Some places are not meant to be found~

✦⚠ Content Warning & Copyright Notice :

Content Warning: This story contains themes of captivity, psychological manipulation, violence, death of characters, grief, trauma, and intense emotional distress. It also contains depictions of a morally complex love story with dark undertones. Reader discretion is advised.

This story is intended for mature readers (17+). If any of the above themes are harmful to you personally, please prioritise your wellbeing first.

© Copyright Notice: Isle of the Damned and all its contents — including but not limited to the plot, characters, storylines, dialogue, world-building, and written text — are the sole intellectual property of the author. All rights reserved.

No part of this work may be reproduced, copied, translated, reposted, published, or distributed in any form or by any means — digital, print, or otherwise — without the express written permission of the author. This includes but is not limited to: posting on other platforms, adapting into other media, or presenting the work as your own.

Plagiarism is not just theft. It is a betrayal of every hour the author poured into this story. If you see this work reposted without credit, please report it.

The characters and events in this story are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

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Ignore.

It had been a simple realization that had changed Debra's life perspective. It was really so simple that she was embarrassed that she had lived the previous five years with the way she measured her worth. Now that she saw what she had been doing, she could see how sad it was. That made her all the more relieved she had made the change. The number of hearts her Instagram posts received wasn't any longer the indication of her own self-worth.

His mother had always taught him not to ever think of himself as better than others. He'd tried to live by this motto. He never looked down on those who were less fortunate or who had less money than him. But the stupidity of the group of people he was talking to made him change his mind.

Do you think you're living an ordinary life? You are so mistaken it's difficult to even explain. The mere fact that you exist makes you extraordinary. The odds of you existing are less than winning the lottery, but here you are. Are you going to let this extraordinary opportunity pass?

Sometimes it's the first moment of the day that catches you off guard. That's what Wendy was thinking. She opened her window to see fire engines screeching down the street. While this wasn't something completely unheard of, it also wasn't normal. It was a sure sign of what was going to happen that day. She could feel it in her bones and it wasn't the way she wanted the day to begin.

Here's the thing. She doesn't have anything to prove, but she is going to anyway. That's just her character. She knows she doesn't have to, but she still will just to show you that she can. Doubt her more and she'll prove she can again. We all already know this and you will too.

To everyone who loved deeply

and left quietly —not because they stopped caring,

*but because they finally understood that staying would cost them**the last piece of themselves they had left to keep.*

To the ones who proposed to love thirteen times

and were met with silence each time —your persistence was not weakness.

It was devotion in its most honest form.

*And your departure was not defeat.**It was the bravest thing you ever did.*

To those who loved someone

who did not know how to say stay —until it was far too late

to mean it the way it needed to be meant.

To the ones who protect everyone

and are never once protected in return.

The world does not deserve you.

It never does.

And to every reader who has ever stood

at the edge of something that once felt like home

*and chosen, quietly and without ceremony,**to turn around and walk away —this is for you.*

~ with love, and with ruin ~

******************************************

IGNORE***

Lori lived her life through the lens of a camera. She never realized this until this very moment as she scrolled through thousands of images on your computer. She could remember the exact moment each photo was taken. She could remember where she had been, what she was thinking as she tried to get the shot, the smells of the surrounding area, and even the emotions that she felt taking the photo, yet she had trouble remembering what she had for breakfast.

He read about a hike called the incline in the guidebook. It said it was a strenuous hike and to bring plenty of water. “A beautiful hike to the clouds” described one review. “Not for the faint-hearted,” said another. “Not too bad of a workout”, bragged a third review. I thought I’d hike it when I fly in from Maryland on my day off from the senior citizen's wellness conference. I hiked 2 miles a day around the neighborhood so I could handle a 1.1-mile hike. What a foolish mistake that was for a 70-year-old low-lander.

Brenda never wanted to be famous. While most of her friends dreamed about being famous, she could see the negative aspects that those who wanted to be famous seemed to ignore. The fact that you could never do anything in public without being mobbed and the complete lack of privacy was something that she never wanted to experience. She also had no desire to have strangers speculating about every aspect of her life and what each thing she did was supposed to mean. Brenda was perfectly happy with her anonymous life where she could do exactly as she wanted without anyone else giving a damn. Thus, her overnight Internet celebrity was not something she was thrilled about as her friends told her how lucky she was.

He heard the loud impact before he ever saw the result. It had been so loud that it had actually made him jump back in his seat. As soon as he recovered from the surprise, he saw the crack in the windshield. It seemed to be an analogy of the current condition of his life.

It was difficult to explain to them how the diagnosis of certain death had actually given him life. While everyone around him was in tears and upset, he actually felt more at ease. The doctor said it would be less than a year. That gave him a year to live, something he'd failed to do with his daily drudgery of a routine that had passed as life until then.

The thing that's great about this job is the time sourcing the items involves no traveling. I just look online to buy it. It's really as simple as that. While everyone else is searching for what they can sell, I sit in front of my computer and buy better stuff for less money and spend a fraction of the time doing it.

Characters of the Damned

Know them before the island does.

Veyra Santos  - Female Lead ·  The Circle's Anchor

"She doesn't burn. She endures — and that is far more dangerous."

----------------------------------------

Ruvan De Luna  - The Protector · Heart of the Circle

"He never needed to be asked. He was already there."

-----------------------------------------

Aven Cruz - The Emotional Anchor · Voice of Truth

"She feels everything and uses it. That is her superpower and her wound."

-----------------------------------------

Kaelan Reyes - The Loyalist · Steady Ground

"He is the kind of calm that isn't absence of feeling — it's mastery of it."

------------------------------------------

Zephy Delos Reyes - The Scout · The Island's Favourite Mistake

"Danger is just adventure with higher stakes. She's always been fine with that."

--------------------------------------------

Liora Valencia** - The Strategist · The One Who Already Planned for This

"She is three moves ahead before you have finished speaking your first."**

--------------------------------------------------

Seren Toledo - The Observer · Still Water

"She watches. She remembers. She does not forget a single thing she has seen."

--------------------------------------------------------

Orin Magno - The Wild Spirit · The One Who Burns Brightest

"He lives like every moment is both the first and the last. On Nocturna, he might be right."

***

IGNORE.

Lori lived her life through the lens of a camera. She never realized this until this very moment as she scrolled through thousands of images on your computer. She could remember the exact moment each photo was taken. She could remember where she had been, what she was thinking as she tried to get the shot, the smells of the surrounding area, and even the emotions that she felt taking the photo, yet she had trouble remembering what she had for breakfast.

He read about a hike called the incline in the guidebook. It said it was a strenuous hike and to bring plenty of water. “A beautiful hike to the clouds” described one review. “Not for the faint-hearted,” said another. “Not too bad of a workout”, bragged a third review. I thought I’d hike it when I fly in from Maryland on my day off from the senior citizen's wellness conference. I hiked 2 miles a day around the neighborhood so I could handle a 1.1-mile hike. What a foolish mistake that was for a 70-year-old low-lander.

Brenda never wanted to be famous. While most of her friends dreamed about being famous, she could see the negative aspects that those who wanted to be famous seemed to ignore. The fact that you could never do anything in public without being mobbed and the complete lack of privacy was something that she never wanted to experience. She also had no desire to have strangers speculating about every aspect of her life and what each thing she did was supposed to mean. Brenda was perfectly happy with her anonymous life where she could do exactly as she wanted without anyone else giving a damn. Thus, her overnight Internet celebrity was not something she was thrilled about as her friends told her how lucky she was.

He heard the loud impact before he ever saw the result. It had been so loud that it had actually made him jump back in his seat. As soon as he recovered from the surprise, he saw the crack in the windshield. It seemed to be an analogy of the current condition of his life.

It was difficult to explain to them how the diagnosis of certain death had actually given him life. While everyone around him was in tears and upset, he actually felt more at ease. The doctor said it would be less than a year. That gave him a year to live, something he'd failed to do with his daily drudgery of a routine that had passed as life until then.

The thing that's great about this job is the time sourcing the items involves no traveling. I just look online to buy it. It's really as simple as that. While everyone else is searching for what they can sell, I sit in front of my computer and buy better stuff for less money and spend a fraction of the time doing it.