In the coastal town of Seaview, where the ocean met the sky in hues of orange and purple, Mia Thompson managed a quaint little bookstore. Each morning, as the sun began to rise and paint the waves with its golden light, Mia would open the shop's wooden door, welcoming the scent of saltwater and adventure.

In the heart of the bustling city of New York, where dreams met reality in a dizzying blend of neon lights and shadowy corners, lived two souls obliviously tangled in the same fate.

It was a chilly autumn evening when Brooke decided to take a walk through the woods behind her grandmother's house. The leaves had turned fiery shades of orange and red, creating a picturesque backdrop, but as the sun began to set, the warmth of the colors was overshadowed by a creeping sense of unease. Brooke had always loved this forest. It was a place where she spent countless summer afternoons climbing threes and playing hide and seek with her cousins. But now, with the diminishing light and the flickering shadows cast cast by the trees, the woods felt different-more sinister.

Minutes later, Sarahs' phone buzzed-a message from a coworker who had left hours earlier, asking if she'd seen the "strange figure" in the building. Confused, she replied that she hadn't, but she felt uneasy now. The coworker responded almost immediately, "Get out. I just saw someone looking through the windows."