Bloody Angel

Chapter 010

***** DAY 03 ******

It’s now the morning of the third day and I sit two meters away from Sherwin. His mechanical T-Rex is beside him. I’ve been eating fruits since the first day and I salivate at the smell of meat that he’s roasting. Those are probably provisions from the steamboat.

We are on the edge of the man-made forest where WIC also created man-made caves. According to Sherwin, there are two areas in the Game with a cluster of caves. One is this area, northwest of where I came from since sliding down here. In this part, there are only three caves—one beside the other. Ours is at the rightmost part. The second cluster of caves is on the northeast where there is an entire apartment of caves. Sherwin mentioned that it's full of participants since day one, including him and his friends.

Yesterday, after I clothed myself, I followed him meekly. We passed around the corpses of Will and his rapist friends. Just before we leave the area, there was humming from the direction of the steamboat, and like before, a hole opened and it swallowed the much more destroyed boat. In its place, the verdant forest returned.

Sherwin stayed for a while to watch the spectacle. Once the forest came back, he turned his back and left together with his mechanical pet. I continued tailing him, but I kept a distance of five meters, so I can run away in case he decides to kill me too. And I wonder if that laser from his pet is less painful? It looks gruesome, but can I overlook its end result?

Sherwin raises his eyes at me, noting my distance from him. “If you’re afraid of me, you should not have followed me into this cave.”

That’s true. But since I did already yesterday, I even slept in the same cave as him, then I think it’s safe to assume that it's fine for the meantime.

“Can I trade please?” I ask and roll a mango over to him.

He catches the mango and examines it. He takes a piece of the roasted meat with his knife and approaches me. Then he points the knife at me with the meat hanging on it. I shift my attention from him to the T-Rex and back to him.

“It’s not gonna hurt you unless I order it,” he says.

I raise my palms to accept the meat. But instead of dropping the sizzling meat on my open palm, he clicks his tongue. Then he returns to his seat, takes a piece of leaf, places the meat on top of it, folds the leaf, and hands it to me.

“Now, I start to wonder why you are even here.”

“I’m a prostitute,” I answer.

Being directly honest with his type is the best way to gain his trust. And sometimes, I need to act cute and vulnerable too, just like what I did with the meat trade. If not for that, he wouldn’t even care if the meat scalds me.

“One of your customers sent you here?” he asks.

“Indirectly, one of my customers caused me to be sent here.” I take a bite from the meat. Hmmm, it’s delicious. “And you?” I ask.

“My team made a mistake on the job, causing a bank to lose millions.”

I frown at him.

“The bank and its clients are angry. That’s why the five of us are sent here. They didn’t even consider the years we’ve been slaving ourselves for them. Threw us at the first chance they get. In the end, we discovered that they are going to merge with another company. So instead of giving us our redundancy package, they sent us here.”

When I did not respond, he continues, “We are the second batch. Last year were our managers. Next year, it will be my other colleagues.”

Oh, so that’s why they know about the type of weapon they will get from the steamboat.

“You will not ask if one of my colleagues survives?”

I shake my head. There’s no need. Last year, no one survived the Game. Only two weeks into the Game and all the participants are dead. Meaning his managers are all gone and I don’t need to open up unnecessary wounds.

Once he’s done eating, he stands up. The mechanical weapon also gets up. He’s about to leave the cave when I call after him, “Where are you going? It’s a rest day. No challenges today, right?”

He turns towards me and says, “I need to use this weapon for my friends.”

Then he leaves, and I watch him from the cave. Use that pet? Don’t tell me he will be busy killing participants while it is supposed to be a rest day? This means I need to find a painless death before he turns his claws on me.

*************

It’s already dark when Sherwin returns. He seems to have taken a shower. He looks fresh, but that’s the only thing fresh about him. His eyes are downcast, his mouth is set in a grim line, there are lines on his forehead, and there is a bit of a tremor in his fist. Right now, he appears to have taken another death-defying ordeal. He frowns when he sees me, as if he’s trying to remember why I am in the cave. It takes a long five seconds when recognition passes his features. He takes a deep breath and slumps on his area, two meters away from me.

“Why didn’t you leave? You are not a prisoner,” he says.

“I have nowhere else to go,” I answer. I crawl towards him but stop when he’s a meter away from me. He’s on guard, in the way that he backs away from me. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

Sherwin smirks. “In exchange for what?”

I sit up and study him. Closer, he is really thin and small. I think I am even taller and have more flesh than him. But I know that right now, he’s the strong one, with that pet beside him.

“Anything I can do,” I say. Just please, don’t ask for s*x.

“Including your body?” he snorts. “You are a prostitute, right? I’m sure you are used to men.”

I don’t think he’s included in the category of men. He looks small and I am already satisfied with Will that I think having s*x with him will just counteract that. I don’t want to be horny the entire duration of the Game. Coming across a man like Will is just plain lucky. I don’t think I will ever have that again.

“Yes, I’m used to men. Is that what you want?” I ask. I don’t like his body. I’m sure I won’t gain any pleasure from him, but if that’s what he needs…

“Right now, no.” I feel relieved and it might have shown on my face when he adds, “You don’t even want to do it with me.”

“It’s just yesterday when that thing happened with that man,” I lie. “I don’t think…”

Sherwin nods. “Prostitutes also choose their men, huh?”

Well, we do. We choose those with money. But since I am in this Game, I choose based on what they can provide me with. Will can provide me with the scapegoat to fool Sherwin. And Sherwin has that pet with him. He will be my protection.

“We do. But our love differs from yours,” I answer.

“You mean your love depends on a man’s pocket?”

“Women’s pocket too,” I answer. I had women clients, but it never went beyond touching and kissing.

Sherwin glares at me. There is judgment in his eyes, but I am used to it, so I stare back. He sighs and points at the fruits in my area.

“Seems like you went out for more of those.”

I nod. “I didn’t go far.”

“Good. That will be safer. You want to exchange?” He opens his knapsack and starts to create fire.

I nod vigorously, with a smile on my face.

Sherwin smiles, for the first time that I have seen him. My eyes widen. It’s a good smile. He must have realized it himself because he covers his mouth with the back of his hand and says, “Sorry.”

I c*ock my head at him. Why is he apologizing for smiling?

“It looks good on you,” I blurt out.

I didn’t say it to manipulate him into liking me, but when he looks back, I can see the softening of his features.

“What is your name again?” he asks.

“Opal,” I say. “And you?”

“Sherwin.” We stare at each other and he adds, “Opal, I think we’ll be together for a bit of time.”

I make a small smile. Oh, don’t you worry. I f*ucking wish that is the case too.