Page 16 of Blue Arrow Island (Blue Arrow Island #1)
Pax lets out a deep, feral yell and he charges, landing a jab to Anders’s left eye. Anders is fast on his feet, though. He dances around like a boxer, dodging blows and trying to land a few of his own.
Anders spits out a mouthful of blood and I see a flash of white in there. One of his teeth.
Pax uses his longer arms to his advantage, staying just far enough to be out of Anders’s reach as he lands a mighty blow to his nose. Anders stumbles back, dazed.
“Come on, take him out,” Luke mutters.
Pax charges. He sweeps his leg behind Anders’s, knocking him to the ground. Then he kicks Anders in the side, his opponent howling and trying to curl up.
Unrelenting, Pax kicks him again and again. Anders cries out as he flips onto his stomach, trying to use his knees to get up.
Pax backs up and runs at him, jumping about seven feet in the air before he lands on Anders, his elbow aimed at Anders’s back. It lands so hard that I hear the crunch of his back breaking.
It’s over. Pax rolls Anders onto his stomach, Anders coughing up blood that pours from either side of his mouth.
He needs to quickly snap his neck and end the suffering. My heart hammers as seconds pass, Pax just standing there. I look around at the faces of the spectators, not seeing a hint of sympathy for the man dying in front of us.
Some people have a feral glint of satisfaction in their eyes. Others look almost impassive. I force myself not to let my horror show.
Where’s the humanity? Whether they’re afraid to admit it or not, Anders was right—we are all starving. And still, we train for eight hours a day. And to what end?
For Whitman. A maniacal tyrant who doesn’t care if any of us live or die.
Tears pool in my eyes as Anders starts to choke on his own blood.
Pax dives on him, and just when I think he’s finally going to end this quickly, he instead buries his face in Anders’s neck.
People in the crowd cheer and throw fists in the air. I furrow my brow, confused. Then my disgust is magnified as I realize what he’s doing. Pax is biting Anders. Fucking biting him, like a vampire in a horror movie.
I want nothing more than to look away as blood spurts from Anders’s carotid artery. Pax bounces to his feet and throws both fists in the air, spitting a hunk of Anders’s bloody flesh to the ground.
My stomach twists with sickness. That mouth was on mine earlier. It makes me want to walk into the ocean and let the waves overtake me.
Pax’s predatory gaze lands on me, the blood around his mouth making him look like a wild animal feasting on his prey. Which isn’t actually that far off.
An invisible magnet pulls me toward him. I fight it. The slick heat between my legs is begging me to give in and go to him.
Fuck him, fuck him, fuck him. You want it more than anything. You want him deep inside you and nothing else matters.
He looks down at Anders, still dying a slow, painful death. Bending down, Pax grabs his ankle and quickly drags him over to the fire, rolling him into the flames.
Instinctively, I back up, averting my eyes from the inside of the circle. I have to get out of here. As soon as the first person leaves, I’m going to. I make it to the back of the crowd, where I stand right behind a couple of men. They should hide me from him.
The smell of burning flesh fills the air. As seconds turn into minutes, my pulse pounds, instinct telling me to run.
Run where, though? Back to my room? I’m not even safe there.
The men in front of me cheer. Someone hoots appreciatively, others quickly following.
I peek around the man in front of me and see Yelena, the four who was training the robot kid soldiers. She’s topless, her nipples peaked as she slides her pants and underwear down. Her boots are already off.
Pax’s pants are pooled at his ankles, his hand wrapped around his erection. His eyes aren’t his own; they have an animalistic gleam.
I can’t believe this is happening. As Anders’s body burns, Pax picks Yelena up, the corded muscles of his arms standing out. Heat in her eyes as she reaches down to line his cock up. Then he slides her onto it, groaning as he works her up and down his length.
She throws her head back, moaning. On the other side of the circle, two women and another man are undressing, another woman already naked and on her knees.
Pax puts Yelena down, taking her waist to spin her around. She gets to her hands and knees and he drops to his knees, too. Then he thrusts himself back inside her, his hands locked on her waist.
Others are coming into the circle now, too. I only see threes and fours. Some of them don’t even get their clothes all the way off before they start rutting.
Yelena straightens and leans back, taking Pax’s bloody mouth in a passionate kiss. He returns it, still pounding himself into her.
I swallow hard, my mind spinning. I have to get out of here. I’m about to say screw it and start running when Olin catches my eye. He tips his chin slightly.
When he reaches me, he gestures for me to walk in front of him, heading toward the entrance to the circle. A few other people are starting to leave.
He’s offering me cover. Letting me walk out unseen. I slip in front of him, forcing myself not to move too quickly. We need to look like people casually leaving now that the murder is over and the orgy is starting.
I hardly breathe in the two minutes it takes us to get out to the beach, the moaning and grunting getting louder now.
My heart rate slows. Olin is a steady presence beside me. There’s so much I want to say to him, but I can’t risk it with other people around.
“Thank you,” I say softly when we walk back into camp.
He nods and goes the other direction. I walk to my room as fast as I can, sagging against the back of the door once it’s closed and locked.
I get it now. Why the choices are this or execution. They’re the same, really. It’s either a quick death or a slow one. This beautiful, evil, tropical hell somehow makes people lose their free will.
It’s the death of who you really are. And for the first time since I got here, I’m not sure I have a chance of escaping it.