Chapter 18
“Cheers to us,” Katie says as we sit by the fire later that night, raising her canteen in the air. “Final six. Who would have guessed we’d be the last ones standing?”
“I’ll second that,” Marina says, laughing. “Before we came out here, I thought I’d be happy if I just made it past the first few days. Now here I am, still in it with less than a week to go.”
Cole and Tamika voice their agreement, but Rhonda shakes her head. “Speak for y’all selves,” she says, a hint of a smile creasing her face in the firelight. “I always knew I’d get this far.”
Katie rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling too. “Of course you did,” she says playfully, before turning to me. “What about you, Ryan? Did you ever think you’d make it this far?”
I pause for a moment. “I don’t know,” I finally say. “Obviously, I hoped I would. But the pessimist in me knew I could easily be voted out first.”
“Like that would ever happen,” Rhonda says, with a snort. “There was no way I was ever gonna let you go home first, not over the other alliance. Oh, I liked Jing, I suppose, but the other three were, shall we say, not my favorite people in the world. Especially Ashley.”
Tamika turns to Rhonda, a questioning look on her face. “What did you have against her, exactly? I know she was the first one voted out, but I don’t think I ever heard the whole story.”
Cole jumps in before Rhonda can respond. “Oh, now you’ve done it,” he says, grinning. “I hope you’re not planning on doing anything for the next hour or so, Tamika.”
Rhonda nods while the rest of us chuckle.
“I know we’re all tired, so I’ll try to give you the short version, and that’s God’s honest truth,” she says, leaning back and forming a steeple with her fingers.
“To answer your question, Ashley was a nice enough girl, but in the three days she was with us, she did not one bit of work around camp. I don’t think she ever picked up a single piece of firewood, cooked a grain of rice, or did anything but lie around the shelter all day. In fact, she …”
I tune Rhonda out as she continues to list Ashley’s deficiencies.
I’ve heard all of this several times before—for that matter, I lived all of it not three weeks ago—and I don’t think I’ll be missing much if I don’t hear them again.
Instead, I think about my answer to Katie’s question, namely, whether I thought I would make it this far.
What I said wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t the full truth either.
Back home, part of me knew that it was unlikely that I’d be sitting here at the final six, just from a statistical perspective.
After all, two-thirds of the contestants we started with are gone, either home or to the jury.
I’d like to think that I have a good grasp on my own strengths and weaknesses, and while I may be smart but I’m not exactly the strongest or most physical person out here, and that was always going to be a disadvantage.
But another part of me was absolutely certain that I’d not only make it this far, but much further.
That was the part that understood that I have to win, that refused to even consider the possibility of failure.
Because if I fail, I’m failing not just myself, but Arielle too, and I can’t fail her, not after all she’s done for me.
I knew from the moment I got the call from casting that the hardest part would be getting to know people before turning around and voting them out, but I told myself that I wouldn’t let personal feelings get in the way of my winning the million.
Now, as I look at my alliance—my friends—laughing as Rhonda continues to complain about Ashley, I know that it’s going to be even tougher than I expected.
It’s not just my feelings for Cole, although that’s certainly a part of it.
No, the truth is that I’ve gotten to know these five people pretty well over the last month, and it’s going to hurt me personally to vote them out, whether or not they know it’s coming.
I’ll still do it, because the only way I make it to the final two is to send four of the others home.
I may hate that, and it’s just the way this game is played, and there’s nothing I can do about it.
As much as I love my alliance, they mean nothing to me compared to Arielle.
And yet, as my gaze falls on Cole, his blue eyes sparkling in the light of the fire, something stirs deep within my chest, and I can’t help but wish that it didn’t have to be this way.
Days 26-27
The vibe at camp feels like a textbook example of mutually assured destruction.
It’s obvious from the increased fidgeting and occasional nervous laughter that my tribe has come to the same conclusion I have: someone has to go next, and it’s going to be someone we all know and love.
Nobody’s come right out and said it, or tried to throw someone else under the bus—at least, not to me—but we all know it’s coming.
I could try to jump-start the process, but even if I could pick a name to throw out there, the next immunity challenge could shake everything up, considering how few of us there are left.
If I try to target someone and they win the challenge, that would be a pretty big setback.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to think about who I want to go, and I’m sure the others are doing the same.
Personally, I don’t want to get rid of Cole or Rhonda just yet.
Of the five remaining, I’m closest to them, and I think they’re the most likely to take me to the end if we get there, although I’d at least consider voting for either of them if it came down to them or me.
Katie and Marina are both options, as much as I love them.
I certainly wouldn’t enjoy voting either of them out, but I’d still do it, with much less hesitation than Rhonda or Cole.
And then there’s Tamika. On paper, she’s the easiest choice.
The big sticking point, at least to me, is that I’d be breaking the promise I made to her before the merge vote if I were to vote for her.
That doesn’t mean I won’t do it, because honor only takes you so far in this game. But I’d prefer another option.
At least I’m not the only one who seems to be feeling the pressure, because the six of us are far more subdued than usual as we arrive at the challenge area on day twenty-seven.
Like the one on day fifteen, we start in the ocean, although the floating platform where we all gather is closer to land than it was then.
In between the platform and the shore are six markers, each a different color.
Past those, on the beach itself, there are six wooden logs, all parallel to the shoreline and perhaps a few inches above the sand.
Beyond them is a large platform with six wooden tables, each the size of my office desk.
Alex is waiting for us when the motorboat drops us off on the platform. “Welcome to your next immunity challenge,” he says once we’re all in position and the cameras are on. “Cole, I’ll take back immunity.”
Cole takes off the necklace himself and hands it to Alex, who takes it and places it on the podium.
“Once again, you are playing for immunity at tonight’s tribal council,” Alex continues.
“You are also playing for reward. The winner of today’s challenge will have a protein-packed lunch delivered to them at camp: steak, veggies, mashed potatoes, and, best of all, warm chocolate chip cookies and milk for dessert.
We’re getting down to the wire, and eating a full meal might just give you the edge you need to win the next few challenges and get you that much closer to winning the game.
Sound like something worth playing for?” As usual, he pauses while we all cheer and clap. “In that case, let’s get to it.
“For today’s challenge, you’ll swim out to markers, where you’ll dive down and retrieve a bag of wooden letter tiles.
You’ll then make your way to the beach and dig under one of the logs until you can squeeze underneath it.
Finally, you’ll use the tiles to solve a word puzzle.
The first person to complete their word puzzle wins immunity and a reward.
” He pauses for a moment to let it sink in.
“I’ll give you a minute to prepare, and then we’ll begin. ”
A few minutes later, we’re all set. I take a deep breath. I could really use that food. Not to mention immunity tonight.
Once he gets the okay from production, Alex raises his hand in the air. “Castaways,” he shouts, “Ready … set … GO!”
On the last word, all six of us dive into the water and begin swimming to our markers. The waves push me up and down, the currents swirling around me as I struggle forward. It’s hard work, and I do my best to make long, even strokes, like I was taught when I was a kid.
After a little while, I get into a groove, and I can almost believe I’m making good time.
But when I stop and take a quick breather, I see Tamika far out ahead of me.
Katie and Cole are a few lengths behind her, and I can’t see Rhonda or Marina, which hopefully means they’re behind me for the moment. Come on, Ryan, push!
Tamika reaches her marker first and dives down well before I reach mine.
When I get there, I take a deep breath and swim down, using my hands to follow the rope that attaches the marker to the seafloor.
After a few seconds, I come to what feels like a large clip attached to a large bag, and I unhook it while my lungs scream for air.
As soon as the clip is undone, I flip myself over and push upwards, taking the bag with me, surfacing just in time to see Marina dive down for her own bag.
Rhonda is slightly behind her, while Cole, Katie, and Tamika are all still ahead of me.
I begin swimming towards the shore again, hopeful that I can make up some time when I get to the word puzzle.