Castaway: The Game of Death

Chapter 3

With the warmth of a beauty in his arms, Victor was flustered. But he had no time to admire the situation as he hurried toward his destination.

Suddenly, a wave of heat spread from his palm throughout his body. Victor glanced down and noticed the flush on Marina's face. His heart sank. "D*mn, she's got a fever. I need to bring her temperature down immediately." Victor stopped in his tracks and glanced at the beach, realizing he had no towel or alcohol on hand. Without hesitation, he hoisted Marina onto his back and sprinted toward the ocean. Before long, the seawater reached his waist.

Apparently dissatisfied, Victor took a few more steps forward until the water reached his chest. He held Marina tightly in his arms to prevent her from being swept away by the current. Perhaps because it was his first time holding a woman so close, the sensation of Marina's delicate, curvaceous figure made him realize just how wonderful this feeling could be.

Marina's body temperature slowly began to drop, and her eyes fluttered open. "I knew you had ulterior motives for me!" she huffed.

When she fully regained her senses, she realized she was lying in Victor's arms, and they were both still in the water. She let out a sharp scream and struggled to break free. "Put me down!"

"Ms. Lewis, stop moving. I'm helping you cool down your fever," Victor said firmly.

"You jerk! Let me go! I don't need your help!" Marina protested, thrashing against him.

Victor snapped, "You're burning up with a fever. There's no food around, and if you keep struggling, you'll only exhaust yourself further. If you starve to death, I won't be able to save you."

Hearing this, Marina stopped resisting but still insisted, "Fine, but put me down."

"Alright, as you wish," Victor said, letting her go reluctantly.

Marina exhaled deeply, her body weak and fatigued. Still, she forced herself to walk toward the edge of the beach.

Victor followed closely behind, stepping onto the shore.

"Setting aside the task of scouting the area, we should first find shelter and some food to help you recover," Victor suggested.

Marina didn't respond. She had no idea what to do herself, so following Victor's lead was her only option.

Before long, the two arrived at the base of a hill, where Victor spotted a cave. It wasn't much of a cave—more like a protruding rock formation with an area of just 40 or 50 square feet, but it was enough to shield them from the wind and rain.

Seeing Marina sit down in silence, Victor couldn't help but ask, "Are you still mad at me?"

"No. Didn't you just say you were going to look for food? Go on, I'm starving," Marina replied coldly, her face indifferent.

"Fine," Victor agreed curtly.

He turned and headed back to the beach, where he spotted a few hermit crabs scuttling across the sand. To regain his strength, he decided to catch some for himself first.

However, catching hermit crabs was no easy task. They scurried quickly, almost like cockroaches, making Victor pant heavily by the time he managed to catch five. He wrapped them in his vest and returned to the cave.

Marina looked at him in bewilderment as he ran toward her shirtless. Startled, she crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing?"

"Relax. If I wanted to do anything to you, I would've stripped you back in the ocean," Victor said, pointing at the hermit crabs he had caught.

Marina wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I'm not eating those."

"Hey, princess, do you even realize where we are? This could be a deserted island. Do you think we're on vacation?" Victor said impatiently, finding her attitude difficult to deal with.

Marina, equally defiant, opened her mouth to retort but stopped herself when her brows furrowed in pain. Her whole body ached, and she felt terribly unwell, so she decided to keep quiet. Victor said no more. He buried the hermit crabs in the sand to keep them fresh and headed into the nearby forest. Before long, he returned with some dry branches.

Marina watched as he crouched down and broke the branches into smaller pieces. "You know how to start a fire?" she asked, curious.

"Of course. I've got some survival skills," Victor replied with a nod. After preparing everything, he took out a small toolkit from his belt. Inside was a simple Swiss army knife, a flintlock rod, and a set of keys. These were items Victor had bought online at a low price as a novelty, never expecting he'd one day rely on them for survival.

Using the knife, Victor struck the flint against some dry leaves. Sparks flew in an instant.

"Hooray! I succeeded!" Victor exclaimed excitedly. With another strike, more sparks ignited the leaves, creating small flames.

Victor crouched down and gently blew on the embers. Soon, a puff of smoke rose into the air. With a loud "whoosh," a flame appeared. Victor looked at Marina with pride. "Impressive, right?"

Marina rolled her eyes at him without saying a word. She couldn't shake the feeling that this guy was taking advantage of her at every turn, which left her feeling stifled.

With Victor's help, the campfire gradually grew. Marina felt a comforting warmth envelop her. The fire significantly increased their chances of survival, lifting both their spirits.

Victor skewered the five hermit crabs onto a stick and began roasting them over the fire. Though Marina had said she wouldn't eat them, the sight of the crabs turning bright red and releasing a tempting aroma made her stomach growl.

The hermit crabs were small, about the size of a child's palm, but while being roasted, they gave off a savory, seafood-like scent.

Victor handed one to Marina. "Here, this is for you. You've burned a lot of energy and need to replenish your strength."

"Isn't there... anything else?" Marina asked, pretending to be shy.

Victor felt helpless. At a time like this, she still had the nerve to be picky. Letting out a sigh, he looked at Marina seriously and said, "Come on, we're lucky to even have food to eat. Do you realize where we are?"

"Even if it's an island, with so many trees around, there should at least be some fruit, right?" Marina retorted stubbornly, refusing to back down after being scolded.

Victor let out a helpless laugh and tossed the large crab in his hand aside. "Fine, I'll go look for some. You stay here and keep watch." As he spoke, he stood up, ready to leave.

"Wait!" Marina panicked immediately. What if something dangerous showed up after he left?

"No need, I'll just eat this. It's enough for me," Marina said quickly, trying to stop him.

"That's more like it!" Victor nodded with a smile.

As he watched Marina, Victor sighed and couldn't help but think of Amanda.

Amanda and Victor had known each other since they were kids. When he returned from the military, they reunited, but by then, she was already his younger brother's girlfriend.

Amanda was the epitome of beauty—gentle, sweet, and always wearing a radiant smile. At the time, Victor couldn't help but feel a bit jealous that his younger brother had such a perfect girlfriend. But who would've thought that before they held a wedding ceremony, tragedy would strike his brother?

He could still vividly recall Amanda and his brother standing hand in hand in front of him, telling him how much she loved his brother. Yet, three months ago, Victor saw her with another man.

Victor was filled with doubts and so many questions he wanted to ask Amanda in person. But now, he wasn't even sure if Amanda had survived the shipwreck.

Marina noticed Victor's expression shifting between sadness and anger. Curious, she asked, "Well, do you have a friend who was on that ship too?"

"Yeah, my sister-in-law," Victor replied as he continued picking at the crab meat. "Let's not talk about this now. Eat while it's still warm. Once it gets cold, it won't taste as good."

"Okay." Marina realized he didn't want to talk more about it, so she didn't press further and started peeling the crab meat.

These hermit crabs weren't very big, and there wasn't much meat on them. Surprisingly, though, they were delicious. With every bite, her mouth was filled with a fresh, sweet flavor. Without hesitation, Marina finished an entire crab. Victor, however, didn't have much of an appetite and stopped after eating just one.

After Marina finished eating, Victor finally asked, "Feeling any better?"

"I'm still a little hungry," Marina replied with a smile.

"You sure can eat," Victor chuckled. Suddenly, something came to his mind, and he asked, "What were you doing before the shipwreck?"

"You don't know?" Marina's eyes widened, her expression full of disbelief.

"I was knocked out back then," Victor explained.

"What? How did that happen?" Marina asked, looking even more confused.

"What exactly happened before the shipwreck?" Victor pressed.

"We... We were voting," Marina stammered, her voice tinged with guilt.

"Voting on what?" Victor asked, his tone growing sharper.

"Whether or not to sink the ship," Marina hesitated before finally saying something that left Victor utterly shocked.