Chapter 403 Isn’t He Your Father?
“Dragon said to kill her off, not to hand her over to you. Why don’t you try asking him if you really want that?” Fatso stated emotionlessly as he turned his eyes toward the second floor of the cabin.
The sound from the whip of a belt sounded rather rhythmic, followed by a woman’s horrified shrieks. At that, Lil’ Mackaque shivered. “Ah, f*ck it. Wouldn’t wanna risk my ‘hard-earned’ life on this woman. Take her away. What a pain in the eye.”
Fatso snickered at his response before glancing at Courtney.
And so, Courtney followed Fatso into the mountainous forest. They walked for so long the day had already darkened, and eventually, they arrived at a stream. Not far at the opposite side of the stream was a gravestone that agitated Courtney at the sight of it. He’s not going to drown me here and bury me afterward, is he?
Leaving her behind, Fatso crossed the stream toward the gravestone before removing the weeds around it.
Suspiciously, she observed him. After some time of wondering, she seemed to have an idea, blurting, “Is this your… wife’s?”
Fatso was surprised and at the same time annoyed. “That’s not something for you to ask.”
Immediately, Courtney kept quiet. Hell’s wrong with this fatty? Is he actually notifying his wife before killing someone? Gosh, I’d rather die than to suffer from this wait. Just kill me already!
“Who said you could touch my mother!” A clear voice sounded from their four and persisted to echo through the woods.
Subconsciously, Courtney turned around, only to find a skinny little girl running appearing and running toward the gravestone before violently shoving Fatso away. Fiercely, she yelled, “I told you, no one on this island except for me is allowed to touch my mother!”
Fatso, despite falling to the ground, was not irritated in the slightest. Yet, there was obviously sadness in his eyes. After a while, he stood up and brushed the dirt off his garments and wordlessly turned to Courtney. “Let’s go.”
When Courtney saw him looking so depressed, her survival instinct immediately burst forth. Thus, she ran to the little girl and asked, “Did you like the capsule I gave you last time?”
The little girl froze as she stared blankly at her.
Enraged, Fatso tugged Courtney’s arm. “Who said you could speak? Keep walking.”
As Courtney was being dragged away, all she could feel was anxiousness as she intensely prayed for a rescue.
“Hold it.” Once again, the little girl projected her treble voice, stopping Fatso and Courtney. “Who is she, and where are you bringing her?”
“Mind your own business, kid.” Fatso leered at the girl viciously.
“That’s what you told me before mother left home.” Intimidatingly, the little girl dashed toward the adults. Being three feet away from them, she coldly yelled, “I’m taking her!”
“No.”
“Then you can forget about seeing me anymore. I’ll eventually leave this hell hole anyway.”
Fatso was visibly shocked.
In an attempt to save her own life, Courtney stuttered, “S-Since there’s nowhere I can run to anyway, why don’t you execute me when you’re leaving? Letting me live for a couple more days wouldn’t hurt, right?”
Hearing that, Fatso hesitated.
Despite that, the little girl ignored him and grabbed Courtney’s arm. “Follow me.” Quickly, she dragged her out of the forest into a cave on the island.
From outside, the cave seemed nothing out of the ordinary. However, it wasn’t until Courtney entered the cave that she was astounded by how fully furnished it was. Bed, tables, chairs, wooden bucket, mirrors—nothing that weren’t crafted with adept skills. In the bucket were three wooden ducklings, and they were the same ones she caught Fatso crafting outside the window. That fatty seems to love his daughter, but why does she treat him like her worst enemy?
“I’m Dawn. What’s your name?” The little girl introduced herself right after she brought Courtney into the cave. She was rather amicable and didn’t at all mind talking to a stranger.
“Courtney. Courtney Hunter.” Having escaped death temporarily, Courtney heaved a sigh of relief and revealed a cordial smile to her. “Thank you so much for saving me.”
“You’re welcome, but that’s all I can do now. He’ll definitely come back for you once I turn around. He’s just one of Dragon’s obedient lap dogs doing whatever to lick his boots.”
Courtney was slightly shocked. “Isn’t he… your father?”
“No, he’s not.” The little girl instantly frowned.
Although she was Fatso’s daughter, she did not resemble him one bit, especially her notably puffy, dusty cheeks. Her dark hair—as scruffy as a bush—seemed like it was never trimmed and was messily tied behind her head with a rubber band. On the other hand, her clothes and shoes—clean and tidy—were of popular sports brands.
“A man like him doesn’t deserve to be a father or a husband. I’ve never seen a man stand idly, silently watching as his own wife got insulted and tormented. He’s the scrub among scrubs.” Concisely, Dawn revealed her reason to disdain her father and showed no restraint while doing so.
Hearing that, Courtney was stupefied. Even though she had guessed that Fatso’s wife must have had some conflict with Dragon, she never expected it to be this deep. She didn’t know what to feel other than her sympathy toward Dawn.
“Oh, right. The capsules you gave me last time were really fun! These are what were inside.” Dawn shifted her thoughts rather quickly, as if she didn’t keep what she just said in her mind, showing off two figurines on her dresser. “What are these? I put them together according to the instructions. Are these monsters?”
Courtney took a look and subtly beamed. “They’re not monsters. This one’s Bumblebee, and that one’s Spiderman.”
“Bumblebee and Spiderman?”
“They’re comic book superheroes.”
Courtney then briefly told Dawn stories about comic book superheroes, which obviously attracted her attention. “Wow, there’s more like them? I only know about Batman, which I read at home before coming to this island.”
“How old were you when you came here?”
“About four, or five? I don’t quite remember.” The little girl looked rather naive. She revealed an unmindful expression someone of her age wouldn’t normally make. “It’s only a matter of time until I leave this island anyway. No one else would talk to me except for the box.”
“The box?” Courtney was baffled. “What box?”
With a mysterious face, Dawn presented her with her precious “box.”
“I’d talk to it whenever I get bored, though sometimes I don’t really understand what it’s saying. But you should know, right, Miss? You came from the outside world, didn’t you?”
Looking at the old radio, Courtney couldn’t help but be entertained by the name Dawn gave it. After staring at it for a while, she suddenly realized something. “Wait, when do you usually hear it speak?”
With that, Dawn pointed outside the cave at the sky as excitement surged in her eyes. “We just gotta climb to the top of West Mountain and it’ll start speaking! Gods always gotta live somewhere high up, don’t they?”
