Silence.
Not the peaceful kind.
The kind that made your skin feel tight.
The lake stretched endlessly ahead.
Dark.
Still.
Almost like glass.
No waves.
No movement.
Just… there.
A young man stood near the edge, breathing lightly.
Watching.
People were scattered along the shore.
Some sat on the ground, staring blankly.
Others argued in hushed, shaky voices.
A few cried.
"…Where are we…?"
"…Is this real…?"
"…Those things earlier—"
No answers came.
The young man crouched down, picking up a small stone.
He weighed it in his hand for a second.
Then tossed it forward.
Plop.
Ripples spread across the surface.
Slow.
Normal.
Too normal.
His brows pulled together slightly.
That's… strange.
He kept staring.
Longer than most would.
"Hey."
He looked up.
A man in his early thirties approached, breathing a little heavy but trying to stay composed.
"Well… at least someone's testing things."
The young man didn't reply.
The man glanced at the lake, then back at him.
"You think it's safe?"
A pause.
"…I don't know."
Honest.
The man exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair.
"Doesn't matter. We need water."
That… was also true.
Around them, more people were starting to move closer to the shore.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Too carefully.
The young man watched them.
He kept staring at the surface longer than he should have.
Why is it so still…?
"This isn't helping," someone snapped nearby. "We either drink or wait here and die."
A woman stepped forward.
Her steps unsteady.
Her lips dry and cracked.
The young man opened his mouth slightly—
"…Wait—"
But the word came out too soft.
She didn't hear him.
Or maybe she ignored it.
She reached the edge.
Kneeled.
Her fingers touched the surface.
Nothing happened.
She scooped water into her hands.
Paused.
Then drank.
Everyone watched.
A few seconds passed.
Nothing.
A breath of relief spread through the group.
"See? It's fine—"
The surface shifted.
Just a little.
The young man's eyes narrowed.
"…Move back," he said, a bit louder this time.
Too late.
Something shot up from below—
Fast.
Violent.
SNAP.
The woman screamed.
Her body jerked forward, dragged by something beneath the surface.
Her hands clawed at the ground—
grasping—
slipping—
Then—
Gone.
The lake stilled again.
No blood.
No ripples.
Nothing.
For a moment—
no one moved.
Then everything broke.
"WHAT WAS THAT?!"
"GET BACK—!"
"STAY AWAY FROM THE WATER!"
People stumbled over each other, scrambling away from the edge.
The man beside him froze, face pale.
"…What the hell was that…"
The young man stepped back slowly.
Eyes still locked on the water.
It moved before she disappeared…
No… something moved.
His fingers tightened slightly.
There's something inside.
He swallowed.
"…We shouldn't get close," he said quietly.
This time—
no one argued.
A child started crying.
Someone dropped to their knees.
Another person kept backing away, shaking their head over and over.
"We need to move," the man from earlier said, voice less steady now. "We can't stay here."
People looked at him.
Waiting.
Waiting for someone to decide.
The young man looked around instead.
Too open. Too many people clustered in one place with nowhere to go.
His gaze drifted—
toward a cluster of rocks further back.
Slightly elevated.
Safer… maybe.
He hesitated.
Should I say something…?
What if he was wrong?
What if it didn't matter?
"…There," someone else suddenly pointed.
"The rocks—we can see better from there."
The man nodded quickly. "Yeah. Yeah, that's better. Everyone—move!"
The group began shifting.
Messy.
Uneven.
But moving.
The young man followed along.
Not at the front.
Not at the center.
Just… there.
Watching.
Listening.
Counting.
People.
Injuries.
Distance.
The child from earlier clung to someone's arm, still crying.
No one spoke much now.
The lake remained behind them.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
The wind passed over its surface—
And for a brief moment—
something beneath shifted.
Not caused by wind.
He saw it.
Just for a second.
His steps slowed.
There's more than one.
He slowed his breathing without thinking about it.
But he said nothing.
Not yet.
Ahead, people began settling near the rocks.
Some collapsed from exhaustion.
Others kept looking back toward the lake.
The man who had been speaking earlier stood near the front, trying to gather people.
Trying to take control.
The young man stayed near the back.
Unnoticed.
Unheard.
Thinking.
The sky above remained clear.
But behind them—
The lake waited.
Still.
Watching.