Mia wasn’t the type to go to bed early. With her gaming headset snug over her ears and an energy drink by her side, she powered through another late-night tournament in ShadowRealm Online. The game world stretched before her—a dark forest shrouded in mist. Her fingers moved rapidly across the keyboard, guiding her character through the shadows.
Then—her screen froze.
A strange symbol flickered onto the display: a blinking circle with a triangular eye in the center.
“Find me at the lighthouse.”
The message flashed for only a second before vanishing.
Mia’s breath hitched. She yanked off her headset, glancing around her dimly lit room. The only sound was the soft hum of her computer.
“The lighthouse?” she murmured. It had been abandoned for years. Was this some kind of secret mission? A hidden quest in the game?
She refreshed the screen—nothing. No trace of the message.
Something about it unsettled her, yet curiosity gnawed at her mind. Without overthinking, she grabbed a hoodie, her flashlight, and slipped out the back door.
The night air was crisp, and the streets were eerily quiet. Mia’s footsteps echoed as she made her way toward the coastline, where the old lighthouse stood against the backdrop of the moonlit sky. The waves crashed rhythmically against the shore, their sound amplified by the silence of the night.
As she reached the lighthouse, she hesitated. The heavy iron door was slightly ajar. That shouldn’t have been possible. The place had been locked up for years.
She pushed it open with a creak. The air inside smelled of salt and rust. The spiral staircase loomed before her, leading up into the darkness.
Then, she heard it—a faint, rhythmic tapping coming from above.
Mia swallowed hard. Her flashlight flickered as she took slow steps up the winding stairs, her heartbeat thundering in her ears.
Reaching the top, she found herself in the lantern room. A dim light pulsed from an old radio transmitter, its static crackling softly.
And then—her phone vibrated.
A single text message appeared on the screen:
“You found me.”
Mia’s blood ran cold. She hadn’t told anyone she was coming here.
A sound behind her made her whirl around.
Standing in the shadows was Alex—her best friend.
“You got the signal too?” he asked, holding up his own phone, the same cryptic message glowing on the screen.
Before Mia could answer, the radio crackled louder. The symbol—the blinking circle with the triangular eye—flashed across its small screen.
A deep, mechanical voice echoed through the room.
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
And then, the lighthouse light flickered to life—illuminating something moving in the darkness beyond the window.
Something watching them.
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