“Not me.” I didn’t.
“Remy just tied the blindfold. Now they have to make it back,” Brooke says.
“If you ever need a place to crash or escape, you can stay with me,” I offer.
She says, “Thanks,” blinks rapidly, and then we turn back to watch.
“They’re halfway there,” Brooke utters.
Remy stumbles as Garrett clutches the side rail. Their movements become frantic.
Garrett clings to the rail as Remy tries to get him to let go. They struggle for a few minutes before Remy leans over the rail, waving back at us as he jumps around. We can’t hear him, but his face is angry and twisted with rage. He’s leaning dangerously over the side when the grating gives out under him, causing him to drop as he attempts to grab onto the steel beam.
“Oh my God,” Brooke gasps and we all helplessly watch on.
Garrett crawls towards Remy but it’s too late. His grip fails and he plummets into the vast shadows below.
“No,” Brooke screams. “This isn’t real. It’s another trick.”
We stand frozen in place, watching as Garrett just stares into the void until he begins crawling towards the platform.
I peel my eyes away from the horrific scene and center on Luca. “Tell me that was fake.”
He doesn’t speak.
Garrett returns to us. His words frantic as he explains, “I tried to help. I couldn’t get to him. I’m so sorry.”
Decider announces, “Challenge complete. Two teams remain.”
Brooke states, “We have to see if he’s alive. He might be down there, waiting on someone to save him.”
Micah observes where Remy vanished at as he flatly states, “No one would survive that fall.”
“So, we’re just going to leave him here?” Brooke shrieks.
“He’s being retrieved,” Decider states as he turns to walk away.
“Retrieved? You sound like you’re talking about a piece of trash that needs to be fished out of the water.” He was a living person with a family and friends. A mom and dad who expects him to walk back through the door at their home. But he never will and all because of a senseless game.
“He knew what he signed up for,” Decider waves to the helicopter. “Board within the next two minutes or you will be left behind.”
Luca grasps my hand, pulling me towards the aircraft. “Come on, Ivy. We have to go.”
Micah, Brooke, and Garrett turn to walk away as the engine powers up. I don’t understand how everyone can pretend as this shit is normal. Act like a life-altering catastrophe is just another part of the day. That instant just changed the life of many, and they don’t even realize he’s dead yet.
62
LUCA
Stopping in the driveway of her place, I shift the car into park and wait until she’s ready. Her eyes scan over the house before she asks, “Could it be a trick? Was Remy the Deceiver maybe, and he’s trying to get ahead by making us think he’s gone?”
I know she’s grasping for straws and something to hold on to. But I won’t give her false hope. “No.”
“That’s great.” She shoves the door open and bails out of the car. Even after she enters her house, I remain parked in the same spot for over an hour before I drive home.
When I step into the shower, I turn the water as hot as possible and let it pelt against my back, trying to relieve some of the tension. It’s not helping as I feel the strain in every muscle. But I can handle it. Ivy is alive, and we made it off the rig. We’re the lucky ones. And Remy is dead.
It’s only been a few hours, and the news has already spread. However, the spin is he was in a boating accident. The initial reports claim that he went out alone while intoxicated and felloverboard. They’ve completely—and easily—covered it up, even supplying a boat that I know for certain wasn’t Remy’s.
