Chapter 36 Charlie
CHARLIE
I am going to KILL my best friend. Rosie asked Bennett today why he isn’t dating anyone.
He says he hasn’t found anyone he’s interested in dating.
Then she asked him what he thought about me.
WHILE I WAS SITTING AT THE TABLE WITH THEM.
He said he thought I was a nice girl and a great friend to Rosie.
And then he winked. But the kind of wink you give when you’re flirting with your grandma’s friends.
NOT the girl you’re secretly in love with and just waiting until she gets older to date.
I wanted to slide under the table and stay there until he left.
Rosie almost asked him another question, but I kicked her in the leg and gave her the SHUT-UP glare.
Putting a black pillowcase over my head and tying my hands together behind my back felt a little excessive. We’d gotten out of the vehicle, and they were making me hike up through dense, fragrant foliage. I kept nearly falling, but the person next to me held me upright.
I’d asked a million questions, but other than someone whispering that the next challenge was beginning, no one said a word. It was unsettling, but these were people from the show.
At least, I really hoped they were people from the show.
The air felt cooler as we increased in elevation, and the scent began to change. More earthy. Damp. I was directed to sit on the dirt floor. I heard more scuffling and what sounded like people walking away, and then it was silent.
“Can you take off the blindfold?” I asked. When no one responded, I stood and folded my body in half to let gravity slip the pillowcase off.
I was in an unfamiliar cave. It was tall enough for me to stand in and went so deep I couldn’t see the end. I shivered, hoping that this wasn’t where some bear family liked to take up residence.
A zippered pack lay at my feet, and two cameras were set up near the entrance: one pointed at me, and another outward toward the forest.
I needed to remove the rope from around my wrists. Then I could figure out if there was any more information on this challenge.
Untying the rope with my hands behind me gave me a lot of time to think about last night. I’d been looking forward to crawling back into bed with Bennett, spending the morning together, maybe talking about what all of this meant.
Instead, I was stuck out here in a cave all by myself, tied up, and pretty much as far away as I could be from the person I wanted to be with.
What had they done to Bennett? Was he kidnapped too, maybe miles away? Was the challenge that we both needed to independently get back to our campsite? I’d never hated the show more. Desperation made me claw at the ropes, and I screamed out in frustration when they remained tied.
I hauled the bag behind me and unzipped it, then felt around for something sharp.
There was a paper, a change of clothing, a SAT phone, and finally, a knife.
I pulled it out and unsheathed it, then very carefully set to working on the rope around my wrists.
It wasn’t too long before they were freed, and I flexed them in front of me.
I grabbed the paper next, my stomach sinking.
Dear Charlie,
Welcome to the twist. It has come down to two couples, and whoever wins this challenge will take home the prize.
For this challenge, you will need to rely on all the skills you’ve honed while in the Wild these last several weeks to survive and outlast the other contestants.
You have been relocated to a secure location hours away from your campsite. We have given Bennett two choices:
The first is to come and find you.
The second? Bennett has been offered the deal of a lifetime. A dream come true. And all he needs to do to secure it is… leave the game. You may remain in the cave until the game clock runs out, only to find you didn’t win after all.
Don’t wander off.
Survive on your own.
Decide if you trust your husband to come to your rescue.
Attempt to secure the unsure win.
And last of all, you have a choice too. You’ll know it when you see it.
The twist. I shuddered as I reread through the typewritten letter, which didn’t give me nearly enough information.
Bennett was offered the deal of a lifetime. A dream come true. What were his dreams? The only one I could think of was that he wanted to fix up his fishing company. Had they offered to give him the money to pay for it if he decided to leave?
And how would I know what he chose? Would they come get me, or would I need to stay out here, hoping and waiting for him, until I decided he wasn’t coming and called for them to retrieve me? I imagined how pathetic that would look on camera.
Poor little Charlie. Waiting for someone to love her once again.
Believing someone would choose her.
I wouldn’t put it past the show to lie, either.
What if they told him I’d chosen to leave? They would know, from listening to our conversations, he’d been hurt by people leaving in the past. They could exploit his fears in hopes of causing drama.
Or what if he decided that last night was a mistake? And he was better off ending this now before I got even deeper in my feelings for him? He could take the sure win, and I wouldn’t even blame him.
He had no reason to choose me. I’d pushed him away this entire time. I struggled to allow myself to be vulnerable. I was the one who’d turned his life upside down by allowing him to come out here with me.
Hadn’t I proven time and again that I was hard to love?
I leaned against the cave wall and slid to the floor, my legs feeling too unsteady to hold me up.
No.
I knew Bennett Forrester. If my husband—my friend—thought I was out here, hoping he’d come find me, he would do everything in his power to make it here. Nothing would stop him.
I scrunched up the letter and reasserted in my soul what I knew was true.
I turned to the camera set up in the corner and spoke. “This was wrong. Kidnapping me and hiding me away like this. Exploiting our worst pains and vulnerabilities. Bennett is going to come find me. He’s not going to take whatever deal you give him. He will make it here.”
I sounded surer than I felt. I had to believe he was on his way, that he hadn’t given up on us winning this together.
I walked out of the cave to go search for some sticks to make a fire. I didn’t know how long it was going to take for him to find me, but I needed to be prepared for a cold, lonely night.