The girl flashed a thin-lipped smile.
“The tattooed bastard and his gang?” she asked. “You think they weren’t also operating with that same knowledge?”
“I think they were a bunch of idiots,” said Hal. “Each of them deluding themselves into thinking they’d be the one to betray the others and pull out a surprise victory in the end.”
The girl didn’t say anything for a moment.
“You killed all of them,” she said. “Well, except for their leader.”
“Seventeen,” said Hal. “That was the number on his parachute. It’s what I’ve been calling him.”
The girl smiled.
“Thirty.” She reached out her hand to shake his. “Nice to meet you.”
Hal couldn’t stop a small smile from stealing onto his face.
“Fifty-seven,” he said. “Likewise.”
Thirty nodded. “Well then, Fifty-seven. I’m of the opinion that we would stand a better chance as a group than either of us would on our own. Are you so opposed to having someone around to watch your back?”
Someone that I’ll have to kill eventually? Yeah, I am.
“It’s unlikely that either of us will survive until the end,” she said, as though reading his thoughts. “Let alone both of us. Would it be so bad to team up?”
Hal felt a sudden stab of suspicion, as though a warning drum had been struck inside his head. Trusting other people was a fool’s game in the best of circumstances, and downright dangerous when the stakes were life and death. He’d trusted Cadrian, and look where it had gotten him.
“No,” he said. “I don’t think so.”
The girl sighed. She stuck her hand out again, and when Hal took it, she surprised him by helping him to his feet.
“Let me at least show you the cave,” she said.
It was only a short walk from where they were, and while the damp stone and dark confines weren’t much, it had something essential inside of it. A small, freshwater stream ran from one of the cracks in the back of the cave. Hal took a sip from it and realized how dry and grimy the inside of his mouth had been.
He drank his fill, knowing that he must have looked ridiculous, between the slurping sounds and his pursed lips. When he turned around, he saw Thirty watching him with a smile on her face. She was standing near the entrance of the cave, where the angle allowed the sunlight to reach. She was blocking his escape, and Hal felt his jaw clench as she reached a hand toward the inside of her tunic.
He was already reaching for his knife when she pulled the fabric partially open, revealing her nakedness underneath. Hal hesitated, and then picked up the knife anyway.
“You saved me,” said Thirty. “From being raped. It’s only fair… Isn’t it?”
Hal smiled at her, but there was no mirth in his expression.
“No,” he said. “Forget it. And I already told you that I’m not interested in teaming up.”
“Why not wait to decide until after?” asked the girl. She ran her hands across her breasts. They were a little bigger than Hal had initially assumed, though it might have just been the effect of the crystal harness, which pushed them upward from underneath.
“No,” he said, a second time.
“Why not?” asked the girl. “We’ll both be dead within a day or two, most likely. Why not enjoy ourselves with some of the time we have left?”
Hal considered it. She kind of had a point, but he was cynical, not stupid.
“For starters,” he said, “This is barely a step up from what Seventeen was about to do to you. You want me as your companion, and are willing to let me take advantage of you if it means gaining my protection. It makes me feel… a little dirty.”
“Dirty can be good sometimes,” said the girl.
“I’m not finished,” said Hal. “My second point: I get by fine when it comes to this sort of thing in the outside world. You’re cute, and I’m sure most of the men on this island would jump at this chance, but I’m not wanting for female attention.”
Thirty crossed her arms and scowled at him, apparently taking it personally. Hal stopped to consider if what he’d said was actually true. He was more likely to kill Cadrian than ever be intimate with her again. Zoria was back in the Upper Realm, and probably out of his life for good. And Laurel…
Why would Laurel even come to mind for this? She’s like a sister to me…
“You’re trying to reason your way out of something that we both know you want,” said Thirty. “I’m here. I’m willing. Why not give in to your urges for a few minutes?”
“Above all else?” Hal shrugged. “I don’t trust you. I would be an idiot if I did. Every slave entered in this sadistic competition is here because they committed a major offense. I think your strategy is to trick people into underestimating you. It’s smart, but I’m not going to fall for it.”
He sat down with his back against the cave wall, holding his knife across his lap. Thirty watched him for a minute before closing her tunic and sitting down on the other side of the cave.
“Fair enough,” she said. “I am willing if you change your mind. And since I found this cave first, I’m not about to surrender it to you. If you want me to leave, you can always threaten me out with your knife.”
Hal shook his head. He was tired, and decided that the presence of the girl might work to his advantage. He could get a few minutes of sleep, knowing that she wouldn’t try anything against him if he kept his knife close, and she would alert him if anyone showed up on the beach. He leaned his head back against the hard, cold stone, and closed his eyes.
CHAPTER 25
Hal was in pain when he woke up. He jerked, keeping a hold on the knife he’d fallen asleep with. She’d betrayed him, after all. Just as he’d known she was going to.
The pain came again, blunt and deep, as though someone was vibrating the inside of his bones and teeth. With his eyes open, he was aware of some of the crystals on his harness flaring in time with it.
Six hours… Has it been six hours already?
“We need to… move,” said Thirty. “Now!”
She stumbled to her feet next to Hal and let out a cry as she hurried out of the cave. He followed her, stopping to grimace in pain made it out onto the sand. Thirty was crying and trembling. Another pulse of pain went through them, and for a moment, they were both frozen in place.
Their only choice was to run up the beach. There was no way for them to make it toward the center of the island with the rock cliffs where they were. Hal tried to keep himself focused on running, taking long, even steps. Thirty was keeping pace with him, but each time the crystals brightened and the pain came, both of them were reduced to stumbling, shouting messes.
The reached a place where the cliffs sloped off, and Hal pulled Thirty along by the wrist as they charged into the jungle. The Event Master had said that the event area would close by one mile every six hours. They had to run one mile to escape the misery being subjected to them, if they could even manage it in time.
The first few minutes of the run were painful, but Hal and Thirty still managed good speed. Stealth was forgotten, both of them assuming that anyone else in the area would be too busy fleeing to safety to stop to engage with them.
Another pain pulse came. Hal stopped breathing as the sensation clawed at his insides. His throat felt dry. He was sweating from both exertion and out of pure panic. The pain pulses were coming faster now, and no sooner had he found his footing again did another one hit him, almost knocking him to his knees.
It was enough to knock Thirty down. She fell to the ground in a patch of mud and began seizing horribly. Hal gritted his teeth, pushing his own torturous circumstances aside and trying to help her back up. Her eyes were rolled up into the back of her head, and spittle and white foam coated her lips.
“Damn!” he shouted. “Thirty! Damn it!”
He let out a roar and heaved her over his shoulder, running forward as a second wind hit him. Each step was born from his will to survive, his
need to escape the pain. Another pulse came, and Hal screamed.
***
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been back within the event area for when he found the burned out hut. The pain pulses had stopped coming a minute or two back. He was still carrying Thirty’s body, and hadn’t yet taken the time to check and see if she was unconscious or dead.
That was just a taste of what’s to come. The next time, or the time after that, the pain will force me and the other slaves into close quarters.
Hal didn’t take much time to check that surrounding area before slipping into the hut and putting Thirty down. It was big, with multiple rooms inside, despite having been heavily damaged by a recent fire. It would give them cover, while simultaneously deterring other participants from investigating, given its condition.
But they could only stay there for six, or more accurately, five and half hours, at most. They’d have to move on, abandoning any safety they’d found. And the next time the event area shrank would be around nightfall, which posed more practical issues for them.
The girl. Is she even still alive?
Hal crouched down next to Thirty’s unmoving body. She was still breathing. Small trickles of blood were running from her nose and ears. Hal touched his fingers to the same spots on his head. The tips of them came back red.
He took a few minutes to rest, trying not to acknowledge the rage and fury burning in his chest at the indignity of it all. He left the hut, carefully exploring the nearby area. He still had some food in his pockets, apples and bread, and he munched on one of the former.
The jungle gave way to a hill to the north of them, in the direction of the island’s center. Hal took up a position at the edge of it, where he could see down across the open grass for a mile or so into the distance.
The landscape looked as though it had been perfectly tailored for the Dragongrounds event. The first area shrinking forced them into the jungle, while this one would force them out into the open, and the next after that putting them into the island’s center.
He made his way back to the burned out hut. Thirty was awake, and she looked cold. There wasn’t anything Hal could do about that, but he offered her an apple and some slightly crumpled bread out of his pockets.
“Thank you,” she said.
They sat in silence, despair hanging over them like a thick fog. Hal could manage to avoid feeling sorry for himself. He could hold onto the resolve he’d felt at the beginning, the knowledge of there being only one way forward for him. But that didn’t make the experience any less miserable.
“A soldier,” said Thirty.
“What?” Hal frowned at her.
“That’s what I would guess that you were,” she said. “It doesn’t quite fit, though. You don’t have any scars that I can really see on your face or hands.”
Hal didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to talk about this sort of thing. It was easier for him to keep pushing forward into the barbarism of the Dragongrounds if he didn’t stop to consider the fact that everyone else was just like him, with a past, with people who knew them back in the outside world.
A noise came from outside the hut, and both of them froze. Anyone who’d gotten that close to the hut would have heard the noise from them talking. There was no way for them to hide, even if they were in a place that most other participants would usually ignore.
Hal gripped his knife and stepped outside the hut. A group of three was on their way toward him, two men and a woman, the woman being the tallest of the bunch. Hal dropped into a fighting stance, waiting for them to come within killing distance.
They didn’t. They gave him a wide berth, moving slowly, as though Hal was a wild animal that might charge at any instant.
And how far is that from the truth, these days?
He exhaled as they disappeared into the distance, headed back into the hut, and collapsed onto the ground. For some reason, his teeth were chattering, and his hands were shaking. He took deep breaths, trying to get control of himself.
Thirty walked over to him and sat down in his lap. She stared at him, her face close to his. Hal didn’t let himself meet her eyes. She was warm and soft against him, just like Cadrian had been. Every ounce of logic and sense within him was screaming for him to push her away and grab the knife.
“I said no to this, already,” said Hal.
Thirty took his hand, which was still shaking from the last encounter, and set it on her breast.
“It’s to calm you down,” she whispered. “You won’t be able to fight effectively if you don’t find a way to. And I have a few ideas.”
She slowly rocked back and forth, grinding her petite body onto Hal’s crotch. It was like stepping into a hearth warmed room on a cold winter’s day. He felt arousal stirring within him, and rather than contrasting against the violence of the previous day, it blended with it. It was the natural way of things, fighting for survival, and mating for the future.
Hal let his hands settle on Thirty’s waist and slowly pulled her into him as he pushed his hips up. She set her hand on his cheek and gave him a quick kiss, followed by a much deeper one that made good use of her tongue.
She smiled at him, adjusting herself with exaggerated movements so she could reach a hand down to pet his hardness.
“It looks like there’s at least one part of you that’s willing,” she whispered.
Hal stared her in the eyes, still aware of the power dynamic between them.
“And are you willing?” he asked.
In answer, she took his hand and slid it down the front of her leggings. She was already wet and ready for him. Hal needed no further encouragement. He slid her leggings down as she did the same with his trousers. They stayed in the same position, with Hal sitting, and Thirty straddling him. She slowly lowered herself down onto his shaft, sighing as he slid halfway into her.
The crystal harnesses prevented either of them from completely undressing their upper bodies, but Hal didn’t mind. He pawed at Thirty’s tunic, pulling it open just far enough to let her breasts pop into view. It made them more enticing than they probably would have been normally, and he kissed one of her nipples.
Thirty slowly slid herself up and down, riding Hal’s shaft with calm movements. Hal gave her butt a soft squeeze, lifting his hips to push deeper into her. There was something timeless and eternal about the encounter. It was sex at its rawest, between two people in their most vulnerable states.
Hal leaned back, taking Thirty by the waist and slowly bouncing her against him. They were trying to stay quiet, for obvious reasons, and he saw her biting her lip in an attempt to keep soft, little moans from escaping her mouth.
He reached around and cradled her head, adjusting her position so she could bury her face in his shoulder, while he continued to bury his shaft as deep into her as it would go. She felt so frail and small on his lap, and it made him aware of his own strength. He lifted her and lowered her, using her body almost like a tool made for his pleasure.
A sound came from the jungle outside the hut. Thirty froze, as did Hal, after a moment of warring with his impulses. The two of them tried to stay perfectly still as they listened to the footsteps of someone passing nearby the hut.
This is exactly what I was worried about. I’m an idiot.
He leaned back slightly, glancing at Thirty. Her expression made her look drunk on pleasure, and she blushed slightly and smiled as she noticed him watching her. Gently, she rocked forward again with her hips, the movement slight enough to be silent, and made all the more pleasurable by its sensual slowness.
Hal kissed her again, his hand reaching for her breast. He could still hear the footsteps outside, but despite how easily they could mean his death, he found himself ignoring them. He wanted to flip Thirty underneath him and plow her senseless. He wanted to make her scream in ecstasy, heedless of who might be around to hear it. He wanted to be overheard, for the other participants to hear him taking a woman in the middle of a battlefield, confident of his own dominanc
e.
But if nothing else, Hal was practical. Thirty was getting into a slow, comfortable rhythm. He contented himself with giving her butt a rough squeeze and then locked eyes with her, the two of them entering their own little world of illicit pleasure and escapism.
The footsteps faded completely. Hal took Thirty by the waist and began bouncing her on his shaft, the strength of his arms and her slight weight making it easy. He moved her faster and faster, until the sound of her body against his was loud enough to make him concerned.
Thirty let out a breathless, excited moan and shivered against him, her body going as limp as it had been during their harrowed escape during the event area’s last shrinking. Hal cupped one of her breasts and squeezed her butt with his other hand, plunging himself as deep into her as he could go as the pleasure finally reached its conclusion.
He didn’t pull out, and he wasn’t sure whether it was from a lack of energy, or out of a cynical acknowledgment of their doomed circumstances. It didn’t matter if she got pregnant. One of them would be dead within the next twelve hours.
CHAPTER 26
At Hal’s insistence, they stayed in the burned out building for most of the next cycle. He watched the sun carefully as it sank over the horizon, knowing that he’d need to time their next move perfectly for it to be effective as a strategy.
They hadn’t run into anyone else during their desperate bid to escape the pain zone. Hal felt like it was safe to assume that most participants would move deeper into the island well ahead of the six-hour cutoff. Which meant that if they waited until the last possible minute before heading inland, they would likely run into less trouble on the way.
It also means that most of the good hiding spots will probably have already been taking.
He decided that he was alright with that. They were entering the stage of the game where hiding would no longer be an option. The men and women who Hal would be up against were the ones who’d been tough enough to survive up until that point of the game, and he’d have to just accept that they would need to die in order for him to survive.
Dawning Ceremony (Sexcraft Chronicles Book 3) Page 13
