4. Sudden Isolation

 

Half an hour earlier…

 

Are they all not here yet?

 

Kiya took a deep breath as she looked around the empty room 213 on the second floor. It was a cramped 6×6 meter space, once a simple medical room with peeling paint on the walls.

Eight narrow mattresses were laid out on the floor, likely reserved for Kiya’s group. Four of them were on the left side of the room, while the remaining four were on the right. Each mattress was covered with simple faded green sheets, like the typical color of soldiers in general.

On each mattress rested a pillow and a thin blanket, appearing clean and usable. Still, Kiya couldn’t shake her uncertainty about her friends’ ability to adapt quickly to such humble accommodations, considering their wealthy backgrounds.

Someone like Gina, who’s accustomed to being spoiled, will surely be taken aback by this, Kiya mused silently, recalling her friend, the sole offspring of the Malaysian conglomerate. Surely Bayu will feel the same! He’s never slept on a bed this small, let alone one this thin.

 

Perhaps to save space, the distance between each bed was quite narrow. Under normal circumstances, Kiya might have felt uncomfortable sharing a room with men. However, given the mysterious situation on the island, being placed in the same room with her friends somehow brought her a sense of relief.

Thankfully, two windows ensured decent air circulation in the room, and there was a long table, seemingly designated for communal use. Moreover, Kiya observed a door tucked away in the corner, likely leading to a shared bathroom for all.

Are these food boxes for us?

 

Kiya questioned, eyeing the five boxes neatly arranged on the long table. She decided to open one to confirm her presumption. Inside, she found breakfast for her group—modest fare consisting of a small carton of milk, a cold boiled egg, and a slice of toast. Kiya couldn’t help but smile nervously at the simplicity of the meal.

Would they all be able to eat this?

 

She was just about to eat her share when a booming voice called out from the wide-open room door behind her, causing her to abruptly turn her head.

“Scholarship girl! You’re here too?”

Somsak Jirapong, another friend of Bayu’s from Thailand, suddenly appeared. The man broke into a wide smile upon seeing Kiya and strode toward her with enthusiasm.

“I thought I was alone here because they took Daniel away,” he said. “Daniel and I were stranded on this island together at dawn. We just got here, and we were immediately taken by the soldiers on the beach to this strange place.”

Kiya cast an awkward glance at Somsak.. “I came here with Bayu, Kevin, and the pilot captain of our jet.”

Somsak was friendlier than the rest of Bayu’s friends, his cheerful demeanor shining through. Though not in the same major as the others, he had been a teammate of Bayu and Kevin in their college ice hockey club. Despite his amiable nature, there was one past incident between them that made Kiya feel a little embarrassed whenever she met Somsak.

“Bayu and Kevin are here too? Where are they?” asked Somsak. His gaze drifting towards the mattresses on the floor. “There’s no basket for their changing clothes there yet.”

“I don’t think they’ve finished in the medical examination room yet,” Kiya replied.

The girl then recalled something. “Did you see Gina? The medic who examined me said she was also on the island with Daniel.”

“Yes, she was in the other truck,” Somsak replied. “But after the medical examination room, we all scattered. I haven’t seen them again since.”

Kiya sighed. “They were telling the truth then. They said, Daniel and Gina were taken to a separate place from us because they were considered Covid suspect patients.”

“I don’t know about Gina. She did seem unwell earlier, but … Daniel?” Somsak furrowed his eyebrows. “Daniel didn’t appear sick at all. It’s just that … his leg was wounded because he was scratched by coral when we were trying to reach the beach.”

Wound?

 

Kiya suddenly remembered that she had been asked to remove all her clothes for a thorough examination to check for any wounds on her body.

Isn’t it possible that Daniel is being quarantined separately just because he has a wound? But Covid has absolutely nothing to do with body wounds.

 

“No wonder I couldn’t find them outside,” Somsak continued. “Apparently they were being treated separately? Why didn’t the officers tell me that Daniel and Gina would be taken to another place?”

“You looked for them outside?” Kiya asked.

Somsak nodded. “I saw many guards were suddenly running outside, so I took the chance to look for Daniel and strolled around this place. But before I entered the building area that was said to be Block Two and Block Four, the guards there immediately kicked me out and got angry. I was almost shot.”

Kiya wrinkled her forehead. “Were there many people there?”

“Those two buildings are the quietest, but the guards there are the most numerous and all of them are fierce,” Somsak replied. His expression still showing signs of irritation.

Kiya frowned. Could that be the prison Captain Tyrell mentioned earlier?

 

“They say there are more than 200 people on this island,” Kiya told Somsak. “Didn’t you see more people in other places earlier?”

Somsak’s smile widened. “Ah, Block Three is the busiest and most interesting! I passed by there when they were all having breakfast downstairs.”

“You know, there are a lot of illegal immigrants from Eastern Europe and Central Asia,” he added. “Most of them are hot girls who no longer have any income during the Covid pandemic.”

“They mentioned they were planning to enter Thailand and Indonesia illegally, but their agent got caught once they reached the ports, and they were brought here by another agent. Many ports are heavily guarded during the pandemic. It’s unfortunate that they ended up here.”

“What are they doing here? Don’t they just go back to their countries?” Kiya asked in confusion.

“They don’t even know why they were brought here,” Somsak replied. “The girl I was talking to is from Morocco. She was brought here two days ago because she had no money to go home. She said her agent was arrested at the port of Indonesia. Then another agent who helped them return home suddenly put them on this island and left.”

“You didn’t ask the girl about this island?”

“She’s new here too and still confused,” Somsak told her. “I was going to ask some people who seem to have been here longer. Unfortunately, those who have been here longer are mostly closed off and don’t want to talk at all. After breakfast, many of them went straight back to their rooms like robots.”

“Very strange, isn’t it?” he remarked. “This is a beautiful tropical island; usually people like them would at least swim or sunbathe on the beach in bikinis.”

Observing Somsak’s continued cheerfulness and level-headedness, Kiya was certain that he remained unaware of the horrific events that had unfolded on the beach. Even so, she hesitated to be the one to break the news to him.

Kiya watched as Bayu swiftly disappeared from the doorway of their room, leaving her feeling unnerved. The girl’s face now turned deathly pale.

If he heard it, why did he just stay quiet and not say anything to me at all until he left?

 

“Psst, what’s wrong with Kevin?” whispered Somsak as he approached Kiya again. “He’s usually so upbeat, how come he’s suddenly so strange?”

Kiya turned to Kevin, who had been standing in front of the row of mattresses without moving a muscle. However, she couldn’t find an answer for Somsak and simply remained silent. 

Sensing the somber look on Kiya’s face, Somsak immediately felt guilty. “Sorry, I didn’t know that Bayu—“

___

At the same time as Gina and Daniel met

 

“So, I still can’t call the Indonesian or Japanese officials now?” Bayu asked five minutes later to an administrative male officer downstairs. The guy’s face looked very annoyed and frustrated as he asked.

“I’m sorry, but our network hasn’t been restored yet,” replied the officer, who appeared worn out with dark circles under his eyes as he worked at his desk. “Recent heavy rains and storms have battered the island. Given its remote location, overcoming the effects has proven challenging.”

“The network isn’t the only issue; our solar panels are also malfunctioning,” the officer added, still focused on his task. “This island relies on solar power. If we can’t repair them before the next downpour, we’ll be plunged into darkness again tonight.”

“How long does it typically take to resolve issues like this?” Bayu pressed impatiently.

Taking a deep breath, the officer finally turned to face Bayu. “In the five years since this facility was established, this is the most prolonged network problem we’ve encountered. It’s not just you needing to make a call; all of us have urgent matters to attend to outside this island since last night.”

Five years? This place has been around for five years?

 

Bayu looked at the officer in front of him with a probing gaze.

What kind of emergency are they dealing with here… that this person would consider the death of our flight crew not as important as their problem?

 

As the officer abruptly grabbed a stack of documents and hurried away from his desk, paying Bayu no further attention, Bayu felt compelled to relent. He had been about to ascend the stairs to the second floor and return to his room, but as he reached the bottom of the staircase, he came to an abrupt halt, falling into silence.

I can’t go up now. The situation will still be awkward if I face her now.

 

After catching his breath, he decided to change direction and headed outside. Bayu narrowed his eyes in surprise as he noticed the sudden darkening of the weather. The gray clouds rolling in unexpectedly. Whereas earlier, upon their arrival, the sky had been clear and bright.

Are the weather changes in this area always this extreme?

 

Sensing a quietness enveloping his surroundings, Bayu ventured freely towards the back of the Block One building, his footsteps unhindered. From his vantage point, he spotted another building separated by a row of substantial beach trees.

Recalling the information provided by the medical officer earlier, Bayu deduced that the building before him must be Block Three, likely the most populous structure on the island. With a determined resolve, he set out to gather information about their current situation.

Standing at the base of the building, Bayu’s focus was abruptly shattered by hysterical screams echoing in the distance, reminiscent of the voices of his friends, Gina and Daniel. Startled by the chilling screams, Bayu swiftly scanned his surroundings, seeking the source of the sound. However, the screams soon faded into silence, leaving him to ponder whether they were merely echoes carried by the wind.

Refocusing on his objective, Bayu prepared to advance towards the entrance of Block Three. However, before he could take another step, something whizzed overhead and landed squarely on his face. Instinctively reaching to remove the object now obscuring his vision, Bayu’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Is this… a girl’s bra?

 

“Excuse me, could you please grab that?” A voice suddenly called out from above, startling Bayu. “I was drying it by the window and quickly hopped in the shower. But it seems the wind was too strong and whisked it away. Could you toss it back up here?”

Bayu looked up, finding himself face-to-face with an extraordinarily beautiful girl at one of the wide-open second-floor windows. She appeared to be of Eastern European descent, clad in only a thin towel wrapped around her wet body.

“What room are you in?” Bayu inquired.

“Huh?”

“I doubt I can toss this back up. It’s too light,” Bayu explained, motioning to the bra. “And it wouldn’t do for you to go downstairs like that, would it?”

After a brief moment of silence, the girl frowned at Bayu before reluctantly replying, “Room 224.”

Upon hearing her room number, Bayu nodded in understanding and made his way towards the interior of Block Three, which appeared somewhat shabbier compared to Block One. As he stepped onto the first floor of Block Three, he was met with a row of small, cell-like rooms facing each other, predominantly occupied by men.

Some of these cells had their bars covered by simple pieces of cloth, seemingly to provide privacy. Yet, there were others that remained more open, housing two occupants at a time.

Did this building used to be a prison?

 

As he glanced around, he noticed the cold stares from those inside the open cells. Their tension palpable at his presence.

Nevertheless, fortune seemed to favor him as he ascended to the second floor, where the scene took an intriguing turn. Behind some of the open cell bars, he found many beautiful foreign girls gazing at him with a kinder expression, some even offering smiles.

“Pssst!”

 

Bayu turned his attention towards a girl poking her head out from one of the cell doors in front of him, recognizing her as the owner of the bra in his hand. Without hesitation, he swiftly entered the cell at her beckoning.

“A stranger, especially a man, shouldn’t be wandering around our second floor,” the girl remarked in a distinctive English accent, as she covered the bars of her cell with a cloth. “Are you always this kind, helping out strangers with their dropped belongings?”

“Only if a beautiful girl tosses her bra my way,” Bayu quipped with a grin, noticing the girl, nearly as tall as he was, smiling back.

“Block Three’s bustling with people,” Bayu observed, handing the girl her bra. “Where are you all from?”

“There are 40 cells in Block Three, twenty on each floor,” the girl explained as she retrieved her bra. “We hail from different countries, and there are roughly… almost 80 of us here now.”

“And you?” she continued, her captivating blue eyes fixed on Bayu. “What brings someone like you to a place like this?”

“Someone like me?” Bayu echoed.

The girl then glanced at Bayu’s wrist. “Only the super-rich can sport such a pricey watch. Limited edition, right?”

Instead of answering her question, Bayu extended his hand. “I’m Bayu, and you are…?”

“Danica,” the girl replied, though she didn’t reciprocate the handshake.