I frown at that. What on earth to do they expect us to make fire from?
“Good afternoon. Welcome to today’s elimination challenge.” Chris calls. “Today, you will be making fire. By now, you should already know how to make fire. But we want to test to see who can make fire the fastest. So, you will be making fire only using things you can find in the forest around us.” He motions to the trees around us. “Just what you can find. No flint, no matches, nothing. The first three teams to complete their fire and keep it burning long enough to burn through the rope over your pits, will be safe from tonight’s elimination.”
I look back to the blue square. There it is, over the pit is a rope help up by two thin sticks. How had I missed the rope? Was I just too caught up in worrying about how I am going to make fire to see it? I don’t know how I missed it, but that is also an added complication. To burn that rope, the fire not only has to be high enough but also hot enough. I honestly don’t have the confidence to know that I will be able to win this challenge.
“One of you will be the fire maker, the other will be the gatherer. You will work as a team that way. Communication is key. If you can’t effectively communicate with your partner, you may not win todays challenge.” Chris calls. “I will give you a minute to strategize.”
I turn to Ari, careful to go slow so we don’t have a repeat of the incident from yesterday. I smile at the thought.
“I will work on the fire. You can gather. Small sticks, dry grass, and weeds leaves anything dry that will burn fast. Then work on gathering larger sticks and logs. See if they have hidden anything around here. They may have been sneaky about it. See what you can find.” I tell her. She just nods and gives me a thumbs up.
What is it with her and thumbs up?
“Take your places, within your square.” Chris calls.
We all move to our respective squares and wait for the signal.
“This challenge is started.” Chris calls.
I don’t get to look down at Ari, because as soon as Chris is done talking, she is off like lightening. I have to blink a few times. I didn’t know she had the speed to move that quickly. I dig out the pit a bit more, as I wait for her to return.
When she returns, she drops an arm load of sticks, leaves, and some grass and pine needles, on the ground beside me before racing off once again. I didn’t even get a chance to tell her what I wanted her to look for next. But I start building a base for the fire. When she returns again, she has sticks that will work great for friction starting the fire. I get to work on trying to start the fire as she races off once more.
I have to be honest, I don’t really know how many times she has come and gone, because I am working hard on the fire. I am seeing smoke and sawing harder and harder. I don’t want to lose the smoke. I add in more kindling as I work harder and harder.
“Red and purple both have flames. Now let’s see if they can keep their fires going long enough to burn the rope.” Chris calls.
He breaks my concentration long enough for me to accidently break the sticks in my hand. But I look up to see Ari racing off again. Did she see that I broke the sticks? Is she going to come back with sticks for me? I am forcing myself to take a few deep breaths because I don’t want to panic and cost us this win. I want us to be safe.
“Red has burned through their rope. They are now safe from elimination. We have two more spots left. Who will it be?” I hear Chris call out.
“Don’t listen to him. Just keep working.” Ari whispers to me as she sits down next to me.
I can hear her breathing hard. She deserves a break, but how I wish she wasn’t sitting next to me breathing hard. It’s distracting me.
“Purple has burned through, one spot left.”
I start sawing harder and harder. Faster and faster, making smoke and working on getting that spark. I need my kindling to take off. Almost like the thought made it actually happen, but my kindling ignites, and I start adding sticks and logs. Anything I can do to make the flame grow taller and hotter.
“Green, Blue and Yellow all have flames. Which team will be the final team safe from tonight’s elimination?”
I keep adding things to the fire, until I am out of items. I can see the flame hitting the rope. I can see the frayed edges of the rope burning. I don’t take my eyes off the rope as it turns black. Strand by strand the rope seems to slowly be breaking. One by one. Time seems to slow down, and the rope seems to be burning super slowly. Suddenly, the rope breaks.
“Green is the last and final team safe from elimination.” Chris calls out to us.
Something comes over me. I am up and suddenly Ari is in my arms. My nose is buried in her hair and I am sniffing her. Yes, sniffing her. She smells of dirt and something like flowers. I can’t explain it. I am just so happy that we won. All I want to do is hold Ari and celebrate.
I am in total shock. By the skin of our teeth, we made it through this elimination challenge. I can’t believe it. I thought for sure we would have lost. I thought it was a lost cause. I hadn’t had a flame for a while. I finally let Ari go, and we are motioned to join Chris near his podium. We are pointed to six stumps beside him.
“Unlike past seasons, this season, eliminations are going to be different. Well, until we merge you all into one team, that is.” Chris begins. “This year, eliminations will happen right after the challenge.” He pulls a bag out of the podium. “Because of the teams being teams of two, we will not be voting. At least not yet. From now, until the merge, the teams in the bottom will be pulling rocks from this bag. The player with the white rock, will be eliminated. It is completely up to chance, and you will become the first member of our jury. Present at each elimination.”
He walks forward to the losing teams and each one of them draws a rock. When Chris steps back, I can see the fear on each one of their faces.
This is not how eliminations worked before. There were votes and the other team never knew until the next challenge who was eliminated. This is a whole new spin on this game.
“Before you reveal your rocks, only one player is being eliminated. Their partner is staying in the game, playing as an individual, until someone else is eliminated, then they will join together to form a new team. Until the merge, then we will go back to voting and individual immunity.” Chris explains. “Reveal your rocks.”
I watch with bated breath as each of the six of them reveal their rocks. A woman with shoulder length red hair, wearing the color orange, steps forward with tears in her eyes. She is holding the white rock. I see her swipe at them, my heart breaks for her. We are all here to win this game. The money could help us all, even if they are paying us for being on the show, but the money is nothing compared to million-dollar prize.
“Farrah, you have been eliminated. You are now the first member of our jury. Please leave the challenge area.” Chris says, before turning back to us. “I will see you day after tomorrow for our next challenge. Rest up and eat well. You never know what is around the corner.”
This elimination challenge went nothing like I expected. I almost feel like watching the show, to learn about the show, and listening to Rachel talk about it, did nothing to prepare me. Ari has it made. She has no expectations or ideas on how the show usually goes. This whole season, so far, is different from every season before it. Preparing for this season, is useless, until the merge that is.
SIX
Ryder
“I was so scared we would be eliminated. When Ryder broke that stick, my heart dropped. What if he hadn’t gotten the fire going? What if we were up for elimination? I had nightmares about it. It was truthfully the scariest thing.”
Ari Harper
Day four interview
Day Five
I have to admit something. I can’t keep my eyes off Ari. I can’t stop looking at her legs or the way her shorts make her ass look. I can’t take my eyes off how her t-shirt makes her breasts look amazing. I can’t take my eyes off her curves. It doesn’t help that we sleep side by side eac
h night. It doesn’t help that she likes to cuddle. I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of times I have woken up in the night to her being asleep on my chest, or me spooning her. That’s not even including the times where I have to sneak off into the trees because I have an erection. It makes me feel like a teenager all over again.
Being around Ari is making my mind and body do crazy things. I have never had this many hard-ons in my life, let alone in the span of four fricking days. I mean it’s almost like I am a virgin who just learned what sex was about.
I won’t cross the line with her. She is my partner, and I won’t let her know what I am thinking or feeling. I don’t think she feels the same way. I mean, she hasn’t done or said anything. She isn’t sneaking off into the trees like I do. She doesn’t seem upset or anything like that when I cuddle her or anything. In fact, I don’t think she feels anything at all.
The only thing that she seems to feel anything about is boredom. She can’t sit still. She has to always be doing something. I mean I can’t sit still either, or I am working also. Either gathering wood or water. I have built us a bed, finally. We are finally not on the ground anymore. No more bugs crawling over us.
“We have mail.” Her voice breaks through my thoughts. “One can see, one cannot. As partners you must work together, lead and listen, for the reward will make your eyes glisten.”
I frown, why can’t they make better clues for the challenges. I mean, make your eyes glisten, what could that mean? I take a deep breath and try to think about it logically. It doesn’t matter what the reward is, it matters what the challenge is.
Before I can say anything, Ari says, “I think one of us will have to lead the other, who will be somehow can’t see. It is the only way that makes sense. One can see. One cannot. Lead and listen.”
“I agree. I mean, what else could the challenge be?”
Ari just shrugs. Neither of us know what to do with the clues. We just read them and try to talk about what the challenge could be. I try not to compare this season to last season, the only season I watched, but it’s hard. I mean, they had sucky clues then too, but the challenges were easy to figure out. So maybe Ari is right and one of us will be blindfolded. But in previous seasons, the teams were made up of more than just two people. There really isn’t anything to compare them.
****
The clearing is set up like a maze. I frown at that. There are six entrances into the large rectangle maze. Each is colored and each has a platform beside it. The maze has a clearing in the center with a bar, which has bags hanging off of it. One bag for each team. It looks interesting.
But as we file in, I cannot help but start thinking about how we should do this game. Should I direct Ari, or should she direct me? Who would be the best set eyes, who would be the best listener? Even though we have been together for five days already, I don’t know which of us will be the best in this challenge.
I have to say, I hated being blindfolded when we were brought in. I hated not being able to see. I will hate having to listen to Ari call out directions, but I don’t really want to put her in the maze. I am at a loss, as to what to do. I don’t want to be blindfolded again, but I also don’t want to put Ari in that maze and having to listen to me.
Though, I must say, I am alright at mazes, but I don’t know if I am good at giving directions. I mean, back home no one asked me how to get somewhere. I think that stemmed from Rachel getting lost on her way to a concert in a different city and I was the one who gave her directions. It wasn’t really my fault that she actually listened to me, but still, to this day, I don’t live that day down. Every person in my family doesn’t let me live it down. Especially Rachel.
“Welcome to today’s reward challenge.” Chris calls. “Before we begin, let’s talk with a few of the teams. Blue, how are things going at camp?”
I look over toward the blue mat and see them look at each other.
The male player smiles, “Good. We have fire, we have shelter, and we have enough food for now. I think things are going very well.”
“Thank you for that, Quintin.” Chris says. “Brad, how is it being the only person at camp?”
“Lonely.” He says. “Very lonely. I never thought I would be alone on this show. I thought I would be a part of a bigger team. But being alone… It sucks.”
“I see. Would you trade places with Farrah if you could?” Chris asks.
I frown, what is he asking? Is there a twist being introduced right now? The last remaining player on the team can trade places with their eliminated partner. I don’t think I like the sound of that. I secretly hope that isn’t the case. At least not right now.
“No, I came here to win, not give up my shot at the money for someone I never knew outside the show.” Brad says.
“Well, I can understand that. I didn’t think you would want to trade places.” Chris says with a smile. “Now, let’s get to today’s challenge.” Chris walks up to the maze, behind us and we turn to face him. “Today, one of you will be in the maze, trying to get your bag of keys from the center. The other, will lead you through the maze. Once you get your bag, they will lead you back out of the maze. Back to your mat, you can remove your blind fold and start working on unlocking your partner.” He holds up chains wrapped in colored fabric. “First three teams to free their partner, will win…”
I watch as Chris works his way back to the podium. Beside it is a table with three covered piles on it. I instantly start thinking of food. I would love some food right now. Or even the comfort item we were told to bring from home.
Chris removes the cloth of the largest pile, “First place will receive a pair of pillows and a pair of blankets.” He uncovers the next pile. “Second place will win just one set. One pillow and one blanket.” He uncovers the last pile. “Third place will win either one pillow or one blanket. Teams choice.” He turns his attention to us, “Now, because the Orange team has only one player, Brad now has an option. You can participate in the challenge and try to find your way through the maze blindfolded on your own, or you can sit out. But sitting out would mean you do not have a chance to win the rewards. I will give you all a moment to strategize.”
I turn to Ari. “I will be blind folded. I think you would be better at calling out to me.”
“I was just about to say that.” She says. “I think that we make a good team. We keep coming up with the same ideas for challenges. I think I like that.”
“I think I like you.” I whisper.
When I turn back toward Chris, I notice a camera and a sound guy standing rather close to us. I look up and see that there was a microphone type thing over our heads. That means they just heard what I whispered to her. Sometimes I hate that there are constantly cameras around.
“Brad, have you made your decision?” Chris asks him.
“I am going to sit out. There is no way I could find my way through that maze with a blindfold.” Brad announces.
“Alright, take a seat on your platform.” Chris says. “Everyone else take your places. Someone will be around to blindfold and chain you guys up.”
I follow Ari to the far end of the maze. I look out at the maze, trying to find the way through, while we wait for production to come and set us up. I spot the clearing and where my bag is on the rack. I try to mentally figure my way through the maze. It’s no use though because I don’t have an overhead view like Ari will. I help her up onto the platform and watch as a production assistant, the one we give our daily confessionals to, wraps a chain around her waist. When she turns her attention to me, I kneel down in front of her, because I am quite a bit taller than she is. Once I am blindfolded, I am turned and placed at the entrance to the maze. She takes my hands and places them on either side of the entrance.
“Are you ready?” Chris calls out.
We all cheer, like we were instructed to do on day one.
“Go!” Chris calls out.
“Straight about five feet then turn left.” I hear Ari call out.
I do as she says, all while trying to block of the other teams around me. I am taking it slow because I want to see if I can remember the way I got in. I doubt it, but it would help Ari in the end, wouldn’t it?
“Left then a quick right.” She calls out to me.
I turn left and then take a quick right. I am running my hand along the side of the path because I want to make sure I don’t run into anything. I am concentrating on not tripping and listening to Ari, that I almost don’t hear Ari when she screams at me.
“Stop.” She yells. I stop and wait for her instruction. “Straight ten feet then right. Then you are in the clearing.”
I go straight, turn right, and feel my way around the clearing. I bump into what feels like two other players. I find the rack and listen as she tells me which bag to grab. There are knots holding the bag onto the rack and I have to untie it before I can turn back.
Finally getting the knots untied, I turn and head back the way I came. At least I hope I am. Carefully, I listen to her, and start working my way back through the maze. But it’s getting harder and harder to hear her call out to me. The other teams are talking louder and louder. They are all screaming, trying to be heard over the other teams. But I decide to try and do this on my own. Making turns and changes in my path. The further I go, the more my hands start to shake. Am I getting close?
“Straight then right, and straight out.” Ari’s voice comes to me.
I do as I am told, and she leads me right to the mat.
“Blue, Green, Yellow, and Purple are all back on their mats. Remove your blindfolds and get to work on finding the keys to unlock your partners.” Chris calls out.
Playing For Keeps (Romancing The Games Book 1) Page 4