2025-02-09 20:37:43As soon as they left the house, they caught a taxi and headed straight for the bus stand. They arrived just ten minutes before the bus was due to depart.
If they were a second late, they might have missed it. Fortunately, they were ahead of schedule.
The bus sped down the highway, its engine humming steadily. They sat side by side, with Jack by the window, gazing out at the passing scenery—though there wasn’t much to see.
“Did you let Uncle Daniel know we’re coming?” Max asked.
Jack shook his head. “No, I forgot. Hold on, I’ll call him now.” He reached into his pocket to grab his phone—but it wasn’t there. Then he remembered—he’d left it on the dressing table back home.
Max raised an eyebrow. “I forgot mine, too. Now what? How are we going to contact Uncle Daniel?”
“It’s fine,” Jack reassured him. “Uncle knows we’re coming. And I’m familiar with Mariner’s Bay.”
“Let’s hope that’s enough,” Max muttered.
They sat in silence for a while.
An hour later, they arrived at the Mariner bus stand. After a quick taxi ride to the port, they were greeted by Captain Daniel Scott.
Mr. Daniel, already acquainted with Jack, walked toward them with a friendly grin. “Hello, young man.”
Jack grinned back as they shook hands. “Hey, Uncle. How’s it going?”
“I’m doing well,” Mr. Daniel replied, his smile widening. He gestured toward Max. “And this must be Max, your friend?”
Jack nodded, and Mr. Daniel greeted Max warmly before leading them onto the ship. He showed them to their cabin, where they dropped off their bags.
After a quick look around, they left to explore the ship before dinner. When they returned, the sun was setting, and they headed straight to their cabin to sleep.
But sleep eluded Jack. One question gnawed at his mind: Are there really vampires or man-eaters on Vampire’s Island?
He wasn’t sure. It could all just be a tall tale.
“But really,” he thought, “do vampires even exist?”
It would be nice to go there and find out for himself. Maybe he could learn the truth about the man-eaters... or whatever else might be lurking on the island.
Eventually, exhaustion overcame him, and he drifted off to sleep. When Jack awoke the next morning, it was already seven o’clock, and the ship was well underway.
He rushed out of the cabin and onto the deck. The port vanished from view, meaning they were far out at sea.
The rest of the day and night passed uneventfully. But by the second afternoon, the storm hit.
The ship lurched violently as massive waves crashed against it. The crew scrambled to keep things under control, but it seemed as though the ship could capsize at any moment.
Jack was the first to spot land. He dashed to Mr. Daniel, who was clinging to the wheel. “Uncle, look! There’s an island! We’re close enough—couldn’t we take shelter there until the storm passes?”
Mr. Daniel’s gaze remained fixed ahead. “Even if we’re dying out here, we’re not going anywhere near that island.”
Jack frowned, confused. “Why not? What’s so bad about it?”
“I can’t say much,” Mr. Daniel replied, just as a huge wave slammed into the ship, knocking Jack off his feet. Mr. Daniel grabbed his hand just in time, preventing him from being swept overboard.
“It’s not safe here!” Mr. Daniel shouted. “Get back to the cabin now—before another wave hits! And that island... it’s so dangerous that anyone who goes there never comes back.”
The words haunted Jack as he hurried back to the cabin. What did Mr. Daniel mean by that? His mind raced. Could that island really be the legendary Vampire Island?
Determined to find out, he resolved to ask Mr. Daniel. But then, doubt crept in, and he decided against it for now.
The storm subsided by the end of the night, and the next morning, the ship docked at Demons Port. Mr. Daniel arranged for the boys to stay in a hotel and told them, “In about a week, the ship will return from Dick Island to Demons Island. I’ll bring you back to Mariner’s Bay then.”
After bidding them farewell, he left.
At the hotel, they had lunch and then spent the afternoon exploring Demons Island.
At the beach, they were watching the sunset when Jack spotted a boy about their age hiding behind a bush, eyeing them intently.
“Max... hey, Max,” Jack whispered.
“Huh? What’s up?” Max asked.
“There’s someone over there. He’s hiding and watching us,” Jack said, gesturing toward the bush.
Max squinted in that direction but saw nothing. “Where? I don’t see anyone.”
Jack nodded toward the bush. “He’s right there. I can see him.”
Max took another look. This time, he saw the boy. “He’s been following us since we got off the ship.”
“What?” Jack said, surprised. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”
“I don’t know. I just forgot,” Max admitted.
“Whatever,” Jack said, brushing it off. “But why is he following us? Do you think he’s up to something?”
“Who knows?” Max shrugged. “Maybe he is.”
They watched the boy for a moment, then Jack noticed he was still there, lurking behind the bush. He turned to Max. “Let’s go ask him what’s going on.”
Max nodded. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
“But we can’t just walk up to him,” Jack said, motioning to the back of the bush. “You go around that way. I’ll approach from the front.”
Max didn’t say anything but smiled and nodded before heading around the bush. Jack walked toward it, and as soon as the boy saw him, he tried to run. But Max was faster, grabbing him by the wrist.
“Hey, kid! Why are you spying on us like this?” Max demanded.
To their surprise, the boy twisted his arm free and sprinted off, shouting over his shoulder, “If you want to live, leave this island! They won’t let you survive—no one ever survives!”
Stunned by the boy’s strange behavior, they turned to head back to the hotel. As they did, they thought they saw something move behind the bushes.
When Jack glanced back, something darted into the darkness. It was too quick to identify, but it left an eerie feeling in the air.
Previous Chapter
Related Chapters
The King of the Vampire Island Chapter 3: Reach to the hotel
No one spoke for a while. Max scanned the bushes carefully, but the darkness made it impossible to see anything.“Who do you think that could be?” Max asked.“Not ‘who,” Jack corrected him, “ask ‘what’.”“What do you mean, ‘what’?” Max frowned.“I’ll explain later. But first, let’s get out of here. It’s pitch-black around us.”“Alright, let’s go.”They hurried back to the hotel.“Now, tell me—why did you say that back there?” Max asked as he settled onto the bed.“What?”“Oh, come on! What you said while we were on the beach.”“Oh!” Jack raised an eyebrow. “You mean the thing that dashed away from the bushes? Are we even sure it was human?” he asked.“If it wasn’t a person, then what was it?” Max shot back. “You think it was some kind of animal?”“No,” Jack shook his head. “Not exactly. It wasn’t human, but it wasn’t an animal either. More like... both, somehow.”“Is your head alright?” Max raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean? Not human, not animal, but both at the same time? What doe
The King of the Vampire Island Chapter 4: The vampire kills Parker
Now, only the morning remained. The mystery of what happened in that hotel might be solved by daybreak. They spent the night on edge, nervously anticipating what was to come.Throughout the night, there were numerous knocks on the door. The doorbell chimed several times, too.Sometimes it was Mr. Parker, other times the hotel manager, and occasionally a staff member calling for them. But they never answered.Somehow, the hours passed, and dawn broke. The sun peeked over the eastern sky, bringing with it a sigh of relief from them. After freshening up in the bathroom, they were ready. Now, all that was left was to wait.Soon, Mr. Parker would bring breakfast. And that’s when everything would be explained—at least, they hoped it would. The mystery of the hotel might finally have an answer.A few moments later, the doorbell rang with a soft chime. They thought it might be Mr. Parker. Jack jumped out of bed and rushed to open the door.When he did, a young man—about twenty or twenty-one—
The King of the Vampire Island Chapter 5: The Planning with Tulip
“I’m not sure,” Paul said, shaking his head. “But a man named Mr. Byrne lived north of here. He studied vampires. He died a few months ago, but he had a daughter. She could help us.”“How far is Mr. Byrne’s house from here?”“Not far—maybe ten miles.”“Then let’s go,” Jack said. He looked at Max. “What do you think?”Max shrugged. “It’s your call.”“Paul, are you coming?”“Yes, I’ll go,” Paul said without hesitation.“Alright, let’s go,” Jack said.“Yeah, let’s go,” Max agreed.With Paul’s help, they rented a sedan from a nearby car service and drove toward Mr. Byrne’s house. Along the way, Paul explained that Mr. Byrne was of Italian descent, though he settled in the area.Jack suddenly remembered that his grandfather’s house was also in Italy. Though Jack had never visited, he silently promised to go with his father one day.Lost in thought, they eventually arrived at Mr. Byrne’s house. After ringing the doorbell three times, a girl opened the door. She looked to be about their age,
The King of the Vampire Island Chapter 6: Preparation for Vampire Island
“That meant you guys were planning to go to that island?” Luna said, looking at the boys. They were talking in the living room. Luna was seated on a sofa in front of the boys. She was around their age, with ash-colored hair and light blue eyes—a pretty girl. They already told her everything.“Yep,” Jack nodded.“Did you know you could die from this?”“I told them,” Tulip replied on the boys’ behalf. “But they didn’t listen. By the way, I didn’t see Auntie around.” She looked around. “Was she not home?”“Nope, she wasn’t.”“Where did she go?”“New York. She’ll be back in a week.”“Oh! Anyway, did you have the exorcism water with you?”“Yes, I kept some from my dad. You guys sit tight; I’ll go get it.” Saying this, Luna left. She came back shortly, holding a glass jar with a kind of liquid inside—sacred exorcism water. “Let’s go,” Luna said.“Go Where?” Tulip asked in surprise. “Where were you planning to go?”“Why?” Luna looked equally surprised. “I’m going with you guys.”“To that is
The King of the Vampire Island Chapter 7: Arrive at Vampire Island
The eastern sky was beginning to brighten. The sun hadn’t risen yet. The water was clear and blue. The sky matched it perfectly. Not a single cloud in sight.Jack was steering the boat, silently looking ahead. The boat sped forward. Right beside him sat Paul, also staring quietly into the distance. The rest were seated in the back. No one was speaking. It was as if they were observing a moment of silence.Luna looked down, lost in thought. Max fiddled with the Annihilin gun, inspecting it from different angles. Tulip pored over the Vampire’s Island map spread across her lap, examining it closely.“How much farther?” Max suddenly broke the silence.“Not much farther,” Paul replied. He was the only one among them who had ever been close to Vampire’s Island before. He turned to Tulip. “Pass me the binoculars, will you?”Without a word, Tulip handed the binoculars to Paul. Taking them, he raised them to his eyes and began scanning the area. In the northeast, he spotted an island. Focusin
The King of the Vampire Island Chapter 8: Caught by Vampire
“The hotel manager was here! How was that possible? No, that couldn’t be. Why would he be here? So, was there no connection between the hotel manager and the vampire?”Max and Paul already spotted the hotel manager. Like Jack, the same questions were racing through their minds.Suddenly, the manager started moving toward them. They decided it was best to hide and slipped into a nearby bush. From their hiding spot, they watched as the manager slowly transformed into a vampire. They understood everything in an instant: this villain was the one committing all those awful deeds at the hotel. But one thing puzzled the boys. As far as they knew, vampires couldn’t stand sunlight. If sunlight touched them, they’d die. Yet this vampire-manager seemed fine in both daylight and darkness; nothing bothered him. This guy could walk around freely in broad daylight. How was that possible?Luna provided the answer. She explained, “Some vampires can tolerate sunlight.”Thanks to the vampire manager, t
The King of the Vampire Island Chapter 9: Inside of the vampire's cave
“I hadn’t heard a peep from you guys in a while,” Jack said, explaining to his friends how they’d gotten caught. “I got worried. I thought maybe you were in some trouble. I was heading over to check on the right side, but suddenly we got trapped in a snare. Then, out of nowhere, we ended up inside this cave.”“Oh!” Luna jumped in as soon as Jack paused. “We got caught just like you did!”“Just like us?”Then, Tulip, Max, and Luna told them how they’d been captured.For a while, no one spoke. They just sat there, silent. Finally, Max broke the silence. “So, we were trapped. No one left to save us.”Nobody responded to his comment. Silence hung in the air for a few moments.“It was a huge mistake for you to come here.” Suddenly, a voice called out from outside.Their ears perked up, but they couldn’t hear anything more. For some reason, both sisters felt the voice was oddly familiar. It seemed like they’d heard it countless times before, a voice of someone well-known to them. But try
The King of the Vampire Island Chapter 10: Friendship with the vampire's princess
Someone had just come by and left food a moment ago, so who was there now? While they wondered, Van Evangeline opened the door and walked in. Seeing her, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.“Evangeline, it’s you?” Paul exclaimed.“Yes, it’s me.” Evangeline nodded. “What, are you annoyed that I came?”“Oh, no!” Paul quickly waved his hand. “Why would we be annoyed?”“No...I mean…” Evangeline hesitated. “You all looked a little strange, that’s all.”“You know we’re trapped here,” Jack said. “Who knows when some vampire might come to snap our necks and drink our blood? So, we’re constantly on edge.”“That’s true,” Evangeline replied, adding a note of sympathy to her voice. “But as long as I’m here, no one can harm you.”“We’ve been imprisoned here to be killed.”“I already told you—no one can harm you as long as I’m here.” Evangeline repeated firmly, then added in a pleading tone, “Will you all do me a favor?”“Tell us. We’ll try,” they all said in unison.“I want to be your friend. Will
Latest Chapter
Chapter 72: The Vampire's Mysterious Role
If Jack or Peter, even one of them, gets caught, then there will be no hope of escaping from here. However, if Jack remains free, he might be able to do something. But Peter lacks that kind of experience. So, expecting more from him would be foolish. And if both of them get caught, then it’s all over.Slowly, the stone door began to open. One inch... two inches... three inches...Meanwhile, everyone on the other side was bursting with nervous anticipation. Did this mean they’d finally been caught too? But why was the door opening so slowly? Every time someone was brought in before, the door opened quickly, the prisoner was shoved inside, and then it closed immediately.The door opened a little more. They all stared intently, unblinking. When it was open about half a foot, Tania caught a glimpse of a face for a fleeting moment. It disappeared almost instantly as the door closed again. But what she saw was enough for her to recognize them. Yet she couldn’t believe it. How was this even
Chapter 71: The Mysterious Captivity
They were locked in a medium-sized, enclosed room. That was Eliza, Lisa, Tulip, Luna, Max, and Tania. But Harry was not there. They thought Harry was also trapped there. But Harry was not there. So, where was he? He brought in too, hadn’t he? No, there was no proof that he brought it there. No one had him brought in. They only assumed it. So, had Harry turned into a vampire? Could he be the one who turned Dr. Johan into a vampire? But how could that be? Dr. Johan said that with the strange organ in Harry’s body, he gradually getting better. Even that was noticed inside Harry.The same question kept circling in everyone's minds: "So, where is Harry?"No one knew the answer to this.The strange light on the ceiling provides illumination for the enclosed room. They knew very well that it wasn’t a man-made light.The stone-built room had no cracks or openings. But there was no shortage of oxygen there. Some strange methods were used to provide oxygen.They were sitting in a corner of the
Chapter 70: The Campfire and the Shadows
After walking for quite some time, they arrived at a somewhat open area. The trees were not very dense here. The sunlight was present. There was no need to turn on the torches anymore. They turned off the torches. Surprisingly, none of them had thought of Eliza until now.Jack was very thirsty. The water bottle was with Eliza. And that's when they realized she wasn't with them anymore. A cold wave of panic ran down their spines."Hey, where's Eliza?" Jack exclaimed."She was right behind me," Luna said."Then where did she go?"They didn’t know the answer to this question. So, no one said anything else. Jack didn’t get to drink water. They turned around and started running back toward the dark forest. They knew the chances of finding Eliza were very low. Still, they couldn’t bring themselves to believe it. She couldn’t just be taken away from them like this, in broad daylight. They stopped running when they reached the thick trees. They began shining their torches around. But they saw
Chapter 69: Midnight Conversations
The vampire was lying right in front of them. But it was no longer alive. Dead. And it could no longer drink anyone's blood. Right beside the vampire sat the two of them. Jack and Peter. They were panting from exhaustion. Their entire bodies were drenched in sweat. The strain on their muscles was nothing compared to the pressure on their nerves.Just moments ago, their nerves were so tense that if anything happened, they might have snapped. So much happened in the past few moments.From behind, the vampire grabbed Peter. Meanwhile, Jack stood in front, holding the annihilation gun. But there was nothing he could do. Like Peter, he was helpless. He could have used the annihilation gun, but if he did, both the vampire and Peter would be destroyed. He would lose his dear friend. When nothing else came to mind, Jack took a risk. In fact, it was the only option he had left.He aimed the annihilation gun at them with one hand while slowly lowering the torch in the other. He took out his
Chapter 50: Harry’s Trick
The boy is about their age. He might be a year or a year and a half older. Red hair. A face filled with brown freckles. His eyes are closed in pain. After Jack, Max, and Tulip rushed over. Lisa arrived a little later. She was supposed to be the first one to come. After all, the boy was closest to her. Luna was seen running over. Eliza and Peter followed behind, walking.Jack was quite shaken seeing the boy’s condition. Looking at Max and Tulip’s faces, he realized they were also shaken. However, it seemed that nothing had happened to Lisa, Eliza, and Peter. In fact, they had an expression of annoyance on their faces.“He needs to go to the hospital,” Jack said.“He doesn’t need to go anywhere,” Peter said, in an indifferent tone.Jack was surprised by Peter’s words. He furrowed his brows and asked, “Why?”“Because he’s fine,” Lisa answered.Jack couldn’t understand what they were saying. Finally, he said a bit more forcefully, “What are you all talking about? The boy is seriously inju
Chapter 68: The Silent Threat
They became quite absorbed in a lively conversation while working at the camp. No one thought about Jack or Tania. Meanwhile, Jack was lost in thought, gazing at the evening sky. Among the thick trees, he discovered a small patch of open sky. He was enjoying every inch of that ten feet of sky to the fullest. And the sky itself... it was something else. Even in such a small space, it radiated all its beauty. It was impossible to look away.After a while, suddenly, they remembered Tania. "Oh, Tania hasn’t come yet," Peter said out loud."Yeah, that’s true," Luna said. "It shouldn’t take this long.""Is she in any trouble?" Peter glanced at Tania's backpack. He noticed the annihilation gun pressed inside. He got up and grabbed it. Showing it to them, he said, "She didn’t bring her weapon. And it’s evening now. She said she’d be back in half an hour."A worried frown appeared on their faces. "And what’s Jack doing over there?" Eliza pointed at Jack.Luna knew Jack well. She knew exactly w
Chapter 67: The Return of Cassie
They sat under a tree. It was because of Eliza that they were forced to stop. Eliza was in bad shape. She was burning up with fever. Both her legs were swollen. She could hardly walk due to intense pain."I've really put all of you in danger, haven't I?" Eliza said in a shameful voice."Yeah, you have," Tania replied with bitterness, turning her face away. "I told you not to go, but you didn't listen. Now you see. Not only did you get into trouble, but you've also put us all in danger.""Oh, come on, just be quiet," Jack said, raising his hand. "What's done is done. We can't keep worrying about it now.""He's right," Luna agreed. "Now we need to figure out how to get out of this.""We can't just take Eliza like this," Peter said.Everyone frowned and looked at him. "What do you mean 'can't take her'?" Jack asked. "Are you saying we should leave her here?""No, no," Peter quickly waved his hands. "What are you saying? Leave her here?""Then what do you suggest we do?""I mean... can’t
Chapter 66: A Test of Endurance
It was quite a while, but Max still hadn’t returned. This shouldn’t be taking this long. Had he run into trouble? Luna felt a strange unease in her chest. She waited another minute or so, then softly called out Max's name. She spoke quietly, worried that shouting would wake the others. But there was no response from Max. Had he not heard her? If he was nearby, he should have. If he wasn’t around, then where had he gone?Luna became certain that Max must be in some kind of trouble. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have taken this long. She brushed away all doubts and began heading in the direction Max had gone. She carried a powerful flashlight in her hand, lighting up everything clearly. In the beam of light, she spotted Max’s annihilation guitar leaning against a tree. Luna knew right away that Max was there, and maybe he still was, hidden behind the tree.Luna moved a little further, stopping beside the tree to call Max's name again. But once again, there was no response. So, he wasn’t behind
Chapter 65: A Night in the Jungle
The sound of the alarm woke everyone up, bright and early. After freshening up in the washroom, they all headed downstairs. Elisha and Luna went straight to the kitchen to heat the food they prepared the previous day to save time. The others sat in the dining room, waiting.In no time, Luna and Eliza brought the food to the dining table.It was only then that they realized Tulip wasn’t with them.“Hey, where’s Tulip?” Max asked. “Is she still asleep?”“If she were up, she’d be here,” Jack replied.“I’ll go get her,” Luna said as she climbed the spiral staircase to the upper floor.Standing outside Tulip’s room, Luna called out a few times, but there was no response from inside. Finally, she knocked on the door, which opened instantly—it had been left ajar.Peeking inside, Luna saw no sign of Tulip. She guessed Tulip might be in the bathroom. Taking a seat on the chair beside the bedside lamp, she called out, “Hey Tulip, are you in the bathroom?”There was no response from inside.She
