"What is it!" I hollered, picking up the handful of arrows I had sharpened and the crossbow, racing off in the direction that the scream had come from. I was dimly aware of Nicholas, Dave, and Felicia racing along with me, but my senses had sharpened and honed in on what I was hurrying towards.Barely a minute or two later, I found the others. Elsa, Euphie, and Yvonne were standing in a huddle, facing down a wild boar! Yvonne was leaning heavily on Elsa, and I could see that she looked dazed. There was a scratch going down the length of the shin, and blood was trickling lazily out of it.The creature grunted and snorted as it pawed at the ground from a short distance away, before fixing the girls with a glare. I had to act now, or risk having it charge the girls again, from the looks of what had already happened. I raised the crossbow and set the stock, the long piece of wood, against my shoulder before plucking an arrow from my pocket. Aligning the stump end of the arrow

The events of the day had tired everyone out. Although I had been buoyed by the success of the crossbow, the wild boar had been something unexpected. It had resulted in enough food for another few days at least, even though we numbered nine now, instead of six, but it had still been terrifying. Only luck and the crossbow had kept me from being wounded the same way that I had been that first day, when we had confronted the wild dog in the cave Elsa and I had found. That wound had just healed, and I was relieved not to have suffered any more.We all lay down to sleep after Yvonne and I had smoked some of the meat, leaving the rest wrapped up tightly in a spare palm leaf to be sunned as soon as the sun was up the next day. While we were smoking the meat, I noticed that Nicholas and Dave had slipped away. Straining my eyes in the darkness, I saw that they had retreated to the hut instead of sitting around the communal fire in the cave, but they were talking too quietly for me to ov

“Hang on. Didn’t he mention that there are lots of wild animals in the area?” I asked, suddenly remembering what Nicholas had said when we had arrived. I had ascertained that the cave was free of any nasty creatures by lobbing a rock into it, and we had settled in without fear after that. The only wild animal we had encountered so far was the wild boar that Elsa, Euphie, and Yvonne had come across.“If he’s really that afraid of wild beasts, why did he bring us here? I can’t wrap my head around it,” I continued. Elsa and Euphie both looked thoughtful.“What if it’s a trap?” Euphie suggested, although she seemed doubtful. “I don’t know what kind of trap he’s planning, unless he’s going to lure wild animals like the wild boars or wild dogs over to attack us. I can’t figure out how he would ensure that he’s safe, though, unless he’s been domesticating these animals and traini

Claire was utterly transformed. I had never imagined that she would hook up with Nicholas, of all people, and that she would be so wanton about her desire. It had seemed as though she were frigid, even icier than Elsa, since she had shunned any contact with me after Rosie and I had had sex. Maybe it was just that she did not want to fuck me, but who knows? As I peeped around the tree, she threw her head back in pleasure again, tossing her dark hair back dramatically. It cascaded down her back before flowing over her other shoulder, and Nicholas growled at the sight. One strong hand shot out, and he grabbed her hair in his fist, yanking it backward."Yes! Fuck, just like that! Keep going!" Claire practically screamed, her back bowing in pleasure. She reached back with one hand, as if reaching out for Nicholas even though she had to know there was no way she could reach him, and he shoved into her again, letting out another animalistic growl."I don't understand. I thought t

"Why did you take another three? Are they for Yvonne, Elsa, and Rosie?" Euphie asked. I looked at her askance. She was very perceptive! Euphie was right, of course."That's right. I'm going to need to find a place to hide them, though, so that we can give them to the three girls without Nicholas and Claire finding out. If this fruit really has some sort of magical power, I don't want them missing out."We walked a little further until we were only ten minutes away from the camp before wrapping the fruit in a palm leaf and burying them in a shallow hollow we dug under a bush. We went on after that, both eager to get to sleep. The nap we had had earlier was far from being enough, and I was definitely keen to beat Nicholas and Claire back to the camp. Still, my hopes were dashed on that front when Euphie grabbed my hand and tugged on it hard enough to hurt as we were only fifty meters away."Wait!" she hissed, making me take a few stumbling steps backward. "I think Nicho