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26 & Epilogue
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The Island 1
Chapter 1AnyaThe atmosphere was somber, and I didn’t even try to maintain a brittle smile as I greeted people arriving in our home. I didn’t care if they thought I was rude, especially since many of them probably came to elicit juicy tidbits to gossip about later.It was a small gathering, which made sense. My father had lost contact with a lot of his friends after Mom’s death, followed by his decline into alcoholism and worse. Of the faces around me, I recognized a few as true friends or family who’d earned the right to be there, but there were several strangers too. I couldn’t help thinking they were just there to gawk and be on the fringes of our family drama.I moved through woodenly, occasionally exchanging words with those who offered sympathy or a kind word about my father. Carrie was in the corner, her face buried in her iPad. Those around us probably found it disrespectful, but I understood. She needed to escape and disconnect from the reality.Who could blame her? I wouldn
The Island 2
Chapter 2AnyaMy mouth dropped open, and I swallowed audibly. “On top of the value of the businesses and all the property?” I shook my head, unable to fathom such a thing. “I’m sorry he left you in the lurch like that.”Dmitri clicked his tongue again in that annoying fashion. “But I’m afraid he’s left you in the lurch, my dear. His debt has transferred to you.”I collapsed against the chair, staring at him in disbelief for a moment. “I don’t see how. I had nothing to do with loans, and I didn’t sign any paperwork. Perhaps there will be something left from life insurance to settle part of the debt, but you’ll understand why I have to ensure my sisters and I have living expenses first, especially since I now know we have to move out of our house.” It was a modest house by most standards, with only three bedrooms and three bathrooms.His voice lost any hint of feigned sympathy, going cold and hard. “You will pay the debt. I’m not a bank, and there are rules. Your father was a fool if h
The Island 3
Chapter 3AnyaThere was eighteen hundred dollars in his checking account, and absolutely nothing in savings. My sisters had personal savings accounts tied to Dad’s, and they had another two thousand dollars between them, but I bet they would’ve expected to have more. I checked the history and discovered he’d been slowly borrowing from their accounts on months when he didn’t have enough to cushion the shortfall. Of course he had. If he would borrow from a loan shark, he wasn’t above emptying his daughters’ savings accounts. I was almost amazed that there was any money left in them at all.Fortunately, I had my own savings account in another bank, but it was rather anemic too. I’d used a majority of it to pay for my last two semesters of school after Dad cut me off. He claimed it was time for me to stand on my own, but now I realized why he hadn’t paid my tuition. He simply hadn’t been able to afford it.When he refused to give me his tax returns for grants and loans, I’d had to quit f
The Island 4
Chapter 4AnyaThe other white guy tied her hands to the bed, and his hands were free to move over her body. He started squeezing her breasts, and I brought up a hand to play with my own nipple. I knew I shouldn’t be getting anything out of this except pure disgust, but I couldn’t deny I was turned on watching the two of them vanquish the black girl.She maintained her fight for a while, even biting one of them on the cock the first time he tried to put it in her mouth. Her reluctance gradually faded as they focused on touching and teasing her. I doubted they were contractually obligated to ensure she enjoyed it, but they seemed to want to win her over to their idea rather than hurt her.The one who’d eaten her out now slid between her thighs, his cock lining up with her pussy. The camera angle showed that, but not actual penetration. Instead, it went to her face. She was clearly shocked for a moment, and then it was obvious she was enjoying it. Her mouth fell open, and when the other
The Island 5
Chapter 5AnyaI slapped on another layer of makeup, trying to hide how tired I was. I had to leave a day later than Sid had hoped, since it took me a little time to arrange for my sisters to both stay with friends while I was gone for the weekend.I hadn’t yet broken the news to them that we were going to have to move out of the house, because I didn’t want them to let it slip to anyone else. My plan was to get the check, which Sid had promised me would be delivered to me at the end of the weekend, cash it somehow, and get my sisters to pack a bag. We were going to flee in the middle of the night as soon as I could arrange it once I returned home.First, I had to get through this weekend though. Travel had been grueling, because it was truly a remote island. I honestly had no idea where I was. The last place I’d known was at Denpasar Airport in Bali, where people from the show had met a few of us, and we’d spent the last ten hours traveling by yacht to reach the island.I knew how da
The Island 6
Chapter 6SpencerFor a moment, I wanted to kill Foster. Not literally, because he was my baby brother, and I guessed he meant well, but he had certainly lured me to this island under false pretenses. “You said this was a hunting trip. I told you I don’t hunt, and you told me it was no big deal. I could learn. You impressed upon me the importance of male bonding, but you never mentioned just exactly what we were hunting. I should have been suspicious when you said I had to submit a letter from my doctor declaring me healthy.”Foster had the grace to look abashed, and it was obvious he was unprepared for both me and Nash to not be as receptive to the surprise as he’d expected. “It’s no big deal. You guys, the women participate of their own free will. They’re paid to do this, and they know what to expect. It’s just for fun.”When he spoke, Nash went up a bit in my esteem, even though he was Foster’s best friend and just as reckless as my younger brother usually. “I don’t feel right abou
The Island 7
Chapter 7AnyaI finally got to meet Sid Moreau the next morning and quickly identified him as the narrator of the program. There were five of us together, standing at our start point, and he stood in front of us. The hunters were over to the left, cordoned off behind a section of paper tape while another staffer went over the rules with them as Sid was doing with us.“Remember, you can use whatever is at your disposal and in the environment, including to fashion weapons. You can’t kill someone, and you can’t cause grievous bodily harm, but everything else goes.” He looked at us expectantly, and several women around me nodded, so I did the same. “Also remember there are no safe words, and anything else goes. There are cameras everywhere, so we’ll be able to monitor you at all times. You each have dedicated camera people tracking your every move to ensure your safety throughout the process. You might not walk away without pain this weekend, but you will walk away. That’s my personal gu
The Island 8
Chapter 8SpencerThe fucking jungle was all around me, and I couldn’t make head or tails of any of it. I could see an occasional broken branch where someone had crashed through, but that was the extent of my tracking ability. It certainly wasn’t easy, and the spongy floor covered with dying and dead vegetation did a surprisingly poor job of maintaining shoe prints. It was frustrating and maddening as hell, but at least I wasn’t bored.I stumbled down what could’ve been a path in front of me, but it was hard to tell. There was slightly less vegetation growing here, but there were no formal trails, and there sure weren’t any markers to help us find where we were or discover our prey. I could hear other men crashing around me in the bush, and they were making enough noise to scare away any prey animal—especially an intelligent woman.That was good though, because I didn’t want anybody finding Anya before I did. I had a name now, having looked her up last night in the paperwork we receiv
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