Chapter Eleven

Kagome woke up feeling groggy and wet, not the best combination. She shifted off the hard ground so she was sitting up. Her head throbbed at the movement. Kagome touched her head and felt the large knot that had formed, dry blood flaking off.

'What happened.' Kagome thought as she looked around. She was in a dark cave, and there by the fire that was illuminating the dark cavern, was Bai, trying to stay warm.

"Bai?" Kagome questioned, her voice a bit hoarse from what she guessed was the water she swallowed.

Bai's head snapped up as she quickly scrambled over to Kagome. She could see that she had a slight limp, making Kagome frown.

"What happened...and why are you injured?" Kagome knew she couldn't have been out that long for the girl to find a way to injure herself.

Bai gave the older girl a sheepish smile, "I tried to escape when Curtis was hunting, to see if I could find a way to get help. You have now been out for a few days..." Bai's eyes filled up with tears. She didn't know if Kagome had been hurt and she couldn't see the injury. She felt so useless.

"A few days?" Kagome whispered that wasn't good. From the looks of it Parker hadn't found them yet. She knew he wouldn't give up until he found her. He was that stubborn and loyal. Something she liked about him.

"...Curtis...the snake feral. He wants me to be his female." Bai's eyes filled up with more tears as she leaned into the black haired woman, seeking comfort. Kagome held back a snappy comment and just gave the girl a reassuring pat on the head.

Good intentions or not, the fact was that she had left her bleeding and unconscious with a feral beast...

"He is out hunting again...we had gotten rice earlier today. I can give you some of it. You probably are hungry." Bai quickly got to work grabbing what looked like bamboo and filling it with water and rice. Kagome watched her work quickly, sighing as she leaned back and closed her eyes. She was trying to put the pieces of what had happened. When she grabbed Curtis when he was swimming she must have hit her head. She was lucky he didn't let her drown.

Kagome was surprised Parker hadn't tracked them down as of yet. Something must be slowing him down. From what Bai had said it has been a few days, so three or more days she had been unconscious. She probably got a concussion and falling asleep wasn't the best thing.

She must have been in her head longer than she thought because Bai was putting a hand on her shoulder and handing her something. Blinking Kagome took the bamboo holding a serving of steaming rice.

"Thank you..." She was thankful. She hadn't had rice since coming to this world, from what she had learned rice was a hard crop to grow and beasts had died from how labor-intensive it gets. Kagome knew better than to ask for it after hearing about that. She could find plenty of other things to eat, though Parker had been fine with just meat..meat and more meat. She had been sneaking vegetables and other things into the meals.

Even so she would savor the familiar meal, a longing for home budding in her chest as she ate what had once upon a time been a staple in her life. Finishing her meal she handed the empty bamboo shoot back to Bai who merely set it on the ground before moving to sit by her, her trembling arms wrapping around her waist as she buried her face in her shoulder, hot tears searing her cold exposed flesh.

"I was so worried Kagome, you wouldn't wake up and Curtis wanted to eat you...I had to beg him to leave you alone since you were still breathing." Her voice was a low whimper as she recalled the way Curtis had gazed at her best friend like she was nothing more then a piece of meat.

Kagome grit her teeth, she had yet to meet this Curtis but from what she heard he was a real prick. Patting Bai's head in comfort she wrapped her arms around the shivering girl. Using what little light the fire gave off she found they were in a cave, it held no opening on land which lead to her assume that the pool of water in the back left corner of the cave was the entrance.

Good thing she was a great swimmer.

As if sensing her thoughts Bai pulled back a frown on her face. "After I tried to get away Curtis brought us here...I almost drowned...I don't think we can swim out of here..." The only reason Kagome had not drowned was because Curtis had shot through the water like a bullet, his thick tail propelling them through the water like a hot knife through butter.

She had been cold and sputtering as he gently set her down and dropped Kagome on the ground like a sack of potatoes. Why he was so set on her was beyond her, Kagome was obviously a much better looking female and from what she knew the males of this world were obsessed with looks so why he was so fixated on her was baffling.

Plus she herself was terrified of snakes, so to be his sole source of attention...it was a terrifying thought.

Kagome took a deep breath, holding it in her lungs until she was sure they would burst, then she slowly let it out. Her head was still throbbing, her thoughts a jumbled mess as she tried to not only figure out a plan but also comfort Bai...who was the sole reason they were in this mess.

She held back the angry scolding words that rested on the tip of her tongue, there was no use giving voice to them now. No, it would only upset Bai which would make it even harder to get her to listen to her. No, for now, she would have to wear kid gloves, but once they got out of this she was going to give Bai the tongue lashing she so desperately needed.

"Kagome?" Snapping her eyes open at Bai's voice, Kagome gave a forced smile as she gave Bai's shoulders a comforting squeeze before pulling away a bit.

"Bai, tell me more about this Curtis..." Bai nodded as she began to recant what had happened between the two of them the last few days that Kagome was out cold.

Kagome had never been more hard pressed to keep her cool than she was right now, not only had Bai lied about her origins but also about her name and her relation to Parker... "You told him Parker was courting you?" Her voice was even, her anger barely controlled.

Bai ducked her head feeling ashamed of her lie, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. "He wants me as his mate. I thought if I said Parker was courting me it would make him back off. He is the son of the leopard king after all..." Saying it out loud made her argument feel even more flimsy.

Yup if they got out of this alive then she was for damn sure going to give the younger woman a tongue lashing so severe and harsh that she wouldn't even think about letting another lie fall from her damn lips.