Sarah sat curled on the cabin floor, the wood beneath her legs colder than bone. Her arms wrapped tightly around her knees as though she could shield herself from the storm inside her chest. The single lantern Nathan had lit cast long, jittering shadows across the cabin walls, making the space feel even smaller, like a trap waiting to close in.
Nathan paced in a slow, deliberate line near the doorway, arms crossed hard over his chest as if he were holding himself together by sheer force. His boots scuffed against the floorboards, a steady rhythm that made Sarah's head ache. He looked tense, restless, but Sarah wasn't truly seeing him.
Her mind wasn't here at all.
Instead, she was dragged backward, pulled into memory. That night only days ago, yet it already felt like it belonged to some parallel world, one drenched in firelight and alcohol, dares thrown recklessly like sparks, laughter sharp enough to cut. What had begun as a drunken game had ended somewhere dangerous. Intimate. Shattering.
Her breath hitched as the image returned: tangled limbs, whispered dares, the heat of skin against skin. She remembered waking naked, sheets sticking to her body, Natnat's arm draped heavy across her waist. His face had been so close she could hear the faint hiss of his breathing. She remembered the way his touch lingered not just lustful, but deliberate, curious, almost studying her.
The thought curdled in her stomach. His lips had been softer than she'd expected. Too soft. His eyes, too sharp, too intent, as if memorizing her rather than simply wanting her. That night replayed in her mind like a cruel trick she couldn't turn away from.
The words slipped from her mouth before she realized she was speaking. "I… slept with him." Nathan stopped pacing. The sudden silence thudded in Sarah's ears. He turned slowly, confusion etched into his face. "What!?" His voice cracked between disbelief and anger. "He felt lust?". Sarah's throat tightened. She hugged her knees tighter, rocking slightly as shame and fear tangled inside her. "Yeah," she whispered. "And I don't know… it feels so real. Too real."
Nathan sank down heavily onto the floor across from her, as if her words had stolen the strength from his legs. He rubbed the back of his neck, exhaling sharply. "I don't think they're supposed to feel. Last week, most of them were maniacs! pure killing machines. Especially the one who took Brian's face." His eyes darkened. "He was my colleague. My friend. And they enjoyed it… watching us fall apart, doubting each other. Feeding off the paranoia." His jaw tightened, his gaze burning into the lantern light. "But this Natnat… he's different. If he's capable of what you're saying, if he truly understands human emotions... then he's already beyond the rest. He is getting clever."
Sarah closed her eyes, but the memory of Natnat's stare stayed burned against her mind, those too-focused eyes watching her like prey and lover all at once. Her chest heaved, and she buried her face against her knees, wishing she could claw the memory out of her skull.
Deep in the forest, Nadia stumbled after Natnat like a desperate shadow. Branches whipped against her arms. Thorns caught her clothes and hair. Mud sucked at her shoes. Still, she trailed him, too afraid to be alone, too obsessed to walk away.
"Where are we going?" she cried, breathless. Her voice cracked as she stumbled over a root. "Stop walking so fast!" Natnat didn't answer. His strides were long, steady, inhumanly determined. His eyes stayed locked straight ahead, unblinking, as though something invisible was guiding him. His jaw was clenched so tight it looked painful. His fists flexed and unflexed with every step, veins twitching under his skin.
Nadia pushed harder, scrambling forward until she reached him. She grabbed his arm, nails biting into his skin. "Maybe we should… relax for a bit," she whispered, breath brushing against him. "You seem stressed. I'll do whatever you want…" Natnat stopped. His body went rigid. Slowly, he turned his head toward her. His face was blank expressionless but his left eye twitched, a flicker of something dark sliding behind his gaze.
"You're not her," he said flatly. His voice was cold, stripped of warmth. "Can you leave me alone?" Nadia blinked, stunned. "What?" she scoffed, her tone dripping with wounded pride. Then she shoved herself closer, pressing against him, lips brushing his neck. Her hands clawed at his chest as she hissed, "I've been interested in you since the boat, but you never looked at me. Always at her. Let me show you...!" His hand shot up like lightning, clamping around her throat. Nadia's eyes bulged as she gasped, her feet kicking against the dirt. His grip tightened, cutting off her air. Her nails clawed at his wrist, leaving bloody streaks.
"No," Natnat said, voice as empty as a tomb. His face remained perfectly still, no anger, no lust, just mechanical dismissal. "You're disgusting." Nadia's mouth opened, a strangled plea, but the sound never escaped. A sick, wet sound filled the air as his skin rippled. From beneath his forearm, a long black tendril burst forth, glistening like oil. It slithered down his arm, curling around her throat, then pushed between her lips.
Nadia's scream was swallowed as the tendril forced its way up through her skull. Her eyes rolled back. Her legs kicked once, twice, then convulsed violently. Her body jerked in his grip before going slack. When it was over, he released her. Her corpse crumpled onto the forest floor, twitching once before lying still. Mud splattered her pale cheek. Her glassy eyes stared at nothing.
The tendril retracted slowly, vanishing beneath Natnat's skin as if it had never existed. Thick, dark fluid dripped from his mouth. He wiped it with the back of his hand, smearing it across his cheek. His face remained emotionless, as though killing her had meant nothing. Then his head turned sharply, eyes narrowing at the forest ahead. His lips moved, barely a whisper. "…Sarah."
Meanwhile, Andy, Dian, Joanne, Ashley, Loca, and the few remaining tourists staggered through the trails to the main building of the island. The building looked deceptively normal from the outside... fresh paint, trimmed bushes, and a neat wooden sign welcoming guests. But once they reached the doors, they realized it wasn't so simple. They almost forgot about the locked. "Figures," Andy muttered, giving the door a shove. It didn't budge. Joanne glanced around nervously. "Should we even be doing this?" Dian crouched, pulling something from her pocket. A thin tool glinted in the pale light. "If no one else is opening the door for us, we'll open it ourselves." After a tense few seconds, the lock clicked, and they slipped inside.
The illusion shattered immediately. The reception area was a wreck: chairs overturned, papers scattered like snow, and dark stains smeared across the walls. It looked as though a storm had torn through, but the storm had been made of claws and screams, not wind.
Inside, the air reeked of mold and old blood but no dead bodies. The floor was littered with broken chairs, torn paper, and shattered glass. The group fanned out cautiously, weapons clutched tight, eyes darting to every shadow. They pushed deeper until they found the control room. Dust coated the equipment, but the monitors were intact. Dian hurried forward, wiping grime from the switches. "Maybe we can find out what happened here," she muttered, forcing power into the system. The machines sputtered, groaned, and then the screens flickered to life. Static at first, then black-and-white feeds filled the wall of monitors shots of villas, docks, jungle trails. The cameras ticked back to recordings from three days ago.
The group leaned in, breath held. Onscreen, chaos unfolded. Staff ran screaming down hallways, their uniforms torn. Shadows moved too fast for the eye to follow. One by one, the staff were cut down. Slaughtered. Bodies hit the ground, limp and broken. Then the faceless things appeared.
They crouched over corpses like carrion birds, sniffing, poking, licking as though testing for something. Their skin rippled wetly, shifting like melted wax. In one horrifying instant, one of the creatures pressed its head to a corpse then lifted it again, wearing the man's face. Ashley clutched Joanne's arm, trembling so hard her teeth chattered. "What the hell is that?" Joanne's voice cracked. "Maybe… an alien?" Andy leaned forward, eyes wide. "Did you see that? It only needed to taste once. Just once and it became him completely. Voice, face, everything." His voice lowered to a whisper. "They can become anyone."
The room went silent.
"Which means…" Ashley swallowed hard. "...what if one's already with us?" A ripple of unease spread. Everyone's eyes darted from face to face. "I can hear your thought," Will muttered, his voice sharp. He was Jasper's friend, standing stiff at the back of the room. "We're just being careful," Dian said firmly, trying to soothe the fire before it spread. Ashley stepped forward, desperate. "We've known each other for years. Me, Andy, Dian, Joanne. We're real. You know us."
Loca's voice cut through the tension, soft but trembling. "Do you doubt us?" Her eyes flicked over the group, wide and haunted. "If one of us was the impostor," another tourist said slowly, "wouldn't they have killed us already?" All eyes turned toward Loca. Her lips trembled. Her hands shook so badly she could barely keep them at her sides. "What if it's one of you?" she whispered, her voice cracking. The words shattered the air like glass.
"You're saying that because you don't trust anyone anymore!" Jane snapped, her voice shrill. "You're the suspicious one!". "No one trusts anyone," Will growled, stepping closer, his face twisted with fury. Andy jumped between them, arms out. "Stop! That's what it wants. To turn us against each other. Don't let it win!"
But it was too late. The damage had been done. Whispers spread like poison. Groups formed, eyes narrowed, lines drawn. Ian and his friends slipped away quietly, muttering about safety in numbers. Will, Jane, and two more stormed out shortly after. What had been a fragile alliance shattered completely.
Loca clung to her friends, pale and shaking, as they followed Ian's group. Andy, Dian, Joanne, and Ashley left together, their silence heavier than any scream. Back into the unknown.