SAM'S STRUGGLE WITH SEVEN BEAUTIES

The Light

Sam didn't answer. His posture was alert, even though he doubted his own courage.

"What if it's a lion, Sam? Or a wolf? Or maybe a bear? What if we die before the rescue team even arrives?"

"Run, Alison, run!"

Sam's single sentence made Alison tremble even more. There was nothing to hide there. Not on land or sea because of Alison’s injured hand.

“Now!”

Instead of running to save herself, Alison stood closer. She even hugged Sam from behind, surrendering everything to the unfavorable situation.

Sam was shocked not because he could feel the warmth and softness of Alison's firm chest, but because he saw two other survivors running out of the forest with terrified faces. One of them was Sam's ex-gf.

"Oh, my God!"

Sam ran closer, giving the remaining water in the bottle after Alison released her embrace. He ignored Annie, who looked disappointed.

"Thanks." Melissa drank the remaining water until it was gone. Then she wiped her exotic, sweaty face.

"What happened? Alison and I were scared when we heard you come closer." Sam looked into the darkness of the forest, trying to listen for the rustling of leaves. Nothing.

"Was something chasing you? A lion? A bear?"

Alison's question made Sam even more anxious. So far, he was the only man there. It wasn't impossible that he would have to be in the front line to protect the others. Or even die heroically in front of the beauties.

"No, we—"

"This isn't fair!"

Sam reluctantly turned to Annie, who had interrupted Melissa’s explanation. He wasn’t even willing to greet her; he was already sick of seeing Annie, who was still alive.

“Why do I feel you don’t even consider me to be here?”

“Can you tell me what happened?” Sam demanded an answer. He even ignored Annie’s anger as she threw an empty bottle beside him.

"Stop this, Sam! You know me so well. Can we talk for a moment? You didn't even give me a water! I came with her! We ran and were scared together! And you only care about her?"

Sam shifted his attention, handing the empty bottle to Alison, who had realized many things. "Take her with you. We can't just accept new people for free. She needs to have survival skills ASAP."

"What's the hell wrong with you?!"

The situation grew awkward as Alison left with Annie to get drinking water. Especially when Melissa moved further away from Sam.

"Sorry, but I just found out she's your girlfriend."

Sam laughed. He stood up and grabbed his shirt, searching for small shrimp in the crevices of the rocks, then fishing using the same technique as before.

"She said that? Unbelievable."

For a moment, Sam recalled how he had lost hope after winning the lottery and buying a vacation ticket. He also approached the security director at The Next Heaven to request a long leave of absence.

Sam ran back to the apartment he had bought at Annie's request two years ago. With a paper bag containing money and travel tickets, Sam entered proudly. Unfortunately, he saw Annie naked, having s*x with another man on his bed.

"So that was a lie? She said you were just having a minor argument. That’s why you tried to make her jealous by approaching us last night on the Tracy boat."

Sam grabbed his catch, then retired to the campfire to serve his two newly arrived guests.

Carefully, Sam cleaned the fish he had caught, then skewered it with a large branch as a handle to get a delicious grilled fish.

"We weren't having a minor argument. But I ended everything before going on the cruise. Please don't get me wrong. I approached everyone because I felt I had to be friends with everyone. But not with her. Honestly, I didn't know she was with us either. I even threw away the ticket I gave her."

For a moment, both of them were trapped in silence. Only the rustling of the wind and the crashing of the waves, along with the sound of sparks from the fire burning the fish scales.

"I'm sorry."

"What about you? What did you see earlier that made you run so fast?" Sam changed the subject as he picked up a leaf to use as a placemat.

"Actually, Annie and I..."

Sam stood up quickly, startling Melissa and cutting her off.

"What's wrong, Sam?"

Sam hurriedly got up. He was sure he had heard something amid the crashing waves and whistling wind that had sent a chill down his spine. "Didn't you hear it?"

Melissa's shake of the head made Sam even more anxious. Especially when he remembered his vivid nightmare in the same place.

"What did you hear? I mean, there's no one else here. Just us. And the sound of the waves. Did I miss something?"

Sam tried harder to identify the sound he had heard earlier, but to no avail. He no longer heard the strange sound among the crashing waves. "I think I'm just tired."

Sam was about to sit back down when Alison suddenly called out to him from a distance. Carefully, Sam handed the grilled fish to Melissa and approached Alison.

As he got closer, Sam saw how panicked Alison and Annie were as they tried to get fresh water. "What's wrong?"

Sam was shocked when he saw the sign Alison was showing him. An old "No Fishing" sign.

"I found this over there. I think it's not far from where you came from before helping me earlier. Do you know what it means?"

"Don't you see it? There's only a coral reef and terrifying waves here. Of course, they put up a no-fishing sign, right?"

Annie's answer was correct, but Sam felt a bad feeling. Stranded, hearing escape sounds, roars, then the no-fishing sign.

"That means there are other people here. We can go look for them and ask. Besides, we don't have any food except fish."

Sam hurried. There was something he needed to know from Melissa. Many puzzles made him shiver as he realized they weren't alone. Strangely, the island was quieter than the darkness of the night.

"Tell me what made you run through the forest, Mel?"

Sam's sudden arrival startled Melissa for a moment, before she finally smiled and made the situation more relaxed.

"I saw large footprints when I entered the forest. But I swear I didn't do anything except follow the scent of grilled fish."

Sam sat closer. Melissa’s beauty, bathed in the evening sunlight, momentarily captivated Sam, making him forget the mystery he had sensed. But he dismissed it all when he heard something among the crashing waves.

“What footprints? Did you see the owner of those footprints?”

Melissa ate greedily, even waving at Annie, who came with a bottle of fresh water.

"No, Annie said, they could be bear tracks. That's why I ran. Bears can even skin their prey alive, and that scared me, Sam."

Sam thought deeply as Melissa, Alison, and Annie sat in a circle. Something was still bothering him. Something he couldn't explain.

"Do you think we should look for Tracy and the others? I think this island isn't too big to explore."

Annie's idea sounds good, but exploring the island when night came wasn't easy.

"We don't have any light sources besides the matches I have. Unfortunately, there's only a little left to help us stay warm and get food while waiting for the rescue team. Besides, wandering through the forest with wild animals isn’t a wise decision—"

Sam hadn’t finished his sentence when everyone stood up with terrified expressions. This time, it wasn’t just Sam who heard the roar amid the crashing waves. Everyone heard it clearly. As if the roar was truly directed at them.

Before they could recover from their shock, Sam heard footsteps in the distance. Several points of light were also approaching.

Sam stepped forward, taking the lead as a loud, cursing voice echoed. Sam’s breath quickens. The other three remained hidden behind Sam’s trembling body.

“What is that, Sam?”