The Games

[Prince_Truhan]

He bit his retort to the manipulating part and focused on the lesson, he was very disappointed at her lack of aim, but with her rising frustration he didn't say a thing and just tried to coach her.

What he certainly didn't expect was the knife thing, he had been sure the previous death was out of panic and sheer luck, but counting the last one she had been lucky three times.

"Were you in a circus or something?" he asked when she came back "I'm sure we can manage that with some flat rocks, how carefully do you think you can aim that? it's much more silent than a gun and can be very useful."

He heard some noises outside, so he made a sign for her to keep quiet. "Looks like we'll get to find out"

He pointed to some rock protuberances where they could take cover, probably part of the explanation of why the band that was there before lasted so long without moving.

Someone made its way into the cave, he heard voices, they were at least 3 and one was a woman. Matt cussed to himself as he heard them, the noises had led them to the vicinity but it was the smell of the food that lead them to the cave.

Looking at Neri to see if she was calm he readied his weapon.

 

[La_Reina]

Neri laughed. "No. I wasn't raised in a circus. I've always been good with throwing things." She thought of throwing pillows, socks, clothes at her siblings. She shrugged she wasn't sure how good she could be with a knife, but knew that with focus she was able to at least hit a tree 20 feet away. Could she do better? She didn't know.

And it turned out she was going to be put to the test before she could study for it. She instantly shutted the fuck up and when he pointed she moved. He hadn't lasted this long without some knowledge. She heard the noises too and when Matt picked up his gun Neri went to pick up hers... except she had left it on the cave floor. She gave a small look of 'OH FUCK!' At least she still had two knives, but what good would that do?

 

[Prince_Truhan]

Matt was assessing the situation quickly, he silently cussed when he heard them pick up the gun Neri had left behind, specially because he couldn't recall how many bullets were in it. This doubt was put at ease when they checked and mentioned something about 4 bullets, at least he knew.

They were talking so unless some were unnaturally silent they were dealing with three, a woman and two men, he assumed they were all armed and recounted his assets. He had his gun, he could try to jump and take them out by surprise but them being three odds were very stacked against him. Neri had two knives, she wouldn't be as fast with those as an aimed gun, but if she could repeat her trick maybe she could take out one to give them an edge.

They were walking to the back of the cave, all together, he mouthed instructions to Neri to take out whoever was on the left after he shot... but he had no clue how much she could get across the cave.

Eventually he had no more time to waste, if he waited longer they would discover them both and it would be the end of them. He ran through the cave starting from the one in the right side.

Matt shot 4 times, 2 at the one on the right, 2 at the woman in the middle, they shot back of course, and their aim didn't suck because he had a sharp pain on his left shoulder. He aimed ready to take another pass at them as he tried to figure if he had gotten any of them.

Hoping Neri didn't hesitate in her backup he went back out.

 

[La_Reina]

Neri wasn't understanding anything except that people were around them and there were more of them than her and they had her gun. She heard them moving and she looked to Matt for instructions. He was mouthing something to her and she wasn't sure what he was saying. She tried to give him a hint that she wasn't understanding a thing he was trying to tell her. Were they going to make a run for it? Gawd she hoped so.

Matt got up and Neri was ready to follow behind him, but he moved towards the cave and shot. Neri could only stare at him in bewilderment. Really? Was that his Master plan? He came back and Neri pointed at his shoulder. He was shot! He nodded at her and stood up. Good, now they were going to leave, right?

Neri had a feeling that this wasn't his idea. She took out her knives this time and stood up. Yup, she was right he was going back in. Okay, now or never. There were gun fire and Neri ducked back down. How the fuck was she supposed to do this with people shooting at her? She saw Matt fire and she stood up again, there was someone just in the dim light, she took aim as though they were a tree, breathe, and threw the knife. It sunk in deep and she heard a scream.

 

[Prince_Truhan]

This time it seemed like Neri was going to do something, they had been lucky, 2 of them were down after the first shot of his second exit. He was about to shoot the remaining foe when he screamed and fell down.

Matt wasn't sure if he could have killed him before he shot, so he had to thank Neri for that, so far she had gotten him fresh meat and was acceptable backup, she could improve but it worked well so far.

Only then he looked at his shoulder, it was bloody, but it wasn't terrible, the bullet wasn't in his body it had just made a nasty scratch.

"Get their guns, we better get out of here" He said as he was clumsily cleaning the wound, trying to make a makeshift bandage until they were in a place less likely to be swamped.

"Good shot by the way"

 

[La_Reina]

Neri was shaking with adrenaline. It was over and now that she wasn't fighting she was struggling to control her hands. She was still trying to get used to killing the first guy and now she had killed another. She had killed 2 people in as many days. Neri was staring at the dead bodies not noticing what Matt was doing until he told her to move.

Neri shook her head trying to clear her stupor and she went to the bodies. She collected their weapons, the nuts they had on them for food, another flask of water, and her knife. She wiped it clean on the man's shirt before retrieving the rest of their items and going back to Matt. She didn't hear the compliment Matt paid her with the blood rushing to her ears.

"Tell me you have another place we can camp at and get you cleaned up?"

 

[Prince_Truhan]

Matt ignored her dazed state, it was a pointless one, she had killed twice she would get used to it soon enough, it happened to everyone, the ones that lived long enough that is.

"Yes, but we better get moving, a bigger group might be getting here, this people were pretty well supplied." He grunted softly as he pressed harder on his wound "I wish alcohol was easier to come by in this place"

He started walking slowly, staying put whenever he heard a sound, they weren't in a situation to have another confrontation, maybe they could pick an easy kill if a newbie wandered their way.

The other place was far away, unlike the cave it wasn't an outpost in the middle of traffic, but near the mountain which ironically Neri had wanted him to climb for the orchid.

After a short walk the forest got thicker "Step where I step around here, the wannabe boy scouts littered this place with traps, it's better if only one of us risks setting them off"

 

[La_Reina]

Neri nodded. Not at the alcohol comment or at them moving. She did it because it seemed like the right thing to do at the moment and she didn't want to speak anymore. The first time she killed it was an accident. She could make that point, but this time... this time she had aimed and threw. She hadn't meant to kill. She had meant to injure, but wasn't that the point of this place. To kill. To survive. To live.

They walked slow as Neri went deeper and deeper into herself. She blamed everything except her family for what was happening here. Neri wasn't listening until Matt stopped and spoke to her. She blinked as if she was waking from sleep. Slowly his words made sense and she followed his footsteps. She made sure to be 3 steps behind him incase he did set off a mine or trap. She didn't want to get blown up or pulled into the trap with him.

 

[Prince_Truhan]

She kept silent and it didn't bother him, her lack of attention didn't sit well with him but at his warning she started to look, all that he asked was that she didn't cause trouble or got their attention.

He had already traversed this area, so he had an idea of the kind of tricks that were around, he walked slowly and firmly paying very close attention to the floor.

The makeup bandage he placed on his arms was very red now and he felt a sharp pain whenever he moved he moved his left arm. He didn't complain however, the best thing they could do was get to the other hideout, it couldn't be called a safe-house, and there clean up properly. Specially if that group had any friends stupid enough to hope for revenge, or greedy enough to want their weapons back.

After a couple of hours of walking the mountain was in sight, so they weren't that far, Matt thought about how lucky they had been to not run into anyone, and instantly cursed himself and his luck when he heard a loud scream. He grabbed Neri quickly and pulled her to a big tree.

"A bunch of them are going to show up, they torture whoever falls in their traps. We could take one or two scouts, but not a big group."

The tree bark had a dent in which they could barely fit if they were to keep out of sight, just one of them would have had a very comfortable hiding spot, but they had no other choice.

"Wait until I tell you" he whispered only then realizing how close they were, they were standing right in front of each other, their bodies not pressed together but still touching, and their faces were only inches away. "have your knife ready", he added not wanting to acknowledge that he was feeling the warmth of her body "we can't risk shooting unless we are ready to run like hell"

A few minutes after that, they started to hear steps going to the direction of the scream, and short minutes after that new and louder screams started.

 

[La_Reina]

They walked and walked and walked. Neri was tired and wanted to ask for a rest, but she wasn't sure if they were out of Boom Country yet. She had nicknamed the place along with a few other names that were make her brother and sister red with embarrassment and shock had they heard her mumble the words that were floating in her head. The scream had Neri jumping and she grabbed Matt out of fright. He instantly pushed her into a big tree. Into? Neri looked around and sure enough there was a huge hole in the tree that she barely fit into much less the two of them.

Neri was going to ask what the fuck was happening, but he was answering for her and her eyes got bigger and bigger the more he spoke. "Why the hell did you bring us this way," neri hissed seeing her own torture before her eyes.

Neri nodded and reached for her knives and grasped one. She made sure the others were close at hand. She took a deep breath and felt a small calm come over her. She was ready. That was until she heard the screams. Dear Gods she couldn't do this. The screaming was terrible and she covered her ears and buried her face in Matt's chest. She was going to lose her mind. She was going to start screaming too. This was worse. Hearing, but not seeing. Dear Gods what if that was them? What if they were closing in on them now? She couldn't live through those screams.

"We need to go," Neri said a little too loudly; a bit on the hysterical side. She started pushing Matt. "We need to go. Move. We need to move Now!"

 

[Prince_Truhan]

The screams bothered Matt alot too, but he was used to this kind of thing, some people were screwed up before they got to the island, some people lost while there. It made him cynical, but it allowed him to endure this kind of thing.

What he hadn't considered was how Neri would react, he bothered to school her on some mechanics, but she wasn't ready to hear someone being tortured to death without reacting.

He could have covered her mouth to keep her silent, but that would have made her struggle worse, he had to try to reason with her.

He grabbed her face by the cheeks, making her look into his eyes as she was pushing him. He tried to make her focus on nothing but him.

"We can't go Neri" he said as calmly and determined as possible "they will hunt and most likely catch us, we need to stay silent. I know it's rough but try to block out the screams, if we act rashly those could be us"

He moved his hands from her cheeks to her ears covering them so he could help block the noise. He also knew he had to keep her quiet, so he decided to risk her getting mad at him, and pulled her head towards his and placed his lips on top of hers. He had to get her mind somewhere else and this should work. He only hoped her retaliation wouldn't be hitting his hurt shoulder.

 

[La_Reina]

Neri couldn't stand it. The screams were getting louder. They were coming for them. They were going to get them if they didn't move. Why didn't Matt understand that? They had to leave now. They had to. His hands were on her face holding her. He gave a gentle shake and she stared at him trying to see him and past the visions of her own tortured death. Neri nodded even as her mouth was moving to tell him to move so they could flee and escape. She blinked and she saw herself being hacked with a knife much like her own or worse her skin being peeled slowly away or...

Neri felt Matt's hands on her ears and it helped some. She could think a bit better, but she could still hear the horrid screams. She looked at him at the silence, but then there was a particular loud scream and Neri was struggling again to be free. They were going to be found. She tried to say as much and hadn't realized she was starting to scream as well.

The kiss instantly silenced her. She was shocked not because he was kissing her, but because the blood rushed through her and she couldn't hear the screams anymore. Neri threw her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She leaned back pressing her body into his only hearing her own moans now and not the screams. She pressed his palm into her breast and squeezed his hand. Her eyes rolled back as she moaned into his mouth hearing nothing but her breathing, her blood coursing through her body, and blessedly nothing else.

 

[Prince_Truhan]

He expected her to react, but not like this, even if deep inside he hoped for this kind of reaction. As she kissed him back he too got lost in the kiss and deepened it, her body against him instantly making his own react, and when she placed his hand on her breast he not only squeezed with her but also pressed harder so she could feel the hardness she had caused.

He did not care about the screams anymore, that poor person whoever it was, was as good as dead, he and Neri were alive. When she moaned he moaned as well almost as in response.

His other hand that was still on her ear moved to the back of her neck and pulled on her to deepen the kiss. The one on her breast kept squeezing and exploring it, taking in the shape and it's softness, feeling for her nipple through the clothes.

The screams, the torture, the island, even his aching should were out of Matt's mind, they would come back, but not while this lasted.

 

[La_Reina]

Neri was well aware what was going on. She wanted to fuck. Oh that wasn't supposed to be in her mind. Hell, she hadn't gotten laid in over a year. With family to tend too and working night and day it had been a quick desperation fuck that she had regretted almost as soon as it started. But this. This was liquid fire coursing through her. This was hot and heavy and forbidden. This was so bad. Matt was a killer. She had seen him on tv, hell she knew this up close and personal. She shouldn't be with a man like this, but than again so was she, right? She had killed. She was just as bad and he felt good. So strong, so masculine, so hard. Hard?

Neri pulled back slightly and could feel the bulge in his pants and it was big. She felt her body answer in response and that's when she realized. There were no more screams. Neri pulled back more stopping Matt and herself. She listened and yup the screams had stopped. "Matt," she whispered. "What do we do now?"

She wiped at her mouth and tried to straighten her clothes. She wondered what the cameras had caught or edited. She was sure they were probably making it seem like they were deranged and had made out to blood and screams and death. Exciting derange tv. "I guess that means you won the bet." She gently pried Matt's hand from her bosom and if she could have backed up anymore she would have.

"Can we leave now?"

 

[Prince_Truhan]

Only when she pulled back and spoke did he realize that the screams had stopped, he allowed her to remove his hand, the moment was over when survival instinct came back in. He wanted her so badly now, he could keep the cool and collected front, but in truth sex wasn't something that happened often in the island, with all the betraying going on it was weird to trust in someone for more than one night.

"I don't think I won" he said with a smirk "I started the kiss, you can still claim innocence" then his shoulder reminded him why they were in a hurry, the pain was intense enough to make him grimace.

"Yes, we should go. We are not that far"

He came out of the tree first, moving slowly and paying close attention to any kind of noise, since everything was quiet enough he signaled Neri to come out. Even if a little slower they resumed their way.

Rather quickly, it took them about an hour, they got to the place he was looking for, it was a small cave and Matt had hidden some stuff in there, only things he could spare and would be useful if he needed them, like something to sleep on.

"It's safe in here, nobody dares come this way because of the crazy people, and they have their own settlement, technically we are trespassing, but they don't search for unwanted tenants."

As he spoke he removed his shirt, hissing softly when it came to manipulating his shoulder. He got some water and started to clean it.

"We aren't doing great in food, hunting here is not an option they might find us. So at the latest we need get out of here in two days" he secretly hoped they would get more food from her brother or from some fan, but he knew that if he mentioned it out loud it would dampen their chances of getting anything.

 

[La_Reina]

Neri smiled as he still tried to play the game. She smiled briefly at the sky hoping the camera caught her thinking look. "Maybe." So the game was back on. The betting resuming hopefully with a bigger percentage now and hopefully they'll get some more gifts soon. She was happy when he said they could move, but as soon as she was from the shelter of the tree she was scared shit less. It seemed to take too long to reach safety and every small crack or noise made her jump. She almost lost a knife more than once. Her nerves were shot.

Finally they were in a cave and she crawled to the back where it was warm and actually had a small spring. Big enough to fit 3 people. She was staring at it wondering if she could take a bath when she heard him grimace. She immediately went back to him and started helping him with his shoulder. She didn't know what to do and it looked like the bleeding had clot and stopped. "So you're sure we're safe here, right?"

She glanced tentatively at the cave entrance before pulling him back towards the small spring. She started scooping water onto the wound. "What else do you have here?" It was darker in the back and her eyes hadn't fully adjusted. She kept eyeing the spring with longing. The water was cool, but it seemed to come from the back and then flush out the side somewhere. She hated to think it, but it seemed it was a bath, toilet, and drinking water all in one spot. You just had to wait for the bad water to be flushed out the side and the fresh water to come in.

 

[Prince_Truhan]

"Thank you" he said when she started to help him, while it hurt the injury didn't look bad so it should heal fast.

"This is probably one of the safest places in the island, the dangerous part is getting out and getting here. I had to bring us here with the injury and our place to sleep probably overrun this was our best bet."

He noticed how she was studying the spring, he knew what it was, he had been craving to get clean too.

"The best feature is the water, it's not easy to take baths around here. We have better places to sleep than in the other cave, this ones aren't made to be moved around."

He walked around. "You have the makeshift table" he pulled something from behind it "oh and this" it was a roughly made chess set "the old man that showed us this place had decided to just live here as long as he could, not caring about the points, he didn't like to get bored."

"It's not much, but it's better than your average stay around here."

 

[La_Reina]

"Welcome," Neri said absently as she stared around trying again not to focus on the water. "Safest, right," she snorted still hearing the screams. She shut her eyes tightly and counted to 10 before the screams had stopped and she could focus on Matt. "Will we hear those screams from here?" She turned, facing him, wanting to know the truth.

She smiled when he brought the subject back to the water. Oh how she loved baths back home. And he said they would actually have beds here. Neri glanced back into the cave, but couldn't see in the dark. At least if anyone was in the mouth of the cave and looked back they wouldn't see anything. She knew that if you were in the back of the cave and looking out you would see someone standing there better than someone trying to peer into the darkness.

Matt walked and Neri followed as he pointed out a few things. It almost looked cozy and like they were at home. Neri had never played chess, but hell it was better than killing. "We have a little bit of food left. How about you take a bath and clean that wound properly and I'll roast the little bit left we have for a meal."

 

[Prince_Truhan]

"Probably not... there is very little chance they catch anyone else, you have to be crazy or very clueless to come this way." He stopped there, knowing what it said about him, Neri couldn't be blamed, he had lead her all the way here.

She seemed glad with the things that were in the cave, that was good since they needed to make the most of their time here. He smiled at her offer.

"Thank you" he said "I think there is a lighter around there" he said pointing, "not sure if it still has fluid though, we can light a fire in there, the bends will keep us hidden."

With that he went to water, he took his clothes off slowly, mostly because of the injury in his shoulder. Once he was naked he slid into the water, feeling very well thanks to its freshness, the cold of it was a little uncomfortable but it helped numb the pain of his shoulder. As Neri was busy he slowly cleaned himself, something he hadn't done in a long time.

 

[La_Reina]

Neri nodded not realizing she was nodding over and over as he stated that that was probably the last victim she'll ever hear scream. Unless, of course, they got caught. She slowly made her way into the darkness hoping her eyes would adjust enough so she could see. She hadn't thought about the light being spotted, but he had an reassured her that the bends would stop the light from getting past the mouth of the cave.

Neri found the lighter and there was just a bit of fluid. She started a fire quick enough and started roasting beans. There was a small strip of meat and that was it until morning. She was slowly stirring the pot and had went to tell Matt that the food was done when she stopped.

She realized he couldn't see her from this angle and she hadn't meant to be spying. She hadn't seen a naked man in a long long time. His arm was messed up, but everything else was perfect. Aside from the scars. He was very much a man and Neri thought about the kiss in the tree. How he felt, tasted, and the way his hands was on her body. She moaned and saw him jerk. She cleared her throat to mask the moan and stepped into view.

She blushed and turned as if this was the first she saw him. "Sorry. Food's ready. I ... Sorry. I'll just leave your's in the pot to simmer. Come out whenever you're ready."

 

[Prince_Truhan]

He turned when he heard her, she apologized probably not expecting to find him naked, he nearly smiled at her reaction.

"Don't apologize, it's not like you have a door you can knock on around here, I'll be right there"

Then he thought of something else "Actually can you toss me another shirt, since I'm clean I want to change, and I need to get rid of the blood in the other one."

The request wasn't exactly innocent, he just wanted her to stay around longer, he enjoyed not letting her just escape back into the cave and away from him.

 

[La_Reina]

"That's true, but I should have made a noise or comment or something." Neri was turning away once more, but his words stopped her again and she looked around. "Sure thing." Neri had to rifle through a few things before she found a shirt and pants. She brought them both just incase he wanted that as well.

As she approached the sky was darkening, but there was enough light for her to a blurry image of him through the water. She felt her cheeks reddening as she tried very hard to look at his face. "Um, I'll put these here." She placed the clothes near the ledge. Close enough for him to reach them, but not close enough for them to get splashed with water. As she bent down her eyes were glued to the water and she cursed herself for trying to look. As she stood her eyes were closed and she was berating herself.

"I already ate and will be going to bed. So if you need anything ..." she trailed off and turned around.

 

[Prince_Truhan]

He didn't answer to her further apology, he just thanked her for bringing him his clothes, and he fought a smile when she blushed. He wouldn't put their survival in jeopardy by making things hard between them, but he wanted her badly, so he was glad she wanted him too. He secretly wondered if she had ever found him attractive back when she wasn't in the island.

"I'm going to eat now, you should clean yourself before bed, you just arrived here, but a bath is something you will miss alot soon, you should take advantage while we are here."

Unable to contain himself he added "I promise I won't peek"

After that he stepped out of the water and dried himself with the clothes he was wearing earlier, he put on the clean ones feeling cold but refreshed. He went to eat before it got cold, warm food was also rare.

He had been having it very well since Neri showed up, with the exception of his shoulder but that came with life in the island, as he ate his thoughts drifted from that and he wondered what would have happened if he had tried to convince her to get into the water with him.

 

[La_Reina]

Neri stared at him wondering if she smelled bad at his instance for a bath. She was hoping he was just trying to get her to enjoy this small little luxury before it was over. She wasn't sure. What she was sure of was that she couldn't wait to get into that water and relax. She gave a small chuckle when he promised not to peek.

She couldn't say the same as he stepped out. She tried to turn around, but not before she saw EVERYTHING! Oh, man. She did not know that. She gulped as she wasn't sure what to do. Should she go? Stay? Start getting undressed? She stood there so long deciding that Matt was dressed and brushing past her towards the food before she had made up her mind on what to do.

Neri quickly pulled off her clothes and stepped into the water. It was cold, but welcomed. She sank in and bent her knees so the water went all the way to her neck. She closed her eyes and found a small rock that she could sit on and barely keep her head above the water. It was glorious and she hummed to herself as she just soaked.

As she bathe her mind kept flashing back to Matt and the proof he was all man. She felt her cheeks warm up as her mind went back to the kiss, the way his hands felt on her body, the rough and yet gentle way he touched and treated her. She sighed not meaning for his name to come out on the breath as she day dreamed.

 

[Prince_Truhan]

Matt thought he heard his name being mentioned in a moan, but he knew better and decided to let it go, it was probably just his imagination,either that or wishful thinking.

His thoughts couldn't really turn away from the idea of Neri naked that close to him, it had been a long time since he was with a woman, and the kiss earlier hadn't been a help in keeping a rein on his thoughts. He was honestly trying to keep her quiet, but he hadn't been innocent in choosing the method.

Matt decided to busy himself and turn off the fire when he was done eating as well as getting the sleeping arrangements to be as comfortable as they could be, beds as they were they lacked mattresses, with good reason since after all this time they would have turned into an ecosystem of bugs.

He laid down what they had on them to provide something soft to sleep on, there was only enough for one bed though, she had slept next to him the night before, so he hoped Neri wouldn't mind.