When Lila and her little sister Hana survive a horrifying attack at home, the world they knew disappears beneath a dark, unnatural sky. On a remote island, strangers become allies, and every shadow hides a threat they cannot fully understand.

Meanwhile, Ethan struggles to protect his younger siblings after a monstrous creature emerges from the sand, leaving chaos in its wake. As the two groups navigate the dangers of the island, their paths inch closer together, guided by survival instincts, fleeting trust, and the haunting question-what is truly hunting them?

In a place where nothing is what it seems, and the monsters may not be what you fear, secrets from the past will surface, and the line between human and horror will blur.

Having a destination didn't make the island safer.


Before, every step forward had been empty just movement for the sake of staying alive. Now, every step felt like it was pointed toward something, toward Mom. Toward answers. Toward the only place on Nako Island that had ever felt… solid.


I could still picture her there. Hair tied back. Jacket half-buttoned. Talking too fast about molecules and reactions like the world made sense if you just broke it down small enough.


Beside me, Lila walked silently, Hana tucked close under her arm. Our reasons were different, but our direction was the same.


The trees eventually thinned enough that I could see farther between the trunks. The ground here was smoother. Long scars dragged through the dirt where something massive had scraped along the surface.


Alexa swallowed. "They've been here…"


We walked the edge of the clearing instead of crossing it. The air felt heavier here. Like stepping too hard would be a mistake.


Hana whimpered. Lila's arm tightened around her.


"We keep heading north," I said quietly. "The college isn't far from the main road. Once we clear the forest, we follow the highway."


"And we find them," Lila added not loudly, not hopeful.


Like a promise she was daring the world to break.


Five small figures in a too-quiet world, walking toward the only place that still felt like it could hold our parents. The only place that meant order. Logic. Safety.


But as we walked, I couldn't shake the thought forming at the back of my mind:


Then maybe the college wasn't a place for answers.


Maybe it was just another thing waiting to be swallowed.


Because sometimes moving toward the people you love is the only choice the world leaves you.


And hope, even on an island like this, was louder than fear.


Chapter 12 - A Line in the Dirt