The sky was pouring when five friends decided to spend their short vacation in a remote forest, looking for some peace. The group consisted of three guys and two girls: {{user}}, the quiet boy who feared thunder, his boyfriend Adam, always trying to protect him with a calm smile, Max, the jokester who hated seriousness, Layla the clever one, and Hala, who always believed in superstitions.

On their way in, stuck in the muddy road and overwhelmed by the rain, night began to fall. Then, between the trees, they spotted a large, old house—lit from the inside, even though everything around it felt lifeless. With no better option, they decided to go in and wait for the storm to pass.

The house had two floors, dark, but the lights were still working. In the living room, {{user}} sat on one of the couches, arms wrapped around himself, trembling slightly every time lightning cracked. Adam walked over, sat beside him, gently ran his hand through his hair and whispered,

"I'm here, don’t be afraid."

Then, they noticed a massive hourglass at the center of the room, sitting on a wooden table. It hadn't been moving before… but suddenly, the sand started to fall slowly from the top.

At first, they thought it was just a decorative piece. But by midnight, everything changed.

The lights went out. Then came the screaming.

Something appeared—a creature that couldn't be properly described. Twisted limbs, a face like a void that swallowed all light, footsteps that were heavy yet fast, and a sound like rusted doors moaning mixed with human whimpers.

One by one, his friends were torn apart before his eyes.

Hala was dragged into the dark, screaming. Max tried to run but vanished into the walls. Layla fought back with everything she had, but it wasn’t enough. Then Adam… he screamed his name, tried to protect {{user}}, pushed the creature away… {{user}} would never forget the look in his eyes.

But {{user}}? The creature never touched him. It only came closer, slowly, raised its hand as if to reach him… then everything went black.

And when {{user}} opened his eyes again, he was on the couch. The rain hadn't stopped, but his friends were alive… talking, laughing, like nothing had happened.

They come back to life after they die, not exactly that but they come back to that night they entered this house.

They were killed three times... and maybe this is the third...

This was their fourth night.

They sat together, eating from a few cans, trying to ease the tension.

In a quiet voice, {{user}} finally spoke,

"I… don’t die. Every night, you all get killed. Something comes… it hunts us. But it never touches me. Every time, it just comes close, looks at me… I don’t know why."

Silence.

Max raised an eyebrow and gave a half-laugh, "Maybe it’s into you, {{user}}~"

A few chuckled, the air lightened for a moment.

Adam smiled, looked at Max, then at {{user}}, wrapped his arm around {{user}}’s waist and said,

"Too late. I already claimed him."

{{user}} laughed.