Episode 30 Celeste
“The individual immunity talisman is back up for grabs. Let’s see who’s going after it,” Steph Rhodes announces.
“Today’s challenge is called Fingersmith.
Because today, you’re going to need steady hands and perfect balance to win.
Behind each of you is a narrow beam suspended right over the water.
You will use the overhead moving straps to guide yourselves across.
Once you make it to the platform at the end, you will find a tower of wooden blocks.
Using only your fingers, you must successfully extract and place three blocks on top of your tower.
If your tower falls, or if you lose your balance and fall into the water, you are out.
First person to successfully stack their three blocks wins individual immunity and a mystery box. ”
We line up at our starting positions on the edge of the wooden platform.
Arlie, Beya, Saffron, Lex, and Paya stand down the line from me, everyone staring at the water below us.
Overhead, the heavy nylon straps hang from a wooden rigging system, swaying slightly in the breeze.
I reach up and grip the fabric, wrapping the rough material around my palms to get a solid hold.
It’s like we each have to tightrope walking back and forth across the water and play Jenga once we reach the end.
Except falling could cost one million dollars.
“Go!” Steph shouts.
I step onto the beam, immediately feeling how narrow the wood is under my shoes.
The beam dips toward the water under my weight, forcing me to tighten my core and pull upward on the overhead strap to center myself.
I take one slow, deliberate step forward, sliding my hands along the leather as I move.
To my right, a sudden loss of tension in the rigging is followed instantly by a loud splash.
“Saffron is out!” Steph calls out.
I keep my chin up and my eyes locked on the opposite end of the platform, refusing to look down at the water.
Saffron’s foot must have slipped right at the start.
Knowing she is out gives me a quick surge of focus, but the physical strain is already setting in.
My shoulders burn from keeping my arms locked above my head, and my fingers start to cramp as I cross the halfway mark.
Another splash hits from a neighboring plant, followed by Steph calling out Arlie’s elimination. Step by step, the distance closes. I take one final stride and plant both feet onto the solid, floating platform at the end of the beam. Beya steps onto her platform just a second after I reach mine.
In front of me sits a small wooden table with a straight Jenga-style tower.
I take a moment to steady my breathing, which is still bated from fighting to not fall off the thin wood.
My hands are shaking from holding the strap.
I take a deep breath to steady my pulse, knowing that a single tremor will ruin the next part and get me eliminated.
I reach out, using only the tips of my thumb and index finger to pinch the edge of a loose pale wood block near the center of the stack.
Beside me, Lex is white-knuckling her overhead strap with one hand while reaching for her tower with the other. She looks at the nylon fabric, then looks over at Steph. “You know, Steph. I think I’m going to start a moving company with my million dollars. I’m calling it: Two Women. One Strap.”
The line cracks the silence.
We all burst out laughing. The sudden, involuntary shake of my diaphragm sends a jolt down my arm, and I freeze, pulling my hand away from my tower just in time.
Beya and Paya aren’t as quick. Paya flinches from the giggles, her fingers jerking forward and striking the side of her stack.
Beside her, Beya loses her balance entirely, her hip bumping her table.
Both of their wooden towers wobble and cascade sideways into the water below.
“Paya and Beya are out!” Steph announces over the noise.
I bite the inside of my cheek until it hurts, forcing my face flat to kill the remaining urge to breathe too hard.
My heart is hammering against my ribs, but the distraction is gone.
I refocus entirely on the wood in front of me.
Moving with absolute precision, I carefully slide my first block out of the center and place it squarely on the very top of the stack. One.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Lex trying to recover her pace, her fingers working quickly on her own table.
I don’t let the panic alter my speed. I reach back into the lower levels of the tower, testing the resistance of the blocks until I find another loose one. I slide it free and balance it carefully on top of the first. Two.
Lex is now on her second block.
Holding my breath, I slide the final block loose from the base, and lift it to the peak.
My fingertips hold it for a fraction of a second, centering the weight before I pull my hand back entirely. Suddenly, there’s the sound of wood clattering against a table. Lex groans as her tower falls over onto its side.
Sweat down my lower back, I refocus on my station and slowly pull my hands away. The tower stands perfectly still.
“Celeste wins individual immunity!” Steph shouts.
I drop my arms to my sides, relief flooding through my shoulders. My fingers are stiff and my core muscles are already experiencing onset soreness, but I smile as Steph steps forward onto the platform. She lifts the immunity talisman and loops it around my neck. The weight of it makes me smile.
Steph hands me my first mystery box. The wooden chest is heavier than it looks. I examine it closely and the others laugh when I shake it like a Christmas present. Something thuds around inside. I look forward to opening it.
“Celeste, you’re safe from votes tonight. Enjoy the view from the top.” Steph gestures toward the exit. “But a partnership ends tonight. Head back to camp.”