When the moon comes out is when the people retrieve back to their homes. With the cold wind blowing, and the bright crescent shining down on them, Emily was feeling ecstatic. The warm sand between her toes, and the sight of the waves splashing even more in the dark. There was nothing in sight that she could possibly scorch, and she'd doubt she could boil the whole ocean. The beach was perfect.

  "Oh wow, I haven't been here in a while," Stephanie commented. She was already dipping her feet in the shallow parts of the ocean. It felt nice to feel the waves around her ankles getting higher.

  Rachel merely took her time with the feel of salty wind blowing her dark hair. She looked up at the crescent moon. Even with only a small part of it showing, it still managed to shine as brightly as usual. She took her fingers out of her pocket, rolling them into fists. She shut her eyes, feeling the change of the wind began to circle around her. It was a pleasant free feeling for her. It was calming.

  The wind circling her was simple calming. Yet, she can't help but notice something different. She tried to focus on what it was, without breaking the flow. It was like another layer, something else was following the wind's circular motion. Something heavy, it was distrupting her thoughts, her control. It was-

  "Rachel!"

  A gasp escaped from her as her eyes snapped open too fast. She stumbled a step back, but managed to regain her balance quickly. She turned to see Emily waving to her from the shores of the ocean, gesturing for her to come closer. Rachel let out a smile, as she catch her breath. She looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

  What was that?

  "The beach, the beach, I love the beach," Emily sang, as she skipped away from the oncoming waves. The sipped back down to the ocean.

  Stephanie was already wet all over, as she began to make some kind of weird shaped splashes. These last few days, practicing using the fountain water outside her art studio, she had learned that with a little practice she could move the water particles and make different shapes of splashes, not just a huge blob or circle. It takes a huge amount of focus, and causes a slight head ache but nothing she couldn't handle. She had been practicing for days now, still the only other shape she can make is an oval.

  The loose strands of her hair picked up the wind blowing by, and the splashes of water dropped down. She raked through her hair in frustration, why can't she just get it right?

  "A short number of days aren't enough."

  She froze and looked around, but see no one. But who was the one who had said that? The wind, was it Rachel? No, the dark haired girl was too far to be the cause of it. Plus, the voice just now sounded more like a guy talking. But who? As far as she knows, there's no one else here except the three of them. The beach seemed empty otherwise. But she could've sworn she heard someone talking. Or maybe she was just hallucinating, but that couldn't be it. Unless....

  "Shoot, I left my cell in the car," Emily could be heard saying, fumbling through her bag. "I'll be right back."

  "Emily, wait!" Stephanie called out, trying to stop her. But it was too late, the younger had disappeared. She turned back to the water surrounding her, and noticed a shadow moving, away from her. It was heading towards the sand, towards a certain dark haired girl who was tentatively dipping her water in the ocean.

  The shadow seemed to move faster, across the water. A large wave appeared, immediately blocking it's way. But the shadow could simply pass through it, or so it thought. It was blocked, it couldn't push past the crashing waves. It changed it's course and turned back to Stephanie. This time she was ready.

  With a simple wave of her hand, she found herself riding a wave. Few seconds later, she landed on the sand. Immediately, she took Rachel by the wrist, and pulled her along. She quickly grabbed their bags along the way.

  "You feel it too, don't you?" Rachel asked, sensing something was wrong. She easily caught up with the latter, and they went to check on their younger friend.

  Behind them, the crashing waves seemed to have calmed down. The beach looked peaceful, like it does every other night, before the girls came.

 

•••

Meanwhile, Emily was busy searching for her phone. It must have fallen between the seats. Unless her hands and fingers were too short, she can't reach anything in the tight spots. She let out an annoyed huff, and took out a flashlight from her bag. Rachel had suggested to bring it along as precaution. Unless it could light the way to her phone, Emily finds it of no use at all.

  She tried to stand back up and ended bumping her head to the car ceiling. She groaned in pain, and rubbed her sore head. She looked out to the tinted window and for a second there she thought she saw a figure. She quickly got out of the car to check, but saw no one. She scratched her head in confusion, and shrugged. Must just be her imagination.

  The sound of hurried footsteps and panting caught her attention, and she turned to see her two friends running up to her.

  "Hey-"

  "Come on, we're leaving," Rachel said, quickly getting in the driver's seat.

  "But-"

  "I call shotgun," Stephanie said, getting in the car.

  "But we just got here," Emily said, confused and upset. She turned to see all their stuff was already in the car.

  Rachel rolled down the car window and told her, "Ems, I'm sorry, but we really have to go. Something's not right here."

  Emily sighed, noting the look in her friend's eyes. Maybe she was right, maybe something was wrong. Either ways, she doesn't have a choice but to leave with them. She felt her foot nudged something and looked down.

  "My phone!"

 

~~~

How was it? Was it rushed, you think?