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Jungle Heat 2

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I was an incredibly light sleeper. I had to be in the jungle. So when I felt something get put over me I was instantly awake again. I opened my eyes to see Kayce already turned away and heading towards his clothes. I wanted to call out to him but the smart side of my brain was telling me to just let him go and go back to sleep. So I compromised and just watched him as he felt his clothes for dryness.

Surprisingly, he didn't leave as soon as he pulled his pants on. He went back to the net and started working on it again. "I thought you'd leave right away," I muttered, unable to help myself from saying something to him.

He looked up, his eyes rimmed with red from tears. "Why? Because you think I'm some sort of monster that would hurt you?" he asked tiredly.

"I don't think you're a monster," I denied. I hadn't really thought he'd try to force himself on me. I was just trying to make him see how ridiculous his worries seemed to me.

He looked over warily. "Well, that's good," he muttered and turned back to the net. "The rain stopped, but now everything's covered in fog. Sort of makes things creepy."

I nodded in agreement. "Stick to the beach. Even I get lost in the jungle when there's fog," I supplied. I wanted to go over and be near him but I dug my fingers into my arm to keep myself from doing so. He didn't want to be near me; I could tell he still wanted to leave.

He looked up in confusion. "Does that mean you wish for me to leave?" he asked. "Even so… I want to finish this for you. It's the least I can do."

"No," I mumbled. "I don't want you to leave. But you do. And you don't have to do that. You don't owe me anything."

He sighed a bit and groaned. "I do not..." he muttered. "I only thought it was best that I left because I was attracted to you and unlike you, I still crave the touch of another person. You said they're stupid for wasting their energy on such activities and I agree somewhat, but I can understand the need to feel wanted. So I dunno what to do."

I lowered my eyes to the floor. I had no idea what about sex was apparently so important or desirable. I'd never had it before nor had I ever been wanted in particular. I just knew that I didn't want to be alone anymore. I dug my fingers deeper into my arms under the cover as I furrowed my brow in thought. "If… if you tell me what you want… will you stay?" I asked softly.

"For now… I just don't want to run you out of your bed again… and I'll stay, as long as you want me here," he replied softly before returning to the net.

I nodded, despite the fact he wasn't looking at me anymore. I watched him for a little while before getting up and starting the fire up again. The problem with fog was that it clung to everything and made it cold and damp. The fire would be a nice relief to that. "If you're hungry I can warm up some of the pig," I offered.

He looked up and nodded blankly. He took a minute to stretch, giving a groan as he did so. I reached over and sliced off a large bit of meat before putting it on a stick and positioning it near enough to the fire that it would cook but not so close that it would dry out. "It'll be heated again in a few," I supplied. "I'm gonna get the water buckets," I added as I got to my feet and headed out into the thick mist.

I grabbed the full buckets carefully and slowly started moving them inside one at a time. I didn't want to waste any water by spilling or sloshing it around. As I went for the bucket furthest away from the cave I paused, hearing distant shouting. I frowned some and studied the fog as if that would tell me where it was coming from. After a brief moment I was able to figure out the three voices I heard were calling for Kayce. I carefully carried the bucket inside and put it down beside the wall. "People are calling for you," I informed jerking my head towards the cave opening.

He frowned a little but nodded. "It's probably them…" he murmured but he didn't go out right away. "I almost don't want to go out there… I'm not sure what to even say…"

I frowned some as well and scratched the back of my neck. "I won't be much help there…" I muttered awkwardly. I couldn't even find the right things to say to Kayce much less three people.

He sighed a little and ran his hand through his hair. "Well… I should at least let them stop looking…" he muttered and started towards the exit to the cave.

I quickly grabbed my knife and began to follow. I wasn't about to trust these people I hadn't met before and Kayce seemed nice enough. I would protect him if it came to that. Luckily, the fog would make it easy to keep an eye on things without being seen myself. And they were loud enough so that I didn't even have to try to be stealthy for them to not hear me.

"Go back!" Kayce yelled once he was out of the cave.

I slid past him easily and started down the beach. I kept close to the jungle line as I kept my eyes peeled for any sign of the people looking for Kayce. The mist was thick though and I only spotted them when I almost ran into the back of a curvy girl with blonde hair. She didn't spot me though as I slipped behind a tree before she turned around.

"Kayce! Where are you?" One of them yelled as they continued to walk down the beach.

"Just go back!" Kayce called again.

"Kayce, stop being a dillweed and come back to camp," another man called. We were almost at the cave by this point.

"Are you alright, Kayce? Why won't you tell us where you are?" the first said, near enough now that he didn't have to yell anymore. I heard Kayce sigh in exasperation.

"I'm fine," he replied. "I'm just not coming back to camp."  The second boy groaned and girl muttered something. "Just go away."

I slid past the girl and carefully put my knife to the second boy's throat from behind. I didn't like him at all. He was loud and annoying and I was fairly certain 'dillweed' had been an insult of some kind. He gave an immediate scream as he felt the cold metal lightly rest across his throat. "What the fuck!?"

"Damian!" the girl shrieked and took a quick step back. I saw Kayce step close enough so that I could see him clearly. "Don't hurt him, please!"

Kayce sighed and looked over at the other boy. "So… Do you still believe that I was hallucinating yesterday?" he asked frowning deeply.

"Kayce…" the other boy I wasn't holding at knife point muttered. "What is going on? Who is this guy and why aren't you coming back to camp? I don't think it's a wise idea with someone so dangerous around."

I glanced at the one I was holding, Damian, if the girl had screamed the right name. He looked about ready to wet himself with fear and I could feel him trembling. The thought to scare him more occurred to me and I gently pressed the knife to his throat a bit more, not enough to cut him but enough for him to give a strangled cry of fear. "T-tell this fucker to b-back off!" he squealed.

Kayce's eyebrow went up in surprise. "I don't control him," he said honestly. "He's just protecting himself and apparently at the moment you appear to be the biggest threat. Just suck it up and quit acting like a bitch," he added, even though he had been just as terrified when I'd held my knife to his throat. "And Clark... I'm not coming back because I'm tired of the awkwardness of listening to the two of you fuck Taylor nightly. You treat me like I'm helpless and I'm tired of waiting for someone to figure out that I'm gay and be kicked out of camp."

"Wait... You're gay?" 'Clark' said in surprise and 'Taylor' scoffed a bit.

"Of course he is," she said confidently. "Why do you think I didn't try to include him? He's just too much like a girl to be straight." Kayce looked off to the side and I frowned at the look of disgust that crossed both Damian and Clark's faces. "Just tell me you aren't trying to turn Tarzan here gay too, fag boy," she added, suddenly not nearly as afraid.

I frowned at the reference, only vaguely remembering some story about a man that grew up raised by monkeys. I narrowed my eyes and turned the knife so that the tip was digging into my captive's collarbone slightly. A small dot of blood bubbled up instantly as he screamed in fright. "My name isn't Tarzan," I growled to her.

Kayce sighed a bit as the girl's eyes slid over my body. "Of course it isn't, babe," she said, smirking for some reason.

Clark put a hand on Kayce's arm, pulling him away slightly. "Kayce... This guy is dangerous. You're safer if you stay with us rather than with him," he said, keeping a careful eye on me. Kayce shook his head. "Kayce, come on, think clearly here. You already said he put a knife to your throat and now he's holding Damian. Can you really trust him?"

The smaller boy's frown deepened considerably. "I didn't say I wasn't coming back to camp because of him," he pointed out. "I said I wasn't coming back because it's extremely gross and uncomfortable to listen to you two fuck Taylor. Whorish moans and animalistic grunts are not what I want to listen to when trying to sleep. And I damn sure don't want to be near you guys. Especially now. Now... I don't trust you."

I decided to make it known that I could still hear them. I lowered my knife so that the tip rested against Damian's groin. "I could make it easy to get some sleep," I commented, narrowing my eyes. The boy screamed and his hands slid around to try and protect himself despite the fact that the blade's tip was already touching him.

"This bastard's crazy!" he squealed in a rather high-pitched voice that I hadn't anticipated hearing from him. Kayce rolled his eyes and Clark jerked him around again.

"Kayce! Can't you see that you're in danger around this guy?" he asked. "He could easily kill you and probably without a second thought. Open your eyes to the situation already!"

The smaller man groaned and shoved him away. "And being around him is more dangerous that you two?" Kayce snapped. "Assuming you don't beat me to a pulp for 'looking at you', who's to say you don't decide to use me one night when Taylor doesn't want to play with you? Sorry... But I don't trust you guys. And I'm not coming back. Just... leave me to my own."

I narrowed my eyes. "You heard him. Go," I said, turning the knife in my hand so that it rotated against my captive's groin but didn't dig in any. The man whimpered in fear but I ignored him.

"Fine, Kayce... I just hope we don't find your corpse on the beach some morning," Clark muttered before pushing past Kayce. My friend looked down at the sand, looking upset.

"Hopefully I'll see you again, jungle man," Taylor said softly as she turned to follow Clark.

I waited until they were several feet away before turning with my captive so that I was still facing them. I dug the knife in slightly to cause the boy more grief and I was about to let Damian go when I heard a slight trickling sound. I glanced down and smirked a bit at the wet stain that spread around the boy's crotch and down his legs. I guess I'd frightened him a bit too much. He whimpered again, this time in embarrassment. "Pathetic…" I muttered. "Peeing yourself over a little knife…" I added before pushing him forward slightly. He stumbled a few steps before hurrying away.

Kayce walked over a few steps and looked up at me. "Can I ask why?" he asked softly with an equally soft expression.

"Why what?" I asked back, turning to look down at him.

"Why you came up on Damian like that…" he clarified, wrapping his arms around himself.

I shrugged a bit. "I don't like him," I answered simply. "He reminds me of some of the pirates," I added as an after thought. It hadn't been a conscious thing at first but looking back the boy had definitely reminded me of the people who had beaten me and left me to die.

He sighed some and tilted his head to rest against my chest. "'Ah well… Least I wasn't alone in that first impression…" he muttered. He sighed again and picked his head up to look at the cave. "Come on… I'll bet that pig's hot by now…"

I nodded in agreement and hesitantly grabbed some of his shirt as I started for the fire and pig. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to do it but I did anyway. The more he was around the more I wanted to get closer. I looked around at the fog to try and come up with something to say but was utterly let down. He smiled a little. "Did he really piss himself?" he asked.

I chuckled at that. "All down his front," I answered with a smile. I had found taking the boy down a notch or two to be extremely entertaining.

Kayce giggled. "Ah I would have loved to have actually seen the look on his face when he did," he said. "I'll bet it was priceless. And he'll probably lose several points with Taylor just for screaming like a girl."

I chuckled again. "The people who try to be tough are always the weakest," I commented. "But I wasn't expecting him to be quite that scared."

He giggled again and sat down next to the net before looking at me. "And those like me?" he asked softly.

I titled my head to the side and held his chin with two fingers, as I looked straight into his eyes. I found it was the best way to gauge what a person was really like to look into their eyes. "You… are underestimated," I murmured after a moment. I slowly pulled back and went to pull the pork on a stick up from the ground to give to him. "You'll pull out surprises from time to time."

He blushed some. "I do hope you're planning to have some of this…" he murmured. "My appetite is usually as small as I am."

I shrugged some. "Eat what you can. No reason to starve if you have plenty of food. If there's leftovers I'll eat them then. I don't usually eat in the mornings anyway," I said going to my crate of things and pulling out a fishing pole I had made. It broke a while ago and I hadn't had a chance to fix it yet. Today seemed like a good day to try and get it done.

"Alright then," he said as he took a bite of meat. I sat down closer to the fire so I could see what I was doing. Fishing poles were tricky things and I was quickly absorbed in the task. The string would be tricky but then it always was. I picked up the thin still green sticks that I would use for the main pole and carefully tied some stolen twine around it securely.

"Britt… here, I can't eat anymore," he said offering a little less than half of the piece I'd given him.

I reached out and took it from him. "Alright, I'll finish it," I said before taking a bite and jabbing the stick in the ground next to me so that I could keep working. The twine was being difficult and I'd had to untangle it at least three times already. "Hopefully the fog burns off by midday or so. I have some traps set up that I should go check…" I said as I tightened another knot and sliced the extra twine off.

"I want to go with you," he said immediately.

I looked up in surprise. "Alright, if the fog clears up we can go check them," I agreed. It wasn't as if I minded the company. "I don't have too many around because the pirates would notice them but there's about six or so that I use."

He nodded and smiled a bit. "Thanks, Britt," he said softly and picked up the net. "It should only take me a couple of days to fix this up properly. But… how did you want it to work? With a drawstring type pull to close it up? Or with weights spread around the edges to trap?"

"With weights. I can throw it on top of fish and catch them that way or drop it on animals on land and it'll work for both," I said putting the twine off to the side and grabbing a hollow reed and slicing it open so that I could put it around the knot for extra support.

"Okay. I'll leave lengths of leather on the edges to tie some sort of weight to," he said, laying back on the floor and holding the net up as he tied it. It seemed a tiring way to do things but I wasn't about to mention it.

After a while, I managed to fix the fishing pole and glanced up to see that most of the fog had indeed burned off.  I got to my feet and stretched my arms above my head with a bit of a groan. Several of my joints crackled but it felt good. "We should probably go check the traps if you still want to," I said grabbing the leather I used to protect my privates and sliding it on. I tied the knife to my thigh as well and put out the fire with seawater. There was no way I was wasting fresh water on putting out a fire.

He put the net to the side and quickly got up. "Yeah, I still want to go," he said hurrying over to where I was.

I made my way out of the cave and up the small path I had made into the jungle. Pretty soon the path disappeared though and the jungle took over again. "I can't keep the traps near the cave. The animals stopped coming around when they realized I lived there. So I have to put them out a ways," I supplied as I climbed over a large log.

He followed me over the log as best he could with his shorter legs. "I can understand that… though I'm surprised that they don't come around to scavenge your food," he said. "But I guess they're smarter when humans aren't destroying their natural habitats…"

"They do steal my food on occasion but only a few bold ones. Most of the time they can't get too much though. Especially when it's all in the cave. The birds are the biggest problem really," I said pausing as I examined a tree. I took a left and started up a slow but steady slope.

"Birds? Have you ever thought of creating wind chimes? They keep birds away from places for some strange reason," he said, following me the best he could.

I paused and looked back. "Wind chimes? Aren't those made out of metal though?" I asked in confusion. I might be good at improvising but I couldn't make anything metal.

He shook his head a bit. "Mostly, but they can be made of other things as well," he said. "I've seen them made out of hollow wood and seashells, as well as things like bottle caps and shards of melted glass."

My eyebrow went up in surprise at that. "Well, there's definitely a lot of seashells I can use…" I muttered as I started walking again, my mind already churning over this new information. I could easily string some shells and bits of wood together if that was all it took.

"If you want, when we get back or tomorrow, I'll go find you some shells," he offered as we continued walking.

"Mm… yeah, we can try it," I agreed as I reached down and pulled out my knife. I motioned for him to be quiet as I slowly peered over some bushes to where I had set the trap up. I instantly saw a rabbit sitting inside the cage, huddled in a corner. "Rabbit," I murmured to him.

Kayce bit his lip and looked over the bush at the rabbit. I pushed through the bush and grabbed the front of the cage. The rabbit instantly started going crazy and I flipped the cage up so that it couldn't jump out. Without hesitating I reached in and grabbed it around the neck. I hauled it out and quickly pierced its chest with my knife. The rabbit squealed but quickly died.

"Ugh… I suddenly am very glad I never had any desire for pets…" he murmured as the rabbit's underside turned bloody. He reached out to take it and I handed it over before putting the knife back in the holder. I crouched down and carefully reset the trap so that when an animal got in a certain distance the top would close. It wasn't fool proof as I didn't really have all that effective bait and if they were quick they could get out. But it worked.

"That trap works best on medium sized animals doesn't it? Like foxes and rabbits as opposed to squirrels or jungle cats?" he asked, looking over the trap again.

"Mmhmm, squirrels aren't really worth the effort of skinning and cooking and I've never tried to catch a jungle cat. They're a little higher on the danger list than most things," I said carefully stepping back from the hair trigger trap. "The next one's just over this way," I said pointing to the bushes across from where we had come out. He nodded and followed me. I could tell he was trying to be quiet but he wasn't doing that good a job.

The next cage was empty so I just let it be and started down the hill again. "We'll be lucky if we managed to get another," I commented as I grabbed a tree to stop myself from going down the hill too fast. "Usually I only get one or two at a time."

He nodded and followed me but his arm reached out and grabbed me around the waist as he almost fell. He quickly regained his balance and pulled his arm back before looking down sheepishly. "Sorry… I almost fell…" he murmured.

"It's alright," I assured him. "I'd rather you grab me than fall. Getting an injury out here -even a small one- can be very dangerous."

He nodded and frowned deeply. "I know…" he murmured. "There was originally five of us…"

"I see…" I said carefully side stepping down the hill. "What happened to him?"

He frowned deeply as he tried to move like I was. "He gashed his leg on a piece of debris from the boat," he muttered. "Infection killed him a couple days ago."

"That's unfortunate," I said as I reached the bottom of the hill. I glanced over at the next trap and saw that it wasn't sprung either. "Was he important to you?" I asked as I kept moving.

"He was my professor..." he replied softly. "He was why I was even on that boat to begin with. We were heading for an island where they'd discovered some ancient ruins and we were going to help study and uncover them."

I nodded some though I didn't understand all of what he was saying. "All the more reason to be careful then," I said as I pushed a branch out of the way so that it wouldn't hit me in the face.

He ducked under the branch instead of pushing it to the side. "Of course… I wouldn't want to die like that…" he murmured, sticking close behind me.

"No. I would prefer a fast death myself," I agreed moving carefully as I moved through the brush. "There's a spring up ahead if you want to stop and get something to drink," I informed.

He nodded and licked his lips. "Yeah… that would be good," he said softly.

I slipped through the next bush and almost stumbled across the edge of the spring. The first time I had found this pool I had literally fallen into it. "Here, careful, there's a bit of a drop."

He nodded and carefully stepped down to the edge of the water and got on his knees. He drank a bit, soaking the front of his shirt. I bent down and drank some myself before wiping my mouth and then wetting my face and the back of my neck. "We're half way through the traps. The other three are closer to where we first met though so it's a bit of a hike."

"That's fine," he said, smiling at me as he stood up. "I don't mind hiking at all. Though… if you know of any fruit trees, I could use some."

I thought for a moment. "Well, there's a bunch of berries near where the next cage is. Luckily, I know they aren't poisonous so you can eat them. I've sorta lost my taste for bananas though. I ate them nonstop for a long time cause I couldn't manage to hunt well."

He chuckled softly. "I'm just a bit more aware of what my body needs, that's all," he said. "I won't make you eat any of them. I just need the vitamins that bananas and berries contain. But that does explain why you let me leave with the bananas yesterday."

I nodded some. "I can't stand bananas," I grumbled some. "They make me sick to my stomach."

He smiled a bit and giggled. "I suppose that would do that if you ate too many of them in a short amount of time," he said in agreement. "But my tongue hasn't run into that issue quite yet. And I don't want to deal with muscle cramps from lack of potassium."

"Potassum?" I echoed. "What's potassum?"

He giggled again. "Potassium," he corrected with a smile. "It's a vitamin that helps prevent muscle cramping. It has other uses, I'm sure, but that was the one my mom always harped on. I used to get bad leg cramps when I was little."

"Oh…" I bit my lip some and glanced over at him. "Do… do you mind telling me about your family? I don't really remember mine…"

He gave me a sad smile and nodded. "I don't mind," he replied. "It was just my mother and me, though. I never knew my dad as he split as soon as he found out my mom was pregnant and he didn't fight for visitation and she didn't fight for child support. She just raised me the best she could. And I was a momma's boy from the very beginning, always hiding behind her when we met new people. The leg cramps just made it easier to become more in touch with more feminine skills, cause she was afraid to let me play sports. I stayed inside, read a lot of books and learned to cook. She was great..."

I looked down as I walked towards the next trap. "I remember… sitting on someone's lap and trying to steal cookies from a plate," I murmured. "Someone laughed… they thought it was cute…"

He reached over and grabbed my hand before giving it a slight squeeze. "It's still a memory... even if you can't remember who they were. It's still something that seems like it should be cherished..." he said softly before letting my hand go.

I nodded some and pointed ahead. "There's the berry bush," I muttered before veering slightly to the right to check the trap. There wasn't anything in it but it had been sprung. I crouched down and carefully reset it. I noticed him take off his shirt and tie it into a sort of bag before starting to pick berries from the bush.

Once the trap was finally reset I slowly backed away from it and reached over to pluck a few berries from the bush. This was the reason I had put this trap here. I liked being able to have a quick snack while checking my traps. I made a bit of a face at the taste of the berries. The were a little unripe still but I could still eat them.

"Bitter, aren't they?" he commented as he stood up straight and put a few in his mouth.

I shrugged a little. "I've gotten used to eating things that are a little off," I said putting another in my mouth. "You can't afford to be picky out here."

He nodded in agreement. "But I'm not picky… As long as I can find some fruits every few days at least," he said with a smile.

I smiled a little. "There is plenty of that here. You'll just have to share with the animals," I said before tilting my head to the side. "Come on, the next trap is this way." I carefully climbed over a large rock and waited for him to join me before continuing on towards the next trap.

"You really did spread the traps out didn't you?" he asked. "What kind of bait do you use?"

I shrugged a little. "I don't have many options for bait really. Berries seem to work the best for squirrels and such and rabbits… rabbits come in whenever they feel like it. It's easier to get bait to fish with," I said as I climbed over a log. "Sometimes I can go weeks without catching anything."

He frowned slightly. "Rabbits... tend to prefer vegetables... I wonder if there are any on natural ones on this island.." he muttered to himself. "Must be since there are rabbits here... Oh... but if you ever have like meat you would eat because it's starting to spoil, you can use it to catch meat eaters. Though... that might be bad. If it attracts anything bigger than a fox..."'

"That's exactly why I used spoiled meat for fishing and not the traps," I paused and lifted my right leg a bit to point to a large scar around my calf. "I caught a fox once and when I tried to get it out it bit me. Didn't even get the stupid thing. So I've stayed away from trying to catch carnivores."

He nodded as he looked at the scar. "You're quite lucky…" he murmured. "Forget infection… the thing could have had rabies and everything would have been over…"

"Yeah… I thought I was gonna die. It bled everywhere and I couldn't hardly walk anywhere. I managed to survive though," I said as I started to walk again. "But I shouldn't have survived. I shouldn't have survived any of the things that I have. I can't explain it but I just keep living…"

He frowned a little. "You have a will to survive..." he murmured. "Even if you're not aware of it. You keep pushing forward despite the odds stacked against you..."

I sighed a bit. "I suppose… but I'm not even sure why I bother… if the pirates find out I'm still alive they'll kill me. And I doubt I'll ever get off this island… Surviving just seems so pointless…"

"It's not pointless! It's never pointless!" he snapped suddenly. "I'll bet the majority of the pirates who would even know who you are have died or retired. And... something will happen eventually... to get us off this island... I know it will..." he said, his voice trailing off at the end.

I studied him carefully for a moment before sighing. "I didn't mean to upset you. It's just hard to stay happy when I've been here for so long already. I really, really, really hate this place."

He nodded and looked off to the side. "I don't expect you to be happy…" he murmured. "I'm not even happy to be stuck on this island. But I am happy to have met you and I'll take that little bit right now."

"Thanks…" I muttered before turning back to the direction I was going. The next trap was tucked behind a tree just a few feet away. A quick glance told me it was empty as well. I didn't even bother to stop as I kept walking to the last trap. I didn't hold out much hope for there being anything in it though.

"One more?" he asked as he followed me.

"Yes," I answered. "It's just up ahead." I pushed my way through a bush and spotted the trap but it had been torn apart and crushed. I scowled at it. "Looks like it had something in it…" I grumbled getting closer to examine the remains. There were little tufts of fur and splatters of blood. "Looks like a fox or a cat got to it first though…"

He frowned and looked over my shoulder. "Doesn't really look like most of the trap is salvageable. Maybe the trap door…" he muttered.

I sighed and picked apart the broken pieces before standing. "I don't think it is… There are some cracks in the wood. I'd just break again when something gets caught inside and tries to get out," I ran a hand through my hair and turned. "Well.. at least we have the one. Let's get back. I have to skin and gut that rabbit."

He nodded and switched the rabbit to his other hand. "Yeah…" he agreed softly, his nose crinkling a little. I raised an eyebrow at his reaction but brushed it off before started back towards the cave. I had made a loop though so it took much less time to get back to the beach than we had spent checking the traps. I held out my hand for the rabbit as we got to the front of the cave where the large flat stone that served as my butcher's block was. He gave it to me and put his shirt full of berries in the cave.

I didn't pay him much attention as I drew my knife and started cutting into the rabbit. The insides went to the side for fish bate, just like the insides of the pig had. And I quickly tore the skin off in as whole of a piece as I could. Once that was done I carefully sliced off as much of the meat as I could and put them on sticks. I would smoke them so that I could keep them much longer. We didn't need to eat it right away with the pig still relatively fresh.

As I was working I noticed Kayce walking around. "I… think I might take a walk… see if I can't find some shells for that wind chime idea…" he murmured before starting to walk down the beach.

I nodded to show I had heard, though he was already far enough that I wasn't sure if he had noticed. I quickly set up the outdoor fire and waited for it to burn down to mostly coals and then put the leather cover over it to trap the smoke inside. I would have to stay nearby to make certain the fire didn't go out and stop the smoke.

I sat back against the sand as I looked out at the ocean. The thought occurred to me to try fishing but I thought better of it. We had plenty of food for the moment and I didn't often have a chance to just sit and relax. I was just putting another piece of wood through the cover and onto the fire as I noticed someone coming closer. I turned my head and saw the boy the others had called 'Clark' coming closer looking a bit wary. "Hey, is Kayce around?"

I raised an eyebrow but shook my head. "He went to collect sea shells I think…"

"Good. I don't think he'd be honest with me," he said. "Why won't he come back to camp?"

"He told you the same reason he told me," I said, narrowing my eyes some. "And if you were any sort of friend at all you'd believe him when he told you something." I leaned forward and shifted a stick in the fire to stir up the coals just a little and make more smoke.

"I wasn't a friend... He was just another undergrad working for the professor on this expedition..."

I scoffed some. "You're stranded on an island with him. I'd make the effort to get along," I said leaning back again and turning to look out at the water.

"I did try! Which is why I don't understand why he won't come back to camp. I want to know what you did to make him leave," he claimed.

I glared at him some; unhappy with the way he had said that. "I didn't do anything. I told him if he wasn't happy it might be better to try and survive on his own. He said he was afraid to be alone so I said he could stay with me if he wanted. He wasn't going to so I left it at that. Later he decided to take me up on the offer. At least for now," I said, getting to my feet as I did. This guy was starting to get on my nerves.

"He can't survive on his own! That's the whole point. You've seen him. He's got no muscle and no knowledge of survival. He's as good as dead on his own."

"I did," I said simply.

"You aren't Kayce."

"No," I agreed. "I was younger and weaker."

"And more adaptable..." he sighed. "If anything happens to him... I'll be coming for you."

"Oh? And what will you do? Kill me?" I asked curiously. I doubted the boy could do it. I highly doubted that he'd win in a fight with me. I was stronger and probably faster as well.

"Yeah… I will."

I laughed. "You'll kill me? You think you can?"

"I know I can... And I don't have to use force."

I laughed again, unable to help myself. "I welcome your attempt. Because, I unlike you have nothing to lose."

"Whatever. Just look after Kayce. He's a good kid."

"You don't have to tell me to do that," I stated. "I take care of the people who put trust in me."

"Good…"

I narrowed my eyes some. "Is that all?"

"For now…"

"Then leave," I ordered, my hand falling to rest on the handle of my knife. He was starting to really annoy me.

"I'm going, I'm going... Chill out."

I narrowed my eyes and watched as he left. Once he had I sat back down beside the fire and continued to smoke the rabbit meat. After a while I was confident that the meat was fully cooked and took it out of the smoke tent I had made and slowly eased the piece of leather off. I didn't need to accidentally create a smoke puff that might alert the pirates that I was still alive. I put the rabbit to the side to cool down and leaned back against the sand to wait for Kayce to come back.
look it's more! yay!

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yagov98's avatar

I have read parts and 2 and enjoyed the characters' development and plot line. You are an excellent writer, by the way, and your narration is superb.

Is there a part 3? I couldn't find it.