She Went for Relaxation, But Woke Up to Her Worst Nightmare
It was supposed to be a relaxing day at the beach for Emily. She really was in need of one after the horrible week she just had. She still couldn’t wrap her head around everything that had happened. All she knew was that she was in desperate need of a quiet day at the beach.
The beach had always been her refuge, her go-to spot whenever life got tough. It had been that way since her childhood. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore never failed to comfort her; it was as if, with each wave, her worries were carried away.
However, Emily had no idea that things were about to take a turn for the worse. The tranquility of the beach, with its soothing ocean sounds, was merely the calm before a storm she could never have predicted. If only she had chosen a different day to visit the beach…
Emily’s eyes snapped open, and a sudden, harsh sting of the moon’s brilliance overwhelmed her vision. She squinted, her eyes adjusting to the dim light of the evening. The gentle caress of the ocean breeze did little to soothe the strange feeling that consumed every inch of her body. It was a feeling unfamiliar, unsettling. “Wha-what happened?” Emily’s voice, a fragile whisper, cut through the silent air, painting her confusion and dread with audible strokes. “What’s going on?!”
Emily hastily stood up and looked for signs of life around her, but the beach was quiet, too quiet. Grains of golden sand clung to her skin, each one burning into her flesh like a miniature brand. “Helloooo?” she screamed, but her voice was tinged with sorrow. What was this strange feeling taking over her? And why couldn’t she remember anything?
Panic struck Emily as she desperately tried to recall what was happening. But it was unsuccessful—her memory was a blank slate. It almost felt as though she had been brainwashed. The only fragment of memory she could cling to was going to the beach that afternoon.
It had been a beautiful day, and she had laid out her towel and book, ready for an afternoon of relaxation. Emily looked at her watch. “WHAT?!” she screamed. “That was almost seven hours ago?!!” Her eyes darted around, scanning the desolate, dim beach. “What is going on?! What happened to me?!”
Emily’s heart pounded as she frantically scanned the empty beach. Seven hours were missing from her memory, wiped completely clean. What had happened during that time? Where has everyone gone? The stillness around her was suffocating, like the entire world had simply vanished.
“Hello? Is anyone there?”, Emily cried out, her voice trembling. Only the gentle crash of the waves responded. She began to walk, her feet sinking into the soft sand with each step. The beach stretched on endlessly in both directions. Surely she would find someone, something to make sense of this emptiness. But there was nothing. No people playing in the surf, no seagulls circling overhead. Emily was completely and utterly alone.
The panic rose inside her chest until she thought her heart would burst. What was happening? How could everything and everyone just disappear? Emily collapsed onto the sand, tears now streaming down her cheeks. She held back a cry, the sound too painful in the overwhelming silence surrounding her. Something was very wrong here. And if she didn’t discover what was going on soon, the consequences might be even worse.
But then, out of nowhere, a sound broke the eerie silence on the beach. “Wait, what was that?”, Emily whispered. She whipped her head around at the sound of a bark in the distance. Could it be? She jumped up and saw a small figure far down the beach: an elderly woman walking her dog!
“Wait! Please wait!”, Emily cried out in desperation. She took off sprinting through the sand, her legs burning with exhaustion. But she didn’t stop, couldn’t stop. As she got closer, she could see it was a white fluffy dog bounding happily in front of its owner.
Emily was just yards away now. “Please!”, she screamed at the woman. “You have to help me! Something strange is happening!”. She was completely out of breath, but she kept going. This might be her only chance to get some answers. Determined to get them, she turned to the woman, but when the woman turned around, Emily got the shock of her life…
The woman slowly turned around but when Emily saw her face, she gasped. The look on the woman’s face was one of absolute horror and disgust. Fear and shock were written all over it. The woman’s eyes went wide. She held the dog’s leash so tight her hands turned white. Then, quickly, she turned and ran away.
Emily stopped, feeling confused. “Wait!”, she called out, but the woman didn’t look back. For a moment, Emily just stood there, bewildered and alone. She felt the cold breeze on her skin and heard the distant sounds of the waves. “Why did she run?”, Emily wondered aloud. She looked down at herself; her clothes were normal, and nothing seemed out of place. She turned around to check if something strange was happening behind her, but there was nothing unusual. Then Emily looked up again, but the woman was gone.
Emily felt a mix of confusion and fear. The woman’s scared face stayed in her mind. “What just happened?”, Emily asked herself, but the silent beach offered no answers. “Please come back!”, Emily cried after the fleeing woman. But it was useless. The woman and her dog disappeared over the dune, leaving Emily once again in eerie solitude.
Emily stood motionless as a new wave of confusion washed over her. What had brought that look of fear and repulsion to the woman’s face? Emily had never seen anyone react to her that way before. Something was very, very wrong here. But with the woman gone, Emily was no closer to understanding what was going on. She sank back down to the sand, more lost than ever.
Emily’s mind raced as she tried to make sense of everything. Could she have fallen asleep on the beach and somehow slept through the day?. No, that wasn’t possible. She couldn’t have slept for seven hours straight. But what had happened in that time?!
A thought struck her – maybe her phone would provide some clues. She pulled it out from her bag and gasped. Nine missed calls from Mom and five from Dad. Emily’s heart dropped as she saw the time – almost 9pm. Dinner had been hours ago.
“Oh no, they must be so worried,” Emily groaned. Her parents were definitely freaking out since she never stayed out this late without letting them know. Her phone buzzes with several missed calls and text messages, confirming her suspicions.
Emily quickly dialed her mom’s number, knowing she had to put their minds at ease. But as the phone rang, a low battery warning flashed. “Come on, not now”, Emily muttered. The line clicked.
“Emily?! Emily, is that you?”, her mom’s anxious voice flooded through the speaker. “Mom, I’m oka-“, Emily started but the phone blinked off before she could finish. “Ugh, dammit!”, she cried in frustration.
With the phone dead, Emily knew she had to get home immediately. Her parents were likely out of their minds with worry. And maybe they knew something about the bizarre events on the beach today. Emily shivered slightly, the loneliness and confusion overwhelming her again. What the heck was going on?!
She rushed to the nearest bus stop, but when she checked the schedule, her heart sank. The last bus had left over an hour ago. Anxiously, Emily glanced up and down the dark, deserted street. How would she get home now? The town was 10 miles away and she didn’t have enough money for a cab. Desperate, Emily took a deep breath and decided to do something she had never imagined she would have to do in her life…
She stuck out her thumb to hitchhike, hoping a kind stranger might stop. However as she stood there in the cool night air, the empty streets and sidewalks only amplified Emily’s unease. Was she imagining things or was it suspiciously quiet on the streets? Where was everyone?
Emily chose to walk slowly toward home, hoping to spot a passing car. Surely, there had to be someone out there, right?! And after a couple of minutes, finally to Emily’s relief, a pair of headlights appeared in the distance. Her heart leapt with hope as the car approached. She waved her arm frantically, trying to get the driver’s attention. But the car rushed by without slowing, leaving Emily standing alone once again on the dark, empty street.
She sighed, dropping her arm to her side. She couldn’t understand why the car didn’t stop. Didn’t they see her? She knew hitchhiking was risky, but right now it seemed like her only option for getting home. Emily resigned herself to keep trying, shivering slightly against the cold night air. There had to be some kind soul who would take pity and give her a lift. She just hoped they would come along soon.
After a while of not seeing anyone on the streets, Emily felt a growing sense of unease. She tried to stay calm, but her pace picked up. How was it possible that she had been walking for almost 20 minutes and had only seen one car? What was even stranger was the absence of people on the sidewalks, just like her. Where had everyone gone? Why was she the only one on the streets?
Emily wrapped her arms around herself, chilled in the cool night air. She felt so alone and afraid. Was there something going on that she didn’t know about? Consumed with the horrific thoughts of what might be going on, Emily almost missed the sudden movement behind her.
Out of nowhere a pickup truck pulled up behind her. Hopeful, Emily grabbed her bag and ran towards it. As she approached the pickup truck, relief washed over her at the prospect of a ride. However, as she got closer, an uneasy feeling crept into her stomach. The driver was a middle-aged man wearing a grease-stained shirt, staring at her intently.
“Hey there,” he said slowly: “Where you headed?”. Emily looked at him. Something about him made her skin crawl. “Um, just into town”, she replied hesitantly. The man looked her up and down, his gaze lingering. “Why don’t you hop in and I’ll give you a lift?”. Emily hesitated. Her instincts were telling her to decline, but how else would she get home?
“I don’t know…”, she mumbled. “Oh, come on, it’s late. I’ll get you home safely”, he said with an unsettling grin. Emily took a small step back, thinking it might be best to keep walking. Fear gripped her as she nervously scanned her surroundings, hoping for a better option to appear in the distance. The man eyed her eagerly and quickly added: “Tell you what, I’ll do something for you if you do something for me”.
A chill went down Emily’s spine. She knew exactly what he was implying. Without another word, she turned and started hurrying away, her heart pounding. She could hear him shouting after her but she didn’t look back. She’d rather walk the remaining seven miles than get in the truck with him. Emily scolded herself for even considering hitchhiking. But now all she could do was keep moving and hope she made it home before he would come looking for her.
Emily hurried down the dark, empty street, daring to glance back over her shoulder every few seconds. Even though the pickup truck was long gone, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that had settled over her. She wrapped her arms around herself against the chill of the night air, trying to calm her racing heart.
How could she have been so stupid to try hitchhiking? She knew the dangers, especially for a young woman alone at night. The full weight of her situation sunk in as Emily continued. She was alone, with no phone, on an isolated road in the middle of the night. What if something happened to her out here? Would anyone even know? Overcome with loneliness and fear, Emily fought back tears. She just wanted to get some answers…
Mile after mile, she walked in solitude. The empty streets and sidewalks only reinforced her anxiety. Where was everyone? Why wasn’t there a single car or person out? The silence and stillness was almost suffocating. Emily’s imagination ran wild with all the things that could go wrong. The unfamiliar panic rose within her again. She tried to stay calm but her pace quickened, urged on by both fear and hope that her family could make sense of this terrifying day.
Then after what felt like an eternity, Emily noticed movement up ahead that caught her eye—a man walking towards her on the opposite side of the street. Emily hesitated, unsure whether to call out to him. He appeared somewhat suspicious, with his black hoodie and messy hair, which reminded her of her mom’s warnings to stay away from shady men at night. Just minutes earlier she had seen with her own eyes what kind of figures could be out there at night. However, he was the first person she had seen in a while. Maybe this time she needed to make an exception?
As they drew closer, the man glanced over at Emily. She opened her mouth, prepared to say something to him. But when their eyes met, the man froze. A look of astonishment crossed his face. He stared at Emily silently for a moment before taking a few steps to his right before he walked around Emily in a wide arc.
Emily stopped short, completely baffled by the situation. The man continued walking a few meters away from her as she watched. He held his head low and kept looking at the ground, almost as if he was scared to make eye contact with her. After there was a significant distance between them he walked back to the sidewalk and continued walking. “What just happened?!”, she gasped.
Emily was left speechless and growing more and more uneasy. Why had he walked around her like that? And more importantly, why did he feel the urge to avoid her? It was as if he…was completely repulsed by her in some way. But that made no sense!
She shook her head and continued hurriedly towards home. Nothing about this day was making any sense. Between the vanishing beachgoers, the repulsed old woman, and now the bizarrely suspicious man, everything felt upside down.
As Emily neared her house, she could only hope her family had answers. This twisted day had to end soon before she lost her grip on reality completely. She needed the familiar comfort of home and her parents’ loving support now more than ever.
As Emily turned onto her street, she immediately noticed something strange. Her parents’ cars were nowhere in sight on the driveway or curb. “That’s weird,” Emily muttered. Her parents should definitely be home by now, frantically waiting for her return. But the driveway was empty, the house still and quiet.
Unease prickled through Emily’s body. Where could they be? It wasn’t like them to both be out this late without telling her. She quickened her pace towards the front door, dread creeping up her spine.
