ISLAND by PUTERI NUR BALQIS

ISLAND

A THRILLER STORY BY

PUTERI NUR BALQIS

I kept running without looking back. My run
stopped when I suddenly felt like my world was
dark. My head hurts and I feel warm thick blood
flowing from my head.
My vision became blurred and I saw the shadows of
people in front of me.
"Delicious!"

MY NAME IS KYLE. I LIVE ALONE. I'VE NEVER HAD

A FRIEND IN MY LIFE. I'M USED TO LIVING ALONE.

ONE DAY, I GOT AN OFFER TO VACATION ON A

PRIVATE ISLAND. I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO THE

OFFER LETTER WAS FROM, BUT I ACCEPTED THE

OFFER BECAUSE I HAVEN'T BEEN ON VACATION

FOR A LONG TIME SINCE I STARTED WORKING

ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO.

I STARTED PACKING MY BAGS AND CARRYING

ONLY THE ESSENTIALS. SOMEHOW, I WAS MOVED

TO BRING A FOLDING KNIFE, IT'S OKAY, THERE

MAY BE A SITUATION OF ANXIETY AND MY

HEARTBEATS.

SATURDAY, 9 A.M., I DROVE TO THE JETTY AND
BOARDED A BOAT THAT WOULD TAKE ME TO THE
ISLAND. WHEN I GOT THERE, I WAS JUST GREETED

BY A MIDDLE-AGED MAN IN A TATTERED SHIRT.

HE INTRODUCED HIMSELF AS PAK ABU, THE

MANAGER OF THE CHALET ON THE ISLAND. I WAS

TAKEN TO MY ROOM. THE ROOM LOOKS

COMFORTABLE WITH A SINGLE BED AND AIR

CONDITIONING. PAK ABU LEFT THE ROOM AND

TOLD HIM NOT TO LEAVE THE ROOM AFTER

MAGHRIB, DINNER WOULD BE SENT BY HIM. I WAS

AT FIRST PUZZLED BY THE ORDER BUT IGNORED IT

BECAUSE I WAS USED TO BEING STUCK IN THE

ROOM.

I SPENT MY AFTERNOON STROLLING AROUND

THE CHALET. NOTHING BUT THE SEA

ATMOSPHERE THAT WE USUALLY SEE ON

TELEVISION. ON THE WAY BACK TO THE

ROOM, I HEARD A FAINT MELODIOUS SINGING

FROM THE BACK OF THE CHALET. I SEEMED

FASCINATED BY THE VOICE AND BEGAN TO

LOOK FOR THE DIRECTION OF THE VOICE.

AFTER FOLLOWING THE VOICE, I SAW A GIRL

IN A LIGHT BLUE BLOUSE WITH A SHAWL

WASHING DISHES WHILE SINGING. I DARED

TO APPROACH HIM AND REBUKE HIM. AT

FIRST, HE IGNORED ME AND CONTINUED HIS

WORK. BUT AFTER A FEW TIMES, ONLY THEN

DID HE TURN AROUND AND SEE HER FACE. I

WAS SHOCKED BECAUSE HALF OF HIS FACE

WAS WRINKLED LIKE A BURN SCAR.

THE GIRL QUICKLY COVERED HER FACE WITH

A SHAWL AND TURNED HER FACE AWAY. I

APOLOGIZE AND INTRODUCE MYSELF. HE DID

THE SAME AND INTRODUCED HIMSELF AS

TEJA.

"YOUR NAME IS SO BEAUTIFUL," MY HEART

SAID.

TEJA LOOKED SCARED AS SHE LOOKED

AROUND AND FORCED ME TO GO BACK TO THE

ROOM BECAUSE IT WAS ALMOST DUSK. I

INITIALLY INSISTED ON TALKING TO HIM BUT

FINALLY AGREED BECAUSE I REMEMBERED

PAK ABU'S MESSAGE.

THAT NIGHT, I ASKED PAK ABU ABOUT TEJA.

HE SEEMED HESITANT TO ANSWER THE

QUESTION AND ONLY ANSWERED TEJA WAS

HIS NEPHEW. I WAS LESS THAN SATISFIED

WITH HIS ANSWER AND JUST THANKED HIM.

I SPENT THE NIGHT WRITING A SHORT STORY

THAT I WAS WORKING ON TO SEND TO A

PUBLISHING COMPANY.

2 IN THE MORNING, I WOKE UP TO A KNOCK

ON MY BEDROOM WINDOW. I TRIED TO

CONTINUE MY SLEEP BUT COULDN’T BECAUSE

THE KNOCK WAS GETTING LOUDER. LAZILY, I

GOT UP AND WENT TO THE WINDOW BUT

THERE WAS NOTHING OUTSIDE THE WINDOW.

I THOUGHT POSITIVELY, MAYBE A SUDDEN

GUST OF WIND. BUT, WITH JUST ONE STEP I

TOOK, I FELT LIKE A GUST OF WIND IN MY

NECK. I'M SCARED. I LOOKED BACK BUT

THERE WAS NOTHING.

DRIVEN BY CURIOSITY, I LEFT THE ROOM TO LOOK

AROUND. WHEN I CAME OUT, I SAW SOMEONE AT


THE END OF THE CHALET. I WENT IN THE

DIRECTION OF THE FLASH BUT AFTER JUST A FEW

STEPS, MY HAND WAS PULLED. TEJA PULLED MY

HAND AWAY AND URGED ME TO LEAVE THIS PLACE
IMMEDIATELY. HIS FACE LOOKED ANXIOUS AND I

NOTICED HIS HANDS SEEMED TO BE BLEEDING. I

ASKED HIM WHAT WAS GOING ON BUT HE DIDN’T
ANSWER AND HIS EYES KEPT DARTING AROUND.

“HOW CAN I GO BACK AT A TIME LIKE THIS?

WHERE IS THE BOAT TO SEND ME TO THE JETTY, ”I


TOLD TEJA.

"BUT YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER KYLE, 'HE' WANTS

YOU!"

“HA, WANT ME? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?

WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE? ”

TEJA KEPT PULLING ME AND HIDING

BEHIND A ROOM WHEN WE HEARD A SOUND


LIKE IRON BEING SCRAMBLED. FINALLY,

TEJA TOLD ME WHAT HAPPENED AFTER I

FORCED HER. THIS ISLAND IS A 'TRIBAL

ISLAND'. 2 YEARS AGO, TEJA ALSO RECEIVED


AN INVITATION TO VACATION ON THE

ISLAND. PAK ABU IS A HUMAN EATER! TEJA


SURVIVES AS SHE OFFERS HERSELF TO

BRING THE VICTIM EVERY MONTH TO THE

ISLAND. SINCE THEN, EVERY MONTH THERE


WILL BE NEW VICTIMS COMING TO THE

ISLAND AND NOT A SINGLE ONE SURVIVES.

EVERYTHING IS 'SAFE' TO BE EATEN BY PAK


ABU. TEJA SOBBED TO APOLOGIZE TO ME

AND SHE WAS STUNNED TO SAVE ME.

I WAS A LITTLE SHOCKED BY THE STORY

AND CALMED TEJA DOWN. I TOLD TEJA THAT


I WOULD FINISH EVERYTHING TONIGHT. I

SAW AN IRON PIPE LEANING AGAINST THE

END OF THE WALL AND CAME OUT TO MAKE

EYE CONTACT WITH PAK ABU. I SHOUTED

FOR HIM AND I SAW PAK ABU COME OUT OF

THE ROOM WEARING MALAY CLOTHES AND


A SKULLCAP. IT WAS AS IF HE HAD JUST

FINISHED PRAYING.

"I WILL FINISH EVERYTHING TONIGHT, PAK

ABU. PAK ABU HAS DECEIVED ME. I DIDN'T


THINK THAT PAK ABU ATE PEOPLE. "
“HUH? WHAT ARE YOU UP TO? ”

"I ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING PAK ABU,

TEJA HAS TOLD ME EVERYTHING. PAK ABU'S


ACTIONS ARE DESPICABLE. ”
“ TEJA? KYLE, YOU'RE THE ONE BEING

FOOLED RIGHT NOW. TEJA IS THE ONE WHO

EATS PEOPLE. WELL, YOU RUN AWAY FROM

THIS ISLAND RIGHT BEFORE YOU RUN INTO

HIM AGAIN. NEAR THE END OF THE ISLAND,

THERE IS A CANOE. YOU PADDLE TO THE


JETTY. FAST!"

I WAS CONFUSED BY MR. ABU'S WORDS. I

DON'T KNOW WHO TO TRUST. BUT WHAT IS

IMPORTANT, I HAVE TO LEAVE THIS ISLAND. I

RAN LIKE A COCKROACH TO THE END OF THE

ISLAND. THE FAINT SOUND OF TEJA'S VOICE


CALLING MY NAME.

I KEPT RUNNING WITHOUT LOOKING BACK.

MY RUN STOPPED WHEN I SUDDENLY FELT

LIKE MY WORLD WAS DARK. MY HEAD HURTS

AND I FEEL WARM THICK BLOOD FLOWING


FROM MY HEAD.
MY VISION BECAME BLURRED AND I SAW THE


SHADOWS OF PEOPLE IN FRONT OF ME.
"DELICIOUS!"