Summer Lies

Chapter 3: Shadows in the Water

The rain was still falling when Emily opened the door. The police officer stood with serious eyes and soaked shoulders, holding yet another clear plastic bag in his hand.

“We found this near the cliffs, close to where you were diving,” he said. His voice was calm but tense. “It looks like it belonged to her.”

Emily took the bag with trembling hands. Inside was a piece of jewelry—a half-destroyed bracelet she recognized immediately. Katy had worn it all summer.

Behind her, the living room fell silent. No one said a word. But everyone’s thoughts screamed.

Emily sat on the floor with the box in her lap. She stared at it as if it held a secret just waiting to be uncovered. The others sat around her quietly, while raindrops drummed against the windows.

“Sarah should see this,” Emily said suddenly. “They were close friends… maybe she can help.”

She looked up. “Can someone text her?”

“I can,” Ethan replied, already pulling out his phone. He quickly typed a message:

‘Is there any chance you can sneak out of your room without your mom noticing?’

The reply came almost instantly:

‘Yes, I’m already on my way.’

Emily breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t been sure if Sarah would even answer.

Moments later, a soft knock came at the back door. Emily jumped up and opened it. Sarah stood outside, soaked from the rain and looking determined.

“We have to hurry before my mom notices I’m gone,” she said.

They didn’t hesitate. Together they ran to the small motorboat docked by the pier. The sky was dark, the wind picking up, and the waves splashed higher than before. But no one said a word. One thought consumed them all: they had to find out what happened to Katy.

They sailed out into the open sea, back to where it had all begun.

Out on the water, they pulled on their diving gear. This time, they chose to dive together. No one would disappear again.

The water was cold, dark, and heavy. They swam close in formation, scanning with their underwater flashlights. Seaweed danced along the ocean floor, and the rocks cast long shadows. Everything was silent. Too silent.

Then Sarah saw something. She gently grabbed Emily’s arm and pointed. A narrow c***k in the rock—an underwater cave.

They swam closer, hesitating. The cave was tight, but not impossible to get through. One by one, they slipped inside. Into the darkness.

Inside the cave, the water grew clearer, as if something was filtering it. And then—in the light from their flashlights—they saw it.

A marking. Carved into the stone. It looked like a symbol—ancient, mysterious. And below it… a blood-red piece of cloth wrapped around a jagged stone.

Emily gasped and looked at the others. No one spoke, but their eyes all said the same thing: they were getting closer to something. Something dangerous.

Suddenly, Léo’s flashlight flickered. He tried to fix it, but it sputtered again. And then—out of nowhere—small, shadow-like movements surrounded them. As if something… or someone… was swimming around them.

Sarah gripped Emily’s hand tightly. She was shaking. Not from the cold—but from fear.

Ethan pointed upward—they had to go.

They swam toward the surface, as fast as they dared. When they broke through the waves, gasping for air, the mood had shifted. It was as if the darkness below had seeped into their bones.

“We… we’re not going back there,” Léo said with a trembling voice.

“But we have to,” Emily said. “We need to understand what this is. It’s not just about Katy anymore. This… this is bigger.”

Sarah stared at her, and her expression had changed. There was no longer just sadness—there was determination.

They sailed back to shore in silence. Each of them knew they were caught in something they could no longer run from.

Something was waiting down there in the dark.

And it had already taken one of them.

They slipped into the cool water one by one, letting the sunlight disappear above them as if entering another world. The sea’s dark embrace surrounded them, and the sound of their own breathing through the gear was the only thing reminding them they were still alive.

They stayed close. No one wanted to risk another disappearance. Ethan swam in front, flashlight strapped to his wrist, lighting the way. The seaweed swayed with the current like green, ghostly fingers.

Emily kept an eye on Sarah, who was right beside her. There was tension between them, but no one spoke. Underwater, there was no space for anger—only focus and fear.

Suddenly, Ethan’s light blinked on something. An opening in the rock. Another underwater cave.

Ethan pointed and swam closer. The others hesitated but followed. They moved through the narrow passage into the cramped space. It was dark, wet, and claustrophobic. The stones were slick and covered in algae.

Emily’s heart pounded as she entered. There was barely room to turn around.

Inside, Ethan shined his light toward the ceiling. There—in a crevice above them—something was stuck. Emily swam up and gently pulled it free. A small, water-damaged piece of paper.

She unfolded it underwater and saw the outline of a drawing. It looked like a map. A hand-drawn sketch with Greek letters and arrows pointing toward an island… an island they recognized.

They quickly surfaced, gasping for air. Rain had started falling again—cold drops on warm skin.

“It’s a map,” Emily said, showing them the paper. “I think… I think it shows where the box came from.”

Sarah took it and looked closer. “This island… it’s nearby. We almost passed it yesterday.”

“We’re going there,” Ethan said firmly. “Now.”

The boat approached the island slowly. It was isolated, surrounded by cliffs and wild vegetation. It didn’t look like a place people visited. No paths, no buildings. Just forest, stone, and darkness.

They docked in a small cove where they could pull the boat onto the beach.

“What exactly are we looking for?” Léo asked.

Emily didn’t answer. She didn’t have a clear answer. Only a feeling—that something on this island could explain why Katy was gone.

They started walking through the trees. No birds sang. The air felt heavy, as if the island were holding its breath.

After twenty minutes, they came to a clearing. An old stone foundation lay before them—ruins, maybe once a shrine. In the center stood a pedestal, and on top… a bowl-shaped indentation covered in symbols they couldn’t read.

“It’s the same symbol as the box,” Emily whispered.

“Is this where it came from?” Sarah whispered. She reached out to touch the indentation.

“Wait,” said Isac—but too late.

Sarah’s finger brushed the stone—and a low rumble echoed beneath their feet.

The ground shook, and a section of the pedestal slid open with a click.

A dark hole appeared.

“A staircase…” Ethan murmured.

“Are we… going down there?” Léo asked, visibly shaken.

Emily nodded. “We’ve come this far. We have to.”

The steps downward were narrow and damp. The air smelled of earth, salt, and something ancient. Like a cellar sealed for centuries.

At the bottom, they entered a small chamber lit only by sunlight filtering through cracks in the ceiling.

In the center stood another pedestal. On top, something lay beneath a cloth.

Emily stepped forward and pulled the cloth away.

A photograph.

It was new. Not old or black-and-white. This was modern. It showed Katy. She stood by the beach, smiling—holding the box in her hands.

“How is this even here?” Sarah gasped.

“It doesn’t make sense…” Ethan said. “Someone must have put it here.”

“So someone took her. And they’ve been watching us,” Emily said, her voice shaking.

A door slammed behind them.

They turned quickly. The entrance up the stairs… was gone.

The stones had sealed again.

“We’re trapped,” Isac said.

Hours passed like days. They searched for a way out, but the room was sealed. Only the faint rays of sunlight gave them hope.

“We have to stay calm,” Emily said, though her hands were shaking.

They huddled together. Ethan held Emily close, while Sarah sat alone on the opposite side of the room.

“I’m sorry,” Emily said suddenly. Her eyes met Sarah’s.

“Sorry for what?”

“For kissing him. For being angry. For not being on the same side.”

Sarah looked away. “I miss her so much,” she whispered. “I used to tell Katy everything. She always understood me.”

Emily nodded and silently crawled over to sit beside her. The two friends sat quietly together, as if words were no longer needed.

Then—a sound.

A click.

The door behind them slowly creaked open.

Ethan stood immediately. “We’re getting out of here. Now.”

They ran up the stairs, and the last thing they saw before the door closed again was the photograph—now flipped face down. As if someone had turned it.

Without touching it, they ran for the boat.

On the way back, no one said anything. They had found something—but what it meant, they still didn’t know.

But one thing was certain:

Katy hadn’t just vanished.

She had been taken.

And they were the next pieces in the game.