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18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwNr8n2Vo5j
At eighteen, Jax had arrived on the island as nothing more than a broken soul - a boy dragged through hell, his chest bound with chains of grief and fear. He had been prey then - his wrists bound, his mouth gagged, thrown into the wild like discarded meat.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUR0BQkYYkY
He wasn't supposed to survive.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6U1l7wbeUq
But he did.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzhwPvc0JBh
He didn't just endure - he evolved.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1oMSyV8L88
Three years later, Jax was no longer the hunted. He was the hunter - a predator sharpened by pain, forged by the island itself. Day by day, it had stripped away his humanity, layer by layer, until only something raw and deadly remained. What had once been dreams became tools. What was once innocence became memory.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgJL8JN7tD
He learned to survive not by running, but by watching. By studying. Learning the rules.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwHKszCLpWw
Then mastering them.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLWgzukrWCE
His body had changed - muscle built over lean bone, reflexes honed like weapons. He could read the trees, hear danger in the wind, disappear into shadows like fog. He moved like rumour. Like fear.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GA5ACIvbp
The hunters who had once looked down on him now whispered his name. Some with respect. Others with unease.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI4YGjAPcEJ
Jax was no longer just a player in their twisted game. He was a force. A ghost.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR9CL3pL7Wn
A legend in the making.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡml1Cr58RJS
At first, he hunted to survive. Now he hunted to dominate.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUMiOJecsR
He carved out his own territory deep in the forest - a brutal network of shelters, traps and lookouts. No one approached without his knowledge. His camp was invisible to the unwary, untouchable to the weak.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2QVbFVS6Xl
The island's newest prisoners spoke of him as a myth. The shadow in the trees. The silent one. The predator who knew your name before you knew his.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmxfEVxp1Y
But Jax remembered everything.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOKE1ykgKMb
He remembered the bruises. The screams. The girl who had tried to save him. The way her voice broke as they dragged her away. That sound lived inside him - no longer as grief, but as purpose.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡggcYX57nwv
He trained. He waited. He calculated.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4hlyJUuXXs
And when it moved, it moved like nightfall.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZ0444sjNf
The women who came were no longer sisters in suffering.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKvBzbP2nrH
They were pieces. Booty. Currency.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡktgbN5YO0J
Currency. Strategy. Each one had value - and Jax decided how to use it.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1NMXT6zaHD
He didn't take them all. That would have been clumsy. Predictable. No - he was methodical. He studied them. Watched. Waited. Understood what made them tick. What made them tremble.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUlQFlVntfB
And then, when the thread holding them together was thin enough to snap - he struck.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ4G1qhtxwh
Some followed him out of fear. Others, finally, out of something colder. Something that looked like loyalty. Affection was a rare and irrelevant thing in Jax's world. He didn't need to be loved.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbAC4BVdqWe
Just obeyed.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5zHPVPoSxL
Jax had become the dark balance of the island.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMGZ6I0r3bF
Not its saviour.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡusZBX1ygn0
Not its devil.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡF2k8JRWBKM
Its law.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKOBQ1qw3js
And the law was cruel.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC7XDnxdU70
There were no fairy tales here.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmInu364lXQ
Only choices.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡngM8s7KXag
Only consequences.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXteytMIm8R
From the top of the cliffs, he watched a new transport cut through the water far below. His fingers curled slightly, the familiar thrill already crawling under his skin.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu76FZ9g2Z9
New arrivals.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDihzS3T2jn
New eyes.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgvPyfZgQtf
New fear.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsVdQGs2UY0
New fires to put out - or to test.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkaFtLTckf
And maybe, just maybe...18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpHOoIWyGg
Someone worth breaking.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUIYLX9Nn5P
He turned away from the edge and disappeared into the trees, the forest swallowing him whole. The birds scattered. The leaves fell silent.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsFbyMGpGov
The hunter was on the move.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLjMcPKVDz
And this island?18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbUSNXEZ3q3
This island was his.
The narrow path that wound through the forest had all but disappeared. Overhead, the trees arched like clasped fingers, filtering the sunlight into shards of green and gold. The air was thick, almost heavy, and the sound of birds had all but disappeared - replaced now and again by a faint, unfamiliar crunch in the undergrowth.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWBGk5XjVs7
Jessica narrowed her eyes at the map in her hand, turning it over for the fifth time.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFwyAzFlM3u
"This is complete rubbish," she muttered. "According to this, we should've hit 'Bottom of the Well' ages ago. There's no well. Hell, there's not even gravity that feels normal here."18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2kGYOc2Abs
Tom leaned over her shoulder, studying the faded lines. "So... if this isn't it, then where the hell are we?"18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2iEoRMQE5m
"Even if this map is ancient," Jessica said, "there should be some landmarks. Unless the trees have decided to replant themselves."18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh71is5o4zg
Tom squatted down and dropped his rucksack. "Maybe whoever drew this map wanted it to be confusing. If this island is undocumented... maybe it's meant to stay that way."18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCTSphKmi8x
Jessica didn't answer immediately. She had taken a few steps forward and was leaning against a large tree, her eyes scanning the dense foliage. The sound of the ocean had faded completely - replaced by something quieter. Something deeper. The rustling of leaves. The call of a bird, distant and strange. The heartbeat of the forest itself.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcd5S18n3qm
And for the first time since his arrival, a flicker of unease danced behind her confident demeanour.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeQbbP8n94S
Tom bent over the map again - and that was when the sound came.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSlHox2UHrS
Deep. Muffled. Mechanical. An engine.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmJQu53hJo
It didn't roar. It didn't roar. It pulsed through the floor like a whisper in metal.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrGAwc3O8nN
Jessica straightened instantly, her eyes narrowing as she turned her head towards the sound.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEmBhJF99y8
"That's... an engine," she said in a hushed voice. "A truck, maybe. Not close. But not far."18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvwprnf7TXN
Tom nodded. Slowly. He tightened the straps of his pack and stood.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrvFKqHJdji
"Let's move. Carefully."18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡw8VsZTV8vb
The forest swallowed their footsteps as they started again, slower this time. Jessica took the lead, her stance sharpened by instinct. Tom followed, each step measured, his breath held.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ40Pp1768tJ
The sound became clearer. Not louder - but more defined.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4cQz3OSccE
A rhythm. A vibration.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfhM4kMQLaA
Not natural.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pVDzSOVKL
And definitely not alone.
Jax remembered the first time he saw them.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRJcC75Gzwl
He had been hidden deep in the woods, his body woven into the shadows like a predator born of the trees. Not a sound escaped him. Every breath was a silent calculation, every twitch of muscle restrained by instinct sharpened over years of solitude. The wind howled in from the ocean, tearing through the branches, dragging the scent of salt and something sweeter—sweat, skin, life. The waves below crashed against the rocks in a rhythm only Jax understood now, a rhythm he had listened to for years. It was the pulse of the island. His island.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzgX7JYPxC
That moment, the moment he first laid eyes on the woman and her daughter, was etched into him like fire into flesh.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTQ9QIgWs6h
The girl moved without fear. She danced barefoot across the mossy stones and fine sand, her laughter rolling with the wind, piercing the night with something innocent, something that had no place here. Her long curls shimmered in the moonlight, her blue bikini catching starfire like scattered sapphires. She was light. Unspoiled. Untouched.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzEHrEAIX5U
To Jax, she looked like a forest nymph, something not quite real.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUPTQVxjH2G
But the mother—she was different.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQ7SYy9HxN
Every movement was measured. Her feet tested each step before committing. Her eyes didn’t just look; they hunted. She read the trees, the silence, the shifting air. Jax could see it in her face—the weight of experience. This woman had seen pain. She had survived it. Her body, still graceful, moved like it remembered violence. She was danger wrapped in beauty. And unlike her daughter, she didn’t belong to the light.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUSsamycImx
She belonged to Jax’s world.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGhljmrgu3n
They were both prey.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NLGkxxSNR
But the girl? She would break too easily.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6pAnl1xr3G
The mother? The mother was the real game.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2LgQr513lo
Back then, Jax had still been learning. The transformation from prey to predator had been violent, but it had also been necessary. He had come to this island when he was only eighteen, dragged into its shadows by those who thought he would disappear into the trees and never matter again. And for a time, they were right. He was just another broken thing dropped into the island’s silence.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1w6P0YXQpS
But the island had spoken to him.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xveBxPTu4
It had taught him that survival wasn’t enough.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWRdEt7dMli
He had suffered. He had run. He had cried under the rain and curled into the roots of trees like a dying animal. He had been prey—beaten, hunted, used. But the pain hardened him. The silence became his armor. He learned how to move without being seen, how to listen when others made noise, how to wait when others acted. The island had taken him in like a wild thing and made him sharper than the thorns that tore his skin.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEFVsD3ms9
Now, at twenty-one, Jax wasn’t just a survivor.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd4GNvT3vRd
He was the island’s reckoning.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOzyaYrxM4z
He knew every trail, every cave, every blind spot. He knew how to avoid the hunters and how to hunt them in return. He had built a territory of shadows, where no one entered without him knowing. The island had its laws, unspoken and brutal. And Jax? Jax had rewritten them. He had become a law unto himself.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUa3ZWw7y3
And the island had begun to offer him gifts.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiBVpoCw4Hz
Women. Girls. The lost, the trapped, the forgotten.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5XF1EbZf2Q
Some came in boats. Others were dropped like coinless secrets in the night. They arrived frightened, defiant, angry. But none of them understood the rules. Not at first. Jax did. And that made all the difference.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFesKKGTGyZ
He had become more than a hunter.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKsvxyuFcUj
He had become a collector of choices.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd0TnGOq3Lj
Every time he watched a new arrival, he measured the moment they crossed the line from hope to fear. From fear to desperation. That change—that precise instant when they realized no one was coming to save them—was the most exquisite part. It wasn’t about hurting them. It was about watching the light fade from their eyes, knowing he was the one who took it.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoj1A6VpnKU
Power wasn’t in dominance. It was in knowing when someone broke.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2gFxvXLfbg
That mother and daughter, walking the shore that night—they were something different. Something rare. And Jax, hidden in the trees, had seen everything. The daughter had skipped toward the waves, throwing her arms up to the sky like she belonged to it. So open. So unaware.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnlUhEihugY
The mother had stood back, watching the sea with a silence that Jax recognized. She was waiting. For a man who would not return. Jax didn’t need to know the story to read the outcome. Her body held the stillness of someone who had waited before.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8w4047shjF
And then, in the pause between one breath and the next, Jax saw something in her face.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwcVyjPrm27
Uncertainty.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs8jNW2Rp2a
It broke through her mask for a second. A tremor. A memory. A hope.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25eC5m8g81
And Jax felt it.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTocY9VvGUV
Empathy. Just a flicker.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDdGhUZQHl5
He crushed it.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLnKcDQjISt
Empathy had no place here. He was not the boy who came to the island crying. He was the man who ruled the night.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OB611Vrhj
He remembered how he watched the mother’s shoulders stiffen. How she scanned the darkness. Almost like she sensed him. He hadn’t moved. He hadn’t even breathed. But something in her blood knew.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRvUuDMzidv
She was dangerous.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwj3Ec0dwb
She was perfect.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWpCvs9aNg
She would take longer to break. But that was what made it worth it.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3jNZ6riH1p
He didn’t want them to die.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeVMWJU6bb5
He wanted them to surrender.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrTKW6OUUxG
Not with screams.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9WHwrP43Dq
But with silence.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbgaEjZyiuQ
With acceptance.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaiqKRcs3Nf
That night, something shifted in Jax. A stone rolled into place. A decision was made. And in that decision, there was no turning back.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPeAbj62rUC
This wasn’t about the girl. This wasn’t even about the mother. This was about the island. About everything it had taken from him.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡka2fRN1zZJ
And everything it had given back.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡld6RYUuKAc
Jax knew the game now.18Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW0UJT8FSMi
And he was done playing by anyone else’s rules.
