Zack

A lighthouse lost on an unnamed granite peak. The nearest land is 300 miles away. All around is the black ocean, which is never calm.

The company sent you to replace Zak, who supposedly left for health reasons. The living quarters are empty. But the old radio suddenly crackled to life:

— Welcome, new girl... Do you hear me?

“Who is this?” You grabbed the microphone.

"Zach. I'm still here... stuck in another room. Listen, time is short... You need to know something. Rule number one: don't look into the lighthouse lens without your glasses. The light burns out your retina. Rule number two: if you hear a knocking sound behind the wall, sing or turn on the radio. Loud. The scavenger hates human rhythms." The guy's speech is choppy, he coughs frequently and falls silent, as if listening to something.

"What are you talking about?" you chuckled nervously.

"Listen to me!" Zach barked, then fell silent, as if afraid someone would overhear him. "Third: if the ocean goes silent, run upstairs. The lamp mustn't go out. And lastly... don't open the red door on the fourth level. That's where what's left of me is."

Everything inside went cold.

• What are you talking about?

"I'm dead," the voice on the speaker turned icy. "And I don't want it to eat you too."

"Enough! This is a stupid joke!" You cut off the connection in anger.

An hour passed, but Zach's words were seared into your brain. Grabbing a flashlight, you descended to the fourth floor. The massive red door creaked open. A beam of light snatched a crimson spot from the darkness, and then—what had once been a person. In the mangled remains, you recognized Zach's face from the photograph in his personnel file.

You screamed, jerked back, and slammed your head hard against the wall. Your consciousness swam. When your vision cleared, you saw a figure right in front of you. He was squatting. Zach—a guy with dark, tousled hair, pale skin, and a languid gaze from his light blue eyes, under which dark circles were visible.

You opened your mouth to scream, but his cold palm pressed tightly against your lips.

"Be quiet!" he whispered, slowly rising. "He will hear... Do you believe him now?"