gold rush [the wilds, toni shalifoe]

chapter 28

Fatin threw her head back and cheered at Toni's outburst, Hunter leaning back against her best friend as she laughed loudly too. One look at Dot had even sent Toni into fits of laughter, as they weren't sure they'd ever seen her look so distastefully confused.

"This is incredible," Fatin sighed, an amused grin falling on her face as she looked at the girl sitting in front of them.

"I am so turned on right now," Hunter muttered under her breath, causing Toni's head to instantly snap towards her. She playfully smiled at Hunter who smirked a little, causing Dot and Fatin to groan at the awkwardness the duo had just created in the quartet's conversation.

"Who are you?" Dot asked, looking around at the trio in confusion. "Who are any of you? Why am I a stranger in a strange land?"

"Uh-oh. I know what's wrong with you. Your dependents walked off, the shelter is put in place, and for the first time ever, Dorothy has nothing to do," Fatin informed the others, looking at her friend with a grin on her face as she psychoanalysed her.

"I know what that means," Hunter continued, picking up on the teasing in Fatin's voice and running with it. "You see, our Dottie finds that a problem because she sucks at leisure."

Dot scowled, slapping Fatin on the arm and almost going to do the same to Hunter before catching herself. There was a slight hum in the air between the teens as they all caught on to the gesture but everyone chose to ignore it, especially Hunter.

"She's fine at leisure!" Dot growled, scrambling to her feet and beginning to walk away from the group.

"Uh huh," Fatin smirked, looking at her friend in delight as she got the confirmation that she had managed to get a rise out of the Texan. "Where you going?"

"To do leisure."

Toni, Fatin and Hunter shared looks with each other as Dot stormed off. They managed to hold their straight face for less than ten seconds before all three erupted into howls and barks of amusement, hearing Dot yell at them from the distance that she could still hear them. They paused for a second before erupting into harder laughter.

Hunter wasn't sure how long they were really going to be on the island, but it was getting a little easier with the knowledge that she wasn't doing this alone. Not anymore.

_____

Current Day

"Was this necessary?"

Gretchen didn't turn her head to acknowledge the man as he entered the room, knowing that he had been having his doubts about everything almost since day one. She knew that a betrayal from him was likely, and she knew that he needed to be kept closely to ensure she could see it coming.

"Young, I can assure you everything we are doing is going to change the future," Gretchen replied. She looked at Dr Faber, her eyes watching his every move like a hawk through the one-way mirror. He had his arm raised, hovering over Hunter's arm as the man attempted to communicate with the girl.

"He's letting her touch her?" Young replied, moving to stand beside Gretchen in surprise. Hunter Boyd hadn't let any of them touch her - not willingly. Dr Faber had never gotten closer than a metre to her before she would shut herself off.

Gretchen shrugged, her lips musing as she watched the scene in front of her. She wasn't sure she was pleased with this development. As much as she wanted the girls to grow and heal from the trauma that had caused them to be selected for the trial as it showed the progress she was trying to prove, she wasn't entirely sure that Hunter finding out her twin brother was dead was the healing that the experiment was relying on.