She clucked and then returned to her grass skirt. “Take it easy out there.”
“I will.” I ducked into the trees before anyone else could stop me, and headed down the path to the water well.
Halfway down the path, Kip stepped out of the trees. He glanced over his shoulder, then moved toward me.
“So, what’s this about?” I asked, though I could pretty well guess.
“I’ll just come right out and say it,” Kip said. “No dancing around the subject. You need me.”
My eyebrows shot up. Kip was the last person in the game I needed. The last person on earth that I needed. Period. Full stop.
“It’s true,” he continued, obviously missing my skepticism. “You don’t have anyone on your side anymore but me. Jendan’s out, and the others are afraid of you.”
“Afraid of me? Why?”
“You’re a challenge beast,” he said. “Must be those big manly shoulders of yours.”
All right, I was going to kick Kip in his balls if he said something like that again. “Where is this going?”
“Like I said, you need me. I have Kissy on my side, and I worked a deal with Saul. That’s three votes. I’m pretty sure I can get Emilio, too. It’s in your best interest to vote with the majority, so I’m letting you in on the ground floor of this thing.”
I said nothing. He did have a point - it was in my best interest to vote with the majority. But I wasn’t sure he was telling me everything about his plan.
“This is our chance to take control of the game,” he said when I was silent. “What do you think?”
“Who were you thinking of voting out?” I asked.
“Leslie,” he said immediately, telling me that he’d already given this a lot of thought. “Saul wants to keep Alys for a bit longer.”
“I see.”
“So, are you in?”
“If I am…who are you taking to the finals with you?”
He looked surprised at my question. Then, he said, “I might as well not lie. I’m taking Saul.”
“I appreciate that you’re telling me the truth,” I said smoothly, not letting my real feelings show. Jerk.
“I’d tell you it was you, but we both know it’s not.” He smirked. “You probably sealed up Jendan’s vote while you guys were alone, and he’ll sway Rusty to your side. Cooch is a powerful thing.”
Dick! I narrowed my eyes at him. “If you want my vote, this is the wrong way to go about it.”
“Look, I’m just being honest with you. I can take you to the final four, but no further. After that, you’re not useful to me. Still, fourth is better than sixth, right?”
I pretended to consider it. Inside, I was seething. He wasn’t even trying here. He was just throwing me scraps and assuming I’d jump on it, like a scared little girl. “All right,” I lied. “I’m with you.”
I held my hand out to him. Dry.
He smacked his hand into mine, a gleeful look on his face.
I turned and walked back down the path, choking back a cough. We had six hours before Judgment tonight.
Time to rally the troops.
~~ *** ~~
With my immunity medallion bouncing against my belly, I went down the beach, looking for Leslie. Kip was taking a nap in the shelter, and Saul and Emilio were laying in there, talking about baseball and who would go to the series. It was a hot day and it would only get hotter, so I didn’t blame them for hanging out in the shelter…but I also wanted the girls to see that.
Alys was swimming, a fishing spear in her hand. I decided I’d tackle her later. Low-hanging fruit first. I found Leslie and Kissy - the two older women - in the shoals, looking for snails and crabs. “Hey ladies, you got a minute?”
Kissy frowned at me. “Should you be up?”
“I’ll be okay,” I said, and ruined it by sneezing. I waved it aside. “There’s something important we need to talk about.”
“Oh?” Leslie’s suspicious face lit up. Jackpot.
I moved closer to them and nodded at the shelter on the far end of the beach. “The guys are all hanging out in the shelter while the women work.”
“Do you think they’re sick, too?” Kissy asked.
Leslie snorted. “Or just fucking lazy.”
I shrugged, letting her draw the conclusion she wanted. “Kip pulled me aside and let me know about his plan for the vote.”
I watched Leslie’s eyes narrow. “Do tell,” she said bluntly. “It’s me, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “Apparently Kip and Saul are working together, and if you’re gone, I’m guessing they’re pulling in Emilio. Three guys and four girls right now. They’re definitely going to get rid of a woman, and I’m safe at the moment.” I patted my medallion. Thank god for it. “I was told Saul wants to keep Alys for a vote, which means you’re next, Kissy, once they get rid of Leslie. He assured me I’d get to the final four, but no further. Then we’ll see those three men dominate all the way to the end of the game.”
So I might have thrown a little fiction in there to make things seem more dire. I didn’t know for sure that Kissy’s number was up, but the shocked look on her face told me I’d made the right call in pointing it out.
“Those fucking cock-suckers,” Leslie swore. “I should fucking burn down that goddamn shelter around them—“
“Or…we could turn the tables on them,” I said. “None of them are safe tonight. And like I said, we have four women and three guys. We can make a women’s alliance and go to the final four together. They’d be sitting ducks.”
“I like the way you think,” Leslie said. She looked at Kissy, who still looked ready to cry. She nodded.
“We just need Alys, though,” I pointed out. “Right now, all we’d do is force a tie.” And I didn’t trust Kissy enough not to flip if we got down to a tie, because a tie-breaker would probably put everyone in danger. They tended to be random and no one liked to force a tie.
Plus, if we didn’t pull in Alys somehow, the guys would.
“Do you think she’ll vote with us?” Kissy asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll talk to her. I’m sure we can figure something out.”
“So then, who are we voting for tonight?” Leslie asked.
My smile was utterly gleeful. “The ringleader. Kip.”
~~ *** ~~
It turned out that Alys was on board. Or rather, she didn’t care about the vote. As long as it wasn’t her, she was game for voting whoever off. Sneezing and sniffling through my cold, I regrouped with all the ladies before Judgment and made sure we were on the same page. Kip was going tonight. If something miraculous happened and we needed to vote off someone else, we’d get rid of Saul. I hoped it didn’t come to that, because I didn’t trust Alys to vote against Saul just yet.
And I didn’t trust Kip not to scramble if he lasted three more days. This had to work tonight. It had to.
The speedboat arrived to pick us up from the beach. “As a reminder, no talking,” a production assistant droned as we filed onto the boat. Kip winked at me as if we were sharing a secret, and I winked back. Enjoy your last night here, jackass.
“I will.” I ducked into the trees before anyone else could stop me, and headed down the path to the water well.
Halfway down the path, Kip stepped out of the trees. He glanced over his shoulder, then moved toward me.
“So, what’s this about?” I asked, though I could pretty well guess.
“I’ll just come right out and say it,” Kip said. “No dancing around the subject. You need me.”
My eyebrows shot up. Kip was the last person in the game I needed. The last person on earth that I needed. Period. Full stop.
“It’s true,” he continued, obviously missing my skepticism. “You don’t have anyone on your side anymore but me. Jendan’s out, and the others are afraid of you.”
“Afraid of me? Why?”
“You’re a challenge beast,” he said. “Must be those big manly shoulders of yours.”
All right, I was going to kick Kip in his balls if he said something like that again. “Where is this going?”
“Like I said, you need me. I have Kissy on my side, and I worked a deal with Saul. That’s three votes. I’m pretty sure I can get Emilio, too. It’s in your best interest to vote with the majority, so I’m letting you in on the ground floor of this thing.”
I said nothing. He did have a point - it was in my best interest to vote with the majority. But I wasn’t sure he was telling me everything about his plan.
“This is our chance to take control of the game,” he said when I was silent. “What do you think?”
“Who were you thinking of voting out?” I asked.
“Leslie,” he said immediately, telling me that he’d already given this a lot of thought. “Saul wants to keep Alys for a bit longer.”
“I see.”
“So, are you in?”
“If I am…who are you taking to the finals with you?”
He looked surprised at my question. Then, he said, “I might as well not lie. I’m taking Saul.”
“I appreciate that you’re telling me the truth,” I said smoothly, not letting my real feelings show. Jerk.
“I’d tell you it was you, but we both know it’s not.” He smirked. “You probably sealed up Jendan’s vote while you guys were alone, and he’ll sway Rusty to your side. Cooch is a powerful thing.”
Dick! I narrowed my eyes at him. “If you want my vote, this is the wrong way to go about it.”
“Look, I’m just being honest with you. I can take you to the final four, but no further. After that, you’re not useful to me. Still, fourth is better than sixth, right?”
I pretended to consider it. Inside, I was seething. He wasn’t even trying here. He was just throwing me scraps and assuming I’d jump on it, like a scared little girl. “All right,” I lied. “I’m with you.”
I held my hand out to him. Dry.
He smacked his hand into mine, a gleeful look on his face.
I turned and walked back down the path, choking back a cough. We had six hours before Judgment tonight.
Time to rally the troops.
~~ *** ~~
With my immunity medallion bouncing against my belly, I went down the beach, looking for Leslie. Kip was taking a nap in the shelter, and Saul and Emilio were laying in there, talking about baseball and who would go to the series. It was a hot day and it would only get hotter, so I didn’t blame them for hanging out in the shelter…but I also wanted the girls to see that.
Alys was swimming, a fishing spear in her hand. I decided I’d tackle her later. Low-hanging fruit first. I found Leslie and Kissy - the two older women - in the shoals, looking for snails and crabs. “Hey ladies, you got a minute?”
Kissy frowned at me. “Should you be up?”
“I’ll be okay,” I said, and ruined it by sneezing. I waved it aside. “There’s something important we need to talk about.”
“Oh?” Leslie’s suspicious face lit up. Jackpot.
I moved closer to them and nodded at the shelter on the far end of the beach. “The guys are all hanging out in the shelter while the women work.”
“Do you think they’re sick, too?” Kissy asked.
Leslie snorted. “Or just fucking lazy.”
I shrugged, letting her draw the conclusion she wanted. “Kip pulled me aside and let me know about his plan for the vote.”
I watched Leslie’s eyes narrow. “Do tell,” she said bluntly. “It’s me, isn’t it?”
I nodded. “Apparently Kip and Saul are working together, and if you’re gone, I’m guessing they’re pulling in Emilio. Three guys and four girls right now. They’re definitely going to get rid of a woman, and I’m safe at the moment.” I patted my medallion. Thank god for it. “I was told Saul wants to keep Alys for a vote, which means you’re next, Kissy, once they get rid of Leslie. He assured me I’d get to the final four, but no further. Then we’ll see those three men dominate all the way to the end of the game.”
So I might have thrown a little fiction in there to make things seem more dire. I didn’t know for sure that Kissy’s number was up, but the shocked look on her face told me I’d made the right call in pointing it out.
“Those fucking cock-suckers,” Leslie swore. “I should fucking burn down that goddamn shelter around them—“
“Or…we could turn the tables on them,” I said. “None of them are safe tonight. And like I said, we have four women and three guys. We can make a women’s alliance and go to the final four together. They’d be sitting ducks.”
“I like the way you think,” Leslie said. She looked at Kissy, who still looked ready to cry. She nodded.
“We just need Alys, though,” I pointed out. “Right now, all we’d do is force a tie.” And I didn’t trust Kissy enough not to flip if we got down to a tie, because a tie-breaker would probably put everyone in danger. They tended to be random and no one liked to force a tie.
Plus, if we didn’t pull in Alys somehow, the guys would.
“Do you think she’ll vote with us?” Kissy asked.
“I don’t know. I’ll talk to her. I’m sure we can figure something out.”
“So then, who are we voting for tonight?” Leslie asked.
My smile was utterly gleeful. “The ringleader. Kip.”
~~ *** ~~
It turned out that Alys was on board. Or rather, she didn’t care about the vote. As long as it wasn’t her, she was game for voting whoever off. Sneezing and sniffling through my cold, I regrouped with all the ladies before Judgment and made sure we were on the same page. Kip was going tonight. If something miraculous happened and we needed to vote off someone else, we’d get rid of Saul. I hoped it didn’t come to that, because I didn’t trust Alys to vote against Saul just yet.
And I didn’t trust Kip not to scramble if he lasted three more days. This had to work tonight. It had to.
The speedboat arrived to pick us up from the beach. “As a reminder, no talking,” a production assistant droned as we filed onto the boat. Kip winked at me as if we were sharing a secret, and I winked back. Enjoy your last night here, jackass.
