Prey
Disclaimer:See chapter 1
Previously in Prey...
Troy turns to look back toward their pursuer. He gaining on them. Troy looks left and right at the dense underbrush of the forest and realizes there's no where else to go. This is it. Looking to Sharpay, he does the only thing he can think to do.
"Sharpay? Can you swim?"
However, before waiting for an answer he shoves her as hard as he can off the cliff. He jumps seconds later and they both plunge down towards the angry, churning water below.
Chapter 4: Surviving the River and Each Other
The Hunter is standing at the top of the cliff cursing the bad luck that caused his rifle to misfire. Even with the aid of his binoculars, there's no sign of them. Damn, they're probably dead. And where's the fun in that if I wasn't the one who killed them.
Nevertheless, he's no quitter. Therefore, he studies the current and direction the river is flowing and then, references that with his map to determine the best location to continue his hunt. With a determined stride, he turns back down the trail.
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Far from the view of The Hunter, Troy breaks through the surface of the rushing water, gasping for air.
"Sharpay!", he shouts, but receives no reply. He looks around, franticly trying to find her --- twirling around in the frigid water until he's dizzy, but there's still no sign of her.
Troy's being swept downstream and it's all he can do to keep his head above water. Suddenly, he sees a low branch hanging out over the river and he leaps up with all his might to grab it. It's just like making a slam dunk in a basketball game, except winning this game is way more important than any he's ever played before. He makes it and the branch bows down under his weight, but it doesn't break. Moving both hands slowly along the branch, he works his way up towards the shore. The water is cold and its weight soaks deeply into his clothes and shoes, making him feel like he's carrying an extra 50 pounds. Finally, he manages to reach the shore and heaves himself up onto a small sandbar.
Five minutes later, he's still lying on his stomach and the side of his face is pressed down into the gritty, wet sand, but he's too tired to move.
I'm alive, he thinks in exhaustion. And then immediately on the tail of that thought comes, but where's Sharpay?
Troy wearily lifts his head and tries to scan the river for any sign of her. Sharpay ... she's turned out to be one surprise after another and not unpleasant ones. Although he'd never admit it aloud, he's actually glad that she's the one with him and not Gabriella. He doesn't think Gabriella could have held up to the rigors of running the distances they had covered today. In fact, he's surprised that Sharpay did so well. It seems that there's a lot about her he doesn't know. I hope I get a chance to find out more. I hope...
Before he can finish that thought, Troy feels a sharp pain in the small of his back --- a kidney punch and another in the middle of his back ... and another and another, reigning down on his back in rapid succession.
Oh God, The Hunter found me!, he thinks in a panic. He rolls over on his back to defend himself when his assailant spews out a huge stream of profanity that would have shocked a gang member. It's then that he realizes this voice is way too high and rapid to be the slow, deep southern drawl of The Hunter.
"You stupid, conceited, asinine, son of a bitch ... Are you crazy? Of course, you are. What in the hell did you think you were doing pushing me and then, jumping off that cliff? You could have killed yourself. More importantly, you could have killed me!" Sharpay continues to pound her fists into him as she screams out her frustrations.
"Sharpay! Please! Stop hitting me!", Troy pleads as he finally manages to grab her wrists and hold them away from his body.
Now he can get a good look at the petite little blond who is currently straddling him with a wild look in her eye. This is definitely a place Troy Bolton never wanted to find himself --- on the other end of Sharpay Evans' fury. However, looking up at her, his imminent demise is the last thing on his mind. She is as wet as he is and her hair is a gnarly, tangled mess that is hanging limply over her face, obscuring the left half completely. She must have landed on the sandbar too because she has wet sand sticking to her dripping clothes.
Troy carefully takes one of her wrists and moves it over to his other hand so he can hold both of her wrists with one hand. Then, he reaches up and moves the hair out of her eyes. She has never looked more beautiful to him. Did I just think that?
He sits up suddenly and envelopes her in a bone crushing hug. "God, Sharpay! You're alive! I was so worried when I couldn't find you. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
Sharpay is stunned. She was so angry when he pushed her into the river. Although now, she realizes that she was able to channel that anger into helping her survive the situation. She was so intent on getting out of the water and exacting her revenge on that jerk that she didn't have time to panic about nearly drowning. But now ... he's hugging her like she's his long lost ... What?
When Troy sat up and hugged her, her legs automatically wrapped around his waist and now she's, for all intents and purposes, sitting on Troy's lap. She wraps her arms around his neck to maintain her balance, at least that's what she tells herself, at first. Now, this god of boy who she's been crushing on since freshman year is actually hugging her. And shock of shocks, she starts hugging him back.
Finally, he slowly pulls back to look at her.
"I was so scared", he chokes out in a whisper.
Sharpay is stunned when she sees his face. A lone tear is trailing slowly down his cheek.
"Hey... It's okay. We're okay. We're both alive, despite that stupid stunt you pulled and we're going to make it out of this."
Then, she reaches up and gently wipes away the tear. He takes her hand in his and turns it over and places a light kiss on her palm. Next, Troy gets a distasteful look on his face as he seems to be chewing on something. He leans over to the side and spits onto the ground.
"Well, that's just nasty", Sharpay comments.
"Blah", he says as he sticks his tongue out of his mouth. "Sand."
Sharpay surprises herself again when she also leans over and hocks a loogie, trying to get the gritty feel of the sand out of her own mouth. Then, they both look back at each other and the absurdity of the situation and they both start to laugh. They're being hunted by a homicidal lunatic and now they're fretting over the taste of sand in their mouths. Who can't find the humor in that?
"It's probably not safe to stay here. It's going to be dark soon", Troy finally says after they've laughed themselves out. "Do you have any idea where we are?"
They also manage to check themselves out and amazingly both of them only have a few minor scrapes and bruises, despite the damage that Sharpay tried to deliver on Troy.
"Not a clue", Sharpay says as she stands up. She makes an unconscious shiver and wraps her arms around herself to ward off the chill.
Troy walks up behind her and adds his arms to hers. She turns her head up and back to study him in the fading light.
"What's happening here, Troy? Between us, I mean."
"I honestly don't know, but I do know I'm not going to die without a fight and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you don't die either."
Now it's Troy's turn to shiver. "We need to get out of these wet clothes before we get hypothermia."
That comment gets a well-deserved eyebrow raise from Sharpay.
"You know what I'm talking about", he insists.
"You're right. Let's try to follow that trail and see where it leads."
"What trail?", he asks dumbly.
Sharpay points to a well-marked trail to the right of the sandbar. Imagine the luck of landing on a sandbar that has a trail leading down to it. They lock hands and trudge slowly and painfully up the trail and silently pray that their luck holds.
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Jake and Eve reappear about an hour after Gabriella and Ryan finish their dinner. They appear much more ... relaxed, but Jake still looks a bit anxious. And anxious is not something you want to see in sociopath.
"See... I told you the food wasn't drugged", Jake sneers at them.
"Thank you", Gabriella says politely. "It was delicious."
"Yeah, well. We do try."
Jake starts a much needed campfire and Eve starts to sway in front of it as if she's dancing to her own private music.
"Alright, kiddos. I'm bored", announces Jake as he executes an exaggerated stretch.
Gabriella and Ryan look nervously at each other and she turns her left hand over and clasps tightly onto his right where they are handcuffed together.
"Well... what are you waiting for? Show us some entertainment! I know ... dance for us. ... Never mind, you can't even get up."
"How 'bout a song, Jakey? Miss Edith wants to 'ear a song", croons Eve.
"A song! Great idea, Evie. Alright, you two ... get with the singing. And it better be good."
Gabriella looks meaningfully at Ryan and then leans over and whispers into his ear.
"Any time now!", shouts Jake.
Ryan sits up a little and clears his throat. There's no way he can do his warm-up exercises here. That crazy guy would shoot him. Therefore, he hums quickly to find the key and starts singing softly, directly into Gabriella's eyes.
Once
in a lifetime
there's no second chance
so I believe that
you and me
should grab it while we can
Smiling wistfully at him, Gabriella joins in.
Make it last forever
and
never give it back
She actually surprises herself at how clear and strong her voice sounds. She's always, secretly, thought that her voice sounded a little weak and nasal.
Ryan smiles warmly at her and grasps her hand more tightly, as if drawing strength from her and simultaneously giving it back to her.
It's our turn, and I'm loving' where we're at
They become completely caught up in the song and realize that the meaning of the words are far more poignant than when Gabriella sang this song with Troy.
Because this moment's really all we have
Everything else fades away as they sing only to each other, forgetting for this one fleeting moment where they are and the uncertain future they face.
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After a short five minute hike, they find a small cabin at the end of the trail.
"It looks deserted", Troy says as they approach the tiny log structure.
"Yeah", agrees Sharpay. "Possibly just a vacation cabin."
They walked around the building and notice that there's no driveway leading to it. There's just another trail leading off in the opposite direction from the river.
"That's probably a good thing", Troy observes. "If there's no road leading directly here, then it's less likely that The Hunter will be able to find us here."
They try the doors and windows, but they're all locked. While standing at the rear entrance, Troy tells Sharpay, "Shield your eyes." Then, he uses his elbow and breaks out a pane of glass closest to the door knob. He reaches through and unlocks the door and opens it.
As an explanation, Troy just says, "I just love those Law and Order marathons. You can pick up a lot of useful information from those."
"Wow, who would have thought --- Troy Bolton, a B&E man. Good to know you have something to fall back on, if that whole basketball thing falls through.
"Let's check things out; see what we can find that's useful", Troy suggests.
After five minutes of searching, they've find that the electricity is off, which is fine because they can't chance drawing any attention by turning on the lights anyway. Also, Sharpay finds one can of peaches covered in dust and Troy finds a stack of old, musty wool blankets. However, the greatest find of all was the solar water heater. Because even if there's no electricity to pump the water through the pipes, there was hot water already in the tank. Using buckets, they fill up the tub with hot water from the drain spiggot at the bottom of the water tank and Troy being the gentleman that he is, allows Sharpay to go first.
Feeling human once again, Sharpay exits the small bathroom, wrapped in one of the wool blankets.
"I'm so glad to get that sand washed out of my hair", she says as she runs her fingers through her wet hair.
When she doesn't hear a response, she looks over to find Troy staring at her with thinly veiled interest. A blush creeps up her cheeks and suddenly feels a need to busy herself elsewhere.
Sharpay nervously clears her throat and announces, "Umm, I'm going to see if I can get those peaches open. The moon's full, so I'm going to work on it on the porch."
She turns and walks off towards the kitchen, leaving Troy staring after her.
What the hell am I doing? I've got a perfectly nice girlfriend waiting for me to save her life. Maybe that's part of the problem ... maybe Gabriella is too perfect. I've always felt ... inadequate around her.
Troy absentmindedly licks his lips and groans in disgust when he swipes a clump of sand into his mouth. Yuck! Maybe a bath is the best thing to do right now and plus the water's probably cool enough to count this as a cold shower.
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Everyday!
When Gabriella and Ryan finish the song, the entire world has melted away ... leaving only the two of them.
"Bravo! Brava!", Eve says gleefully as she claps with much enthusiasm.
"Yeah, I got to agree. For a couple of losers, that wasn't half bad", Jake says as he slowly approaches them. "Unfortunately", he says, casually, as he reaches down to grab Gabriella's free hand. Gabriella and Ryan are both holding their breaths, fearful of what he's going to do. "...it's bedtime, so we don't have time for an encore. I'm going to move you two into the tent." His voice is almost like a seductive whisper now.
He first uncuffs Gabriella from Ryan and reattaches her to a tree branch. Then, he uncuffs Ryan and harshly pulls him into the tent, ignoring his pained protests. After Ryan is secured in the tent, Jake moves Gabriella in and reattaches her to Ryan's right hand and then, exits without another word.
"Are you okay?", Gabriella says in a voice steeped in her own anguish.
"Yeah, I'm fine", Ryan says through gritted teeth.
"No, you're not. You don't have to be brave for me. I can see you're hurting."
"Well, at least the pain let's me know I'm still alive", Ryan sighs.
"Yeah, there is that", she agrees sadly.
After propping his leg up again under the spare sleeping bag, Gabriella settles herself down on Ryan shoulder and places their combined hands on his chest.
"Is it okay, if I lie here? Am I hurting you?"
"No", Ryan squeaks, "I ... I mean no. It's fine. It's ... nice even."
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"Sharpay, where are you?", Troy asks as his eyes search the nearly dark room.
"Over here", she calls, "I'm next to the window."
He looks towards the voice and sees her silhouette standing in front of the rear window. The way the moonlight is streaming in, blanketing her figure in its warm glow, she looks almost effulgent.
"Hi."
"I found a can opener and got the peaches open, but I've been waiting for you", Sharpay tells him.
"Great, I'm so hungry, I'd ... well, nevermind", Troy finishes sheepishly.
It's too dark for him to see her smile, but he can almost imagine how her lips curve up when she jokes, "Get over here before they both fall off."
A couple of minutes later, they're huddled over the open aluminum can, taking turns dipping their disposable plastic forks in and sampling the succulent sweetness of heavy syrup doused canned peaches.
"Hmmm, this is heaven", mumbles Sharpay.
Once the peaches are finished, they share the juice until the entire can is empty.
"Man, I think that just made me hungrier", Troy grumbles as he pulls his blanket closer around him. They'd each shaken off as much grim and sand from their clothes as they could and hung them in the bathroom to air dry.
"Hey, when this thing is over and we're back home", Sharpay says confidently, "I'll buy you that double cheeseburger."
"Thanks... I guess we should get some sleep. I'll take the sofa."
There's only one bed in the small one room cabin and one sofa which faces the empty and cold fireplace.
"Don't be ridiculous. We'll conserve more body heat if we sleep together in the bed."
"Sure", Troy says nervously.
They both climb onto the small full sized mattress. There aren't any sheets on it --- just a stripped mattress. Sharpay takes the left side and Troy the right. He's lying as close to her as possible without actually touching. He's wrapped in his blanket and she's wrapped in hers.
"You know ... ", she starts, "despite my upbeat prediction about cheeseburger dinners, the truth is ... we may not make it out of this alive."
Troy nods in agreement and then, realizing that she can't see him in the pitch black night, responds with a simple monosyllable, "Yeah."
"And well,... I just ..."
Suddenly, Troy becomes more alert, realizing exact where this conversation is going.
"I know exact what you're about to say and I ... I feel the same way... you ..."
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Ryan wishes he could put his arms around her, but his left hand is cuffed to the tent pole, so instead he tries to talk to her to ease her ... and his fears.
"You know ... I'm actually kind of glad I'm here."
"What?!", Gabriella asks, incredulously.
"No, I mean ... I'm not glad this whole crazy thing is happening to us, but I'm glad I'm here with you. I ... I've liked you for a long time now --- Even before the summer", he adds hastily.
"Really? Actually, I really enjoyed our time together at Lava Springs. You're a lot of fun to be around."
Their conversation falls into an awkward silence.
"You know ... ", starts Gabriella, quietly, "we may not make it out of this alive."
Ryan nods in agreement and then, realizing that she can't see him in the pitch black night, responds with a simple monosyllable, "Yeah."
"And well,... I just ..."
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"... don't want to die a virgin and neither do I", Troy finishes quickly.
"What?!", Sharpay screams and sits up straight in bed, forgetting for a second that she has nothing on under the blanket. It falls down and she quickly grabs it back up and holds the itchy wool up tightly under her neck. Luckily, it's so dark there's no way he can see anything.
He thought he'd died and gone to heaven when she popped up in bed and dropped the blanket. Although it was pitch dark inside the room, the moonlight streaming in through the uncovered windows, accented the profile of her breasts as clearly as if they were in a well-lit room. It's a cold night and her nipples were clearly peaked to sharp points. He feels a rush of lust in his groin right before she slams the door shut on his fantasies by pulling up the blanket.
"That's not what I was going to say!", Sharpay continues. She scoots away from him and to the edge of the bed. "I ... I ... I don't think I'm going to tell you now", she huffs out as she clamps down on that blanket with a steal grip.
"I'm sorry", he says penitently. "It's just ... I've been feeling like I'm under a lot of pressure."
"Pressure?", she echoes with an unseen lift of her eyebrow.
"Well... you said it ... We're probably going to die tomorrow."
"Even so, that's the wrong reason to make love with someone. Especially ... if it's someone you care about...", she trails off into a whisper.
"Really? You care about me?"
"Of course. I've never made a secret of it. I've ... cared about you since ... God ... elementary school, if we're being honest."
"Wow. I ... um ... I never knew."
"That's because you were so wrapped up in yourself that you never noticed anything else."
"To be fair, I'm wasn't the only one wrapped up in myself."
"Touché, Bolton."
"Don't do that. Don't start hiding behind that ice princess persona because I don't believe that's really you. I saw small glimpses of the real you last summer; but, unfortunately, they were few and far between."
"I don't think this is really the right time or place for a lecture, Bo... Troy", she corrects herself at the last minute as her voice softens, slightly.
"You're absolutely right, but when we go out for those double cheeseburgers, we're going to have a serious discussion. In the meantime...", he slowly reaches over and touches her bare shoulder --- not a caress, just a steadying touch, "please tell me what you were going to say before I totally screwed up this conversation."
She scoots back onto the bed and closer to Troy and gently places her own hand atop his.
"Okay, but it's a little embarrassing."
"More embarrassing than just admitting to a girl that I'm a virgin?"
"Oh no, it's nowhere near that embarrassing", she concedes cynically.
"Good."
"It's just ... I want to be held ... tonight. I don't want to be alone, you know?"
"God, Sharpay", he declares, "I'd be honored to hold you."
He pulls her down next to him and spoons up behind her. She curls into his back and threads her fingers through his and then places their joined hands on her stomach. Troy rubs his face into her hair and revels in the her scent.
"Thank you", she says quietly after a few minutes. "I've never felt more safe."
"Me, either."
They quickly let their exhaustion take them over and fall into a deep and surprisingly peaceful, sleep.
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"... don't want to die a virgin and I don't think you do either", Gabriella finishes quickly.
"What!?", Ryan squeaks in disbelief.
"Yeah, well. I surprised myself too." She's still laying curled up next to him and their fingers are now entwined and she nervously rubs her thumb back and forth across the back of his hand.
"Well...", Ryan starts pondering the logistics. "With my foot the way it is, I don't think I can..."
"Oh, don't worry... I mean I'll do all the work. You just ... relax", she giggles in spite of herself at the absurdity of her comment.
"But ... you don't really want to do this with me. I mean ... I know you'd rather..."
"Not necessarily... we've been ... drifting apart lately. Our lives are going in different directions. I'm actually interested in getting into more theater and Troy really just wants to concentrate on sports --- you know ... for college and all. It's funny really ... I mean he's the one who convinced me to try out for Twinkle Towne last year and now..."
"I'm really glad you did. You were terrific", Ryan says in all honesty.
"Singing makes me feel so ..."
"Alive?", Ryan provides.
"Yes! That's it."
Silence settles on them again and then Gabriella pushes herself up on her elbow and says, "I don't want you to think you're my second choice and if circumstances were different, we might have a chance... But why ... why should we deny ourselves this… if ..." she nearly faltered, but managed to finish, "if it's what we both want?"
Ryan's eyes burn into hers for what feels like an eternity, before he leans up to capture her lips with his.
TBC
Wow, did anyone see that coming? Because I sure didn't. It's always the quiet ones...
So... now I have a question. I originally wanted TroyPay to take the high road, so to speak, ie not give in to their baser instincts. Is that a good idea? Should RyElla really be the only ones gettin' any?
Oh and my research stuff... I'm not really sure how solar water heater work, but it seems reasonable that the water would still be hot from the solar panels. And I do know that you can drain water out of them from a spiggot on the bottom.
Please R& R, I value your opinions.