“I’mjoking, jeez. Obviously, none of the ones we planted were poisonous.” Garrett rolls his eyes. “Four points for you.”
Next, Adin. Not bad at all. You did pretty good in all the skills but couldn’t get a fire going. You did earn a point for having the start of one, though. Yeah, I know, we’re generous like that—eight points.
Siddharth: It wasveryfunny watching you spend two hours whittling a little man out of wood instead of making a weapon like we hoped. However,because you whittled a little Garrett Moxley—and demonstrated strong craftsman skills or whatever—we gave you points for that anyway. You earned nine total.
CONFESSION TAPE—Siddharth Patel, Contestant
[He holds up a wooden figurine vaguely resembling Garrett.]
I knew he’d eat this shit up.
Carter: No surprises here, you nailed almost every task and were the first one to get a fire going. Only reasonyou didn’t earn more points is because you hardly foraged anything—nineteen points.
Now, for our first alliance, Vendredi and Beck. Very impressive, you two. The shelter you set up was one of the sturdiest, and you completed nearly all the tasks, besides making a fire. Twenty-one points combined, plus, three bonus ones for being in an alliance, for a grand total of twenty-four.
Our other team, Seyoon and Dean. They say two heads are better than one. Last night, you put that to the test and… it’s true! Combined, you earned more points than anyone. You foraged practically half the forest, accomplished all the skills, got a shelter up,andwere the only other players to make a fire.
… However, unfortunately, your shelter didn’t last through the night, so we couldn’t give you full points for that. Twenty-five points, and with the bonus, twenty-eight.
I glare at her. She chuckles nervously.
“Hey, that’s still way more points than anyone else,” she says.
Ah, ah, I’m not done. Because you teamed up, you’ll have to split those points. Meaning, fourteen points for each of you. Likewise, twelve for Vendredi and Beck. Luke, bring out the updated leaderboard, will ya?
All of us stand to get a better look as Luke drags out the giant board. Before he can reveal it to us, Garrett holds his hand out, calling for him to wait. He looks at us and mouths “for dramatic effect” with a shit-eating grin.
CONFESSION TAPE—Vendredi Tengku, Contestant
The worst part of these eliminations is the waiting and wondering. You’re stuck with your thoughts.Did I do good enough to stay in the game? What if somebody beats me by just a point or two?
Of course, that bastard knows it and likes to drag it out. Make it painful for us. Helivesto be the most annoying person in the room.
CONFESSION TAPE—Carter Moxley, Contestant
Am I worried I’m going home? No. Next question.
CONFESSION TAPE—Beck McLaughlin, Contestant
I really hope I’m not eliminated. I haven’t gotten a chance to investigate the area for Bigfoot yet. Did you know that Washington has the highest reports of Bigfoot sightings in the U.S.? Nine out of a hundred residents have seen him. This is the cryptozoological hot spot of the nation, and it’d be a shame if I couldn’t…
Huh? What do you mean confession tapes have to be kept under thirty sec—
Finally, after several long, painful moments, Garrett nods sagely, and Luke turns the board around to display the final scores. My breathcatches.
1ST
CARTER MOXLEY
