Survival Island: Last Man Standing

by Anya Merchant

  “It’s small, but even a small island can have secrets.” Maggie motioned for him to follow, walking over to a small patch that she’d cleared of grass and topsoil.

  “I don’t see how this is going to work, without seeds,” he said.

  “Kale is adaptable,” said Maggie. “If we replant some of what I’ve been saving from each time I’ve foraged it, the remains should regrow into full plants.”

  She delicately pointed to one that she’d already set up. Cyrus crouched down to get a closer look, nodding appreciatively.

  “Nifty.”

  He spent a couple of minutes helping her with the little farm. The work he did was more intensive than he’d been expecting, and mostly involved digging through grass and dirt with flat rocks that served as makeshift shovels.

  “I was worried before about how in the world I could make a farm big enough to feed everyone,” said Maggie. “But… it’s just the four of us now.”

  Cyrus nodded, hearing the mixed emotions in her tone.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Maggie… I don’t know. Do you think I did the right thing by letting Peter leave?”

  It had been nagging at him since the moment Peter’s raft had disappeared over the horizon. They were weaker as a group of four, less capable of pulling their weight around to do the busywork of surviving. And there was a good chance that Peter wasn’t coming back, which meant that his best friend in the world, despite their recent troubles, wasn’t coming back.

  “Cyrus…” Maggie frowned at him. “It’s not as simple as right and wrong, anymore. Peter did what he thought was the right thing for him, and you respected him enough to let him.”

  “It’s suicide,” said Cyrus.

  “Imagine what would have happened if you’d forced him to stay,” said Maggie.

  “I could have… convinced him?” Cyrus doubted if he could have, even as he suggested it. Maggie shook her head.

  “Peter took a big risk for all of us,” she said. “He may very well find a ship, or be seen by a plane, or hell, reach Fiji. And then… we’d all get to go home. Well, most of us.”

  Darius… Things won’t just go back to normal.

  “You’re right,” said Cyrus, smiling at her. “Sorry. It’s been a long couple of days.”

  There was one more issue that Cyrus needed to address with Maggie, and he’d been half-hoping that she’d bring it up on her own. He went back to digging out soil for a minute, waiting and watching her out of the corner of his eye. She seemed to be watching him in much the same way.

  “Uh, Maggie…” he said. “About Amy…”

  Maggie smiled at him, wiping her soil covered hands off on the grass.

  “Cyrus,” she said. “I’ve calmed down a bit from when we first crashed down. Even from yesterday… enough to think about what we did.”

  “Maggie, there’s no playbook for this kind of situation.” Cyrus frowned and scratched his head. “I’m just bumbling forward, essentially. Trying to be everything to everyone.”

  “Cyrus, it’s okay. I get it. The two of you have history together.”

  “We…” He pointed to her and then to his chest. “…have history together, too.”

  Maggie laughed, as though she found what he’d said to be most amusing thing she’d encountered all day.

  “You’re Darius’s little brother, Cyrus,” she said, quietly. “We’ve always been friendly we’ve one another. And we’ve always been… respectful, to our circumstances.”

  Cyrus walked over to her, and Maggie extended her arms. He hugged her tightly, feeling her soft body push against him, her breasts moving loosely underneath her dress. She kissed him softly on the cheek, her lips hot and tempting. He wanted her, and felt his lower half casting an enthusiastic, hard vote, pressing itself into her stomach.

  “I’ll always be here for you if you need anything, Cyrus.”

  “There isn’t going to be room for everything,” said Darius. “It sucks, but it’s true. We’ll have to make two more trips.”

  Cyrus stood on the lawn of Darius’s old apartment, helping his brother pack the last of his belongings into the back of his beat up sedan. Maggie, Darius’s girlfriend, was there helping out. They’d done her moving the day before, packing away everything of hers and moving it to the new townhouse that she and Darius would soon be sharing.

  “Why didn’t you ask somebody with a truck to help, again?” asked Maggie.

  “I… thought it would be easier than this.” Darius grinned at her. “Anyway, we could also leave someone here and fill up the front passenger seat.”

  “Let’s fill that seat up, and then see if your brother and I can squeeze in back,” said Maggie. “It’s almost an hour to our new place. It would suck for one of us to have to wait behind, with literally nothing left for entertainment in your old apartment.”

  “I mean, I guess we can give it a try…” said Darius. “Does that work for you Cyrus?”

  Cyrus nodded. He always felt a little lost in his brother’s shadow whenever he was around him and Maggie together, or anyone else, for that matter. He picked up another box of Darius’s things and slid it into the front passenger seat, taking another one from Maggie as he turned.

  They managed to get everything that was left outside of a rickety dining room chair that Darius opted to toss in the trash. The back of the sedan, unfortunately, had only a very small space left to sit in. Cyrus squeezed in first, trying and failing to make space for Maggie.

  “We’re so close!” said Darius. “Maggie just… sit wherever.”

  Maggie flashed an awkward smile at Cyrus.

  “This is going to a really tight fit,” she said.

  “Darius, are you sure you don’t want me to drive?” asked Cyrus.

  “Unless you’ve learned how to handle a stick shift, that’s a no go, little bro.”

  Maggie was wearing a pink t-shirt and a loose black skirt. She shrugged and slid into the car, all but falling into Cyrus’s lap as she forced the door closed. Cyrus had just gotten done at the gym when Darius had stopped by to recruit him for the move, and still had on his thin training shorts, which did little to dampen the sensation of Maggie’s soft butt as she lowered herself down into a sitting position on top of him.

  “Definitely a tight fit,” she said. “Are you okay, Cyrus?”

  “I’m… fine.” He shifted a little, unsure of where to put his hands. “I mean, I can manage.”

  “Perfect!” Darius climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car. “I’ll try to drive fast so the two of you don’t have to suffer for too long.”

  “Be careful,” said Maggie. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

  She shifted in Cyrus’s lap, her butt sliding against his crotch as she tried to get a little more comfortable. Cyrus could feel every movement, right down to each breath she took. Her hair smelled of citrus shampoo, along with the perfect, indescribable scent of femininity.

  “You okay, Cyrus?” asked Maggie. Darius had turned on the radio, and between the music and the sound of the car, it was essentially just Cyrus and Maggie on their own for the ride.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” he said. “Are you comfortable?”

  “I might have to keep shifting,” she said, wiggling in his lap. “Sorry, it’s hard to stay comfortable.”

  “That’s… okay.” Cyrus cringed as he felt her movements, or more accurately, his body’s reaction to her movements. He’d found Maggie attractive since the first day they’d met, petite and pretty, with interesting curves in just the right places. It suddenly became clear to him that having her on his lap for the duration of an hour long drive would be heavenly torture.

  He tried to keep his mind in safe territory, running over the details of his math homework, thinking about sports, about working out at the gym. It all somehow led back to Maggie, her breasts and her butt, and how good it felt every time she wiggled on his cock.

  Cyrus managed to slow the rate of his arousal down, but he couldn’t stop it. His cock slo
wly got harder, and harder, pushing up against Maggie’s thighs. She didn’t seem to notice it at first, but then Darius hit a pot hole, bumping her into the air. When she sat back down, she immediately flinched, as though she’d sat on a heated rod.

  “Cyrus…” she whispered. “Are you… Is that…?”

  She couldn’t even say it, and as she turned to look over her shoulder at him, Cyrus saw the embarrassment in her expression, cheeks bright red. He felt like dying from shame, and couldn’t meet her eye for more than a second.

  “Sorry,” he said. “You just… feel really nice.”

  “I… do?” Maggie looked at him strangely, as though flattered and a little confused.

  “Sorry,” Cyrus repeated.

  Maggie hesitated for a second and then settled back down into his lap, shifting herself so that Cyrus’s erection slid flat under her butt and skirt. She shivered a little as it made contact, as though Cyrus’s arousal was infectious and had already begun to spread to her.

  “Just… breathe slow,” whispered Maggie. She set a hand on his thigh and slowly rubbed back and forth.

  “I don’t think that’s going to help,” said Cyrus.

  “How about this?” Maggie shifted, squeezing her buttocks together. Cyrus went wide eyed from how good it felt and almost gasped.

  “No…” he said. “Jesus, Maggie. That’s definitely not helping.”

  She frowned and rubbed his knee, which again, only made it worse. It didn’t seem like there was anything that Maggie could do for him, other than get off his lap, or…

  Cyrus didn’t let himself finish that thought. Several silent minutes went by, the tension in the air so thick as to almost be suffocating. He felt Maggie’s breathing slowly hasten. She was still shifting in his lap, leaning from one buttock to the other, sometimes sliding forward and essentially caressing his cock through their clothes. It was torture. It felt incredible.

  “You guys okay back there?” Darius lowered the stereo’s volume to ask the question.

  “We’re… hanging in there,” answered Maggie. Her voice sounded labored, as though it was an effort for her to do anything other than try to ignore Cyrus’s hard, insistent cock, grinding against her skirt and panties and knocking on the door of temptation.

  “Well, keep it up,” said Darius. “They’re doing construction for the next couple of miles. It’s going to be pretty bumpy.”

  No sooner than he’d finished speaking did the sedan shift over a pothole, and then another, and then several quick bumps. The road became even rougher. Maggie was bouncing up off Cyrus. He had to grip her by the waist just to keep her in one place, holding her butt and crotch tight against his hardness.

  It was as though the road itself was conspiring against them, doing everything it could to intensify the arousal torture both Maggie and Cyrus were enduring. Maggie had to open her legs a little wider to stay balanced, letting Cyrus’s cock push even deeper into dangerous territory.

  Cyrus kept her held tight against him, but the movements of the car made it feel as though he was trying to dry hump her each time they went over a bump. If it wasn’t for the thin layers of clothes between them, he was sure that his cock would have found its way inside her, just based off the number of times she bounced off his lap and had to wiggle back into place.

  “How much further?” asked Maggie, shouting to be heard over the music.

  “It’s going to be a while,” said Darius. “Looks like there’s a detour.”

  Maggie arched her back and shifted, pushing herself in close to Cyrus and tightening her thighs around his cock. She wiggled, not back and forth to stay in one place, but up and down, moving intentionally with each bounce.

  “Cyrus…” she whispered. “This is… dangerous.”

  “It’s okay,” said Cyrus. “We’ll… we’ll be there soon.”

  Maggie leaned her head back, her hair rubbing into Cyrus’s face. She squeezed her thighs tighter and took hold of his legs, using him for leverage as the bouncing continued to grind them together.

  Cyrus had been letting his fingers wander along Maggie’s waist, and now up her stomach, almost to her breasts. His mind was a cloud of lustful fog. She was his brother’s girlfriend, and that only made it worse, each of Maggie’s movements amplified by the illicit, unplanned nature of what was happening. He was close to cumming in his shorts, and from the way Maggie was breathing, she was close to her own release.

  His body was moving now, doing things that went beyond appropriate. He was pushing up into Maggie. He had one hand on her upper thigh, the finger poking and prodding into her most sensitive territory. She was wiggling and breathing fast, grinding herself into him.

  “Cyrus!” Maggie hissed. “I… I can’t…”

  She tried to slide up and off of him, but another bump stole her balance out from underneath her. Maggie landed at what would have been the perfect angle, if they’d been different people in a different situation.

  Cyrus’s rock hard rod pushed in between her thighs and against her pussy, sliding as far into it as their thin clothing would allow before pulling taut. It was probably less than an inch of penetration, hampered by his shorts and her panties, but it came at exactly the wrong time.

  Maggie’s entire body tensed up in release at the same moment Cyrus felt himself pass over the line. She was shivering, biting her lip to keep from crying out. For an instant, he thought he’d be able to pull back and calm himself down, now that Maggie had gotten off and could come back to her senses.

  She wiggled again. Cyrus’s cock was still right there, tapping on her hot little hole. He pulled her tight against him and felt pleasure and shame rush over him in a wave as he blew his load in his shorts. He held Maggie tight, as though she could be a shield against the reality of what had just happened.

  “Ugh,” said Darius, from up front. “It’s getting a little muggy in here. I’m going to roll down some windows.”

  Maggie reached her hand down and squeezed Cyrus’s hand, looking ahead and not turning to face him. Minutes passed by, with neither of them saying anything. Finally, the awkwardness became too much for him to handle.

  “Sorry,” he whispered.

  “It’s not your fault,” she said. “It was just an accident. It’s not like either of us meant for it to happen.”

  “Still,” said Cyrus. “Is this going to make things weird between us?”

  Maggie finally glanced over her shoulder at him, a smirk on her face.

  “That’s up to you,” she said.

  Cyrus helped Maggie with her farm for another hour or so, the two of them enjoying each other’s company in comfortable silence. Shadow had apparently followed them out, and made a show of rolling in the fresh soil before licking himself.

  “I should probably keep moving,” he said, finally. “Make sure Amy and Kyoko don’t need anything.”

  Maggie nodded and smiled affectionately at him.

  “You’re essential to this group, you know, Cyrus,” she said. “I’m proud of the way you’ve been taking charge, I really am. Darius would have been, too. Just keep doing your best.”

  Her words had such feeling in them that for a moment, he couldn’t think of what to say. He desperately missed his brother, and Maggie’s praise in his absence was doubly powerful. Cyrus managed a slow nod before turning and heading back into the jungle, not wanting her to see his misty eyes.

  CHAPTER 24

  He walked back to the lake slowly and then headed off around the rock mound, toward the east, where Maggie had told him earlier that Amy was trying to fish. It wasn’t hard to find the trail that she’d made on her way through the bushes, and Cyrus heard the sound of her attempt before he actually broke back out onto the beach.

  “Damn it!” shouted Amy. “Take the bait already, you stupid little fish!”

  “Sounds like it’s going pretty well.” Cyrus grinned at her as he came out onto the beach and saw her standing in the shallows.

  Amy had ditched her t-shirt and jean
shorts, leaving her wearing only her tiny bikini. She turned and glared at him, pulling in the jungle vine she’d been using as a fishing line and setting it down on the sand.

  “It’s way harder than it looks!” she said. “And it’s not like I have the best equipment to work with!”

  “Also, you’re a girl,” said Cyrus. “Girl’s aren’t supposed to be good a fishing.”

  Amy’s face shifted into a “I can’t believe you just said that” expression, right up until Cyrus walked over and poked his finger into her cheek.

  “I’m joking, relax.” He shrugged, still grinning. “Let me give it a try.”

  Amy folded her arms and watched him with skepticism, as though expecting it to be the setup for more teasing at her expense. Cyrus picked up one of the thin, loopy green vines she had laying around and gave it a pull, testing to see how much weight it could support. The fibers were strong, but obvious, easy for a fish to spot against the water.

  “Maybe try splitting it down the top?” he suggested, pulling the vine into two equal halves from the end. “There. You might not be able to reel in a shark with that, but at least it won’t be so visible.”

  “I’ll try it,” she said. “But I doubt it’s going to change much.”

  She turned and looked out at the ocean, her mouth turning down into a serious frown.

  “I feel like I’m learning this from square one,” she said. “And no, it has nothing to do with the fact that I’m a girl!”

  “I already said I was joking,” said Cyrus. Amy rolled her eyes at him.

  “It’s like… this is the kind of thing that people just don’t know how to do, in the modern world,” said Amy. “I don’t even know if using fish as bait to catch other fish will even work.”

  Cyrus moved in closer to her and put an arm around her shoulders.

  “None of us know any of this,” he said. “We’re all just doing our best. Here, let’s both give it a try for a while. That way, at least we can be frustrated together.”

  Amy smiled a little at that. She picked up her vine line and double checked the fishbone hanging from the end, which had a small scrap of fish skin hanging from it.