One Saturday night, right before graduation, we crossed the line when we learned we had been accepted to college. Arman and I had planned to meet two girls from school for a night out on the beach with blankets and wine while stargazing. I arrived at Sophia’s house around 9pm, where she and Fran seemed a little tipsy. We drove to a deserted beach, where we had a blast the entire trip. Once there, after enjoying a bottle of wine, Arman and I parted ways with our dates. Under the starry sky, Sophia and I fell asleep on the blanket. Suddenly awakened by her nervousness, she asked me if I heard anything. I was initially dismissive, but I soon realized we had heard something unusual, like a small engine noise that disappeared.
After brushing myself off, I got up to put on my shirt, and Sophia screamed, pointing at something above us. Horrified, I saw a drone hovering just above my head before it zoomed away. I felt sick as I realized we might have been followed. Sophia started crying, and I suggested we go back to the car where Arman and Fran were waiting. They were shocked by my story, and the mood was low as we drove quietly back. The girls felt unsafe going home, so we sought shelter at Chuck's house, which was notoriously cold. After arriving, I needed some time alone to process everything. Checking my phone, I saw a notification that made my blood run cold: “AirTag detected moving with you.” In a panic, I rummaged through the car and finally discovered the tracking device stuck under the tire. I smashed it in horror, realizing we were being tracked. I shared this horrifying discovery with my friends and they reacted with horror, confirming that they had received the same notification.
We spent the rest of the night in Chuck’s basement, shocked but relieved that nothing more serious had happened. Weeks passed without incident, until one Sunday morning, Chuck called me urgently. He showed me blurry photos of Sophia and me from that night, prompting us to call the police. They couldn’t find any leads, and Sophia was terrified of being blackmailed. Although nothing more happened, the experience left scars, especially for Sophia. My friend Ricardo and I, both 19 and from wealthy families, had been enjoying the summer at the Jersey Shore.
One night, we drove to Lavalette, opting for a quiet evening instead of partying. We had drinks and headed to a deserted beach to relax under the stars. After a while, we heard a faint buzzing sound that grew louder, which sent us into a panic. Despite feeling invisible, we decided to leave. As we stood up, the buzzing grew louder, urging us to run towards a sand dune. Halfway there, Ricardo stopped me, pointing to a dark figure on top of the dune. Panicked, we ran parallel to the beach to escape. Looking back, there were several tall figures looming on the slope, facing us. We didn’t wait to find out more, running home without our bikes, and then we couldn’t find them.
This fear of the beach stems from a childhood incident. As a child, I loved spending summers at the beach with my friends. One weekend, we stayed at Charles’s beach house unsupervised, planning to have some fun with some girls. Things took a turn for the worse when Charles noticed someone standing on the dock across the lagoon, which he knew was uninhabited. When we saw movement, we panicked and locked ourselves inside, hearing splashing sounds behind us. We ran to the car and called the police, who then informed us that the Charles family's valuables and boat had been stolen. The robbers probably knew the house was supposed to be unoccupied, which left us all wondering how they could have gotten away so quickly. Since then, I have never forgotten to lock my doors at night.
