The Armoire Ch. 07

As he looked at the other masters sitting on the plane, Tommy couldn't help but think that he had a distinct advantage; he didn't give a crap whether he won this game or not. He and Alyssa could walk away any time they wanted. Neither of them cared to impress anyone and Tommy didn't care to treat her badly just because it was the "thing to do" in this game. However; this was not the case for all the other masters.

The airline had insisted that all passengers, including the slaves, had seats but, when the seatbelt sign went off, Togo and Gregory both had there slaves kneel on the floor. The flight attendant had to ask them to move so as not to block the aisle which meant they had to cram in, between the seats. In Tommy's mind there was little point to this, other than to show everyone how they lorded over their slaves.

As they approached their destination airport a voice came over the intercom asking for people to fasten their seatbelts and prepare for landing...at Vancouver Airport! Tommy looked at Alyssa in the window seat and both smiled as they realized that their suspicions had been confirmed; the game was set to be played somewhere in BC.

In their arrogant belief that only the "masters" counted, the production people had only asked Tommy about his familiarity with the province. He hadn't lied; he knew very little about British Columbia, other than the small area around her parent's community. Alyssa, on the other hand, knew the place like the back of her hand. She had canoed on just about every river with her father; they had deep woods'd many times; and she really knew how to survive in those forests.

Once they landed in Vancouver things began to happen fast. The six masters leading their leashed slaves drew a fair bit of attention as they were whisked through customs and the walk on the tarmac to the private plane virtually brought the airport to a halt. Baggage handlers, maintenance crews, boarding passengers, and pilots all stopped to stare at the parade. It was difficult to tell who drew more attention; the "captive" beauties or the men that "owned" them.

The Dash 8 Turboprop took off just ten minutes after they were all aboard; again, they had no idea where they were going other than they were headed east. Although none of the masters were speaking to their slaves, it occurred to Tommy that no one had said that was a rule so he said, "You have any idea where we might be going, Al?"

He was speaking very low but it still surprised her a bit, "Uh...It has to be Wells Gray. It's huge and the interior has lots of bush, plus it's the only thing in this direction...Do you think anybody can hear us?"

Tommy looked around, and behind, and surmised that nobody was paying them any mind, so he whispered, "I don't think so...as long as we keep it down"

She motioned for him to lean closer, "If it is Wells Gray then we should be in great shape; I've been there many times."

"Well, it should...like I'm the one who knows what he's doing...at least in the beginning, so we're going to have to work out a way for you to tell me what I'm supposed to tell you...if you know what I mean."

The plane began to descend and start its approach to a small airport just outside the park. The Dash 8, a plane designed to land on short runways, made smooth touchdown at the tiny airport where they were unceremoniously herded into a bus for the ride into the interior of Wells Gray Park. It was just after six P.M. which meant there was only about an hour and a half of daylight left.

As they reached the interior of the park the bus ground to a halt and Jason stood and moved to the front, "Okay...we are going to exit the bus now and each master will receive a pot, a hunting knife, and a ten by ten plastic tarp. The cameras will be on from here on in with an individual cameraman assigned to each master. After midnight there will be a fixed camera aimed at the opening of your shelter. You cannot move the camera or cover the entrance to the shelter. We will take you now and show you your camp areas then you are on your own until noon tomorrow. Okay masters, follow me please."

They all trailed Jason out of the bus and found that they were in a round clearing, about one hundred feet in diameter. Jason pointed out the communal water barrel which was just at the edge of the clearing, near the path to their individual camp areas. As they all started to follow the crew into the bush Alyssa signaled for Tommy to hold back by balking on her leash. When all the other teams were in front of them they followed. As they moved into the bush the first team in line was directed to the first camp area which was simply a small cleared bit of ground cut into the bush. Every twenty or thirty metres another team would take there spot until they reached the last camp, where Tommy and Alyssa would stay.

Everyone turned to leave except their allotted cameraman—actually camerawoman in their case. They were not allowed to speak with the photographer; they were just supposed to do whatever they were going to do as if the woman wasn't there. The camp clearing was small and the photographer was close so Tommy decided to take charge by giving instructions. If he was doing it wrong, Alyssa would have to correct him somehow.

"Slave, please look up at me. It will be dark soon so we need to gather some tinder and firewood and maybe try a couple of rocks...er...uh...no, no, maybe a...fire plow...yeah, a fire plow. You get the firewood and I'll make the plow."

Tommy had seen in her eyes that the rocks idea was no good and figured the fire plow was the only other thing they'd have time for before dark. The thing was, he knew how to make one well enough, but he sucked at using it to make a coal. He went and found a balsam fir sapling, cut it, split it, then fashioned the plow and handle. It was green wood but it would have to do.

Alyssa was back in no time with an armful of firewood, tinder, and a handful of dead grass. Tommy handed her the plow set and said, "I...uh...think it's time for you to try this...don't you?"

Stifling a chuckle, Alyssa said, "Yes, master. I will try my very best but, may I ask you to inspect the trough to make sure I've done it properly?"

"Oh...yeah, sure." He had forgotten to gouge out a trough for the handle so he stood and watched her do it as though he was the expert. He nodded his approval when she was done then used one of the larger pieces of firewood to dig out a fire pit while she started using the plow. Once the fire pit was dug he arranged some small tinder in the middle as a starter then watched Alyssa work.

The board was pretty green so he thought it would take her a while but, within a few minutes he noticed a small pile of hot wood dust begin to coalesce at the end of the trough. After one last plow she examined the dust in the trough then gently dumped it into the dead grass. She then folded the grass over and started to blow, ever so softly. Even in the dwindling twilight the white smoke was clearly visible then...flame! She placed the burning grass in the middle of the tinder, rearranged the twigs until they too began to catch, and then built a log cabin with some of the heavier firewood. She had created fire from scratch in less than forty minutes.

Tommy wanted to grab her and hug her until she squealed but he stayed cool and said, "Well done, little slave. Now, please look at me again...I think we should go back for water..."

He could see that she kept glancing at the tarp, "Uh...no...Better yet, I'll get a couple of branches for the shelter while you...get firewood."

He was trying not to make it sound like a question and, thankfully, he could see in her eyes that he was right, so he went and cut three six foot branches while she gathered more wood. He realized that Alyssa was thinking of a half fold leanto with the tarp so he also brought a fairly heavy fallen log, about five feet long. He actually knew what he was doing here so he cleaned the branches then twisted the corner of the tarp until he was able to tie it around one end of a branch. He repeated this at the other corner, affixing it to the other end of the branch. He placed the log in the middle of the tarp, pulled the branch forward and up, then jammed the other two branch ends, first into the knot at the top then into the log. It ended up as a small, fairly sturdy leanto with half the tarp for roof and the other half for floor.

Alyssa returned with a substantial load of wood and said, "The shelter is very well done, My Master."

"Yeah...it'll do for tonight I think."

"Should we go for water now, My Master, like you suggested?"

It was pitch dark, not even moonlight, so Tommy was hesitant but she came over to him and said, "May I help you up, Master?"

He took her hand and, as he got to his feet, Alyssa put her head close to his ear and whispered, "Just stay real close to me."

Tommy picked up the pot and handed it to her then followed her back to the path. Even with the night vision lens it was just to dark for the photographer so, after just a few metres, she turned and wisely went back to the fire.

A few more metres down the path Alyssa stopped and turned and Tommy was finally able to give her that well deserved hug. Out of sight and earshot of everybody they were able to enjoy a long, deep kiss then Tommy whispered, "You were amazing with the fire, Babe. I was hard pressed not to give you a monster hug right there on the spot!"

She kissed him again then took his hand and continued down the path even faster than before; hitting the clearing in about two minutes.

While the fire thing was amazing he was truly in awe of her ability to retrace her steps through the bush as though it was the middle of a sunny day. Maengun had tried to teach him how to navigate the woods but he just couldn't get it. To him all the trees looked the same, to Gun, and Alyssa, they looked like signposts.

Tommy took the pot and filled it with water. Then, as before, Alyssa's took his hand and led him back up the path. He carried the pot until they were very near the camp then he gave to her to carry the rest of the way.

The fire was going strong when they got back and Tommy chuckled when he saw that the perplexed photographer had placed the fixed camera pointed directly at the entrance of the leanto...with the fire in between.

Together they got a few rocks and arranged them as a base to support the pot over the fire. While the water boiled they removed their hiking boots then just sat together, in front of the shelter, by the fire. The shelter reflected the radiant heat so they were nice and warm, both back and front while the photographer, on the opposite side was getting pretty cold.

She wasn't the only one. They could here people complaining in the other camps, none of which had a fire. They heard sharp smacks and painful crying from Togo's camp and could only imagine what was going on there. Around midnight they saw a couple of flashlights coming up the path and the photographer shut off her main camera, switched on the little fixed unit, and followed her guide back down the path. Aside from the unknown number of people watching the live feed, they were alone.

Tommy looked at her and said, "Please attend to the fire, my little slave."

"Yes, My Master," she said and took four fairly large pieces of firewood and stood them on end in the pit, like a tipi.

They sat and watch the fire creep up the wood and, when they were sure that the high flames were obliterating the view from the camera, they moved under the tarp and quickly got undressed. Tommy started kissing every square inch of her body; something he had been aching to do all day. Alyssa lay back and relished in the wonderful heat from the fire on her skin and the marvelous heat inside her from his kisses. As he moved back up and there lips met, she spread her legs so he could slide himself into her; then she wrapped her legs around his and they just kissed and slowly gyrated their hips for several minutes. She pushed a little harder as she felt him come inside her and, as she began to convulse in her own orgasm; and knowing it would piss everybody off, she screamed, "OH YES...YES MY MASTER...THANK YOU...THANK YOU!"

They both started to laugh and shudder as their sensitive privates were still tightly engaged. Tommy withdrew and the two of them loosely tied their shirts and jeans together creating a makeshift blanket of sorts. They pulled the warm clothing over themselves and soon fell asleep in each others arms.

* * *

Tommy awoke just after first light and found that he was alone. He stretched and began to get dressed, noting that the fire had been refreshed and there was a new stack of wood. There was a sound behind the camp and he turned to see Alyssa coming up the hill followed by another photographer; a man this time. She was carrying the hunting knife, several long, straight branches, a bunch of long, thin root fibres, and something in what looked like her tee shirt, shaped like a bag.

"Good morning, My Master. I will have your breakfast ready in a minute."

As she unfolded the tee shirt, Tommy said, "Blueberries! You're kidding!"

"Just let me wash them for you first, My Master; and I can get more if this is not enough...I got some branches to improve the shelter as you suggested last night. Oh yes...there is a stream about a hundred metres west of us."

He was already getting tired of trying to hide the fact that it was Alyssa who knew what she was doing. His ego had long since been filled to overflowing by the simple fact that this exquisite woman was in love with him. It dawned on him why she had wanted to be last to get a camp area; essentially everything to the west was at their disposal; and there was no danger of giving away anything to the other teams.

She handed him a double handful of blueberries and said, "Here, My Master. These are all for you. I will get some for myself later, if that's okay."

"No. I need you to keep up your strength, so we'll share these and get some more for both of us later."

They sat and ate the berries and Tommy, looking at the camera, said, "This is the first time I've had thousands of people watching me eat breakfast!"

"I think it's actually millions, My Master."

"Oh yeah? You think that many, eh...? Well I guess it's either this or watch paint dry...! I think, after this, we should reset the tarp as a tent. We can get leaves and evergreens for the floor. Then maybe we can see about catching a fish or two in that stream you found."

After they ate they set about creating a pup tent with the tarp. They used a sharpened stick to dig out holes to set the front and rear poles then beat out the root fibres and used them to tie a branch as the beam between the upright poles. Then they stretched the tarp over the beam, temporarily holding the sides down with heavy rocks. Tommy then made a fishing spear by splitting one of the branches part way and sharpening the two prongs. He shoved a smaller sharpened branch in the split to force the prongs apart then tied a root fibre around the split base for strength.

They walked to the stream, followed by the cameraman, and Alyssa removed her hiking boots, took the spear and gently stepped into the water, slowly moving to the centre. She stood motionless, watching the water, for about ten minutes then, suddenly, she lunged. Immediately she lifted the spear end up and threw the entire thing to shore beside Tommy who removed the wiggling, foot long trout, snapped its neck, and tossed the spear back.

He smiled as he heard the cameraman mutter, "Son of a bitch!"

A few minutes later they were hiking back to their camp with two rainbow trout, and a much impressed photographer. After cleaning, cooking, and eating the fish they set about improving the floor of the tent and making some J shaped tent pegs to hold the sides down better without puncturing the plastic. Later, they collected more firewood then went for a walk, exploring and looking for things that could be of use. Just before noon they walked down the path toward the clearing.

They passed Togo's camp and saw the tarp just thrown over a couple of bushes; if it rained it was going to be a miserable place to be. Tommy said hello to Albert as they passed his camp. He had set up a pretty good leanto but, like the others, had no fire and probably hadn't eaten. Albert and his slave/wife followed them and they entered the clearing together; the last to arrive.

Jason, standing at a kind of dais, motioned for them to sit with the others on a set of bleachers facing him and two cameras. "Welcome masters. I hope you all had a good first night...Master Togo, how was your camp last night?"

Dirty and miserable, he answered, "Fucking terrible, man! This slave is fucking useless and we didn't have a fire...How come that bastard had a fucking fire?"

His slave, hands bound, naked and filthy, was kneeling on the ground at the end of the bleachers. It was obvious that she was to remain naked for the entire game. She'd probably be lucky to get any food at all and a decent night's sleep just wasn't in the cards. Everybody; the crew and the masters, found it difficult to look at her.

Jason said, "Well, Master Sam, would you tell us how you managed to make a fire?"

"I made a fire plow and Al...er...my slave used it to get a fire going."

"BULLSHIT!" said Togo, "You probably snuck in a lighter or something!"

Before Tommy could respond, Jason said, "Master Sam, could you have your slave fetch the...what did you call it...fire plower?"

"Uh...sure. Bring some grass and tinder as well...uh...slave."

"Yes, My Master," said Alyssa then she immediately ran back up the path.

"While we're waiting for Master Sam's slave," said Jason, "let me go over a few things. Your first tournament will be tomorrow at two o'clock. You will meet here at one thirty and we will bus you to the location. It will involve canoeing, climbing, maybe swimming, and your rope skills. As always, your slaves must enter the tournament area naked, hands bound behind, and on the leash. You will be playing for a reward and the right to continue in the game. The last place finisher will be eliminated from play. Does everybody understand?"

The masters all nodded that they did understand and just then Alyssa returned with the fire plow. Jason told her to bring it to him but she ignored the command and instead brought it to Tommy who smiled and said, "Thank you, my little slave, now please show it to Jason."

Jason examined the board and handle for a few seconds then handed it back to Alyssa, saying, "I wonder if we could have a demonstration?"

Sam said, "Maybe...but not for free. Please come here, my little slave."

When she was back beside him he said, "Another pot, tarp, or knife...what would be better?"

"The pot would be good, My Master."

"Fifteen minutes?" said Tommy

"Ten." She answered.

"Okay," said Tommy, "the big guy over here seems to be inferring that I lied about my slave making a fire with this so I think he should put his money where his mouth is."

Togo flashed a middle finger at him as Jason said, "What did you have in mind?"

Looking straight at the big Hawaiian, Tommy said, "If she can get a fire going in less than fifteen minutes, he gives us his pot. If she can't do it then he can have my pot."

"What about it, Master Togo," said Jason, "are you up for this challenge?"

"Aw...he so full of shit! He's bluffin'...just trying to look like a big shot!"

Tommy said, "You could be right, Tongo. But, if your too scared—"

"It's TOGO, asshole! And I sure as hell ain't afraid of you...make it your tarp and we got a bet!"

Tommy agreed and Alyssa set up while the cameraman got into place and Jason readied a watch. "Are you ready? Good. Then start...now!"

She started the methodical sliding of the handle in the trough while everyone but Togo sat and watched silently.