Level B3
Nobody moved after the little girl spoke.
The elevator doors remained open while weak yellow light flickered across the inside walls, illuminating the small figure standing silently in the center.
Rain hammered against the resort windows outside.
Thunder rolled above the cliffs.
And somewhere deep inside the hotel, something metal screamed loudly through the walls.
God.
Nora Vale stared at the child trying to understand what terrified her more — the fact the girl appeared out of nowhere…
or the fact her voice sounded drowned.
Every word carried a wet rasp beneath it, like water still filled her lungs.
Selene Cross slowly stepped backward.
“No.”
Her breathing had turned uneven now.
“We are NOT following ghost children into basement levels.”
Honestly?
Fair.
The little girl remained motionless inside the elevator.
Water continued dripping from the hem of her dress onto the floor below.
Then slowly—
she lifted her head.
Just enough for the group to finally see her face.
God.
Kai physically recoiled.
The girl’s skin looked pale gray beneath the flickering light while dark seawater streamed constantly from her empty eye sockets.
Not black eyes.
No eyes at all.
Only darkness inside the holes.
Then she smiled softly.
“You have to hide before midnight.”
Silence swallowed the lobby.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody even breathed properly.
Then suddenly the elevator lights flickered hard.
Darkness swallowed the inside cabin for one second.
When the lights returned—
the little girl was gone.
Only wet footprints remained on the elevator floor.
Selene looked seconds away from a complete breakdown.
“Nope. Nope. Nope.”
Kai pointed toward the elevator immediately.
“She said midnight like there’s a schedule. That’s concerning.”
Another loud bang echoed somewhere upstairs.
Then footsteps.
Fast footsteps running across the second-floor balcony overhead.
Not one set.
Multiple.
The group instinctively moved closer together.
Jace stared toward the glowing B3 button inside the elevator thoughtfully.
“We need information.”
Kai looked offended.
“We need THERAPY.”
“If someone’s alive down there—”
“People keep saying that and then dead things appear.”
Another scream interrupted them.
Closer this time.
The sound echoed upward through the walls beneath their feet.
From underground.
God.
Nora’s stomach tightened instantly.
There really were people alive somewhere below the resort.
Or at least there had been a few seconds ago.
Jace stepped toward the elevator first.
“We check the basement.”
Kai closed his eyes briefly like he was spiritually exhausted.
“One day,” he muttered softly, “I’m going to die because one of my friends wanted to help strangers.”
“Come or stay here alone.”
“…that was emotionally manipulative.”
But he followed anyway.
The others reluctantly moved toward the elevator while thunder shook the resort again.
Nora stepped inside last.
The moment all six entered the elevator, the doors slowly creaked shut behind them.
And immediately—
the atmosphere changed.
The air inside felt colder.
Heavier somehow.
The lights flickered weakly overhead while the elevator groaned loudly beneath them.
Then without anyone touching the controls—
the elevator began descending.
Selene grabbed the railing instantly.
“We didn’t press anything.”
Nobody answered.
Because they already knew.
The numbers above the door slowly changed while the elevator sank deeper beneath the resort.
B1.
The lights dimmed briefly.
B2.
Something scraped loudly against the outside elevator wall.
SCRAAAAAPE.
Everyone froze.
The sound followed them downward.
Like something climbed alongside the elevator shaft outside.
God.
Kai stared upward immediately.
“Please tell me elevators can’t be hunted.”
Another scratching sound echoed above the ceiling panel.
Closer now.
Selene whispered shakily:
“There’s something on top of us.”
The elevator suddenly jerked violently.
Everyone stumbled.
The lights flashed red for one terrifying second before stabilizing again.
Then came a wet thud directly overhead.
Silence followed.
Heavy silence.
Then slowly—
fingers appeared through the small gap between the elevator ceiling panels.
Long pale fingers.
Seawater dripped from them onto the floor below.
Nora’s heartbeat nearly stopped.
More fingers pushed through the opening.
Then an eye appeared.
Black.
Watching them from the darkness above the elevator.
Selene screamed.
Jace immediately grabbed the emergency fire axe mounted beside the elevator wall and swung upward with everything he had.
The blade smashed into the ceiling panel.
The creature above shrieked horribly.
A wet screaming sound exploded through the shaft while black liquid splattered downward onto the elevator floor.
The fingers vanished instantly.
Then something massive slammed against the top of the elevator hard enough to shake the entire cabin.
BOOM.
The lights died completely.
Darkness swallowed everything.
Someone screamed.
The elevator dropped suddenly.
Freefall.
God.
Nora felt her stomach lurch violently while the cabin plummeted downward through darkness.
Metal screamed around them.
Selene cried out.
Kai cursed loudly.
Then—
CRASH.
The elevator slammed hard enough to throw everyone onto the floor.
Pain exploded through Nora’s shoulder as she hit the metal railing beside her.
For several long seconds afterward, nobody moved.
Only ragged breathing filled the darkness.
Then weak emergency lights flickered on overhead.
Red.
Flashing.
The elevator doors slowly creaked open.
And the smell hit them immediately.
Rotting seawater.
Blood.
Decay.
God.
The underground level looked nothing like a hotel basement.
The hallway beyond the elevator resembled an abandoned hospital.
Old tiled walls stretched through darkness while rusted medical beds sat overturned along the corridor. Water flooded sections of the floor while broken IV stands and surgical equipment lay scattered everywhere.
And written across the far wall in massive black letters were the words:
THE OCEAN TOOK THEM FIRST
Nobody spoke.
Nobody needed to.
Because suddenly…
they understood something terrifying.
This island was never a resort.
And whatever happened here started long before they arrived.