Ever since we were little kids— me and my friends: Josh, Andrew, Hana and Lexi had heard story's about Lubber Island
Bone-chilling story's about the cultish inhabitants, a forest that grew to big for its own island and a Black Lake — everyone knew that one.
The Lake that no one could see the bottom of no matter how clear the day was.
Now, 22 years later, on June 13th, 2014, we finally got our chance. We rented a strong, fast boat with a wide hull and a full tank of ambition. We were going to live out the dreams our younger self wanted so badly
Before we could set off, we had to stock up on the essentials — enough supplies to last the whole four-month trip.
Food. Water. Gasoline.
Weapons, just in case.
Terrain gear for the deeper woods. Communication devices that hopefully wouldn't cut out once we reached the center of the island.
It wasn't exactly a weekend getaway. We knew that. We were going to be isolated.
No help. No signal. No second chances.
Our captain was a man named Joe Hanger.
Ex-Navy. A Weathered face and eyes that screamed depression. An aura that said you'd be lucky to get three words an hour out of him.
He didn't ask why we wanted to go to Lubbers.
He just stared at us for a long time — then nodded saying, "Pack heavy. And don't touch the trees."
None of us asked what that meant. Not then.
We thought it was just superstition.
We were wrong….. or were we
The boat pushed off the dock just past sunrise.
None of us said much. We'd waited years for this, and now that it was real, the excitement felt heavier.
The deeper we went, the quieter everything got. The ocean should've been choppy, but it wasn't. No birds. No waves. Just water. And silence.
Andrew broke it first.
"Maybe we should stream this shit," he said, pulling his phone halfway out of his pocket. "Y'know — maybe we get famous. Rich."
Hana rolled her eyes without turning her head.
"Is money all you care about?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Andrew joked. "Green is all I need."
Lexi leaned over the railing and stared at the water. "Your soul is probably worth six bucks and a bag of hot Cheetos."
"At least my soul is worth something."
Josh let out a low laugh, but it didn't carry far.
The lake absorbed sound. It was like talking through a pillow. Even the boat's engine felt silent.
"You guys feel that?" Hana asked after a while.
"Feel what?" I said.
"Like… like something's watching."
Andrew gave a mock gasp. "Oh nooo… the lake ghosts!"
"Dude shut the fuck up" I said already annoyed with his antics
We were still hours away from the island. And somehow, it already felt like we were being pulled into something we didn't understand.
About an hour out, the GPS died.
Just flickered and cut out — like it had never existed.
Andrew tapped it a few times. "Seriously?"
"Signal dead zone, maybe," Hana offered, but even she sounded unsure.
I looked at the compass Joe gave us.
It was spinning in slow, lazy circles.
Lexi caught it too. "That's not normal, right?"
Josh just looked out across the lake, quiet. "We're close."
"Guys, it's an island," I said, like it was obvious. "There's no satellites or cell towers out here."
"Then explain the compass," Lexi shot back.
I hesitated. "Okay… that's not normal. But still."
The island finally came into view—just a dark silhouette against the pale morning sky.
There were no signs of life, no docks. Just a jagged shoreline and dense trees that looked like they hadn't been touched in decades
The closer we got, the heavier the air felt—thick with humidity and something else,
Joe slowed the boat as we approached a narrow cove, the only place flat enough to pull in.
The water near the shore was oddly still, calm. To calm for the morning breeze.
Josh leaned over and whispered, "It smells... off. Like wet earth and old rot."
I nodded. The scent was that of a rotten corpse
None of us spoke after that.
We unloaded the boat slowly, every sound swallowed by the oppressive silence around us.
When my foot hit the shore, the ground felt colder than it should on a June morning.
And in the back of my mind, a quiet thought crept in.
After we loaded all our gear, waved Joe a final goodbye
Before he left, he spoke without looking back.
"Before you go… make sure you don't upset the King."