Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

There were several teams wandering around the surprisingly lush area Ziana and Dorrin found at the top of their climb. The ground abruptly went from annoyingly steep and treacherous to level and quite passable. There was tall, burgundy grass, ample bushes and trees, and even a few clear streams trickling out of the many small caverns connected to the area, dotting the walls.

There were hills and rocky outcroppings, as well as what looked like a ravine or two from their vantage point. Of course, there would be traps sprinkled across the area, hidden in the tall grass at the very least, as well as who knew what sort of other perilous obstacles that were simply part of the environment.

Then there were the people. Lots of them.

It seemed that while a few had braved the lower region at the beginning, most of the contestants, regardless of where they'd been deposited at the start, had decided to begin their search in the easiest of the several regions of the caverns. While it was scalding with lava up above, and freezing with ice down below, this one area was in the Goldilocks zone. Not too hot, not too cold, but just right, and a huge percentage of the competitors were now milling about, searching for the checkpoint.

Unfortunately, that pleasant and lush environment also meant this was prime territory for the beasts lurking just out of sight. But as of yet, no one had stumbled upon any of them.

"Later," Dorrin noted when Ziana asked about that. "Predators hunt when it is advantageous. You will see."

It made sense. With the artificial light throughout the cavern providing them with a rough approximation of day and night, they all still had several hours before it would become dark and more dangerous to move around. As a result, everyone was moving fast. Everyone but Dorrin and his partner.

"Do you see the elite teams?" he asked, though he'd already spotted two of them on his own.

"Yeah. Over to our right," she replied, not pointing, not looking, but rather intentionally gesturing the other way, hoping to throw off any who might be watching them in hopes of either following them to the goal, or stealing their key once they retrieved it.

Dorrin wasn't about to have any of that.

"We will loop left, passing that small stream. The crossing is only narrow enough to traverse in a few points."

"We'll be going the wrong way."

"Yes. But we've got a clear line on where they're going. We just need to keep them in view, and the left is a slightly elevated position. As a bonus, it will make it difficult for others to follow without making their intentions quite obvious. And all we need is to see where the elites go. It will be one of those four smaller cavern areas over there on the right. Once we learn which one, we amble about looking confused like everyone else, then make our way inside to claim the next key."

"And the others?"

"I will come out swearing a bit to throw them off further. A few complaints, along with the attempt to make it seem like I don't want them to see me complaining, will fool those watching us into bypassing that area."

"A double fake-out."

"Yes."

"And you say you really don't have poker on this planet? Shame. You'd be a natural."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, shall we?"

Ziana gave a sarcastic little curtsey. "After you."

It wasn't as bad a route as she'd worried initially. The ground, though covered in tall grass, was nevertheless relatively easy to traverse. The one thing that worried her, however, was the pile of scat Dorrin pointed out.

"We are not alone. Watch your step and stay alert. Away from the safety of numbers, there is no telling if a beast might get overconfident."

She wasn't too thrilled with the thought of that, but the cavern the elite teams had wandered off to weren't all that far. If the cheaters were quick, and if she and Dorrin moved fast once the correct area was identified, they could recover the key and get back to the main group sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, part of that depended entirely on other people's competence.

To her great delight, Ziana found things going their way. The elites were more circumspect about their actions now, and it seemed the others hadn't keyed in on their forbidden intel on their setting. When they moved on, walking around a bit to muddy their tracks before heading toward the climb upward to the lava area, no one moved to inspect the area they'd just been.

No one but Dorrin and his human partner.

Just as they'd planned, they crossed back over the stream and made their way to the caverns, picking the one the elites had visited last as their first stop. At first glance it was just an empty space, and not terribly deep at that. But Dorrin led the way to the back wall and turned, pressing against the stone. The light from outside made them squint, but off to the right was a faint glow. Hidden in the rocks, blocked out from observation by the external light during day hours, was the checkpoint.

"You do it this time," he said, offering it to Ziana.

She pressed her hand on the orb, just as she'd seen him do. The metal was warm to the touch, and no sooner had she made contact than her identity was confirmed and the second key dispensed. She took it and handed it to Dorrin.

"Safer if we have them all together in the same pocket," she said.

"Logical," he replied, tucking it securely away with the other. "Now we must perform a bit for the others. They will find the checkpoint eventually, but it is not readily visible unless you venture all the way to the back. If we can delay them at all, it will be in our best interest. Can you do that?"

"Acting? Oh, that I can do. It'll actually be kind of fun. Lead the way."

The pair stepped out, Ziana erupting into a short burst of profanity which Dorrin quickly silenced, his eyes darting around as if making sure no one noticed their altercation. Of course, a few of the teams did, and they were glad those two had helped eliminate one patch of land. It was that much less for them to search. Dorrin and Ziana's efforts—and failures—would make their own word that much easier. Work smarter, not harder, as they say.

Only, in this case, they were being played. And though they would almost surely find the checkpoint eventually—and be thoroughly pissed off when they realized they'd been duped—by that time the offenders would be long gone.

Dorrin led the way for a little while, walking as though searching but really just keeping them close to the others as they navigated the surprisingly sprawling area, doing all they could to avoid the beasts they were now certain lay in wait. When they reached the ragged jumble of rocks piled against the cavern's towering wall, only then did they shift tactics and begin their ascent. There was a small gap between the two sections and that allowed them the opportunity to climb without being observed, at least for a while.

The elites had chosen an easier route, but at this point following them directly would tip them off. There was simply nowhere to hide, and no way to make their continued pursuit seem innocuous. Fortunately, Dorrin's on-the-fly plan was proving a success, and the two scaled quite a height in no time. Once they were forced to shimmy out to the area that could be seen from below, they were so high above that unless someone was actively looking for them on the rock face, they would go unnoted.

Even if they were seen, following in their path would be both strenuous and time consuming. They had given themselves a surprising lead, and it was theirs to keep or lose. Higher they climbed, the heat increasing as they neared the lava stream and pools of steaming water. It made sense, the hottest part was on the top, the coldest on the bottom. Not exactly creative, but on a thermal level it seemed the designers had taken at least one shortcut.

From their new vantage point Ziana noted that it was also interesting how the lowest level was rather small by comparison. Treacherous, no doubt, but not vast. It seemed the lava and thermal geyser section above was similarly constrained, though they would only know for sure once they'd completed their ascent, and that, to her relief, occurred in short order.

"No way," she gasped as they hauled themselves over the lip and onto flat ground.

"What?"

"The orb," she exclaimed, pointing to the floating ball no more than twenty meters in front of them.

Dorrin's expression was one of shock. He knew they were taking a shortcut and avoiding most of the level's normal entry point in the process, but this? It was an impossible bit of good luck. He scanned the area for traps and hazards. The large lava stream that fed the lava falls was close by. There were also small streams of lava just past it but nothing they couldn't easily hop over if they'd approached from the other direction. The thermal springs and geysers were also all situated on the other side of the orb, a gauntlet the others would have to run.

"It looks safe. Come on," he urged, hurrying to the orb and claiming their third key.

They had all three in their possession. Now it was just for them to figure out a strategy to get to the exit in the morning before the others. Dorrin spun, picking up a rock and dropping into a fighting crouch. It seemed that choosing where to camp out would have to wait.

"Stay behind me," he commanded. "And make sure I have slack to move."

The tone of his voice made her move at once. Only when she was in place did she turn to look at what had spooked him.

It was a six-legged animal, low and feline in its movements, almost like a puma but with deep-red skin and black tufted ears. It also had four eyes, two on the front and two on the back, likely evolved to allow it to be an apex hunter as well as defender of its kill. Its teeth were long and deadly looking, but she was pleased to see that at least its claws were relatively short. Watching it pace around them, sizing up its prey, she realized why.

The claws didn't retract. And this was rocky terrain. It was wearing them down every time it walked. She didn't dare distract Dorrin with her observation, but she was quite glad they encountered this one up on the stone surface of the uppermost level. The beast's cousins on the grassy area would have no such handicap, and by the look of it, their claws would be quite long indeed.

Dorrin flashed his teeth, a low growl rumbling from his throat, trying to scare it off as the beast moved closer.

No such luck.

In a flash it launched itself at him, a flurry of claws and fangs as it flew through the air. Dorrin swung hard, the rock in his hand jolted free as it smashed hard into the creature's jaw, sending it off-course and tumbling into a cluster of boulders. It rebounded quickly, spinning and jumping back into the fray, seemingly unaware its jaw was broken. This was a fight, and it was acting on instinct alone.

"Ziana, arms around my waist!" he shouted.

She didn't hesitate so much as a millisecond, wrapping her arms around him hard, the position freeing up all of the slack between their cuffs.

Dorrin moved impossibly fast, lunging aside as the beast's claws whistled through the empty air where he'd just been. The creature let out a surprised sound when it found the cable from Dorrin's cuff wrapped around its neck. It was a sound that was cut off immediately as the man mounted it from behind and leaned back hard, his muscular arms bulging from the effort, his torso hardening to a mountain of rock-solid muscle as he put his strength to the test.

Ziana felt the shift and marveled at just how much strength he had. How much he'd been holding back up until now. But with their lives on the line this was no time for conserving energy. It was live or die, and they were not going to be the latter.

The duo and their former predator rolled on the hard stone ground, all of them scraped up from the jagged surface but none letting go despite the pain. The veins in Dorrin's neck were standing out, a deep, rumbling growl vibrating his entire body as he pulled even harder.

A loud crack rang out, then the animal went still, a leg twitching but nothing more. Dorrin held on a full minute longer, taking no chances. Finally, he let go.

"It's safe," he said, unwinding the cable, looking in shock at the size of the beast he'd just slayed.

Ziana was positively buzzing with adrenaline. "That was insane," she blurted, shocked and more than a little impressed at what he'd just done. He'd just out-Tarzaned Tarzan, killing a savage beast with his bare hands.

She saw that Dorrin's arms trembled from the exertion. He'd been expending so much energy already between climbing and helping her up when she wasn't strong enough. He needed a recharge, but this challenge didn't offer any such comforts. Whatever they were to use for sustenance, they'd have to forage on the level.

"Fuck foraging," she said, grabbing a piece of volcanic rock and whacking it with a hunk of what looked like granite, chipping away until it formed a deadly sharp edge.

"What are you doing?" he asked when she started slicing through the animal's thick red hide.

"We need to eat, right? Well, there's no sense letting this go to waste."

He watched her with a surprised look, almost in shock after the fight to the death. Dorrin held out his hand. "Let me."

"I thought you'd never ask," she replied, handing him the hand-made implement. "I don't actually know what I'm doing. I've never skinned anything. Me and hunting? Yeah, that's not a thing. Fishing, sure. But all the meat I've ever had came from a store."

He chuckled, his stress seeming to melt away, a look of something else in his eyes as his gaze softened. "Again you surprise me, Ziana."

"I do my best."

He looked at the stone blade in his hand and gave an exploratory slice to the dead beast. It cut through its hide like it was butter.

"Your best is impressive," he said, setting to work. "Where did you learn to craft like this?"

"Old TV shows."

"TV?"

"Entertainment. Like a video program on a screen. This was just something I saw once as a kid."

"And you remembered it?"

"Kind of hard not to. Kids remember the most random things, and this was pretty neat. But I never thought I'd actually need to know primitive toolmaking in the real world. It was just something rattling around in my head."

He quickly sliced off a section of the animal, separating it into strips with ease. He did not, however, fully gut and skin it. This wasn't a hunting expedition and just this once they would not worry about wasting an animal that had given its life. After all, they were the prey initially.

Dorrin tossed the meat onto a rock at the edge of the nearest lava stream. It was a small one, but the heat it gave off was intense. The meat was sizzling away in no time, and despite the stress of the situation—or perhaps because of it—Ziana found her mouth watering with anticipation. He let it cook well. This was a carnivore, after all, and he was taking no chances with its meat. Finally, after what felt like forever smelling its tantalizing scent, he plucked the meat from the hot slab and lay it on a clean one he'd set up as a makeshift table.

"Dig in," he said, waiting for her to take the first piece.

"You don't have to wait. You did all the work here."

"No, I did not. We are a team, Ziana, and you have pulled your weight. I may have misjudged you."

"Are you apologizing?" she asked, taking a bite of the piping-hot food.

He flashed a little grin. "Don't push it."

They ate with a ravenous hunger, downing much of the meat in a flash, and it was a good thing. Their meal was about to be rudely interrupted.

Growls filled the air. Several of them. And they were growing closer.

Dorrin grabbed the sharpened volcanic blade and jumped to his feet, placing himself in front of Ziana. One look and he realized it wouldn't matter. There were too many to fight. And they were blocking the one relatively clear way out.

"They smelled the meat cooking," he chided himself. "I wasn't thinking."

"What do we do? Where can we go?" she wondered, her eyes darting this way and that but finding no answer.

Dorrin led her, the pair slowly backing away from the approaching pack. They moved until there was nowhere left to go. They had three choices. The beasts, the lava, or over the edge, and, crazy as it sounded, Dorrin opted for the third.

"This will seem crazy, but trust me," he said, picking her up in his arms and holding her tight to his chest.

"What are you—" she began asking, but her words turned into a scream when he stepped out into nothing.

The plummeted straight down, the lavafall beside them radiating heat even as they plummeted toward the freezing water below. They were going to die. Splat on the ice. But at the last second Ziana realized one very important thing.

The lava melted an opening.

A second later they splashed down hard, Dorrin's enormous, booted feet breaking the surface, sparing her the jolt as he took the bulk of the impact. They shot to the bottom, his legs absorbing the hit and springing them back to the surface. It seemed that the designers had decided to make this not too shallow, but also not too deep, and that had saved their lives.

They broke the surface, gasping for air. Dorrin placed one hand on the edge of the ice, his other heaving Ziana from the water before he followed her out, picking her dazed form up in his massive arms and running to shore, the ice cracking but not breaking beneath their combined weight.

"Quickly, take off your clothes!" he urged, shedding his soaking attire as fast as he could.

Ziana was in a state of shock, but she did as he told almost on autopilot, her body shivering from the cold, her nipples rock hard and her skin covered in goose flesh. She looked up, fear in her eyes.

Dorrin picked up their clothes then swooped her off her feet into his arms, hurrying along the shore. "Don't worry, they can't follow us," he soothed. "We're too far down."

"It's s-so c-cold," she stammered.

"I know. Hold on to me. I will protect you."

The water had been freezing despite the lava hitting it. The designers had ensured the water would remain cold, their complex pump systems pushing a steady stream of freezing water into the pool to constantly replenish it. But despite their cleverness, Dorrin had noticed something else when they were previously down on the lowest level. A small area near the frozen stone face from which the lava fell. A patch of ground not frozen like the rest. There was also a tiny section at the base of the stone wall that lacked ice or frost. And for that to occur in such a cold environment could only mean one thing.

One of the designers had messed up.

A pipe feeding either the lava flow or thermal geysers wasn't buried deep enough, and as a result its heat had made its way to the surface. It was a tiny design mistake, easy to miss, but given enough time, it had eventually warmed the little patch of ground and melted the ice. Dorrin wrung out their clothes with his powerful hands and lay them on a slightly warm rock to hopefully dry. He then took Ziana and lay her down closest to the stone wall, spooning behind her, using his body to protect her from the breeze while warming her with his own natural radiant heat, his arms wrapped snugly around her.

Ziana was cold. She was miserable. But, incredibly, her chill was starting to lessen, their combined body heat warming them both. Her shivers finally subsided, and, exhausted from the ordeal, she slipped into an uncomfortable sleep pressed firmly against his naked body.

She roused in the middle of the night, almost too warm now that she'd dried off as she slept. Dorrin was a furnace of a man, and she was reaping the benefit of his proximity. Her mind was in a fuzzy, near-dream state as she floated at the edge of waking and slumber where the worries of the day simply didn't exist. But something was jarring her. Intruding in her calm. And it was close.

Is that — she wondered, her question answered as his hot erection shifted against her ass, his rigid cock even hotter than the rest of him. It was hot, and it was big . She moved slightly, pressing back into him and feeling his length pulse slightly against her as she did.

Incredibly, she felt herself get wet in spite of the situation. After all they'd been through, after all the stress and fear, she felt absolutely safe. And the ball of heat quickly forming in her belly was already working its way lower in a most pleasant and surprising way. Her hand started to slide between her legs, her finger just touching her swollen clit when a thought stopped her short.

They're still watching us , she realized, wondering where their cameras were situated. Whatever the answer, she was not into that kind of exhibitionism. No matter how subtle she thought she could be, this was not the time or place. She pulled her hand back up and did her best to blank her mind. Morning would come eventually, and she'd need her sleep.

And as she slowly drifted back into an uneasy slumber, she wondered if she'd be enjoying in her dreams what she didn't dare while under this digital scrutiny. Then the world faded to black as she melted into her partner's warm embrace.