Survivor Planet Series 2-Book Box Set (11 page)

Ayres jumped out, and the beast swung round to face him. They both stayed frozen in place, sizing each other up. The beast was the first to move. It growled, displaying all of its teeth, and bowed its head as though to charge. Ayres stood, feet braced wide apart, arms out in front of him, holding his scythe at an angle. When the Daeodon lunged, he was ready. They came together in a clash. Ayres held his ground at first, but moments later, he went down.

“Ayres!” I screamed, scrambling down from the tree. I paused on a lower branch to see what was happening. All I could see was the great beast lying atop Ayres, and one booted foot beneath the heap of fur and muscle. “Get off him!”

Further down I climbed and finally jumped to the ground, causing the animal's head to dart in my direction. Bent forward, keeping my arms wide to make myself appear larger, I walked toward the pair slowly. The beast shifted as I changed direction, circling behind them. The movement caused its body to lift slightly, giving Ayres a chance to slip out. It was all he needed. Suddenly, he was rolling away, weapon in hand, and while still in a crouched position, swung his weapon in an arc, making contact with the animal's leg. The beast howled in rage and swung back to Ayres. Ayres got to his feet, and I saw with relief he appeared unharmed.

“Come for me,” he taunted, not taking his eyes from his opponent.

But then, another sound from behind the pair caught my attention. A great crashing noise coming closer and closer soon revealed, to my horror, another beast approaching.

“Ayres! Behind you...” My cry got his attention. Instead of turning, he charged forward and sliced at the first beast with lightning fast blows, drawing blood and anguished screams. Once the animal lay at his feet, he spun round and faced his next opponent who stood only yards away, head ducked and pawing at the ground. This Daeodon, at least, was slightly smaller than the first. Probably a female, I surmised.

Ayres, despite the terrible battle, barely seemed to be breaking a sweat. I marveled at his strength and stamina. I myself would have been a quivering mass of tears, rocking back and forth by now.

The animal looked past Ayres toward me and then to its fallen mate, lying in a bloodied heap on the ground. It threw back its head and let loose a heart wrenching cry.

“Move on,” Ayres urged her. “There's been enough killing today.” His voice was gentle and I'm sure I detected a hint of regret.

The great beast shook its mighty head, snorted a few times, and then, to my amazement, turned and crashed away through the trees. Ayres watched it flee for several moments before he turned back toward his kill. His gaze flashed to me and the line of his mouth drew even grimmer.

“You should not have moved,” he said.

I didn't come toward him. I took a step back instead. “I was afraid for you.”

He stalked slowly forward, going around the carcass and came to a stop right in front of me. I had to tilt my head back to look into his eyes. They were cold. He reached out a hand and grabbed hold of the back of my braided hair, wrenching it tight. “Do not defy me again. All of this will have been for nothing if you foolishly disregard my warnings.” He gave me a bit of a shake and then pushed me from him, causing me to stumble. I steadied myself and watched him turn his back on me.

“Fuck you!”

He stopped and turned slowly back around. “What did you say to me, girl?”

Though I trembled in fear I held my ground. “If I hadn't distracted the beast you would probably still be lying beneath it. You should be
thanking
me, asshole.”

Stalking forward, he stopped before me once more and raised his hand as though to strike. I flinched, but remained still, facing him in defiance. He scared me, and yet, I knew he wouldn't hurt me. Not much anyway. He needed me alive for the game.

As though reading my mind, he lowered his hand. “I may need you now, but once the tournament is over, be assured I will punish you.”

“For what? Speaking my mind? Can't your tiny ego get over the fact that I helped save your ass?”
Damn my big mouth!

His hand flashed out and grabbed hold of my throat, just as that other giant had done to his woman when we arrived. His grip was tight, but not choking. “Remember that you rely on my good will for your survival.”

“As you rely on my survival for your brother's freedom,” I reminded him.

“That may be so. You had best pray to your god that we win. If we lose, I'll have no further use of you. Except perhaps to cater to my baser needs,” he said with a sneer.

Had I actually thought I was falling for this guy? Of all the arrogant, egotistical, self-serving jackasses I'd ever known or met, or seen on TV, he was by far the worst. “When we win, I expect you to keep up your end of the bargain. Freedom, and return to Earth, me
and
my friends. I have no use for you either.” A stupid, cursed tear slipped down my cheek.

Ayres let go of me and strode away, without another word, toward the Deaodon. He used his weapon to begin skinning it for its fur. Seeing the cold fury of my companion, I had a feeling I was gonna need that fur.

Ayres hadn't bothered to touch me when we lay down to sleep that night. He'd hung the furs he'd cut over branches and used some of the hide to wrap thick chunks of meat for us to cook along our frozen journey. By mid-morning, just as Ayres predicted, we entered into a snowy land and began the slow climb upward into the mountain. The higher we got, the more snow-covered and colder it became. We'd barely spoken a word to each other. I had no desire to say anything to him anyway. What a pompous ass, I thought, glaring daggers at his back.

The ever-present viewer bubbles floated around us. They'd been there yesterday when Ayres fought the beast. I suppose I should have noticed by the number of them that something big was going on. Ayres had probably noticed them as well. Maybe that's why he figured he didn't need my warning about another beast, or my distraction to free him from the first one. The bubbles didn't interfere, however, with anything we did. And if he thought a bunch of them would distract a Deaodon lying atop him, he was a fool as well as an ass.

Higher we climbed. The path we took was an easy incline, so I wasn't overtaxed. The snow was becoming a problem. Wind was stronger than it'd been below, and with it the heavy falling flakes obscured my view. Ayres walked ahead of me, but now I could barely see him. He slowed once in a while to allow me to catch up, but I could tell he was irritated having to wait. He paused at the top of a turn ahead, and once I was beside him he reached to pull the fur I clutched around my shoulders tighter. It was heavy and awkward to hold onto, the snow weighing it down even more. Thankfully, Ayres had the meat sacks slung over his shoulder so I didn't have that burden to bear.

“There are caves ahead. We'll shelter there for the night and have a fire and something to eat,” he said, speaking over my head.

“Good.” We hadn't eaten all day and I felt lightheaded.

We drudged onward for a long while before Ayres finally led us alongside a rocky area of the mountain. Once I was close enough I could see there was a low opening. He crouched and entered the mouth of the cave with me following close behind. Once inside, we could both stand up. I was surprised to see his scythe light up in the darkness like a torch. Ayres went to the center of the interior where a circle of rocks sat ready for a fire. How convenient. Since we were on the main trail it made sense that this cave would probably be one of many to have been used in the past by other contestants. Ayres tossed his fur over to the back wall and pulled off his scythe. He stuck it into the hard dirt floor so it stood upright like a lamp. From his pocket he produced an instrument to make fire. There wasn't much wood in the fire pit but I could see there was more against another wall. The cave was a good size. About twenty feet deep, fifteen feet wide, and I would guess about forty feet high—some parts appeared to go much higher than that.

I shivered, wrapped up in my fur, while he got the fire going. Seeing as he wasn't using it, I took a seat on his discarded fur and watched as he found a thin stick and speared a piece of meat onto it. He angled it over the fire, sticking one end in the dirt, and used other sticks to hold it up so it sat just over the flames. Then he went and grabbed more wood for the fire. All the while I sat there like a useless dolt. The silence was only interrupted by the sizzling of the fat from the meat as it dripped off into the flames. Exhausted, and mesmerized by the glow of the fire, I lay down and drifted off to sleep. I awoke later when I felt Ayres' booted foot tapping me on the ass.

“Time to eat,” he said.

I rubbed at my eyes and lumbered over to the fireside where he now sat. He handed me a piece of meat and I began to eat. There was a wooden bowl beside the fire that held water, probably melted snow. Ayres ate and then drank some of the water before passing it to me. I drank some and handed it back to him.

“That was good. Thanks,” I said.

He grunted in response.

“So, is this how it's gonna be between us now?” I demanded. “Look, I'm sorry I didn't follow your orders, captain, but I thought we were a team. You know, helping each other? I don't know what things are like on Calixtus, but on Earth women are quite capable of handling things. We're not all helpless little powder puffs.”

“Some of those women you speak of are taken for games on my planet. I'm well aware that many female Earthlings are quite capable.”

“But you don't put me in that category?” Hauled before their panel I'd been called helpless and pathetic.

“If you were, you would not be here,” he informed me.

“Ah, yes. You need weak crazy girls for you manly men to protect.”

“The implant caused the confusion,” he reminded me.

“So just weak then? Is that really the type of woman you like?” He seemed to like me just fine when he was fucking my brains out.

He shrugged.

“Well, I may not be big and strong, but I do have a brain in my head. I can help you if you'll just get over yourself.”

“We leave at first light. You'd best get some rest,” he said.

How infuriating he was! He didn't even consider me worthy enough to argue with. Once this stupid tournament was over, I hoped I never saw him again. I got to my feet and started toward the exit.

“Where are you going?” he demanded.

“I have to pee. I think I'm capable of doing at least that without your help or guidance,” I snapped.

Several feet later and a few turns around the rocky area, I found a place for privacy. Once finished, I brushed the snow off myself as I walked slowly back toward the cave. Viewer bubbles floated around. Since I only spotted two of them I wasn't concerned. But as I rounded the next corner, just before the cave, a flicker of multi-colored waves of light caught my attention.

“What the hell?”

Suddenly, right in front of me, a holographic image of the leader Baynar appeared. He stared at me with a patronizing leer.

“Well done, Amanda,” he said. “Be proud, you have come far.”

“Ah, thanks,” I said. At least he was impressed with me.

“Before you head back to Ayres, I want to speak with you alone.”

“Okay.”

“I have a deal to offer you,” he said.

“What kind of deal?” He gave me the creeps.

“I can arrange to get you out of there, right now. You never wanted any part of this anyway. I can have you and your friends returned to Earth. All you have to do is say the word.”

“I can go home? Leave...just like that? What about the tournament, and Ayres?”

He shrugged. “You don't owe him anything. Look at what he's done to you: implanting a device that made you appear insane; killed your family; took you from Earth against your will; subjected you to a life and death game. And all for what? To free his criminal brother? He's used you, Amanda.”

Most of what Baynar said was true. Yet, he was a part of it. It was how things were done on his planet. They'd been using Earth and humans for thousands of years for entertainment. No way did I buy that he was all of a sudden developing a conscience. “In the first place, Aunt Erin wasn't my family,” I informed him.

“But Ayres killed your uncle,” Baynar said.

“No. That woman killed him. Ayres told me,” I insisted.

“Oh, Ayres told you that, did he?” he chuckled a little, like I was an idiot.

“And second, how did you know what Ayres would ask as his boon? I thought it was private till the end.”

“His brother is set for execution. It's obvious he'll ask for his freedom.” He waved his hands around as though to dismiss my objections. “None of this concerns you. Ayres' problems are his own. You can be free, now. All you have to do is accept my help.”

Tempting as it sounded, I was no fool. I didn't trust this guy. Something about him made my skin crawl. What was up with his last ditch offer? This tournament was rigged. He would leave Ayres here to rot and execute his brother without a second thought. But since Baynar had approached me, I was worried. If I declined his offer, what would stop him from removing me from the game? He obviously wanted me out of the way.

“Thank you for the offer,” I said carefully. “But can I think about it?”

“What is there to think about?” he snapped. “I'm offering you freedom, foolish girl.”

“Oh, my God! Look at that!” I cried, pointing over Baynar's holographic shoulder.

“What? What is it?” Baynar swung round, but of course he couldn't see anything.

“Avalanche!” I yelled, and took off full speed toward the mouth of the cave.

Ayres stormed out of the cave just as I dived in. We bonked heads causing me to bounce back into the snow crying out in pain. He pulled me inside, then rushed out to look around.