1 Chapter 1

The night served as a sanctuary for a particular town whose days are burned mercilessly by the summer sun. It is the only then that one can hope to witness a cool breeze. It was in these nights that it happened.

A lush forest surrounded the town with a substantial lake to its side. The residents were a bit behind in technology when compared with their neighbors and didn't have tall buildings filled with piercing lights. They say that they don't have the money or the resources to build them, but the truth was that they just couldn't let some cheap LED lights replace the natural beauty of the stars in the sky.

Among the stars, a romantic full moon ecstatically shone on the town as if thanking the residents for choosing nature. Now then, a romantic moon calls for romance, wouldn't you agree? A couple was driving up to a specific summer house resting on a cliff, determined to not waste the opportunity.

"Robert, should we really be here? I mean…."

"Don't worry, it's going to be fine."

The woman felt uneasy about their destination. She knew why Robert chose to go there. The cliff view could easily be considered the best in the town, and no one ever uses the old summer house. They will be alone all night and no human would bother them. However, the stigma that the house carried wasn't because of humans.

They parked the car outside the gate. Robert hopped over the fence and fiddled with the lock until it opened to let his partner in. They first enjoyed the mesmerizing scenery that the cliff had to offer. Beneath the ridge was the lake. No one had ever attempted to do a daring dive from there. The water was about a hundred meters below. If some unfortunate soul fell off the cliff, the water surely wouldn't soften the blow.

After gazing upon the stars like two young lovers, it was time to borrow the summer house itself. Robert easily opened the door's lock, thanking his old friend for teaching him such a handy skill.

He used his phone's light to navigate through the house. They didn't bring a torch, for what they were about to do is usually done in the dark. They only needed the minimum light to find the bedroom.

"Robert, I don't like this."

"You're just overthinking, Su."

He called her by her nickname. The house did carry an eerie vibe. Their footprints were engraved on the floor because of the dust, and occasional nightcrawlers were found roaming around. Robert had been here before and had cleaned the bedroom in preparation. They climbed the creaky stairs to get to the main bed.

He spun the doorknob to open it. Su was surprised to see how clean the room looked. The room was completely different from the rest of the house. She giggled at how much he prepared for this. He placed his hand on her shoulder.

"After you."

He whispered in her ear. She entered the room and sat on the bed. The window on the left provided ample light, not too much and not too little; Just enough to know each other's location. She extended her hand to invite him after he closed the door. Robert gently held her hand and traced it to her neck, softly kissing it.

She placed her hand on his back, scratching it lightly, and ran fingers across his hair. He lifted and positioned a pillow underneath her. He took off the shirt that she had already unbuttoned and leaned in for another kiss when she suddenly stopped him.

"Robert, I think I heard someone knocking."

"What are you talking about? There's no one here except us."

The mood was set, and Robert didn't want to ruin it. He didn't hear any sound.

--She just nervous.

"If anybody appears, I'll deal with him. You just relax."

He said sweetly to calm her down.

*Knock*

"What was that?"

This time he heard it too. It wasn't just her imagination. No one should be here except them. Complete silence descended as both of them carefully listened for any more noise.

"Who's there?"

He loudly asked. Anxiety filled both of their hearts, but Robert was the one who didn't let it show. No other noise came as they sat quietly. He hadn't brought anything that could be used as a weapon to defend them.

*Knock!!*

This time the sound was loud enough to openly state that someone other than them was in the house. Robert worked up the courage to use his phone's flashlight to walk up the door. He didn't know what was on the other side, and he didn't want to know either. But he had to be the man in front of her. He tightly grasped the handle, imagining what he would do when the door would open.

He rapidly opened the door to surprise the person, yet nothing but air hit their eyes when the door swung open. Who knocked on the door, and how did he get away without making any sound? Robert tried to come with an answer, and the only thing that repeatedly popped up in his mind was the rumors of this place.

There wasn't a trace of the mood that existed a few minutes ago, and an ominous feeling took over. He peeked out again with his flashlight and heard footsteps.

"That came from the stairs."

Su panicked. She was faint of heart and never enjoyed a horror movie. Being in a similar scenario made her voice shrink.

"You stay here. I'll check it out."

Robert was sure that the other person was human. No one else would use the stairs in such a manner. He went down the stairs making the same creaking noise as he heard before. If it was a man, he was sure that he could take him down. He just had to expose him.

He placed his hand on the walls feeling the texture until he found the light switch. He pushed the buttons, and all the bulbs were turned on.

­--That's better.

Darkness always makes things more frightening than they actually are. Humans can't see much in the dark, and their brains make up horrendous images to substitute for light. The dreadful fear of the unknown was still looming but was starting to weaken.

The fans were turned on along the lights and lifted the dust that was gathered on the floor. Robert coughed a bit, inhaling the foul air, and continued searching. He felt that the fan's noise was getting louder and more dust got mixed in the air. He twisted the dimmer to slow it down, yet the fan kept getting faster.

The white lights started to change color. He couldn't choose what to focus on, the lights or the fan. The light won as they changed into blood red. Robert's heartbeat got faster, and he felt sick.

"Who's there?"

He again called out.

"Leave…"

A whisper came and went. The living room went pitch black. He wanted to leave as the voice had instructed. His legs started shaking as he breathed heavily. The only available light was the one that came from the kitchen window. The light shone on the ground but was distorted with a shadow.

"I see you."

Robert shouted loudly to deafen his fear. He ran to the kitchen to fight whoever was there. He couldn't see well with dust in his eyes. He tried to keep one eye open when he cleaned the other.

"You..dare..come..here.."

A pale voice hushed in his ear. The voice didn't come from the kitchen, but he was sure that someone was in here. His eyes adjusted again to the darkness as countless thoughts raced in his mind.

He turned around and saw a figure darker than the darkness around him, standing at the doorway. He couldn't see his face, but Robert knew…he knew that the shadow was smiling.

Robert dared not to move and couldn't take his eyes off the silhouette. The figure stood still, but it felt like he was growing more prominent the more he stared. Robert felt a tap on his shoulder that made him look away and felt a great force coming into collision with his face. Robert tumbled and used his hands to grab the kitchen's back door. He frantically pulled the door.

"Die…"

The voice was still soft as ever, but now it sounded like the voice of the grim reaper. After pulling and pushing, Robert finally got the door opened and madly dashed outside. He was ready to abandon everything and began running to reach his car.

He heard a terrifying scream that forced him to stop. He recognized the voice.

"Su!"

He pushed the front door with all his might, yet it wouldn't budge. How did the door lock itself was the least of his worries. He heard the soft voice again that sent chills down his spine.

"I'll..kill..her."

"No!"

Robert bolted to get to the kitchen's door. He could still get in from there. A white silhouette caught his eye that made him stop. The figure had the body of a woman clad in white. She was standing at the edge of the cliff.

"Su?...what are you doing? Wait, Samantha. Stop."

The woman continued to walk forward on the ledge. He realized she was his wife, but how did she get there.

"Samantha, wait."

Robert desperately called out to Samantha. She was now at the very edge and turned around. The moon shone on her, giving her more of a ghostly appearance rather than an attractive one.

"Samantha, Samantha!!"