Ethan
We stayed frozen for what felt like forever. The sand where the creature had risen was still shifting, settling back into the ground, as if it had never been there. My chest was tight, my throat raw from holding my breath. Alex and Alexa clung to me, their tiny bodies trembling.
"Are… are we going to be okay?" Alexa whispered.
I swallowed hard. My feet hurt from standing in the cold, wet sand, but I forced myself to bend down and wrap my arms around both of them.
"I don't know," I admitted. "But we have to stay together. Okay?"
They nodded, too stunned to say anything else.
I looked back at the water. The waves rolled in like nothing had happened, but the sky above told a different story. It wasn't night, not really. The sun was hidden beneath a dark, heavy shadow that stretched across the horizon. Even the air felt heavier, as if it was watching us.
I glanced at the car. Dad… I couldn't think about him right now. Not yet. I had to focus on the kids. My siblings. Keeping them alive.
We started walking back toward the small pier where we had parked. Every sound made me jump. The whistle of the wind, the clatter of a stray shell underfoot, even the soft footsteps of my own siblings behind me.
"What was that?" Alex asked in a tiny voice.
"I don't know," I said, trying to sound braver than I felt. "But it's gone… for now."
Alexa's eyes were wide. "Will it come back?"
"I… I don't know," I admitted again. The truth was worse than I could say. Whatever that thing was, I didn't think it followed rules. It didn't seem to think like us. It just existed and we had no idea why.
We reached the pier. The car looked smaller from here, innocent somehow, like nothing had happened. But I knew better. Everything had changed.
I crouched down to check on them. Alex's lips were pale, and Alexa kept shivering. I brushed their hair from their faces. "We need to keep moving," I said softly. "We can't stay here. Not yet. We need to find somewhere safe."
Somewhere safe. The words felt hollow. I didn't know if anywhere on Nako Island was safe anymore.
The darkness above didn't move. The clouds didn't shift. The wind whispered past us, carrying a faint, metallic scent that made my stomach turn.
I held onto Alex and Alexa a little tighter. I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat, thundering in my ears.
We were alive. But for how long?