Next day…
The next morning felt completely different.
The road.
The fog.
The stranger.
For the first time since that nightmare of a shortcut, nobody wanted to talk about it.
And that was perfectly fine with everyone.
Morning came with a pale sky and the rhythmic crash of waves. The air smelled of salt and wet earth.
The exhaustion of last night vanished quickly as the group prepared for the beach - laughter returning with the sunrise.
---
Dev was the first one awake.
Mostly because he was hungry.
Again.
"Why does every vacation start with me starving?" he complained while knocking on random doors.
"Because you eat like a black hole," Deep replied from inside his room.
He banged on Aryan's door.
"Wake up."
"No."
"Breakfast."
Aryan sat upright instantly.
"Why didn't you say that first?"
Within an hour, the entire hotel lobby had become chaotic.
Dipanshu was looking for his sunglasses.
Dev was looking for Dipanshu's sunglasses because apparently he had borrowed them.
Kritika was arguing with the receptionist over breakfast timings.
Varsha was recording everything for future blackmail.
And Wick was quietly drinking coffee while watching the disaster unfold.
---
Shristi dropped into the seat beside him.
"You look suspiciously calm."
"I've accepted my fate."
She laughed.
"Which is?"
"Traveling with idiots."
---
Across the room, Aryan pointed at himself.
"I feel personally attacked."
"You should," Wick replied.
---
A few minutes later, the group finally reached the beach.
Beach bags.
Sunglasses.
Bluetooth speakers.
And enough snacks to survive a zombie apocalypse.
Music played from a speaker, laughter filled the air.
"Volleyball!" Dipanshu shouted.
"Absolutely not," Sonal replied.
Five minutes later she was playing volleyball.
---
Aryan dove dramatically for a save.
Missed the ball.
Hit the sand.
And somehow blamed Deep.
---
"HOW IS THIS MY FAULT?"
"Your negative energy distracted me."
Dev, with his camera in hand, captured everything - Annu's messy dance, Kritika's exaggerated dives, and Varsha teasing Nick for missing the ball twice in a row.
Wick sat under a palm tree, watching. Shristi joined him, brushing off sand from her legs.
"You're not playing?" she asked.
He smiled faintly. "We are playing from months…and it's a vacation trip."
"Then you're missing out," she teased.
"Maybe." His gaze softened. "But I'm not missing this view."
She turned away, pretending not to blush.
Later, walking by the shoreline, Shristi spotted something half-buried in the sand - a delicate silver necklace with a green pendant shaped like an eye. It shimmered faintly under the sun.
"Look what I found!" she called out to Varsha and Sonal.
"Lucky you!" Varsha said. "You should wear it - looks vintage. It suits on you."
Shristi hesitated. Something about it felt cold. But she smiled and fastened it around her neck anyway.
For a moment, she swore the pendant pulsed - faintly, like a heartbeat. She laughed it off.
---
After the beach, the group explored the market - colorful stalls, sizzling street food, handmade jewelry. Kritika haggled with vendors like she'd been born to do it. Annu got henna on her hands, and Dev bought matching anklets for fun.
At a cliffside café, overlooking the restless sea, everyone gathered for sunset.
Photos were clicked. Taniya read fortunes with mock seriousness. The sky turned crimson as couples leaned closer and laughter filled the fading light.
For a while, it felt perfect.
---
By evening, when they returned to the hotel, the air felt heavier. The hallways were too silent, the old chandelier flickered though there was no breeze.
Prishka sat near the window, her brow furrowed. "This place... it doesn't breathe right."
Downstairs, four backpackers arrived. They looked tired, worn, and oddly expressionless.
One of them - a girl with braids and sharp eyes - looked up the staircase just as Sonal passed by. She whispered something in a language no one understood.
Only Prishka noticed.
"She's giving final destination energy," Prishka muttered to Deep.
"You're giving Scooby-Doo energy," he replied.
That night, Sonal couldn't sleep. She heard faint whispers outside her window - almost like her own name being called. When she checked the mirror, her reflection was smiling... even though she wasn't. But it was a dream.
But was it really just a dream?
She said nothing.
And in Room 309, something else stirred.
Shristi lay awake. The necklace felt... warmer now. Tighter.
Later on Shristi, too, dreamt of drowning - cold hands pulling her into dark water. When she woke, her throat was cold.
Varsha felt someone sit beside her in bed. But no one was there.
By morning, Ayesha and Prishka both insisted they leave and get into new hotel.
"Let's change hotels," Wick said firmly. "Something's not right here."
While packing, Shristi tried to remove the necklace. It wouldn't unclasp. Wick helped her. When he touched it, he paused.
"It's freezing," he murmured.
"It was underwater," she said quietly.
But even as they left the old hotel, something unseen followed.
To be continued…