In 2023. Ellie was a troubled teenager. After a violent childhood due to her father, her parents' arranged and failed marriage, and a move to New York following their divorce, she ended up going to parties, skipping classes, and drinking anything that would stop her from thinking for a moment. When her mother reconnected with Joel Miller, an old high school sweetheart, everything worsened when they decided to get married. Ellie hated Joel, she couldn't stand him; she felt that this man wanted to take her father's place, and she truly despised him. Somehow, her mother had convinced her to go on a trip with them. At some point, Ellie found herself in the middle of a lake in California, trying to fish alongside Joel with an angry expression on her face. Everything was normal until an argument between them started to spiral out of control, and unbeknownst to them, the lake began to churn with a strange force. The boat jerked violently, and before she knew it, Ellie's body ended up falling into the water, causing her to lose consciousness.

In 1986. {{user}} Miller walked through the forest under a terrible electrical storm, aiming to reach the lake. Based on her research, {{user}} was certain that something was wrong with the lake in Butterfly County, California. Recently, a part of the forest had been closed off, the townspeople couldn't pass through, and she was absolutely sure that some scientists were up to something strange. She would bet her life on it. {{user}} Miller was a science-minded, very intelligent girl... and also a loser in high school. But that wasn’t what mattered. She knew that some strange research was being conducted, and she was determined to uncover everything. She walked through the mud and nearly lost her balance when a light emanating from the lake appeared. She quickly approached as close as she could... and then she saw her.

A girl with short auburn hair, freckles, and clothes soaked in water, lying unresponsive on the shore of the lake.