Shiki

They talk for a bit, the uneasy energy lingering between them as Bryce absently picks at the label of his beer bottle. Cortney nudges him under the table, her foot brushing his ankle—a silent check-in. He exhales, forcing a grin as Wendy and Anne bicker over which Rainbow Road variant to pick. John Loose leans in, voice low. "You said you just got in last night? You didn’t… wander anywhere after dark, did you?" His fingers tap nervously against the table. Bryce exchanges a glance with Cortney. "No, we—" "Good," Rebecca cuts in, sharp.

Rebecca exhaled sharply, her grip tightening on her straw hat. "Good," she repeated, glancing at her daughters—now deep in a heated Mario Kart battle with Bryce. "Because we heard rumors. Guests who wander after dark... they change. Not physically, not at first. But their eyes go get hazey. Their smiles fade And by morning, they’re just... hollow., and some crave sex" John rubbed his jaw, his voice barely above a murmur. "That’s why we left the show early. The twins turned eighteen last month, and ever since—" Wendy’s triumphant shout cut through the tension as she threw her hands up. "Blue shell justice! Eat that, Bryce!"Cortney laughed as Bryce groaned dramatically, tossing his controller onto the table. "Rematch! That was pure luck and you know it." Wendy stuck her tongue out, but Anne's smile faltered as she caught the adults' hushed tones. "Mom? What's wrong?" Rebecca forced a bright smile, smoothing her sundress. "Nothing, sweetheart. Just grown-up stuff." But Bryce noticed John's knuckles whitening around his drink glass. Cortney leaned forward, voice playful but eyes sharp. "So, these 'changed' guests—what exactly do they do? Besides the whole... hollow-eyed stare thing?" John hesitated, then lowered his voice further.

John hesitated, then lowered his voice further. "They start showing marks—like bites—on their necks or wrists. Small at first, easy to miss." His fingers unconsciously brushed his own collar. "By the third night, they're different. The locals call them shiki. They move... wrong. Too smooth. Too gracefully, their eyes suposodlybecome blacwith crimson irses, and they crave only 2 things mostly, one is sex..other corrupting those they fuck yo turn them as well, so they say, but its all rumors, but better safe then sorry" Cortney's foot stilled against Bryce's ankle. Wendy had gone quiet, the Switch forgotten in her hands. Bryce cleared his throat. Rebecca's gaze flicked to her daughters before answering. "Some say the younger the faster they turn you

A heavy silence settled over the table. Bryce felt Cortney’s fingers twitch against his own—her nails digging in just slightly, grounding him. Anne swallowed hard, her earlier excitement fading. "That’s… that’s just island ghost stories, right?" She tried to laugh, but it came out thin. John shook his head slowly. "We thought so too. Until we saw one." Wendy’s grip on the Switch tightened. "Saw what?" Rebecca hesitated, then leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper.

Rebecca hesitated, then leaned in, her voice barely above a whisper. A shiki. The word hung in the air like smoke. Bryce felt Cortney’s grip tighten around his fingers—her pulse racing against his skin. John’s gaze flicked toward the crowded market street behind them, where tourists laughed under strings of lanterns, blissfully unaware. "They run this island," he murmured. "Not the hotel staff, not the locals—them. The ones who’ve been changed. They let guests leave on night flights when their stay is over, but by then..." Wendy’s Switch slipped from her hands, clattering onto the table.

The Switch clattering against the table sounded unnaturally loud. Bryce watched as Wendy's fingers trembled—not from fear, but something else "Wendy?" Anne whispered, scooting back. Cortney stood abruptly, her chair scraping. "We need to go. Now." Cortney’s grip on Bryce’s hand turned vice-like as she pulled him up from the table. The twins’ laughter had died in their throats, their Switch abandoned mid-race. Vampires. The word slithered through Bryce’s mind, absurd and terrifying all at once. He wanted to laugh—this was some cheesy horror movie shit—but the way John’s fingers trembled around his beer bottle killed the impulse. Wendy stood suddenly, knocking her chair back. "Wait—you’re serious?" Her voice cracked. "Like… actual vampires?" Rebecca didn’t answer.

Instead, her eyes darted to the market crowd—where a woman in a sheer white dress was gliding between stalls, her movements too fluid, her smile too sweet. The lantern light caught her eyes just long enough to reveal a flicker of crimson beneath blackened irises. Bryce’s breath hitched. The woman turned her head—slow, deliberate—and locked onto their table. Cortney’s voice dropped to a hiss. "Don’t. Look. Directly." But it was too late. The shiki’s lips parted, revealing needle-sharp canines as she inhaled—tasting their fear., abd sending a hypnotic gesture

Bryce’s vision blurred at the edges—like static creeping in. The shiki’s fingers curled in a slow, beckoning motion, and despite Cortney’s iron grip, he felt his body lean forward, drawn by something deeper than curiosity. Anne let out a choked gasp beside him. "Bryce—your eyes—" He barely registered her words. The shiki’s lips parted, her breath a whisper against the humid air. "Come closer," she murmured, though her voice seemed to echo inside his skull rather than his ears. Cortney swore under her breath and yanked Bryce backward hard enough to nearly topple him. "Run. Now." Says Rebecca The command snapped through the air like a whip. Bryce staggered, his head still swimming with the shiki’s whispered lure, but Cortney didn’t give him time to recover. She shoved him forward, her nails digging into his wrist as she dragged him away from the table. Anne grabbed Wendy’s arm, pulling her and her sister up so fast their chairs clattered to the ground.

The twins stumbled, Wendy’s breath coming in ragged gasps as she twisted to look back. "What the hell is going on on this island?" she cried ,voice cracking with panic. The shiki was still watching them, her smile widening unnaturally, her head tilting like a predator tracking fleeing prey. Around her, the market crowd moved in slow, dreamlike motions—some turning toward them with the same hollow, hungry stares. John cursed and grabbed Rebecca’s arm. "They’re everywhere," he muttered. "We can’t outrun them all." Bryce’s pulse hammered in his throat.

John’s grip on Rebecca tightened as he muttered through gritted teeth, "We shouldn’t have come here on vacation." The words hung in the air, bitter and useless. The shiki in white took a step forward, her bare feet barely touching the cobblestones. Around her, more heads turned—faces pale, eyes glinting with the same black eyes, tourists that's already been turned Cortney didn’t waste time on regrets. "Back to the hotel," she snapped. "Now." They bolted through the market, knocking over baskets and weaving between stalls.

Wendy’s arm jerked in Anne’s grip. "She’s here," Wendy choked out, her pupils dilating. "Inside my head—" A vendor’s cart exploded outward in a shower of splinters as a figure lunged—a man, his mouth smeared red, fingers hooked like talons. John tackled him mid-leap, sending them both crashing into a tower of empty fish crates.The man snarled beneath John, his lips peeling back to reveal 2 fangs were his canines should be. His hands scrabbled at John’s shoulders—not to push him away, but to pull him closer. “So warm,” the shiki crooned, his voice syrupy with hunger. His tongue dragged up John’s throat, leaving a glistening trail. “Let me taste more.” John recoiled, but the shiki’s legs locked around his waist with terrifying strength. The creature arched beneath him, hips rolling in a grotesque parody of seduction. “You want to stay,” he whispered, breath reeking of spoiled wine. A scream tore through the chaos—Wendy.

A scream tore through the chaos—Wendy. Anne whirled to see her sister collapse to her knees, The whites of Wendy’s eyes darkened, veins spiderwebbing black as her irses hazed over "Get her up!" Rebecca shrieked, but Cortney was already moving, hauling Wendy upright by the collar of her shirt. Wendy’s head lolled, her lips parting in a moan—not pain, but something worse. Pleasure. The shiki in white was closer now, her dress fluttering like moth wings as she drifted between panicked tourists. Her crimson gaze never left Wendy.

Cortney’s grip on Wendy tightened Rebecca- “Shit—this is what we saw the other night with its prey.” Wendy’s body arched in Cortney’s grip as The shiki in white let out a low, delighted laugh—the sound slithering into Bryce’s skull like oil. Anne lunged forward, slapping Wendy hard across the face. “Fight it!” she screamed. For a second, Wendy blinked—her pupils flickering between black and their normal hazel.