(Sorry for the repost, someone pointed out that something had gone wrong in the posting which by the way thank you!)
When we awoke we found something that made our hearts drop. The woman with the head injury had passed away in the night, we weren't sure why. She had seemed okay the night before but…looks can be deceiving I suppose. It was just so strange to think that a woman I'd spoken to less than seven hours ago was now lying lifeless on the ground as far away from our things as possible. A choked sob escaped me—much to my shock really, it wasn't like I'd gotten close to her—and I curled into Matt who was sitting beside me. His warm hand rubbed against my back slowly, his fingers curling into my shirt.
"We did everything we could Mell…we tried…"
I nodded weakly. "We tried."
"…let's wait before we collect from her." He looked green at the thought.
"I'll do it okay? I won't make you do any of it."
He grabbed my hand and squeezed tight in silent thanks; I enjoyed the feeling of our hands pressed together, his thin fingers curling around my own comfortably. I felt a familiar tingling in the pit of my stomach and jerked our hands away, making an excuse about getting more fruit and running to the other side of the passage. The attraction I held for him had showed up around the first week of our being stranded. This was the first time I felt arousal. I quickly went to the orchard and sat beneath one of the trees, trying to calm my mind and, most importantly, my body. Honestly I didn't want to be attracted to him, I didn't want to go down that road and risk my school career. School came first, stupid crushes second. Still I found myself slipping a hand down between my legs to touch myself. I tried to let go and give in to the beginnings of pleasure that I felt but for some reason I couldn't bring myself to do it, not in this situation. Giving a soft sigh I got to my feet and turned toward the house Matt and I had explored the day before. The door was still unlocked and it seemed every dust particle was just where we'd left it. Curiously I grabbed a stick from outside and used it prod the fruit still on the counter. Suddenly a rusty hunter's trap clamped shut over the stick, the wood giving a snap reminiscent to the sound of breaking bone. Shakily I dropped the end of the stick I was still holding, hurrying back through the passage to where everyone was sitting, Matt was standing and gave me a concerned look as I burst through.
"Mello?"
"The…the fruit on the…" I panted, trying to regain my breath. "It triggered a hunter's trap; you know those ones they use on bears and wolves. All I did was nudge it with a stick."
He paled slightly, handing me a container of water to help me get rid of the awful dryness in my throat.
"Who went on another fruit trip?" He asked to the others.
"Mark," The quiet woman who had let us know of the legend spoke up. "he said he just wanted to grab an easy few that were better."
"Christ…"
Without hesitation Matt and I hurried through the passage once again, calling out the man's name loudly.
"Wait. Did you hear that?" Matt paused.
I paused, tilting my head. It was a low sound, almost far away but not quite.
"Sounds like someone calling for help but I can't tell where it's coming from."
Matt took my hand and guided me slowly towards the first rubble house, his grip white knuckled and too tight to be comfortable. Entering the house we saw a horrifying splatter of fresh blood along the wall above where the fruit had been. Cautious, I leaned over to get a better look; the trap was on the ground a tanned arm still in its jaws. The call for help came again but this time it was easier to determine where it was coming from. It was coming from right below us. Slowly Matt and I approached the new hole in the floor, his hand flying to grab my arm in horror at the sight below us. We'd found Mark alright. We also found the three devil like creatures that had ripped him open and were dining on his innards.