The morning sun rose slowly over the small, secluded island of Rivenrock. A sense of unease settled over the group of friends who had come for a weekend getaway. Jacob, Sam, and George, along with Sarah, Elaine, and Violet, had hoped for a relaxing break. Instead, the island now seemed to hold secrets they couldn’t quite grasp.
It began with Jacob’s discovery. On the second morning, he stumbled upon Sarah’s lifeless body near the edge of the water. Her pale face reflected the early light, and a sense of dread washed over him. He rushed back to the cabin, breathless and horrified.
“Sarah’s dead!” he gasped as he burst through the door. “By the shore!”
The group gathered around him, their faces a mix of shock and fear. They hurried to the scene, but Sarah’s cold, unresponsive body confirmed Jacob’s chilling news.
“We need to call the authorities,” Sam said, his voice trembling.
“No signal out here,” George reminded him. “We’ll have to wait for the ferry tomorrow.”
As they returned to the cabin, suspicion began to brew among them. Each had their theories, but no one voiced their deepest fears. Sarah had been well-liked, and the thought of a murderer among them was unthinkable.
Later that day, Elaine went missing. The group split up to search the island, their anxiety growing with every passing minute. It was Jacob who found her, lying face down in the dense forest, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Fear turned to panic.
“Two deaths in one day? This can’t be a coincidence,” George muttered as they regrouped. “We need to stick together.”
Violet, usually composed, seemed unusually agitated. “This place… it’s cursed. We should leave now.”
Night fell, and the tension in the cabin was palpable. No one slept. Instead, they huddled together, eyes darting suspiciously. Sam took it upon himself to keep watch, his hand gripping a heavy flashlight like a lifeline.
As dawn approached, a scream pierced the silence. Jacob rushed out, followed closely by the others, to find Sam sprawled on the porch, a gash across his forehead. Blood pooled beneath him, dark and ominous.
“Who did this?” Jacob demanded, his voice breaking.
George shook his head, his eyes wide with fear. “It has to be one of us. But who?”
Violet stood apart, her face shadowed by the rising sun. “We should have left when we had the chance,” she whispered, almost to herself.
The group, now whittled down to Jacob, George, and Violet, moved cautiously through the day, each step heavy with suspicion. The realization that one of them was a killer hung in the air, unspoken but understood.
As night fell once more, Jacob and George decided to confront Violet. Her erratic behavior had not gone unnoticed. They found her by the water, staring out at the dark expanse.
“Violet, we need to talk,” Jacob said, his voice steady but firm.
She turned slowly, her eyes reflecting a madness that sent chills down Jacob’s spine. “You don’t understand,” she said. “They had to be punished. They all deserved it.”
“Punished? For what?” George asked, his voice barely a whisper.
“For their lies, their betrayal,” Violet hissed. “Sarah, Elaine, Sam… they all had secrets. Dark secrets. And now, so do you.”
Before Jacob could react, Violet lunged at George, a glint of metal flashing in the moonlight. Jacob tackled her, struggling to wrestle the weapon from her grasp. George joined in, and together they managed to subdue her.
As they tied her hands, Violet laughed—a chilling, unhinged sound. “You think you’re safe now? The island never forgets. It never forgives.”
The ferry arrived the next morning. Jacob and George handed a restrained Violet over to the authorities, relief mixing with lingering horror.
As they sailed away from Rivenrock, Jacob looked back at the island, now just a dark silhouette against the rising sun. He shuddered, knowing they would never truly escape the nightmare that unfolded there. Violet’s madness had left an indelible mark, one that would haunt them forever.
In the distance, Violet’s voice echoed in his mind, a haunting reminder of the darkness hidden beneath the surface.
