Chapter 13
Chapter 13
An Unwelcome Visitor Appears in the Night
Feels Like It’s Been a While Since I Last Held a Knife
I tightened my grip on the knife in my hand.
Sweat soaked my palms from tension.
During my years in the organization, I had held countless weapons and tools, but facing an unseen presence hidden in complete darkness brought an entirely different kind of fear.
“We should go check it out. We can’t just sit here waiting to get attacked.”
At my suggestion, Winston silently nodded.
Holding our breath, we carefully stepped across the Styrofoam flooring and exited the shelter.
The campfire, our only source of light, crackled as it danced in the night.
Beyond the reach of the firelight was nothing but pitch-black darkness.
Ssshhh... thud.
Ssshhh... thud.
The sound was much clearer now.
It was coming from the pile of dry firewood we had stacked earlier during the day, less than five meters from the shelter.
Winston grabbed one of the burning logs from the fire.
As he raised it like a torch, the orange glow pushed deeper into the darkness.
And then we saw it.
A massive body as thick as a man’s forearm slowly slithering across the firewood pile.
Its slick patterned scales glistened under the firelight, horrifying even from a distance.
“...A snake.”
Winston muttered quietly.
I sized up the creature and clicked my tongue while reversing my grip on the knife.
Maybe surviving that oil drum incident had changed me.
Instead of fear, disbelief hit first.
“Since things turned out this way, should we just catch it and eat it? Back in Korea, people say snakes like that are good for your health and taste pretty good too. Those crab legs barely filled me up anyway.”
I tossed out the joke half-seriously, but Winston immediately turned toward me with a horrified expression.
“Are you insane, Cheon? That’s not just any snake. Look at the shape of its head. It’s triangular. And those flashy irregular patterns... that’s a pit viper. A highly venomous species that lives around islands like this.”
Keeping the torch aimed at the snake, Winston quickly continued.
“The moment that thing bites you, the venom spreads through your blood, rotting tissue and paralyzing your nervous system. In civilization, maybe antivenom could save you. But here? The second you get bitten, you slowly die in agony. That thing isn’t food. It’s a crawling grim reaper.”
Hearing the survival expert speak so firmly, I swallowed hard.
Forget the whole healthy and delicious thing.
On a deserted island, this bastard was basically the final boss.
“...This is even worse than wild animals. So what do we do? If we leave it alone, it could crawl into our shelter. If it bites us while we’re sleeping, we’re dead.”
I glanced toward the campfire and offered an idea.
“You said animals are scared of fire earlier, right? What if we just torch the entire wood pile? Either it runs away or burns to death.”
Winston carefully shook his head.
“Too dangerous. That wood pile is right beside our camp. If the wind shifts even slightly, our shelter and maybe the entire beach could go up in flames. And snakes are extremely sensitive to heat. If we start a fire, it could panic and strike in any direction. Worst case scenario, it comes straight at us.”
“Then what the hell are we supposed to do? We can’t kill it, we can’t burn it. Are we supposed to stand here all night waiting for it to leave?”
Just as my frustration started raising my voice, Winston planted the torch into the ground and scanned the surroundings.
“We avoid direct confrontation and force it to relocate. Snakes are sensitive to vibration and smell.”
He picked up one of the long branches left over from building the rainwater collector.
It was about two meters long.
Using his knife, he carved a V-shaped notch into the tip.
“Cheon, bring me wet leaves or damp wood that’ll create lots of smoke. When I give the signal, throw them near the snake. I’ll pin its head with this branch and fling it away.”
That was Winston’s solution.
The idea sounded good in theory, but would it actually work?
I had my doubts.
Still, Winston was the survival expert, so I pushed the doubts aside.
I hurried around the campfire collecting damp palm leaves and smoky ashes.
My heart pounded violently, but Winston’s calm expression gave me courage.
“I’m ready.”
“Good. I’ll move closer. The moment it raises its head, throw the smoke.”
Holding the V-shaped branch forward, Winston slowly approached the wood pile.
The pit viper sensed the threat.
Its tongue flicked in and out as it coiled its body tightly.
Ssssss...
The moment it raised its head and exposed its fangs toward Winston—
“Now!”
At Winston’s shout, I hurled the smoking wet leaves directly beside the snake.
Fwoosh.
A thick cloud of sharp white smoke exploded outward and engulfed the viper.
Caught off guard, the snake twisted violently, seemingly losing its sense of direction.
At that exact moment, Winston’s branch shot forward like lightning.
The V-shaped notch pinned the snake just below its head perfectly.
“Ghh...!”
Winston forced it down with all his strength.
The thick body wrapped around the branch as the snake thrashed wildly, but Winston held firm and swung his arm with all his might.
Whoosh!
The giant viper flew deep into the darkness of the forest far beyond the camp.
“...Haa.”
Winston tossed the branch aside and exhaled heavily.
Sweat dripped from his forehead.
I stared blankly in the direction the snake had disappeared before letting out a hollow laugh.
“Damn...”
Winston picked up the torch again and carefully inspected the wood pile.
“We got lucky. The smoke worked at the perfect time. If there’s one venomous snake nearby, there’s a good chance it has a mate somewhere close. We shouldn’t lower our guard tonight.”
The nights on this island truly were no joke.
“...Yeah, got it. Let’s move this wood pile farther away from the shelter first. Who knows what else might crawl out of there.”
That was how we barely survived the first night on the island through a mix of courage and quick thinking.
The hellish first night on the deserted island finally passed, and an annoyingly clear morning sun rose overhead.
Thanks to the snake incident, I barely slept.
My eyelids felt heavy as stone, but survival instinct woke me before hunger ever could.
We sat beside the remains of the campfire in front of the shelter and began breakfast.
The menu was two energy bars Winston had saved.
I tore open the wrapper with my teeth and took a huge bite.
Artificial chocolate flavor and sticky nuts filled my mouth.
“Damn... if I saw this back in civilization, I wouldn’t even touch it. But right now this tastes amazing. Once we escape, I’m seriously buying boxes of these.”
Winston carefully chewed his own energy bar before snorting with amusement.
“By then, you probably won’t even want to look at them. The human brain quickly associates flavors with painful memories. Before long, this chocolate smell will become synonymous with survival horror for you.”
“...Yeah, makes sense. Thanks for ruining my appetite.”
Even while pretending to lose interest, I licked every last crumb clean.
No matter what I said, this lump of sugar was practically flesh and blood to me right now.
After finishing breakfast, we headed toward the nearby palm trees.
Using a long branch, Winston knocked down several ripe coconuts while I split them open with my knife.
The moment I pierced one, clear liquid sloshed inside.
I drank it in one gulp.
“Ahhh...!”
This was completely different from the bland coconut water sold in stores.
The first taste was lightly sweet, followed by a rich and salty aftertaste.
Even though it was lukewarm, it felt like the natural electrolytes were restoring moisture directly into my veins.
Winston smashed the empty coconut against a rock, split it in half, and scraped out the white flesh with his knife while explaining,
“Cheon, remember this. On this island, coconuts are far more than just something to drink.”
Yeah yeah, I already know that much. Here he goes again.
“This white flesh is packed with fat and calories. Crabs and abalone alone aren’t enough energy. The more you chew it, the richer and milkier it gets. Excellent for suppressing hunger.”
Then Winston started explaining even more uses for coconuts.
“This shell makes an excellent natural bowl. It can hold boiling water and works well for making soup. If you shape it properly, you can even use it as a spoon or ladle.”
Oh. That one I actually didn’t know.
“And these coarse fibers around the shell dry easily and make perfect tinder for starting fires. They’re oily, so they ignite well. You can even twist them into rope.”
We scraped out every last piece of white flesh and ate it all.
Compared to yesterday, my body definitely felt more energized.
“Alright. We’ve eaten and hydrated. Time to move.”
We discussed where to begin scouting next.
Then I voiced a question that had been bothering me ever since arriving on the island.
“But... are we even sure this place is really deserted?”