The Hunter Version 1

Ben crawled out of the shelter without another word to Max and stretched. Toby peeked at him from where he was standing by a dying fire. Toby's eyes trailed to the entrance of the shelter as Max emerged as well, yawning. Max did not get to his feet, and instead sat groggily on the ground beside Ben in only a pair of black boxers. After a moment, Max reached inside the shelter and pulled out the cargo pants he had been wearing the previous day and began to wiggle into them.
“I got word last night that the Guard will be in the area soon. Keep an eye out for the boat, and remember what I said about the mountain. It's my base, so the Guard won't come within half a mile of it, but get as close to it as you are able. It should be a couple of days before their boat passes, though.” Max told them, breaking the silence of early afternoon.
“We'll keep that in mind. Next time, give me some warning when you sneak into the camp. I thought you were one of those bastards coming for us.” Toby grumbled, turning fully to face them.
“You won't have to worry about them for much longer. Greg's about to make his move. I made sure of that last night.” Max snorted and stood.
“You mean, he's going to kill the others?” Ben asked with a frown.
“Yeah. I've set things up so they should be within sight of the Guard when he does it.” Max nodded and then grinned at Ben, “Are you worried about them?”
Ben looked away. He knew he should not be, and he knew better than to admit that he was to Max, but he still could not see them as bad people. Especially not Sam. Ben did not want to hear that Sam was going to die.
“No.” Ben lied.
Max placed a hand on Ben's shoulder before he moved away, closer to the fire. Ben was convinced Max knew he was lying.
“How exactly did you set things up?” Toby asked suspiciously.
“I reminded him of how much fun he had killing. I allowed him to get his hands on some explosives as well. Don't worry, though. I've got them rigged to detonate if they come too far east.” Max answered, warming his hands.
“Aside from you, is there really anything I need to be worried about?” Toby snapped.
“Oh yes. The Guard, for example, Killjoy and his harem, who are the true rulers of this island. The gold bears to the north and west. As far as human threats go, no, you don't as long as you are on my good side.” Max chuckled.
“Great. As if just living wasn't hard enough!” Toby huffed and wandered off.
Ben and Max watched him in silence for a moment. Max turned, suddenly, to Ben and smiled.
“You need to be smart these next couple of days. I stayed today, because I know I can, but I'm not sure how often I can be with the two of you until after the Guard has left. If you fuck up again, I will take you to my base and lock you up. Understood?” Max told Ben with a cheery tone.
Max certainly did not seem opposed to the idea of locking Ben up in his base, but Ben could not even begin to imagine what horrors may lie there. Max was trying to convince Ben to like him, he realized, by giving him freedom. Ben glanced down at his feet for a moment, but then forced his eyes to meet Max's.
“Thank you.” He blurted.
Max's expression faltered, obviously startled and confused. He quickly recomposed himself and the smile was back, even brighter and more affectionate than before.
“I knew I chose well this time around. If you get yourself killed, I won't forgive you. I'll be back in the evening and then...well, we'll see what happens after that.” Max said.
Max told Ben goodbye and then was gone again. Ben extinguished the fire and then grabbed his fishing pole to attempt to get some dinner for Toby and he. And Max, if he showed up soon enough. Granted, the man would probably bring along more of the bird, but Ben did not really care. The more food the better. He left the camp and headed cautiously to the lake where he had caught the big fish,