THE BLACK WATER CALLS

Rei jolted awake, his breath sharp and ragged. His body felt ice-cold, drenched in sweat, his fingers trembling as he gripped his blanket. The whispers still clung to his ears. The weight of the rain still pressed against his skin.

But he wasn't at the lake anymore. He was in his room.

His eyes darted to the window, rain still lashed against the glass, mimicking the storm from last night. He swallowed, trying to calm his pulse, but his body wouldn't stop shaking.

The file, the one with the disappearances, lay sprawled across his desk, its pages damp from when he had knocked over his glass of water earlier. His gaze locked onto the bottom of the last page, where the warning was scrawled in deep red ink.

"Do not go near the water."

A knock at the door made him flinch.

"Rei?"

The voice was familiar. Steady. Haruki.

Rei hesitated before getting up, dragging himself to the door. The moment he opened it, Haruki stepped in, shaking the rain from his jacket. His sharp gaze scanned Rei from head to toe, lips pressing into a thin line.

"You look like hell."

Rei exhaled. "Didn't sleep."

Haruki sighed, tossing his umbrella aside. "I figured. You went to the lake last night, didn't you?"

Rei didn't answer. But his silence was enough.

Haruki cursed under his breath. "Damn it, Rei. I told you those stories weren't just stories."

Rei's jaw tightened. "Something's there."

Haruki frowned. "You saw it?"

The whisper. The face beneath the water. That clawing, desperate hand.

"…Yeah."

A long silence stretched between them. Then, Haruki said something Rei didn't expect.

"Then we have to go back."

Rei blinked. "What?"

"You aren't the only one who's seen it," Haruki muttered. "People have been disappearing for years, but no one talks about it. I don't know if it's an Onryō or something worse, but we need to know what we're dealing with."

Rei's stomach twisted. He had spent years searching for the truth. But now that it was right in front of him, he wasn't sure if he was ready for the answer.

Still, he found himself nodding.

They were going back.

The rain hadn't let up. If anything, it had gotten worse.

Rei and Haruki stood at the tree line, staring at the path that led to Yomiga Lake.

The air was unnaturally still. No wind. No rustling leaves. Even the usual chirping of insects had vanished. It was as if the entire forest was holding its breath.

"This feels wrong," Haruki muttered, his grip tightening around the flashlight.

Rei didn't answer. His gaze was locked onto the black surface of the lake, barely visible through the mist.

Somewhere in his chest, a dull ache formed. A warning.

He ignored it and stepped forward.

The closer they got, the stronger the scent of wet earth and decay became. The air was thick, suffocating, pressing against their lungs like a weight.

And then, they reached the shore.

The lake stretched before them, an endless void of black water, rippling beneath the downpour. For a long moment, neither of them spoke.

Then, Haruki took a step forward.

And everything went silent.

No rain. No wind.

Just an unnatural stillness.

Rei's chest tightened. "Haruki.."

Haruki didn't hear him. His gaze was locked on the water, his pupils blown wide, lips slightly parted.

A trance.

"Haruki." Rei's voice sharpened.

Haruki took another step forward.

Something in the air shifted. A pressure. A pulse.

And then.

A hand shot up from the water.

Pale. Rotting. Unnatural.

It wrapped around Haruki's ankle and yanked.

Haruki let out a choked gasp as he was dragged forward, his knee slamming against the mud. His hands scrambled for something,anything,to hold onto, but the ground was too slick.

Rei's body moved before his mind did. He lunged, fingers catching Haruki's wrist just as he was pulled closer to the water.

Their eyes met.

Haruki's were filled with terror.

"Don't let go!" Haruki gasped, his fingers tightening around Rei's.

But the lake shifted.

The water turned a sickening, bottomless black.

And then, more hands emerged.

They reached out in grotesque, jerking motions, clawing at Haruki's legs, his arms, his shoulders. Dozens of them.

Wet. Cold. Relentless.

Haruki thrashed violently, his body convulsing as the hands pulled him deeper. His nails tore at the earth, leaving deep, desperate scratches in the mud.

Rei screamed his name, his entire body straining as he pulled. But the grip was too strong.

Haruki's fingers began to slip.

"No...NO!" Rei dug his heels into the ground, pulling with everything he had. But the weight against him was impossible. The hands tightened.

Haruki's mouth opened ,whether to scream or call his name, Rei would never know.

Because in the next second..

Haruki was yanked beneath the surface.

The water rippled.

Then stilled.

As if nothing had happened.

Rei collapsed onto the shore, his chest heaving, his fingers still frozen in the shape of where Haruki's hand had been.

His mind refused to process it.

He was just there.

He was just there.

The silence pressed in around him. The lake stretched before him...calm. Unbothered.

But Rei knew the truth.

He knew what he had seen.

And Haruki… Haruki was gone.

One Month Later

Rei jolted awake, gasping for air.

His room was dark. The rain still whispered against the glass.

For a moment, he wasn't sure where he was. His mind was still at the lake.

His fingers curled around the sheets, trembling. He reached for his phone, checking the date.

His breath caught in his throat.

It had been a month.

A whole month since that night.

Since Haruki disappeared.

The police had given up after a week. They called it an accident. A drowning. They told him to move on.

But Rei knew the truth.

Haruki didn't just drown.

He was taken.

And the worst part?

Rei could still hear the whispers.

They curled around his ears at night.

Soft. Gentle. Calling.

The lake wasn't done with him yet.

And deep down..Rei knew.

This wasn't over.