“Oh boy, our timing couldn’t have been worse.” Maria sighs, popping out from behind the bush and making her way toward us with Bill on her heels. When she reaches us, she fans her face dramatically. “Is it extra hot today, or was that kiss fuego?”
Colton and I both laugh, but I feel a blush explode across my skin. And then I remember all of America just saw that kiss, and my whole body takes on the persona of Miss Piggy, pink skin from head to toe. Colton and I really must have sent our friendsinto shock this time. I can only imagine the questions they’ll ask when we get home.
Bill gives Colton a congratulatory pat on the back while Maria leans into me.
“I see you’ve chosen the perfect kindling, Mija. Good for you.” She winks and straightens, clapping her hands. “Well.” Maria glances between me and Colton. “Now that Bill and I have completely killed the moment, how about we all make good on the food rewards our teams just won?”
My stomach growls in agreement.
“Great idea, Mi Amor,” Bill says, wrapping an arm around his wife. “Let’s get some good fuel and then let’s all get to bed. Tomorrow’s the start of the final Mayday Challenge. We’re going to need all the strength we can get.”
Chapter 23
COLTON
· DAY 17 ·
“The show’s definitely doing everything it can to live up to its name.” Missy grunts as she trudges through the knee-high pit of mud with a short paddle in hand.
“Heavy on the sabotage.” I reach dry ground and toss my paddle onto the dirt before running my hand down my arm like it’s a shower squeegee. A cup’s worth of mud slinks off my skin and plops on the ground. I extend my hand to Missy as she navigates the muddy steps leading out of the pit.
“Why, thank you, sir.” Her slimy hand slips into mine as she accepts my dirty offering with all the grace and poise of a princess despite having just swum in mud.
Like we have been this entire game, Missy and I are a matching set. Our bodies and clothes are slathered with a layer of thick mud that clings to us from our shoulders down to our shoes. A streak of mud cuts across Missy’s face, and with the red slash left from Missy’s healing cheek, she looks fierce and unbelievably striking all at once.
When Missy joins me on dry ground, she fetches our map from her backpack, unrolls it, and with a muddied finger, places a brown check mark over the picture of a paddle. “Two items successfully retrieved, one to go.”
I hike my backpack farther up my shoulders before feeling for the coil of rope inside, ensuring it’s still there. Then Missy and I grab our paddles and start making our way toward the next item on our map: the saw.
“If we’re fast, we can probably catch up to Legend and Silver and Bill and Maria.” Missy increases her pace, her mud-tipped ponytail swinging behind her.
I nod and follow her lead, lengthening my stride.
This afternoon, Niall handed each of the final three teams a map of the jungle with rudimentary directions on where to find three items: a coil of rope, a set of paddles, and a saw. All of which we need to collect and bring to today’s finish line. And depending on when we cross the finish line with all our items, we’ll be given one of three accommodations for the night based on whether our team comes in first, second, or third. The first across the finish line will get the best accommodations, while the last will get the worst.
As Missy and I run toward our next destination, avoiding the many roots and rocks on the jungle floor, I get lost in thoughts of yesterday, remembering the moment Missy had let me in, the way her soft lips felt on mine, the way I’d held her so close. It had taken all my willpower to let her go, resigning myself to finding more time with Missy later on. But after our meal withTeam Amber last night, we’d both conked out in our bunk beds, dead tired from the day. But sleep hadn’t lasted long. Everyone had been woken up this morning by a team of coral-clad staff members who ushered all of us to the Black Box Meeting set for our last interviews on Sabotage Island, as was tradition before the two-day finale.
Missy and I hardly had a chance to say good morning to each other, let alone talk about our kiss last night. And now, as I run just behind her through the jungle, I’m left wondering what she’s thinking. I can only hope that the walls that had come down last night haven’t been rebuilt since then.
Suddenly, Missy banks left, rounding a large rock formation in our path, and I follow, increasing my speed until I’m striding next to her. Both of us are nearly sprinting as we attempt to close the gap between us and Teams Amber and Fuchsia, making up for lost time.
Earlier today, Missy and I had been in the lead. The show had revealed America’s votes before starting day one of the final Mayday Challenge, and to our surprise, our team came in first, which earned me and Missy a ten-minute head start. No doubt thanks to a certain kiss on the beach.
We’d been the first to retrieve our coil of rope by scaling an uncomfortably tall tree, then we’d booked it to find the next item—the paddles—and that’s when everything changed. Following the map’s instructions to the top of a hill, we’d found three mud pits waiting for us, each with a flag of one of the remaining teams’ colors. We’d wasted no time diving into the mud, feeling out every crevice for any signs of our paddles. But by the time we’d finally found one of ours, Bill and Maria, as well as Legend and Silver, had caught up to us, found their team’s paddles, and had taken off for their last remaining item. As far as we knew, Bill and Maria were in first place with Silver and Legend just behind them.
A stitch pinches my side, making every step more painful. My body isn’t used to exercising with a good helping of food in my stomach, but I don’t regret indulging in our reward meal one bit. Last night, my taste buds became newly minted fans of steak fries and ranch. That, along with a basket of breaded chicken, made for one of the most delicious meals of my life. I can already imagine me and Missy going to Dave’s grill on a Saturday night, picking up a large bag of salted steak fries, and curling up on the couch to watch a movie.
“What is that?” Missy’s hand catches my arm just as we reach flat ground.
I stop in my tracks, as does the drone above us, and I listen intently until I hear what she’s hearing—arguing. And not just any arguing, sibling arguing.
Missy’s eyes widen, and she points to a cluster of trees just ahead of us. “Legend and Silver.”
I squint, not quite believing my eyes. Team Fuchsia is hanging from a net that dangles from one of the trees, their paddles lying on the ground beneath them.
I blink, trying to wrap my head around the reality of what I see, when Silver spots us, and the arguing comes to a decided stop. Silver’s face instantly drops, her muddy features etched with worry. “Help! Help!”
While before this show I would have run to her aid with little thought, this is Silver. Conniving, vindictive Silver. But at the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look as desperate and afraid as she does now.
