71
Reaching the island having half swum, half been swept through the longest, darkest stretch of water I’ve ever seen in my life, I haul myself and my baby basket up onto the bank and rest, panting, on the grass for a minute.
This island is situated in a lagoon completely surrounded by forested mountains and is only accessible via water caves under the mountains. One in. One out.
The caves had been a nightmare, but nobody had assaulted me.
Rather, it was the fact that at intervals I’d had to secure colour-coded clues both underwater and high-up tied to stalactites in virtual darkness while keeping my baby with me in very fast-flowing water.
Sometimes I’d floated right past clues and had to fight my way back against the current to try to retrieve them.
Other times I’d simply shaken my head and floated right on by, knowing that due to the newly healing scar in my side I had no ability to jump up and reach the clue; stretching like that was simply out of the question.
Some I missed because I just couldn’t swim far enough down without risking the child.
At one stage the baby had started crying so violently that I’d tied myself to a rock to give her a bottle, my wet hands making the task almost impossible and causing her to cry harder when I dripped on her.
As I tried to feed her it became clear that she didn’t want the bottle; she’d started crying because her little boat basket was leaking.
In desperation I’d taken the rope that was securing her basket to my wrist and used it to tie the pool noodle into a circle, the basket resting up off the water in the centre.
She settled once I adjusted her blankets and ensured she was dry again, but the time it took cost me, and I watched several contestants float past. None acknowledged me, let alone tried to sabotage; they were too busy trying to stay alive and keep their children alive.
Cherry was screaming louder than her baby.
Thorun was aided by the bachelor and, although clearly terrified, waved as she went past.
When I’d untied myself I kept going with the knowledge that I was definitely behind and I’d made it harder for myself by sacrificing my flotation device.
But there was nothing I could do about that.
Now, pulling the clues I’d managed to secure out from my suit, I place them on the grass and shake my head.
I don’t have enough to solve the puzzle.
“We’re going to have to swim back and get more pieces, baby,” I mutter to the sleeping infant. “As much as you and I might not want that. I don’t have enough pieces. I’m just no good at puzzles.”
I sigh heavily and roll onto my back to look at the stars, waiting to gain the momentum and energy I need to go back the way I’d come.
There are still many competitors behind me, so I have time to catch my breath and consider my strategy.
I know the tasks are designed to allow for different strengths to achieve different results, but the only one I think who would have excelled at this challenge, provided she could look after her baby, would have been Valérie.
For the rest of us this is a totally exhausting exercise, and I wonder just how many of us will even make it to the end.
Hearing footsteps, I haul myself up quickly to face whoever might be running towards me.
“Cat,” Thorun breathes as she reaches me, two babies in her arms. “Take them!”
“Take what?” I scowl. “I’m not taking any more fucking babies!”
“No, take my clues. Take my clues.”
I shake my head.
“And mine,” Sona shouts, her baby over her shoulder as she runs towards me, hand outstretched.
“What? No! We are not a team.”
“Why not?” Thorun squats down, placing her babies together on the grass and putting her clues next to mine and Sona’s before rising, hands on her hips, to give me an exasperated look.
“Because I’ve helped you enough. And as I’ve told you ad nauseum, everyone has to die in this game. Everyone except me! I don’t want to fucking protect you, and I don’t want to kill you yet. Don’t you understand?”
“Then don’t,” Sona shrugs. “Someone’s bound to target us sooner or later. We’re not asking for your protection. We’re asking to team up so we all have a better chance of winning at this point in the game. Neither of us could get more than a couple of clues. How many did you get?”
“You can see what I got,” I scowl. “I’m going to have to swim back. I barely got four of the ten.”
“I got two,” Thorun says quietly. “I expected you’d have them all.”
“Two? You had the bachelor with you!”
“Yes, but he’s not permitted to help. He’s just there to accompany us.”
“Christ!”
“I have six,” Sona shrugs, poking hers with her foot, “but I almost drowned my baby getting them. She’s coughing, and she doesn’t appear to be the right colour. Look.”
She turns the baby around to us, and I shake my head. The child definitely doesn’t look well.
“Is she breathing?” Thorun frowns, taking the baby from Sona and inspecting her. “Oh, good. She’s breathing. Let’s give her a warm bottle and see if we can get some colour back into her face while Cat solves the puzzle.”
Sighing heavily, I look at all the clues lying on the grass.
After a long moment, I shake my head.
“It’s no use. I can’t solve the puzzle. I just told you. I have to swim back and get more clues.”
“Swim back?” They say in unison.
“Yes,” I sigh. “So, no. I don’t want to join you and your babies. Speaking of which, where did you get two, Thorun?”
“The twin,” she says quietly, “she floated past, and I saved her baby.”
“It worked then,” I grin.
“I only saw one,” she says, her eyes pooling with tears.
“What worked?” Sona asks.
I shake my head as a warning to Thorun not to say anything, but she’s so busy wiping away tears she doesn’t notice.
“I distracted the twins in the car on the ride over and Cat slipped sleeping tablets into their water bottles,” she chokes. “I didn’t want to, but I did.”
“Oh, that’s what your asthma attack was about. I didn’t think you had asthma. When you collapsed so dramatically, I was sure something was up.”
I grin at the fact my plan worked.
“You don’t have a future in the acting department, Thorun,” Sona adds quietly.
“It worked, though,” Thorun sighs, “one twin, at least, has drowned.”
“You'd better hope two drown, Cat,” Sona murmurs, “because I wouldn’t want to know how the other one’s going to react if she lives and learns who killed her sister.”
“I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
“I’m just glad I saved her baby,” Thorun blows her nose on her sleeve and straightens up, “that’s the main thing.”
“Yes, you saved the baby,” I nod. “But fat lot of good that’s going to do you if you can’t solve the puzzle.”
“I’m excellent at puzzles,” Sona shrugs, “one or two more pieces and I believe I can crack this.”
I stare at her hard, knowing that if anyone can solve this with limited pieces, it will be her.
“You don’t have any other offers of help, as far as I can tell,” Thorun adds.
“Che palle!”
I throw my hands into the air, and they shake their heads as they do whenever I speak Italian.
“A pain, a fucking pain in my ass. That’s what the two of you are.”
“The way I see it,” Thorun says quietly, “we both gained clues that we’re ready and willing to hand to you. Clues you otherwise would have had to fight other competitors for.”
“If we combine them and work together it’s a huge leg-up to help solve the puzzle,” Sona nods her agreement, “and all we ask is that you get a couple more, come back, and we’ll hopefully solve it and all get to the end.”
“With your protection,” Thorun adds.
“And I suppose in the meantime you’ll both be doing what you do best?” I scowl.
“Exactly,” Thorun grins. “We’re going to run with the babies.”
“And we’ll find a place to hide and work on the puzzle,” Sona smiles.
“And I’m going to swim through dark tunnels, battle my way against the current and other competitors, and get more puzzle pieces.” I run my hands over my face again as I say this, as though I could scrub the words off.
“And try to keep the baby safe,” Thorun says quickly.
“And if possible, don’t get killed,” Sona adds.
“Right,” I sigh. “Sure.”
Sona, nodding to me, scoops up the puzzle pieces and turns to run off into the distance, calling Thorun to keep up as she goes, but I put my hand on Thorun’s arm to stop her before she can follow.
“Don’t trust Sona, Thorun.”
She frowns.
“Why?”
“Because she knew Evelyn was going to try to kill you and she didn’t warn you.”
“Oh, that can’t be true.”
“It is. Do you trust me?”
“Yes,” she answers unequivocally.
“As much as this pains me,” I sigh, “I trust you too, for the moment at least. I know you think I’m fucking Wonder Woman, but I can’t swim and fight and get puzzle pieces with the baby.
I’m too exhausted, and the current is too strong.
You need to take her and keep her safe. Don’t follow Sona.
Make your way through the second tunnel now and head towards the finish line.
Hang around in your canoe out of sight and just wait for me to show up with the solved puzzle.
I’ll retrieve the child and we’ll cross the line. ”
“But that’s not what we agreed. What about Sona?”
“If she doesn’t backstab me. And that’s a big IF; she’ll solve the puzzle and we’ll both meet you at the finish line.
All three of us will cross together. If she double-crosses me it’ll be the last thing she does.
Can you do it, Thorun? Can you get through the second tunnel with three babies?
There’s a good chance someone will try to take you out on the way. ”
“I can do it,” she says, nodding, as though I haven’t just asked for a fucking miracle. “I’ll do it, Cat.”
“You do realise that if someone catches you and kills the kids we’re both going to be eliminated?” I stare into her eyes, willing her to understand the magnitude of how much I’m relying upon her.
“No. Well, I mean, yes. I guess I understand it when you put it that way.”
“There’s no other way to put it. Anyone who loses their baby is eliminated. In handing her to you I’m literally trusting you with my life.”
“Then I guess it’s lucky I have four babies,” she says quietly, holding up Sona’s infant. “I’m pretty sure Sona won’t backstab us, since I have the key to her life right here.”
“I’ve got to stop underestimating you,” I mutter, shaking my head.