SEASON 3 - Whispers from the Lantern: The Keeper's Lament
The Horror is not ending anytime soon...
Chapter 5
The drowned were not ghosts in the conventional sense. They were not transparent. They were not silent. They were wet, dripping apparitions of water and salt, their bodies bloated and decayed, their eyes hollow pools of despair. They moved with a slow, deliberate purpose, a profound, mournful sadness clinging to every movement. They were coming for them.
"Run!" Aris screamed, grabbing Evelyn's arm.
They ran, a frantic, desperate stampede through the deserted streets of the town. The drowned followed, a slow, methodical tide of sorrow and despair. They were not fast, but they were relentless. They were an unstoppable force of grief and sorrow.
They ran to the police station, a small, unassuming building on the edge of the town. They burst through the door, their hearts pounding in their chests. A lone police officer sat at the desk, his face a mask of profound boredom.
"We need to talk to someone," Aris gasped, his voice a strained whisper. "It's about the lighthouse. The drowned. They're here."
The police officer just stared at them, his face a mask of profound indifference. "The drowned? What are you talking about?"
"The ghosts," Evelyn said, her voice a low growl. "They're rising from the sea. They're coming for us."
The police officer laughed, a low, guttural sound that seemed to come from the very depths of his throat. "Ghosts? In my town? You've been out in the sun too long, lady. Go home. Go to bed. Go get some rest. And if you see any ghosts, tell them to get a job."
Aris looked at the police officer, his face a mask of profound despair. They wouldn't believe him. They wouldn't believe them. They were alone. They were trapped. They were a scientist and a historian who had just witnessed the impossible, and they were about to pay the price.
A loud, frantic knocking on the door, a series of frantic, desperate thuds, broke their trance. The police officer looked at the door, his face a mask of profound boredom. "Who is it?" he asked, his voice a low growl.
"It's us!" Liam's voice, a high-pitched scream, came from the other side of the door. "Let us in! They're here! They're coming for us!"
The police officer just shook his head, a look of profound disgust on his face. "I don't know who you are, but you're all a bunch of freaks. Go away. Go home. Go to bed. Go get some rest."
Aris, in a moment of pure, raw terror, grabbed the police officer's gun. The police officer's eyes widened in a profound, soul-deep shock. "What... what are you doing?" he stammered.
"I'm sorry," Aris said, his voice a low, grim whisper. "But I have to do this. For all of our sakes."
He fired three rapid shots at the door’s handle, shattering it. He kicked the door open, revealing Liam and Maya, their faces pale, their eyes wide with fear. And behind them, a slow, methodical tide of sorrow and despair. The drowned.
They were here. And they were angry.
Chapter 6
The police officer stood there, his face a mask of profound, soul-deep horror. He was a man of law and order, and he had just witnessed the impossible. He had just witnessed the drowned.
"What… what is that?" he stammered, his voice a high-pitched scream. "What is that?"
"They're the drowned," Evelyn said, her voice a low growl. "And they're here. They're coming for us."
The police officer, in a moment of pure, raw terror, grabbed his radio. "I need backup!" he screamed, his voice a high-pitched shriek. "I need backup! They're here! They're here!"
But his radio was silent. No one was answering. The entire town was now a profound, silent presence, a ghostly, mournful lament. The drowned had cut the town off. They had made it their own.
Aris looked at his team, a grim determination settling over his face. "We can't stay here. We have to go. We have to find a way to get back to the lighthouse. We have to find a way to turn the light off."
But as they moved towards the back door, a new sound, a single, clear, triumphant voice, spoke from the depths of the sea.
"You... cannot... escape."
The windows of the police station shattered, and the drowned, a slow, methodical tide of sorrow and despair, began to pour into the building. They were not fast, but they were relentless. They were an unstoppable force of grief and sorrow.
"Run!" Aris screamed, grabbing Evelyn's arm.
They ran, a frantic, desperate stampede through the deserted streets of the town. The drowned followed, a slow, methodical tide of sorrow and despair.
They ran to the harbor, a small, unassuming place on the edge of the town. A single boat, a small, unassuming fishing vessel, sat at the dock, its engine a low, rhythmic hum.
"We can use this!" Liam screamed, his voice filled with a desperate, frantic hope. "We can get back to the lighthouse! We can turn the light off!"
But as they ran towards the boat, a new sound, a single, clear, triumphant voice, spoke from the depths of the sea.
"You... are... ours."
And then, they saw him. He was not a drowned. He was not a phantom. He was a man, a tall, gaunt figure, standing on the deck of the boat. He was wearing a rusted, archaic diving suit, a grotesque parody of a human.
It was the keeper. He was here. And he was angry.
To Be Continued...
Stay Tuned for Season 4...Out Soon!
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Tales That Breathe at Night
I write what lingers in the dark—true horrors veiled in fiction, fiction rooted in truth. Some tales are whispered in graveyards, others buried in silence. If it gave someone nightmares, I’ll write it. Some stories remember you, too.
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SEASON 2 : Whispers from the Lantern: The Keeper's Lament
Chapter 3 The drive back to the mainland was a tense and silent one. The team, a group of hardened professionals, were now a group of terrified children. The whispers from the lantern room were still in their minds, a constant, low murmur of sorrow and grief.
By Tales That Breathe at Night2 months ago in Horror
Comments (3)
Your depiction of the drowned as slow, inevitable forces of despair is incredibly effective. The suspense builds seamlessly from one chapter to the next, making the horror feel inescapable.
The drowned seem to me worse then a zombie apocalypse! Why are all the policemen always so indifferent... I mean it's realistic, they'd probably like that IRL, too but it's always bugged me. I'm tuned for S4!
The drowned are such a haunting concept, and that ending with the Keeper was a perfect, terrifying cliffhanger. Can’t wait for Season 4!