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 FOOK
ISLAND
A shor t gamebook

Don Bosco
Copyright © 2021 by Don Bosco / Super Cool Books

Cover illustration by Mark Bosco

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may

not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever
without the express written permission of the publisher
except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical

events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously.
Other names, characters, places and events are products of
the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual
events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely
coincidental.

Printed on demand

ISBN 978-981-14-9464-2

www.SuperCoolBooks.com
What we can imagine, we can create.
 “This world does not yet
properly understand itself.“

Grandmaster Jorge
The Archanesium Academy
CONTENTS
Fook Island 7

Development notes 69

Thanks 80
 01
5.47pm. The ferry reaches Fook
Island. It’s foggy outside. You’re
the only passenger. You have
two heavy bags with you. As
you walk down the gangway,
you hear your phone beep. A
new message. You see a security
guard, an old man. He hears
your phone. He tells you, “Make
your calls here. There’s no
reception beyond Fook Village.

7
All dead.” Behind you, the ferry
is heading back into the fog.
That’s the last ferry of the day.
You’re stuck here until
tomorrow morning.

* Go to the boardinghouse. — 10

8
 02
You pass the cemetery and turn
right. You have maps on your
phone to guide you. You go
through the old plantation, set
up by James Fook two hundred
years ago. Finally you arrive at
Fook Mansion. Three floors
high, a main building plus two
wings and a servants’ dormitory
at the back. Abandoned about
eighty years ago, after the

9
terrible experiments. Its front
door and windows are boarded
up. You go round the back. The
servants’ entrance is open, the
door is ajar. You peer in. You see
a dark shadow move away from
you. Hands trembling, you strap
on your night vision goggles.
Stun device in your right hand,
infra-red camera in your left.
You leave your bag on the
ground.

* Go in and film it. — 14

10
 03
You enter the boardinghouse
and check in. The woman wears
a nametag that says: “Manager”
and “Stella”. She won’t look you
in the eye. She shows you to
your room on the second floor.
You tell her, “My friend stayed
here last month. But something
happened. A terrible incident.
Do you remember anything
unusual?” Stella hesitates, then

11
she shakes her head. She
mumbles, “It wasn’t like that.
You’re mistaken.” She looks
upset and turns to leave. But at
the door she stops and says,
“Your friend stayed in the room
down there. Last one on the left.
Her things are still in the
cupboard.” Stella points down
the hall and then she hurries
away.

* Search Yuki’s room; you might

find something. — 17

12
* You haven’t eaten since morning.
It’s been a rough journey. Ask
Stella for a meal first. — 24


13
 04
You try to crawl back up the
stairs. You feel a big, heavy
hand grab your left foot. You
feel warm breathing on the back
of your neck. You try
desperately to shake your foot
free. BOOM! There’s an
explosion upstairs from the
front of the mansion. Then the
sound of wood cracking.
Suddenly the hand lets go of

14
your foot. You know you can’t
get back up fast enough. You
wish you still had that stun
device.

* Look over your shoulder. — 11

* Shout for help. — 13

15
 05
Before you have a chance to
back away, you hear footsteps. A
team of armed men enter. You
know they’re DayFive agents.
They’re covered from head to
toe in military gear and carry
bulky rifles. They shoot at the
monster. BZT-BZZZT! The
monster howls. The pups squeal
louder. You can tell they’re
terrified. You keep your back

16
against the wall to stay out of
their way. You can make out at
least ten DayFive agents. Your
foot lands on something soft.
You look down and you see that
it’s a body. Not moving. There
are actually six bodies lying
near the wall. The missing
villagers. You recoil in horror.
You need to do something or
you’ll end up dead like them.
You suddenly remember Dr
Yuki Wang. She survived. So
you take off your clothes and
you go back to the nearest
monster puppy. You scoop some
slime off its body and rub this

17
all over yourself. Meanwhile,
the monster is beating up the
DayFive agents.

* Rub on more slime. Don’t worry;

there’s a lot of it. — 16

* The stuff stinks too badly. You

change your mind. Go lie among
the corpses and play dead instead.
— 08

18
 06
You enter the boardinghouse
and check in at the reception.
The woman wears a nametag
that says “Manager” and
“Stella”. She won’t look you in
the eye. In your room, you
prepare a backpack with your
camera and lenses, your night
vision goggles, and a stun
device for self-defense. Then
you slip out the back and head

19
south. The sky is dark except for
the half moon. Most of the
streetlights aren’t working. In
the distance, you hear the ferry’s
horn. Something’s not right.
There shouldn’t be any new
arrivals this late. You feel
lightheaded. You’re hungry and
tired. Also, you’re afraid of what
you’ll find.

* Walk faster. You want to reach

Fook Mansion before the DayFive
agents arrive. — 02

20
* You haven’t eaten since morning.
It’s been a rough journey. Look for a
cafe. — 19


21
 07
Three hours later. It’s a warm
morning and you’re all washed
and packed and waiting at the
jetty. Through the fog you can
see the ferry approaching. Your
phone beeps. Again and again.
You check. Messages from
Senior Alvia. The security guard
approaches. He says, “My
granddaughter was dying.
Doctors couldn’t help. I recalled

22
what the old folks used to say
and so I left her in that old
mansion one night. She could
have died. But Stella was saved.
That thing isn’t evil. It’s here to
help us. We don’t know why or
how. We just need to believe. So
please, stop trying to hurt it.”
You nod. You lost your camera
in that basement. You have no
video of the monster or its pups.
You know it’s better this way.
Suddenly you realize what you
need to do. You drop your
phone into the water. Senior
Alvia will understand. He
trained you. You turn around

23
and start running. You must
hurry back to the boardinghouse
and organize the villagers. You
won’t let DayFive leave here
with the monster.

END

NOTE: Welcome to the world of

Fook Island! See page 78 for
Development Notes. — DB

24
 08
You hide among the bodies.
The fight is loud and furious.
The agents are no match for the
monster, not even with their
rifles. Seconds later, their
corpses are lying in a heap. The
monster lifts its pups onto its
back and disappears into the
darkness. You sigh in relief. And
then you start to sob. Senior
Alvia was right. You’re not

25
ready for all this. They should
have sent someone else.
Someone better prepared.

END

* Go back a bit and try again. — 20

26
 09
You put up your arms to
protect yourself. But you’re too
slow. It swings a fist at you.
WHACK! It hits you hard on the
side of your head. Your night
vision goggles go spinning
through the air. There’s ringing
in your ear. You pass out. When
you wake up, you’re on the
grass outside Fook Mansion.
There are five jeeps, a truck and

27
close to 20 men in black
uniforms. They all have rifles.
You hear one of them say into a
radio, “Operation underway.
Target located.” From inside the
mansion, you hear a terrifying
howl. Two of the men take you
back to the jetty and escort you
onto the ferry. They don’t
answer any of your questions.
You know you’re lucky just to
be alive.

END

28
* Go back a bit and try again. — 14

29
 10
You find a minibus waiting in
the parking lot. You get on. The
ride to the village is bumpy. You
check your new message. It’s
Senior Alvia, your leader at the
Archanesium Academy.
Message says, “Still waiting for
lab report. That slime was all
over YW when they found her.
And no sign of her clothes
anywhere. She’s still in shock.

30
But at least she’s alive. Find out
what happened to the missing
villagers and get video evidence
of the subject. That’s crucial.
Leave on the first ferry
tomorrow, before the DayFive
agents turn up.” YW is Yuki
Wang. For a while she was your
trainer at the Archanesium
Academy until she suddenly got
posted out one day. The subject
he mentioned, that would be the
monster. You get off the bus
across the road from the
boardinghouse. You see
villagers hurrying past. They
look scared. You walk over to

31
the boardinghouse. It’s called
Silverwind.

* Check in, then go search for the

monster. — 06

* Check in and ask around first, see

if you can find out what Yuki was
up to. — 03

32
 11
You turn and you see the
monster. It’s just like they
described back in the Academy:
gigantic head surrounded by
hairy tentacles, and a thick,
hunched body, like an ape. It
lunges at you, grabs your head
with its freakishly powerful
fingers. You smell it. A whiff so
disgusting you’re close to
throwing up. Then, another

33
explosion upstairs. More wood
splintering. The monster loosens
its grip. Somehow it’s anxious,
you can tell. You must move
fast. You twist free and hobble
past it. You hurry deeper into
the basement. Your ankle is still
bad but right now you don’t
care.

* Keep going! Find somewhere to

hide. — 20

34
 12
You yell. The next moment, a
group of men rush down the
stairs. They’re in black uniforms
and carrying some kind of rifle.
DayFive agents. They shoot at
the monster. Instead of bullets, it
looks like bolts of blue
electricity. One of the men grabs
you and drags you very roughly
up the stairs. He hands you to
two others who are waiting.

35
They take you outside. You see
four jeeps and a truck. And
many more agents. What’s
going on? You realize Senior
Alvia didn’t tell you the whole
truth. The Academy has too
many secrets. Innocent villagers
will die. This makes you angry.

END

* Go back a bit and try again. — 14

36
 13
“HEEELP!” you shout
desperately. You can hear the
footsteps getting closer. Finally
you see them, six men with
rifles. They move nimbly down
the stairs. One of them yells, “I
see it! Fire.” And without
hesitation he shoots a bolt of
energy in your direction. You
freeze, body all tense, expecting

37
the impact. But the shot goes
over your shoulder. You realize
that there’s no hand holding
your leg now. No heavy
breathing on the back of your
neck. The monster’s gone. Five
of the men leap over you and
continue in pursuit. The sixth
points his rifle at you. “No
sudden movements. The
Academy should know better
than to interfere.” He takes you
outside. You see at least 20 more
agents. Their jeeps and trucks
are parked further back. They

38
escort you back to the ferry. You
don’t even get a chance to
collect your stuff from the
boardinghouse. This mission is
over for you.

END

* Go back and try again. — 14 


39
 14
You enter. You memorized the
layout of the entire property
back at the Academy, so you
know your way. You turn left,
walk towards the dining hall,
then you turn right. You hear
furious hissing up ahead. So far,
it sounds like there’s only one of
it here. You come to the entrance
to the basement. It’s a narrow
door under the stairs. The

40
monster’s down below. You hear
it. You hurry down the steps.
You don’t want to lose it. But
near the bottom, you slip, and
land hard. You grunt helplessly
as your stun device goes sliding
across the floor in the dark. Your
right ankle is twisted so bad,
you can’t get up. You hear a
growl from behind you.

* Hurry back upstairs! Don’t let it

get you. — 04

* You’ve hurt your foot; it’s clear

you won’t get far. Try to scare it off
instead. — 22


41
 15
You scramble to your feet and
hobble off deeper into the
tunnels as fast as you can. You
look over your shoulder and
you see a group of men
approaching, carrying rifles.
DayFive agents. You want to get
out of the way before they start
firing. You see a crevice in the
wall on the left. You squeeze
inside and keep still. To your

42
horror, you sense a presence
beside you. You turn your head
in panic. But it’s a young girl.
She’s sniffing. She says, “Will
you take me home, please? I
don’t want to stay here.” Then
you hear the DayFive agents
open fire on the monster. You
take the girl’s hand. You don’t
notice the pain in your foot
anymore. You just want to get
this girl to safety. You peer out.
The agents are no match for the
monster, not even with their
rifles. Seconds later, their bodies
are lying in a heap. The monster
lifts its pups onto its back and

43
disappears into the darkness.
You take the girl outside. In
front of the mansion, you see
four jeeps, a truck and more
DayFive agents. “Please, just get
this girl back to the village,” you
shout. She’s still holding your
hand. She’s not wearing clothes
and she’s covered in slime.

END

* Go back a bit and try again. — 20

44
 16
You finally manage to cover
your entire body. The smell is
disgusting. The monster fights
for its life. It staggers each time
it’s shot, but it doesn’t go down.
It throws itself at its attackers
and beats them with its fists.
One by one, they fall. Then you
see the monster scoop up its
pups in its arms and throw them
on its back. All of them cling on

45
for dear life. The monster turns
to glare at you. You freeze,
terrified. It sniffs at you. Then it
grabs you by the throat and
drags you along. You clutch at
its thick, firm fingers, but you
can’t pry them away. The
monster’s taking you deeper
into the tunnels.

* You close your eyes. — 21

46
 17
Yuki’s room door is unlocked.
You go in and turn on the light.
You see two bags on the bed, the
same type you have. You open
them and find: clothes, binders
filled with research notes, and
three portable hard drives. You
take the drives back to your
room and quickly plug the first
one into your laptop. It’s
labelled “June 4”. It’s filled with

47
video footage. Suddenly the
lights go out. BAM! Your door is
kicked open. Before you can
react, three men in black clothes
rush in. DayFive agents. One
pushes you to the ground, the
other two take all your stuff.
Including Yuki’s hard disks. One
of them says, “Tell Alvia he
messed up. This monster is ours.
And you’re staying in here until
we’re done. The manager will
let you out tomorrow. If you try
to leave, we’ll shoot.” They go
out and lock the door. They took
your phone. You can’t contact
Alvia. You feel helpless and

48
hungry. You bang on the door
and shout for food. You can hear
someone outside but he doesn’t
respond. Eventually you fall
asleep. This mission is over for
you.

END

* Try again. — 10

49
 18
Your heart is beating
frantically. Your mouth is dry,
your throat tight. You do your
best to keep still. The heavy
footsteps get closer. You hear
men shouting. Now the monster
is in a rage. It throws its head
back and howls. You watch it
and tremble. Soon there’ll be a
fight here. Killing. You have to
get out.

50
* Crawl out, back the way you
came. — 23

* Crawl deeper into the tunnel. —

15


51
 19
You spot a bread shop. The
light is on. There’s a young man
behind the register, making
notes in a book. You open the
door and enter. He looks up.
Worried. He says, “Are you
from the police? News about my
daughter?” You shake your
head. There’s a basket of bread
on the shelf. Smells freshly
made. You gesture and say,

52
“How much? With some butter.”
He mumbles, “Sorry. They still
haven’t found my daughter. But
she’s alive. I know it.” He slices
the bread and spreads on the
butter for you. You pay him and
leave. You eat as you walk. It
tastes fantastic. You have maps
on your phone showing you the
way. Eventually you get to Fook
Mansion. Abandoned about
eighty years ago, after the
terrible experiments. Its front
doors and windows are boarded
up. Suddenly you see a dark
shadow dart away from you.
You quickly strap on your night

53
vision goggles. Your stun device
is in your right hand, infra-red
camera in your left.

* You go after it. — 14

54
 20
You hear heavy footsteps
above. People running. Behind
you, the monster grunts. You
hurry, dragging your foot. You
turn right. Then left. Your brain
races, searching your memory.
None of this seems familiar. It
wasn’t on the map. You turn left
again. You see a dead end. You
trip and fall. You hear a squeal.
Really close to your face. A bat?

55
A rat? You push your body off
the ground and peer around.
You’re surrounded by smaller
monsters like pups. Six of them,
groping the air. It looks to you
like their eyes haven’t
developed enough to see. To
your horror, the big monster
appears. It ignores you, and
starts to drool and spit all over
the young ones. Great globs of
slime. Stinking.

* Back away from its pups. — 05

56
* Keep still as best as you can.
Somehow the monster doesn’t seem
to have noticed you. — 18

57
 21
You don’t remember what
happened. But when you come
to, you’re lying on the cold
ground out in the open. You see
the night sky above turn a shade
lighter. You can make out the
treetops. You get up slowly. To
your surprise, it takes less effort
than you expect. Your ankle
doesn’t hurt anymore. You
actually feel okay. You’re not

58
wearing any clothes and you’re
still covered in that stinking
slime. You look around and you
don’t know where you are.
Probably somewhere in the
forest, east of Fook Village. No
sign of the monster or its pups.
You hear frantic shouts in the
distance. It’s cold but you’re not
even shivering.

* Walk back to the village. — 07

59
 22
You yell, “GAAAARGH!” You
spin around, bare your teeth,
and you lash out with your fists.
You catch a glimpse of it. Just a
quick blur, but enough to shock
you. A gigantic head
surrounded by hairy tentacles,
and a thick, hunched body like
an ape. It’s about to pounce on
you. Back at the Academy, they
told you what to expect. They

60
prepared you for this horror. Or
so you thought. But this is much
worse than you could have
imagined. This is truly a
monster.

* Fight. With your bare hands. —

09

* Just keep yelling. — 12

61
 23
You move slowly. Don’t want
the monster to notice you. You
crawl in the direction of the
stairs. You only cover a short
distance, your foot still hurting,
when you see a group of men
stream in. They’re carrying
rifles. You roll to the side and
hold your breath. They see you
but they don’t care. They rush

62
past and start shooting at the
monster. It roars and attacks
them. Puts up a fierce fight. You
watch as, one by one, the agents
fall until all you can hear is the
monster breathing heavily and
the little pups squealing in
panic. The monster puts them
on its back and runs off deeper
into the tunnels. You’re
breathing heavily too. Stunned.
You see another agent approach
cautiously. You just want to get
out of here. Go back to the
boardinghouse and have a hot

63
meal. You decide that this life is
not for you. You call out for
help.

END

* Go back a bit and try again. — 20

64
 24
There’s a phone next to the
bed. You pick it up and after a
while Stella answers. You order
a sandwich with fries and a
bottle of water. Then you
prepare a backpack with your
camera and lenses, night vision
goggles, as well as a stun device
for self-defense. In the distance,
you hear the horn from the ferry.

65
That’s odd. There’s not
supposed to be another one
arriving until tomorrow. Stella is
taking a long time. You decide
not to wait for her. You grab
your backpack and leave the
boardinghouse by the side door.
You’ve memorized the map of
the island. You head south. You
make it to Fook Cemetery when
suddenly two jeeps swerve in
front of you and brake hard.
Three masked men jump out of
the first vehicle, dressed all in
black and carrying chunky

66
rifles. You notice the logo on
their left chest, which says
“DayFive Corporation”. One of
them points his rifle at you and
says, “You’re leaving on the
ferry. Come with us.” You back
away, thinking fast. You have an
urgent mission to complete.
Yuki’s life might depend on this.
So you turn and run for the edge
of the forest. But the men are
faster. Much better trained. The
three of them catch you and
drag you back to the jeep. You
struggle, but it’s not your fault;

67
you’re just a pawn in the bigger
game. Two of them escort you
onto the ferry. As it moves off,
you hear a distant howl coming
from somewhere on Fook
Island.

END

* Try again. — 10

68
DEVELOPMENT
NOTES

69
 Hello.
Please only read this after
you’re done exploring Fook
Island.
As a fiction writer, my creative
process usually starts with an
idea for the main character. But
Fook Island was different. It
started with a setting. A
shadowy storyworld. I could
see, in my mind, a mysterious
island that sat somewhere
beyond the limits of rational
science.
I started to feel its fog around
me.
The chill of its nights.

70
 The rocky path under my feet
as I explored the cemetery
outside the town.
One day, in this dream state, I
looked up and saw an old
mansion in the distance. And I
heard large trucks rumbling
behind me, getting closer. I
sensed military-trained men,
with weapons, surrounding me.
And I knew there was
something lurking
underground. Something
Forteanesque. Lovecraftian.
I returned to that moment
again and again in my head.
Slowly I extracted the elements I

71
needed to assemble this
gamebook.
First, I sketched a map of the
island. Then I made a list of
characters on it. Who would be
here? And why? I sensed that
there was a war going on. A
struggle between an ancient
secret society and a ruthless
mega-corporation with weary
villagers caught in between the
two.
The star of this whole affair
was the monster, of course.
I had to define its motivations
before I could develop the plot
further. I spent a lot of time

72
looking at monster
encyclopedias, old horror
comics and fanzines, analyzing
the canon.
I considered blood-sucking
vampires. Hideous werewolves.
Mind-blowing Cthulhu. Vicious
alien predators. Grotesque but
gentrified monsters, like the one
in Beauty and the Beast. And
then I had a creative insight. In
horror tales, you want to run
away from the monster, to
escape, and you’re driven by a
sense of dread. But for this
gamebook, I wanted the player
to feel drawn towards the

73
monster, driven by a sense of
curiosity or some kind of heroic
compulsion. By the end of the
adventure, I wanted the player
to develop a stronger connection
with the monster.
I spent a lot of time thinking
up ways to make this outcome
work.
I also remembered that exciting
dream state which first inspired
me. I tried to convey a sense of
this through the text. I wrote the
sections as run-on chunks, with
no paragraph breaks, the
sentences all packed tightly
together. It seemed to create a

74
kind of buzzing and humming
effect on the page. A driving
momentum that carried you
right through each section, until
you got to the bit where you had
to make a decision.
It’s a short gamebook but I
worked to pack in all kinds of
storyworld information. I split
the endings into two categories.
One revealed information about
the monster. The other revealed
information about your
character’s situation. And if you
explored the different paths,
you’d get all the pieces of the
puzzle.

75
 I drafted the gamebook
sections on a large sheet of
paper, from an Ikea roll. Then I
entered the text into Twine,
which gave me a clickable
HTML file that I could share. I
uploaded this to itch.io, a
website for sharing indie digital
games.
After months of playtesting, I
decided to produce this
paperback edition.
For the cover art, my son
created a simple portrait of the
monster in vector format by
combining geometric shapes.
Then I used a free web app to

76
glitch the graphic, and layered
on random shadowy textures.
This is the final cover
illustration you see.
If you’d like to learn more
about how I write gamebooks,
do visit my website at
www.SuperCoolBooks.com. I have
a series of posts labelled
Gamebook Academy, where I
share my creative process. I also
interview fellow gamebook
creators.
On Instagram, I’m
@SuperCoolBooks.
You can email me at
studio@SuperCoolBooks.com.

77
 Thanks for playing this
gamebook. This is just a
preview, a gateway to a larger
Fook Island epic adventure. I
hope you’ll come back for that
one day. Because why do people
make up stories like this, about
imaginary monsters, and then
feel compelled to share their
creations? I am not the only one.
Far from it. Perhaps you are
somehow involved in this kind
of activity too, in your own way.
Now that you’ve visited Fook
Island, I hope you’ll return to it

78
again and again in your
imagination. Feel free to turn
these explorations into your
own stories or gamebooks. I’d
be thrilled to hear about them.

— DB
Singapore

79
Thanks
Mark Bosco, Luke Bosco, Melvin
Yong, Dane Barrett, Peter
Agapov, Louise Lee, the
Gamebook Authors Guild, John
Rickards, TroyAnthony
Schermer, Joonseok Oh, Victoria
Hancox, Stephen Griffin, James
Schannep, Adam Mitchell.


80
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ISBN: 978-981-14-9464-2.

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