Part 4 (2/2)

'You're acting strange.'

'So are you. Now let's go.' Before she really did jump him.

'You're a pain in the a.s.s sometimes, Bliss.'

'So are you, Marks.'

'And what's up with that name?'

'What's wrong with it?'

'Is it your real name?'

She wasn't about to tell him her real name. 'So what if it is?'

'Bliss?' He moved aside and let her pa.s.s, then stepped beside her as they moved out onto the path and headed into the jungle. 'It sounds like a p.o.r.n star's name.'

'Bite me.' The spell was broken and she felt normal again, that weird heated moment gone. Thank G.o.d. For a second there she might have actually considered acting on her fantasies.

They finally arrived at a clearing where Louis awaited them. Derek added his torch to the others that outlined the circle in which they stood.

Once everyone was a.s.sembled and seated, Louis stepped in the center of their circle, the camera crew hit the lights, and film began to roll. Gina watched the compet.i.tors squint and turn away, but to her, lights and cameras were second nature. She ignored them and focused on Louis.

'It's time for the game to begin. I know you think this is going to be fun, but there is danger about. There are demons on this island, hiding, lurking, and prepared to at tack. If you are killed,' you will be asked to leave this is land and you will forfeit your prize. For every skirmish you win, you will be given points. Points will be ama.s.sed on the board over there.'

Derek stepped up. 'Game rules. Pay attention.'

Mercifully, they had all pa.s.sed the torturous conditioning tests and it was finally time to get to the rules of the game. Gina would have whooped for joy if she had any strength left. She'd worked with some of the best trainers Hollywood had to offer, had even done a conditioning stint with the Army Rangers to prep for one of her movies. And she had to admit, she'd never gone through a more punis.h.i.+ng workout than what she'd endured under Derek.

He was good. d.a.m.n good. Her body ached in places she didn't even know she had. Poor Jake was limping, Shay and Olivia weren't in much better shape than she was, and Trace and Ryder had spent most of the day groaning. The others were mostly mute but they had continuously shot Derek some evil glares. It's almost as if they took his conditioning drills like a personal affront.

Behind Derek was a covered tabletop. He yanked off the canvas covering, revealing some interesting-looking rifles and pistols.

'These are laser tag weapons, only a lot more sophisticated. The demons you're going to be hunting will wear targets, which will react when hit with the laser beam at various designated kill points on their bodies.'

Gina's gaze shot to Jake, who was grinning like a little kid let loose at Toys 'R' Us. Lasers. Figured. So much for her theory he didn't belong. h.e.l.l, he was going to kick their b.u.t.ts.

'Kill zones are their heads and upper torso. Hit a kill zone and you score a hundred points. A hit to the lower torso will score fifty points. Hitting arms or legs will score twenty-five points. Ten points for a hit on any other part of the body.

'High-scoring individual of the day gets double ammo the next day. Low score will have one more chance, but with only one-half ammo.'

Okay, this sounded like fun. She felt the adrenaline rush pumping through her system.

'You'll start off in two teams of six. You'll be given headsets and you'll hunt and kill with your team. How ever, elimination and scoring will still be individual.

'Keep in mind you will also be scored on whether or not the demons can touch you. You will be given white s.h.i.+rts to wear, and all demons will be equipped with red markers. If a demon gets close enough to mark you, you're automatically eliminated from the game. One of the prime objectives is to stay alert, your eyes and ears open at all times. You don't ever want a demon to get close enough to touch you.'

Yikes! The game had just gotten tougher. 'So not only do we have to hunt and track the demons in order to make a kill, we also have to be on the lookout for them springing up on us?'

'Yeah,' Derek said, a gleam in his eyes that she didn't like one bit.

'Dayum,' Shay said. 'This is going to be hard.'

'Of course it's hard. If it was easy, what would be the point?' Derek challenged. 'Lou and I will track your progress on a computer here at base camp. Each of your guns will be registered to your name and will record your weapons fire and your kills. We'll also be in communication with you at all times via your headsets, so listen for instructions. The demons will be equipped with headsets and will call out the numbers written on your s.h.i.+rts if they get close enough to mark you for a kill. If you're killed you're to report back to base camp immediately.'

'That's not gonna happen,' Ryder said, leaning back in his chair. 'Not to me, anyway.'

'Me, either,' Trace said.

Of course then everyone said the same thing. Gina grinned. She imagined a lot of them felt that way right now. But someone was going to be eliminated. And it wasn't going to be her.

'We'll see, won't we?' Derek said. 'Anyone have any questions?'

One of the men, Gina thought it might be Dalton, spoke up. 'We all going to be hunting in the same place?'

'No,' Derek replied. 'Team A will hunt on the west side of the island, Team B on the east side. Your designated hunting zone will be well marked so you don't get lost. It's a pretty big jungle out there, so we've roped it off and marked it clearly to limit your hunting area. The demons must stay within the same bounds so there won't be any surprises.'

What was the fun in that? 'Why don't you just give us GPS systems and let us find our way around?' Gina asked.

Derek arched a brow. 'I don't think you're ready for that quite yet.'

'Try me.'

'Later. Let's just stick to our game plan for the time being.'

Whatever. Roped-off area. How limiting.

'Anything else?' When no one came up with a question, he said, 'Everyone get your gear on. First day is a practice run. No points will be scored and no one will be eliminated. You have thirty minutes to get ready.'

'Now?' Shay asked. 'It's getting dark.'

'We'll run all the skirmishes in the dark,' Derek said. 'Everyone will be given night-vision goggles. You'll be able to see just fine once you adjust to them, but you'll still have to learn to hunt in the dark. Got a problem with that?'

She held up her hands. 'Not me. You're the boss.' She walked away and whispered to Shay, 'Is it just me, or does he seem unusually tense tonight?'

'It's not you.' Gina had noticed it, too, and wondered why. Maybe it was just getting the game organized that ratcheted up his stress level. Couldn't be easy coordinating all this, and in front of cameras, too. While it was second nature for her to be filmed, some people got jittery. She didn't really know Derek's background, but she'd bet it wasn't in filmmaking. Maybe he was shy.

Right. The man didn't have a shy bone in his body. He was brash, forward, in your face, and not at all hesitant. She'd just bet he was the kind of man to take charge everywhere and in everything he did.

Like in bed.

Her body heated up at the thought.

Stop that. Now was not the time. It would never be the right time, actually. She was here to do her job, and she made it a point to never get involved with fellow actors. Now was not the time. It would never be the right time, actually. She was here to do her job, and she made it a point to never get involved with fellow actors.

Not that Derek was a costar or anything, but he might as well be as far as this game was concerned. And that made him off-limits.

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