“Actually, we broke up,” I say matter-of-factly.
Missy’s eyes widen.
“So you’re saying there’s a chance between you and Missy?” Niall says, to which several contestants start clapping in good humor.
“All I have to say is that Miss and I have gone over a decade without dating, and I would happily go an entire lifetime without tying myself to her,” I say, squashing any lingering hope of a future showmance.
“Oof. Well, there you have it.” Niall chuckles. “Maybe there’s something more behind Missy’s charming persona that we’re not seeing. We’ll all be watching to find out.”
No, I want to blurt out.That’s not what I meant.I might not be crazy about Missy, but I didn’t mean to imply there was something inherently wrong with her. I try to think of a way to smooth it over, but it’s too late. Niall is already moving on to Team Peach, asking his first question to them.
Without thinking, I glance at Missy just in time to see her turn her watery eyes in another direction.Colton, you idiot.InsultingMissy in private is one thing, but doing it on live television felt like a step too far.
It only takes a moment for Missy to recompose herself. This time, when I look at her, her eyes are dry, and her mouth is set in a firm line. She sends me a tight-lipped smile, no doubt trying to uphold our image, and focuses on Niall and Team Peach like nothing ever happened. I feel a mix of guilt with my relief, but with the cameras all about, I decide not to dwell on it.
Minutes later, Niall starts wrapping up the final team interview, when I sense a visible shift in the operators behind the cameras. Several of the coral-clad crew move around with more urgency. More drones go into the air, and I have an unnerving feeling that I’m out of the loop.
“And now.” Niall faces the cameras. “For the first time inSunsets and Sabotagehistory, we’re setting off into uncharted waters.” He pauses long for effect, the silence brimming with all the possibilities of what he will say next.
“Our contestants have no idea, but they’re about to be thrust into the first Mayday Challenge of the season. Right. Now. You heard that correctly. Right. Now. Tonight, each of these teams will spend their first night on Sabotage Island. But first, they must get there.”
The other contestants begin to murmur and look around, dumbfounded.
I stare at the group behind the cameras and make eye contact with Penny, who smiles unapologetically. Wasn’t it just a few hours ago that she told us we’d be headed to Sabotage Island tomorrow? We’ve barely started the show, and already I’m learning that sabotage is a whole-crew effort.
“Contestants. Behind you is Sabotage Island, separated from us by a stretch of ocean. In just moments, each of your teams will be equipped with your own rowboat to help get you across the water. The first team to Sabotage Island will be given a rewardin the first Black Box Meeting and will be safe until the next Mayday Challenge, while the last team to the island, along with the lowest-ranking team in America’s votes, will be battling it out at sunset tomorrow in the first Black Box Elimination.”
Behind us, bright-white lights burst to life, highlighting the seven small rowboats farther down the beach that were cloaked in darkness until now. Each boat is painted in our various team colors. But that’s not all. When I glance out over the ocean, I see the shadowy outlines of what looks to be large boxes floating in the water.
“Oh, and while you row to the island, don’t forget to pick up supplies along the way.” Niall’s eyes gleam with untamed excitement as he swivels, yet again, to the cameras. “On their ocean sojourn, our contestants will find precious plane flotsam, carrying anything from food, hygiene supplies, survival tools, and additional comforts that they will undoubtedly need in the coming days.”
Niall sweeps his hand toward us, as if he is introducing the audience to a group of harried circus performers. “So, contestants, unless you’re planning on eating coconuts for the next eighteen days, I suggest you get cracking some crates.” He chuckles, seeming to soak in the panic on each of our faces. “And with that … Contestants. Ready. Set. Sabotage.”
Chapter 7
MISSY
Adrenaline courses through my body, eclipsing my anger over Colton’s heartless comment or the surprise of the pop challenge. At the wordsabotage, all teams scramble to their feet, booking it toward the shore where a line of colorful rowboats await us. I hike my gown to my knees as I run past two contestants that trip over each other and tumble forward in the sand in their fine evening attire. I’m suddenly very grateful the style team suggested I go sans formal footwear. Just ahead of me, Colton sprints at the head of the pack, shrugging off his suit coat and ditching it in the sand.
Colton and I are among the first to the rowboats, along with Heartbreaker and Tearjerker, but instead of hopping into theirboat right away, the two men from Team Ruby grab the oars out of Team Peach’s and Team Lime’s boats and hurl them into the ocean. I fight the urge to collect the oars and put them back in their boats, when I remember that this is a survival show. Just like Uno or Mafia, sabotage is not just expected; it’s needed to win, and it’s something we all signed on for by being here.
I briefly look up and see the drones buzzing above us like a swarm of flies devouring the first deliberate act of sabotage this season.
Hastily, Colton and I heave our rowboat into the ocean, and I jump in shortly before Colton does. Colton sits down backward on the first of the two wooden benches so that he’s facing me as I sit forward on mine. Then, he grabs the two oars straddling the benches and places them in the little U-shaped oar holders attached to the boat. Wasting no time, he paddles furiously past the breaking waves.
As Colton pushes and pulls the oars with broad strokes, I reach for the two teal-and-black backpacks slumped in the center of the boat. I open one and am relieved to find that it’s mine. These are the exact same backpacks we came with. My fingers fumble around, finding my three personal items inside, along with the black-and-teal outfit I wore to the airport. But then my hand hits something foreign, cold, and hard. I pull it out in front of me. “They gave us a crowbar.”
“It must be for opening the floating crates,” he says, his voice barely audible above the lapping waves.
I peer over Colton’s shoulder and spot several crates lit up by floating lights. At the rate we’re rowing, we likely have several minutes till we reach one. I turn to look behind us and find Team Ruby followed closely by Team Fuchsia. All the while, Team Violet and Team Amber are struggling to row past the first break of waves. Behind them, Team Lime and Team Peach search desperately for the oars that Team Ruby chucked into the ocean.
“Did they put anything else useful in your backpack?” Colton asks.
I set the crowbar on my wooden bench and continue to fish around, wishing I had more light now that we’re farther from the spotlights on shore.
As if answering my unspoken wish, a camera and spotlight drone come and hover right above our rowboat. “Why, thank you,” I say to my technologically advanced helpers.
Now that we have our own beam of light, I finish searching through my bag and find that it holds no more surprises. I put my backpack down and pick up Colton’s bag, ready to see if he’s got anything useful in his, when Colton’s rushed voice says, “I’ll look in my bag, Missy. You paddle.”
