With no way to reach Lena, things were looking bleak for the Dork Quad until an unlikely friendship formed, changing the course of the game. Carl, with his newfound social skills, somehow used them to sway the unlikeable Lena. Apparently they bonded over their shared hatred for the human race and the divorces that had shaken both their lives. And out of nowhere, Lena shocked us all at the first individual Council by sticking it to her former teammates and knocking off Fergus, one of the biggest physical threats in the game.
Lena jumping ship fluffed our sails, but the victory was bittersweet. After being evaluated by the medical team, Dale’s infection was deemed too serious for him to continue in the game.
“I’m disappointed in you, dude. After all the stubbed toes, black eyes, and broken bones, you let abugtake you down?” Kyle joked, the achy expression on his face belying the light-hearted conversation.
“I know, embarrassing,” Dale said, pain evident in his words. He grabbed Kyle’s shirt and said dramatically, “Avenge me!”
“I promise you, Dale, I’ll track down that damn bug if it’s the last thing I do!”
* * *
And then Dale was gone. Although I’d never admit it, I was glad he went out the way he did, because with his injuries compounding the way they were, it would have been a battle for him to get to the end. My focus shifted with Dale’s exit, and my vision became clearer. There were only eight of us left, and I kept my eye on the prize.
Kyle, on the other had, struggled in his absence. I feared he’d put too much of his game play into Dale’s hands. Don’t get me wrong – he played hard and was a fierce competitor, winning two individual competitions in the days following – but his strategic game play was all over the place. With Dale not there to keep his focus, Kyle was making friends with the remaining Easties and wavering on the group decisions based off that.
Why he was trying to save players on the other side puzzled me. It was a game. We were all going sooner or later; but obviously he wasn’t looking at the big picture. Kyle felt sorry for the marked players and tried to protect them, like stray dogs left out in the rain. In any other aspect of life, that personality trait would be viewed admirably, but out here, kindness was enough to get you booted.
His wishy-washy behavior had caught the attention of Carl and Lena, and both worried that Kyle was becoming a liability. We were picking off the other tribe one at a time, and with their numbers dwindling, Kyle’s position in the alliance was getting more precarious. He was no longer necessary to maintain the numbers. At this point I wasn’t even sure I could get the others to keep him in the game longer than Marsha, who had always been the lowest man on our shaky totem pole.
After coming back from another elimination ceremony and kicking out Carol, Kyle’s favorite Eastie, he was pissed, and he wasn’t being real subtle about it. Kicking a basket across camp, Kyle stomped around like a scorned kindergartener. Lena immediately got in his face, and they volleyed a litany of obscenities at one another. To keep him from getting his ass kicked by a woman, I pulled him aside and we took a walk on the beach.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, not even trying to control my temper. Kyle was making my job so much more difficult, and I didn’t appreciate it.
“You could have gotten rid of Eugene. I asked you guys for one thing, one favor… save Carol. But no one listens to me. I thought we had an alliance, Kenzie, but you’re always siding with Carl and that” – Kyle growled under his breath –“bitch.”
“Carol was a stronger player than Eugene. You know that.”
“So my opinion doesn’t matter, is that what you’re saying? Dale was the only one who cared what I had to say.”
“I care,” I said.
“No, Kenzie, you don’t,” he answered bitterly.
His words hit me hard. He had no idea how wrong he was.
“I get that you were friends with Carol and Amir, but you have to understand what a target you put on your back by making friends with the enemy. Why would Carl and Lena want to sit next to you in the final if you have a bunch of people who like you and will vote you the winner?”
Kyle gaped at me as if he had never once considered that scenario.Come on, dude, that’s just common sense.
“No one is going to vote for me. You said it yourself.”
“Look, Kyle, I’m going to be honest with you… the others are starting to question you.”
“I did what they wanted!” Kyle said in a raised voice. “I voted her out. What more do you want from me?”
Kyle’s jaw was clenched tightly, and his fists balled up in frustration. I grabbed him and gave him a hug. He struggled against me for a moment, but when I didn’t let go, I felt his body relax and he hugged me back. “What’s going on with you?” I whispered in his ear.
“I don’t know,” he sighed. “This game is getting to me. I don’t like backstabbing people that I like.”
“It’s a game, and if you don’t play it, someone else will be happy to do it for you. And you aren’t going to like the results.”
“I know. I don’t think I’m cut out for this shit.”
“You’re too nice.”
“That’s just the thing… I’m not. Back home I’m a sarcastic, jaded asshole. And then I come here and I’m an emotional mess. I swear I need tampons.”
I laughed. “Can you do me a huge favor?”
