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It was supposed to be the perfect road trip of five friends, a beat-up RV, and a week of freedom along the Pacific Coast Highway. Jake, Mia, Ryan, Lisa, and Dev had been planning this for months, ever since they graduated college. The open road, the ocean breeze, late-night bonfires—it was everything they’d dreamed of.  

The first two days were a blur of laughter, terrible sing-alongs, and questionable snack choices. But on the third night, as they sat around a crackling fire at a secluded campsite, Mia frowned.  

"Hey, did one of you invite someone else?"

She asked, squinting at the group. Jake looked up from roasting a marshmallow.

“What do you mean?"  

Mia hesitated.

“I just… I feel like there’s one more of us than there should be."  

The group exchanged glances, then slowly counted.  

"One, two, three, four, five… six?"

Ryan said, his voice trailing off. Six. They stared at each other, a cold unease settling in. Because the thing was, they all recognised the sixth person. A guy with shaggy brown hair and a faded band T-shirt, lounging on one of the camping chairs like he’d always been there.  

"Uh… hey, man,"

Dev said cautiously.

“Not to be weird, but… who are you?"  

The guy smirked.

“Come on, Dev. It’s me."  

And that was the strangest part. It felt like it was him. Like he’d always been part of the group. His name hovered at the edges of their memories, familiar yet just out of reach.   Lisa laughed nervously.

“Okay, this is a prank, right? Which one of you set this up?"  

But no one answered. The guy leaned forward, the firelight casting shadows across his face.

“You guys really don’t remember?"  

A silence stretched, broken only by the distant sound of waves. Then Mia stood up abruptly.

“We should leave. Now."  

No one argued. They packed up in a hurry, throwing glances over their shoulders as the guy just watched them, still smiling. When they finally pulled onto the highway, Jake exhaled shakily.

“Okay, who the hell was that?"  

No one knew. But when they counted again just to be sure, there were still six of them in the RV. And the worst part? None of them could remember how many there were supposed to be in the first place.