All-Star Survivor: Greece Episode #6 Awesome Savior

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

DAY 16


The sun broke over the Greek horizon late today, as a thick cloud cover had approached from the north. Laying low over the sky, the grayish clouds kept the morning dark and a bit ominous. And the sky looked sinister, very sinister. But it was more than just the clouds, it was more than just their dark presence so high above. It was also the scent. You could smell it in the air, the electricity, the condensation, all of it.

This was the big rainstorm. It had been approaching them slowly for a few days, and now it was just about here. Finally.

"What time are you guys leaving?" asked Gabe, as he tossed the football. It wasn't a football, of course. It was just a large orange, the same substitute that they had used just about every day out here. Their morning game had become a daily ritual by now.

"Around lunchtime," said Peter, as he brought in the pass with two hands. "We'll eat lunch on Maia, after the hunt."

Gabe nodded, as he waited for the return pass. The two men were currently standing in the surf just off of Alkyone beach, their usual playing field. They stood waist-deep, the warm blue water covering their lower bodies like a pair of pants. Usually they had enough people for a larger game than this, but today it was just the two of them, the old friends, tossing the football back and forth.

"You guys better bring us back a sheep," smiled Gabe, as he caught the orange. "Because I think people are gonna go crazy if we have to eat fruit for three more days." He grinned. "And I think Steph's gonna snap first."

Peter laughed, jokingly.

"What else is new?"

The starvation issue was definitely starting to be a problem around the Alkyone camp. Well, it had -been- a problem for a while now, it was just that the effects were really starting to show. John Raymond, already skinny, was looking quite gaunt and emaciated. Stephanie was being a bit pissy lately, even pissier than usual, although she blamed it on a lack of protein. And poor Tanya had just been lethargic. She just hadn't been herself lately. And as a tribe, they had -all- felt their energy begin to drain away. Without food, things were getting difficult, and the constant search for food was a thought that did not go away easily.

"We could all just really use some food right now," Gabriel would say that morning, in a confessional. "And I don't even eat meat anymore, not even fish. But you just get to a point where your body tells you what it wants, and if it doesn't get it, it rebels." Indeed, Gabe was taking the fruit diet better than most of them, as he had conditioned his body to live on this kind of stuff. A total vegetarian, he tried to live his life as organically as possible. But still, he told himself he would at least -try- to eat some of the meat, for show purposes. Everyone could be a team player when they wanted to be. Even a hippie.

"I'll bring you one back personally!" guaranteed Peter, as he dropped the latest pass. It dropped into the water, where he fished around to retrieve it. "I may not eat it, but I'll bring it." Peter preferred fish over meat, but he would probably chow down on some lamb if he had to. After all, he was hungry. They all were. But it didn't make a difference as to why he was going out on the hunt. No, Peter had been determined to do -something- to help out the team, and food was what they needed right now. So Peter would go, simple as that.

"We're not comin' back," he promised, "Until we get you guys some food."

"Alright, man," said Gabe, smiling. "You guys take care of yourselves though. Stay safe."

Gabriel Cade and Peter Harkey had probably been the closest pair in the game thus far. Which made sense, since they were probably the closest friends in real life. Out of the players left, anyway.

"Gabriel loves philosophy," Peter had admitted, in an earlier confessional. "He likes to talk, he likes to get to know people, and he likes living as paht of a group. But this group philosophy really means that he has a lot of trouble with the aspects of this game." He was playing with a clamshell as he spoke, having found it on the beach that morning. He turned it around, examing it, as he continued. "And I know Gabe has said that he could play strategically this time, but in truth, I'm not really sure he can. As much as I love the guy, I think he's fooling himself. I'm sure he'll have the -exact- same problems as before. You -don't- just go around changing your basic essence, the paht of you that makes you you. You can't do it, no matter how hahd you try."

This was an issue that Peter had thought about a lot during his time out here. A very spiritual man, Peter Harkey approached the game a little differently than most people. He liked to view it as an entity, made up of parts. It was not just a game of chess, it was an experience.

And something that was not always able to be controlled.

"I got burned so badly last time," he continued, "That I made a pact to myself this time. I wouldn't even -try- to play the game at the staht. If I'm going to be voted out, it's not my place to change it, it's just going to happen for a reason. So I -didn't- try to plan this out. I just came here and observed." He smiled. "I looked, to see who was doing what. And within a day or two, John came to me with an alliance." He paused, laughing to himself. "Which I'm not going to -ahgue- with. I mean, I love a good game. But it came to -me- this time, which made all the difference. You just get a better sense of symbiosis that way, you know, like you're paht of the big picture."

Peter stopped, realizing immediately that he had lost the cameraman's interest. The young man behind the camera had a slack face, emotionless, a sure sign that Peter had lost him. It tended to happen. Everytime Peter got to the philiosophy talk, or the yoga theory, he could tell that he was only speaking to himself. People just didn't want to listen to that kind of stuff. And this, it turned out, had been the greatest lesson he had learned from the Marquesas.

Learn to read your audience. And know when to shut up.

"Sorry," he smiled, waving his hand at the camera, dismissively. "Got carried away. Fohget it."

Peter was learning. And he was trying. He was -really- trying.



^^


At Taygete beach, the mood was a little different.

"We voted out our captain last night," admitted Debb. "So we have to pick a new one today." She sighed. "Again."

With only four members remaining, the Taygetes had pretty much reached their low point in the game. No one really seemed to be having a good time anymore. And it hadn't had so much to do with losing Kel, since he hadn't been the best of friends with any of them, really. Kel had pretty much been a non-factor in their daily social fabric. No, losing him hadn't been -too- terrible, although Ramona still disgreed with the logic behind it.

"It was stupid," she had again insisted to Jessie, after the vote last night. "We're screwed now!"

"Maybe it was," Jessie admitted, "But we -needed- to do it. He was too hard to deal with. No one liked him!"

"But Debb is no better to talk to!" Ramona whispered, after making sure the prison guard wasn't listening. "Why not lose her instead?"

Jessie had only shrugged, not wanting to debate.

"I'm sorry, Mona," she had finally replied, "But what's done is done. No use looking back. Let's just win from here on out, okay?"

And today the team had another daunting task facing them. They needed to elect their new captain. Jeff had been insistent, and said it would be important, so now it was time. Debb had cooked up a breakfast of fish, and the four of them had gathered around the campfire, hunkering down against the light morning drizzle.

"I nominate Debb," said Jessie, as she sat bundled in a dark gray fleece jacket. She had her knees drawn up to her chest, trying to stay warm. The girl from Florida was definitely -not- used to the cold rain out here. "Debb, you're a good leader in the challenges. You do a good job."

Debb smiled, as she sat down next to the frying pan. She looked down, almost bashfully. But now it was her turn to nominate somebody.

"I pick Dirk," she said, as she cast a glance over at the lanky young man. "Dirk, you're the cheerleader out here and you know it. You've always been a leader."

"Awww," said Dirk, smiling. He dug his left foot into the sand, like a little kid. "That aint nothin'. I just like to win."

"Who do you pick?" Jessie asked him. And Dirk took the question seriously, looking around at his teammates, one by one. Debb sat in the sand, quietly looking up at him. Jessie sat on a piece of driftwood, staring up, hopefully. And Ramona was laying on her back, staring up at the sky, appearing to be lost in thought.

"I pick Mona," he said, causing the chemist to look over at him, surprised. "Mona's the smartest one we got."

"Wow," said Ramona, surprised. She hadn't expected to be named by anybody today. She thought she was too sullen, too quiet. She was stunned that someone would pick her as the leader.

"Thanks," she smiled, "But I'm not a leader. You guys are more leaders than I am. Every time I've been at the head of a challenge, we've lost."

"Well then," asked Debb, "Who do you pick? We got three nominations. You might as well be the tiebreaker." She cast a glance at Jessie. "Unless you nominate Jessie, in which case we got a four-way tie."

Ramona chuckled, a private joke to herself. She liked Jessie, but the girl was simply -not- a leader. Not out here, anyway. That nomination simply wasn't going to happen.

"I pick..." she started, thinking about it for a second. She looked around at the options.

Dirk or Debb.

Which one would it be?

And in the end, it wasn't a hard choice at all. She knew that Debb was probably the best choice, leadership wise, but also knew that Debb was going to be the next one voted off. Ramona wasn't about to get Debb's hopes up for nothing, that was just too cruel. So she went with the farmboy instead.

"Dirk," she said, watching the surprised look on the young man's face. "You got it, my man. You're my pick."

"Wow," he said, stunned. And he was literally speechless, for a change. Dirk knew he had some leadership qualities, sure he did. And he knew that he had a way of bring his team together for the challenges. That was just his style. But he didn't think that he would -ever- be picked to lead. That was just too much.

"I'm stunned, guys," he said, trying to say something profound. Something leaderlike. But he could only come up with:

"Sweet!"

"Good luck, buddy," said Debb, reaching over to pat him on the leg. "You're the man now." She paused, smiling. "So, how do we win this?"

"Uh..." he started, looking around. His mind did a quick inventory of their camp situation. The clothes that had been scattered around camp the past few days were mostly cleaned up now, thanks to Debb's hard work. The cooking pots and pans had been cleaned, and their food supply would be plentiful for a while. Taygete really wasn't lacking for -anything- at the moment.

Except for team unity, of course. Which probably had been their problem all along.

"Let's go do something together," he suggested. "As a team. Just take the day off, and relax."

Debb bristled at this immediately, her inner radar picking up danger. She had always judged herself by her work ethic. Slacking off, and not working, was always difficult for her. It went completely against her nature. And that was probably why she didn't always fit in. But, sucking up her pride, she nodded. Sure, she was in.

"Let's go for a walk," Jessie suggested, "A nature walk."

"That's a good idea," Dirk said. Then he smiled. "But wait 'til after lunch." He reached into his backpack, and retrieved his well-read copy of the Bible. "I need some quiet time before then, gotta ask for some wisdom on how we can get back in this thing."

"Okay," said Ramona, smiling at him. Like Dirk, she was also a very religious person. She understood how important this was to the guy. He would likely be out there all morning, asking questions to God, or looking for advice. It was just something you had to get used to when he was on your team. Dirk tended to be off praying a lot.

So with that, the new Taygete leader bid them farewell, as he walked off along the beach. He intended on having a -long- talk with God today, alone, and with no distractions. Surely He would have some wisdom for the Taygetes. After all, Dirk was now the captain. They were depending on him to win, and had entrusted him with their fate.

It was all going to be riding on his shoulders from here on out.

And with that kind of pressure, it was always best to get a little help from above.




^^



Just before lunch, the Alkyones were ready for their big hunt. They were going back to try for another sheep, with four people this time instead of three. The aptly-named Hunter would be leading the expedition, of course. Peter was coming along, his second trip, and he was determined to improve on his performance this time around. And the two newcomers, John and Stephanie, were eager to tag along as well. After all, this would be something different for a change. It would certainly beat the day-to-day drudgery of camp life, that was for sure.

"We'll have dinner ready for y'all," said Tanya, as she gave Peter a hug, "When you get back. And be safe." She hugged Hunter too, wishing him luck. "You guys be sure to bring us back somethin', okay?"

"If we don't catch a sheep," promised Hunter, "We won't -come- back. How's that?"

But with the light rain threatening to pick up, the naval pilot suggested it was time for them to get going.

"If we get caught out there during a storm," he said, noticing the familiar cloud patterns, "It's gonna be a tough swim." He pointed up to a small rift, showing them the pilot's way of telling. "You can see right there, a little angry tear in the cloud. It's getting ready to dump on us. We don't have another hour. We have to get going now."

"Well, let's go then," said Stephanie, as she strapped a homemade spear onto her back. She tied it tight with some black twine. "Let's go get some mutton."

"Alright, guys," called Hunter, as he walked out into the surf. They had a small wooden raft prepared, nothing fancy, but enough to at least carry some supplies. "We got a heck of a swim ahead of us. John, Steph, if you guys get tired, just hang onto the raft and rest your arms."

"Don't worry about me," grinned Steph, "I can hang with you guys."

"Good," said the big man, as he smiled at her. "You're gonna be our star today, I can feel it." He nodded to John, who had tied his white buff around his forehead. "You ready, man?"

"Let's do it," said the pastor, nodding. He took out a small hunting knife, and placed it on the raft. An avid hunter, John had been ecstatic about this opportunity. It would be good to get away from the strategy for a few hours, and get back to the fun stuff.

"Okay," announced Hunter, "We're off!" He waded out into the water, closely followed by John and Stephanie. Peter lagged behind only slightly. But they were soon all in the water, swimming, dragging the raft along with them. Tanya stayed behind, waving to them from the shore.

"Good luck!" she called, waving. She hoped they would be eating well tonight.



^^



As the day passed, and the hunters were off doing their thing, the three remaining Alkyones had to find a way to kill some time. They sat back at camp, near the beach, in the light rain. The stereo was playing, as usual, but it was still pretty quiet out here. And they found out very quickly that it was -boring- to only have two people to talk to.

"So," asked Ryan, as he chopped at a tree, "I'm going next, still, aren't I?"

He had stayed behind, as always. And it wasn't so much that he didn't want to go, although he really -didn't-. Hunting just wasn't his thing. No, Ryan Aiken simply hadn't been asked. As with so many decisions that were made on Alkyone, he had been pretty much left out of the loop.

Gabriel looked over at Ryan, glancing at the immature young man with the fire in his eyes. Gabe hadn't known Ryan at all when they came out here. They had never met, and he had been forced to pick Ryan pretty much by default. Diane hadn't wanted him on her team either. But the more time Gabe spent with Ryan, the more he realized how dangerous the guy was. Ryan simply had that look of desperation in his eyes, at all times. You could just read it in his eyes, Ryan knew he was in trouble. He knew it, and he appeared to be taking it lying down. So far, in Gabe's eyes, Ryan hadn't tried to do a single thing to try and prevent it.

And that, more than anything, made Gabriel Cade nervous.

"'Fraid so, man," he said, cautiously. "I think you've been marked since Sonja left."

"But why?" Ryan asked, taking a break from his chopping. He stopped to wring some of the rain out of his buff. He wasn't really trying to get firewood today, he was mainly chopping out of boredom, and to get some energy and aggression out. Ryan was like a little kid in many ways. He had a -lot- of energy, and really couldn't sit still very well.

"What did I ever to do anybody?" he asked, hands on hips.

"I just don't think anyone here trusts you very much," said Gabe, "And I'm being totally honest. That's just your reputation." He shrugged. "True or not, that's what you're working against." After saying this, Gabe glanced over his shoulder, trying to see where Tanya was. He wanted to make sure she heard this conversation. Gabe had a pretty good idea that something big was coming in a few seconds. Ryan didn't talk strategy without a good reason.

"But I haven't done -jack- to anybody!" Ryan protested. He seemed to be genuinely hurt. "I haven't lost any challenges for us, I haven't picked fights. I... I haven't even made any enemies!"

"Look," said Gabe, "I don't know you very well, but I agree that you haven't done anything wrong. I think you've been fighting an uphill battle all along." Gabe looked up into the rain, letting the soft drops hit him in his face, pausing for a moment to enjoy the sensation. "So if it makes a difference, yeah I think you've been put into a situation where you're kind of stuck. And it's really not fair."

"Well, then help me get UNstuck," said Ryan, as he wiped the side of his mouth. "How do I get out of it? What can I do?"

And there it was. Gabe had known it was coming. The big pitch. Ryan wanted Gabe's help.

"What I would do," suggested Gabe, "If I were you, is to point out that you aren't much of a threat here. Look at it this way," he started counting off on his fingers. "We got three days until the merge, and at the merge, you aren't gonna be one of the first targets. They're gonna take me or Hunter off first." He smiled. "Well, assuming they -can-. They only have four people, so I doubt they can do much about it."

"There's people here who want you off already, dude," said Ryan, casually, "You don't have to wait for Taygete." Weighing the odds, he decided to start dropping names. "Tanya wants you gone, so does Steph. They both think no one can stop you."

Gabe smiled. He did his best not to laugh, but wasn't falling for Ryan's little ploy. Gabe wasn't -that- stupid.

"That may be the case," he said, "But the next vote is all you really have to care about. You get yourself past the next vote, and you make the merge. And then you got a shot." Gabe knew it wasn't the best advice in the world, but he was being honest, at least. No need to lie if you didn't have to.

"Well then, what if I try to take -you- out?" asked Ryan, grinning.

"Bring it on," laughed Gabriel.

Gabe and Ryan found themselves sharing a laugh, an odd turn of events, but not entirely unexpected. Gabriel prided himself on getting along with just about anybody. And he decided on the spot that Ryan wasn't so bad. Heck, they were pretty much the same age, although light years apart in the maturity department. Gabe would give the guy a second chance, and maybe he could redeem himself.

The two young men got to talking, and Tanya soon came back from a fruit run. The three of them sat in the drizzle, eating figs, and talking. The subject of the next vote was forgotten, and they soon came to discuss tomorrow's challenge. Tanya figured it would be mental, maybe something skewed towards the other team. She knew the way it worked. Maybe the producers would try to even it up a little.

"So you're saying they're smarter than us?" Ryan teased.

"No," she laughed. "Just that they can't possibly hope to beat us physically." Indeed, this was a sentiment that was shared by most everyone on the team. They were wise and mature enough not to get cocky, but it was just a fact of life. Alkyone could run circles around their opponents, physically. A physical challenge wasn't even likely to be close.

"Maybe we'll..." started Gabe, but he was interrupted by a shout.

"What was that?" he turned, looking out towards the water. He squinted, and couldn't see much through the rain, but Tanya's overjoyed squeal told him all that he needed to know.

"A sheep!" she cried. "They caught something! They got one!!!"

Ryan stood up, calling out, as the swimmers slowly came into view. Through the light splashing of the rain onto the sea, they could see the four brave hunters, grins on their faces, as they brought the raft back onto shore. And on the center of the raft was a large sheep, its wool turning grayish in the rain.

It was dead.

And it looked delicious.

"We got dinner!" Hunter called, as they neared the beach. "Lamb chops for everybody tonight!"





DAY 17





Dirk Been was desperately asking for some guidance from above.

The young man from Wisconsin sat on a small rock outcrop, his head resting on his right hand, his blue Taygete buff tied around his head. His eyes were closed, as always, as he spoke to God, Bible in hand, oblivious to the world around him. If you were to ask him, he couldn't tell you what the weather was like right now. He couldn't tell you if the ocean was smooth or choppy. And he couldn't tell you what time it was.

No, he was in his own little world at the moment.

"I'm just asking you for some wisdom," he said out loud, but not so much to himself. "Because I'm in over my head here. I've got this huge responsibility on my shoulders, and I don't know if I'm ready. And I don't want to let these people down."

Dirk sat and listened, speaking when the mood struck him, as he found a place deep within himself to retreat into for a while. But it was working. He was getting the answers he needed, as he always did. God never let him down. And soon, the prayer was over. With his usual signoff, Dirk gave his thanks.

"O Lord Most High, Awesome Savior, Wonderful Counselor, God of all Creation, thank you again for the awesome chance I've been given. In your most holy name, Amen."

Satisfied, Dirk stood up, taking a deep breath. He exhaled, finally opened his eyes, and looked around. It had been a long prayer, longer than usual. Dirk had been on this rock for two and a half hours.

"It's just something I have to do," he said, as he started walking back to camp. He had been stressed and overwhelmed this morning, feeling crushed by the weight of his newfound responsiblilty. He was the leader now. He was -the man-. It all started and ended with him, and he knew that wasn't something that one man could handle on his own.

"I needed some answers," he explained, "And that's why God has put us here, to learn from Him. So when I just need a little extra guidance, I come out here." He shrugged, slightly, when asked if it had been a problem back at camp. "Yeah, I know the others are a little put off by it. People always are, but you just gotta look past that. My relationship with God is more important to me than this," he pointed off to the trees, "Or them," he pointed at the Alkyone beach, "Or anybody," he waved his hand vaguely towards his own camp. "It's not something that's negotiable with me."

Dirk had always found himself a bit of an oddball on this team. But that was really nothing new, that tended to happen in a group setting. Simply put, Dirk was not the norm, and he knew it. But it really wasn't something that he would lose any sleep over.

"Mona's fairly spiritual too," he added, as he spotted his teammates, off in the distance. "She and I have had some good talks about faith, and God. Debb too." Dirk smiled, thinking of the reclusive prison guard. "Debb won't say much to you unless she trusts you, but she's been a hard worker, and we like having her around most'a the time. She's a thinker, but she's pretty private, so it's tough getting a read on her." Dirk had intended to leave Jessie out of the discussion, but the producer standing behind the camera prodded him to say something, to which Dirk blushed, slightly. Despite his outgoing personality, there were some things he kept to himself. And he didn't like to talk much about his relationship with the model any more than he had to.

"Jess is alright," he smiled, almost bashful. "She's fun to hang out with."




^^





"Tree mail's here," said Stephanie.

She was walking back to camp with Peter, the two of them having gone off to check on the mailbox. They had talked strategy, too, of course. By day 17, everyone had started to play strategically. But for the most part, all the Alkyone strategies were in place. It was only a matter of time before any action would have to be taken.

"Is it challenge time?" Hunter asked, as he sat near the fire. He was currently eating his lunch of grilled lamb, which had been skillfully prepared by John this morning. As expected, the lamb had been a -big- hit, both last night and today. The team had torn it apart like wolves, with even Gabriel taking a piece. And today, everyone was feeling much better. No one was starving anymore.

"We're digging," Stephanie said, as she held up the small hand trowel. The tree mail was written across it, something about digging and cleaning. No big clues, though. It would be up to them to decipher its meaning.

"Digging what?" Hunter asked. He read the clue himself, and was unable to figure it out. "How long do we have?"

"Two hours," Peter said. "We're going to a new island today. Outside the chain."

"Sweet," said Hunter, as he unconsciously looked out towards the sea. There were no other islands visible, only the rest of the Pleaides. So it looked like there was going to be a bit of travel involved on this one.

Hunter had been a good leader for his tribe thus far. He had been very steady, capable, and most of all, not condescending. He treated everyone with respect, and he expected the same from his tribemates in return. But it had been clear from day one that he was the alpha male of the tribe. He was the silverback, and there were no two ways about it. When Hunter Ellis was on your team, he was the leader.

Period.

But Hunter's greatest weakness, one that he had been unaware of, was that he had been left out of the loop on a lot of the major strategic decisions thus far. He had been excluded from John's alliance, on purpose, for the specific reason that he was uncontrollable. Hunter was too strong and too competitive to be a trusted ally. But Hunter was no strategic dummy. He was no rookie. He had been talking strategy since day one. He had been particularly close to Gabriel, as the two best athletes in the game had discussed ways to remain together for as long as possible. And Peter loved to talk strategy too, the man seemed to be -constantly- picking Hunter's brain about the going-ons in camp. And then there was Tanya. Tanya, of course, was like Hunter's little sister. He trusted her beyond a shadow of a doubt. So Hunter had made friends, and formed some genuine bonds, and thought he had been safe all along. But that had not been the case at all. To those in the know, Hunter Ellis had been marked for dismissal pretty much since the beginning of the game.

Until yesterday, that is.

"I just never liked him," Stephanie said, in a confessional. "From day one. He's always smiling, always in charge, and just too damned forceful for my tastes." She grinned slightly, her sly sense of humor hovering just below the surface. "Hunter's the type of guy who'll tell you to do somethin', without realizing that he's bein' bossy. He just knows that -he's- the boss, and -he's- in charge, and that's somethin' that's always bugged me." She paused, and smiled. "So I tried to stay away from him, just cause I knew he'd piss me off."

Indeed, Stephanie and Hunter's relationship had been chilly, at best. They had rarely spoken out here, and mainly she would just bark out a "Yes sir" at his suggestions. That had been the extent of most of their conversations. And Hunter had attributed this to the fact that she was just plain unfriendly. Oh, that's just Steph, you know her. And because of this, Hunter hadn't felt threatened by her in the slightest. And it couldn't just be him, because Steph seemed to be like that with -everybody-, so it was really no big deal to him.

"Some people are just like that," he had rationalized. "Maybe she's just an unhappy person."

But the sheep hunt yesterday had really started to change things. To begin with, the four member hunting party had -fun- together. They had a blast. The swim to Maia, the hunt itself, the chase, and the moment where John actually made the kill, all of that had been something to remember. They had celebrated on Maia afterwards, overjoyed, the four of them hugging and laughing as a group. Peter, Hunter, Stephanie and John.

The dream team.

The heroes of the hunt.

"It was a great moment," Peter had explained, upon coming back. His face still darkened with the ash he had used as warpaint, he had been grinning from ear to ear, his white teeth standing out glaringly against his dark face. "Steph and I trapped the sheep in some rocks, and we sent John in to... uh... end it." He snickered slightly, as he had been unable to do the actual kill himself. Peter just couldn't do it. But John had been -more- than happy to help, however. He had gone in to do the dirty work and, with one quick slash of the knife, it was over.

"And then," finished Peter, "We had dinnah."

So with fresh meat in their bellies, and a newfound sense of camraderie with their muscular leader, the Alkyone tribe had a great evening last night. They had laughed, they had bonded, and they had smiled. And most importantly, they had gone to sleep as friends. Well, all of them except Ryan, anyway.

But today, all that was forgotten. Now, it was time for the challenge.

"Who's our best digger?" asked Hunter, as he looked around at his team. He scanned them all, looking for the telltale signs of manual labor. He looked at upper body strength. He looked at leg strength. And he tried to read their work ethic. And of course, he could eliminate Ryan right away, for obvious reasons. Ryan wasn't an outdoorsy type. And Tanya seemed out of place as well. She wouldn't be the digger today.

"Gabe," he called out, "My man, can you dig?"

"What am I digging?" Gabe yelled back, from behind the shelter. He was working at shoring up the roof at the moment.

"Probably a hole." Hunter said. He looked at Stephanie and shrugged, laughing. What else would they dig?

"Yeah, I can do it," answered Gabe.

"How about you?" Hunter nodded to Steph. The firefighter with the long muscular arms smiled, happily. She was impressed that he would consider her for the job. That wasn't like Hunter at all. Pick a girl for the manual labor task? Steph had almost fainted away from shock.

"Let me at 'em," she said.

"Okay," said Hunter, as his team looked on, expectantly. He gathered them around. "If it's a team effort, we're gonna use Gabe, Steph, and..." he looked around at his troops. "...And John. John, you build houses, right?"

"Yeah, sometimes," John grinned, humbly.

"Okay, you guys," said Hunter. "This is gonna be a biggie today. We're not hungry anymore, we got some momentum going, and we're ready to take this thing."

"You got that right," said Gabe, walking over to join them, and then they were all together. All seven of them. And within the hour, the team was ready to go, packed up and psyched for the big challenge. They were strong, they were confident, and they were ready. The team in white had dominated nearly every aspect of this game thus far, and expected today to be no different. And it wasn't even cockiness, not really. True, that attitude would be far too easy to fall into under the circumstances, since they never seemed to lose. But this wasn't a cocky team. They were much too mature for that. No, it wasn't cockiness at all.

It was, simply, confidence.

It was evident in the way Gabriel walked into the challenges, in the nature of his stride. In was evident in the way that Hunter didn't even look at his opponents. You could see it in Tanya's eyes, and the way she secretly felt bad for the beating that the poor Taygetes seemed to take at every challenge. And then there was Ryan, and the way he seemed to toy with poor Dirk at every opportunity.

No, the Alkyones weren't cocky. They were just good.

They were just very, very good.



^^



"Welcome," said Jeff, as he faced the two teams, "To a challenge that I think will be a lot of fun." He smiled at them, innocently. "Today, we'll be working on your cleaning skills."

The two teams were on an island named Myhespes, which lay just south of the Pleaides chain. It had taken them about thirty minutes to get here, and both teams had traveled on the same boat this time, a large gulet passenger ship. But this island had been specifically chosen for today's challenge. It was being used for a reason.

It was large.

It was isolated.

And it was very, very muddy.

"First off," Jeff asked, "How are you guys doing? You holding up okay?" He turned to Dirk, who was standing in front of the Taygetes. "Dirk, you guys are down to four. You've lost both of your leaders so far, first Diane and then Kel. So who did you guys pick as your new captain?"

"They picked me," Dirk spoke up, with a slight smirk. Or at least it looked like a smirk. Dirk's angular face and nose often made his smiles look cockier than they were.

"And how's that going?"

Dirk put one arm around Ramona's shoulders, and another around Debb's. The two women looked awfully small next to him.

"A'ight. We're doin' a'ight, Jeff," he smiled. "It's goin' great."

"Good," smiled Jeff. He turned to Hunter, who stood in front of the Alkyones. "Hunter, how are you guys holding up?"

"Doin' great, Jeff," he smiled. "Ready to go, as always."

Jeff smiled, congratulated both sides for making it this far, and launched into the rules for the challenge. Today's game would be based on one of -the- most notable figures of Greek mythology. This guy was tough, he was powerful, and he happened to be the strongest mortal of his time.

His name was Heracles.

"Heracles was an illegitimate son of the god Zeus. And this, of course, -infuriated- Zeus's wife, Hera. And as you have seen," Jeff smiled, "If you anger the gods, you will lose. Heracles, driven to the point of insanity, killed his -own- children and was then forced to atone for his evil deeds, by completing twelve tasks." Jeff paused. "Twelve labors, assigned to him by the Oracle, each one more difficult than the last."

Jeff reached down, and picked up a shovel.

"Today, you're doing labor number five." He grinned. "The Augean stables."

Gabriel let loose one of his laughs. He glanced at the large wooden building behind Jeff. He knew what was coming.

"Heracles was assigned the impossible," continued Jeff, "He had to clean the largest and the messiest stables in all of Greece." He pointed behind him, "The stables of the cattle of Augeas. They were large, they were smelly, and they were...", he grinned. "Filthy. Heracles had to clear the stables in one day. Now, let's see if you guys can do the same."

Several players groaned as Jeff handed out the shovels. Since the teams were so lopsided, three of the Alkyones would have to sit out today. Hunter chose Tanya, Peter and Ryan to be excluded, and the three of them walked over to the grass and sat down.

"You guys each have a stable," exclaimed Jeff. He pointed out the two large wooden buildings, side by side. "And they are both full. Your job is to clean them, as best as you can."

"Jeff," said Ramona, she of the weak stomach. She was already feeling nauseous, "Don't tell me you guys used real..."

Jeff smiled at her.

"Nah, we wouldn't do that to you. It's mud. Thick, brown mud. You'd pass out if we used the real stuff." He grinned. "But it's smelly, it's hard to move, and it will be up to your waist. So it won't be pleasant in there."

Hunter looked dubious.

"It doesn't smell like mud, Jeff."

At that, Jeff just winked at him.

"Well, okay, maybe we used a -little- of the real stuff, mixed in. You know... for texture."

This didn't make Ramona feel any better.

"The winner of this challenge," finished Jeff, "Will be the first team to answer a question. This question will be written on the floor of your stable, in white chalk. Dig out your mud, read the question, and tell me the answer. The first team with the correct answer will win reward." He smiled, and then paused. "Simple enough?"

The teams went off towards their stables, ready to begin. Jeff had already explained that today's reward would be a feast. A large spread of Greek meats and cheeses would be waiting for the winners back at their island.

"I don't know if we'll be hungry," said Jessie, as she wrinkled her nose at the smelly concoction. It stood at least waist high, just as Jeff promised. This was simply -not- going to be Jessie Camacho's favorite challenge. She already dreaded the feel of that mess squishing around her body. Yuck.

"This is for reward," Jeff said, holding his hand in the air. Dirk stood at the front of Taygete, poised to go. Gabe remained in front for the Alkyones. They both looked at their stables, nervously.

"Survivors ready... GO!"

The Alkyones ran into their stable, crossing as best as they could through the wall of mud. In some places it was possible to run atop it, while other spots you just had to plunge right in.

"Ewwwwwww," laughed Gabe, jokingly, as he deposited himself right into the thick of it. But here he was, waist deep in the vile pile of crap, and there was only one thing to do. He dropped his shovel in, picked up a chunk of mud, and deposited it off to the side.

"Put it all in one of the corners," John called, as he searched around, trying to lead them. "Scoop it up, and dump it all over there," he pointed to the northwest corner of the stable. "If we all clean the same area, we can get the floor cleared faster."

So the four Alkyones all went to work on the mud, starting with the center of the pile. Hunter and Gabe were the main diggers, with Steph and John helping them deposit the mud elsewhere. And as expected, they were making a great team. This was a team full of laborers, and it showed.

Not quite as lucky, of course, were their opponents.

"Come on!" yelled Dirk, as he and Debb worked to scoop out great patches of the mud. Dirk was already covered with the stuff, from head to toe. He had slipped on the mud on their initial entry, and had taken a faceful of the stuff. And currently, he was barking out orders to the rest of the team.

"Mona," he screamed, "If you can't lift it out, just push it aside!" He demonstrated with his shovel. "You don't need to lift it, just slide it out of the stable!"

Ramona, digging daintily, was thrilled to hear this advice, and she walked over to the front of the stable, trying to push the mud out sideways. It was like using a broom. And it seemed to be working too. Soon she, with the help of Jessie, had uncovered the first letter.

"I see a W!" she called excitedly. Dirk flashed her a thumbs up as he took a break, his back already aching from the intensive labor. But he saw Debb chugging away, still scooping out mud, and so he kept going too. If she could do it, he could too. Dirk wasn't about to be shown up by a 45 year old woman.

"Taygete has their first letter!" Jeff announced, as Hunter looked over at the team in blue. How could Taygete be winning?

"We got a word!" John called, as the Alkyones had just about finished their first hole. Gabe scooped out the last bit of mud, handing it off to Stephanie with a grunt. But there was definitely a word down there, written on the floor in white chalk.

"Name!" he called out. "We're looking for a name!"

Alkyone cheered, as they started working, as a team, on a second hole. This time John and Stephanie took over, giving the big men a break, as they plunged down into the mud.

"Just like digging for clams, guys!" John announced, laughing, as the softening mud was beginning to give way. Within minutes, Alkyone had their second hole, all the way down to the floor.

The word "Of" was now visible.

"Name of," repeated Hunter. "Name of the stable?" He looked at Jeff, who simply shook his head. Nope, wrong question. They would have to do some more digging.

After fifteen minutes, Alkyone was clearly ahead of their weaker opponents. Dirk and Debb were exhausted, having failed to pace themselves. Ramona and Jessie were still scooping mud out, but didn't have the zeal or energy of their opponents. Taygete only had their first three letters exposed, and they seemed to be fading fast.

"Wha...," read Jessie. She had heard the shouts of the Alkyones from the other side, and she was able to put the two phrases together.

"What is the name of?" Jessie asked, out loud.

"That's good," called Debb, as she panted with the effort. Her shirt and clothes clung to her with perspiration. This was simply hard, backbreaking work, something they were not used to. They had been coddled at the Club Med that was Taygete Island up to this point. And they had grown soft. That much was clearly evident by now.

"Boat!" screamed Stephanie, as she uncovered another word for the Alkyones. "Name of the boat!" Jessie heard this and stopped, quickly realizing that they were busting their butts for nothing.

"Stop digging," she silently whispered to Ramona, who looked at her quizzically.

"They're telling us the question!" Jessie said, under her breath. And sure enough, Ramona realized she was right. They had been so busy digging that they hadn't been listening to the other team. And Alkyone had been helping them out, inadvertantly. The Alkyones had been so excited to find words, so involved in their task, that they hadn't been secretive in the slightest. Their machismo and confidence were working against them, for a change.

They had no idea the Taygetes were eavesdropping on every word they were shouting.

"Dirk!" hissed Ramona, "Stop digging!"

The tall man stopped working, to look at her. Then he caught on. He nudged Debb with his elbow, and the four Taygetes stopped, silently, all listening. Ramona stepped closer to the wall separating the two stables, listing for clues. It was clear that they couldn't outdig Alkyone, of course. But they could spy. And this would likely be their only chance today.

"The boat we came here on?" asked Gabe, looking at Jeff. "The one today?" Jeff said nothing, only smiling.

"I didn't see a name on it," said Hunter.

"Was it our fishing boat?" asked Steph. "The one they burned down?"

"Just keep digging," Jeff smiled. "You'll find it."

By now, the host had noticed that Taygete had stopped working. He walked around to their side, raising an eyebrow. He saw Ramona pressed against the wooden wall, listening to the Alkyones. Debb and Dirk sat atop the mud, resting, and Jessie was eavesdropping as well.

"Guys?" he asked, but he was shushed by Ramona. She was paying attention, trying to listen.

"You think you have the same question under your mud?" he asked, chuckling. Ramona's heart suddenly sunk like a stone.

"Oh, don't tell me that," she complained, but Jeff simply shrugged, grinning. But it was too late now. They just had to cross their fingers and hope for a little good luck.

"Greece!" shouted Hunter, spotting another word under the Alkyone mud. The question was now half done, and suddenly things happened very quickly.

"What was the name of that boat we came here on?" asked John, as realization suddenly struck him. "That big one? On day one."

"It started with a C," said Gabe, thinking. He closed his eyes, concentrating. He was trying to visualize it in his head, and almost had it. He just had to concentrate... a little more.

"Calship," guessed Stephanie, under her breath. She looked at Jeff. "Calfish?"

The host shook his head, and walked over to the Alkyone side. They were very close. They almost had it.

"Nope."

"Chalfish!" shouted Ramona, from the Taygete side. She thought she remembered the name. "Chalfish!"

"No!" called Jeff, loudly for both teams to hear. But Ramona had just given it away. Alkyone knew that Taygete was listening. Hunter cursed his team's stupidity, for being so loud, but now it was just a memory test. It was a matter of who could come up with the name first.

"Calcish!" called Gabe, finally. He opened his eyes. He had seen it in his mind. That was the name. But Jeff simply shook his head. It had been the closest guess so far, but was not quite right.

As the guesses flew at him, Jeff's eyes darted between the two sides of the wall, just waiting for the right word to pop out. And then he heard it, a strong male voice, carrying easily over the rest.

"CHALCIS!"

It was Dirk.

"Taygete!" announced Jeff, to the delighted shrieks of the team in blue, "Wins reward!" He heard an eruption of cheers from the stable to his left, and went over to view the spectacle. The three women had tackled their leader in excitement, knocking him over. Dirk looked, literally, like a pig in mud, and this was perfectly matched by the large grin on his face. He was shouting his thanks to the Lord at the moment. He was giving thanks for the fact that he had remembered the inscription on the boat they had come in on.

But they had won. Taygete had finally won again.

"Nice job, guys," said Jeff, trying to avoid the splattering mud. But Ramona walked over and gave him a big hug, ruining any chance he had of remaining clean.

"We love you, Jeff!" she laughed, as the normally unflappable host tried, vainly, to squirm out of her grasp.

The Alkyones looked on in disbelief as Jeff pronounced their opponents the winners. Stephanie was stunned, not believing her eyes. How did that happen? Taygete beat them, in a -digging- challenge??

"Come on," said Hunter, disgusted. Covered in mud, he walked out of the stable, frustrated. "You shouldn't win that way," he muttered to John, who agreed. "That's not cool."

But the challenge was in the books, and the ragtag band of four had won. They had a feast waiting for them back at camp, and Dirk had come through when it counted. For the first time in a long while, they felt like they all still had a chance to win this game.




DAY 18



Ramona Gray sat on a rock, enjoying the leftovers from last night's feast.

"That challenge was -awesome!-" she shouted into the air, as her exuberance was matched by the wide grin on her face. Ramona was all smiles today. Dangling her bare feet in the warm blue sea, she was currently munching on a small piece of pita cheese sandwich, just one of many that had been left for them in the feast last night. And in a normal tribe, the spread would have been picked clean. It would be gone now, ravaged and devoured by a band of starving castaways.

But not in Taygete.

"We probably have half of it left over," she said, laughing, as she happily kicked her feet in the water. Sure enough, the notoriously picky eating of habits of Jessie and Ramona had shown up during the feast, with both women eating no more than a sandwich and a half. Dirk and Debb had watched, stunned, as Jessie had said she was full without even -touching- the vast majority of the foods they had been given.

"Dirk probably had ten sandwiches last night," Ramona reminisced, "And passed out about midway through his second wheel of cheese." She turned her head to look back at camp, smiling. "I haven't even seem him wake up today, I bet he's still asleep." She laughed. "I don't think that boy can move right now."

Last night's win over Alkyone had been improbable. It had come out of nowhere, completely defying the odds. And it had sent the powerhouse team in white back to their island, shaking their heads in frustration and anger. Simply put, it should not have happened.

But it did.

"We won last night," explained Ramona, "Because Jessie and I are two of the biggest gossips on the Aegean Sea." She laughed out loud, still giddy at how it had all gone down. "All we had to do was start eavesdropping on the other team, and it became clear that we didn't have to do any digging. They did all the work for us." And in fact, both Jessie and Ramona had been given full credit for this victory, despite Dirk's great recall. Dirk had been more than pleased that he had come through when it counted, but hadn't wanted any part of taking credit for it. Dirk wasn't one to take credit for things.

"God gave me the wisdom to remember," he had explained, upon getting back to camp, "And the girls provided the ears. I had nothing to do with it."

So now, the Taygetes were victorious. They were the kings and queens of the world. Dirk had proven himself as a capable leader. Jessie and Ramona had their moments in the sun, and Debb was as happy as a clam. Things really couldn't get much better than they were right now.

"This was the first time," Ramona said, slightly more serious, "That I really felt like I contributed to my team." A proud, capable woman, Ramona had been a little dismayed up to this point at her helplessness around camp. She had chalked it up to just being out of her element, but it had been growing more prevalent in her mind. Maybe she -didn't- belong out here.
"But I told myself after the challenge, I -do- belong here, and I -can- help us. And it was just nice to be part of a win for a change." She sighed, happily munching on her sandwich. Pita bread and cheese, two of the few things she would gladly eat out here. Yummy.

The day was looking good. Taygete was happy, no one was fighting, and Ramona was enjoying herself again. But she just hoped that the happiness around camp wouldn't be short lived. Because it was nice. It was really, really nice.

For once.




^^




Ryan Aiken stood watching, hands on his hips, as his fate was being determined, right before his eyes.

"Watch them," he explained to a producer, as he nodded slowly at Hunter and Gabe. "They're talking about if they should throw the challenge, and get rid of me tonight." Ryan's dark eyes glowed with anger, as they always did, when he felt he was in danger. "They've been discussing it for a few days now." He smirked, more than a little angrily. "Steph told me."

Sure enough, Stephanie Dill had taken a small bit of pity on her cocky young teammate in recent days. From day one, Ryan Aiken had been marked for dismissal by the older members of his team. He was too young, too uncontrollable, too immature and most of all, too cutthroat.

"They just don't like you," Stephanie had explained. "And aint nothin' you can do to change it."

The movement had mainly been spearheaded by Hunter, who had sensed problems with Ryan back on day one. Ryan's persona radiated danger to him, much like a cancer. To Hunter, Ryan was just a sore thumb, sticking out on their happy little tribe of worker bees. And to be even -more- specific, Ryan reminded him a little too much of Rob Mariano, which was not good. And as Hunter was in the majority alliance, or seemed to be, anyway, that meant that Ryan was pretty much done. When Hunter wanted you gone, you were in grave danger.

Ryan's hours in the game had simply been numbered, from almost the moment he had stepped off the boat.

"The only reason I'm here still," Ryan explained, as he pretended to be gathering fruit. "Is because Sonja was so weak. If Sonja could actually run a mile, and wasn't so freaking old, I'd have been toast. So at least I have that to thank her for." He smiled, his most charming, modest smile. But he was scared. He knew that he was in great danger now, and he just didn't want to go. If he had learned one thing from his experience in the Amazon, and only one, it was that being voted out early -sucked-.

He just wanted to play some more.

"Tell them," he had pleaded with first Stephanie, and then Tanya, "That I'll do anything they want. Tell them that after the merge, I'll stick with them to the end. I don't care, dude, just say I'll be their little minion." Ryan had been angry, he had been hurt, he had been mad, and he had been scared. A flood of emotions had come running through his mind, the minute he heard that an immunity challenge might be lost on purpose. And after last night's reward challenge loss, the cloud of darkness had gotten even worse. The tribe had come back to camp, Hunter had given a speech about how they needed to stick together and play fair, blah blah, and then everyone had retreated to their tasks.

"Or, as I like to call it," sneered Ryan, "Plot to get rid of Ryan time."

And at the moment, Ryan was correct. Gabe and Hunter really -were- talking about throwing today's challenge. It was just an idea at this point, and not a sure thing. There were very few sure things in this game. Ever.

"If it were up to me," Hunter said, softly under his breath, "I'd want to win them all. I don't like losing anything." Gabe nodded, feeling the same way. "But I still have this nagging sense," Hunter continued, "That Ryan's gonna bolt to the Taygetes if he makes the merge. He doesn't really have any other options. And he's probably gonna try to take the girls with him."

"He knows it, too," said Gabe, "I've talked with him. And he's all but threatened to do it, if people don't start including him in stuff."

"I've -tried-," said Hunter, stunned. "I've asked him several times to help me out with the shelter. But he just doesn't want to do it!"

"He's just got a chip on his shoulder, that's all," theorized Gabe. "He expects us all to hate him, so that's how he sees it. That's how he came into the game, and that's how he expects to leave."

"Whatever," dismissed Hunter. "The guy's a bonehead." He turned to walk back to camp. Ryan just wasn't worth talking about anymore. He wasn't worth the energy.

Gabe stood, thinking, as he watched Hunter walk away. He knew that today's challenge was going to be a pivotal one. More than one person had brought up the idea of losing it on purpose, just to toss Ryan. Ryan Aiken made them all -very- nervous, what with the merge being a day away. Gabriel wasn't really keen on losing the challenge, he didn't like to play like that. But he was smart. He knew that putting potential enemies on the other side was a bad idea. No one wanted to mess with karma like that. And Ryan was bad karma, he had been since day one.

Peter knew it. He was dead set on throwing the challenge. He couldn't stand Ryan.

John knew it. He had already said he would throw the challenge if he could.

And with two strong members of the team already having made up their minds, Gabe almost didn't see the point of competing.

"It's going to be a joke," he sighed, "But there's not going to be any way around it." He tried to think of a good analogy. "If you have a dogsled, and one of the dogs decides not to run, there's no way you're ever gonna win that race."

Ryan was looking over now, so Gabe nodded to him. It was evident that Ryan was trying to spy, and doing his best to try and look disinterested. But Gabe knew Ryan had figured out what was going on. He would be an idiot not to see the signs.

"If I were a betting man," Gabe said, sighing, "I think I would put all my money on Taygete tonight. I think we're gonna see an upset in the making."




^^




"We're doing an Olympiad!"

Jessie brought the tree mail back to camp, where the rest of the Taygetes were lounging around. Even Debb, who was the workhorse of the team, although that was mostly by default.

"Lookit," said Jessie, as she unfolded the small rolled parchment. The message was written in very large, very ornate, old-fashioned Greek lettering:

"Come one, come all, to the first annual Survivor Olympiad. Noon."

"Sweet," said Dirk, as he immediately ran over the matchups in his head. "What kind of events do you think we'll have?"

"Well, those three," said Debb, pointing out the small discus, javelin and winged sandal painted onto the back of the parchment. "Looks like we got ourselves a triathalon."

"Okay," nodded Dirk. "Whose doing what, then?" He looked around. "You guys want me to do the running?" No one had any better ideas, so he was anointed. "Discus, who wants it?" Debb raised her hand, completely sure she was going to be destroyed by someone like Hunter. But someone had to do it.

"I'll take javelin," said Jessie, nodding. She had never thrown a javelin before, but figured it couldn't be that hard. It was just like throwing darts, right?

"Atta girl," said Dirk, clapping her on the shoulder. And then it was decided, the combatants were set. Only Ramona would be sitting this one out. And with that, Dirk pulled them all into a group huddle, the three ladies and himself.
"You guys, we won the last one, we can take this one too. Aint nothin' stopping us."

"Damn right," said Jessie.

"And it don't matter that they're bigger than us," continued Dirk, "Or that they're faster."

"Or smarter," said Debb, causing Ramona to giggle.

"That's right," finished Dirk, "Cause we got heart. And we got pride. And now..." He grinned. "Let's go get Kenny back."

They finished up their pep talk with a rousing cheer, although none of them but Dirk really felt they could win this one. He was a nice enough leader, but a little delusional sometimes. All three females were very sure that Debb Eaton would be going home tonight... after the Alkyones wiped the floor with them, of course. This challenge was likely to be humiliating.

"Do I have time to pray?" asked Dirk, looking at Ramona. She was pretty much the tribe timekeeper. It was a talent she didn't even know she had, prior to this game. But she looked up at the sun, and then down towards the shadows of some trees. She was doing the math in her head.

"We're probably leaving in about twenty minutes," she said. "Give or take."

"A'ight," smiled Dirk, grabbing for his Bible. "I'll make it short today."




^^




Jeff greeted both teams on the shore of Alkyone Beach, with a small laurel crown perched atop his head. Wearing a white tunic, he appeared very regal. Or very cheesy, depending on your point of view.

"Welcome to your immunity Olympiad," he smiled, beckoning to both teams. He had Dirk and Gabriel come up before him, and explained the rules.

"You guys will be competing in a pentathlon today," Jeff said, causing Dirk to whip his head around towards Ramona. He held up five fingers, trying to signal her, but she couldn't tell what he was saying. They had planned it wrong, it was five events, not three.

"The first event," said Jeff, pointing to a large circle of stones. "Is wrestling. Two of you will square off in this circle. The winner is the one who can knock the other one either off their feet, or out of the circle." Jeff smiled. "And the winning wrestler will give their team a one minute head start for the rest of the race, which may very well be crucial. So plan accordingly."

With that, Jeff led them through the rest of the events. There would be a discus toss, and then a javelin throw. Event number four would be a sprint, and it would all be capped off by a long jump.

"The first team to complete all five events," smiled Jeff, "Wins immunity." He looked at Gabe. "You guys ready?"

"You bet," answered Gabe, as he retreated back towards his team, to explain the rules.

Jeff retrieved the immunity idol from Stephanie, and placed it back up for grabs. This would be their most physical of the immunity challenges to date, and he knew it was going to be grueling. What he didn't know, however, was that Alkyone was still having issues with whether to throw it or not. It -still- had not been decided.

"Just let me run it," said Ryan, pleading his best case. Jeff had already told Alkyone to sit three members, for numerical reasons. And the powers that be had already decided that Ryan would be one of them. Naturally, Ryan had disagreed. He wasn't going out -that- easily.

"Look," he said, "I know you guys are gonna throw it, and I know I'm gonna get tossed." John flashed a quick glance at Tanya, a silent glance. It simply asked, -"Did you tell him?"- Tanya shook her head softly, shrugging. It hadn't been her, despite the fact that she was with Ryan more than anyone else.

"Just let me do some of it," Ryan begged. "I don't ask for much, but if I'm gonna go out, let me go out with my head high. Please?" He looked at their silent faces. They were unreadable. "I figure you guys owe me this much."

"Okay," said Hunter, sighing, "The three of us will sit out." He pointed to himself, Gabe, and John. Three of the big boys. "You can do the wrestling." He knew that Ryan would get a kick out of that assignment. Ryan absolutely -LOVED- wrestling. And asking him to go take on the Taygetes was like giving caffeine to a terrier. The kid was going to be -wired.-

"Thanks, dude," said Ryan, reaching over to knock fists with the big man. "This aint gonna be pretty."

With that, the two teams lined up around the wrestling ring. Due to Taygete only having four members, one of them would have to do two events. And naturally, it was going to be Dirk. He would be doing both the wrestling and the long jump for his team.

Assuming they even made it to the fifth event, that is.

"Wrestlers, ready," announced Jeff, watching as Dirk stepped up from the Taygete side, and Ryan from the Alkyones. The two former rivals glared at one another, lots of bad blood already rising in the air. Dirk still remembered Ryan from his tactics in the virgin cart race. And Ryan hated Dirk for his attitude while Taygete burned Alkyone's shelter. Not to mention the general Alkyone dislike for Dirk Been. None of them seemed to like him much.

But now, Ryan and Dirk faced off, ready to go. The two of them were certainly not strangers, and it was obvious that this was going to be a battle. Jeff even sensed the tension in the air, and went out of his way to deliver a warning.

"Keep it clean, okay guys? No rough stuff."

Jeff raised his hand, announcing that immunity was back up for grabs.

"Survivors ready..." he announced, pausing, and then suddenly dropped his right hand. "Wrestle!!!"

Dirk and Ryan came at each other like a couple of wild dogs, locking up and trying to force the other to the ground. Ryan was stronger, but Dirk was taller, and Ryan was having a hard time getting any leverage. It was proving to be a tougher battle than the model had expected.

"Gotcha," said Ryan, as he wrapped his arm around Dirk's neck. He yanked, hard, to the left, but Dirk kept his balance, trying his best to stay upright. But Ryan was insistent, twisting slightly as he pulled, and Dirk finally let out a cry of pain.

"Woo hoo!" cheered Tanya, as Ryan was slowly dragging Dirk down to the ground. "Go Ryan!"

But with one deft move, Dirk freed himself from Ryan's headlock, pulling his head out and escaping. And Dirk was -angry- now too. His normal good-natured smile had since been replaced by a reddened, intense face.

"Bring it on!" he yelled, hands held up in defensive posture. "Let's go!"

The Taygetes cheered their hero, but were silenced as Ryan rushed him again. Ryan came in low, trying to grab Dirk around the waist, but Dirk pushed him away with his legs, coming awfully close to kneeing Ryan in the nose.

"Knock it off!" said Ryan. He reached out, without thinking, and smacked Dirk right across the lips. It was just an instinct, a momentary slip, but it caused an immediate reaction.

"Hey!" yelled Jeff, stopping the fight momentarily. He walked over to Ryan, with a gentle warning. "Do that again, Aiken, and I'm disqualifying you guys."

"It's cool," said Ryan, hands up in protest, feigning innocence. "No worries."

Dirk stood with his hands on his hips, waiting, as Jeff stepped outside the circle. The two cheering sections were now quiet, in awe of the ferocity being displayed by the two combatants.

"Okay," said Jeff, "Wrestle."

Dirk stood, crouched down, and waited for the attack. He didn't have to wait long. Ryan ran at him, his black hair blowing in the wind. Dirk crouched low, but Ryan went high, and grabbed the dairy farmer around the neck. With a short yell, Ryan managed to hip toss Dirk over and onto his back, slamming him to the dirt with a thud. Dirk had the wind knocked out of him, painfully, as the Alkyones erupted in cheers.

"Ryan wins," announced Jeff. "Alkyone, you have sixty seconds to get to your next event."

Ryan received a congratulatory hug from Stephanie and Tanya, as Peter ran off to the next station. Ryan simply watched, slyly smiling, as Dirk stood up and was given a hug by Jessie and Ramona. The Taygete leader looked to be in some pain.

"Peter is at station two," announced Jeff.

Peter picked up a discus from the grass. The medium sized clay disc was harder and heavier than he had expected. He looked off into the distance, about a hundred feet away, and saw a large white circle, painted onto the grass. He just had to get the discus into that circle. With no formal training whatsoever, he turned, spun, and flung it. It landed about twenty feet short.

"Come on!" said Peter, laughing at himself. But he went out to retrieve his discus, bringing it back to the throwing line.

"Taygete," announced Jeff, looking at his watch, "You can start the discus in twenty seconds."

The Taygetes looked on anxiously as Peter threw, and missed. He threw again, and missed. His throws didn't appear to be getting any closer, either.

"Five seconds!" announced Jeff, as Ramona clapped Debb on the back. Debb would be their discus tosser, and it was going to be up to her now.

"Four," counted down Jeff, "Three! Two! One!" He smiled. "Go!!!"

Peter missed his fourth shot now, as the discus careened wildly to the left. If Jeff didn't know any better, it was starting to look awfully suspicious.

"Peter," he asked, laughing, "You need some help out there?"

"I don't think I have the right build for this!" Peter called back, joking. But the tall man's eyes were a little less wild than usual today. He knew -exactly- what he was doing. It was all about strategy, and had been a team decision. A majority decision, anyway. Peter was clearly throwing the challenge.

"Let's go, Debb!" cheered Jessie, as the prison guard lined up her first shot. She spun, threw, and landed quite short as well. This was harder than it looked.

Two minutes passed. Peter had missed his seventh toss, finally angering Ryan. The Alkyone wrestler yelled at his teammate to "Come on!!!" Ryan knew what was happening, and he was not pleased. He had worked his -butt- off to win that wrestling match, and now to see this? To go out this way??

"Debb has it!" yelled Jeff, as her discus finally landed in the circle. She pumped her fist in the air, excited, as Jessie ran off to the third station. Jessie was going to be throwing the javelin.

"Let's go, Peter," announced Jeff, a little annoyed. "Just throw it!" And sure enough, Peter's eighth toss landed directly in the circle. Bullseye. He walked back to get high fives from his teammates, all except Ryan. Ryan just glared at the man. Peter Harkey had just made Ryan Aiken's hit list.

"Jessie against Stephanie!" announced Jeff, as the two women lined up at the javelin range. Both of them were expected to hit a medium sized, yellow target. It was not a hard task, but they would both be going into it without a practice throw, and this might take some time.

Jessie's first toss landed surprisingly close, just going over the target. She had underestimated her own strength. Stephanie's toss landed a bit short, and they both went back to try again.

"Let's go, Jessie!" cheered Dirk, and was delighted when her second toss plunged into the wooden circle. Jessie, stunned, clapped her hands and started shrieking.

"Let's go, Steph!" called Ryan, as he nervously watched Ramona get lined up for the fourth event, the sprint. He figured she wasn't the fastest runner in the world. Maybe Tanya could catch her, so long as there wasn't too much of a head start.

Stephanie's second toss was wild to the right. She shook her head, angrily, as Ryan watched in dismay. Ramona had already started to run, a 200-foot sprint across the beach, as her teammates cheered her, wildly. The Taygetes could sense blood, and Ramona already had her fists in the air, excited. This was her big moment, and she knew it.

"Let's go!" yelled Ryan, as Stephanie's third toss missed. It hadn't even been close. And at that moment, Steph and Ryan locked eyes. And he saw it. She was throwing the game too. His own friend, crazy Steph, she was selling him out. At that moment, all the fight went out of Ryan Aiken. Steph simply shrugged at him, and he knew he was doomed. It was over.

"Screw all you guys," said Ryan to his teammates, angrily, as he sat down. He didn't even have to watch the rest of it. He just closed his eyes and listened. He didn't see Ramona finish the sprint, smiling from ear to ear. He didn't see Dirk proudly trot to the long jump pit. And he didn't see Dirk easily clear the five foot mark in the sand. He only heard their cheers, and Jeff's inevitable announcement.

"Taygete!" he said, "Wins immunity!"

It was a bad moment for Ryan Aiken. And worst of all, Stephanie still hadn't even hit her target yet.




^^




"I had to do it!" Steph pleaded, as Ryan had angrily cornered her. "They made me! I was screwed otherwise, theyd'a voted my ass out."

"I'm toast now," he bemoaned. "And your dagger is in my back more than anyone, Steph!"

But Ryan had pretty much all but given up. Upon coming back to camp, he had approached a few people, half heartedly, wanting to know if they wanted to make a run at voting out Gabriel. He tried to appeal to their common sense, saying that Gabe would eat them alive in the individual challenges. But to a man, no one wanted to vote Gabe out. He was part of the alliance, and the alliance simply wasn't going to break.

"Nope," said Peter. "Not gonna happen."

"Can't do it," smiled Tanya.

"Sorry, buddy," said Stephanie.

"Sorry, man," said Hunter. He actually took a moment then to lay an arm around Ryan's shoulders, and elaborated.

"But you kinda brought this upon yourself, you know?"

Yet there was one man who seemed to be open to Ryan's ideas, at least somewhat. And it was someone who, in a million years, Ryan would not have considered. Because what in the world did Ryan have in common with a 41-year old married pastor?

"Look," John had said, as he pulled Ryan aside just before they left for Tribal Council. "I need to talk to you."

"Well I aint walkin' away," joked Ryan, his best attempt at small talk.

"Well you -probably- will be tonight if you don't listen to me." John's face was smiling, but his tone was serious. It said, simply, -shut up and listen.-

John Raymond was a student of the game of Survivor. Among all the people here, he may have known the game the best. He had seen all the episodes, had read all the websites, and he was the one who had been calling the shots around here. He knew the game. He knew the strategies. He knew the politics.

And he knew that Ryan was desperate.

"Look," he explained. "I know you're in trouble tonight. Everyone wants to vote you out, and I'm pretty sure you know it. So you're gonna need somebody's help, and you're gonna need it soon."

Ryan nodded, without comment. This was no time to be a smart ass.

"I've got my alliance right now," John explained. "It's me," he counted off on his fingers, "Stephanie, Tanya, Peter and Gabe. There's five of us, and right now, there's not a whole lot that's gonna stop us. And I don't mean to sound cocky, but those are just the numbers of it all."

Ryan nodded again, understanding. So John called the shots around here. Ryan had been told this, several times, but had always been kind of skeptical. Ryan always thought that the real brains behind the team were Hunter, or Gabe. After all, those were the alphas.

"But I've always thought that the best alliance one can have," John said, carefully, "Was a hidden one. One that no one suspects. One that is based upon mutual -need.-" He smiled carefully, reading Ryan's response. "I can save you tonight. And if I save you, I need to get something back in return."

"Anything," said Ryan, ready to sell out his own mother by this point. "You got it."

"Ryan, I'm serious. If I get them to spare you tonight, you've got to be serious about this. No one can know. If I hear so much as a peep about this from anyone else, you'll get yourself tossed out of here in a heartbeat." He smiled, and patted Ryan on the shoulder, paternally. "And I know that you're a good Christian kid, Ryan. You're not a liar. And you do the right thing." He leaned forward, to whisper the next part. "If I get you in on this, I know you'll do what you have to do."

"I'm serious, dude," said Ryan, a little put off by the parental tone of the pastor's voice. "You save me tonight, I'm on your side. You got my loyalty, all the way to the end. I'll do whatever you want." And being Ryan, he couldn't resist his own, "...within reason."

"You aren't the one we need gone tonight," John explained. "Look, we're gonna merge tomorrow, and this game is gonna be a lot different. And I know you aren't the biggest threat here. Sorry to tell you, but you're not." Ryan chuckled, but he appreciated the logic behind the man's argument. John was right. John was clearly thinking with his head, and not based on who he liked or disliked. Ryan liked the guy immediately.

"You interested?" asked John.

"Gabriel," smiled Ryan, "Right?"

"Come on," said John, hopping down from his rock perch, and patting Ryan on the shoulder. "Let's go talk."




^^



The boat ride over to Tribal Council had seemed a little more calm than usual. Everyone knew who was going, the water was placid, there was no rain, and it seemed to be a nice evening. Everything was going to be relaxed and without incident.

Until John caught Stephanie's eye.

He held up two fingers, quickly, and held them in his lap. That was the signal. The bootee was being changed.

"No!" Stephanie mouthed, and shook her head. She wanted Ryan to go. She didn't want an angry Ryan Aiken hanging around the game anymore. Not after she had thrown the challenge just to dump the guy. No way!

But John signaled two fingers again, locking eyes with her. -Change your vote, Steph.-

She wasn't thrilled, and she turned away. But not before nodding once, angrily.

John next moved to Peter, and flashed the hand signal. Peter communicated back, in no uncertain terms, that he wasn't particularly thrilled with the change. He simply shook his head, turning away.

John's sighed, somewhat frustrated. He looked at Tanya now, and signaled her. He flashed two fingers, which caused her to smile. Tanya was as big a Survivor fan as he was. She was always up for a good scheme. She looked at Ryan, she looked back at John, and then she smiled. She gave a thumbs up. Tanya was in.

But as the boat apprached Merope, John still had only two votes in the bag. Only Tanya and Ryan were in for sure, and he still hadn't made any progress with Peter. Stephanie had agreed, or so it appeared, but she still looked pissed. She hadn't looked back at him again, and John silently worried that this was going to backfire on him tonight. Maybe it was a little too late for this type of thing.

"Watch your back," he whispered to Ryan, as the boat finally touched up to shore. "This isn't going to be a sure thing."

That -wasn't- what Ryan wanted to hear at the moment.




^^



Jeff ran through his litany of questions, as John and Ryan sat, trying to read the eyes of their teammates. Hunter sat straight ahead, answering every question with a smile on his face, not even bothering to hide the fact that he was voting for Ryan tonight. Gabriel answered his questions truthfully, admitting that yes, Ryan -was- an outsider here, but it wouldn't affect the way he was voting tonight.

"What about you," Jeff turned to Ryan. "Do you feel vulnerable tonight?"

"I'm pretty much a goner," said Ryan, smiling under his breath. "You might as well stick a fork in me."

"And you give up, just like that?"

"I've been tryin', Jeff," Ryan explained. "But people have pretty much made up their minds. People seem to think I'm gonna be a big threat after the merge."

"And are you?"

"Heck no, man. There's two guys here who are -much- bigger threats than me." Ryan didn't need to elaborate, everyone knew exactly who the two names were. Gabe and Hunter. They had always been the biggest threats.

"So how are you going to vote?" Jeff asked.

"I'm voting tonight," said Ryan, "For revenge. For a person that brought this totally upon himself."

Hunter looked over at Ryan, grinning. For a kid who was dead meat, the little runt sure had some confidence. And repeating the -exact same- words that Hunter had said to Ryan yesterday... wow. The kid must have -some- set of stones on him. But Ryan wasn't being cocky. He simply looked at Hunter, returning the big man's stare.

And then he winked. And at that moment, Hunter's blood ran cold.

Ryan Aiken only winked for a reason.

Hunter cursed, under his breath, at the moment that Jeff announced it was time to vote.

"Am I going?" Hunter mouthed to Tanya, who was sitting next to him. She shrugged, mouthing back "I don't know." And she honestly didn't know. Sure, -she- was going to vote for Hunter, but there was still some dissention among the ranks. Tonight's vote could go one of three ways.

But Stephanie Dill was now up to the podium. Uncapping her pen, she wrote out six letters.

"Hunter," she said, holding up the paper. She scowled slightly, not pleased at all by this vote. But she was a team player, and she did what she was told. That was the deal. "I love ya, man, you're a good guy. But this is the new plan. I'll see ya later."

John Raymond followed, casting a second vote for Hunter. Hunter had been John's choice all along, a very calculated move to get back the upper hand in Alkyone. You see, John had already seen the close bond between Gabe, Peter and Tanya. He knew that those three were likely to be unbreakable down the line. So John had been fishing for a third member, someone who could join Stephanie and himself after the merge, in case they needed numbers. And it couldn't be Hunter Ellis. No, Hunter was far too stubborn and competitive to try to lead along to the end. He was uncontrollable.

No, it had to be Ryan Aiken. Desperate, strong, and not well liked, Ryan was -perfect- if you wanted to hide behind someone. There had not been any other choice, it simply had to be Ryan. This had been planned for a while, in John's head anyway, but the pastor had just wanted to get Ryan's allegiance -first-, before the vote. He wanted Ryan to know -who- had saved him and -why-. Add to that a little Christian guilt, and this hopefully would pay off somewhere down the line.

It had all been a pretty cagey plan, if John could even say so himself.

"Taking out the biggest threat," John said, before placing his ballot in the box.

One by one, the Alkyones walked up, cast their vote, and walked back. Hunter had to watch them all go up, in procession, as he knew his time was up. He knew it. But he still held out some hope. Some small glimmer that his team would be loyal to him, and respect what he had done thus far.

But it didn't last long.

Gabriel placed his hand on Hunter's shoulder. Sitting behind him, the young blond man leaned forward and simply whispered into his ear.

"Sorry, man. We had to do it. Majority opinion."

And with that, it was over. Hunter nodded, silently, and thanked Gabriel. At least someone had warned him ahead of time. Gabriel had been the last one that John had told, and had agreed, somewhat reluctantly. After all, it meant that Gabriel would now be the strongest player in the game. But in the end, Gabe had gone along with the group, and had cast his vote for Hunter.

And if Hunter could take any solace, it was in the fact that Gabriel had felt terrible, and had decided to warn him. So at least now it wasn't going to be a surprise.

"I'll go tally the votes," said Jeff, once Peter had cast the final ballot. The host walked over and returned shortly, moments later, with the ivory ballot box.

"The person voted out tonight must leave the Tribal Council area immediately," said Jeff, as he opened the lid. And with that, the large metal gate behind him opened, revealing the eerie path to the water. The boatman stood at the end of the path, just staring. Waiting. He was always waiting.

"First vote," said Jeff, pulling it out. He flipped it around. "Hunter."

Hunter nodded. Just get it over with. Might as well.

"Second vote," said Jeff, pulling it out. "Hunter."

That was Ryan's vote, written in big, bold letters. Ryan was no fan of subtlety.

"Third vote," said Jeff, pulling out Stephanie's ballot. "Hunter."

Hunter seethed, letting his anger boil down deep within him. He glared at Tanya, who wouldn't look back. Did this have to happen -again-? Blindsided by his own teammates a second time?

"And the sixth person voted out of Greece," said Jeff solemnly, revealing the fourth vote.


"Hunter."


Hunter nodded, not looking at anyone. He grabbed his torch and angrily brought it up to the front. He wasn't even going to look at those assholes. They had screwed him, and would now have to deal with it. He didn't even say goodbye.

"Hunter," said Jeff, lowering the snuffer, "The tribe has spoken."

Hunter nodded to Jeff, turned, and walked down the long dirt path. He paused at the end, calmly collecting himself, before stepping onto the boat. His game was over. Again. And within moments, he was gone.

"Well," said Jeff, turning back to the Alkyone tribe. "I think it's safe to say that Hunter got a bit of a surprise tonight."

Gabriel sat with his chin in his hands, slowly shaking his head. But he was tryng not to let himself feel bad. Sure, he had voted for Hunter. They all had, just to go along with the group. But Gabe had already told himself that peoples' feelings weren't his concern out here. He wasn't responsible for how emotionally attached people got to the game. That was their issue, not his. He reminded himself that Hunter should not have taken it all so seriously, and that this was just a game. It was chess. Nothing more.

But Gabe was already having problems with it. The game part was much harder than he imagined, despite all his protestations to the contrary.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," nodded Jeff, still stunned by the unanimous vote. He hadn't thought that John could get everyone to agree on such short notice. "Bright and early. Get your sleep tonight, because we have a busy day planned for you tomorrow."

And with that, the six remaining Alkyones filed back out to their boat. Gabriel Cade, the new, unquestioned alpha male; Tanya Vance, best friend to everybody; Stephanie Dill, the eccentric firefighter; Peter Harkey, the moody jokester; John Raymond, the calm strategist; And Ryan Aiken, who suddenly had a whole new lease on life.

The merge awaited tomorrow, but they had no idea what surprises were still in store for them.

Some of them were about to be in for the shock of their lives.

- Read Hunter's Final Words!

- All-Star Survivor: Greece episode notes.

- Email Mario with comments.

- Back to the All-Star Greece episode archive.