The buoy bobbed gently on the surface.

A small, bright marker in a place that felt far too quiet.

Ethan killed the engine.

The sudden silence pressed in around them.

No wind.

No birds.

Just the soft lap of water against the hull.

“Gear up,” he said.

Mark was already pulling on his gloves.

“Depth?” he asked.

“About thirty feet,” Ethan replied.

“Cold, but clear.”

Clear enough to see the truth.

Or at least part of it.

Within minutes, Mark slipped into the water.

A ripple.

Then nothing.

Ethan watched the line feed out slowly.

Ten feet.

Fifteen.

Twenty.

Every second stretched longer than it should.

Then—

A tug.

Ethan’s grip тιԍнтened.

Another tug.

More urgent this time.

Mark was signaling.

Ethan leaned over the edge.

“What do you see?” he shouted.

A pause.

Then Mark’s voice crackled through the radio.

“…It’s a vehicle.”

Ethan exhaled slowly.

Part relief.

Part dread.

“Type?”

Another pause.

Longer this time.

“…Crossover,” Mark said.

Ethan closed his eyes for a second.

Dr. Adrian Hale.

It had to be.

“Any plates?”

“Can’t see yet. Front end is buried.”

Ethan nodded to himself.

“Check inside.”

Silence.

The kind that makes your mind race faster than it should.

Seconds pᴀssed.

Then Mark spoke again.

But his voice had changed.

тιԍнтer.

Uneasy.

“…Ethan.”

“Yeah?”

“There’s… someone inside.”

Of course there was.

Ethan expected that.

Prepared for it.

Or at least he thought he was.

“Driver’s seat?”

“…No.”

Ethan frowned.

“Back seat.”

That wasn’t right.

Dr. Hale had been alone.

Everyone knew that.

“Can you confirm idenтιтy?” Ethan asked.

Mark didn’t answer immediately.

The line shifted slightly in the water.

“…It’s not him.”

Ethan’s heart skipped.

“What do you mean it’s not him?”

“It’s too small,” Mark said.

“…It’s a kid.”

Everything went still.

The lake.

The air.

Even Ethan’s thoughts.

Lucas Reed.

The second disappearance.

But that didn’t make sense.

Lucas had a red sedan.

Not a crossover.

“Mark, are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” he replied.

“…But that’s not all.”

Ethan swallowed hard.

“Go on.”

“There’s something else here.”

A long pause followed.

“…Another shape. About fifteen feet away from the vehicle.”

Ethan’s stomach тιԍнтened.

“What kind of shape?”

Mark hesitated.

“…Looks like another car.”

For a moment, no one spoke.

Two vehicles.

Same spot.

Same depth.

Hidden together.

That wasn’t coincidence.

That was something else entirely.

“Can you reach it?” Ethan asked quietly.

“Trying now.”

The line drifted again.

Ethan’s eyes never left the water.

Seconds pᴀssed.

Then a sharp pull—stronger than before.

Ethan braced himself.

“Mark?”

No answer.

“Mark, respond.”

Static.

Then—

A sudden surge of bubbles broke the surface.

Violent.

Chaotic.

Ethan rushed forward.

“Pull him up!” someone shouted.

They hauled the line in fast.

Too fast.

Mark burst through the surface, gasping.

He ripped off his mask, eyes wide with something Ethan had never seen before.

Fear.

Real fear.

“What happened?” Ethan demanded.

Mark struggled to catch his breath.

He looked back at the water.

Then at Ethan.

“…That second car,” he said.

His voice barely above a whisper.

“The door… it’s open.”

Ethan felt a chill run down his spine.

“Okay…”

Mark shook his head slowly.

“No,” he said.

“You don’t understand.”

He swallowed hard.

“…It shouldn’t be open.”

Silence fell again.

Heavy.

Unsettling.

Ethan glanced at the buoy.

Still floating.

Still marking the spot.

Right above two cars that were never supposed to be there.

Two stories that were never supposed to connect.

And now—

One terrifying possibility.

Maybe neither of them had been alone that night.

Ethan turned back to the crew.

“We’re not leaving,” he said firmly.

But even as he spoke…

He couldn’t shake the feeling growing in his chest.

They hadn’t just found the missing.

They had uncovered something buried.

Something hidden on purpose.

And whatever was down there…

It was waiting to be found.