When there are only ten players left, the two tribes merge into one.
The day was just getting started, and already it sucked. With Kyle pissed at me, I wanted nothing more than to make things right; but then we were called out for an immunity challenge. The East Tribe was down to five members, and we still had six. If we could win this contest, they would be down to four, and we’d go into the merge sitting real pretty. With our six players, we could just pick the Easties off one by one.
Of course, things rarely went as planned, and this was no exception. Our task was, as a team, to make our way through a series of ropes and ladders, all while bound together. We could only go as fast as our slowest guy, and that guy was Dale. He was not a nimble man to begin with, but his injuries made him even more of a liability. There were times where we were literally dragging him through the obstacle course. Despite our extensive efforts, we were handed a resounding loss.
Dejected and exhausted, the moment we stumbled back into camp, the scheming began. Someone was going home tonight, and there were varying opinions on who it was going to be. It was as if the six of us had turned into rabid animals. Backed into corners, there was a lot of threatening and snarling going on. Alliances began to crumble. And much to my dismay, Dale’s name was the one being thrown out there the most. Marsha, Carl, and Bobby wanted him gone… and they wanted me to turn against him to make it happen. But in order for me to do that, I’d have to betray Kyle, knowing there was no way he would ever vote Dale out. The worst part was, I was actually considering it. The others weren’t wrong to want Dale gone. He’d lost that challenge for us. It was only fair that he be the one to take the fall for it.
It should have been an easy decision to make. Dale’s game was dragging mine down. I’d sworn to myself before starting the show that I wouldn’t let emotion dictate my decisions. Winning meant staying strong and fierce and focused. No one I could meet on the show, I reasoned, could possibly mean more to me than my family. But then, I hadn’t been expecting the strong connections I’d made. This game was tough. Winning took so much more than just physical strength. You needed personal connections. And to get close to people, you needed to open yourself up to the possibility of friendship, all the while knowing you would eventually have to betray them.
The bonds I’d made out here were real… and despite what I’d told Kyle, I felt more for him than just a silly crush. I didn’t know when or how, but somewhere along the way my heart had been stolen right out from under me. I had completely broken my promise. Not only had I let emotions get the best of me, I was now making decisions based on them. Dale was too important to Kyle. And Kyle was too important to me. The smart decision became the emotional one. Loyalty won out over strength. Bobby would be the next to go.
TV Confessional
“Imprinted? You know, when werewolves find the right person, they imprint on them.Twilight?No? Okay, never mind.”
—Kenzie
25
Kyle: Never Have I Ever
After my childishrant at Kenzie, I’d stalked off in search of food. I was hungry and pissed. My so-called allies were all so quick to write me off the minute my family connection came into play. So much for forging my own identity out here. Dale was always talking to me about finding my way, and I had been buying into all his bullshit rhetoric right up until everyone who meant anything to me in this game just shit all over me. What was the point of branching out on my own? When this show aired, I wouldn’t be introduced as Kyle McKallister. I was going to be Jake McKallister’s brother, nothing more and nothing less. I might as well have just stayed on tour.
I came to the tree where Kenzie and I had foraged for fruit on the second day. We’d been back many times since, stripping the branches free of anything edible. But there was still a bundle higher up that I’d not been able to reach. Grabbing a long stalk of bamboo, I attempted to hoist myself up onto the first branch, but without Kenzie giving me a boost, I couldn’t reach.
“You want a hand?” Carl asked, sneaking up from behind and nearly causing me to crap my pants in surprise. The guy actually had a ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you’ look on his face. Oh, now he wanted to be friendly? And it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that he had a chubby for my brother?
“I don’t know, Carl,” I replied in a snooty tone. “I’m just really not in the mood for company. You should understand that.”
Carl raised his arms to concede defeat. “Say no more.”
I watched him turn and walk away. My stomach growled in protest. My self-preservation outweighed my pride.
“Maybe just a boost,” I called out to him. Carl turned his enormous body on a dime and strode back over to me. He cupped his hands and I stepped into the linked palms. He shot me in the air like a frickin’ cannon. My starting point was two branches higher than I’d ever been with one of Kenzie’s boosts. Carl handed me the bamboo stick, and I climbed my way up until I was able to poke down a few more fruits from the tree.
Luckily Carl stayed by the trunk, and I got out of the tree with way fewer cuts and bruises than normal. Kenzie always seemed to lose track of my existence the moment those fruit pods started tumbling down. Carl appeared less interested in piggybacking off my effort. He watched as I hoarded my bounty like a cagey, wounded animal. Surprisingly, he didn’t try to take any for himself, although with the mood I was in, I probably would have bit off his fucking hand if he’d tried.
“You need my help with anything else?”
I eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you being nice to me all of the sudden?”
“I was hoping you could get me backstage at one of Jake’s concerts.”
Stunned, I glared up at Carl. That wasnevergoing to happen. If it were up to me, I’d have him thrown out of the damn venue. What an asshole! Then I realized he was smiling.
“Was that a joke?” I asked, confused at the scene playing out in front of me.
“My attempt at one, anyway. You looked like you were having a bad day. I just wanted to help. I’ll leave you be now.”
Three long strides already had the dude a half a block away. “Hey,” I called out to him.
Carl turned just as I tossed him a fruit. He caught it in one hand, held it up as if to say thanks, and walked away.
He wasn’t so bad after all.
* * *
The last ofthe Fab Five to get the boot was Bobby, and he went out kicking and screaming. Good riddance, if you asked me. The dickwad dumped our rice in the ocean when he realized nothing would save him. And now we hadn’t eaten more than crabs, mollusks, and worms in the past thirty-six hours.
