Chapter 176

Taylor was leading a group of twenty people south from their landing zone, and they came across a small river. They were gathering water in containers they scavenged from the rubble around the portal while a man named Marc was gathering some firewood to boil the water.

Bethany was creating a fishing pole from the contents of her backpack. She was using the strings from her gym shoes, and retrieved the hook she fastened to her camo cap. It was a habit Bethany picked up from her brother, and always did it for an aesthetics thing. She never expected to be using it in this situation. She felt like her brother was looking out for her even though they were so far apart. Knowing the chances of seeing her family again was slim tears began to form.

'Gotta be strong. Survival situation you need to remain calm right dad?' Bethany fought back her tears.

"You're a crafty one. Are you sure those traps will work?" Taylor asked examining the deadfall traps set along the paths.

"The hard part is getting to it before something else does," Bethany replied as she cut the string to feed it through the hook.

"I'm gonna see if we can find that boar," Ivan said trailing off with two men.

"Be careful boars can be dangerous," Bethany warned.

"Just focus on your fishing little girl, and let the men do the hunting." Ivan chuckled.

"Fuckin prick," Taylor said as she spits in his direction.

"I've heard worse from boys in the class," Bethany replied while hooking a worm to her line.

Ivan was leading the two men away from the creek following the remnants of the tracks. The men next to him only had a machete and sharpened piece of bamboo. Both of them had some experience in hunting and volunteered their services. They were a little nervous not having a bow or gun. If the boar came charging at them they could do nothing, but dodge, and strike. They were hoping Ivan would land a solid shot to save them the trouble.

The man carrying a machete was wearing a mask around his chin wiping the sweat from his forehead and staring up into the canopy. His name is Kenny and he is a college student who was sitting in his dorm studying for an environmental science test. Now he's chopping through dense vines with a member of the mafia.

'I had a date this weekend.' Kenny sighed chopping away to a clearing.

There was a large boar the size of a shopping cart grazing near a bush. Ivan started creeping in close when he stepped on a twig. The faint snap caused the boar to turn around. Without a second thought, the boar charges forward, and Ivan rapidly fired two shots. The first one hit the dirt in front of its charge, but the second struck the back of its neck. The boar fell over floundering on the floor as the man with spear stepped forward ending its suffering.

"That's a fucking meal right there." Ivan boasted holstering his weapon into his jacket.

The man wielding the spear was an older man named Antonio who came from a rural area in Brazil. Hunting for him was a common occurrence, and he already had a small knife suitable for skinning at his side. He was at the town well-gathering water with some of the villagers when they were pulled through. Antonio couldn't understand Ivan and Kenny, but Taylor's instructions on hunting were very clear. He began tending to the boar right away as Kenny prepared the bag he fastened from his bedsheets.

Once Antonio began carving into the boar the smell released was overwhelming so Kenny pulled his mask back up. Seeing Antonio hard at work in the source of the stench Kenny reached into his pocket retrieving his backup mask. Kenny extended his hand offering it over to help him out. Antonio was unbothered by the stench but took it to be polite.

Back at the creek, their foraging team was gathering a decent haul of fruit, and mushrooms. Elizabeth managed to catch a few small fish and used them as bait. The result was three large fish before the laces she prepared snapped.

Taylor was gathering nearby materials they could use to jump-start a fire in the future. They were lucky it wasn't pouring, but Taylor knew that could change at any moment. If it were to rain it could last days before showing signs of letting up, and it could be their only way to secure a fire.

"Need help dealing with those?" Marc asked.

"I'm fine, but thank you for asking," Bethany replied.

"From the looks of things, it's a good thing you came with us. We should probably go check on the others though." Taylor told the two grabbing her pistols.

"Let's hope they caught something," Bethany replied as she cleaned the fish in the creek.

Ivan was scrounging the area for anything useful when a light breeze swept through the jungle. It was carrying an overwhelming aroma through the area. Ivan immediately turned in the direction with a confused look on this face as the soothing fragrance filled his nostrils.

"D-do you smell that?" Ivan asked stumbling forward dropping the gun from his coat.

"What are you talking about?" Kenny replied walking in his direction.

Ivan walked past the pistol unbothered towards the mysterious scent.

"You dropped your gun," Kenny said while picking it up from the ground.

"I don't care," Ivan replied.

Pushing through the dense bushes Ivan came on to another clearing with light filling the forest floor. At the center of the clearing stood a beautiful naked woman on a ruby platform. She had lime green skin with long crimson hair with bangs lightly covering the top of her forehead. The woman had long elegant legs leading to a small pink slit.

Seeing Ivan standing in the bushes she opened her arms calling him in with a warm smile. Ivan's eyes started from her soft enticing lips, down to her ample breast, and once his eyes were locked onto her thighs he became stuck in a trance. The aroma was enticing him forward, and all reason was gone. Walking closer the beautiful purple eyes were glowing as the sun faded from the clearing. Ivan was walking forward undressing as fast as he could while stumbling about.