Chapter 13 #2
Cole grins at me. “Thanks, Ry,” he says.
“I appreciate it.” His cheeks flush red, and he looks away before clearing his throat.
“Anyway, as I was saying, they definitely threw that last challenge.
They kept talking about how they needed to get rid of the big threats before the merge, and it was pretty obvious that they meant me.
The only one who would even talk strategy with me at all was Tamika.
The rest of them were polite, but it was clear they were keeping me at a distance. I figured I was a goner after we lost.
“But when we got back to camp, Jing flipped out. I guess she figured all the talk about voting me out was just a smokescreen in case she had an idol or something. In any event, she spent that whole afternoon trying to convince them that they needed to vote me out. She didn’t even try to hide it from me.
She just kept saying that if they didn’t get rid of me, they’d be making a huge mistake, and that she’d gladly work with them once we got to the merge.
In the end, I think the four of them just decided that she seemed too eager and got spooked.
She ended up writing my name down, but everyone else, including me, voted against her. ”
There are a few seconds of silence as we digest that information. “That’s crazy,” Katie finally says, shaking her head. “I mean, I’m not complaining. But Jing didn’t really seem like the kind of person to freak out like that.”
“I ain’t surprised,” Rhonda says quietly. “This game messes with your head until you don’t know which way is up anymore.”
We nod in agreement; this game makes every single one of your instincts go haywire. “Who do you guys think they’re going to target tomorrow?” I ask, more to change the subject than anything else.
“It could be any of us, verdad?” Marina says. “Sounds like they’re not going to turn on each other. At least, not immediately. So that means it’s going to be one of us.”
Katie nods her agreement. “They’ll probably try to get rid of whoever they see as the biggest threat. But you could make an argument for any of us. Cole’s obviously the strongest physically, but Ryan and I are fairly smart, and Marina and Rhonda are good social players.”
The others fall silent, and I frown as I ponder my own question.
What would I do if I were them? The most important thing is winning immunity challenges, and if previous seasons are anything to go by, most of the challenges moving forward will rely more on physical strength than smarts.
Like Katie said, Cole is the strongest of us, and I doubt it’ll take the Sikas more than a second to come to the same conclusion, if they haven’t already.
But on the other hand, the Sikas have gotten a chance to know Cole in a way that they haven’t with the rest of us.
Sure, he was only on their tribe for four days, but that’s an eternity in a game like this.
They might think they have a chance to work with Cole later on down the line.
There are just too many factors to consider, too many unknowns to be sure of anything.
Evidently, I’m not the only one who’s come to that conclusion, because Marina turns to Cole. “What about the hidden immunity idol?” she asks. “Cole, you were over there for a few days. Do you think one of them found it? If you know who did, maybe we can put a target on their back.”
He shrugs. “I think so, but I’m not a hundred percent sure.
As soon as we read the clue, everyone ran off and started searching.
Then later, I saw Ashraf showing something to Jenny, but I couldn’t see what it was, and when I got closer, they just pretended like they were just chatting.
But the four of them gave up searching pretty soon after that, which was pretty suspicious.
” He lowers his eyebrows in thought. “Maybe it was a ruse to make me think they found it so I would stop looking myself. Either way, nobody played one at tribal last night, but that doesn’t really mean much.
I’m guessing you guys didn’t find yours? ”
The other four of us shake our heads. “And we’re pretty sure Alina hasn’t found it either, so it’s probably still out there,” I add.
Or one of the others is lying and has already found it, but it’s not like they’ll come clean now if they haven’t already.
“If only we had some idea of where to search.”
Katie perks up. “Cole, do you remember your tribe’s clue? Maybe if we have two clues, that’ll help us find it.”
“Oh yeah, that’s a smart idea!” he replies.
“Hang on, let me think.” He closes his eyes for a few seconds, then says, “I don’t remember exactly what it was, but it was something about looking up in the trees.
Look up in the trees, you’ll see me wave in the breeze? I don’t know, something like that.”
Katie, Rhonda, Marina, and I share a look. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna help us,” Rhonda says. “Sorry, honey. It was a good thought.” She lets out a sigh. “Maybe we should just forget about the darn idol. Who knows if they even found theirs? Like Cole said, it could have all just been a ruse.”
“I think we need to assume that they do have it,” I say. “And I mean all of them, not just one of them, because whoever found it might give it to someone else before tribal council.”
“Even if that happens, what can we do about it?” Marina asks. “Sure, if we all vote for the same person and they guess correctly, somos fula. But we don’t have the numbers to split the votes, like we did when we got Juan, so we might as well take the chance. It’s a one in five shot.”
Katie clears her throat. “I might have a solution,” she says, biting her lip. “We just have to convince them that we’re putting all our votes on one of them, so they play the idol for that person. But in reality, all five of us vote for someone else.”
We all consider Katie’s plan for a few moments. “Honestly, that’s probably our best bet,” I eventually say. “We’d have to be careful not to be too obvious about it, but I think we could pull it off.”
“Cole, you saw Ashraf showing something to Jenny, right?” Katie asks. “Maybe we pretend to target him, just in case he doesn’t feel like giving it to someone else.”
“That makes sense,” I agree. “But there’s one more problem.
Even if we get rid of the idol, we’re still tied.
” I focus all four of them with a steady gaze.
“That’s why we need to get one of them to flip and vote with us if we can.
Cole, did you get an idea for which one would be most likely to turn on the others? ”
He thinks about it, then nods slowly. “If I had to pick one, I’d probably say Tamika. She didn’t seem to like the other three very much. Plus, she was the only one who was willing to talk to me about the game.”
It’s not much to go on, but I have a feeling it’s the best I’m going to get.
“All right. Here’s what I’m thinking: Cole and I will try to convince Tamika to flip and vote with us.
Marina, Katie, and Rhonda, you three do your best to plant the seed that we’re voting all for Ashraf, and if you can, try to figure out who they’re going to vote for. That work for everyone?”
There’s a chorus of nods and yeses. “Sounds good to me,” Cole says. “Is that everything, or should we get started now?”
I nod decisively. “We all know what we have to do,” I say, trying to project a confidence I don’t quite feel. “Let’s get out there and do it.”