A storm gathered over Blackridge Coast the next night—thick, rolling clouds swallowing the moon until the shoreline turned black as ink. The lighthouse's beam cut through the darkness in slow, sweeping arcs, but tonight… the light felt weaker, as if something unseen pressed against it.
Elara stood alone in the lantern room, watching the ocean churn below. The wind howled against the glass, yet beneath the storm's roar she swore she heard something else…
A rhythm.
Thump… thump… thump…
Like massive footsteps under the sea.
She closed her eyes, gripping the railing.It's the wind. It's the sea. It's exhaustion, she told herself.
But then the beam passed over the water—and she saw it.
A shadow burst briefly into view, larger than the lighthouse itself, a towering silhouette rising from the waves only to disappear the moment the light moved away. Her breath hitched.
She stepped closer to the glass, heart hammering.
When the beam swung back—nothing.
Only darkness.Only waves.
But the rhythm hadn't stopped.
Thump… thump… thump…
It was growing nearer.
Suddenly the door behind her slammed open, making her jump. It was Rowan, drenched from rain, panting like he had run up the entire spiral in one breath.
"Elara," he gasped, "we have a problem."
She stared at him, already knowing.
"You saw it too."
He nodded, trembling. "Not just saw. I heard… something. Calling my name. Under the water."
Elara's stomach tightened."Rowan… no matter what you hear, you don't answer. Ever."
He looked down at his shaking hands. "I—I almost did."
The lighthouse light flickered.
Once.Then again.
Outside, the storm howled louder, as if reacting to the dimming beam.
Rowan's eyes widened. "The sea… it's angry tonight."
"No," Elara whispered. "It's awake."
The light flickered a third time—and then the room went black.
Everything fell silent.
The waves stopped.The wind died.Even the footsteps ceased.
A suffocating stillness settled around them.
Then, from outside the lighthouse wall—a single, deliberate knock.
KNOCK.
Slow. Heavy.Impossible.
Elara grabbed Rowan's arm, pulling him away from the window.
"Don't look," she whispered."Whatever you do… don't look."
But Rowan, breath shaking, lifted his head.
Because the knocking came again—this time from the window itself.
KNOCK.Then a low voice, dragging across the glass like wet stone:
"Let… me… in…"
Rowan's eyes widened in horror."Elara… it knows my name."