gold rush [the wilds, toni shalifoe]

chapter 26

Day One - The Boys

"So, what's the deal with you and that other Texan?"

Hudson shrugged a little as he walked next to Kirin, the boys having all split off into groups after their plane had crashed. Kirin had originally tried to put Hudson and Riley in the same group, but the older Boyd twin wasn't having it and switched.

He wasn't entirely sure he liked Kirin - the boys mentality towards Josh crying had reminded him too much of Riley already. He was the stereotypical lacrosse bro that Hudson had done so much to avoid being like, and he was worried that if the boy was just like Riley then he would be driven insane. His obvious rivalry with Ivan uneased Hudson a little, wondering what Kirin had done to cause the other boy to hate him so much.

"It's a long story," Hudson muttered, before turning back around to look at the other boys in their group. There were the two boys from Florida - Bo and Scotty. He didn't know what to make of them, but he could tell from a mile away that they would do anything for each other. His heart pinged a little, almost seeing that sibling bond in them that Hunter and he had.

The other boy - Henry - was a bit of an emo. Hudson knew he would have barely given the boy the time of day had they been at the same school, but he was already learning from this experience that not everyone was as they seemed. He'd also came with his brother - or step-brother as he kept reminding them all - but Hudson didn't feel much love between them. Besides, something about Seth was making him feel on edge around the boy.

There was something about his mannerisms and how quickly he fell into banter with Riley that rang some warning bells in Hudson's head. But he knew he was being irrational as the boys on the island didn't know the truth about Riley's past the way he did. If they did, Hudson knew things wouldn't be playing out exactly as they were.

"You gave him that black eye?" Scotty asked, also listening in on the conversation the boys ahead were having. "Looks solid."

"How'd you figure that one out?" Hudson replied, not much interest in his voice. Kirin and Henry picked up on the boy's lack of care for Scotty's reasoning but the boy himself seemed to miss the lack of genuine curiosity.

"Overheard you telling Kirin that you'd kill him if given the chance," Scotty replied, causing Hudson to scoff a little.

"Great, so you lack a respect for privacy," Hudson nipped, causing the boy to freeze at the change in attitude. "Stay out of my business."

Kirin stomped his foot on the sand at that point, having already gotten bored with the bickering and back and forth between the other boys. He would be lying if he said he wasn't scared about their current situation, but he didn't want to show it in front of the rest. He didn't know what any of them really were like - including Hudson - and he wasn't about to let his guard down around them without reason.

"Oh, my God. Can you all just put a f*cking lip on it and start actually looking out for shit?"

"It's lid. Put a lid on it."

"Whatever! Let's just go back, then, losers," Kirin sighed, fed up of them already. Hudson nodded in agreement, turning on the spot as he rubbed at the leather band on his wrist. "After I take a piss, though."

Hudson stood with his backs to the four other boys as they all began relieving themselves, not personally needing to go at that moment in time. He heard one of the boys shuffle alongside Kirin, sighing to himself as he knew that was only going to piss off the lacrosse jock even more.