by A. Anders
“Everyone, look for a boat,” I ordered.
We all peered into the airy darkness. The night was still. The salty warm breeze hung thick. Water burbled as it hit the concrete seawall. We were all focused on what was coming, so when the dock collapsed out from under us, we all fell back without warning.
Screams rang out. I reached back as I slid forward. Sam’s dead body rolled into the water, and I slid with it. I didn’t stop until I jammed my fingers between the collapsed planks. By then, I was already waist deep in the water.
I looked up at the people above me. Rose, who had been directly behind me, had stopped her fall by grabbing onto Bob’s leg. Brad, who was the next back, gripped tightly onto the dock where it cracked. Everyone was safe.
Suddenly the dock shook again. Something big hit it from the side. I looked around and saw a fin. Before I could move, the shark snatched Sam’s body dragging it under. I expected it to spit him out like it had before, but the only thing that resurfaced was his torso.
Something brushed my leg. I looked down. It was another shark. I was hanging off the submerged dock, and it was trying to maneuver its teeth into me.
With my heart racing, I kicked at it. It was all I could do. My fingers weren’t high enough to pull myself out. I needed help.
I looked back up. Brad was again standing. I looked him in the eyes, and he stared back blankly. He didn’t move to help me. What was he waiting for? Was he planning on letting me die?
“Grab my hand,” I finally heard.
It wasn’t Brad who said it. It was the guy who I thought hated me the most, Victor. I didn’t know why he was helping me. I just took his hand and pulled my way up.
Again on my feet, I leaned over to catch my breath. I was standing behind the crack in the dock, and staring down, I noticed something: hinges. The dock hadn’t cracked at all. It was designed to collapse.
“Get back,” I yelled. “Off the dock!”
Everyone moved without question. They didn’t stop until they were safely back on the island.
I looked out at the fallen dock and the water illuminated under it. Bits of clothes and flesh surfaced only to be dragged under again.
It was now clear to me how the other bodies had disappeared. With the guarantee of an easy meal, I also knew why the deep-water sharks were so close to shore.
One last surprise was in store for us tonight: the fallen dock returned to its standing position. It happened as the sound of a winch switched on. When it was again seamlessly connected, the water that covered it looked like nothing more than the remnants of a big wave.
I turned around, staring into the faces that stared back at me.
“It was you,” Gray said out of nowhere. “You’re the one who did this. You’re trying to kill.”
“You were the first one to tell us about this,” Bob remembered.
“And you were the one who brought him here after not letting us look at the body,” Thorin said.
The mob took a step toward me as I took a step back. They had darkness in their eyes and it felt like I didn’t have a friend among them.
I considered running, but I didn’t. I saw only one way out of this. It was crazy, but at this point, why the hell not?
Chapter 7
I had survived worse odds than this. So, what was seven against one in hand-to-hand combat? Didn’t they see that I was the hero of this show? Had any of them seen a kung fu movie, ever?
“Stop,” Brad said putting himself in between me and the mob. “It wasn’t him. He was the one who tried to warn us. Maybe if we listened, Sam and Freddy wouldn’t be dead.”
I was not expecting Brad to come to my defense. I thought that I had lost him. Wasn’t he willing to let me fall to the sharks just moments ago?
With seven against one, most people would have put me on the losing side. So why did Brad, the ultimate survivor, side with me? I was starting to think that I didn’t know Brad at all.
Regardless of his reasons, Brad’s appeal worked. Everyone, except for Gray, stopped.
“Maybe you’re both doing this?” Gray spit.
Rose stepped in front of him. “And maybe it’s you, Gray.”
Gray’s mouth dropped open in surprise. He didn’t know what to say. It was one thing to make me an enemy. But he clearly wasn’t ready to do the same with Rose.
“Rose is right,” I said, removing her from this uncomfortable situation. “It could be any of us, and it could be none of us. I personally think that it’s the people behind the cameras.”
Brad shifted toward me. “You mean the people who are probably watching us right now?”
“Yeah,” I said, acknowledging the gravity of the situation.
That seemed to send a chill down everyone’s spine. Everyone looked around for the cameras that none of us had seen since we had gotten there.
“Everyone needs to share what we know,” I continued. “And the person who should start, is Thorin.”
All eyes turned to Thorin. Perhaps I shouldn’t have called him out like that. Let’s be real, though, he was the only one who didn’t die after getting eliminated. If people weren’t thinking that he could be involved, then they should have been.
“Me?” he said looking even paler than usual.
“You were the only one who got eliminated and lived. That can’t be a coincidence,” I declared.
“How do you know that?” Thorin said defensively. “I’m just the only one to come back so far. We don’t know anything about what’s going on. I could just be the first one. And if I knew what was going on, why would I have followed you all here? I didn’t know what would happen to Sam. I’m just like the rest of you all, scared for my life.”
“But why would you be back?” I pushed.
Brad interjected. “To be fair, bringing back a contestant who has been eliminated is standard in these types of shows. I was once brought back. Yeah sure, it wasn’t a show where people were dying, but the fact that someone was brought back isn’t that unusual.”
I stared at Brad, not knowing who I was looking at. First, he had defended me, and now, he was defending Thorin. It was enough to raise my suspicions about him. However, if I started accusing everybody, I wouldn’t have anyone left to trust. And I was going to need help if I was going to get everyone off of this island alive.
“Ok,” I conceded. “Then just tell us again what happened.”
“I told you. Jarvis…”
“Who’s Jarvis,” I interrupted.
“That’s what I call my pawn. He took me to my room to pack my stuff. I did, and then he led me to the dock. I waited for about ten minutes for the boat…”
“Didn’t you think that was unusual?” I asked.
“You mean how long it took?”
“Yeah.”
“No. I just thought that they were getting shots of me looking disappointed about leaving the island.”
“But the boat came?” I confirmed.
“It did. And I got on it and left. The lights on the boat were on the whole time, so I thought they were getting more footage.”
This time, Brad interrupted him. “Have you been on a show before?”
“No. But I’ve seen them. Whenever someone gets eliminated they have those interviews as they’re leaving. You know?”
“But they didn’t ask you any questions?” I asked.
“No. They just left the lights on. Anyway, I got back to the dock on the mainland, and Dan, the producer who had prepped me for the show…”
“Prepped you?” I asked.
“Yeah. You know; told me the premise of the show, explained to me how to do interviews, told me what to expect. Didn’t everyone else go through that?”
I looked around at everyone. They were all nodding their heads “yes.”
“No. I didn’t,” I said.
Gray finally broke his silence. “So, you were the only one here who didn’t get prepped for the show?”
“It’s not exactly an advantage,” I explained. �
�I had never even seen one of these shows before. A little prepping would have helped.”
I wasn’t about to share Ian’s theory with them about how I wasn’t expected to survive the first elimination. Or my theory about how Kurt was meant to survive and not me. I couldn’t imagine how Rose was feeling about all of this craziness, but I wasn’t going to volunteer information that could potentially make her feel worse.
“Anyway. Go on,” Brad encouraged.
“That’s really it. Dan had me fill out some paperwork and told me that they needed me to stick around for a few days. I hung out in my room, watching vid feeds and ordering room service. The usual stuff.
“A few days later, Dan told me that I was coming back. He gave me an hour to pack and then walked me from my room to the dock. I got on the boat and about two hours later, Jarvis was waiting for me at the dock. Now, here I am. That’s everything.”
The gurgling waves filled the silence that followed. I again thought about how I was the only one not to get prepped for the show. Had it been so clear to the producers that I wouldn’t last? What could they be thinking now that I was still here?
Setting that aside, I turned my attention to what had just happened. Immediately, I felt an idea surfacing.
“Could the roses be the cause of it?” I asked, not sure where I was going with the question.
“The roses?” Rose asked.
“Yeah. Because that’s the only difference, right? Everyone who gets a rose, lives.”
Thorin perked up. “Like an antidote to a poison?”
“Maybe,” I replied unsure. “Rose, how do you get them?”
“A bot brings them to me exactly how you see it. You really think it could be the roses?”
As she said it, I realized what that theory implied. If the roses were the antidote, then Rose would have to be immune to the poison. Though, I guess she did handle them. Maybe handling the roses was enough.
“So, what do we do, boys?” Brad asked, allowing his familiar smile to return.
“I think we should keep playing along,” Gray suggested.
“I don’t think so,” I countered.
“Then what do you suggest?” Gray spat, displeased.
“There’s a compound on the other end of the island. I saw it from the tower. It’s about four days away. Maybe we should head there.”
“What were you doing at the tower?” Brad asked with suspicion.
“Killing time. There’s not much to do when you’re not on a group date.”
That was kind of true. The complete truth would have been that I was exploring the island because I saw that people were dying and I was looking for a way out of here. Maybe I should have told them that. I’m not sure why I didn’t.
“And if the roses are antidotes, and we need the roses to survive?” Gray prodded.
I had no reply to that. It was a good point. If we needed to hold the roses to survive, then the only way of getting them would be to play along. But where would that lead us?
If we played along, there would only be one guy alive at the end. Considering the gamble, Gray must have liked his chances of being that guy. I wondered what Rose could have done or said to make him believe that. And I wondered if her encouragement had continued after our beach date.
Gray took my silence as resignation. “Then that’s what we’ll do. No more fighting between us,” he said, looking at Brad.
Brad nodded his head in agreement.
“…And we’ll play along until we find out a little more,” Gray concluded.
It wasn’t a bad plan. Play along, gain intel, and then make a decision when we knew more. I could support that.
We all headed back to the resort. I didn’t like the idea of Rose staying in her cabin by herself, so I offered her one of the beds in my room.
“No. If we’re gonna play along, then we have to keep everything the same,” she said.
“I can walk you back to your cabin,” I offered. Honestly, it wasn’t just her safety that I was thinking about. I was also hoping to spend more time with her.
“No. The pawns usually take me back. It’s a part of the game. But thank you.”
I looked into Rose’s sparkling brown eyes. I wondered if she would let me kiss her in front of everyone. I didn’t have to wonder long because she quickly pulled away.
Once Rose left, we all returned to our cabins. It felt like forever since I had slept in a bed. And after a long, rough day, I fell asleep quickly. I must have been exhausted because it took Pete to wake me up.
We had all agreed to go on like normal, so once up, I took a shower. Heading to breakfast, I found almost everyone already there. The only one missing was Brad.
With my food in hand, I wondered where I should sit. For the first time, everyone was seated at the same table. I wasn’t sure if I would be welcome, but Victor waved me over. It seemed that the one positive from last night was that we were now all on the same side.
It is amazing how short our hand holding lasted. Today was a group date, and I was one of the ones invited. How lucky was I to be chosen to participate in a life-threatening challenge against guys who were now fighting for their lives? Yay! I had to remember to ask Rose how she chose the daters.
However, maybe in this case, it was better to be included. Today’s daters were: Brad, Gray, Thorin, Bob, and myself. The ones excluded were Billy, Carl, and Victor. It was hard to believe that the next person eliminated wouldn’t be from the excluded group. Of course, when I saw how Rose was dressed for our challenge, I realized that the next person to die was most likely one of us.
Led to a clearing in the middle of the woods, we found Rose waiting for us, dressed in jungle fatigues. She didn’t look like her usual happy self. It was like all of the life had been sucked from her. As she spoke, it was never clearer than she was reciting a script.
“When I was a kid I loved playing capture the flag. And the guy who captures everyone else’s flags will be my hero.
“But there’s a catch. Everyone will get a gun with four live bullets. You’ll lose a bullet every three minutes. And every time you capture a flag you’ll gain an extra bullet.”
Rose paused. “Seriously guys, don’t hurt each other. I don’t know if I would be able to live with myself.”
Rose was in a crappy position, but it wasn’t like our position was any better. Magic dust couldn’t do much for a bullet to the head. Gray, being a gun nut, was going to be hard to beat this time.
The display on the grip of our guns led us to our home bases. Since we all headed in different directions, the game was not going to end quickly.
“Everybody ready?” Rose yelled from behind me. “Begin!”
I stood in front of my home base. It was a six-foot mound of dirt. Planted at the top of it was a flag on a wooden stick.
Having some experience playing capture the flag, I knew the basic strategy. I was supposed to go out on missions capturing other flags while never letting anyone close enough to take mine. Screw that! I was capturing my own flag and hiding out so that I didn’t get shot.
I climbed onto the mound and found out that it only looked like dirt. It was actually solid. And when tapped, it sounded like concrete.
The wooden stick was also not what it seemed. That was made of metal. And the flag that appeared to hang loosely from it, was attached with a strength that could only be explained by microfilaments.
A shot echoed through the trees. That didn’t take long. It had to be Gray. In this game, he would undoubtedly go on the offensive.
I again focused on my flag. It had to be controlled by some sort of releasing program. Maybe it released when the owner was shot. That would make sense, but I was not going to wait to get shot to find out.
I climbed on top of the mound. If anyone had their sight aimed at me, he would shoot now. I would never be a better target.
Knowing that, I had to move fast. I kicked the metal stick as hard as I could. The stick didn’t break, but the concrete did. It was o
nly a little, but it was enough to give me hope.
Another shot fired. Was that Gray? How was he finding people so quickly? Maybe it was Brad. I couldn’t underestimate him.
I kicked at the stick again and again. It was loosening. When I heard rustling branches, I jumped down, putting the mound between me and the noise. But not wanting to leave without my flag, I grabbed the metal stick and gave a final yank.
When it came loose in my hand, I stumbled. Regaining my footing, I looked back at the mound. A thick wire stuck out from where the stick had been. Looking down at the metal in my hand, I saw that the two were attached.
I returned to the mound pulling at the wire. It came out easily, but the wire was endless. And the longer I stood around dealing with this new development, the more likely I was to be shot.
I thought about the gunman, and my heart raced. I thought about him hunting me. I thought about what it would feel like when the bullet entered me. But before I could think about any more, I was overwhelmed by the rich scent of mulch.
It was like the smell had always been there, but I hadn’t noticed it until now. Still pulling, I looked around. The green leaves, the blue sky, everything was more vibrant.
I recognized what had happened to me. My senses had become heightened. I had switched into combat mode, and it felt like I was waking up from a long nap. I felt amazing.
Turning my attention back to the mound, I knew that I was running out of time. I was about to abandon my pulling when the wire stopped with a clank. Something metal had hit the inside of the concrete. Yanking with renewed strength, I pulled until the detached end flung out and fell to my feet.
To my surprise, the end of the wire wasn’t the only thing that released. The flag must have been attached magnetically, because as soon as it lost power, it was released too. Dropping everything, I retrieved the triangular flag, and I hurried into the woods.
I barely made it in time. From behind a tree, I watched Bob enter the clearing. He stared at my mound, confused. Getting closer, he examined it. Following the destruction, he was about to look up and see me, but I quickly leaned away.