ions about their shared past also amplified the underlying dread. The mysterious hour continued its

e faint scratching sounds had become more insistent, sometimes accompanied by soft thuds from within the walls, as if something was trying to break through. And the whispers... t

the sun-drenched lake, Lena's infectious laughter, the peeling green paint of the boathouse, and then a sudden, suffocat

essure on the back of her neck. Sometimes, she would catch a faint scent in the air at the mysterious hour – the cloying

ily, sharing their escalating experiences. Liam reported increasingly vivid nightmares of Lena drowning, often seeing a shadowy figure lurking near the wat

r. She was certain she had closed it before going to sleep. A wave of icy terror was

n, a clear whisper, right beside her ear: "Tell them... what you saw..." The voice was raspy, weak, but undeniabl

the past needed to be unearthed before it consumed them entirely. They made a pact: they would all travel back to Lila's lake house. It was the only place where they felt they might