Marcela’s father arrives and takes them to Sarah’s house.

  “Be careful tonight, alright? I heard worrying news on TV.” He lets her sleep at her friend’s house after one last warning.

  “Alright dad, I’ll be careful! Bye!” After a quick kiss on the cheek, Marcela throws those last words while already entering through the gate with Sarah.

  Bernardo, already at home, waits for time to pass restlessly. And when the time comes, he secretly joins them, closer to Marcela than anything else. They spend the afternoon with conversations, jokes and even a collective reading.

  Then he needs to leave to perhaps return at night.

  Júlio arrives and just as Sarah described, follows all the steps until falling into bed.

  They remain awake in Sarah’s room waiting for Bernardo’s return, who does not take long to arrive.

  It is almost twenty-three hours when a small pebble hits the balcony door of the bedroom. Upon hearing the sound, they hurry to go down and leave through the front door, leaving it carefully resting against the frame.

  Without caring about the rain, they meet on the sidewalk, and after a quick conversation while walking, decide to go to the nearby park.

  Sarah warns that they have to return before her father and his mother wake up.

  Thus they follow along the sidewalks, with Marcela clinging to Bernardo’s arm and Sarah right beside them while enjoying every drop that falls and slides down her face.

  At the balcony door of Sarah’s parents’ bedroom.

  Two monstrous eyes observe that scene with a macabre smile on his face.

  He steps back, entering the darkness.

  Several hours earlier – Outskirts of Eva – Zone 31

  Leila’s Jeep is stopped right at the beginning of a sharp curve. A little further ahead, after the curve, part of the road has collapsed, falling down the ravine. A lot of water is flowing down from the hill above. A man in orange clothing that shines when hit by the headlights approaches the car.

  “IT’S BLOCKED! YOU HAVE TO TURN BACK NOW! THE REST OF THE HILL IS ABOUT TO GIVE WAY! PLEASE! QUICK!” The man dressed in orange shouts amid the rain, desperate.

  With little choice, she begins to reverse to return home. That is the only route that would allow her to reach the airport in time. After a few seconds of reversing, fragments of the hill begin to fall onto the road very close to where the car was, almost hitting the man in orange, who decides to run away from there.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  He approaches the car again to ask her once more to return.

  Worried, she even asks if he is alright, and he confirms that he is. Then she turns the car around and the return begins, the trip back is bitter, but at least she will be able to arrive in time to take a shower and sleep warmly beside her husband.

  A little after the car has left, the man in orange receives a call.

  “HELLO? YES, IT’S ME!” After a few seconds of silence he resumes speaking. “GOOD THING YOU WARNED ME, ALMOST AN HOUR AGO A JEEP ALMOST WENT DOWN THE RAVINE... THANK YOU VERY MUCH!” The man in orange tries to be heard.

  “You’re welcome, see you!” The female voice that pronounces these words ends the call and begins to dial a new number.

  “Hello? Yes, it’s me, Márcia. I want to make my resignation from the school official. I’m moving today, I already instructed the vice principal about the procedures.” After a few seconds of silence. “Alright. Thank you! See you someday, goodbye!”

  The suitcases are already prepared. A luxurious white car waits for her in the garage. The trunk does not take long to be filled, and without looking back, she starts the engine never to return.

  A little past twenty-three hours – Outskirts of Eva – Zone 47

  Leila arrives at her destination, parking in front of the house. She ended up forgetting the garage remote when she left earlier.

  With no option, she runs after closing the car door. Passing through the small gate and the garden and stopping when she reaches the door.

  Right after, she places the key in the lock, but notices that the door is only resting against the frame, this causes a certain strangeness, everyone should be sleeping at this hour.

  Without making noise, she begins to enter, taking a few steps down the small hallway to the living room.

  Then she hears her husband’s voice talking to someone.

  Curious, she slowly approaches until she can see him from the corner of the wall, he is on the phone...

  “Yes... It will be easier than we thought, they practically handed themselves over on a silver platter.”

  “The two girls and the boy must not be very far from my house, they went toward the park, they must be around there.”

  After a few seconds of silence listening, he speaks again.

  “Yes, I’ll go down there now and receive them when they arrive, a familiar face should calm them down... or not.”

  A macabre smile takes over his face for a moment.

  Leila in silence only watches him while listening carefully to every word.

  “Just be careful with the girl with black hair. She is intelligent, and might try to escape somehow... Their names are Bernardo, Marcela and Sarah.”

  At that moment Leila’s heart races.

  “Do not forget to use the N2 with sleeping gas that we provided!”

  A few more seconds of silence.

  “She is probably buried under rocks and mud on the road.”

  A few more seconds of silence.

  “Ok, see you.”

  With each word Leila becomes more frightened, and some thoughts begin to disturb her mind.

  After Júlio enters the hallway, stealthily she goes up to Sarah’s bedroom. And to her astonishment, there is no one there. Then she screams.

  “SARAAAH!!! SARAH! Where are you?”

  She searches every room of the house and nothing. She goes down to the basement after Júlio looking for answers, however what she finds leaves her even more disturbed.

  Since then, she has not been seen again.