Chapter Three

The night had swallowed the island by the time I left the lab. My head throbbed. My shoulders ached from hours hunched over data. Stepping outside the inn, the cold air bit into me.

I just wanted to clear my head. Maybe breathe for a minute. Then I saw her.

A young girl stood near a gnarled bush in the faint garden light. She couldn’t have been more than eleven or twelve. Her long hair hung limp, hiding most of her small frame.

What stopped me was how still she was. Not shivering. Not moving. Just waiting. Or maybe watching.

Slowing my pace, I felt my pulse quicken without any clear reason. Though her back was turned to me, I somehow knew she was aware of my presence. “Hey,” I called out, keeping my voice soft. “Are you okay?”

The girl's head tilted, not in response to me, but as if she were listening for some other sound. When she finally turned to face me, the light caught her eyes - wide and unblinking, locking onto me with an unsettling intensity.

“Do you live here?” I asked, my breath clouding the air while hers remained still and silent. Before she could answer, or before I could dwell too much on her lack of response, the sound of footsteps made me spin around.

Sebastian was approaching, looking tired but not particularly concerned. “There you are,” he said, addressing the girl. Glancing at me, he gave a quick, lopsided smile. “Sorry if she's bothering you. Pearl, this is my sister, Amanda.”

I wanted to laugh at the idea of this girl “bothering“ me, but Amanda's unblinking stare made the chuckle catch in my throat. Turning back to her, I tried to shake the strange weight that had settled in my chest. “Hi, Amanda. Nice to meet you.”

She didn't speak, just kept staring, her eyes now darker, as if the weak light had been swallowed whole. Forcing a smile, I attempted to fill the uncomfortable silence. “You're adorable, you know that?”

Amanda’s head tilted, her mouth pulling into a slight frown, like I’d said something wrong. No, not wrong, dangerous. Her gaze flicked to Sebastian, who looked just as lost as I felt.

“She’s not big on compliments,” Sebastian said, forcing a smile. He shrugged like this was normal. “Kids, right?”

Amanda’s head snapped toward him, her glare sharp enough to cut. If looks could kill, Sebastian would be six feet under. He let out a weak chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. “See what I mean?” he muttered, trying to play it off.

I shifted, the awkwardness pressing down on all of us. “Well, good night,” I said. It was more for Sebastian than Amanda, who still hadn’t taken her eyes off me.

“Night,” Sebastian replied.

Amanda said nothing.

I turned and started walking, that strange feeling sticking to me like a cold sweat. When I glanced back, she was still there. Still watching. Her head tilted again, like she knew something I didn’t.

By the time I made it to my room, my skin was covered in goosebumps. Maybe Sebastian was right, kids could be weird. But Amanda wasn’t just weird. She was off. Like a note played too sharp or a shadow where there shouldn’t be one. I couldn’t shake it. Her stare felt like something I couldn’t scrape off, no matter how hard I tried.

?

That night, the dream stuck to me like a wet sheet. I was sinking, the water closing in, as it was heavy and alive, squeezing the air from my chest. My lungs burned, ready to give out. The deeper I fell, the darker it got. Shapes moved in the blackness, voices swirling like smoke, whispering my name.

Then I saw them, eyes. Huge, unblinking, impossibly dark. They hovered, watching me. Staring straight through me. My body screamed to fight, to swim back, but I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.

I tried to scream, but the water shoved its way into my throat. The pressure crushed my ribs, ready to split me open. All I could do was fall deeper, those eyes following me down.

I jerked awake, gasping. My heart pounded, tangled sheets clinging to my damp skin. The room was still dark, but faint light crept around the edges of the curtains, morning wasn’t far off. I sat frozen, listening, my breath coming in short bursts.

That’s when I heard it.

A shift. Barely a sound, like the soft creak of wood or a foot brushing against the floor. My skin prickled, and the air felt different, too close, too still. I wasn’t alone.

“Who’s there?” I rasped, my voice cracking in the silence.

Nothing.

I swallowed hard, my pulse thudding in my ears. “Who’s there?” I said again, louder this time. My words felt small in the dark, swallowed up by the quiet.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my feet hitting the floor. My hands shook as I stood, fumbling to turn on the flashlight on my phone. The beam cut through the dark, sweeping across the room.

And I froze.

In the corner, a figure sat curled up, knees pulled to her chest. A little girl. Amanda.

“Amanda?” My voice cracked. “How, how did you get in here?”

She didn’t answer right away. She just tilted her head, staring at me like she was studying something I couldn’t see. Her stillness made my skin crawl.

Then, without warning, she started crawling toward me. Not walking. Crawling. The way her limbs jerked and moved made my stomach knot.

“I sneaked in,” she said flatly, as if it cost her nothing to say it. “You have to listen to me.”

I couldn’t move. My fingers gripped the phone like it might protect me. “Listen to you? Amanda, what are you doing in my room?”

“You have to find a cure,” she said, completely ignoring my question. “You need to test the algae. Understand it. The villagers, my mother... they don’t know the truth. They think it’s a miracle from the Abyss, but it’s not. It’s a curse.”

I stared at her, trying to make sense of what she was saying. “What do you mean... a curse? What’s wrong with the algae?”

“They don’t know everything,” Amanda said, her voice calm in a way that made my skin crawl. She glanced toward the curtain, her dark eyes darting like she expected something, or someone. “But you can figure it out. You’re different.”

I opened my mouth to ask more, but the room felt so dark, so suffocating. I needed light. I turned toward the curtain, my hands reaching to pull it open, to let in anything that could make this make sense.

Amanda moved suddenly, her body jerking forward in sharp, unnatural motions. Her hand darted forward, gripping my wrist.

“Don't open the curtains,” she said sharply, her dark eyes boring into mine. I noticed how shallow her breathing was, as if she was holding something back.

“Why not?” I asked, confused but also scared of the answer.

“Because I can’t tolerate the sun,” she murmured. “If sunlight touches me, I’ll die.”

I stared at her, my mind rejecting what I was hearing. “That’s not possible.”

“It is,” she shot back, her grip on my wrist tightening. Her nails pressed into my skin. “The algae healed me, but it left this behind. It’s a side effect.”

Her words just confused me even more. “You’re saying the algae did this to you?”

Before she could answer, a sudden, loud banging on the door made me jump.

“Amanda!” Sebastian’s voice rang through the wood, urgent and sharp. “We know you’re in there! Open up!”

Amanda’s eyes widened, her breath coming in short, panicked bursts. Her hand on my wrist trembled but didn’t let go. “It’s my mom and Sebastian,” she whispered harshly. “Don’t let them take me. Please.”

The banging grew louder, the doorknob rattling violently. I stumbled back as Amanda darted behind me, my heart thundering in my chest. “What the hell is going on?” I whispered, trying to make sense of the situation.

Suddenly, the lock clicked. The door flew open with a crash. Tanya stormed in followed by Sebastian. They both looked tensed.

Before I could react, Tanya snatched a bedsheet and threw it over Amanda, wrapping her up in one smooth motion. Amanda’s muffled scream tore through the air. She thrashed wildly under the fabric. “Let me go! I’m not going back to that room! Just kill me if you have to! I’m sick of this! I’m sick of you!”

Sebastian lunged to grab her. “Stop it!” he hissed. Amanda twisted free, her small hands clawing at him. Her nails caught his skin, and blood welled up instantly.

“Damn it, Amanda!” he shouted, pulling his hand back.

Through the chaos, Tanya stayed calm in a way that felt colder than anything else. She pulled a syringe from her pocket and approached Amanda. “Enough,” she said. Then she plunged the needle into Amanda’s neck.

Amanda’s scream cut off. Her body sagged, going limp in seconds.

I stood there, stunned, my mind barely able to process what just happened.

“What the hell is going on?” Jaime’s voice called from the hallway. I glanced over and saw the rest of the team gathered at the door, eyes wide, faces pale.

Tanya didn’t look at any of us. “She’s having an episode,” she said flatly.

Sebastian lifted Amanda into her arms like it was nothing. “We’ll take care of her.”

“She’s not well. Go back to bed.” Tanya said with a fake smile.

The others hesitated. Their eyes darted between each other, uncertainty written all over their faces. One by one, they turned away, retreating to their rooms.

I didn’t move. My legs felt like lead, my heart slamming against my ribs.

Tanya and Sebastian carried Amanda down the hall. Her last words rang in my ears.

“If sunlight touches me, I’ll die.”

The door to their lodge slammed shut. The hallway fell into an eerie quiet.

I closed my door with shaking hands and leaned back against it, trying to breathe. My mind raced.

Whatever was happening to Amanda, whatever the algae had done to her, it wasn’t some “episode.” It was something darker, something worse. And I was going to find out the truth.

But for that, I needed fresh samples.