"Mother? Are you there?" Y/N yells out into the darkness. The monstrous wave has flooded her home. Y/N, her father and Magdalena huddle on an overturned closet.

No reply, and silence returns, only punctured by the echoes of water dripping from their shivering forms.

The wave has extinguished all candles, leaving them in utter darkness among the broken mess that used to be the hallway. Furniture lays mangled and upturned, and splintered pieces of wood float in the chest-deep, murky water.

Y/N squints hard, trying to force her eyes to adjust to the void surrounding her. After the wave had hurled into the house, Y/N had emerged spluttering from the floodwater, hacking up salt from her lungs. Her father had pulled her onto the broken closet, a refuge teetering above the vengeful seawater. There too was Magdalena, who is now using her apron to bandage a wicked gash on Y/N's father's side.

Blood pours from the torn wound, exposing angry skin and sinew beneath. Magdalena wraps the soaked cloth around it tight, causing the man to gasp in pain.

"That should hold it for now," she mutters, "but it'll need stitching."

"That's a problem for later, Magda," Y/N's father groans as he struggles to sit upright, "I have—"

"Not if you're dead, it's not", Magdalena interrupts defiantly as, with a firm push to the chest, she forces him to lay back down.

Y/N looks ahead into the gloom, knowing she has to be the one to venture out.

"I'll go," she states, lowering herself into the water even as protests ring out from Magdalena and her father. The seawater gives Y/N a cold embrace, welcoming her into its frothy arms. She winces as her barefoot brushes up against seaweed, but slowly pushes it away until she finds even footing on the hallway floor. With water up to her chest, she knows she's at a clear disadvantage if anything sneaks up on her.

Better make this quick, then.

She muses to herself as she moves further down the corridor. Spotting a broken candleholder, Y/N arms herself with the pointed piece of metal. Although it is far from an adequate weapon, she knows it is better than nothing. At least now she has something to defend herself with.

Rounding a corner, the cold seeps into her bones, and Y/N suppresses the urge to cry. There isn't time for that now. Ignoring her still-burning hip, she keeps wading ahead, listening intently for any sound of movement. The water laps quietly at the hallway furniture, but all else is silent. The roaring wave and screaming wind from earlier are long gone, replaced only with eerie emptiness.

Y/N pauses, a strange feeling creeping over her. Dread.

She has the distinct feeling that something is watching her. Maybe someone? Her mother? She turns, but no one is there.

A small fish suddenly jumps from the water, landing back in with a splash. Y/N yelps, silently cursing. She wonders what else is in the dark flood, then quickly banishes that thought. Imagining up nightmares will only discourage her.

She reaches another bend in the hallway. Carefully, she peers around the corner. Seeing only darkness at first, Y/N approaches.

The water appears different up ahead. She stretches out a hand to feel it, and is greeted by warm liquid. A tangy smell hangs heavy in the air. Bringing her hand up closer to her face, Y/N gags, recoiling at the sight and smell of what she now knows to be dark blood.