SCAREBNB

eight: a promise

sorry for the late halloween update! life has been crazy. enjoy 👻👻

"What the f—"

"Lucas!" Annie screamed. Her voice broke in a sob and she crumped to the floor. "This can't be happening, this can't be happening—"

"I'm searching the rest of the house," Elijah said.

"Wait—" Gabriel followed on his heels.

"What's happening?"

I hadn't even realised we'd left Cadence alone. Shit, what if something happened to her? Her knotted hair bounced around her shoulders, her voice still filmed with sleep.

"No!" Annie shrieked. Her crying was so hard I almost worried it'd break her in half—the screams shattering her tiny ribcage.

"Where the hell could he have gone? This is fucking insane—" Cadence said. My anger with her seemed so stupid now—all the fury I'd felt was now channeled into a terrifying confusion.

I wandered towards the window, pressing my fingertips to the glass. The sun beating down on this face of the building should have left it warm to the touch. But the glass was ice-cold, splintering my skin.

It was the same window that had been open on the day we arrived. I'd told myself again and again that it was a coincidence. The probability of the wind—of Cadence opening it—of the silk curtains catching between the pane and the glass—all explanations. But now, all of the things I told myself to take away the fear—the mathematics, the logic. They were gone.

Lucas. Lucas. Lucas.

Annie's cries were an endless circle of his name. Cadence and I were cradling her on the sofa. Her body was cold. My fingers were still cold. You promised eight.

Who promised eight? What exactly was promised? Eight what?

"We can't find anything." Gabriel's voice broke my concentration. One of my arms was around Annie, but the other hand was fingering the baking paper note. The smudged blood, the writing barely legible.

I'd had low hopes for anything to show up. You could only search an apartment of this size so many times. Outside, the sun was setting again. A third night trapped here.

"I'm so scared for the dark," Cadence whispered.

"Me too," I said. The sound of the footsteps running rampant around the building had my heart stuttering and my muscles freezing.

I heard the sound of metal popping, and then realised Gabriel was fiddling with the gun. Like he wanted to make sure he had it ready. "I think we should keep watch. Keep a serious guard. Maybe we could hide out somewhere, make a barrier with the sofas..."

All futile actions, I thought. We were sitting ducks. We had no idea what was happening, or what would come next. Two people—two fully grown guys—had disappeared into thin air. And the writing on the window...

We started moving the furniture around, cordoning off a corner so there was a barrier of couches created between us and the hallway and the front door. We drew the curtains to the balcony window, hoping it would give us some shelter. I found it reassuring to have the option of escaping the suffocation of inside the Airbnb.

The ocean—the terror tight in my chest of heavy water squeezing me until I popped—was now an old friend. Those nightmares were almost comforting.

Cadence crept up behind me as I was peeking out at the setting sky. Our beer bottles and cups were still sitting outside, as if we were still here, partying, having the time of our lives. I felt her cool hands press a container to my palm.