Page 28
I wandered across this goddamn island, through this goddamn meadow, feeling something tighten in my throat.
Two and a half cans of peanuts and a small bag of pretzels. That’s all we had left. And the hunger was already starting to take hold. Sure, peanuts were high in calories, but those tiny bars, those little cookies, those handfuls of nuts weren’t nearly enough to fill us. I weighed 200 pounds. I needed 3,000 calories a day.
Pushing through my pessimistic mood, I forced myself to think, what else on this island could be a food source?
Narrowing my eyes, I scanned the surroundings. The slope was covered in grass, there were also a few small groves of stunted trees. I knew grass wasn’t going to be much help, it had too few nutrients, plus it contained silica, which could damage the throat. The roots wouldn’t be much better. Maybe there was a tiny bit of starch, at best.
I walked up to one of the scraggly groves. I wasn’t sure what kind of coniferous trees they were, but I’d heard that the inner bark of some trees like pine, birch, or willow, could be ground into flour and cooked. But these trunks were thin, covered in moss. I examined the lichen growing on the rocks, too. I’d heard that some of them could be edible if boiled, maybe providing a small amount of starch or sugars.
But there was so damn little of it! The lichen formed only a thin layer on the rocks, and when I tried scraping some off, I nearly broke a fingernail. As for the tree bark, I would need a knife for that. Not good.
Frustrated, I made my way back to the beach and searched it carefully, overturning rocks, especially in the tide zone. But there wasn’t much. I found one mussel clinging to a rock, but when I pried it open, it was empty.
Staring out at the rolling ocean, I clenched my jaw. Were there fish out there? Maybe. But how the hell was I supposed to catch them? The only thing I had that could work as a fishing line was the wire from my headphones. And for bait? A peanut? I let out a dry, bitter laugh.
I started pacing and overturning stones across the grassy slope that led down from the volcano. Under a few, I found some tiny bugs, but they were too small to be useful and scurried away the moment I disturbed them.
For a while, I wandered around the abandoned airplane seats, lightly dusted with snow from last night. I also made sure to fix the ‘H’, just in case.
Then I stood there for a long time, staring at the sky.
Then at the ocean.
Nothing. Of course. No ships, not even a distant one on the horizon.
Eventually, I realized it was time to head back to the cave. My mood had darkened, and something else was gnawing at me, a kind of restless, uneasy energy. Maybe I could even call it… arousal?
It was unexpected.
Sex should have been the last thing on my mind in this situation. But I found so much pleasure in what was happening between Sariel and me, even though the fear for our future was always lurking at the back of my mind.
I’d been gone from the cave for a while. When I closed my eyes, I could remember his hot body close to mine, and I realized I craved it again, despite all the unsettling observations I’d made on the empty beach. So I turned around and went straight back.
When I stepped inside, I saw Sariel curled up on the makeshift mattress, his palm wrapped around his cock.
He looked up at me, his eyes hazy, flushed cheeks burning with feverish red.
"Please…" he whispered.
He’d waited so long… I suddenly felt guilty. I’d wandered around the island for several hours, lost in a miserable mood. And to top it all off, I had nothing to show for it: no clams, no drones, nothing. The only thing I had with me was a bundle of gathered branches, which I tossed into the corner of the cave.
"I’ll just wash up," I muttered, but he shook his head.
"No, just fuck me, Winter. Pound me hard."
My body immediately responded, as if a red mist had descended upon me. Sariel slowly rolled onto his side, presenting his ass to me, his swollen hole waiting between his ass cheeks. I unbuttoned my pants and, without much thought, thrust into his wet warmth, it was a divine feeling. I closed my eyes, my fingers gripping his hips as I began to fuck him. I knew he needed it fast and intense.
Each of my movements drew grunts from his throat, and after just a few seconds, Sariel climaxed. But that wasn’t the end; he did it again and again, panting and trembling. I saw his fingers clenched white-knuckled on the edge of the mattress, and his cheek was red as a poppy. His hunger was infectious, and after I orgasmed once too, I realized that my hardness didn’t fade. So I kept going… I didn’t know how long it lasted, but I remember taking off my shirt and jacket because I was so hot, sweating as I worked diligently, fucking him without a break. The sounds of our sex echoed throughout the cave, our energy almost sparkling in the air. But he needed it, wild and intense.
Finally, the wave subsided. Sariel’s breathing slowed, and so did I, collapsing onto the mattress beside him.
To be honest, I couldn’t believe it. How was it possible that I’d somehow been able to keep up with him? I didn’t have any typical post-orgasmic oversensitivity, and it was a wholly new situation for me, to keep going after climaxing once, with no discomfort. That was truly extraordinary.
I even started to wonder if I was in some kind of strange rut… or if I’d somehow adapted to his heat?
It didn’t seem likely, but for some reason, my libido hadn’t felt fully satiated yet. Could it really be that Sariel’s heat affected us both this much?
I turned my head and looked at him. He was lying with his eyes closed, long black lashes with a minty sheen, resting on his freckled cheeks. He was probably trying to steady his breath. A strand of hair stuck to his damp forehead, and I wanted to push it aside, to tuck it behind his ear.
Why not take the initiative again? I craved to learn these tender gestures, since that kind of thing didn’t come naturally to me, I needed to practice. I’d never felt the urge to form such a bond with another person before, but now I was fully set on going out of my comfort zone. So, unhurriedly, I reached out and gently brushed his hair off his face, my fingers lightly caressing his cheek.
He slowly opened his eyes, and our gazes met.
"I’m sorry I was gone so long," I whispered.
"Don’t apologize. I know you were scouting the area. I know you were hoping for a miracle."
"But there was no miracle, Sariel. It snowed last night, and the 'H' got covered, so I had to fix it. I didn’t spot any drones. No ships on the sea."
"They don’t know where we are," Sariel whispered. He unhurriedly lifted his hand and took mine, which had been resting near his ear. Then he gently brought it to his lips and kissed it. "But thank you for trying."
I remained silent, feeling foolish. I would’ve preferred to return with results, but that wasn’t our reality right now.
Sariel shifted toward our supplies and grabbed the second-to-last can. He emptied it of peanuts, divided them into two piles, and slid one over to my side of the mattress. He added a small handful of pretzels to it.
"Please, eat. That’s the only way we’ll have the strength. You’ve been out so long, you need food."
My eyes landed on the peanuts, and I could feel my mouth begin to water.
"We’re running low on mineral water, too. We’ll need to start boiling the next batch in the cans," he added.
I nodded, and then tossed a few peanuts into my mouth.
My God, I never thought anything could taste this good. It felt like my saliva had dissolved the peanuts right in my mouth. I swallowed greedily, and my gaze instinctively dropped to the can, it was already empty.
I noticed Sariel watching me. He knew I was hungry, so he reached for the bag of pretzels and poured the remaining contents onto the bed.
He pushed the pretzels toward me, but I grabbed his hand. "No, I need to control myself."
"Winter, you need more food than I do! You’ve been exposed to the cold for so long…"
"What I need is for both of us to survive until tomorrow. Rationing will make that possible."
Our left hands were still intertwined.
Sariel fondly moved his fingers, brushing the inside of my palm with soft, tender strokes.
I closed my eyes for a moment, forgetting everything else. I found surprising comfort in this simple connection between us, just the gentle grip of our hands.
Why the hell had I never tried this before? Never searched for these small, affectionate gestures?
Now I let myself get lost in this…
For a brief time, it was just the two of us, alone in this cave, relying on each other in the stillness, with the soothing sound of the stream nearby.
It might even have been pleasant, if not for the fear that lingered.
"Please, lay beside me, Winter, I… would love to cuddle." His whisper was so shy, it was adorable.
I hardly recognized myself in this person, so eagerly lying down and pulling another human to my chest. And to top it all, finding solace in it, a mental break.
But yes, it was a new me. My arms around him, his face next to my neck, making tiny warm puffs of air, small pecks, light as a feather, and I drifted away, forgetting everything, basking in him, in Sariel.
Even if we were doomed to die on this island, there was at least something awakening to life in me.
A part that had never before seen the light of day.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28 (Reading here)
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49