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Day One
Salt clung to his skin. His breath was ragged.
Daniel opened his eyes.
The sky above him was grey and slow-moving, as if time itself had grown heavy. He didn't know where he was — only that he had survived.
The sand was coarse beneath him. He sat up slowly, pain blooming in his muscles. In the distance, the ocean roared — but not with rage. The ship was nowhere to be seen.
He stood. Then walked.
After a short distance along the shoreline, he saw them — a small group of people huddled together, soaked and shaken. Their clothes clung to them like wet paper, their eyes scanning the sea with quiet desperation.
One of them noticed him.
"Captain!" she called out, rushing forward.
The others followed.
"Are you hurt?"
Daniel took a breath. "Nothing serious."
He stepped closer, scanning their faces — all tired, all frightened.
"Stay together," he said calmly. "We need to count."
They gathered in silence.
"Including me… we're 23."
A silence followed. Heavy. Someone exhaled slowly.
"What happened to the rest?" someone asked.
"And the ship?"
Daniel lowered his gaze. "I don't know."
Another voice rose from the group — a tall man with a firm jaw. "We didn't see you after the storm. Thought you were gone."
"I woke up on the beach like the rest of you," Daniel replied. "But I remember one thing — a white light. It came from the sea. It pulled us in."
"A light?" the man repeated.
"Yes," Daniel said. "Bright. Like lightning stretched across the sky."
The man stepped forward. "I'm Francis. Soldier."
"captian, how are we going to escape from this place?" Francis asked.
"I already said, don't call me 'Captain.' Just call me Daniel."
Francis looked at him. "Alright, Daniel. But then… how do we get out of here?"
Daniel looked toward the horizon.
"It hasn't been a full day since the shipwreck. The outside world will realize something went wrong. Maybe they're already searching. We hold on. We survive. A week at most."
Then, he turned to everyone.
"From this moment on, no one is rich or poor. No one is privileged. No one is expendable. We survive as one."
The group nodded in silence.
"Get some rest," Daniel said. "Tomorrow, we begin a new life. And a fight — for survival."
The sun dipped below the tree line, casting long shadows across the sand. Blankets were torn shirts and silence.
As stars blinked into the sky, a soft voice broke the quiet.
"Mom… didn't you hear that beep sound?"
All heads turned. A little girl sat beside her mother, pointing toward the trees.
"What sound, dear?" her mother whispered.
The girl kept staring. "It came from there."
She pointed again — to the dark forest beyond the beach.
The trees stood still. Too still.
They felt like the dark forest was laughing at them.
"You probably imagined it," her mother said gently, stroking her hair. "Try to sleep."
But the girl didn't move.
Somewhere in the forest, deep inside, could hear that voice once And
Again.
Beep.
Beep.
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To be continued...
All my chapters will be released in 2days gap.
Next chapter release date: 13/6/25