The Smiles Family - Novelized

PROLOGUE

The floor beneath me feels like an anchor, holding me down. I can't move—my body refuses to obey. Only my eyes respond, darting around, searching for something, anything.

"Get up."

The voice comes from above, cold and detached. My vision begins to clear, the blurriness fading just enough for me to recognize my surroundings. Seth and Matthew's bedroom. How did I end up here?

I force my gaze upward, and there it stands—the tall, shadowy figure, the one that prowls through the house at night. My heart pounds. I know him. The memories flood back—he was part of that submarine accident all those years ago.

"The Smiles Family have invited a guest over," the figure intones, its voice chilling in its calmness.

I struggle, forcing myself up from the carpet, but my body feels like it's moving through water. Standing, I find myself staring at the entity. His name echoes in my mind, accompanied by an old terror.

"You've meddled in our plans for too long," he says, his voice taking on a menacing edge. He lowers himself, bringing his towering frame down to my eye level. His breath feels cold against my skin. "You'll die one day, old man. And when you do, I'll be there. I'll come back to finish what I started."

The grin stretching across his face deepens, sickly and malicious. "I'm going to come back for the kids," he whispers, the words hanging like a threat.

I want to speak. The words gather in my throat but refuse to leave. And yet, maybe it's better that they don't. What could I possibly say to this... thing?

He leans closer, his form distorting as he backs toward the window, slipping out with unnatural ease. His body vanishes into the night, leaving the room feeling impossibly cold.

I'm alone again. Only the house, my thoughts, and—faintly in the distance—the hum of an approaching motorboat break the silence.