Fear Island

Washed away

"Pass the cup to your papa, Tari,"

Latesha, Tari's mother,said. Her voice was sharp but not unkind, the way it used to be before the world turned grey.The smell of roasted coffee beans filled the room , and the sound of Tari's father’s laughter echoed .

Young Tari, only seven years old, balanced the steaming ceramic mug with both hands. She walked across the sun-drenched dining room toward her father, Grant.

He was already dressed in his crisp suit, checking his watch, his face glowing with the morning light.

"Careful not to spill it!" Latesha called out from the stove.

"Try not to scare the child, honey," Grant said softly. His voice was like a warm blanket, steady and calm even when things felt rushed.

Tari took another step, focusing hard on the liquid swirling in the cup. But then, her foot caught on the plush ear of her favorite teddy bear lying forgotten on the floor. She gasped. Time seemed to slow down as she tumbled forward. The cup flew from her hands, shattering into a thousand white shards against the tile. Hot coffee splashed everywhere.

Tari burst into tears, terrified of the mess.

"Why you silly child! I told you to keep your toys away from the dining room!"

Latesha fumed, her hands on her hips.

"Now, come on honey," Grant rushed over, scooping Tari into his strong arms before she could step on the broken ceramics. He held her close, letting her sob into his shoulder. "It was an accident. Go easy on her. We should be thankful she wasn’t burned. Are you okay, baby?"

Tari nodded against his neck.

"You're spoiling her rotten, Grant," Latesha sighed, though her face softened. "She’ll never learn if you keep petting her like that."

"She’s my baby," Grant chuckled, kissing the top of Tari’s head. "Spoiling her a little isn’t so bad, is it?"

Tari looked up at him. His smile was her entire world. It was a smile she would have traded her soul to see one last time.

SPLASH!

The freezing salt water hit Tari’s face like a slap. She bolted upright, gasping for air, the warmth of the memory vanishing into a cold, rough reality.

She wasn't in a sunlit kitchen. She was lying on a bed of slimy moss and tangled seaweed. For a moment, she stared at the sky. It wasn't the blue she remembered. It was a bruised, sickly purple-grey, even though the sun was high.

"Papa?" she whispered, her voice cracking. But there was no father to pick her up. There was only the sound of crashing waves.

Tari sat up, and a sharp, stabbing pain erupted in her forehead. She touched her skin and pulled her hand away— blood stained her fingers. The memory of the manhole came rushing back. The fall, the darkness,the screaming.

"Aisha!" Tari screamed, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Aisha, where are you?"

She scrambled to her feet, her legs shaking like jelly. She wasn't at the woods anymore. She was on a beach, but it was unlike any beach she had ever seen. The sand wasn't gold; it was a dull, ashy grey. To her left, the ocean churned with violent, black waves. To her right, the island rose up like a wall of emerald nightmares.

The trees—massive, bloated coconut palms—towered hundreds of feet into the air, their trunks twisted like writhing snakes.

"Aisha!" she yelled again, her voice echoing off the towering black cliffs that hugged the shore.

She began to run, her boots sinking into the soft, wet sand. The beach was littered with more than just shells. There were huge, rusted shipping crates half-buried in the tide, and bleached white bones—ribcages too large to belong to a deer or a cow—scattered like graveyard decorations.

She reached a vine-covered cave at the base of the cliff. "Aisha? Are you in there?"

She took one step inside and immediately recoiled, gagging. The stench was unbearable—the smell of rotting meat and old sulfur. In the dim light filtering through cracks in the ceiling, she saw mounds of fur and bone. Carcasses of strange animals lay in heaps, their flesh torn away by something with very large, very sharp teeth.

"Please don’t be in there," Tari whispered, tears blurring her vision. "Please be okay."

She backed away and ran until her lungs burned. She felt so small. The island felt alive, as if the very trees were watching her, waiting for her to tire out. She collapsed onto her knees, sobbing into her hands.

"Mom... Papa... someone help us," she cried, striking the sand with her fist. "Where is my sister!"

" Hey sis!" A faint voice echoed at the distance " Look what I found !?"

Tari froze. She spun around so fast she nearly fell. Standing by a cluster of serrated rocks was Aisha.

The little girl was covered in mud and seaweed, but she was holding a handful of brightly colored purple seashells as if she were on a normal vacation.

"Aisha!" Tari shrieked. She lunged forward, running with every strength she could summon. She threw her arms around her younger sister so hard they both tumbled into the sand.

"Ouch! Careful, sis, you'll ruin my collection!" Aisha complained, trying to wiggle out of the hug. "Look at them. These shells are pretty, right? They glow."

Tari didn't care about the shells. She grabbed Aisha’s shoulders, checking her over.

"Oh,you poor thing, you gave me quiet the scare. Are you okay? Where were you? I thought... I thought I lost you."

"I was just looking at the shiny things," Aisha said innocently. Then, her face winced. "But my arm feels hot."

Tari’s heart stopped. She pulled back Aisha’s tattered sleeve. There, on her small forearm, were three deep, jagged gouges. It wasn't a scrape from a rock. It looked like something had tried to grab her. The edges of the wound were already turning a faint, sickly green.

"Oh no," Tari whispered, her hands trembling. "Aisha, what happened?"

"I don't know," the girl said, her lip beginning to quiver. "I woke up in the bushes over there. Something big and hairy was sniffing me. I thought it was a doggy, but it had too many teeth. I ran and hid in the rocks."

Tari felt a cold chill that had nothing to do with the ocean. She quickly tore off her cloth headband, ripping it into a strip. "Hold still," she commanded, wrapping the fabric tightly around the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Sis, where are we? Where’s Mom , is she coming?" Aisha asked, her voice small and frightened.

Tari looked at the dark, looming forest behind them. The trees seemed to lean toward them, their leaves rustling even though there was no wind.

"I don’t know, honey. It’s an island, probably. We must have been carried through the hole by the water. But we can’t stay on the beach. We’re too easy to see."

"You're bleeding too," Aisha pointed to Tari’s forehead.

"I'm fine," Tari lied, forcing a smile to keep her sister calm. "It’s just a scratch. C'mon, we need to find higher ground. Maybe there’s a lighthouse or a cabin."

"Do you think there are werewolves here?" Aisha asked, clutching her shells. "Like the one that scratched me?"

Tari opened her mouth to say werewolves weren't real, but the words died in her throat.

AHOOOOOOOO!

A long, mournful howl ripped through the air. It didn't come from the forest. It came from the cliffs above them. Then, a second sound followed—a deep, chest-vibrating growl that sounded like stones grinding together. It was close. Too close.

The hair on the back of Tari’s neck stood up. The sun was still out, but the shadows under the trees were growing longer, reaching out like fingers.

"Aisha, hop on my back. Now!" Tari hissed.

"But you’re tired—"

"Now!"

Aisha scrambled onto Tari’s back, her small arms wrapping around Tari’s neck. Tari groaned as she stood. Every muscle in her body screamed in protest, and the wound on her head throbbed with every heartbeat. But she didn't stop. She couldn't.

She began to trek toward a steep, rocky path that led away from the shore. The growling behind them intensified. It wasn't just one creature; it sounded like a pack.

As they climbed, Tari looked back one last time. Down on the beach, near the cave she had checked earlier, a shadow emerged. It was massive, hulking, and covered in matted black fur. It didn't walk like a wolf—it lurked on two legs, its long arms dragging in the sand.

It stopped at the spot where they had just been sitting. It lowered its head, sniffing the sand where Aisha’s blood had dripped.

Then, the creature looked up. Its eyes weren't animal eyes. They glowed with a pale, intelligent yellow light. It bared its teeth—rows of needle-sharp ivory—and let out a sound that was half-howl, half-human scream.

Tari didn't wait to see more. She turned and scrambled up the rocks, her breath coming in ragged gasps.

"Don't look back, Aisha," Tari whispered, her voice shaking. "Whatever you do, don't look back."

They reached a high ledge, but as Tari turned the corner, she stopped dead. The path didn't lead to a road or a house. It led to a massive, ancient stone gate built into the side of the mountain, enclosed by a network of vines and stubborn shrubs . Carved into the stone were symbols that seemed to pulse with a faint, red light.

And sitting right in front of the gate, waiting for them, was something that made the creature on the beach look like a puppy.

Tari froze in fear as she backed up against the wall, gripping her sister tight on her back.