The Hunter

The next day the rock once again had fruits and berries piled on it, however this time a space had been cleared and the writing clearly stated, For Ben. Only.

The two boys made faces at the rock when they read it and decided to ignore it. Ben happily shared 'his' food with Toby, who probably would not have a chance at finding food for himself. Or perhaps, with the fish trap, he would. Either way, Ben did not allow himself to feel threatened by the note and Toby...well, Toby had very few worries regarding their nightly visitor who crept about their camp with ease.

Ben spent the majority of the day collecting rocks for their trap and piling them in the trees near the beach. As the sun began to set once more, he paused to admire the majesty of the sky. It had exploded with color since the sky was speckled with large, fluffy clouds. It filled him with awe and...unease. He wondered if a storm was coming and how they would fare it if it did.

The storm came the next morning and so did Max.

Toby had left the camp early that morning, leaving a miserable Ben huddled in the lean-to. The rocks had not yielded any food that morning and Ben's stomach was kicking up a fuss. Their shelter was holding up surprisingly well, with not much of the heavy rain seeping in and they were protected by the trees around them from the wind that roared over head. Distantly, Ben heard a sloshing of footsteps and, assuming it was Toby, he peeked out.

“Where the hell have you been?” He snapped before realizing it was not Toby striding quickly toward him.

Fear flashed through Ben's body and he ducked back into the lean-to, crawling to the other side in preparation to flee. He still did not know Max's motives and if he was going to try to kill him again or not. From the way the bush had been moving, Ben feared he might have been angry. The sound of footsteps had stopped, so Ben allowed himself to relax slightly.

“Boo.” A voice said directly into his ear.

Ben yelped and tried to scramble away. Max grabbed his ankles and dragged him back into the lean-to. They struggled wildly for a moment until a few leaves fell on Ben's face and he realized they might tear apart the shelter. Realizing Ben had stopped struggling, Max laid atop Ben, grabbing both his wrists with one of his hands and chuckling.

“Ah, I'm glad I didn't kill you.” Max laughed softly, using his free hand to yank a leafy mask from his face.

Ben was both relieved and slightly disappointed when Max's face turned out to be very human. Light green eyes glistening with amusement stared down at Ben, a toothy grin at the man's lips, revealing white, straight teeth that obviously had a lot of care put into them. Black strands of hair were plastered to Max's tanned skin by sweat, keeping the hair from his eyes. Ben wondered how he managed to see through the mask, but did not dare to actually ask.

“Whatdoyouwant?” Ben said in one, frightened breath.

“I came to see you, Ben. I haven't been playing with you much lately, and I miss you... I noticed you have been giving your food to that brat. See, Ben...that food is for you. Let him starve,” Max purred softly, his eye narrowing as he watched Ben's expression.

“Why?”

The question seemed to startle Max and the smile fell away.

“Because wouldn't it be easier to survive if it was just you by yourself? I will feed you and protect you from the others. Toby is nothing...No, he's not nothing; he's dangerous. I don't know what they were thinking when they paired you with him.” Max replied, his voice becoming a growl by the time he had finished.

“But why? And who are 'they'?” Ben questioned, hoping to get more of an idea as to what was going on.

He could have laughed when Max called Toby dangerous. There was no way someone as scrawny and lifeless as he could so much as think thoughts that might be threatening. Ben decided, however, that perhaps laughing at this mad bush-man who currently was holding him captive would not be the smartest thing to do.

Max's grin returned, however, at Ben's other questions. He seemed to get a kick out of the fact Ben was asking them and Ben wondered if he was perhaps asking the wrong questions.

“You know, most people would be asking about food or how to escape, or why they can't remember their past. See, this is why I decided to like you Ben. Up until now, I don't think I've met anyone sane with his priorities as screwed up as you. Lucky for you, I was just looking for a new play-thing.”

“Well...then...where can I find food, and uh... why can't I remember the past?” Ben attempted, hoping Max would leave soon.

He also hoped he would drop the thing about letting Toby starve. And that Max would not call him a play-thing. Ever again.

“Don't even try with me, Ben. I know what you really want to know. You could care less about your past. Since the first day here, you have barely questioned it. How does your brain work? Should I rip your head open and examine it?” Max asked softly, his voice gentle and innocent as he ran his fingers through Ben's hair.

“Please don't.” Ben whimpered, earning another burst of laughter.

Releasing Ben's arms, Max roughly grabbed either side of Ben's face and forced his head to lift.
“Never fear, my dear boy. I've taken a liking to you, so I swear not to kill you. Maybe we can strike a deal and I'll feed your pet brat too. How does that sound?” Max sneered.

“What kind of deal?” Ben asked trying to keep the tremors from his voice.

“Oh, I can think of a number of things, but I want you to come up with something. I'll return in three days. Do you think you can survive that long?” Max replied cheerily.

Ben did not want to imagine what was going through this mad man's head. He did not even try. Instead he fell silent, not sure how to answer the man on top of him.

“Ah well, try for me, okay?” Max smiled before he reached down between them to pull something from out of his pocket.

The brush of Max's skin on his sent a chill through Ben. Goosebumps popped up and down his arms and he shivered beneath Max. He thought he saw a hint of red on Max's cheeks, but he did not have time to get a good look. Max had shoved something into his mouth and was lowering his face toward Ben's. He realized what Max as doing too late, as their lips met. Max shoved his tongue between Ben's lips and teased his gums with the tip of it. Ben gave a grunt of protest, but he did not dare try to bite the invader. Max pinched Ben's cheek and the sudden jolt of pain caused him to open his mouth more from surprise, giving Max full access.

Ben's tongue retreated from Max's but it sought his out and dumped something that tasted an awful lot like beef into Ben's mouth. Satisfied, Max pulled away, licking his lips, and bellowed with laughter at Ben's horrified expression as he tried not to choke on the meat.

“I've hidden some more around your camp for the next few days. Don't put it to waste!” Max cheered before planting a kiss on Ben's nose and moving away.

Ben thought about spitting out the 'gift' just to spite Max, who swiftly vanished in the gloom, but his body refused to listen, so he chewed it angrily. Wiping at his lips and shivering at the memory of the kiss, Ben curled up once more and shut his eyes. Sleep evaded him, but his thoughts did not. Max offered food and protection for the both of them, but at a price.

But at what price?

He had come up with a few ideas, based on the little interaction he had with Max by the time Toby returned, soaked and miserable.