The King of the Vampire Island

Chapter 4: The vampire kills Parker

Now, only the morning remained. The mystery of what happened in that hotel might be solved by daybreak. 

They spent the night on edge, nervously anticipating what was to come.

Throughout the night, there were numerous knocks on the door. The doorbell chimed several times, too.

Sometimes it was Mr. Parker, other times the hotel manager, and occasionally a staff member calling for them. But they never answered.

Somehow, the hours passed, and dawn broke. The sun peeked over the eastern sky, bringing with it a sigh of relief from them. 

After freshening up in the bathroom, they were ready. Now, all that was left was to wait.

Soon, Mr. Parker would bring breakfast. And that’s when everything would be explained—at least, they hoped it would. The mystery of the hotel might finally have an answer.

A few moments later, the doorbell rang with a soft chime. They thought it might be Mr. Parker. Jack jumped out of bed and rushed to open the door.

When he did, a young man—about twenty or twenty-one—stood there holding a breakfast tray. His uniform and appearance made it clear he was the hotel’s boy.

“Good morning, sir,” the boy said.

“Good morning,” Jack replied. “But why you? Where’s Mr. Parker?”

At the mention of Mr. Parker’s name, the boy’s face went pale.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked, noticing the change. “Where is Mr. Parker?”

“He’s ill,” the boy said, his voice tight. “He couldn’t come.”

“Oh! So, where can we find him now?”

“I don’t know,” the boy shook his head. He placed the tray on the table and added, “If you need anything, call the reception.” Then, he quickly turned and left.

“The boy’s lying,” Jack muttered, glancing at Max.

“I thought so too. But let’s eat first. We’ll figure this out later,” Max, replied.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

After breakfast, they stepped outside. A small crowd gathered in front of the hotel, and two police officers were talking to people.

They quickly made their way through the crowd, pushing to the front. What they saw left them speechless. Right in front of them, Mr. Parker lay motionless, his body a strange, unnatural shade of pale.

As Jack noticed the two puncture wounds on Mr. Parker’s throat, he immediately understood what happened. They learned from the hotel manager that “Mr. Parker was found on the hotel roof this morning in this condition.”

Once they finished speaking with the manager, they sat under a tree a little away from the crowd.

“What do you think?” Max asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Mr. Parker was killed by a vampire,” Jack replied quietly.

“Everything’s over,” despair rang in Max’s voice. “We’ll never solve this mystery.”

“Not yet,” a voice suddenly spoke up.

They both turned around to see the boy from the night before—the one who was by the bush near the beach.

“Hey, you?” Jack exclaimed. “Why did you run off yesterday?”

“I ran because I saw danger.”

“Danger? What kind of danger?”

The boy stayed silent.

“Alright, what’s your name?” Max asked.

“My name’s Paul Simon,” the boy answered, introducing himself. “But everyone calls me Paul.”

“Oh, I see!” Jack nodded absently. “So, Paul, what do you mean everything’s not over?”

“I know the mystery of this hotel,” Paul said, his voice steady.

“Really? What mystery?” Jack asked.

“People have been dying here every night, just like Mr. Parker.”

“Who’s behind these deaths? Do you know?”

“Vampires.”

Jack’s eyebrows furrowed. “Vampires?”

“Yes. They suck blood and kill people.”

“Where do these vampires come from?” Max asked, his voice calm, though he was clearly interested.

“Ever heard of Vampire’s Island?” Paul asked, his tone serious.

“Yeah,” Max nodded. “I’ve heard of it. So, the vampires came from there?”

Paul nodded. “That’s where they came from.”

“Have you been there?” Jack asked.

“Yeah, I went once,” Paul said, his eyes distant. “My dad used to fish with a boat around the island. One day, I went with him. I got thirsty, so he went to the island to get water. While he was there, a man dressed in a black cloak knocked him to the ground and bit him on the neck. I knew right away it was a vampire. My dad screamed, ‘Paul, run!’ I took the boat and got out of there as fast as I could.”

“God, that’s awful,” Jack said, his voice full of sympathy. “We wanted to go to that island.”

“You can’t just go there unprepared,” Paul warned.

“Then what do we need?” Jack asked.