The moment she felt the sting of the dart in the back of her thigh, Leela thought, "Oh shit!" She immediately plucked it out, tossed it aside and kept running in a zigzag pattern, trying to be a tougher target. But those new ultra-safe game darts were very sophisticated, and efficient. Upon impact, they quickly injected the tranquilizer. Around the impact spot, they also splatted a colored indelible dye whose color identified the hunter. She hoped she'd removed it quickly enough, but only time would tell. She detected the soft hissing puff of the air rifle again, and was almost certain she'd heard the whiz of another dart cleave the air near her, but gratefully felt no sting.
Finally finishing the crossing of the meadow, she streaked into the relative safety of the dense forest once again. She'd known it might be foolish to spend even a second out in the open, but she'd seen no evidence of any other place she could ford that river. She did manage to snatch a handful of water to partially quench her thirst. She'd been on the run for hours, and was parched, and beginning to feel the fatigue of her efforts. Her muscles were protesting and beginning to shake intermittently. Knowing that the hunter would be pursuing along the vector she'd been using as she entered the trees, she changed course, arcing in a path that would double back, not to the meadow, but into the dense undergrowth on this side of the river.
She tried to move silently, controlling her breathing, and disturbing the plants as little as possible, since a good hunter could also be a good tracker. Of course, when she'd sized up the men before the hunt started, they'd failed to impress her as professional hunters. It was more likely that they were paying handsomely just for the thrill of the chase. She figured that a skilled hunter would have tracked and bagged her in the first hour or so. She was congratulating herself on her abilities, when to her horror she realized that the fatigue she was feeling in her muscles was unnatural, and it was spreading. The tranquilizer dart! It must have injected not enough to drop her quickly, but just enough to do the deed. Running would soon be out of the question. She'd have to try hiding.
Altering her course through the woods, she thought, "Come on muscles... please! Just a few more minutes! I need to find a place." Getting dirty and filthy, she scrambled through the undergrowth's bushes, leaves and mud. Fallen leaves and spores from disturbed plants stuck to the sweat on her now grimy body. Luckily she happened upon a large log, hollowed out by decay. She could look all the way through it, so she could tell no critters occupied it. Carefully backing into the opening, she moved near what she felt was its center point before she slipped unconscious.
When consciousness returned, she found herself back at the camp, bound. Her position was humiliating, since she was kneeling, her back against a sturdy pole in the ground, her arms tied to a crossbar in the pole. Ropes also encircled her torso above and below her breasts to keep her upright. Finally, a leather strap went across her forehead, secured behind the pole, to keep her head up and still. She was still dressed as she'd been as the running prey, except her shoes and socks had been removed. The antidote for the tranquilizer had worked as advertised. Leela awoke clear-headed, and felt no ill effects, but she was tired.
One of the film crews was there, recording her awakening, and one guy held a bottle of water for her to drink. She sipped, rather than guzzled it, since drinking too fast might make her sick, and she didn't want something like that captured for the viewers' pleasure. From the contract she'd signed, she knew that a film crew had also been summoned to record the moment that her limp body was dragged ignominiously from that hollow log. When she'd finished drinking, Alan, the director, told her that now that she was finally caught, the hunters would get on with the next part of the procedure when they'd finished a light repast. Leela heard that with a little smidgen of pride, since it sounded like she'd lasted the longest of the three 'prey' women.
Since she had nothing to do but wait, she spent the time reflecting on how she'd come to be here, wondering if her decision had been a good one. "That ad I saw was so enticing," she thought. "It said something like 'casting call for upcoming reality show... monetary rewards... athleticism preferred' or words to that effect. And I figured all those years I spent doing various sports like the track team might finally pay off." In spite of her bindings, Leela grinned. "Pay off - what a wonderful phrase. I really needed the money. That was the main attraction. And when I heard the amounts discussed during the interview, I saw dollar signs swimming through my vision!"
One of the film crew checked her bindings, asking, "Everything all right?"
Her chain of thought broken, Leela answered, "Yes. I'm fine. I hope we don't have to wait much longer." She had no idea if that interaction was recorded, but they were allowed to do so, of course. She went back to her thoughts. "So when I interviewed or auditioned, I learned that the reality show was going to be intended for 'mature adults' and would be a pay-per-view special. That's why the pay scale was so high for participants." She learned that it involved a hunt, and that, if selected, she be one of the 'prey' animals.
She'd balked at the idea of being hunted. It took a lot of convincing for her to believe the information about the new tranquilizer, and its antidote. Scientific reports were provided, and she was free to check their validity and accuracy in the comfort of her home. "I have to admit that I almost drooled when I heard the payment plan. We 'prey' were guaranteed $10,000 and could get another $5,000 for each hour we evaded the hunters. Since the hunt could only last a maximum of 9 hours, I knew it was possible to earn $45,000 more. And the clincher was a bonus of $100,000 if I didn't get caught at all." She sighed. "Well, I lost out on the $100,000 bonus, but there's still the rider clause of the contract to consider, to perhaps really cash in."
Before she focused on her feelings about accepting that final clause of the contract, she thought about how the day had started. She'd met the other two female participants, the taller brown-haired green-eyed Maddy, and the shorter blonde-haired Gloria who had brown eyes! Leela had never met a brown-eyed blonde before, and found the effect rather striking. Right away, she got to see their bodies, and they saw hers, because the three of them had to shower naked out in the open, while the hunters watched and the camera crews filmed. Some of the hunters' suggestive comments made them blush.
There were 4 hunters, increasing the tension between them, since with only 3 'prey' to hunt, one of them would go hungry, so to speak. As the hunters watched the women shower, Leela used that time to evaluate the hunters themselves. Two of them were gross, and appeared callous and uncouth. One was average everything - height, weight, coloring, and the last one looked at least slightly better. In her eyes, none of them were particularly attractive. She certainly had incentive to evade the whole pack of them, and started making her plans.
In addition to the director, and the only other woman present - Tracie, the producer, the 3 film crews and the hunters, there were also judges who would observe the proceedings and act as referees, enforcing the rules. The main judge announced, "For this hunt, the 'prey' will be given a 15 minute head start. They must remain inside the perimeter fence at all times, but there are over a thousand acres of woods, meadows and streams available."
Turning more toward the hunters and film crews, he stated, "The camera crews cannot follow, of course, since things will be moving too fast. The unencumbered judges can travel as they please, keeping abreast of the action as best they can. They're equipped with bodycams - the images might be choppy, but may be inserted into the final cut before this is shown. Such inserts might add to the excitement of the chase."
Holding up a finger to make sure he had their attention, he said, "Hunters, in the event you've caught one of the prey, you must signal the base with your GPS coordinates, and wait until a film crew arrives, so they can record the capture, binding, and retrieval. Does anyone have any questions?"
Since no one spoke up, the women, who'd dried off from their showers, were given flesh toned sports bras and spandex shorts, plus socks and sturdy shoes. From a distance, it would almost look like they were running naked, but the clothing would offer some support and protection. Minutes later, Leela, her heart pounding in her throat, waited for the signal to start. Adrenaline was coursing through her blood stream, and she shifted from one foot to the other, eager to explode into action.
The lead judge held up a stopwatch and called out, "Go!" When they started running, Gloria wisely scooped up some dirt and began rubbing it into her hair to dim the blonde color. As they reached the woods, leaving the clearing around the base camp, they angled apart, rather than staying in a noisy bunch.
"Thank goodness I'd worked out a preliminary strategy," Leela thought, squirming a little in her current bindings. After several strides into the dense, dark forest, she'd cut to a 90 degree angle from their original flight path, staying well concealed by the edge of the woods. Instead of running for the full 15 minutes, she dropped into concealment, and watched the hunters. At the 15 minute mark, the hunters and judges went charging off, following along the path the women had taken. They didn't use any stealth, perhaps figuring that a noisy pursuit would panic the women and make them do reckless things.
"I waited until they were deeper into the woods, and then took off on a risky ploy," Leela remembered, grinning because in hindsight she'd been successful. "My heart was in my throat as I loped across that clearing, praying no hunter was looking back over his shoulder. Gosh - I wonder if any of the film crews saw me doing that and managed to get it recorded? Anyway, reaching the side opposite the original direction, I entered the woods and began moving as fast as I could manage, remaining silent. I was shaking, wondering if I'd hear a hunter crashing into the trees right behind me... I would have been a sitting duck!"
Stepping in front of the pole that currently held her bound, a couple of film crew members decided to record an impromptu interview just then. "Congratulations on being the last one caught, Leela," the spokesperson began. "You must've covered a lot of territory. How far did you get?"
