All-Star Survivor: Greece Episode #3 Pushed Too Far

Taygete Tribe: Dirk Been, Carl Bilancione, Jessie Camacho, Debb Eaton, Kel Gleason, Ramona Gray, Diane Ogden
Alkyone Tribe: Ryan Aiken, Gabriel Cade, Stephanie Dill, Hunter Ellis, Peter Harkey, John Raymond, Tanya Vance

DAY 7



The Alkyone shelter was slowly taking shape.

Hunter Ellis stood in a clearing, his shirt off, as he carried a stack of wood. He was returning from the center of the island, where he and Ryan had been on chopping duty, using the big double-headed axe to chop down some wood. Luckily, they had been able to keep the axe from the labyrinth challenge yesterday, and had been able to put it to good use.

"Last night's vote was a toughie," he admitted, as he walked through a knee-high field of grass. "Because we lost Sonja." Indeed, Sonja Christopher had been one of the unifying forces behind the team, her good spirit and gentle humor greatly appreciated by all. Even with the more hardcore members like Ryan, or Hunter, or John at times, it was always nice to just sit and talk with Sonja by the campfire. She reminded people of home, and she made them all feel safe out here. Simply put, she was their safe place. She kept things civil.

"But she was clearly over her head," Hunter added, as he spotted the shelter. Halfway built, it was shaping up to be a nice piece of construction, with John and Gabe as the masterminds. Gabe was there now, tying together two pieces of wood, and he waved to Hunter from afar.

Hunter stopped walking, to finish his confessional. He always liked to be the narrator out here, he felt it was his duty to explain how things worked, and what was happening. It was just the way he was.

"The plan last night was to vote out Ryan. He doesn't really fit in, and we can spare a few athletes if we have to. We're not really hurting in that department." Hunter paused, to readjust his grip. "But try as we wanted to, we just felt that we had to cut bait with Sonja. She was going to hurt us too much in the challenges. John, in particular, felt that way, and I told him I would go either way." Indeed, Hunter hadn't really cared who had gone. True, he wanted Sonja to stick around, because she was good for morale, and he was her friend. But as a leader-type, Hunter knew how to win. He wanted to win, he was competitive, and he lusted to defeat his opponent at all times.

And that just wasn't going to happen if Sonja stayed on the team.

"So that was that," Hunter shrugged. "And now it's a new day. Shelter day."

"You got me some wood?" called Gabe, from over at the shelter.

"Four logs!" called Hunter, hefting one of them up in his strong right arm. "We can finish the roof."

John popped up from behind Gabe. He had apparently been working on the floor. Peter appeared too, another of the Alkyone worker bees.

"You the man!" Peter called. And as Hunter came over, the four men continued their work on the construction. John was clearly calling the shots, as he liked to do. He had intended to tone down his know-it-all nature out here this time, but it was harder than it looked. When there was work to do, John Raymond simply liked to be in charge. After all, he knew what he was doing, so why not offer his expertise?

"Make sure the floor is slanted a little," he said, pointing to the logs Peter was binding together. "So we can get some runoff. You don't want any rain or anything puddling up underneath us." John demonstrated with his hands what he meant. "Just a slight angle though, not too steep."

As a foursome, the Alkyone men worked very well together. Sure, there were some egos, but they were able to put aside their differences for the good of them team. And basically, they all -knew- they needed a shelter, so it didn't matter who was calling the shots. The fact that Hunter and John had not had a disagreement yet just showed their commitment to the team. Necessities came first and egos came second, especially when something needed to be done.

It was just the Alkyone way.

"And that's the great thing," Gabe said to the camera, as he bound the wood together. "Because we -do- get the stuff that needs to be done first. We laugh, we play, and we work. And sure, we'll miss Sonja. I felt awful that we had to get rid of her, and I knew it had to hurt her. But I came to the realization that it's not -my- problem how people feel. If we have to vote out the weak, that's what we'll do." Gabe paused, and then kept talking, not looking up. "And we knew that losing her wouldn't tear us up, so that's what happened." Gabe finally looked up, smiling. "And I think we all know who will be next, too."



^^




Ryan Aiken was alone in the woods, chopping trees.

His blue shirt off, he was sweating under the warm Greek sun. It wasn't that hot out, really, but this was hard, physical labor, and he wasn't used to it. Ryan wasn't exactly what you would call the lumberjack type.

"Of course I'm gonna chop wood," he said, as he rested against the handle of the axe. He was currently catching his breath, trying to get a second wind. "Because I know my time is up if I don't." Ryan's white buff was tied around his forehead, making his black hair curl up into a lazy poof. "Because those assholes want me gone, and always have." Ryan had started this game somewhat in a state of shock. He had been bothered by being picked last, of course, and was disheartened by the fact that no one knew him here. But the worst of all had been the social politics of the team. He had gone from bummed to pissed in a hurry because of that. Quite simply, no one here was much like him. He just didn't fit in. Most of the men were older. The only one that was his age, Gabriel, was a nice enough guy, but was clearly cut from a different mold. And other than their football games in the surf, a daily ritual by now, Ryan had almost no way to relate to the guy. Gabriel might as well have been from a different planet, for all Ryan cared.

"My only hope has really been with the girls," Ryan said, subconsciously smiling. Ryan was normally a very cocky person, especially when it came to the fairer sex. He had been humbled somewhat by being so blatantly shunned out here, but Ryan was still quite confident in his ability to charm females. He had always been good at that.

"Tanya and I get along pretty well," he said, as he started chopping wood again. "She's a sweetie, and not bad on the eyes, if you know what I'm sayin'. So I been layin' it on pretty thick, you know, just trying to sweeten her up. And I don't know if it's working, but I didn't get voted out last night, so I must have been doin' something right." Ryan thought he would be going last night. He absolutely -knew- he would be going. He had been so sure of it, in fact, that he had already said his goodbyes to the girls. They had both confirmed that he was probably going beforehand, Steph flat out admitting it. So he had said his farewells, gone to Tribal Council, and been stunned, absolutely stunned, when Sonja's name had come up six times.

"And now," he said, his half-smirk reappearing, "Everything's still good in the neighborhood."

As Ryan chopped wood, a solitary figure walked towards him in the forest. He didn't hear her coming, as Tanya was stealthy when she wanted to be. She glided through the trees, into the clearing, and he almost jumped when she said his name.

"Geez," he said, taking a breather from the labor. "I thought you were fishing."

"With Steph?" asked Tanya.

"Yeah. I thought this was girls' day."

Tanya just rolled her eyes. All she had to do was slowly shake her head. That was all they needed to hear, everyone knew that the two females didn't get along well. They didn't fight or anything, and there had never been a screaming match, but it was like two positive ends of a magnet. They just repelled one another, for no apparent reason.

"Oh I see," smiled Ryan, his most charming grin. "Catfight."

"No, no, nothing like that," said Tanya, as she picked up some the wood Ryan had chopped. "The two of us in a boat just in't gonna happen."

In a tribe full of eccentric characters, Stephanie Dill was among the most unique. Stubborn beyond all rational sense, she was incredibly difficult to talk to if she wasn't in the right mood. As John found out on pretty much a daily basis, she also had a very dry sense of humor. Combined with her thick drawl, it was nearly impossible to tell if she was kidding or serious some times. And Tanya had tried getting to know her in Thailand, she really had. But eventually, the social worker had given up. Talking with Steph was like talking to a brick wall, she said.

"It just in't worth it," she smiled.

"That girl's crazy, man," said Ryan, as he brought his axe up to rest on his shoulder. In doing so, it helped flex his bicep, in a typical flirting pose. He we well aware of this, of course. Ryan lived to flirt. "I honestly think she'll be the next to go."

"You think?" asked Tanya.

Ryan had been trying to pull together a sub-alliance for some time now, once he realized that his days were numbered. And he knew that his only chance was with the females. Ryan was a ladies man, and knew it. And since Sonja was too old for him, his only real targets had been Steph and Tanya. But there had been a catch, of course. The dreaded catch, that seemed to disrail so many plans in this game.

Tanya and Steph just didn't like one another.

Rather than risk getting them both in an alliance, Ryan had decided to go for a backup plan instead: Get rid of Stephanie. He knew that Tanya would probably go for it, and so Ryan's smear campaign against Stephanie Dill had already begun. He just had to get some other people to go along with it, and maybe save his own skin for a few more days.

"I just have to trash talk Stephanie," he said, in a confessional that morning. "As much as possible. Get them to think she's crazy, or a loose cannon. Because if they're scared of her, maybe that can buy me some time." Pressed on the ethics of this strategy, he defended it, a quick flash of fire in his eyes. "Hey, my back's to the wall here, I got nothin' else to try. If she has to go down for me to rise, well then that's just the way it has to be."




^^



Jessie Camacho sat atop the Taygete shelter, on scout duty for the morning. It was a perfect job for her, since it required no physical labor whatsoever. She wasn't much for manual labor, something that others had noticed by now.

"Because she's spoiled," Diane had said, laughing, in a confessional. Jessie and Diane were friends, and got along fine, but Diane Ogden had a very solid work ethic. She held a heavy labor job in real life, and because of this, could spot in a second if a teammate didn't pull their load out here. And this was one thing about Jessie that stood out like a sore thumb. She just didn't like to do much around camp.

"Let's just say she is more of an indoor girl," Diane smiled.

Diane was an outspoken person. She would say things like this out loud, as would Carl. But the rest of the team was not so vocal about their opinions. Sure, everyone knew that certain people worked harder than others, but many of them didn't feel it was a problem. Dirk, for one, loved to laze around on the beach all morning, either relaxing or praying. It was his opinion that he should save his energy for the challenges, and he preferred to do -anything- but work.

"God didn't put me out here to chop down trees," he would say. "I'm here to find myself, and reconnect with the Lord. This isn't boot camp, this is vacation."

Clearly Dirk hadn't changed much since Pulau Tiga, but he was not alone. Ramona didn't do much out here, nor did Jessie. Sure, if asked, Dirk would tackle the most menial task available. But he would generally work harder at -looking- busy than he would in actually working.

"The work ethic around here is atrocious," Carl said, as he stood under a fig tree. He was currently gathering lunch with Debb, and the two of them discussed the state of their tribe. "Jessie doesn't do squat, she just sits there and expects us to feed her. And I don't even know -where- Dirk goes all day. He just disappears and shows up for the challenges. And the island's only, what, two square miles, so I have no idea where he goes."

Debb shared Carl's frustration with the tribe, although she wasn't as vocal about it. She learned long ago to keep her mouth shut about such things, something Carl was unable to, or just refused to do.

"I'd keep an eye on Ramona and Jessie if I were you," she said, squinting up towards the top of the tree. Her red baseball cap helped, but the sun was directly on them today, and some of it filtered into her eyes. "Neither of them do anything, and they're always together."

"Don't get me started on Ramona," Carl said, muttering under his breath. Carl often gave thanks that they were in Greece, not in Africa. He had been there, done that, and had to deal with Silas and Lindsey once already. No thank you. At least in Greece they had a shelter, had ample food, and plenty of water. No one was going to die here, so it wasn't that imperative for everyone to work. But still...

"Maybe I'm just not meant to hang around young people," Carl theorized. "Maybe it's me, not them."

"No," disagreed Debb, letting loose one of her rare smiles. "It's them."

The two of them shared a laugh, one of the nice moments of levity in Carl Bilancione's day. He wasn't really a happy-go-lucky type, so it was always nice to share a laugh with someone. Even Debb.



^^


As Jessie scouted out the Alkyone camp, she kept noticing one thing over and over. Stephanie was out fishing, and she was fishing alone. She must have been out for four hours, all by herself, and no one had come out to say a word to her.

"She's usually with John," Kel said. He was sitting up here now with Jessie, having come over to keep her company. "It's usually the two of them fishing, or sometimes Gabe. I've never seen her out alone."

"The rest of them are building the shelter," Jessie said, pointing off into the woods. She couldn't make out details, as she didn't have particuarly sharp vision. But she could see movement out there and had seen Hunter and Ryan carrying wood, so it was a fair assumption that a shelter was being built.

Jessie glanced over at Kel. The odd young Army Captain had been spending a lot of time with her lately, or near her, as was more applicable. Kel seemed to think that he and Jessie had a tight bond, and the way he talked seemed to verify this. "When we do this," or "Our next move," or "We have to," all these phrases peppered his speech.

Quite simply, Kel seemed to be placing a lot of faith in a relationship that was really not there.

"My only loyalty has been to Ramona," Jessie said in a confessional that morning. "That's it. We get along great, we have a good time, and she's fun to talk to. But Kel has always hung around us like he's our buddy. And to tell you the truth, I think it's kind of rude."

True enough, Kel was quite comfortable in his position within Alkyone. Much like John over at Alkyone, Kel had gone into the game with one purpose, and one purpose in mind: To get into an alliance. Kel wanted no part of being mister loner again, he was bound and determined to pull the strings this time around. He had approached Ramona and Jessie back in the first two days, and later brought in Debb. If you were to ask him, he would say that they were a very tight foursome. But Kel did not know one thing, one important piece of information that people rarely told him.

People seemed to find him annoying.

"Kel is hard to talk to," Ramona would explain. "He's very...," she seemed to search for the right word. "Selfish would be the best word to describe him. He's really only thinking about himself, and how all events here will impact him. If you talk about anything else, something that doesn't pertain to him, he won't listen. He's just waiting until you get to something he wants to discuss. It's just kind of odd."

"Kel's an odd dude," Dirk had confirmed, in another confessional today. "I don't know where his head's at half the time. He's in his own little world."

But whatever the others thought about him, one thing was true about Kel, and that was that he felt relatively safe right now. He knew Ramona, and trusted her pretty well. Dirk was a harmless beach bum, and no threat whatsoever. Jessie was a bit more elusive, and harder to figure out, but he had caught her flirting with him from time time. Jessie was a big flirt, and he was more than happy to reciprocate, specifically if it would help him in the game.

"If I have to manipulate her," he said, with a small smile, "Then I will. I have no qualms with doing whatever it takes. That's what the game is all about."

No, Kel didn't see a whole lot of threats on his team right now. He was a capable fisherman, he didn't have any enemies, and he saw his position as pretty secure. They needed athletes, they needed fishermen, and they needed leaders. He considered himself all three.

The only thing that Kel did -not- see right now was that his relationship with Jessie was going to be a problem. He could claim that he was leading her along all he wanted, but it was clear to Jessie, and even -more- clear to the rest of the team, that he was a bit sweet on her. He hung around her often enough, far more often than he needed to. And why not, after all, she was a knockout, and acted the part. She loved to flirt, loved to be coy, and was more than happy to sit around all day in her swimsuit. So it was perfectly normal that Kel would want to be around her. But the catch wasn't that Kel liked her.

The catch was that Dirk did too.

And that was bound to be a problem.




^^



"Welcome to today's reward challenge," Jeff said. He was currently standing on Alkyone beach, facing the two teams. Taygete had shuttled over just after lunch, and everyone was now listening to him explain the rules.

"And today, you'll be playing a game called 'Lyre of Orpheus.'" He turned and pointed to two wooden frames behind him. They were each shaped like a large letter U, with a crossbar running across the top, and each stood about ten feet high. "One of the most prominent musical instruments in Ancient Greece was the lyre, two of which you see before you. It was said that a man who could play beautiful music on the lyre could move mountains. He could tame the savage beast. Basically, he could do anything. So your job," he smiled, "Is to build yourself a lyre."

He pointed to the left, where there stood two large balls of what looked like fishing line.

"There are seven strings in there, tangled all together. Your goal, as a team, is to untangle each string. You will then match it to its correct slot on the crossbar, string it up, and create a traditional seven-string lyre." He turned to look at them, head-on. "The first team to build your lyre, and demonstrate that it works properly, wins reward."

"Oh," he added, casually, "And the winning team won't find out their reward until later tonight. This one is gonna be a surprise." He smiled, innocently.

Both teams lined up next to their ball of strings. Peter looked over at the Alkyone lyre frame and wondered how they were going to string them up so high. It was ten feet if it was ten inches.

"This is for reward," Jeff announced, raising his hand in the air. "Survivors ready.... GO!"

The two teams dug into their string, like wild animals. No one had any semblance of a plan or any strategy, it was just seven pairs of hands grabbing at anything they could find.

"We need to work together!" John announced to Alkyone. "Don't everyone pull at once, it'll just get more tangled!"

They decided that Gabriel and Stephanie should be the main unravelers, and the rest of the team went over the lyre, to decide how to get the string up to the top.

"Can we tip it over?" asked John, trying to brainstorm.

"No," pointed out Tanya, "It's anchored to the base." She pointed to the large square base, hidden in the sand. They wouldn't be able to tip anything over.

"We need to hoist somebody up there," Peter said, pointing upwards. It was quickly agreed that this was the best option, as the crossbar was wide enough for someone to sit upon. "Who's the smallest?"

Five pairs of eyes darted around and focused right on Tanya. Tanya was the only female here, and was clearly the smallest. She just smiled, shrugging.

"Get on my shoulders," Hunter offered, and she climbed up onto his broad back. Peter helped secure her footing, and then she was raised up onto his shoulders, like a cheerleader. But the loose sand under Hunter started to give, and he stumbled somewhat. Tanya was able to grab the side of the lyre before she fell off, and prevented a potentially nasty spill.

"Be careful up there!" John called.

As Tanya was trying to climb up, Taygete had already managed to get Kel to the top of their platform. It turned out that he was an excellent climber, and he hadn't needed much help from Carl and Debb at the bottom. Kel was now sitting atop the crossbar, having used the small notches in the wood to scale up the side. He saw that there were seven hooks up here, each one a different color. This was where he would place the string.

"I got one untangled!" yelled Gabriel, as he pulled a long thing piece of cord out of the ball. He handed it to Ryan, who ran it over to the Alkyone lyre. It was handed up to Tanya, who saw that the end of the string was colored red. She reached down and tied it to the red hook, and Alkyone had their first string attached.

"One for Alkyone," announced Jeff, "Six more to go!"

Whereas Gabe and Stephanie were untangling for Alkyone, Taygete had deemed it a four person job. Ramona, Diane, Jessie and Debb were sitting in a loose circle, each one working on a piece. And then, the ladies got lucky. Three strings came undone, all at once.

"Dirk!" cried Ramona, and he ran over to retrieve her string. He also took one from Diane and from Jessie, Kel attached them to the lyre, and Taygete was up, three to one.

"I got one!" cried Debb, and suddenly Taygete had their fourth.

Gabe shot a look of disbelief at the Taygete women. -FOUR?- How could they untangle so fast? He redoubled his efforts, working his nimble fingers through the thing string, as Steph did the same. Stephanie was beginning to get frustrated, and he could hear her cursing under her breath.

"Just keep it focused," he told her, as he untangled his second one. "That's two," he yelled up to Tanya.

Diane untangled Taygete's fifth, and they were suddenly just two strings from victory. The older team was starting to cheer and yell in excitement, as they sensed a win around the corner.

"Here, let me help." John came over to help the Alkyones with their string, as did Ryan. They both knelt down, and John ended up yanking a piece of string out of Gabe's hands. Eight hands were indeed now getting in the way.

"It's too many, man," Gabe protested, but Stephanie finally pulled her first piece of string out.

"That's three for Alkyone," said Jeff, "Five for Taygete!"

The minutes dwindled down. Alkyone frantically tried to unravel their ball, but it was too little, too late. Diane and Ramona finally succeeding in detaching the final two strings from each other. Number six and seven, and Taygete now had them all.

"Hook it up," cried Dirk, as he brought them over to the lyre. He jumped up, handing them to Kel. Kel tied one of them around the brown hook, and one around the yellow hook. The seven dangling strings were then pulled taut, and tied to the bottom of the lyre. Taygete was done.

"Okay," said Jeff, walking over with a smile. "Let's hear that sucker play."

Debb was given the honor, and she strummed her fingers across the seven strings. A musical harmony sounded, floating across the sea and into the air. The Taygetes cheered.

"Taygete," announced Jeff, "Wins reward!"

"Darnit!" said John, as he clutched the fourth and fifth Alkyone strings in his hand. But he had to watch as the Taygetes lept in the air, hugging one another. They were jubilant, having beaten the big, bag younger team three challenges in a row now.

Stephanie lowered her head into her hands, holding it there, as if in shame. She couldn't believe they had lost that. She had only untangled one cord. One measly, stinking cord. She was almost distraught.

Ryan was equally bothered by it all. It was one thing to lose to a weaker team. Again. But it was quite another to watch them celebrate on your own home beach. Here they were, jumping up and down, the promise of a great reward on their minds, and no more than twenty feet from the burned remains of the old Alkyone house! It was almost too much to take.

"Let's go," he said, frustrated, turning his back on the victors, "Let's get out of here."





DAY 8



Gabriel Cade was asleep, half-dreaming, under the roof of the Alkyone shelter. The tribe had gone to sleep early last night, having exhausted themselves from the day's activities. First, they had spent inordinate amounts of energy on their new shelter. It was great now, with a solid roof and an even, comfortable floorboard, but it had come at a great price. After all the work on it, they had been worn out.

And then came the reward challenge...

It was true that the tribe was probably not at full strength for the challenge. They had expended a lot of energy in building their home, and it showed in the challenge. Gabriel, of course, felt personally responsible, since he had been in charge of unraveling the twine. And for a guy who was used to dominating the challenges, this was starting to get a bit demoralizing.

But this had made three challenge losses in a row, and that was weighing heavily on his mind. Gabe had never lost three challenges in a row. Alkyone wasn't supposed to lose three challenges -total.- After all, they were the stronger tribe. Didn't everyone know that?

But now, as Gabe slowly woke up from his dreams, he smelled something. Just something... faint... off in the air. He sat up, slowly rubbing his eyes. The rest of the tribe seemed to still be asleep, all six of them curled up against one another on the wooden flooring of the shelter. Tanya slept closest to him, and was practically in a ball, trying to stay warm.

"You smell it too?" asked Peter. He was already out of the shelter, which is why Gabe hadn't noticed him yet. Peter stood next to a tree, sniffing the air, putting his shoes on. Gabe smiled to himself, obviously Peter would have smelled something strange first. After all, this was a guy who claimed to be the master of his five senses. Peter was like a watchdog, he would be the first one to sense anything askew around their camp. He was just like that.

"It smells like somethin's burning," Peter said, lacing up his second tennis shoe. "I smelled it about fifteen minutes ago, and it's gettin' stronger."

Gabe glanced at the firepit, about twenty feet away from their shelter. Their campfire was out. It was always out at night. Since they had been provided with kerosene, there was no need for anyone to watch the fire as they slept; it could easily be relit in the morning. With the fire out, Gabe looked up at the sky, looking at the position of the stars and the moon. He was trying to pinpoint what time it was, and this was the best way how.

"What do you say," he asked, "About 2:00?"

"I'd say 2:30," Peter said, glancing up for just a second. "C'mon, let's go check it out."

The two men put on their shoes and walked away from the shelter, through the cool night air. The moonlight was enough to guide them through the trees, although it got brighter and brighter as they got closer to the beach. And within a minute or two, it was easy to see why.

Their fishing boat was on fire.

"Oh man," yelled Gabe, sprinting down towards the beach. Peter right behind him, Gabe grabbed great fistfuls of sand, tossing them onto the boat. It was a valiant effort, but the fire was roaring out of control by now, the boat's wood crackling and popping underneath it.

"Tip it upside down!" Gabe yelled, and the two men plunged into the water. Carefully avoiding the burning part, they managed to flip the boat into the water, extinguishing most of the flames. The air now filled with the awful hiss of the extinguished fire.

"What happened?" yelled John, from back near the trees. He had heard the commotion and come running. He saw Gabe and Peter, waist deep in the water, surrounded by a plume of thick smoke.

"The boat was on fire!" yelled Peter. Together, he and Gabe counted to three and then flipped the boat back upright. They hoped for the best, but even from far away, John could see that it was ruined. The charred hull and sides featured multiple holes, in many cases all the way through to the water. The wood that was left looked to be brittle and thin. There was no way they would be able to use it anymore.

Peter just stared at the ruined boat, his happy visage suddenly darkening. His eyes narrowed, his jaw set, as he stared out at the sea. He knew as well as the other two, there was no way this was an accident. Unless it was hit by lightning or something, this was deliberate sabotage.

"Guys," he said, "I think I see our culprits."

Peter pointed out to the sea. Gabe squinted, but couldn't make out anything, although John could see it all too well. He saw the smooth wake left behind. He saw the small fishing boat, slowly approaching the Taygete shore. And both Peter and he could make out the shapes of three figures in the boat, although they couldn't place who they were.

John nodded, understanding.

"Gabe, I think this game just became a bit more personal."


^^


Last night had been a happy one for the hardy warriors of Taygete. Upon returning from their victory, they had been ebullient. Celebration was in the air, and they had whooped and hollered all the way back to their beach.

After dinner, Jeff had shown up, ferried over in a motorized speedboat. Everyone had been curious as to the nature of their reward, and what they had won. And Jeff was not here to disappoint, he had some big news to deliver tonight.

"This is actually a similar reward to the one you guys won last time," he said. "In that it is nothing food-related, nothing that will help you in camp, and nothing that will make your lives easier." He smiled. "But what it -will- do is make -their- life more difficult." He turned and pointed at the Alkyone beach, sitting just across the sea. "You've destroyed their house, and now it's time to finish what you started. Tonight, you guys will be destroying their fishing boat."

Diane's jaw had dropped open, inadvertantly, as Jeff brought out three large torches, the ends wrapped in cloth. He also pulled out a small can of accelerant, sealed by a large plastic cap.

"You're kidding." said Carl, incredulous, but Jeff simply shook his head. He had placed the torches in the sand and got back into the speedboat.

"Send three people," he said, "Late tonight, when everyone's asleep. They don't know you're coming, so make sure they don't see you, and don't get caught." He grinned, resting his hands on the railing of the speedboat. "If they see you coming, you must turn around immediately and forefeit the reward, so make this one count."

"That's pretty hardcore," said Debb, dubiously. "Are you sure this the real reward?"

Jeff had simply nodded.

"If you had lost, you'd be losing your boat tonight. Just part of the game, guys." He smiled, and shrugged. "Just part of the game."

This morning, Taygete awoke to the satsfaction of a job well done. Carl had led the expedition last night, and really got into the role, too. His blue buff tied around his head like a pirate, he had stood at the bow of the boat, watching for any prying eyes, and had seen none. He had taken Kel and Debb with him, and the three of them had been responsible for the deed. Within seconds, the large white boat had been engulfed in flames, and they had fled into the night sky.

It had been all so easy.

Now Carl was standing above Diane, trying to jostle her awake. Never a morning person, she resisted a few times, but ultimately got up when he started taunting her, in his normal sing-song way.

"Get uuuu-uuup, wake uuu-upp, sunshine."

"I'm up," she said, rubbing her eyes, "I'm up." She sat up and slowly came to her senses. The first thing she noticed was how well she had slept. She felt fully awake and alert. Sleeping in a house did wonders for you in this game. Despite the hard floor, the walls and the roof combined to keep them all warm and safe at night. And the security it provided, combined with their morale boost from the challenge wins, was helping them all stay happy and productive. And why wouldn't it? After all, they were winning.

"Who's on breakfast?" she asked, standing up.

"Debb," he said. "Fruit salad for everyone." He smiled, and looked over at the other island. "Let's all go out and enjoy a nice picnic. Besides, I want to see what happens when they find out their boat is now a crispy critter."



^^


The day passed slowly for both teams, as the highs and lows of the past few days were beginning to weigh on both sides. What had started out as an easy game was slowly turning into a war, and they were all feeling it.

The mood on Taygete was happy resignation, but the atmosphere across the sea was quite different. Alkyone was an angry, crabby bunch right now. They were angry because they were losing. They were angry because they were tired. They were angry because they had lost their sole means of catching fish. And most of all, they were angry because they had been sabotaged.

"That's just scary," said Stephanie, as she sat around the campfire. The tribe was currently eating their lunch, a nice meal of fish cooked in orange juice, dreamed up by Hunter. "That they could just come over here any time, and burn our boat?"

"I'm surprised that Jeff hasn't been over there yet," said Tanya, nudging her chin in the direction of Taygete, "To yell at them."

Tanya was correct in her assessment. It was strictly forbidden for players from either team to cross over, and interact with the others. That was the first thing they had been told in orientation. STAY ON YOUR OWN ISLAND!

"Maybe it was part of the reward?" asked John. "I mean, they could burn our house, why not take out the boat too?"

Hunter shrugged. He had been staying silent on the issue for most of the day, preferring to just think about it. He was a competitive guy, and loved to win, but he was surprised that he wasn't that angry about the whole thing. Frankly, it made him more determined than upset. It just made him want to win more now. To rub their stinking faces in it.

"Guys, we can't let this get to us," he said.

He looked across the faces of his tribe. Stephanie was clearly the most upset by the boat burning, you could see it in her eyes. After all, she was on fishing duty, this had derailed a lot of her strategy. Ryan was another member of the hothead brigade, his fierce temper showing up almost immediately this morning, along with a fierce string of profanity towards the other team. John and Peter weren't real thrilled either, but were doing a better job of hiding it. Peter's anger was visible only in his silence. He was normally the most chatty member of the bunch, and today he had really yet to say a word.

"Look," added Gabriel, sitting with his back to a log. "It's just a boat, guys. It can be replaced. There's lots of ways to catch fish, and besides, we're not starving. There's plenty of fruit here and... and we saw those sheep over on Maia. We can swim over there and get some if we had to."

"And I don't know about you all," said Hunter, standing up. He was now the only member standing, a subconscious image he was probably aware of. It made him sound more authoratative. "But I just want to kick their butts now. I mean, look at us. We're bigger, we're stronger, we're smarter." He pointed at Tanya. "We got a track star." He pointed at John. "We got a swimmer." He pointed at Gabe. "And we got an ice skater."

Gabe let loose one of his giggle-laughs, smiling. "Ah-HA-ha." It was just what Hunter was trying to go for, and it eased the tension considerably. When you heard Gabe laugh, it was hard not to laugh yourself.

"So let's go, guys," finished Hunter. "Immunity challenge tonight, and we'll rip them apart.

He engaged them all in a group hug, and even the normally fiery Ryan seemed happy to participate. But this was Hunter's moment, and the tall leader of the tribe knew it.

"Guys," he finished. "This is Alkyone's day."



^^



The immunity challenge was to be held on Taygete beach, and the Alkyones shuttled over just after lunch. Their rower dropped them off, and the fierce-looking team in white emerged onto the shore, looking ready for the kill. Hunter Ellis led the way, his white buff tied around his large right bicep. Peter Harkey followed, and then Stephanie Dill, and then Gabriel Cade. All of them had a fire in their eyes, the eyes that said, simply, -no more messing around now.-

Jeff stood on the shore, between the two teams, as they lined up. No words were exchanged, but it was clear that several members of Alkyone were not fond of their opponents. The boat burning had really gotten under their skin.

Which had been the producers exact intent, of course.

Everything had been planned out. By not warning Alkyone ahead of time, it was bound to create a mood of paranoia and anger. Jeff had suggested this himself, one of his many contributions to the game. And Mark Burnett, eager to exploit -any- event that would cause tribal warfare, was more than happy to give it the thumbs-up. And now, Jeff could see the fallout from last night's event. It was not difficult to pick up on.

Ryan Aiken was clearly not happy. He stood with his hands on his hips, his dark eyes glowering at his opponents. Peter Harkey, next to him, was also missing his trademark smile. He looked serious, dead serious. Gabriel Cade had his arms folded across his chest, his baseball cap pulled down low over his eyes. Stephanie Dill was clearly trying to stare a hole right through one of the Taygetes, probably Diane. But they all look focused, and mean.

And angry.

"Welcome to today's immunity challenge," said Jeff, greeting them. He retrieved the immunity idol from Hunter and explained the rules. "Today's challenge is based on one of the most well-known myths of the Ancient age." He smiled. "The story of Atlas."

He pointed out towards the water. Two wooden platforms floated on the water. They were thick, wide, but not all that steady. They each bobbed softly in the water, slowly moving along with the current.

"You guys will be standing on those platforms. One person at a time, from your team, will face off against a player from the other side. You'll stand on those shaky platforms for as long as you can, and you'll each hold one of these." He pointed off to the side, where two large rocks stood. They were similar to the boulders used in the Sisyphus challenge earlier, only smaller.

"These things are made of part plaster, part rock. They are heavy, but not impossible to lift. The biggest challenge is that they are smooth, and not symmetrical, and kind of slippery. But each of you will hold one of these up, on your shoulders, and stand on the platform. The first one to drop the rock, or fall off the platform loses." He held up his hand, with fingers splayed out. "We'll be playing best of five. The first team to win three rounds wins the challenge." He rubbed his hands together, gleefully. "So, are you guys ready to take the weight of the world on your shoulders?"

The rules stated that it had to be male vs. male, or female vs. female. Since Alkyone had only two females, it meant that both Tanya and Stephanie had to play. Stephanie was chosen to go first.

"Let's go Steph!" called Hunter, as she swam out to her platform. She was faced off against Debb, whom the Taygetes considered one of their strongest females. The two women pulled themselves up on the wooden square, got their balance, and were delvered their rocks. A ferryman boated the rocks out to them, and each woman hoisted the clunky thing up and onto their shoulders.

"Aaaaagh," grunted Debb, as she shut her eyes. The weight of the thing was immense, but she was strong, and had large hands. She gripped the thing as best she could and waited for Jeff to begin.

"This is round one!" Jeff shouted, from shore. "Debb against Stephanie. Survivors ready... GO!"

Debb closed her eyes, concentrating on the motion of the water. She could feel it slowly pulsing up and down, under her feet. Her ankles were already sore from the constant adjustment of balance, but she was doing okay. The rock must weigh fifty pounds, maybe more, but she was doing fine.

"Stay focused!" Kel called to her, "Concentrate on balance!"

Debb blocked him out, and peeked through one eye at her opponent. The gangly firefighter on the other platform seemed to be having no problem. Her long arms wrapped around the sides of the rock, Steph had her eyes open and looked casual, bored even. But she was used to carrying weights like this. She didn't even appear to be breaking a sweat. In fact, Steph saw Debb looking at her and smiled. She nodded her head, cockily, a small half-smirk on her face.

"Wassup?" asked Steph, chuckling.

About ten minutes passed. Steph had finally closed her eyes, trying to concentrate, but Debb was having more problems. The constant adjusting of balance had started to anger her ankles, and she finally shifted somewhat, trying to alieve the pressure. That was all it took, as the weight of the rock tried to pull her to the left. She had no choice to drop the thing, otherwise it would have pulled her into the water. With a disgusted look on her face, she let it loose, and heard as it splashed loudly into the sea.

Alkyone erupted into cheers.

"Stephanie wins!" announced Jeff, as the firefighter let out a bloodcurdling scream of triumph. She dropped her rock and jumped in the water, ready to swim back to shore. Debb came back too, where her team greeted her with reassurement and condolences. Kel gave her a robotic pat on the back, emotionlessly, a half-second later than the rest of them.

Hunter and Carl swam out to take their turns. Personally, Carl thought it was lunatic to send him out against the big guy, but they had insisted that he had to do it. No one else had a shot. Kel was too small and Dirk was too skinny. If they were to beat Hunter, the burly dentist was their only chance.

"Good luck," said Carl, as he hoisted a new rock up onto his broad shoulders. Since Debb's was in the water, Taygete needed a new one. Alkyone's had been on the platform, waiting for Hunter when he arrived.

"Same to you," said Hunter, as he gritted his teeth. The rock was already up on his shoulders, and he waited for the go-ahead.

"Ready...," said Jeff, "GO!"

The contest began, and it was immediately apparent that Hunter could stand here forever. He didn't appear to be exerting any strength, and the white-buffed Alkyones cheered him on. Tanya was leading them in a cheer, spelling out his name, as he simply smiled and laughed at them. This was his moment, and he knew it. Hunter knew this was chance to lead them to victory, and he was not going to let them down. Not today, not ever. Not with Hunter Ellis at the helm.

"Jesus," said Carl, as he tried to spread his legs wider. He was trying to get a bit better balance, the weight bearing down heavily on his shoulders. He was also at a disadvantage here, in that his arms weren't very long. He had to exert energy just to get his arms around the damn thing.

"Let's go, Carl!" cheered Diane. Ramona joined in, and the Taygetes tried to match the volume of the cheers for Hunter. They seemed to be succeeding too. Carl heard this and gave it a second wind, trying to summon all the energy and strength into his legs, and keep them standing. It was a valiant effort, and he put in a good twenty minutes, but eventually Carl couldn't take it. Hunter had been impressed by the willpower of the dentist, and had even begun to feel the slightest twinge of fatigue, but at twenty minutes, Carl announced he was done.

"Can't do it, guys," he said, shaking his head. He lowered the rock to the platform, stopping to stretch his now-aching shoulders. "The guy's too strong." Carl jumped into the water, amid cheers from his team, and a wild yell from the Alkyones.

"Alkyone is up," announced Jeff, "Two to nothing. If they win this one, it's all over."

Hunter received a hero's welcome back at the beach, while Alkyone sent out their second female. And Tanya Vance was ready to go. She tied her hair back, received a pat on the back from Ryan, and swam out to her platform. Her opponent, she soon learned, would be Jessie Camacho.

The Taygetes had been unsure of who would take on Tanya. Ramona was a decent athlete, but not as strong as Jessie or Diane. Diane Ogden had great physical strength, from her years as a postal carrier, and was used to carrying loads on her back. Jessie, as Carl described her, was more of a princess, but her attitude did tend to hide the fact that she was in excellent athletic shape. Her early training as a police officer had given her a hard, toned athletic body, and the fact that she was taller and younger than Diane had given her a slight advantage. In the end, they had decided to send the cop out to face the social worker.

"Let's go, Jessie!" called Debb, as the tanned Floridian pulled herself up and onto the platform. She picked up the rock, placed it on her shoulders, and closed her eyes. Jeff announced the contest had started and the game began.

"Come on, Tanya," cheered John Raymond from the beach. "Nice and steady. Just breathe in and out."

Indeed, Tanya had her eyes closed, and was taking deep breaths in and out, focusing as hard as she could on her balance. She could definitely feel the water under her, and was trying as best as she could to counteract its movement. And she thought she was doing well, although the people on shore could easily see her wobbly knees. It was clear that she wasn't going to last very long.

"Hang in there!" called Hunter, but Tanya's grip was already starting to slip. It was only a matter of time until...

-SPLASH!-

Tanya's rock dropped from her shoulders, back and into the water. Disgusted at herself, she cursed, under her breath of course, and angrily hopped into the water.

"First win for Taygete!" called Jeff. He watched as Jessie kept the rock up for a few seconds longer, still focused on the task, before her team reminded her it was over. Jessie let loose a large smile, and happily dropped her rock.

"Dude!" yelled Dirk, impressed. "Nice job, Jess!"

As Jessie was greeted by her team, Kel Gleason swam out to take on Gabriel Cade. It looked to be a mismatch, and Kel knew it. He was a strong guy, in great shape, but was simply not that big. He knew he could handle the weight, and the balance, but Gabe was known to single-handedly dominate challenges in this game. Which made sense, since as Ramona described him, Gabe looked "like a Greek god." So it was only fitting that he would be tough to beat out here. Mortals seldom took on gods and prevailed.

"You guys ready?" asked Jeff. Gabe had his rock up already, and Kel had just lifted his. They nodded, and Jeff announced the start.

"This is for immunity," said Jeff. "Gabriel and Kel. Survivors ready... GO!"

The two teams screamed their encouragement as the warriors on the platforms faced off. Gabriel had his eyes closed, a calm look of serenity on his face. He had obviously retreated into some place in his mind for a while. Kel had his eyes closed, but out of concentration. He was trying desperately to keep his arms wrapped around the smooth rock. But he was fully aware of his teammates, especially the warning that now came hurtling at him.

"There's a wave coming!" yelled Diane. "Stay low, it's gonna hit both of you!"

"Gabe!" yelled Hunter, at the same time. "The water's about to get choppy. Be ready for it!"

Five seconds later, the small wave rocked into the side of both platforms. Gabe teetered slightly, grimacing, but kept his balance. But his opponent was not so lucky. The wave jarred Kel just enough, so that he lost the grip on one side of the rock. It tumbled and crashed to the platform, just missing his left foot.

"Damnit!" he muttered, but it was all over.

"Alkyone!" Jeff announced. "Wins immunity!"

Gabe tossed the rock off and into the blue sea, thrusting his right arm in the air. His team erupted into cheers, Peter and Tanya swimming out to congratulate him. Alkyone was safe, and Jeff presented John with the immunity idol. He held it up in the air, proudly.

"Sorry, guys," the host said, coming over to talk to the defeated Taygetes. "But it looks like you guys have a date with me tomorrow." He looked at them. Carl looked particularly frustrated, but they all looked a bit anxious. Debb had her head down.

Jeff knew this was going to be a very hard vote for them.




DAY 9



John Raymond was standing in waist-high water, scanning for fish.

"The key is to watch the sand," he said, as he pointed down towards a small patch of whitish sand. "The fish swim so low and so fast, you can't always catch them. But when the sand starts kicking up, you know that they're swimming by." John's job this morning was to see if catching fish was still a possibility. What had seemed so easy a few days ago was now significantly more difficult. Having your boat destroyed tended to do that.

"Steph and I were bringing in five, six, seven fish a day," he said, as his quick eyes scanned the sea for movement. "And we pretty much had it made. Everyone was eating great, people were happy, and we had no worries. But now, with no shelter and no boat, we've pretty much been forced to kick it up into survival mode." He smiled, the strange little sideways grin that was his trademark. "And to tell you the truth, I couldn't really be happier. Sure, I've had to adapt a little, but I can -do- this this. I can spear fish. I can scuba dive. I've -done- this before, and it's not gonna be a problem for me." He cocked a thumb back towards the camp. "Now Steph, on the other hand, is gonna have a bit more of a problem with it. She's not used to this kind of thing." Indeed, Stephanie was supposed to be out here today, helping him, but she didn't feel up to it.

"Don't feel like it," she had responded when John asked. She had just remained on the sand, relaxing, her eyes closed. But that was pretty much the Stephanie way. If she didn't want to do something, she just plain wasn't going to do it. There was no way to get her to budge against her will.

"Right now," John continued, brandishing his homemade spear, "I think the Alkyones are in pretty good control of the game. Sure, we lost a few challenges, but we're overall a much stronger team, and I think the Taygetes are starting to realize that. They know it as well as we do." He glanced over at the other island, where Diane and Carl were currently loading up their fishing boat. "So I'm not too worried about my position around here."

John stopped in mid sentence, as a small barracuda cruised by. He paused, raised his spear, and then plunged it into the water, aiming for the fish's head.




^^



At Taygete, the losing tribe was going through the preparations for their second Tribal Council, and things weren't looking very good. This one was was bound to be ugly.

"It has to be Carl," said Jessie, as she sat with Ramona, her partner in crime. The two women were sunning themselves on the beach, laid out on the warm Greek sand. "He's too bossy, and way too negative." Indeed, this was a common viewpoint among the younger members of the tribe. Carl Bilancione had one way in mind to get things done, his way. And if you didn't listen, he would get on your back about it. It had happened to Jessie, it had happened to Ramona, and it had -definitely- happened to Dirk. Dirk seemed to be Carl's favorite whipping boy, currently.

"Dirk will vote for him, definitely," said Ramona, thinking it over. "Dirk can't stand the guy."

"Who can?" asked Jessie, chuckling. The two of them shared a quick laugh, before Ramona noticed Kel walking along the beach towards them. Jessie groaned. Couldn't he ever leave them alone?

"Hey ladies," he greeted them, as he took off his shirt to sunbathe. He plopped down on the sand next to Jessie. Always next to Jessie. "So, what's the plan?"

Jessie was not the biggest Kel fan in the world. She didn't like his condescending manner, she didn't like the way he just walked over and started talking to her, and she most definitely didn't like the way he talked down to her. And she was getting to the point where she was about to tell the guy off. But, of course, Ramona had dissuaded her from it.

"Just string him along," Ramona would confer, "You yell at him now, he'll have a reason to vote you off. Don't give him that reason."

For all her past failures with the game, Ramona Gray had found her experience to be much different this time around. Always a free-spirit, up for anything, and a bit of a gossip, Ramona had found, much to her surprise, that she had a sneaky side to her. She had come into this game as an innocent, a naive wallflower, but had discovered within a day or two that she was good at this stuff. She -liked- the gossipy nature of the game.

In short, this was fun.

"I think it's going to be Carl," Ramona said, as Kel stared silently at the sea. It was always hard to tell if he was even listening or not. "Dirk is gonna vote for him, and I know he's been pissing us off as well. Frankly, I can't stand the guy."

Kel nodded, thinking. Carl was a good choice, politically. It was pretty clear that the guy had issues playing well with others. But Kel was a bit more practical than the females on the team, and liked to think more logically. And when it came right down to it, they needed Carl's strength. Carl was a workhorse, he almost held his own in the rock challenge against Hunter. If they had any hopes of winning this game, Kel felt that they would need all three of their males to do so.

"I'd rather vote Debb," he said. "I think we need Carl for a while."

"You want to deal with Carl for three more days?" Jessie asked, a bit angrily. She whipped her head towards him, just aching to snap at the guy. But he didn't seem to notice. Kel was bad at picking up nonverbal cues.

"Look," he added, "-I- don't like him any more than you guys do. But it seems to me that if we lose Carl, then it's up to me and Dirk to carry all the weight in the challenges. And I hate to tell you, but I'm just not that strong."

Ramona closed her eyes, thinking this over. Kel had a point, of course. The little runt had a point. But to get rid of Debb?

"I'd rather get rid of Diane," she said, finally, "over Debb."

"No," said Jessie, shaking her head, but Ramona tried to explain.

"Debb will do pretty much whatever you tell her," she said. "She's almost like... almost.." Ramona searched for the right word. "She's like a sponge."

"Like a child," Jessie suggested, and the word fit perfectly. Both Ramona and Kel nodded, instantaneously.

"She's like a child," Ramona finished. "That's exactly it. She wants so hard to please people, that she'll believe anything you say, or tell her to do. And I love the lady, but Diane won't do that. She's more liable to bite your head off than do what you tell her." She noticed that Kel and Jessie were silent. "Am I wrong?"

Jessie lowered her head, sadly. She shook it. Of course Ramona wasn't wrong.



^^


"Ramona is a sweet girl," Diane said. "I love her. But she's a little weasel."

The Nebraska postal worker was coming in from a fishing excursion, and was discussing the rest of the tribe with Carl and Debb. The three elders in the tribe knew that they were all in grave danger tonight, and had vowed to share information.

"I don't trust Ramona as far as I could throw her," added Carl. "And I'll be able to throw her pretty far if she doesn't start eating some food."

Debb smiled, as she quietly listened to the two more outspoken members of the team. Debb had always found herself in a strange place in the tribe. Too old to be one of the youngers, and too quiet to fit in with the elders, Debb had only recently found herself in the position she always seemed to end up in: outcast. It seemed like some things never really changed in this game.

"Who will Dirk vote for?" Debb asked, quietly, as Carl and Diane continued their Ramona bash-fest.

"He'll vote for me," Carl added. "Flat out. The guy's a doofus, he and I just don't get along."

"No," corrected Diane. "He'll vote for whoever Jessie votes for." She smiled, ever the astute observer. "Have you noticed she leads him around by his little... you know what."

"Kel too," pointed out Debb. "Kel's got a crush on her, I think."

Carl had not seen this dynamic, and he stopped, speechless. He stared at Diane, sudden reality hitting him between the eyes.

"What's the matter?" Diane teased him, "Don't you remember anything about high school romance, doc? It's a love triangle."

The two ladies laughed, Debb enjoying the shocked look on Carl's face. He was rarely speechless about anything, and the idea that Jessie ruled this tribe was not something he had considered. Jessie? Lazy, moody, Jessie Camacho? The whole tribe revolved around -her-??

"Awww, geez," he said. "It's like high school. We're fucked."



^^


As the day progressed, the Taygetes made their final preparations for the vote. What looked to be a simple open and shut vote against Carl was slowly becoming more and more complicated.

"I don't want to lose Debb," Ramona said, as she whispered with Kel. She had managed to pull him aside, minus the prying eyes of Jessie or Diane, and the two of them were discussing the fate of the naive prison guard. "I think we'll need her down the road."

"I think Debb's the best choice, though," said Kel, having thought this out well in advance. "She isn't that strong, she isn't fun to talk to, and she isn't a very strong player. She's a drag on morale, and frankly, she just doesn't do much."

"What about Dirk, then?" suggested Ramona, throwing out a new option. "We could very easily bring Debb in instead of him, and make it four-strong." She couldn't resist a small jab at Kel's situation with Jessie. "Give you a chance to eliminate the competition."

"No," said Kel, not even considering it. He was really too obtuse to even see the threat that Dirk posed to him at this point, he wasn't even aware a potential triangle was developing. In his mind, Jessie did what he said, and Dirk was just a hanger-on. "We need the males, I'm not gonna vote off one of the guys."

Ramona nodded. So if they wanted Kel's vote on this, it would have to be Debb. Or Diane.

Kel was engrossed in his discussion with Ramona, unaware that Jessie and Dirk were taking a walk together at the same time. Had he known that, he wouldn't have been pleased at all.

"Debb's alright," said Dirk, as he strolled next to the tall ex-cop. "I mean, she's kind of hard to talk to, but she's funny. She doesn't take herself as seriously as the rest of 'em."

Jessie walked next to him, her hair untied down to her shoulders, as always. When she was talking to Dirk, she tended to clean herself up a bit. It was not an accident.

"Kel says he won't vote for Carl," she said. "He said he won't get rid of one of the guys."

"So that leaves Diane," said Dirk, stopping. He looked around, to make sure no one was listening. "And I know all of y'all love her, so if you don't want to vote against her, that's cool. But frankly, the chick drives me nuts."

Both Ramona and Jessie had tried their hardest to pull Dirk into an alliance at various times. That had been their plan since day one.

"Because he's honest," Jessie said, "And I don't think he'll lie."

"Plus," added Ramona, with a smile, "I don't think he's all that bright."

But they had found, much to their frustration, that getting Dirk -into- an alliance was like pulling teeth. He just wasn't interested, despite all their best efforts. The best they could get out of him was that he -wouldn't- vote for either of them, but other than that, it was like trying to get a cat to take a bath. Alliances just weren't in Dirk Been's nature.

"So if you're asking for my vote," finished Dirk, "It'll be for Carl or Diane. And to keep the team strong, I'd rather keep Carl. But you're all free to do what you want, it don't matter to me."

Jessie continued to talk to him, just light, playful talk, as the two strolled along the beach. It was flirty, sure, and a bit innocent, because the deed had already been done. The new strategy had been to find out who Dirk was voting for, and maybe piggyback along with it. And she had the name now. Dirk's vote would be for one person, and one person alone:

Diane.



^^


The final supper before Tribal Council was a tense one. With the sun setting on the horizon, the Taygetes gathered around the fire, as Diane prepared one last meal for seven. It was grilled fish tonight, caught by Carl, and they each got a medium-sized piece of trout.

"It looks great," smiled Ramona, as Diane served out her portion.

"Glad you like it," said Diane, half-sarcastically. Ramona was a good friend in real life, but was probably Diane's least favorite of the players out here. Ramona was just sneaky, and Diane didn't respect that kind of game. She put on a happy smile, though, as the two ladies exchanged a grin.

"So, who's going tonight?" asked Carl, as he sat against the side of the house. -Leave it to the doc to come right out and ask-, Diane thought. -God love him for it.-

No one said a word, so Carl prodded on.

"Look, I know it's gonna be one of us three, so why don't you just tell us. Me, Debb or Diane. Come on, you can do it. It's easy, just one of you open your mouth and say something." He looked at Dirk, who kept his head down, chewing. He glanced at Jessie, who sat next to Dirk, not saying a word.

"How about you, Kel?" Carl asked. "Are you man enough to tell us? Or are you a big pussy like your buddies?"

Debb stifled a snicker, covering her mouth with her hand.

"Why don't we just save all this for the council," Kel suggested, not wanting any part of a Carl blowup. But when Carl was determined to stir up some trouble, you weren't going to stop him. He was like a kamikaze when he was angry.

"Look, you're in the Army. You're supposed to have some honor. So why don't you just do the right thing and tell us who's going. Otherwise, you're no better than your little boyfriend over there." Carl pointed to Dirk, using his dislike of the laid back farmboy to emphasize his point.

"Carl, that's too much," said Ramona, the only one who wanted to take him on. "C'mon, lay off the guy. Can't we just eat?"

"Look, I'm calm," Carl said, raising his hands in the air, defensively. "I'm just trying to make you guys think about what you're doing here. You really want to get rid of the workers here, and leave king and queen catnap to sit around on their asses all day?" He was referring, of course, to Dirk and Jessie.

"Come on, Carl," reassured Diane, walking over to rub his shoulders. "Lay off, it's just a bad situation." She looked around at her tribe, the miserable looking bunch of people that she had hand-picked. No one looked like they wanted to be here right now. Things had taken a definite downturn for the worse today.

"Can't we just enjoy our last meal together?" Diane asked. "Is that too much to ask?"



^^



The dark form of Merope Island sat silent, as the seven members of Taygete arrived to vote off their second member. One by one, they exited the boat, walked through the archway of torches, and took a seat. It was time to get started.

"Jessie," began Jeff, "How have things been going at camp? Everyone fitting in?"

Jessie nodded, her hair tied back with a blue buff.

"It's been okay," she said. "I think we have a really good bunch of people on the team."

"Who have you been closest to?" asked Jeff.

"Ramona," Jessie smiled. "She's been great. We're very close."

Jeff turned his attention to Ramona. The biochemist sat hunched over her knees, a large grin on her face. "Ramona, what about you? What's been your impression of your team? Do you think you guys are doing well?"

"I think we've surprised a lot of people," she answered. "I don't think any of us expected to win -any- of the challenges so far, and we've won two. So that's been pretty good."

"Dirk," Jeff asked the lanky young teacher. "Why is it that none of you expected to win anything? Was there something wrong with the team?"

Dirk let loose his large, toothy smile.

"Because we're weak, dog. We don't have the best athletes in the game, we don't have the youngest people, and we're not that great at anything physical."

"And whose fault was that?" Jeff asked, probing. "Do you think Diane chose a poor team?"

"Yeah," said Dirk, nodding. "I do."

"Jeff," said Carl, piping up. "Diane didn't do anything of the sort. This is just as good a team as any. We just need to work together, and work as a unit, because that's something very few people here know how to do."

Jeff smiled.

"So, Carl, let me get this straight. Last time around, you had problems with the younger people on the team. There was a wedge right down the middle of your team, something that -you- were partly responsible for." Jeff chuckled, amazed at how history was beginning to repeat itself. "And now you come out here and do the -exact same thing- again?"

"Hey," said Carl, smiling and shrugging, "Maybe it's just my destiny."

"Aren't you afraid of getting voted off?" Jeff asked, legitimately curious.

"If they vote me off, they vote me off. There ain't a hell of a lot I can do about it. But I think they'd be fools and -idiots- if they did, because I think they need me."

Debb nodded, silently. She had yet to speak tonight.


"Debb," said Jeff. "I see you nodding. You agree with Carl?"

"I think we need his strength," she said, trying to choose her words carefully. "But I do agree that things have kind of gotten out of hand around here. Maybe some sort of change is what we need, I don't know."

"Do you feel vulnerable?"

"Of course. I don't think I'll ever feel safe at one of these things."

"Diane," said Jeff, standing up. "Last question. How do you decide who to vote for tonight?"

"I vote for who most deserves to go," she said, slowly. But before Jeff could announce the start of voting, she quickly added "And it shouldn't be Carl."

Jeff said it was time to vote, so one by one, they stood up and walked to the podium. Dirk went first, then Kel. Carl was third, then Diane. Ramona, Jessie and Debb finished out the order.

Once Debb had come back, Jeff went to tally the votes. He returned after a few moments, holding the ballot box.

"Once I read the votes," he said, "The person voted out must leave the Tribal Council set immediately." He opened the box, pulled out the first ballot, and turned it around.

"Ramona," it read. That was Diane's vote. Diane had a small smirk on her face as she saw Ramona tense up in front of her.

"Ramona," read the second vote. Carl's vote.

Jeff pulled out the third vote.

"Diane," read Kel's handwriting. Sure enough, once people found out who Dirk was voting for, they had decided to piggyback off it.

"Diane," read Jessie's vote. Jessie sat with her head down, not looking up. She had wanted to get rid of Carl tonight, not Diane. Diane was her friend.

"Diane," read Dirk's vote, in big stick letters.

Jeff pulled out the sixth, and deciding vote.

"And the second person voted out of the Taygete tribe...," he turned it around, to reveal Debb's handwriting.


"Diane."


Diane sighed and nodded once, before standing up to get her torch. Debb wouldn't look at her, Debb only sat with her head down. Debb had been told that Diane was going tonight, told by both Kel and Ramona. And true to form, she had done exactly what they had asked her to do -- vote out her friend, Diane. Debb's lower lip began to quiver, as she fought back tears. Always sensitive, she finally realized that maybe she -wasn't- cut out for this type of game.

"Diane," said Jeff, as he held the torch snuffer. "The tribe has spoken." Diane watched as her flame was extinguished. She turned and looked once more at her team, the team she had created. Few of them could meet her gaze. Only Jessie gave a small wave in return.

"Good luck, guys," she said, before walking towards the large metal gate. It parted, and she took the long, lonely walk to the river's edge. She boarded the ferry, the ferryman rowed her away, and she was soon no more.

"Well," said Jeff, as he turned to face them. "Just nine days in, and you guys have already voted out your captain." He paused. "Tomorrow you'll need to select a new team captain, and I guess we'll find out if this was the right move. I'll see you guys then."

The six remaining members stood up and filed back onto their boat. Carl sat in front, by himself, as the rest of them filtered into the back. There was sadness in the air, but already thoughts were turning to the discussion of a new captain.

Tomorrow, they would find out who their new leader would be.

- Read Diane's Final Words!

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