14. Which One of Them? #4

Block One, 15.15 CST (five hours before the lock island system activates)

“Sorry, Gergő suddenly started crying again, and the noise might have woken you up.”

A woman with long brown hair tied back looked at Kiya with a worried expression. Despite appearing very tired, the woman, who seemed to be in her twenties and from Block Three, kept trying to calm the baby in her arms.

“It’s okay. Getting an hour of sleep is better than not resting at all,” Kiya said as she glanced at the others in the room, including Gina, who was still sound asleep on her mattress. “Did you manage to get some sleep? I thought I saw your baby stop crying earlier.”

The woman exhaled. “Gergő and I did fall asleep for a while. This is the fate of a new mom like me. If my baby suddenly wakes up and cries, I wake up too. Babies are very sensitive.”

“How old is he?” Kiya asked.

“Eight months,” the woman replied. “By the way, it seems like we’re not that far apart in age. Should I call you…?”

Kiya smiled. “I’m Kiya, but my friends have always called me the Scholarship Girl. What’s your name?”

“Scholarship Girl?” Sofia laughed. “I’m Sofia Szabó, from Hungary.”

“I’m from Indonesia,” Kiya responded as she lifted herself off the mattress and rubbed her eyes. “My friend who’s sleeping is Gina; she’s from Malaysia. Except for Captain Tyrell who’s from America, the rest of my group, who are sleeping in another room, are all from different countries in Southeast Asia.”

Sofia furrowed her brow. “Where is Indonesia?”

“Do you know Bali?” Kiya asked.

Sofia nodded.

“Bali is in Indonesia,” Kiya continued. “I often get the same question about where Indonesia is. Most people know about Bali but don’t realize it’s one of the islands in Indonesia. So, I usually start by mentioning Bali to explain where Indonesia is.”

Sofia laughed at Kiya’s explanation.

“Uh, I haven’t thanked you and your friends for rescuing me and Gergő from down there,” Sofia said hesitantly. “Things were very chaotic, and Gergő kept crying. I didn’t have a chance to talk to you and your friends who helped me earlier.”

Kiya didn’t immediately respond, just watched Sofia as she placed her now-sleeping baby back on the bed. “How long have you been here? Did you come to this island only with your baby?”

“I left Hungary eight months after giving birth to Gergő,” Sofia replied. “Gergő’s dad is British and works in Taiwan. We met when I was working at a nightclub there. After that, we had a special relationship. I only found out I was pregnant when I returned to Hungary. That’s why I brought Gergő back to Taiwan to meet his dad.”

“Unfortunately, my agent brought me back to Taiwan through China,” she continued. “At the beginning of this month, there was a lot of tension between Taiwan and China about deportation cases, especially during this COVID-19 period. After being stranded and struggling to enter Taiwan, someone suddenly brought me here. Gergő and I have been here for almost two weeks and don’t know why we’re staying in Block Three, which feels like a prison.”

“They say only illegal immigrants are brought here,” Kiya commented cautiously.

Sofia shook her head. “I am not an illegal immigrant. It’s difficult to enter Taiwan or China at times like this, but my visa was accepted. This might be because of the escalating conflict between the two countries, and I happened to be unlucky. They said I would be sent back to Hungary after the COVID-19 period ends, but seeing many people stay here for a long time, I doubt that.”

Kiya looked at her with concern. “Are you being treated well here?”

“They give us proper, clean beds, but many of us have to share cramped cells with others,” Sofia answered. “The food here is simple but nutritious. They also provide extra milk and vitamins for Gergő, as well as new clothes for everyone every day. However, they have never given us a chance to make a phone call.”

“What?” Kiya’s face turned surprised. “You’ve been here for two weeks and haven’t been allowed to make a phone call at all?”

“Yes, strange, isn’t it?” Sofia replied. “There’s a price to pay for that. For example, to pay for everything we receive here, we have to help with laundry or cleaning. But, they never give us a clear price to use the phone. Every time someone asks about it, their answer always changes, and the cost is often unreasonable. So, none of us have ever used the phone.”

“Besides,” she continued, “they also confiscated all our belongings, and we don’t know where they stored them. This happened to everyone in Block Three. Almost all of us brought phones and money to this island, but all our belongings were confiscated. They said they placed our belongings in a safe place and wouldn’t touch them. They promised to return them once we leave this island.”

“The problem is, no one knows if anyone has actually left here or not,” Sofia went on. “They say many have gone home. But according to others, instead of going home, they are more likely to have disappeared. It’s strange if people who supposedly went home left without saying goodbye to anyone in Block Three. Seeing what’s happening now, I’m starting to understand what’s going on here.”

Sofia then took a deep breath. “Maybe it’s better we don’t talk about this for now. What happened to all of us earlier is still too much for me to process. Are your friends in the other room still asleep?”

“Looks like it. They must all be exhausted,” Kiya replied.

Sofia smiled. “If it weren’t for Gergő’s crying, I might still be asleep too, especially with the heavy rain outside. Maybe after dinner, we should go back to sleep. Usually, Gergő isn’t too fussy at night, so after dinner, he’ll likely go straight to sleep.”

“Ah yes, we’re on cooking duty, right? I haven’t checked what food supplies we have in the kitchen,” Kiya said, suddenly remembering.

“Should we take a look now so we can plan what to cook for dinner later?” Sofia suggested.

Kiya nodded. “That’s not a bad idea.”

The girls then both got up and left their room. The second floor was still very quiet as they made their way to the kitchen at the end of the hallway.

“There are some packaged foods here,” Sofia whispered to Kiya once they arrived at the small, fairly clean kitchen. “Maybe we could cook tuna pasta and cream corn soup for everyone?”

Kiya picked up some cans and boxes of food in front of her. “Since these are all pretty easy to cook, we can start at five so the food stays warm when it’s served.”

Sofia agreed. “Since it’s quite easy to make and your hand is still injured, I’ll handle the cooking.”

“Are you sure?” Kiya asked, hesitantly. “Can you cook for all of us?”

“Before working at a nightclub in Taiwan, I worked under a Hungarian social foundation. I used to cook for a lot of homeless people at once,” Sofia said with a smile. “I’m not rich and I’m not particularly smart, so… I did a lot of jobs like that.”

“I also worked at a Japanese restaurant to cover my living expenses,” Kiya added, smiling as well. “After classes, I had to study while peeling onions in their kitchen.”

Sofia suddenly raised her eyebrows. “Eh? I heard Aslan say you guys are loaded and had trouble with your private jet. That’s why you ended up on this island, right?”

“My friends are well-off, but I’m far from wealthy,” Kiya said, a bit embarrassed. “I attend the same university with them on a scholarship.”

Sofia started laughing again. “I know what it’s like to be the one with less money among the rich. Gergő’s dad used to take me to his social circles, and it often left me feeling out of place.”

“Gergő’s dad is a good man?” Kiya asked cautiously.

Sofia nodded, her face suddenly glowing with happiness. “He’s very kind, loyal, and genuinely sincere. He proposed to me once, but because I wasn’t confident about my background, I turned him down.”

“Now… if a miracle happens,” she continued, “I want to leave this island and take Gergő to meet his dad. Maybe marrying Gergő’s dad isn’t such a bad idea. He’s the best. People realize these things when they’ve faced the worst in their lives or are in life-threatening situations.”

Kiya suddenly glanced down the hallway outside the kitchen door. “Someone’s awake and heading this way.”

Sofia, hearing the same footsteps, whispered, “Ah yes, there are two people. There’s a toilet at the end of this hallway. Maybe they’re heading there.”

When the voices approaching the end of the hallway turned out to be Bayu and Kevin, Kiya walked towards the kitchen door. However, the conversation between the two men made Kiya stop in her tracks.

“Have you talked to the Scholarship Girl about this morning’s talk?” Kiya heard Kevin ask Bayu. Although he was whispering, his voice reached Kiya’s position at the kitchen door with Sofia.

“About what?” Bayu asked back.

“This morning Somsak said that the Scholarship Girl likes you,” Kevin said again. “Anyway, she’s always been there for you. She cooks for you, helps with your assignments, and takes care of you when you’re sick and alone in your apartment. You need to talk to her so she doesn’t misunderstand why you abruptly left.”

“Scholarship Girl? Isn’t that your nickname?” Sofia whispered, but Kiya didn’t immediately answer her question.

“I… don’t know what to say to her,” Bayu replied after a moment of silence.

“For someone who treats the Scholarship Girl like an assistant, your reaction downstairs was a bit extreme,” Kevin said again. “Are you sure you don’t have any feelings for her? Considering you couldn’t do anything right without her during our four years in Japan, I wouldn’t be surprised if your situation has changed.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, I’ve only ever considered her a friend with a special agreement,” Bayu replied, his tone sounding irritated by Kevin’s words.

“Special agreement? After four years, it’s still about that special agreement?” Kevin quipped with a laugh. “Bayu, you wouldn’t even know where your stuff is in your apartment without asking the Scholarship Girl first. You call her almost every day just to ask where your clothes are.”

“Exactly,” Bayu said. “Our agreement has always been about her salary and round-trip flights to Indonesia. Our situation has been too comfortable to change. I can’t tell her that I’ve only ever considered her… a friend.”

As they walked past the kitchen door and accidentally glanced inside, Bayu and Kevin stopped in their tracks. They both realized Kiya was there and fell silent.

“Scholarship Girl…?” Bayu said, surprised. “You’re here? I…”

Bayu’s nervous words were abruptly interrupted by a hysterical scream from the previously quiet first floor. Hearing that, Kevin, Bayu, Sofia, and Kiya immediately rushed towards the stairs leading to the first floor.

As they descended, they spotted four officers on the first floor, their expressions frozen in shock as they looked at something near the base of the stairs. Sensing Bayu and the others approaching, the officers retreated in fear.

Kevin and Bayu hurried forward to peer behind the stairwell wall they had just descended. What they saw at the bottom of the stairs stunned them: a small female officer trembling violently. Even more disturbing, her neck was torn and coated in blood.

“Wh-who?” one of the male officers on the first floor stammered, aiming his gun at the group descending the stairs. “Who on the second floor dared to attack our colleague and… and try to… to devour her?”