, trying to locate its source.
It wasn't coming from the town.
It was coming from… behind him.
From the direction of the sea.
The same deep vibration he had felt earlier.
But stronger now.
More present.
He swallowed slowly.
"No…"
Suddenly—
a light appeared.
Far out on the horizon.
A thin line at first.
Pale.
Almost like a reflection.
John narrowed his eyes.
The line grew brighter.
Not spreading across the sky…
But across the water.
As if something beneath the surface was emitting light.
Soft.
Cold.
Unnatural.
Someone behind him whispered:
"What is that…?"
Another voice answered, trembling:
"That's not a boat…"
The light pulsed once.
Then faded.
Then returned… stronger.
John's heart began to pound.
The same pattern flashed briefly in his mind.
The disk.
The symbol.
The eye.
The light disappeared completely.
Darkness returned.
The hum stopped.
For a moment…
everything was still again.
Then the sound came.
Not loud.
Not sudden.
But vast.
A distant shifting.
Like something enormous moving deep beneath the ocean.
Closer this time.
Much closer.
People began moving faster now.
Some heading home.
Others gathering in small groups.
No one understood what was happening—
but everyone felt it.
Instinctively.
John didn't wait anymore.
He turned and walked quickly toward the hotel.
This time, he didn't look back.
When he finally reached the hotel،
The entrance was dimly lit by a single emergency lamp.
The lobby inside was no longer calm.
A few guests stood near the desk,
Speaking rapidly with the receptionist.
Her voice was controlled…
But her face was not.
She looked tense
John stepped inside.
The moment he crossed the doorway…
the hum stopped completely.
As if it had never existed.
He froze.
Slowly…
he turned his head toward the door behind him.
The street outside was silent.
Dark.
Empty.
Then something moved.
Across the street.
Near the shadows between the buildings.
A figure.
Standing still.
Watching.
John's breath caught.
He narrowed his eyes, trying to see clearly.
The figure didn't move
He didn't move forward.
He remained standing there.
Waiting.
A sudden flash of the emergency light in the hallway caught his attention.
When he turned around again,
the person was gone.
John remained standing there, motionless.
His heart still racing.
One thought repeating in his mind:
This was no longer about curiosity.
He hadn't come here to discover something.
He had stepped into something that had already begun.
John begins to feel remorse.
Perhaps he shouldn't have gotten himself into this mess.
Upstairs… in his room…
On the table near the window…
The metal disc lit up for a faint moment…
Then it went out again.
The island is now isolated from the world.
No electricity, no internet, no communications,
And the only airport is out of service.
John closed the door behind him.
And moved slowly toward the window.
From there… everything began differently.
The island, which had seemed peaceful by day, was now something else entirely.
Scattered beams of light—lamps, candles,
And perhaps small generators—moved like stars on Earth.
People's voices drifted in, muffled.
Anxiety.
Tension.
Questions without answers.
Across the street, a group of residents gathered, talking rapidly,
Some pointing towards the sea, others gazing up at the sky.
The fear wasn't obvious… but it was present in every movement.
In every pause.
In every sudden silence.
John placed his hand on the cold glass.
He watched the scene in silence.
A strange feeling crept over him…
Not only was something happening—
but the whole island… knew.
Knew more than it said.
Suddenly—
A scream shattered the silence.
Sharp.
Near.
From inside the hotel.
John turned quickly and opened the door without hesitation.
The hallway was dimly lit by a single emergency light.
Sounds were coming from below.
From the hallway.
He hurried down the stairs, his heart pounding.
As he drew closer—
The words began to make sense.
"…I told you to stay away from me!"
An angry voice.
Tense.
Then another voice, sharper:
"You shouldn't have come here!"
When he reached the hallway, he froze.
The man.
The same man he'd seen in the street.
The one who'd been watching him.
He was now standing in the middle of the hallway,
Gripping another inmate by the collar,
Pushing him roughly against the wall.
His face was no longer as calm as it had been.
His eyes were filled with something closer to… panic.
Or maybe anger.
The other inmate tried to escape
"What do you want from me?! I don't even know you!"
But the man didn't leave him alone.
Instead, he moved closer and whispered
Something no one else could clearly hear…
But the guest froze.
It was as if the words spoken were worse than the beating.
The receptionist and another employee quickly intervened.
"Sir! You need to calm down—now!"
After a moment of tension, the man suddenly released his grip.
A step back.
Then he looked around.
His eyes lingered on John.
For just a second.
But it was enough.
It wasn't a fleeting glance.
Or a coincidence.
A look of recognition.
As if to say:
I know you… and you know now.
Then, without another word,
He turned and left the hallway, heading for the exit.
No one stopped him.
No one understood what had happened.
Slowly, silence returned.
The other guest was panting, confused,
Looking around without understanding.
The staff tried to calm the situation.
But John…
He couldn't hear anything anymore.
Only now…
The picture began to take shape.
That man wasn't just a stranger.
He wasn't a coincidence.
He wasn't a passerby.
He was part of something bigger.
Something that had begun to cross his path.
The moment he arrived on the island.
And as John stood there…
Lost in thought—
Something else happened.
All the emergency lights in the hotel went out at once.
Complete darkness.
For two seconds…
Or maybe longer.
Then—
The light came back on.
Dimly.
Intermittently. But the man…
Was no longer at the door.
He was standing now… at the top of the stairs.
Looking directly at John. As if…
He had never left at all.
He smiled faintly.
Cold.
Unintelligible.
Then he said in a low but clear voice:
"It's too late."
And the lights went out again.
John's thoughts became confused.
He no longer knew what to do.
Everything was starting to change.
He had planned to spend three days on the island and then return.
Suddenly, in the midst of this internal dialogue,
John heard a knock on his door!!?
....
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