Chapter Eleven
Isla wasn’t particularly fond of snakes, but she wasn’t terrified of them. But when Eric—the show’s resident reptile handler—emerged from the teepee with what looked like two feet of moving rope draped across his arms, she shuddered all the way to her toes.
“It’s just a carpet python,” Eric announced cheerfully, as if he were presenting a kitten instead of a snake.
He wore cargo pants, a sun-bleached button-down rolled to his elbows, and a knit hat despite it still being hot at midnight.
“They’re common here in the Flinders Ranges,” he added, squinting against the floodlights production had set up barely five minutes after Aggie had come screaming.
Apparently, production took a snake in the tent very seriously, especially out here in the Flinders Ranges, where all snakes were deemed extremely dangerous until proven otherwise.
“They’re not venomous.”
“They’re not?” Aggie squeaked, hugging herself tightly.
Petra hovered beside her, one arm over her shoulder while Josie stood on her other side.
Isla had already given her best ‘it’s going to be okay’ look and was now standing at the periphery of the spotlight, squinting against the bright lights.
Just like everyone else, she wouldn’t sleep a wink tonight.
“No,” he said, at the same time the snake looped and re-looped itself around his arm.
Its body was thick and glossy, patterned with a wild zigzag of gold and black that shimmered under the lights.
Its head swiveled, and its tongue flicked out in rapid, twitchy stabs.
“They’re constrictors. They squeeze their prey to death. ”
Aggie’s knees buckled ever so slightly. Petra seemed to anticipate this, because her arm immediately went around Aggie’s waist. Some would say Aggie’s reaction to a snake in her tent was a little bit of an exaggeration, but Isla would disagree.
She couldn’t possibly imagine what it would feel like to have a cold weight against your legs, that you thought was nothing, maybe just a dream, only to realize it was in fact a nightmare.
A horrible, scaly, beady-eyed nightmare.
“Don’t worry,” he said, smiling so wide his teeth glinted in the spotlight, which only made his accent seem even more Australian. “She’s still a juvenile. She prefers medium-sized rodents to humans. If you were a plump wombat, then you’d probably be in trouble.”
Aggie didn’t seem at all reassured. Not that Isla would be either. If one snake had gotten into the teepee, then surely an even larger constrictor, or something more venomous, could just as easily find its way in. Ugh. The thought made Isla feel physically ill.
“You know,” Tamsyn said, stepping closer.
She hadn’t left Isla’s side since they’d come rushing toward Aggie’s blistering screams. “I once watched a documentary about a guy who kept three pythons in glass enclosures in his basement.” Her breath skimmed Isla’s bare shoulder.
Or maybe it was just the gentle breeze picking up.
Not that it mattered. Goosebumps erupted everywhere.
Even in places Isla had never felt goosebumps before.
“He fed them live rats and other rodents. And one day, when he wasn’t paying attention, the enormous Burmese python managed to lift its enclosure’s lid and get out.
They found the guy three days later, dead, with his leg half swallowed by the snake. ”
It sounded made up.
But then again, Isla didn’t know enough about snakes to argue with Tamsyn, nor did she particularly want to.
She wasn’t sure what had shifted in the last few minutes, or why her stomach was suddenly fluttering when it hadn’t twitched before.
Maybe it was Aggie’s scream, the way it had zipped through the campsite like a shockwave.
Or maybe it had to do with Tamsyn grabbing her hand as they ran back to the camp.
A hand she hadn’t let go of until production showed up with Eric.
“That’s why I’d rather get a cat. They’re less hostile,” Isla replied, focusing only on Eric and the surprisingly relaxed snake. Maybe Aggie had nothing to worry about, and the snake was just passing by before going on to find a better, more delicious snack.
“Cats have been known to eat their owners too,” Tamsyn said.
“Only after death,” Isla pointed out.
Tamsyn shivered, and Isla felt it against her skin. “I’m not a cat person,” she said. “We always had a trio of golden retrievers growing up.”
Isla, who had only befriended beetles and the occasional praying mantis, turned slowly to look at Tamsyn. She tried to picture Tamsyn at twelve, grass-stained knees, cowboy boots that swallowed skinny legs, and three golden retrievers orbiting her like planets.
But then she regretted it immediately.
Tamsyn’s face was impossibly close. Close enough that Isla could see the fine laugh lines around her eyes. Close enough to see her irises shimmer like polished wood in the spotlights. Close enough for Isla’s brain to supply a very vivid, unhelpful image of Tamsyn’s lips against her own.
She took a large step back just as Elise Mercier, the show’s executive producer, ambled into the clearing.
She was dressed in a white T-shirt, black slacks and Birkenstocks.
Her blonde curls were clipped back, rogue strands falling across her cheeks.
“All right, people. Snake’s taken care of. You can all go back to sleep.”
“Ha, not a chance,” Aggie said, arms still hugging herself.
Isla couldn’t argue with that. Though honestly, she wasn’t sure if that had to do with the snake or the raven-haired woman standing next to her.
EVERYONE HAD JUST RECOVERED from last night’s fiasco when Vivian decided to bring it up again at this afternoon’s reward challenge.
She stood beside a towering wooden structure set up in the clearing.
Her burnt-orange wrap dress clung delicately to her hips.
Isla found her outfit choice exceptionally glamorous today.
Her white hair gleamed like sun-bleached bone against the burnt-orange cliffs in the background.
“So, Aggie, you had a visitor in the teepee last night,” Vivian said, smiling brightly.
Aggie shuddered so violently her blue hair seemed to ripple.
“It was a carpet python,” she said darkly.
“I woke up to the thing slithering over my legs.” She shivered again as if the memory alone made her cold.
“I got the fright of my life. But they’re apparently not venomous.
Not that it makes me feel better. I mean, they constrict their prey to death. Not sure which is worse.”
Vivian pressed her lips together, fighting back a laugh. “Well, today you won’t have to worry about anything slithering over your legs.” She gestured toward the structure. “But you will have something else to contend with.”
She stepped to the side even though it wasn’t necessary.
The setup was intimidating. Two tall wooden frames had been planted firmly into the ground, each one taller than a doorframe and reinforced with a thick crossbeam.
From the top of each frame hung a heavy rope.
At the end of the rope was an iron disc the size of a car tire, fitted with two metal handles.
The other end of the rope ran through a pulley system and was tied to a tall, narrow stack of sandstone blocks balanced upright.
The only thing keeping the stack standing was the tension in the rope.
Isla didn’t like the look of it. Not one bit.
“In this challenge, each of you will hold one of these weighted discs above your head,” Vivian explained, folding her hands delicately in front of her.
There it was. A dreaded endurance challenge. No one loved an endurance challenge, which explained the collective groan.
“The disc must remain lifted high enough to keep the tension on the rope at all times,” Vivian said, smiling radiantly at the impending suffering they were all about to face.
“If it drops and your pillar falls, your challenge is over. You will be working in pairs. Last pair standing wins the reward.”
Isla caught Tamsyn out of the corner of her eye.
Tamsyn was chewing on her bottom lip like she was nervous.
Which wasn’t something Isla expected from a woman who enjoyed hiking until her legs felt like they were going to fall off.
Anyone who was willing to hike the PCT wouldn’t mind pushing their bodies through a bit of pain.
Isla included. She’d once held a back-arched pose for forty minutes on a narrow sandstone ledge in Joshua Tree while the photographer waited for the perfect light to hit.
She’d stood barefoot in the Atlantic at Coney Island in the middle of February, in a thin silk dress, pretending she wasn’t losing feeling in her toes, and once, in the very beginning of her career, she’d knelt on sunbaked gravel in a leather suit in the Nevada desert.
Isla Stone could endure. Which was why she had a feeling they could win this thing.
She just needed to catch Tamsyn’s eye to confirm.
“Will it help if I tell you what you’re playing for?” Vivian asked as her gold hoop earrings glinted sharply in the sunlight.
There was a chorus of enthusiastic YES!
Vivian smiled so radiantly it was like she was glowing and added, “The winners will be driven in a private SUV one hour south to an exclusive eco-luxury villa nestled deep in the foothills. You’ll spend the night there and dine under the open sky.
The next morning, you’ll wake up to breakfast delivered while you watch the sunrise over Wilpena Pound. ”
Isla’s entire body fluttered. Not even winning this entire competition sounded as scrumptious as that reward. Ugh. She could practically feel the bedsheets on her naked body.
“All right, everyone, let’s get this challenge started.” Vivian clapped her hands once, and just like always, everyone moved into their positions. “On my count,” she called. “Three... two... one... lift.”
The weight hit immediately. Isla’s arms shot upward and stayed there, but the disc dragged her shoulders and the rope snapped taut. Somewhere behind her, the sandstone pillar gave a faint, gritty-sounding shift.
“Oh, that’s evil,” Kendall muttered.
Isla had to agree. The disc was far heavier than she had expected.
A slow burn crept from her forearms into her shoulders.
She turned her head and stole a look at Tamsyn.
But Tamsyn’s chin was tipped down slightly and her eyes were closed.
She looked perfectly calm and composed, like someone in a yoga class instead of out here with the sun pressing on their backs, holding up a disc that had to weigh the same as a toddler. Even her breathing was steady.
Isla copied her. Or at least she tried to. She closed her eyes and breathed through her nose. One minute turned into two, which turned into five. Then the jokes started.
“Anyone else’s arms tingling?” Josie asked.
“That’s just the feeling of losing,” Barra replied.
“Feels light to me. Everyone can just give up now,” Dominique said.
Isla cracked one eye open. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dominique’s arms shaking like a leaf in a gale-force wind. She would be surprised if Dominique lasted another minute.
“After you,” Kendall shot back.
Petra let out a laugh, but it was cut short when her disc dipped a fraction too low. The rope slackened. And for one crazy second, the sandstone stack behind her swayed as if it might forgive the interruption. But it did not. The entire thing went crashing to the ground with a splintering clatter.
“Petra and Nadine, you’re out!” Vivian called.
Isla would’ve smiled if sweat wasn’t slipping from her temples into her eyes.
The sensation made her squirm internally, but she did not move.
Not even when her forearms started screaming in pain.
Not even when that pain turned sharp and electric.
She wanted the reward badly. The thought of food made her mouth water.
A shower with actual soap. All of that sounded borderline life-changing.
And yet... that wasn’t the reason she pushed through.
There was another reason. One with dark eyes and locked elbows standing two feet to her right, looking so unbothered by the weight of the disc, she could’ve been a statue.
But Isla barely had time to finish that thought before Aggie’s arms gave out completely. She leaped forward just as the disc dropped. The rope whipped sharply through the pulley with a harsh zip as tension vanished. The sandstone pillar collapsed to the ground.
“And that’s the end for Aggie and Josie!
” Vivian called, making a megaphone with her hands.
“We’ve got three pairs left.” She glanced at Frankie, who was sitting sadly on the sidelines.
Since she was left without a partner after the last Sending, she couldn’t compete in the reward challenge.
The pairs that had toppled their sandstone pillars were taking up the space beside her.
Another minute passed, and then ten more.
Isla couldn’t believe Dominique was still holding on. She was just about to say that when, out of nowhere, Barra yelped and let go of the disc. Her pillar tumbled down in a cloud of dust.
“Barra and Dominique, you’re out! Come join the others.”
Now there were only two pairs left. Kendall and Abigail. Isla and Tamsyn.
Kendall’s arms were vibrating so aggressively that the metal handles rattled. Abigail looked far calmer than Kendall, though there were fractures in her composure for sure.
“Just a little longer,” Isla whispered to Tamsyn. “Kendall’s going to drop her disc any minute now. We just have to hold on a bit longer.”
“I can hear you,” Kendall muttered through gritted teeth.
“I know,” Isla shot back, smiling even though her body was close to giving up. But she wouldn’t. She couldn’t.
And she didn’t have to.
Kendall’s arms gave way, and the rope snapped slack with a loud whap. The sandstone stack behind her wobbled violently before collapsing in a spectacular cascade of dust and rock.
“Nooo!” Abigail yelled, and for good reason.
They had been so close to winning it themselves.
Though Isla barely had time to spare her a sympathetic glance, because the moment she let go of the disc, Tamsyn was at her side.
She yanked her into a hug that felt like it could crush a small car.
A hug Isla couldn’t help but lean into as Vivian clapped her hands together.
“Congratulations, Isla and Tamsyn. You two are going on the first overnight reward challenge.”