Survivor Planet Series 2-Book Box Set (22 page)

"Humph, I guess things aren't all that different on Earth. Couples split up more often than stay together. Being a cop, you probably saw a lot of broken families."

"Yeah."

"What's the Academy? Is it like school?"

"In a way. Like Earth's boarding schools. No parents allowed, except for graduations and special occasions. And in addition to things like languages, math, and science, other skills are taught."

"Let me guess, the important things like how to master the games?"

He nodded. "After several years the children are placed in areas best suited for their natural skills, such as medicine, agriculture, politics, warriors, and much more."

I digested that information for a moment. Then I became curious again. "Were you on Earth long? And how'd you manage to become a cop? It's not like you had an identity."

"Over the past couple years I spent most of my time on Earth. Before I arrived I created an identity, complete with passport, birth certificate, and even photographs. It wasn't difficult."

I believed him. "Why a cop though?"

He grinned. "What better way to keep abreast of important events? It was the easiest way to keep an eye out for the Akkadians."

"Hence, you working on disappearances," I said.

"Yep." He got up and swept his gaze around the area, contemplating our direction. He reached down and offered me a hand, then pulled me to my feet. I rose slowly, coming up close against his body. We stood like that for a moment, our hands still joined, the only sound being our deep breaths. The smoldering heat I'd grown used to seeing returned to his gaze. His lips parted slightly as though he was about to speak, or kiss me, perhaps. I hoped for the latter. Almost as though possessing a mind of their own, my breasts pushed up hard against his chest, my nipples poking against him like tiny blunted daggers. I became aware of the beat of our hearts pounding in rhythm, joined by the quick shallow pants escaping our mouths. Would he kiss me now, I wondered? I hoped. Before he remembered my treachery and allowed his anger to override his ardor. I held my breath as his head dipped ever so slowly and his lips came, oh, so close to mine. Closer and closer...

Then a branch snapped behind us, causing us both to jump, breaking the spell.

"Let's go," he said. I nodded, swallowing down the lump that had suddenly formed in my throat. He turned around and began to walk, albeit rather stiffly. After watching his back for a moment, I followed.

We marched on through the day, stopping only for water, trips to the bushes, and to eat whatever fruit we came across on our journey. As night began to fall, we settled ourselves in a small clearing beside a rocky incline surrounded by a thick patch of brush and trees. I built us a fire pit by rolling some rocks into a circle, and then set to collecting firewood. Earlier, Aris had found some swinging vines, and as I worked on the fire pit, he fashioned a trap using some fruit as bait. Just as he knelt over the pit, using his star-thingy to make a fire, we heard a sharp little scream.

"Success!"

I cringed while Aris hurried off to check his trap.

He returned a short while later with the carcass of a sway, already skinned, the head and tail removed. He'd had the foresight to collect sharp stones to use as tools since we lacked even a knife. I kept my eyes diverted while he pushed a sharpened stick through the poor animal, and arranged it over the fire to cook.

Later, we split the roasted meat between us and washed it down with fresh water from a small, nearby steam. As the moons crested the sky, Aris leaned back against a tree and invited me to curl up with him for warmth. Both of us had donned our jackets, grateful for them now since the night had become cool.

Remembering our earlier encounter, I settled down between Aris' thighs with anticipation. With my head against his chest and his arms around me, I hoped to recreate the moment. Slowly, exhaustion began to overtake me, though I willed it to remain at bay. With the soft rhythmic strokes his hand made on my hair, I finally closed my eyes. Just before I fell asleep, I felt him kiss the top of my head. I cuddled closer to him and smiled. Despite our circumstances, for the first time that I could remember, I actually felt safe. The ever-present knot that plagued my belly for years, thanks to the Akkadians, had slowly loosened its grip and disappeared.

What kind of fool had I become to believe this to be the best day of my life?

Bird songs awoke me the next morning. Opening my eyes, I noticed I no longer rested between Aris' thighs. Instead of my head lying against his chest, it was pillowed on his leather jacket on the forest floor. Reaching my arms above my head, I stretched and yawned. As I rose to my feet I saw the fire had died down to glowing embers. Considering we'd soon be on our way, I didn't bother to stoke it. My companion was nowhere in sight, so I assumed he'd gone to the stream, or off for some privacy, or could possibly be looking for breakfast. The sway we'd eaten last night had tasted gamey, but good, since we'd both been starving.

I decided to head towards the stream after taking a moment behind a thick clump of bushes. Halfway there I could hear splashing and surmised Aris was either taking a bath, or fishing.

"What're you doing?" I asked him once I reached the bank. He was in the middle of the stream, shirtless and bent over, hands and forearms submerged.

"Shhh!"

Peering closer, I saw him holding his shirt under the water, probably as a makeshift net. I quietly took a seat and patiently waited, content to enjoy the sight of his damp rippling muscles. Several minutes later, he quickly pulled up his shirt and brought his arms together as he rushed towards the bank.

"Did you get something?" With effort I diverted my eyes from his chest. His shirt began to wiggle frantically so I surmised he had.

Moving further up the slight incline, lest his struggling catch slip away, he put down his shirt and slowly opened it. There within the folds lay a purple colored fish-like creature with a single big eye on top of its head. Its mouth opened and closed revealing tiny sharp teeth.

"Stay back," Aris told me.

"Why?" Just as I asked the question, two pairs of very short legs suddenly uncurled from the fish's belly. It rolled over and got to its feet. Glaring at Aris with its one eye, it hissed.

"Holy shit!" I sprang back and watched transfixed as the thing lunged. Aris must have known what to expect—he'd already grabbed up one of his sharp rocks and came down hard on the creature's head, bopping it in the eye. The sharp scream it made was abruptly cut off.

Aris, kneeling on the ground over the fish, peered up at me. "And
that
is why you don't go into the water without me. Understand?"

It was my first and only warning. I heeded it well.

"I'll stoke up the fire," I said, and rushed off. He joined me a few minutes later, the fish-creature, bundled in his shirt, lay in his arms. Like the sway, he cleaned and prepped his catch before shoving a spit down its centre and propping it up to cook. The flames were now high and licked at the creature like greedy little tongues. I'd removed my jacket upon returning to our campground, hanging it from a low branch which I'd already hung Aris' coat on after shaking it out. Aris hung up his shirt close to the fire to dry.

"Are you sure it's safe to eat?" I asked him, eyeing the fish's slowly charring purple skin.

"I've seen them eaten before," he answered. I knew he meant by studying the game. I guess it was a good thing he was such a fan.

Aris sat down on a flat rock by the fire to keep an eye on our breakfast, and I took a seat beside him. "Where to next?" I asked, watching mesmerized as a drop of sweat slowly trailed down his arm.

He tilted his head up to the sky. "See that star?" Though not as bright, many stars were still visible during the day.

"Yes." I nodded and tore my gaze away from his body. In vain, I tried to ignore the combined heat emanating from him and the flames. I could feel perspiration begin to bead on my forehead and between my breasts. Why was I suddenly so hot?

"We're following that."

"Any particular reason?" My tongue flicked out to lick my dry lips.

"It's the biggest and the easiest to follow. And it leads far away from where the game is played," he theorized, seeming completely oblivious to my discomfort.

I shook my head and concentrated on his words. What he said made sense. I knew for him it all came down to getting as far from the playing field as possible. At least now I had something to gauge our direction on instead of just following along blindly.

"I noticed the further we walk, the less I see the Seers." I allowed my sights to linger on him again.

"It's a good sign," he agreed.

"Don't you think others who were left behind may have moved off the course and settled down somewhere?"

"Yes. But I fear them less. The ones who stay by the course are looking for payback."

It seemed strange to hear such a huge guy talk about fear. We sat quietly and watched the juices drip off the fish and crackle in the flames. I thought about those contestants who'd been left behind. I wondered if they'd been able to start a new life here, just as past contestants had done on Earth so long ago.

"How long has Calixtus played the game on Taleon?"

He seemed to ponder my question for a moment before he answered. "For as long as I've known. I'd have to guess they moved the games here once Earth began to gain technology. Otherwise, we'd have been photographed or recorded and exposed. Probably just over a hundred Earth years, or so."

"Oh. You'd think there would be plenty of past contestants roaming around then. The ones that weren't killed off by stuff. Maybe we'll come across a little community?" Not that I was in a hurry to mingle or anything. I suppose the thing I sought was hope for a future.

"Don't get your hopes up. One of the reasons Taleon was chosen for the games was for its adverse conditions. It's a lot like Earth, but extremely volatile. Like I said, we don't want a repeat of what happened on Earth."

"We've been here a couple of days and it's been okay," I argued.

"Exactly. It lulls you into a false sense of security. Then...bam! Next thing you know you're in the middle of a windstorm, or hail, and flashes of lightning. Or earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides..."

"Okay, I get it."

"Trust me, I know because I've seen it. The tournament is played during the calmest season. The whole intrigue of the game is to watch the players battle the Varlings and each other. Roamyns don't tune in to see bad weather. But the calm season is the shortest one here. The rest of the seasons are pretty bad. The Seers tune in every once in a while to allow Calixtus to watch the fate of the losers. Many of them are killed before the next season."

I didn't bother to suggest hanging around the tournament area in the hopes the Seers would turn on. Aris would only argue that the threat of past players was too great a risk. "That was a pretty big swarm of Varlings we saw chasing your buddies. I guess the natives aren't as dumb as you think if they've survived this long."

"They've spent their lives here. Our kind is dropped down with only the clothes on their backs and a single weapon. They've not been trained from birth to smell a storm," Aris said somewhat defensively.

"Don't get your panties in a bunch. I'm merely suggesting that perhaps we could learn something from the Varlings. Do they speak?"

"They grunt. I've never heard them use words I can understand. They do seem to possess some intelligence."

Didn't sound promising.

The fish-creature was done cooking. Aris removed it from the fire and divvied it up. We ate in silence. The fish tasted good, if you could get past the slippery texture. Considering Aris' warnings, every sound I heard now put me on edge. How long could we hope to outrun the coming storms? Would we fare any better where we were headed? Or could we perhaps be strolling right into more dangerous ground?

The not knowing was the worst part.

The next four days were spent walking while it was light, only to find some kind of shelter during the evening to spend the night. We'd stripped naked on the afternoon of our third day, and then again two days later, to bathe and rinse out our clothing. I was beyond sick of my outfit. If I never saw it again as long as I lived I'd be fine with it. In fact, I'd indulged in daydreams of ripping off my clothes and throwing them into the fire, gleefully watching them burn to a crisp.

Waiting for our clothes to dry was tense...in more ways than one. First, we'd build up a fire by the bank of the spring or pond we used. Then we'd scrub out our clothes using sand and then bang them against rocks. After, we'd hang them up to dry near the fire while we bathed ourselves. Aris would wade in first, making sure no creepy creatures waited to grab us. After he deemed it safe—or made it safe by catching and killing whatever he found—I'd enter the water. It was hard not to check each other out. Remembering that enormous cock he had—which I'd much enjoyed—I couldn't help but keep an eye out for it. Aris would ultimately catch me staring and then he'd spring to life. Seeing the half smile on my face, I'd hoped he'd take the hint and make love to me again, but no. He'd dive beneath the surface and stay there till he got himself under control. I'm not sure if he still felt betrayed by my behavior when the Akkadians arrived on Earth, or if he suffered from guilt for getting us stranded here, but he refused any and all types of intimacy. Sure, at night he'd hold me to keep me warm and comfortable, giving me a chaste kiss on my head, but never more than that. No pinches, no love-smacks—nothing. And nothing I did would change his mind. For some reason he'd declared my body off limits. Damned if I knew why.

Although, I had to admit I did catch him staring at me every once in while. As soon as he noticed he'd been caught looking he would quickly avert his gaze. Not only did he steal hot glances at my ass and breasts, he also seemed enchanted by my hair and my face.

Later we'd cook and eat anything edible he did happen to find. I'd seen and devoured more than my share of weirdness; three-eyed turtle things that wore their hard shells on their bellies; bird-fish who swooped down on us while we bathed, only to dive beneath the surface and attack our toes. Those things, sporting furry fins and hard beaks, actually hummed. Pink eels over two feet long, with black sucker-cups on one end the size of my hand, were everywhere that water was. Snails every color of the rainbow, which I swear had human faces, were tasty, but heartbreaking to eat. When we weren't eating fishy things, we'd eat sways. I much preferred those. They were sweet little things, and I did feel guilty, but we had to survive.