The Elusive Prey

Chapter One “Hey…HEY! Hold up a minute, will you?” stopped and turned around. Barbara was lagging well behind her, trying to catch up. “Fine example of a fitness-center manager you are!” grinned. “What’s the matter? You that out of shape?” “Ha.” Barbara puffed as she drew nearer. “And ‘ha’ again. How much does this freakin’ pack weigh? Fifty, sixty pounds? I’m just not used to carrying so much weight is all.” “Oh.” ’s grin faded. “Well, it’s not THAT heavy. More like thirty pounds, but I think you’re carrying it a bit wrong. Here, let me see.” Barbara stood patiently as checked her pack, adjusted a few things. They were small details, but was used to backpacking. Barbara was not and wouldn’t have known what to do. “There,” she said at last. “How’s that?” Barbara shifted her shoulders a bit, took a few steps. “Hey, that’s much better! Thanks!” “Now will you keep up?” “If you go a little slower.” Barbara nodded. “Or are you going to try to jog all the way there?” “All right, all right. I’ll slow down for you.” “Deal. Now, can we take a break?” “Sure,” agreed. She could use a little rest herself. “We can sit on that log over there. It’s in the shade.” “Ahhhhhhhhh…” Barbara exhaled gratefully as she sat on the old fallen tree. “Seriously, Kim, are you in some kind of hurry? Are you hoping to come across that guy again, that ‘Alpha’ you keep telling me about? Hm?” She nudged in her ribs playfully. “I don’t know…” paused to take a long swig from her canteen. The water was not as cool as it had been an hour earlier. “I’ve been thinking about that, and I really don’t know. Part of me does. He was big…all over…and strong, and just mean enough.” She shivered, remembering. “First man ever to use my little round ass, too.” “Okay, so that’s one part.” Barbara took out her own canteen and uncapped it. “But what’s the other part? Of you, I mean.” shrugged as best she could while still wearing the backpack. “The other part…well, I just don’t know. Part of the thrill last year was trying to learn what three complete strangers wanted, how to please each one of them. So, I keep thinking that maybe another complete stranger or two will recapture that. But…I don’t know for sure, and I kinda doubt that any stranger will be able to do to me what Alpha did.” “Hm.” Barbara drank quickly and recapped her canteen. “Well, from what you’ve told me about him, I wouldn’t mind coming across that Alpha guy myself.” She chuckled. “Of course, I’d put up a fight at first. It helps to get the juices flowing. Or are you calling dibs on him now?” looked around before replying. It wasn’t the same place as last year. The ground wasn’t as hilly and most of the trees were hardwoods, not pines. It also wasn’t the same arrangement as last year. She wondered about whatever kind of organization was behind such odd “tour packages”. “No, I’m not calling dibs,” she answered. “It wouldn’t do me any good. We won’t have anything at all to say about who gets us, or what they do to us after we’re got. You know that.” “Just kidding.” Barbara shrugged. “How far do we have to go yet?” “Not far.” shook her head. “We should reach that place…what’s it called?” “Gordburg.” Barbara offered. “Yeah, Gordburg. Well, we should reach that town before sundown. We register there tonight, get a good hot meal and a good night’s sleep in a real bed. Then tomorrow, the game begins.” “It should be interesting,” Barbara said. She didn’t sound certain about it. laughed. “You having second thoughts, too?” “Second thoughts, third thoughts…but I’m still going,” Barbara replied. “Roller coasters still scare the hell out of me some times, but I keep riding them.” nodded. “Here’s to the roller coasters.” She held up her canteen in a toast. Barbara obligingly clinked her canteen against ’s with a smile. “What are we getting ourselves into?” “My very dear friend, we are getting ourselves into our fantasies. Everybody has them, but how many go as far as we do to make them come true?” Barbara chuckled dryly. “I’ll bet a lot more than come back to try it again, like we are. I have to tell you, after my first time I swore I’d never do that again!” “And you still talked me into trying it for myself?” eyed her with mock anger. “Gee, thanks!” “Hey…you’re here again, and this time you talked me into it. I think we’re even, Kim.” “Mmmm…maybe.” shrugged, smiling. ‘And maybe not quite,’ she thought to herself. She stood up, stretching within the limits her backpack allowed. “Come on, Barbie-doll. I want a hot bath and a hot meal and we can only get those in town. You’re slowing us up.” Barbara rose with an exaggerated groan. “Lead on, lead on,” she waved a hand at . “I’ll try to keep up.” “Just remember,” called back over her shoulder as she started along the trail again, “Hot baths and hot meals.” They made better time now. Maybe the little adjustments she’d made to Barbara’s pack did the trick or maybe the idea of hot baths and food gave Barbara the bit of inspiration she needed. Or, maybe it was both in combination. Whatever, so long as it worked. Usually on a hike like this one, would pass the time looking around as she walked, trying to identify the different plants and trees, listening to the bird calls and breathing in the kaleidoscope of scents and odors. She tried to do that now, but it wasn’t working. Her mind kept replaying scenes from last year, some were quick little snapshots, others longer and more detailed. All of them were powerful. Some of them were a little disturbing. She could almost feel the bonds on her wrists and ankles, the faint caress of air on her bare skin, and always, the memory of c***s, in her p***y, in her mouth, and up her ass. She shuddered. More than anything, she remembered Alpha; how he looked, how he felt, even his scent. It was unlikely she would meet him again, very, very unlikely. And still…a girl could dream, couldn’t she? She had even had her hair cropped short again, just like it had been last year. She was Elf-girl again. Barbara might have her own little dreams about coming back, because she had been letting her hair grow ever since they had decided to do this one more time. It had been the middle of winter, bitterly cold and dreary. One long night they had spent talking about it, slightly giggly, sexy, girl-talk fueled by one too many bottles of wine. That night, coming back had just seemed to be the thing to do. It had even seemed that way the next morning. Barbara’s hair was not as long as it had been in that picture had seen, but it still made for an impressively long ponytail as it poked out from under the new bush hat she’d bought for the occasion. herself had settled on a baseball cap this year. It shaded her eyes just as well and was less likely to fall off her head. Also, she wouldn’t mind as much if it got fed to a fire. From what Barbara had told her, she hadn’t had everything burned up by her captors. She had been staked out spread-eagle, though, and apparently had spent more than one night tied to a tree. It would be interesting to see what this year had in store for her. wanted to see that very much. “Hey! Hey, you guys! Okay if I tag along with you?” and Barbara both whirled around, startled. realized just how edgy she was on this hike. According to the rules, they were safe until they’d gotten to town and checked in, but still… Coming up behind them was what looked like a very small woman carrying a very large backpack. She was grinning and waving. “Hi! Hi there!” As she drew closer, realized that she was indeed a very small woman, no more than a shade over five feet tall, if that. Her backpack was normal-sized. It just looked far too big on her, although she seemed to carry it easily. “Hi! Thanks for waiting up for me!” The newcomer held out her hand, still grinning. shook the proffered hand after Barbara. It struck her as a bit surreal, out here in the woods. “Call me Cat. Short for Catherine.” Cat had a cute little heart-shaped face, big brown eyes, and shoulder-length glossy dark-brown hair. Her grip was stronger than her size led to expect, and her grin appeared to be a permanent feature of her face, showing even, white little teeth. “You guys headed for town? Me too! Okay if we walk together?” “Uh…sure. Why not?” felt slightly overwhelmed by this vivid little apparition. “Great!” Cat nodded. “I was getting kinda lonely out here by myself.” “Where did you start from?” Barbara asked. Cat shrugged. “A truck dropped me off back there a while ago.” She pointed vaguely back down the trail. “Told me this trail would take me to town. So, here I am. You guys are repeats, too?” “Uh…yes.” looked where Cat had been pointing. So far as she knew, there was only one place for any truck to drop any woman off. Cat must have been dropped off well after she and Barbara had been, and she’d still caught up. She took a quick look at Cat’s legs, but the jeans she was wearing gave no clue as to what they looked like. Still, was willing to bet that they were “cheerleader legs”, sturdy and strong, but still shapely. “Been to this place before?” Cat went on. “Uh…no, we haven’t,” replied. “Have you?” “Nope.” Cat shook her head. “Heard about it, though. Say, what are your names? I forgot to ask! Pardon my manners!” “I’m Barbara,” Barbara began. “She’s…” “Elf-Girl.” interjected before Barbara could say any more. Cat looked up and down, head c****d to one side. “Hey, yeah!” she said at last. “I can see that!” She stepped to one side, then the other for a better look at ’s ears. “Yeah, it suits you. So, what’s your story, Elf-Girl, Barbara?” “Story?” “What are you going to town for?” Cat paused and laughed. “I mean, what kind of tour package? Or are you guys just going as vacationers?” “What?” Barbara spoke up. “I don’t understand.” “Oh. Sorry.” Cat shrugged again. guessed that she did that a lot in conversation. “You didn’t know? You can just stay at the hotel if you want. It’s not a five-star resort, I hear, but it’s got a pool and the food is pretty good. The town has a couple of bars, and it’s real easy to find Mr. Right-Now, I’m told.” She laughed. “Is that what you’re going for?” Barbara asked. “Me? Hell no!” Cat laughed. “Not this year, anyway. Nope, I’m gonna register, get one last good meal and one last good night’s sleep, and tomorrow I’m gonna put myself on the slave market.” “You can do that?” was surprised. How much else didn’t she know? It was too bad there wasn’t a website she could visit for information or at least some sort of brochure to look at. Well, little Cat here was kind of like a brochure. “Come on. We can talk more while we walk,” she suggested. Cat had to deliberately slow her pace so that and Barbara could keep up. While she slowed her walk, though, her talking never slowed down at all. She didn’t walk so much as bounce along the trail, tirelessly. That was mildly annoying to . But on the other hand, Cat was a wonderful source of information…lots and lots and lots of information. After finding out that Cat was 26, a Taurus, didn’t need to work because of a trust fund, had traveled extensively, loved sailing, and had taken one of these singular “package tours” four times already, started to interrupt her with questions. Cat appeared to be as happy to answer questions as she had been to talk about herself. She’d never been to Gordburg herself, but she knew two other women who had. The town wasn’t large, but it did have some people who lived there the year round. There was only one road into the town, but it also had a small airport. There was one large hotel and possibly one smaller one, a couple of bars, some stores and a small hospital. The town also boasted a slave market, dealing solely in female flesh. Cat was especially interested to see that before she donated herself to it. She’d also heard that somewhere there was another town with a slave market that dealt only in men. She wondered aloud what THAT would be like before steered her back onto this particular town. “Well…” Cat shrugged. “Let me ask you a question first: What did you guys sign up for?” “Uh…” had to swallow and think about how to put it into words. “Well, last year I had kind of a wilderness adventure. Me alone in the woods, hunted down by three men. My friend, here, talked me into it.” She jerked a thumb towards Barbara, who chuckled. “So…that’s what you’re going for again?” “Well…yes. I didn’t know there were other possibilities.” Cat laughed. “They probably didn’t tell you because you’re still pretty new to this. Or maybe somebody just forgot. You want to hear about the other possibilities?” “YES!” and Barbara both spoke at once. “Okay…let’s see…you can just stay at the hotel, if you want. It’s like a small resort, I hear. Even has a small golf course, swimming, nature trails. And if that doesn’t float your boat, I guess you could always visit the slave market. Just for a look, y’understand. Hotel guests are safe, if they want to be. And, you can sign up for an E-and-E, like you guys did.” “E-and-E?” was puzzled. “Evasion and Escape.” Cat grinned. “Except, I don’t know of anyone who stayed escaped for long. And then, there’s the slave market. That works two ways.” “Two ways?” prodded. “Yeah. Take me, for example. I’m going straight into the slave market. Some man will ‘buy’ me and for the next ten days, I’m his slave.” She laughed again. “I hope he has a lot of stamina, whoever he is.” nodded in agreement, but she didn’t think any one man would be able to keep up with Cat for more than a couple of days, no matter how much stamina he might have started out with. “But…what’s the second way?” “Oh. Well, say you’re signed up for E-and-E. You can also go to the slave market after you’re captured, if whoever captured you wants to do it and you agreed to it ahead of time.” Cat looked at and Barbara. “I can’t think of many men who’d get tired of either of you two in any hurry, though. Oh! But, I should tell you that sometimes it’s other women doing the hunting, not just men.” “Ah…I see.” was starting to feel overwhelmed. “When we get to the town, would there be anyone we could talk to about this?” “Oh, sure!” Cat was emphatic. “Just tell the desk clerk at the hotel. Somebody’ll come talk to you.” “WAIT a minute!” Barbara spoke up from the rear. and Cat both turned towards her. “You said there’s a into the town?” Barbara demanded, looking at Cat. “Sure.” Cat nodded. “Why?” “If they have a road, why the hell do we have to hike in there like this? Couldn’t we have gone in on a bus…or a limo or something? Geez, I wouldn’t mind flying in either!” Barbara sounded indignant. Cat just looked at her for a long moment then burst out laughing. “What’s so funny?” Barbara stood with her arms folded. She didn’t look as if she saw any humor in the situation at all. “No, no, don’t get pissed.” Cat’s laughter trailed off in a chuckle and she held up a hand. “I can see your point, but I’ll bet you’re not the first one to ask that question.” “So you know the answer then? Let’s hear it.” “The only way you get to ride in or fly in is if you’re just going to be a guest at the lodge.” Cat explained. “If you’re going to play, you always hike in.” “Why is that?” asked, just before Barbara could. “I’m not completely sure.” Cat shrugged. “It’s just the way they always do things. But I have a couple of ideas about it.” “I’m listening.” Barbara still had her arms folded, and it looked as if she wasn’t going to take another step until she got some kind of answer. “Well…” Cat looked up at the sky for a moment. “One idea is that this little nature walk gives a person the chance to think things over one last time. Maybe when you get to the lodge you aren’t quite so sure about playing outside, maybe you are. Either way, you’ve had a chance to think about it.” “And?” Barbara prompted. “And the other is…the lodge is at the other side of the town from where this trail enters it. To get to it, you have to walk all the way down the main street…and while you’re doing that, all of the other people who came here to play get to take a nice, long look at you.” This theory made a bit more sense to than the first one did. It was a little disturbing to think of all those eyes following them down the street, but it was also more than a little exciting. She really wanted to see this Gordburg now. It sounded like a very interesting place.