2025-02-09 20:45:41No 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 does that even mean?”
“The meaning is simple,” Jack replied. “It wasn’t a human, and it wasn’t an animal. It was something else. I saw its shape in the dim light.”
“What did you see?” Max leaned forward, intrigued.
Jack was about to respond when the doorbell rang.
“Who is it?” Jack asked, his voice tense.
“Sir, open the door,” came a raspy voice from the other side. “I’m the hotel boy. I’ve brought your dinner.”
“Oh! Please, wait a moment,” Jack said, hurrying to the door. An older man, probably in his fifties, entered the room carrying a tray of food. Jack knew hotel boys were usually in their twenties or thirties, but this man seemed much older.
“Hello, Mr...?” Jack extended his hand as the man set the tray on the table.
“Parker Hart,” the man introduced himself, shaking Jack’s hand with a slight smile. “Everyone calls me Parker. I’m the hotel boy here. And you are?”
“I’m Jack,” Jack replied, gesturing to Max. “This is my friend, Max.”
“Oh, nice,” Parker said, raising an eyebrow. “So, you’re new here?”
“Yeah,” Jack nodded. “We just arrived today.”“Be careful,” Parker advised. “If anyone else shows up, call reception or the manager to confirm before opening the door. Even when I come, call the manager first.”
Jack blinked, surprised by Parker’s warning. Furrowing his brows, he asked, “Why do we need to do that?”
“Don’t ask so many questions,” Parker replied. “Just remember what I’ve said. Things could get dangerous for you if you don’t. I’m leaving now. Close the door behind me. And I’ll bring your dinner at exactly 10 PM tonight. Remember, 10 PM. If anyone comes before that, don’t open the door. Call the manager.”
Parker left before Jack could respond.
Max had been silent through the exchange, but as soon as the door shut, he scoffed, “What kind of nonsense was that? I didn’t understand a word of it.”
“Who knows?” Jack shrugged, closing the door behind him as he sat back on the bed.
“Well, whatever nonsense he said, we’ll have to listen to him at least for tonight,” Max said. “You never know what might happen.”
“Ah, forget it,” Jack waved his hand dismissively. “Let’s go up to the roof. You can see the ocean from there. I heard that from the receptionist.”
“We don’t need to go now,” Max stopped him. “Didn’t you hear what the hotel boy said? We can’t leave the room right now. The roof is out of the question.”
“Forget it.” Jack waved his hand in the same dismissive gesture. “What’s the old man talking about? Do we have to stay in our room because of that? Did we come here to sit around? Let’s go to the roof. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“No.” Max shook his head firmly. “I’m not leaving the room right now.”
“Huh!” Jack snorted in frustration. “Then you stay here. I’ll go up to the roof and see what happens to me. Let’s see if I get caught by a vampire or a man-eater.”
“No.” Max stopped him again. “There’s no need to leave the room right now. Go in the morning.”
Jack stared at Max for a moment, his face tense with anger. Without saying another word, he stormed out of the room. Max didn’t have a chance to stop him.
Max sat in silence for a moment, staring at the door. Then, he sighed, got off the bed, and locked it. He pulled a book out of his bag and began reading to pass the time.
A little while later, the doorbell rang. Max thought maybe Jack had returned. He put the book down and went to the door, calling out, “Who’s there, Jack?”
“No, it’s Parker,” came the reply. “Open the door. I’ve brought your dinner.”
“Oh, Mr. Parker,” Max said, his voice betraying his unease. “Please wait a moment.” He got off the bed.
The wall clock showed it was 9 PM. Max had completely forgotten Parker’s warning: “Don’t open the door if anyone comes before 9:30 PM. Even if it’s me, call the manager first.”
Max hesitated, then moved toward the door. Just as he was about to open it, he heard Jack’s voice and Parker’s from the hallway. Suddenly, the warning echoed in Max’s mind.
He glanced at the clock again. It was 9 PM. He decided not to open the door. A few moments later, Jack’s voice called out from the other side.
“Hey, Max! Open the door.”
“Who... who’s there?” Even though Max recognized Jack’s voice, he still asked.
“It’s me, Jack,” came the reply. “Mr. Parker is with me.”
“Really? Is it you two? Or is it someone else?” Max’s voice trembled.
“Are you messing with us?” Jack sounded angry.Without another word, Max opened the door. Jack and Mr. Parker entered the room.
Seeing Max’s pale face, Jack immediately understood that he had been scared. “What happened to you?”
Max hesitated before answering. “No-no-no, nothing.” He glanced at Parker, who stood silently nearby. “By the way, didn’t you just bring dinner earlier?”
Hearing Max’s words, Parker seemed surprised. He replied, “No, I just arrived here with Jack.”
“Then who brought the food just now?” Max asked. “It was you, wasn’t it? The voice sounded like yours.”
“How strange!” Jack exclaimed. “I went up to the roof and saw Mr. Parker standing there. I walked up to him, and we talked for a while.
Then, suddenly, Mr. Parker called me from behind. When I turned around and looked ahead again, the first Parker had disappeared—completely vanished. But now you’re saying Mr. Parker brought the food earlier, yet he was with me then. What’s going on here?”
“Didn’t I tell you to be careful?” Mr. Parker spoke up as Jack stopped. “I’ve been here for thirty years. I know what happens here.”
“Anyway,” Max raised his hand. “I’m not staying here another minute. If I can just get through the night, I’ll leave first thing in the morning for Dick Island, to Daniel Uncle. Then straight home.”
“No.” Jack raised his hand. “We can’t leave. I’m not going anywhere without knowing what’s going on here.”
“Alright, you stay here,” Mr. Parker said. “I’ll bring your food. I’ll be back in twenty minutes. Don’t open the door for anyone else before that.”
“Okay, fine.”
Without another word, Mr. Parker left. Jack locked the room door again and sat down in the chair. Max sat on the bed.
“You know what I think?” Max asked.
“What?”
“I think somehow, all these events are connected to that Vampire Island.”
“Hmm.” Jack agreed. “I think so too. It would be good if we could go there.”
“You want to go there?” Max asked, surprised. “Are you asking for death?”
“Listen.” Jack leaned forward. “We all have to die someday. So we shouldn’t be afraid of death.”Before Max could respond, there was another knock on the door. Jack moved to open it, but Max stopped him. He called the manager to confirm and then opened the door.
Mr. Parker entered with a food tray in his hands. “There may be problems at night, but there are no problems during the day. Just be careful at night.” He placed the food tray on the table.
“How far is Vampire Island from here?” Jack asked.
At the mention of Vampire Island, Mr. Parker’s eyebrows furrowed. “Vampire Island?” His voice was filled with astonishment.
“Hm.” Jack shook his head. “Vampire Island. How far is it from here? Do you know?”
Mr. Parker didn’t answer. Instead, he changed the subject. “Alright, you two eat now. And no matter who comes at night, don’t open the door.”
He took a locket from around his neck and handed it to them. “Keep this locket on the door handle to keep the door locked.” With that, he stood up and started walking toward the door.
“But answer my question first,” Jack called out from behind him.
“I’ll answer all questions in the morning,” Mr. Parker replied without turning around. “For now, eat and sleep quietly. And make sure you lock the door.” He said this and left the room.
They didn’t have a chance to say anything else. Jack went over, locked the door, and sat back down in the chair.
“You saw that?” As soon as Jack sat, Max spoke up. “Mr. Parker’s face went pale when he heard about Vampire Island.”
“Hm.” Jack nodded. “Alright, forget it. We’ll know everything in the morning. Now, let’s eat.”
“Yeah, let’s.”
“But what should I do with this locket?” Jack held up the locket. “Should I put it on the door?”
“Yeah, keep it there,” Max said. “After everything that’s happened, we can’t exactly disbelieve Mr. Parker.”
“Alright, then I’ll keep it there.” Jack placed the locket Mr. Parker had given them on the door handle. Then they ate and went to bed, waiting for morning. All the mysteries would be solved then.
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