The rain didn't stop. The sky looked like a bottomless abyss, from which gallons of water kept pouring down, as if the world itself was crying over what was about to happen.
Mason stood under an empty gazebo, staring at a bloodstained doll. Its eyes seemed alive. He could feel them watching him. He knew Jennifer—or something pretending to be her—had left him a message. The doll shivered in his hand. He threw it away in disgust.
"What the hell are you trying to tell me?!" he screamed into the darkness.
The echo didn't answer. Instead, a guttural sound came from the nearby woods. It wasn't an ordinary noise. It sounded like something struggling to breathe through a shattered throat.
Mason moved toward the sound. A flash of lightning lit up the area for a second—just long enough. Between the trees stood a figure. Tall. Dark. Half-transparent. As the thunder faded, the figure disappeared, leaving only mist behind.
He took a step forward—and heard a whisper:
"Jennifer is alive. But not for long."
Mason ran ahead and found the entrance to the hotel's underground levels—an old hatch buried under rotting leaves. He carefully climbed down. Stone steps led deeper below.
With every step, the air grew colder. In the distance, he could hear a woman singing. The melody was familiar. As if he had heard it before. Maybe in childhood?
Finally, he reached a chamber with a stone altar.
And lying on it... was Nancy.
Unconscious, but alive.
Beside her, like a guardian of hell, stood a figure in black.
"Are you ready to learn the truth?" the figure asked.
"What truth? Who are you? Are you... Jack?"
"Yes. I am what remains after the sin."
Mason didn't reply. He knew there was no turning back.
Jack raised his hand. The stone altar lit up with a blue glow.
A chain dropped from the ceiling. And at the end of it hung something... or someone.
Jennifer.
But her eyes were open.
And they were staring straight at Mason.
"Help..." she whispered.
*
Nancy opened her eyes. The world was distorted. A bluish glow seeped from the stone walls. She was in a cave, but not the same one as before. This place throbbed with life... or rather, with death.
Chains hung from the rocky shelves, some of them still bloodstained. Shadows slithered across the floor, looking like children. Their eyes glowed with a dead light.
She didn't understand. Why, during this strange weather anomaly, did each of them start seeing these horrifying figures on the island? Before, only Mason and Jake could see them, because their families were tied to past tragedies.
Now, all of them were in danger. Danger was creeping into every corner of their souls.
"Who are you...?" she whispered.
The nearest shadow looked at her, then pointed deeper into the cave.
"He's watching you."
She looked. At the end of the corridor stood a man. A shadow shaped like Mason, but something about him was wrong. His eyes were completely black. And he was smiling—a smile far too wide.
"Mason...?" Nancy choked out, terrified.
The shadow raised its hand, and the ground beneath her began to collapse.
*
Will and Olivia sat at a table in the hotel kitchen. The only candle they had found gave off a weak light. Everything else was swallowed by darkness.
"Something's changing," Will said. "I can feel it. This island... it's breathing."
"Or waking up," Olivia added. "Whatever lives here hasn't shown its true face yet."
The door behind them creaked. They turned around. No one was there.
Will stood up and moved down the hallway. As he entered the reception area, the light went out. Olivia was left alone.
"Will?" she called. "Will, damn it, come back."
She was answered by laughter. Feminine, childish, masculine—all at once. Terrifying.
Olivia backed away, bumping into a cabinet. Then the door opened. Will entered, pale as a sheet.
"Someone was here," he said. "But I didn't see anyone. Just a shadow."
"A shadow?" Olivia grabbed his hand. "Don't leave me alone. Ever again."
*
Jake and Betty, crouched behind a tree, watched the ghosts moving among the trees. Their numbers grew by the minute. Some were children, other women in bloodstained dresses. They all shared the same features: dead eyes and gaping mouths.
"These are the ones who were never found," Jake said. "Victims of our grandparents. Maybe not just them."
"The one who killed them is still here," Betty whispered. "I'm so scared... Why can I see these nightmare phantoms now too? I feel like I'm going to faint from fear," she added, her voice panicked.
"Perhaps they've appeared because they're seeking revenge. And we're just the tools."
Then one of the children looked at Jake and said:
"He's coming back."
"Who?" Jake asked, but the ghost had already vanished.
Betty gripped his arm.
"We have to go. We have to warn the others."
"No. We need to find out what he wants. Who 'he' is. Without that, we'll never get out of here. Is it about Jack?" He threw a worried glance at his friend. "He's the one who slaughtered innocent people at the hotel in a frenzy. Now he's a demon, still seeking revenge, still spreading terror..."