[ IP ] Tikibara Lagoon

`` I ca n't even begin to describe how beautiful it is here!'' she yelled, while pushing her sunglasses up and letting them rest on top of her golden hair. 
 
 `` Tikibara Lagoon, you fail to disappoint.'' Laura set her luggage down in front of one of the bungalows. 
 
 `` OMG can you believe it Laura, we get to stay here for an entire week. Just the two of us. No stress, no boys, no school,'' she paused, `` did I mention no stress?'' 
 
 Laura sighed and looked out over the clear blue-green water. `` It's truly paradise. I've needed this sooo bad.'' 
 
 Tara smiled and turned towards the hut that would serve as their home away from home. `` Ok we have to check out this bungalow. Is n't it just gorgeous from the outside? I ca n't imagine what the inside looks like.'' 
 
 Laura picked up her luggage and opened the door to the hut with restrained enthusiasm. She peered inside with wide eyes and an open mouth, which revealed perfect white teeth. 
 
 `` Come on, come on, go in already! I'm dying out here!'' Tara pushed her way inside forcing Laura to trip and nearly fall over. They both laughed and took it all in. 
 
 The room was huge. It looked even bigger than it did from the outside. There was a bed with a blue and white striped canopy. At the foot of the bed, on the floor, was a pane of glass that allowed the illuminated water to shine through. Everything was perfectly lit and positioned. The decorations were a mix of old and modern, and they were positioned delicately all through out the room. 
 
 `` Just look at this place,'' Tara breathed, `` Do people actually live like this?'' 
 
 `` It should n't be legal should it? Something this perfect. There has to be a catch. Hey look at the fish! `` 
 
 Through the glass a small school of tropical fish darted playfully back and forth. Neither girl knew what they were, but the names were n't important. Tara took out her phone and snapped two quick pictures. She looked at the screen, smiled, and flipped it around to show Laura. 
 
 `` Awesome! That's the first of many pictures we're going to be looking at for the rest of our lives. `` Laura set her luggage down by the bed and began unpacking. 
 
 `` Hey we can unpack later. I saw a bar back on the mainland on our way in, we need to go check it out. There's a Mai Tai in there with my name on it.'' 
 
 Laura pulled a bright yellow bikini top out of her bag and dropped it onto the bed. `` Agreed. Let's go!'' 
 
 
 They stumbled back to the bungalow hours later. The sun had just finished staining the sky a brilliant red as it slowly sunk into the sea. The walkways were lit with little white lights that lined the wooden planks like tiny runways. 
 
 `` I ca n't believe you gave him your number,'' Laura laughed, `` He's from like, Columbia or something, do you really plan on visiting him after we get back?'' 
 
 Tara finished sucking up the last bit of alcohol from her fishbowl shaped glass. `` You know me better than that girl, it was n't my real number.'' she paused, `` It was the number to Tony's pizza.'' 
 
 They both laughed and made their way into the hut, locking the door behind them. Tara set down her glass and kicked off her flip flops. As she was heading towards the bed, Laura let out a scream. 
 
 `` What's wrong?'' 
 
 Laura had both of her hands up over her mouth and was staring at the glass window in the floor. She breathed out hard and dropped her arms. `` It's nothing. I think I maybe had one too many. I could have sworn there was a man looking up at me through the glass.'' 
 
 Tara walked over and put an arm around her friend. She stood up on her toes and glanced at the clear floor. `` You mean like, under the water?'' 
 
 Laura turned and walked to the bed. `` I'm sorry, I'm still a little jet lagged.'' 
 
 `` And maybe a little drunk,'' she laughed, `` but it's ok! That's what we're here for. Eat, sleep, drink, repeat. For an entire week!'' 
 
 `` Speaking of sleep,'' Laura said, as she finished pulling on shorts and a white t-shirt, `` I need to get some. I'm about to crash hard.'' 
 
 `` Sounds good to me,'' Tara said, jumping on the bed and sliding under the covers. `` Sleep tight, we have a big day tomorrow!'' 
 
 
 Her eyes snapped open, wide and alert. Something had awoken her, some sound at the bottom of the bed. She looked over and found Tara lost in sleep and snoring gently. Sitting up, she could only see the far corner of the glass bottom floor. The sound came again, soft and sharp. A repeated tapping. Laura forced herself to move forward slowly, slowly inch by inch adding a little more to her view. There was three little fish suspended in the water. Two more inches revealed white sand and some sort of vegetation. Three more inches and suddenly the dark sinister face of a man was staring at her, expressionless. 
 
 `` Tara!'' she jumped back and shook her friend violently until she opened her eyes. 
 
 `` What? What is it? What's wrong?'' 
 
 `` The man is back, look. Look at the glass!'' 
 
 Frowning, Tara moved to the edge of the bed. Laura watched her intently. `` Laura there's nothing there. You were just having a bad dream. Go back to sleep.'' She pulled the covers back over her body and laid down. 
 
 `` It was n't a bad dream Tara, someone was there. It was a man. I saw him.'' 
 
 Tara moaned. `` Well then show him what he's looking for so he'll go away and leave you alone and I can get some sleep.'' 
 
 It was n't thirty seconds later and she was snoring again. Laura looked at the clock radio on the nightstand beside her. It was 2:06 in the morning. She was beginning to wonder if someone had slipped something into her drink. He had been there, she had seen him as clearly as she saw the room now. 
 
 Then, another tap on the glass. 
 
 Laura's heart jumped and send blood on an expedition through her veins. She grabbed one of the extra blankets and, without looking, tossed it onto the floor, covering the glass. 
 
 Silence. 
 
 She laid back down and tried to think of something, anything, else to take her mind off the man in the water. It was n't working. She could n't shake the feeling that if she stood up and moved the blanket from the glass, the evil face would be there staring at her. She knew how absurd it was. But he was there. Somehow, for some reason. 
 
 Suddenly, another tap. Followed by three quick ones in secession. They were louder than before, more violent and threatening. Two more taps that sounded like they could break glass. She could n't take it anymore. She jumped up and threw the blanket away. 
 
 The man was back, and he had a rock securely wedged within his fist. He looked at Laura briefly, before smacking the rock three more times against the glass. 
 
 `` Tara! Get up, he's trying to get in! Tara!'' 
 
 Tara sat straight up, her eyes burning holes through Laura. She slammed her feet down onto the floor, hard and determined. 
 
 `` Look, right here, he's...'' she looked back down, to find nothing more than sand and sea back-lit by the soft white lights. 
 
 `` This is ridiculous Laura. I'm going to get the manager. They can look into it. Or maybe get me another room.'' she muttered the last part to herself as she made her way to the door. 
 
 `` You ca n't leave me here!'' 
 
 `` Laura, please. You're 21 years old. You'll be fine.'' She threw on a robe and unlocked the door. `` The office is just at the end of the boardwalk. Maybe they'll have something that will help you sleep. I'll be right back.'' 
 
 `` Tara please. I'm not crazy.'' 
 
 `` Noone is saying you're crazy,'' she said, opening the door. `` I think the excitement is just getting to you. Do n't worry, I'll take care of you.'' 
 
 
 Tara walked back from the office with a few pills. The lady working behind the desk had not been very friendly, or willing to give her sleeping pills, but she had been very persuasive. She made it to her bungalow and opened the door, closing and locking it behind her. 
 
 `` Well I'm pretty sure we're on their blacklist, but I managed to talk them into giving you some sleeping pills. Let me get you a glass of water and...'' 
 
 The bed was empty. Tara took a few quick glances across the room before her eyes settled onto the floor. At the foot of the bed, where a clear glass window had once been, was a jagged hole. Glass was scattered haphazardly all over the floor, indicating that it had been broken from the outside in. 
 
 `` Laura?'' 
 
 She walked over to the hole and peered into the still blue water. Three little fish and some crabs were the only things looking back.
