Inside a dim ship cabin, cargo swayed violently with the turbulent waves, crashing against each other with alarming sounds that made one's heart pound.
The cramped room was packed with over a dozen children, all huddled together, their bodies trembling.
Anxious sobs rose and fell, as if trying to break through the oppressive space, while shrill cries occasionally pierced the air, unsettling everyone.
The air was thick with the salty dampness of the sea, mixed with the pungent odor of vomit from seasick children, making it nauseating.
Among them was a small girl with black hair and brown eyes, who clutched her frail body in terror, her eyes filled with endless fear and helplessness.
Her cruel parents had sold her for a pittance to vile human traffickers, and after several transfers, she was now on this ship, bound for an unknown destination.
The girl's timid eyes constantly scanned her surroundings, seeing only children her own age.
At this moment, almost all the children were crying loudly, deeply afraid of their unknown future, yet there was one figure sitting quietly in a corner, not making a sound.
Even in this dark room, completely devoid of sunlight, she could clearly see the child's striking golden hair, dazzling like stars twinkling in the night sky.
Mustering her courage, she walked over to him, only then seeing the blue eyes hidden beneath his golden hair.
So beautiful, like an expensive doll from a shop, the girl thought, sitting beside him, unable to resist moving a little closer.
She softly asked the boy's name, but he didn't even spare her a glance.
But she didn't give up, pouring out all her unease about this strange environment, until finally, the boy turned his head, his dull blue eyes quietly looking at her, as if to say,
"Why are you so talkative? You're so noisy."
"You're finally looking at me! My name is Joyce, what's yours?"
The boy didn't reply, only moving silently further away from her.
"Can't he speak?" Joyce mumbled, not paying much attention, and after this interlude, her anxious and agitated heart felt a little calmer.
They sailed for an unknown duration, only knowing another day had passed when the tightly closed door opened and a fierce-looking man entered, carrying a bucket of unknown food.
One meal a day, just enough to keep them from starving, and then they were ignored.
He casually dumped the hodgepodge from the bucket into a basin nearby, and the door slammed shut again.
Joyce struggled to push her way into the crowd to grab food, managing to get a biscuit the size of her hand.
Seeing that the boy only got a coin-sized potato, she hesitated, broke off half of her biscuit, and put it into his hand.
His lifeless eyes seemed to focus on her face for a fleeting moment, so quick that she almost thought it was an illusion.
She quickly ate the biscuit in her hand, seeing that the boy remained indifferent, only eating his potato.
Her stomach was still rumbling, but she felt awkward taking back what she had given away, so she just asked dryly,
"Aren't you going to eat it? You'd better eat it quickly, or it will be snatched away."
Lately, there had been a growing trend among the children on the ship; a few of the taller children would snatch food from others, and had even resorted to hitting them before.
If the adults outside the cabin hadn't sternly intervened, it would have been much worse.
After a moment of thought, he still didn't eat the biscuit, deciding to save it for when he was starving, and hid it in his clothes.
After he killed that man that day, he had expected to be killed immediately, but instead, he was sold to human traffickers.
Recalling the patrolman's phony smile as he happily counted the money in his hand, his stomach churned.
The ship seemed to have stopped.
The door opened, and a menacing-looking man with a long, thick whip loudly knocked on the door, making a huge sound.
All the children looked at him, and the man impatiently said,
"All of you, get out! Don't even think about causing trouble!"
He cracked his long whip, the whistling sound making some timid children tremble.
"Hurry up!"
Joyce stood up, pulling the boy with her.
The group of children arrived at a barren island, overgrown with trees.
There was no snow here, only an endless expanse of sea.
Barefoot on the soft, scorching sand, the dazzling sunlight poured down, bringing with it a stifling heat.
The children helplessly looked around, some already crying and wanting to go home.
Two whipping sounds cut through the air, and the sounds of flesh tearing echoed in everyone's eardrums.
The child who wanted to go home was whipped to the ground, lying motionless.
"Gulp," came a chorus of swallowing sounds, revealing the children's Tension.
Several men from the ship quietly watched the scene.
The leader, with a distinct scar on his face and a scraggly beard, spoke in a rough voice:
"You 30—now 29—of you, you have two weeks.
Only those who survive will be allowed to leave here."
"There are only 5 spots."
Are they supposed to kill each other?
Joyce thought in disbelief.
The man was still speaking.
"I'll be back in two weeks.
Don't even think about resisting; right now, you are the lowest of beasts."
The ship left, leaving behind a group of bewildered children.
Anxiety infected everyone present, except for him.
His golden hair shone even brighter in the sunlight, Joyce thought.
Seeing him start to move towards the jungle, she hastily called out to him,
"Where are you going? Everyone is here; it's very dangerous in there!"
Seeing that he still ignored her and walked into the jungle, Joyce gritted her teeth and followed him.
"Wait for me!"