Fang Marks

**Chapter 2 Title: "Arrival at the Island"**

Growing up in a coastal city, Lila Bennett had only been out to sea twice.

As a child, he was often busy with schoolwork and practicing the piano. Because his family wasn’t well-off, there were few opportunities for him to visit the nearby tourist islands.

One of those two trips even ended with the boat capsizing. Thankfully, they were all wearing life jackets.

After being rescued, he found out that one of the passengers had drowned. The body, covered with a white cloth, lay close to him on the deck. His mother held him tightly, and he hid in her arms, daring to look at the scene with only one eye.

He never went to sea again after that and didn’t even know he could get seasick.

Fortunately, despite the rough waves, this boat sailed steadily.

When someone woke him from his semi-conscious state, Lila Bennett thought he was dying. He could even imagine his body being fished out by the coast guard, bloated from the seawater as it was lifted onto the deck.

The cabin door was wide open, and the cold wind rushed in. The cabin was empty.

Lila tightened his collar and sat up, looking out the window.

The sky was still gray.

The strong winds seemed to be calming, and snowflakes softly fell into the sea, vanishing instantly as they touched the surface.

In the gray and deep blue distance, an island suddenly appeared.

Up close, icy waves crashed against the rocky shores, while in the distance, the island’s mountains rose and fell. At the foot of the hills, a dense forest could be seen.

They had arrived at Ferry Island safely.

“Get ready to disembark,” Uncle Ping appeared at the cabin door. “Someone on the island is here to pick you up.”

“Okay,” Lila Bennett responded weakly.

After gathering his belongings and putting on his gear, he stepped onto the deck, exhaling a puff of white mist in the cold air.

They weren’t far from the dock, and from here, he could make out a truck, a car, and a few figures waiting. The ship had purchased a lot of supplies, and those people were probably there to unload the cargo.

The boat slowly docked with the heavy sound of metal chains, and Uncle Ping unfolded a plank to make it easier to disembark.

A few seagulls flew low, swooping over their mast.

Then, something happened.

Just as Lila Bennett was about to step off, someone slammed into his backpack hard. He lost his balance, gripping his guitar case in one hand, and instinctively placing his other hand on the ship’s railing to steady himself.

A sharp pain shot through his palm, and he couldn’t help but cry out, “Ah!”

Blood gushed from the wound, dripping onto the deck.

Within seconds, a small pool of blood had formed on the snow-white deck.

“What happened?” Uncle Ping asked sharply, “What are you doing?”

Lila Bennett was drenched in cold sweat, too pained to speak.

The boy who had bumped into him remained silent, staring at Lila’s wound, his expression blank. He hadn’t meant to do it; he was probably just eager to get off the boat. But instead of apologizing, he stood frozen, staring along with Uncle Ping. Both of their expressions turned strange.

For an eerie ten seconds, no one said a word.

Lila gritted his teeth and tried to hold back the pain, his eyes welling up with tears. “Uncle Ping, do you have anything for the bleeding?”

Uncle Ping snapped back to reality, his shocked expression vanishing as he furrowed his brows. “How could you be so careless?”

His tone was accusatory.

Lila explained truthfully, “I got bumped.”

The boy still stood there without a word, neither explaining nor apologizing.

Uncle Ping said, “Just get off the boat. There’s a doctor on the island who can help. And remember—don’t come to the island with open wounds again.”

Even for strangers, these people were shockingly cold-hearted.

Lila Bennett couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t until someone helped him off the boat that he felt a bit of human warmth.

But he hadn’t walked far on the pier before hearing a commotion behind him. When he turned to look, he saw Uncle Ping punch the boy in the stomach, knocking him to the ground, where he curled up in pain.

Two men approached and roughly dragged the boy to the truck, shoving him inside.

The door slammed shut with a loud “bang,” and the boy looked over at Lila.

Lila’s heart skipped a beat.

“Are you Lila Bennett?”

Someone called out to him.

Snow seemed to fall early on Ferry Island.

Everywhere Lila looked, the ground and treetops were covered in a thin layer of snow, and the road was muddy and slippery. A shiny black car was parked nearby.

In front of the car stood an elderly man with graying hair, who gave Lila a kind wave. “Come over here.”

Lila stiffly took a few steps forward.

A truck and a car.

It was clear now that he and the boy were going to receive completely different treatment on this island.

The road was lined with towering fir trees dusted with snow. The path wound through the forest, disappearing into the unknown.

Everything about this place reminded newcomers that this was a private island, where anything could happen.

When Lila approached, the old man gently took his right hand and examined it. “You’re injured? Don’t worry, get in the car, and we’ll have a doctor take a look.”

*

The elderly man introduced himself as Sebastian, the island’s steward.

After getting in the car, Sebastian used a handkerchief to temporarily bandage Lila’s wound. But Lila wasn’t thinking about the pain anymore—his mind was racing with the realization that coming to this private island alone had been incredibly naive.

In a lawful society, handcuffs weren’t something you could just use on anyone.

When the boy had struggled earlier, the blanket covering him had fallen off, revealing the glint of metal on his wrists. It was the first time in Lila’s life that he had seen someone wearing handcuffs—in real life, at least.

It was definitely illegal.

Uncle Ping had spent half of their four-hour boat ride outside the cabin. If the boy had been kidn*pped or forced to be there, he had plenty of chances to ask Lila for help—but he hadn’t.

This situation left Lila with two possibilities: one, the boy was mute.

That didn’t seem likely, but Lila held onto the idea, thinking, "That must be it, otherwise why was he so rude?"

The second possibility was that asking for Lila’s help wouldn’t have made a difference because, in some way, they were both the same.

Lila felt a twinge of anxiety.

If he decided to turn back now, it might not be too late.

“You’re a quiet one.”

The deep, weathered voice of an old man suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Lila was startled out of his reverie, turning his head.

They had been driving through the woods for over twenty minutes.

About halfway through, Lila noticed the truck that had been following them turned off onto a different road and disappeared from view.

Sebastian caught Lila’s gaze and asked gently, “Are you uncomfortable? First time on the island?”

Lila mumbled, “Yeah.”

Sebastian continued, “Isn’t the island beautiful?”

It was beautiful.

They had already passed through the forest and were now crossing a small hill.

Gray-green moss and frost-covered fields stretched out before them. It wasn’t beauty in the traditional sense, but a kind of untouched, wild beauty belonging to nature.

“The island is quite large. Alexander Reed’s home is on the northernmost point, so it’ll take a while to get there,” Sebastian told him. “It’s been a while since anyone new came to the island, so people might notice you, but don’t worry. They won’t approach you, so there’s no need to be nervous.”

The brim of Lila’s beanie was pulled down low. His face was pale, perhaps from seasickness, which made his dark eyes stand out even more. “Am I supposed to donate blood today?”

Sebastian smiled. “No need to rush. You’ve had a rough time on the sea, and you must be hungry. I’ve asked someone to prepare lunch for you. It’s not good to donate blood on an empty stomach, and besides, you’re injured today. We can wait until tomorrow.”

Lila lowered his eyes. “I’m not hungry. I don’t need rest, either.”

Sebastian chuckled. “Well, you won’t be leaving until Monday anyway. Might as well rest and recover.”

Lila was silent.

That was what the agreement said. He couldn’t argue with that.

“You’ve worked hard, child.”

Suddenly, Sebastian said this.

Lila looked up, his eyes filled with a wariness he couldn’t yet hide at his age.

“Alexander Reed’s situation is unique. The donors often experience changes in their daily routines, and even small differences can make the donation unsuitable. That’s why we need professional doctors to take samples and confirm everything before drawing blood. It’s a bit of a hassle, but it’s the only way,” Sebastian explained kindly. “It’s rough weather out there. Was the journey tough?”

Sebastian’s gentle words reminded Lila of his grandfather and made him feel a little less afraid.

Sebastian patted his uninjured hand. “Thank you for coming to Ferry Island.”

*

They finally stopped at the foot of a hill, beside a massive white building.

The building was enormous, though Lila couldn’t quite grasp