The Vanishing

Noelle was the first to wake up screaming.

The others rushed to her room, finding her curled in the corner, drenched in sweat, eyes wild.

“I saw them,” she whispered. “All of them. Standing in the woods. Watching.”

“Who?” Ana asked, her voice shaky.

Noelle pointed toward the window. “Four of them. No faces. Just... eyes. Black. Burning into me.”

Scarlett checked outside. The fog was still thick, but nothing moved. “It was just a nightmare,” she said, trying to sound confident. “We’re all getting paranoid.”

But deep down, no one believed it anymore. Something was wrong. Something had always been wrong, and it was only getting worse.

Later that day, while trying to distract themselves, the girls found an old photo album in one of the cabin drawers. Its leather cover was cracked and dusty, the pages yellowed with age.

Inside were photos—dozens of them. Black-and-white portraits of different groups. All women. Always four. Always smiling in front of the same cabin.

Ana turned the pages slowly, her hand trembling.

Group after group. Four girls. Then another. Then another.

Until the last page.

The photo was blurry, but unmistakable.

Them.

Ana. Adeline. Scarlett. Noelle.

Same clothes. Same expressions. Same cabin.

Scarlett backed away, her face pale. “What sick joke is this?!”

“No... look closely,” Adeline whispered. “It’s... not exactly us.”

And she was right. The photo had subtle differences—Noelle had longer hair, Adeline was wearing glasses she didn’t own, Ana had a scar on her cheek. As if they were mirror versions of themselves. As if they had been here before... but slightly different.

Ana slammed the album shut. “That’s it. We’re leaving. Fog or no fog.”

But when they stepped outside, they discovered something worse.

Noelle was gone.

Vanished. No sound. No scream. Just... gone.

They searched every room, every corner, every inch of the woods near the cabin, screaming her name. Nothing. Her backpack was still inside. Her shoes were by the door.

Then Adeline found something on the porch step.

A lock of Noelle’s hair, tied with red string, placed neatly on a stone.

The three remaining girls huddled inside the cabin, terrified.

“We’re next,” Adeline said. “Whatever’s happening, it’s picking us off one by one.”

Scarlett grabbed her backpack. “We’re not waiting around. I’ll hike through the fog if I have to crawl.”

Ana nodded. “We’ll stick together. No splitting up.”

But that night... they did.

Somehow.

Sometime around 3 AM, the front door creaked open by itself.

Adeline jolted awake and found Ana’s bed empty.

She ran into the hallway, only to find the mirror glowing faintly.

Her own reflection stared back at her... and smiled.