All-Star Survivor: Hawaii Episode #6 One Final Sacrifice

Keko Tribe (green): Alicia Calaway, Gretchen Cordy, Colby Donaldson, Michael Skupin, Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien
Ahi Tribe (orange): John Carroll, Frank Garrison, Colleen Haskell, Rob Mariano, Vecepia Towery, Tina Wesson

Click here to watch the All-Star Hawaii opening credits!

DAY 16

"Goooood morrrrrrning, Aaaaaahiiiii!"

Boston Rob's loud and energetic voice boomed into the cold Hawaiian morning, as he announced the start of yet another installment of the daily Ahi radio show.

"We're comin' at you live, from the shores of Hawaii..." announced Rob's voice, as he repeated the script that had formerly been popularized by Lex. After all, with Lex's departure last night at Tribal Council, it wasn't just control of the tribe that had been handed over to Rob. He had apparently also taken over Lex's position as morning D.J. as well.

"... for the finest wake-up show this side of Waikiki Beach! It's time for 'Good Morning, Ahi!'"

Rob, who was clearly delighted by this newfound position of power, grinned from ear to ear as he continued Lex's familiar script. And for a man like Frank Garrison, who was sitting here somberly, just like the rest of them, this last part was apparently too much of an insult to take.

"This is bullshit," he muttered under his breath, inaudibly. Then he stood up and walked back towards camp.

After all, Rob might have stolen the tribe from Lex last night. And he might have done it fairly and honestly. But Frank was simply not the type of person who could just sit here and watch the kid gloat.

"Hey Frank, come on, we need your segment," Rob protested, as Frank ambled slowly away up the beach.

But Frank said nothing.

He just continued to walk, away from Rob, and away from this farce of a show.

"What, you got some sort of a problem?" Rob asked, a little bit hurt. After all, he had worked hard for this moment. He had put in a lot of time and energy just to get to this point in the game. And now, for what? For Frank to just turn his back and walk away? During Rob's debut performance as the host of the show?

"Just let him go," Colleen said quietly, under her breath. "He doesn't want to do it."

Rob looked down at his loyal sidekick, and he sighed. Why did Frank have to be such a big baby about things? Why did he have to ruin the fun of the morning show for everyone else? Why couldn't he just accept the fact that Lex and his squad had been beat?

"What about the rest of you?" asked Rob, dejectedly, as he stood in the center of the circle. He turned and looked around at the rest of the suddenly-much-more-somber tribe. "You guys want to back out of the morning show too?"

He locked eyes with Tina, who had formerly been second-in-charge. But now she just looked small, and more than a bit lost. Ever since last night, and last night's surprise vote, she just wasn't the same old confident Tina they'd known since the start. She was no longer the mom of the tribe. And she knew it. Tina's aura of Survivor invincibility had vanished like that.

"Well I'm up for it if you guys want to do it," she replied, humbly. "You know me, Rob, I'm up for pretty much anything."

"Vee?" Rob turned and asked.

"I don't know," said Vecepia, looking a little apologetic. "It's sort of a funky mood around here today. I'm not really sure it's the best idea."

Rob just stood there and he sighed. Oh, great. First Frank, and now Vecepia. Welcome to the parade of the crybabies. Whatever happened to laughing and enjoying the game?

"Maybe we should just retire it for a while," Colleen said, quietly.

Rob turned and shot a glance at her.

"Look, Rob," John spoke up, interjecting. "Let's just give it up. Frank doesn't want to do it. Tina obviously doesn't want to do it..."

"I didn't say that!" protested Tina.

"... so I sort of agree with Vecepia," John shrugged. "Let's just end the show for a while. Let's give it a rest."

Rob just stood there, hands on his hips.

"It was sort of Lex's baby, anyway," John finally concluded.

And just like that, the Ahi Morning Radio Show was a thing of the past.





^^





As expected, the departure of Lex van den Berghe last night had put a huge, gaping hole into the middle of the Ahi workflow today. Nothing seemed to be normal around camp this morning. Everything seemed a little askew.

It was apparent to every single player here that Lex, in his short time as Ahi leader, had managed to put his own personal stamp on just about every single aspect of life around camp. Plain and simple, Lex had literally been the lynchpin for everything. And to remove his presence, especially at a time in the game when he wasn't expecting to be removed, well that had basically the same effect as if you had dropped a nuclear bomb into the middle of camp.

Whether they liked it or not, life at Camp Ahi was going to be a lot different starting today.

The tribe that was formerly known as the Ahis was going to change.

"You know that Frank isn't going to cooperate with Rob," Tina was currently explaining to Vecepia, as the two women scaled fish up by the fire pit. Rob, the new tribe fisherman, had managed to bring in a medium-sized catch early this morning, and now Tina and Vecepia were preparing it for lunch.

"Well I don't imagine Frank and Rob will ever get along," Vee replied. "That's no surprise. They're polar opposites."

"But it's more serious than that, Vee," Tina continued, as she cleaned scales off her knife. "Frank is probably going to spend the entire day today just sitting on his butt and being difficult. And he'll probably do the same thing tomorrow. Why? Because he's Frank. That's what he does." Tina paused and looked over at her friend. "Frank is never going to accept Rob as any sort of authority around here. And if Rob doesn't realize that, he hasn't been watching."

Vecepia just looked over at Tina and nodded.

Vee had seen Frank's little outburst this morning. Of course she had. They had all been there. How could she not? Vecepia had seen the way that Frank reacted to the idea of Rob being in control. And she had seen the way Rob reacted, which hadn't been subtle. Vecepia had seen all of that, and of course she knew what it meant. The Ahis were headed for a power struggle of epic proportions if they weren't very careful.

Plain and simple, Frank was never going to accept Rob Mariano as the guy at the top. Ever. Tina was right.

And if Rob hadn't figured that out by now, the kid was an idiot.

"So do you think Frank is going to give up?" Vee looked over, curiously. "Is he the type who will just take his ball and go home? Or do you think we can count on him for a while?"

"Oh, I don't know," Tina sighed under her breath. "Frank is just..." She strugged for just the right word. "He's just very complicated, Vee. He's a hard worker, but he's also stubborn. If he doesn't want to do something, he's just not going to do it."

"But he's not going to quit on us." Vee brought up once again. She looked concerned.

"Oh lord no," Tina laughed. "Come on, Vee. You know Frank. He hasn't sat down to rest but a couple of times since we've been here."

Vecepia glanced over at her fellow winner one last time, as if trying to figure out where Tina was going with all of this. Because even though she and Tina were good friends, and even though they shared gossip like this all the time... like housewives drinking coffee out in the yard... she still suspected that Tina might have some ulterior motive by sharing this news.

Because something about Tina's tone was off at the moment.

Something subtle.

Vecepia couldn't tell what it was, but something was weird. And now her hackles were raised.

"Well I don't know," said Vecepia, as she slid some freshly sliced fish into a pan. "I mean, you said it yourself, Frank is Frank. If he doesn't want to be here, he won't be here. You can't make the man cooperate if he's not in the mood."

Tina just nodded.

But still, something was incredibly hinky about this conversation. It felt weird. Vee didn't know what it was, but she knew enough about Tina to be wary of what she was trying to do.

So Vee politely excused herself, and she headed off to report back to Rob.

Because she suddenly wanted the Robfather to change up the vote.

^^






"Tina needs to go before Frank," Vecepia said, once she had pulled aside the new strategic leader of the Ahis. She had cornered Rob out in the forest, and was currently pleading her case to the man around camp who would call the next shot.

"Tina?" asked Rob, as he put down his machete and pushed his omnipresent Red Sox cap back on his head. "Why? What'd she do?"

"She's trying to get Frank voted out next," Vee explained, in the wisdom that only someone who knew Tina very well would be able to see. "She was just up there going on and on about how Frank will never cooperate with you and how he'll never accept you as leader. And how he's going to cause a lot of trouble if you don't watch your back."

Rob just laughed out loud when he heard this last part.

Big surprise. Frank, the king of the pussies, was off in a snit.

"I'll take care of Frank," Rob assuaged her. "Don't worry. He's an idiot."

"But he's not the one you need to be worried about!" Vecepia nearly shouted at him.

Rob Mariano, who was certainly no strategic dummy, all of a sudden saw where Vecepia was trying to go with this. After all, it certainly wasn't a coincidence that he and Vee were paired up so often in this game. They thought so similarly, and so frequently, that at times, it felt like they were almost like twins.

"Tina just wants to get herself to the merge," Rob suddenly realized.

And bam. There it was.

It was a good move. But Tina had simply played it too soon.

"She just wants to get away from this tribe, and over to Colby," Vecepia said. "Because he's sitting right there, Rob. He's the perfect ally for her, and he's sitting right there on Keko. And she knows that if she can make it past one more vote, if she can make it just three more days in this game, she's selling us out."

"Fuck Tina!" Rob spat, as he suddenly saw the big picture in his head.

Because there she was, miss lovable Tina. Their chipper little Southern belle. The one who kept saying, "Oh I'm not upset about last night, Rob," and "I'll still do the morning show, Rob." The one who didn't seem to mind that she was in a 4-2 minority. The one who hid so well behind that motherlike smile.

Tina was playing up the happy card this morning, and selling out Frank.

Because if she got anywhere close to that merge, she'd be cutting their throats.

"Are you comfortable throwing the next challenge?" Rob suddenly asked, reactively.

He turned and looked at Vee.

But of course, she'd already had the same idea.

She always did.

That's why she was Vee.

"I don't know..." she said, as she suddenly found herself at a loss for strategy. Most of the time Vecepia was so sure of where she wanted to go in this game, and so sure of how she wanted to get there. But at the moment, she came to the daunting realization that they were effectively trapped. She and Rob (and John and Colleen, by extension) had essentially put themselves into a no-win situation with Tina and Frank. Because sure, they could throw the next challenge to get rid of a troublemaker. But which one, and for what reasons, would they be throwing it for?

"Do you think Frank would stay loyal at the merge?" Rob asked.

"I wouldn't trust Frank or Tina to stay true at the merge!" Vecepia said, sighing. "Look, Rob, even though Tina's trying to be sneaky, she also happens to be right. Frank really does hate you. He's never going to lift a single finger to help you, just out of spite."

"What a dick," Rob joked without much humor. "Tell me, what did I ever do to him? Did I kill his puppy or something? What's his problem?"

"I get the feeling he just doesn't like you," Vecepia shrugged.

It just wasn't any more complicated than that.

As the conversation came to a close, Vecepia and Rob faced a very dangerous choice with what they were going to do with the rest of the game. Did they really trust that both Tina and Frank were going to stick with Ahi and stay loyal all the way to the end? Or should they cut bait right now, and get rid of one of them (which one?) before they had a chance to avenge their friend Lex?

Was it strategically wise to throw away a 6-5 lead right before the merge?

Or were numbers all you needed at this point in time?

They would have to discuss this with John, and maybe even with Colleen, before they made their next move.

^^

As Vecepia and Rob debated the fate of Tina and Frank, the true swing vote in the tribe, John Carroll, finally came over to apologize for what he had done.

Of course, John didn't regret that he had turned on Lex and his former alliance last night.

But still, he felt bad for the way it had gone down, and that's what he said.

"You still should have at least warned us," Tina scolded softly, after John delivered his heartfelt apology. "John, at the very least you could have given us a heads up. Frank and I were totally blindsided!"

"I know," said John, his head down. "I know. I know. You're right."

"Look, you just did what you had to do" said Frank, as he perched up in the crook of a tree, "I don't hold it against you personally. You're a man, and you make your own decisions. You made a choice, and I have to respect that. So I'm not going to sit here and chew you out just because I thought it was dumb."

"Thank you, Frank," said John, nodding. "I appreciate that."

"But at the same time...," Frank continued, shrugging, "You also left us in a hopeless position. So you sort of have to expect we're going to be pissed. What you did means that both Tina and I are now effectively done."

John said nothing. He just looked from Frank to Tina, and back, and had nothing to say.

"Was it Colleen?" asked Tina, suddenly. She smiled cautiously over at John, knowing full well that he and Colleen had built some sort of long-lasting bond during their picnic with Keko. "Did she get you to flip? Did you make some sort of deal where you're now friends to the end?"

"Come on, Tina," laughed John.

"No, I see it," Tina laughed back at him, teasingly. "You two wander off on a picnic, you come back, and now she's got a new ally. Is that it? Did you cut some sort of a deal and Rob doesn't know?"

John just laughed and shook his head.

Of course Tina would think he had a deal with Colleen. That's what everybody would think. And that's exactly why he had stayed away from Colleen! No, John's real final two deal was with Vecepia. That was the super secret one. That was the important one. And if anybody... Tina, Rob, or other... figured that out, the surprise would be ruined.

"Yeah, I guess that was it," John teased, coyly. "It was me and Colleen. She tricked me. Little minx."

"Liar," Tina laughed.

Frank just scowled and stayed silent. Like usual, he had nothing to say.

"But really, John," Tina said, once the teasing had ended. "I appreciate your apology and all, but are you sure you really want to go through with this?" She looked at him with concern in her eyes. "I mean, just look at what's going to happen. It's going to be you and Rob. Together."

"Plus Vecepia," Frank interjected.

Apparently he wasn't just anti-Rob. Frank was also not much of a fan of Vecepia.

"... well yes, and Vee," Tina added. "John, it's going to be you, Rob, and Vee." She looked at him again, pausing to let the words sink in. "Think about it, John. Are you sure you really want to be part of that?"

John just looked at his feet and he smiled.

Same old Tina.

She'd guilt trip you to hell and back, and he thought it was cute.

"Well I guess I've dug my own grave," he smiled and shrugged. "I guess that's it, I just wasn't that smart."

Beyond that, he had nothing else he wanted to say.

As John walked back towards camp, confident that his future was a lot stronger in the current arrangement than it had been with Lex, Tina turned to Frank and shot him a pessimistic frown. Because that hadn't gone well. John had come here and apologized, as by all means he should have. But unfortunately that was as far as he was willing to go. John didn't regret anything. He wasn't going to change. He had put all his eggs in the Robfather's basket, and that meant they were toast.

"Greed got ahold of him," Frank muttered softly.

Tina just nodded, slowly.

John had apparently seen a glimpse of power and fame just ahead of him, and now he was gone.

"Damn you, Lex, for putting such a big target on yourself," Frank grumbled absently, to no one but himself. "You pushed John into a corner, and now we're all screwed."

Sighing, Frank hopped down from his perch and walked back towards camp.

Hoping that Rob and John would collide quite violently in their quest for the gold.





^^





As Ahi settled into its first day of post-Lex doldrums, a jittery Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien on Keko looked visibly relieved. Because as she sat down for her standard morning interview, Kathy was ready and eager to explain something that only she knew.

"We dodged a bullet last night, a big one," she explained to the producer, her eyes open wide in exaggerated fashion, as only Kathy could do. "Man, last night, we dodged a freaking Howitzer."

"How so?" asked the curious producer.

"Because if we had gone to Tribal last night, with the mood that Alicia was in over Gretchen..." Kathy sat back and whistled, appreciatevely. "I couldn't tell you what would have happened. All I know is that this alliance, the one with the women, could have been ripped at the seams."

The issue that Kathy was referring to, of course, was the fact that a few days ago, Gretchen had apparently promised Mike that he would be making the merge. No matter what. Despite the three womens' agreement that Mike would have his head in the chopping block at the very next vote.

Gretchen had promised this, and Alicia had heard about this.

And Alicia hadn't taken this news very well because, well, that's what she does.

"Do you think that Alicia and Gretchen are ever going to be compatible?" asked the producer. "Because seriously, Kathy, you come here every morning and this is all that you talk about. All you ever talk about is how Alicia and Gretchen are going to kill each other, and you don't want to take sides."

"I'm really that predictable?" frowned Kathy.

"Yeah," said the producer. "You are."

"Damn," chuckled Kathy. "And here I was, thinking I was insightful."

Then, of course, she laughed, self-consciously.

HAW HAW HAW HAW HAW.

Of course, the producer was right. Kathy really did talk about this issue a lot. And she really was trying to pull away from both of them. None of this was anything new. Kathy wanted no part of the Gretchen-Alicia split, of this she was adamant. So she was cleverly, and cautiously, trying to stay away from taking sides when the house started to fall.

"All I can tell you right now," she finally resumed, "Is that this cold war cannot continue. It has to end. There's no way we can keep this alliance together, at least not at this pace."

"Well then what needs to change?" asked the producer.

"First off, Gretchen needs to stop making command decisions without asking us," Kathy frowned. "Because Alicia's right. That pisses me off."

"So is Mike is still supposed to go next?"

Kathy laughed again.

"He better!"

Now the producer was even laughing.

"But seriously," Kathy continued, "Gretchen needs to learn to stand strong. And Alicia needs to learn to chill the heck out. Because I'm serious, man, she's insane when she gets angry. And I'm talking insane. Like scary insane. That girl is going to snap and kill someone one of these days."

"Do you think that Alicia and Gretchen knew how close they came to a disaster last night?" the producer concluded the interview.

"Mmmmm, Alicia might have," Kathy said, after mulling over the question. "I really do think she was ready to vote Gretchen out, just on principle. But I don't think that Gretchen ever realized it. Most of the time, she sort of drifts along in her happy little bubble. I don't think she realizes that Alicia was even angry with her."

"Thanks, Kathy," nodded the producer.

"No problem."

She groaned and stood up.

It was time to get back to camp, and see if Gretchen was dead.





^^





Despite Kathy's doom and gloom about the future of her prospective alliance, this actually was a pretty good time in the game for the Kekos. After all, the intrepid little band of five may have been trailing in numbers, but it sure didn't feel like it. They had simply reached a point in the game where all things were clicking, and all cylinders were firing.

Did Keko currently have any of the infighting that went on over at Ahi? Of course not. Despite Kathy's fears about Alicia, this was a much more mature group of players, and all of them knew it.

Did Keko have any of the unnecessary drama that went over at Ahi? Again, not a chance. This wasn't a tribe of schemers. This was a family. Drama had ceased to exist in this camp with the death of King Richard.

Right now, the mood around camp was that the Kekos each had a 1 in 5 shot at winning this game.

Because they'd basically been acting as a five-person wrecking ball for more than two weeks.

"What people might not realize," Mike was currently explaining, as he sat down for an afternoon interview, "Is that we've been together for a long time. This group has been together basically more or less since the start. And I don't think that everyone notices that."

"All five of you?" asked a producer.

"Well six of us, if you include Teresa," Mike explained. "T-Bird was very much a part of the team. But then she hurt her knee and we had to let her go." He shrugged, guiltily. "But if you look back at things, and you count Teresa as part of the group, then yes, you'll notice that there have been six of us working together almost from the first minute we got off that helicopter."

Mike's comments might have sounded like boastful bragging, but he really was telling the truth. Richard Hatch and Ethan Zohn had had basically zero chance of ever finding a place in this tribe. Both of them, for all intents and purposed, had been doomed from the start. Richard, because he was Richard. And Ethan, because Colby didn't want him around. Richard and Ethan had been marked for elimination from the very first minutes of All-Star Survivor, and that's why Mike was telling the truth when he said they'd been outcasts.

"You have to understand that we've been a family for a long time," Mike added. "The six of us managed to weed out the weakness and the outsiders at the start. So that's why it's sort of a bittersweet day for us, knowing that a merge is coming up soon. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's good that we're going to merge. But at the same time, it's sad because it's the end of an era."

"Why would it be sad?" asked the curious producer.

"Because we haven't had to turn on our core since we voted out T-Bird."

Even though Mike Skupin was as cutthroat and as hardcore a competitor as the game of Survivor had ever seen, deep down he also happened to be an extraordinarily thoughtful and sensitive man. And that was why in times like this, you really could feel his pain when he talked about eliminating "the family." Mike really was torn up about where the game was headed in the upcoming days.

Even though he hadn't faced it before, Mike had an innate sense of foreboding that Survivor after the merge would be anything but exciting and fun.

"So do you think you're going to merge up at 5-5?" asked the producer. "Does Keko have one last challenge win in them before the merge?"

"Ahi can't stop us," Mike said, simply. "It's inevitable. We're going to win immunity whether they like it or not."

"And that's a guarantee?" asked the amused producer.

"You can call it what you want," Mike shrugged. "All I know is that I'm not going to let us lose immunity. And Colby's not going to let us lose immunity. I don't think any of us will. Because I'll tell you what. I've worked too damn hard and I've come too damn far to get back here and not make the merge."

"So you think if you lost, you'd be voted out?"

The producer was surprised. Nobody back in the production camp had sensed any feeling of pessimism from Mike. He was normally as sunshiny and as optimistic as you could possibly get. And now this? Suddenly, he busts out with "If we don't win immunity, I'm gone?"

Was Mike aware of something he hadn't been sharing?

"I don't personally know that I'd be gone," Mike answered carefully, after thinking about the question for a short while. "I mean, I've got two Australians around me who say that they'll stick by me. But at the same time, I also know I'm a threat to these guys."

"A threat after the merge?"

"Yeah," Mike nodded, absently. "The minute we hit that merge, players like me and Colby and Lex are going to be hunted."

Mike clearly wasn't aware of the fact that Lex had been voted out just hours before. That news was going to be a shocker to all of them.

"The minute we hit that merge," Mike continued. "The athletes will be targeted. And I mean all of us. So if Keko loses immunity tomorrow, and we have to go to Tribal Council, then who's to say the women won't want to escalate our fate by a couple of days?"

"Do you think they will?"

Mike let the question hang in the air for a long, long time.

Because this was the one topic of conversation he didn't went to get into.

After all, to leave this game right before the merge-- for the second time in a row-- well, some things were a little too painful to contemplate, even for Mike.

"We won't lose immunity," he finally said, as he sighed and stood up. "Losing immunity at this point just isn't an option."

^^

Even though most of the players were expecting some type of reward challenge today, day 16 in Hawaii was quickly turning out to be one of those infamous "dead days." Nothing much was going to happen today. Both tribes were effectively on cruise control. For twenty-four hours, they were just killing time.

On Keko, Colby spent the afternoon helping Gretchen with the laundry. This was a task that Gretchen normally tackled on her own, every other day, down by the ocean. But today Colby had decided to come down to help her. And Gretchen would be the first person to tell you that she was tickled, and a little surprised.

You see, most young athletes wouldn't have been bothered with the menial task of washing clothes in the ocean. They would have thought it was beneath them, or "women's work." But Colby didn't seem to mind. For some reason, Colby Donaldson didn't have the kind of hang-ups that other young alphas, like Joel, or Gervase, would have had. He had no problem doing laundry. He just didn't think like that.

And that's, like Tina Wesson a few years ago, Gretchen had been impressed with the young Texas cowboy almost right from the start.

"So do you really think we can win immunity again?" Gretchen asked, as she scrubbed one of Mike's dirty socks. She looked over at Colby, who stood knee-deep in the warm Hawaiian water. "Do you really think we have a chance of merging up tied?"

"Tied?" laughed Colby. "Hell. I'm planning on us blowing right past those chumps."

"Well, you know, first we sort of have to tie," Gretchen laughed in response. "But those aren't my rules. You know, that's just basic arithmetic."

"Have you taken a look at the Ahi tribe lately?" Colby asked, now a little more seriously. "Have you taken a good hard serious look at them?"

"Well, no..."

"They're splintered, Gretchen. They're fallin' apart."

Gretchen nodded.

Yes, she could tell the Ahis were having problems. You could see it in the way they presented themselved at the last few challenges. Just from their body language alone, you could tell the Ahis were not quite as unified as they liked to present themselves when facing the Kekos.

"Rob won't stand next to Lex," Colby explained. "Colleen won't even talk. And hell, I know Tina well enough to know she's not having any fun. Hell, she's miserable over there, Gretchen. And that's no way to win under pressure. You can't win challenges when your whole tribe is fallin' apart!"

Gretchen nodded once again.

Colby sure didn't miss much when it came to tribe politics, now did he?

"The onus is not on us to win immunity," Colby continued. "It's on them. Because we're not the ones facin' the eight ball. We're not the ones with the weight of the world on our shoulders. They are."

Gretchen looked surprised.

"How so?" she asked.

Colby put down the blue shirt he was scrubbing, and he looked at her.

"Do you know what a massive collapse it would be if they lost this advantage?" he asked, rhetorically. "Hell, Gretchen, they were up seven to five!" He nodded.. "If they lose immunity tomorrow, and we merge up tied, do you know what the story will be? It won't be that Keko made a comeback. It will be that Ahi choked hard."

"So you're not worried about losing?"

"Of course I'm worried," Colby shrugged, a slight smile on his face. "You never want to get cocky. But you just have to keep in mind that the pressure isn't on us to win this time. It's on them. And if I'm a bettin' man in Vegas, I'm puttin' ten bucks on the tribe with nothin' to lose."

Even though Gretchen wasn't quite as optimistic as Colby in matters like this, he did make an awfully good point. Keko really did have nothing to lose right about now. Because if they lost immunity this time around, big deal, they'd been losing all game. And if there was anything that Keko had learned by now, it was that losing wasn't such a big deal if you kept your head up.

"Well you certainly cheered me up," Gretchen smiled, after a short pause. "Damn, Colby. You should be a motivational speaker. And here I was, thinking that we still had a long way to go."

It was moments like this that made Gretchen glad she had promised both Colby and Mike a spot at the merge. After all, if you're going to merge at ten, what harm could there possibly be if everybody still thinks they are a part of the plan? What on earth could be bad about Colby and Mike both thinking they had a chance in this game?

"You do know I can probably get Tina to come over to our side," Colby now offered, conspiratorally. He looked over at her. "You did know that, didn't you? If we merge at ten, and Tina's not happy, which I suspect... then she's gonna be ours."

Gretchen nodded.

Of course she knew that.

It was one of the reasons Alicia and Kathy gave for why Colby needed to stay.

"And you know I can probably get Colleen," smiled Gretchen.

How much truth was in this? Gretchen didn't yet know. All she knew was that she and Colleen did get along. They were really good friends. And if Colby was right about Colleen being unhappy over there, then maybe... just maybe... there was one little potential ingenue just itching to jump to their side.

"So then it's settled," laughed Colby. "We win immunity, we merge at ten, and then we steal their women."

"I don't think Rob would be too happy about that," deadpanned Gretchen. "I don't get the sense he'd be real happy cuddling with Frank or Lex."

Colby burst out laughing.

As the two Keko alphas finished their laundry, Gretchen thanked her young teammate for coming to join her. She really did enjoy Colby's company most of the time. And she hoped beyond all hope that he was right about Keko winning immunity. She really didn't want to go to Tribal Council anymore. Because she was going to have a bitch of time writing either Colby's or Mike's name down on that parchment, even if she were forced.

"So, uh, what do we do with the laundry now?" Colby asked, a little sheepishly. "Do we hang it up somewhere? I've never really done this before."

"Well first we have to go back to camp and rinse it in fresh water," Gretchen explained, a small smirk on her face.

"Why?"

Gretchen stood there, and smiled, and she just had to laugh.

Because yes, Colby Donaldson might have been the most mature and well-spoken twenty-something she had ever met in her life. And yes, she might have been amazed by the thoughts and viewpoints he came up with, especially for someone his age. And yes, he continually impressed and surprised her, very much like her favorite "son" back in Borneo, Greg.

But at the same time, she had to laugh at some of the things Colby just hadn't learned in his life.

Like the fact that you didn't let salt water dry on your laundry, unless you wanted to wear concrete.

DAY 17

The morning routine was pretty much business as usual at Camp Keko. Mike headed out to hunt up some breakfast. Gretchen woke up early and boiled water. And Alicia tried to sleep in as long as possible, since the bleeping sun was just too bleeping bright this early in the god damn bleeping morning.

Yes, day seventeen started just like any other day out here in Hawaii.

But it certainly wasn't going toend like that.

No siree, this day was destined to go down in Survivor history as a little bit different.

Of course, the eleven players remaining in the game weren't quite aware of this. They had no idea that they were less than twenty-four hours away from one of the great firsts in Survivor history. So for now they just went through the motions. The Kekos and the Ahis just wandered around like zombies, as usual, as they trudged their way through their standard first-thing-in-the-morning chores around camp.

Around nine o'clock, the Kekos finally gathered around their campfire to eat breakfast, and maybe to talk about how they wanted to handle today's reward challenge.

And of course, to listen to one of Mike's oh-so-predictable prayers.

"Dear God," said Mike, with bowed head, as he gathered the rest of the Kekos around their serviceable fire pit, "We are so thankful for all you have given us out here in Hawaii. And for all that you have given us in life." He paused. "All we ask today, Lord, is for you to give us just one more good showing in our final immunity challenge. We just ask your help for one final showdown with the Ahis, even though you've already given us so much through your guidance and love..."

Alicia Calaway, who by all rights was one of the more cynical members of the tribe, had heard so many of Mike's prayers before that she had already started to zone out. After all, she'd been here in this prayer circle before. She'd done this with Mike. She'd heard this in Kucha. So you could probably forgive her if the daily Mike Skupin show started to sound a little repetitive the twenty or thirtieth time around.

"... We know we have already been so blessed in this game," Mike continued, his eyes closed, as he clutched Colby's hand in his right, and Kathy's in his left, "We know that at any time, any one of us could have been injured. And any one of us could have left the game, through no fault of our own. So we thank you for always watching over us..."

Alicia, rolling her eyes, now glanced over at Gretchen and saw that she was starting to zone out as well. And Alicia just had to smile. Gretchen Cordy was certainly no atheist. She was probably as religious as anyone here. But she was also far too practical a person to be really buying into Mike's "Rah-rah, Jesus loves us" act each morning around the campfire. Gretchen was a firm believer that hard work was the only thing that mattered out here, and everything else was quite simply extraneous. And even though she'd never say it out loud, she thought it was awfully silly to be sitting here and praying for luck.

So why on earth had Gretchen promised a guy like Mike a spot at the merge?!

Alicia was starting to get riled up again, just thinking about it. It felt like the old demons of anger were about to rear up and start to emerge. But just before Alicia could get lost into the angry zone, that's when something happened. That's when the tone of Mike's prayer started to change. All of sudden, he changed his entire message to God. And Alicia couldn't help but notice that it sounded like big, tough Mike was about to break down.

All of a sudden he hit a certain tone in his prayer.

And his voice cracked.

And with that, Alicia's anger was gone. For just a moment, she forgot all about Gretchen. And she forgot all about the stress of the game. All she heard right now was Mike giving a very heartfelt message to God. She heard it, for perhaps the first time, and once that happened, there was no way she could sit here and be lost in the game.

"... I know from my own personal experience," Mike continued, "That the next two days are going to be very emotional for me. Because I remember every minute of my accident twelve months ago, and the effect that it had on my life. I remember how my life was suddenly changed, like a switch had been flipped."

Oh, shit, thought Alicia.

Because suddenly Mike was taking her back there. Back to Kucha. All of a sudden, it was as if a time machine had opened in the back of her head.

"... I don't blame you, God," Mike continued, his voice on the verge of cracking one more time. "I never have. Because I always felt you were watching over me. You kept me safe that day. And you made me strong. And I just wanted to thank you for having such wonderful people around me that day, and for repeating it here."

You know, Alicia would have loved it if the New York cynic in her could have shown up right now and blocked this shit out. She would have loved it if "tough girl" Alicia could have come out right now and scoffed at Mike's ridiculously manipulative prayer.

But unfortunately, that just wasn't possible.

Because Alicia had been there.

She had been there that day in Kucha, and had helped cart away Mike.

Alicia had been right there that day in Australia, and had seen the whole thing. She had seen Mike fall into the fire. She had seen the panic in Nick's eyes. She had heard Elisabeth's pitiful screams. She had looked into Mike's drug-ridden delirious eyes. Alicia had been there that entire time, she had lived through it, and she would never forget.

And now, to hear Mike thank God for keeping him alive, it was almost too much.

"Excuse me," Alicia said softly, as she fought back those forbidden tears. Alicia wasn't supposed to cry. Hell no, she wasn't. The bad girl of Kucha was not supposed to break down in front of the rest of the tribe. That wouldn't be right.

So she simply excused herself, and walked away from the prayer.

Away from Mike's magical time machine of tragedy-- the one that she'd been trying so hard to avoid.

The rest of the Kekos looked over at her, curiously, as Alicia simply walked back to the shelter and laid down inside. Because truth be told, nobody had actually noticed her starting to cry. They really hadn't been paying attention to anything but Mike. So nobody was aware that Alicia had been tremendously moved by what she had just heard.

And nobody was aware that she was now feeling tremendously guilty about her hand in Mike's fate.

You see, Mike was going to be next.

He was going home maybe tomorrow.

And Alicia knew that voting the guy out on the exact same day just wouldn't seem right.

^^





As Alicia silently debated the pros of cons of destroying Mike's dream in the most heinous way possible, a guy named Boston Rob was finding out firsthand what it felt like when a king's subjects decide to revolt.

Because here he was, the new leader of the Ahi tribe-- a title he'd earned, by the way-- and already, despite all common logic, Frank was giving him shit.

"Look, do you have some sort of a problem with me?" Rob asked, in a somewhat perturbed manner. Because he couldn't help it. This was the third time Frank had dissed him since yesterday, and by now it was clearly pissing him off.

"No, I just don't care to work with you, that's all," Frank explained, bluntly. "Look, all I want to do is reinforce the roof today. It needs to be stronger. And I'm sorry, but I don't want you getting in the way and messing it up."

If Frank and Rob had been gunslingers in an Old West saloon, this was the exact moment when the rest of the cowboys would have jumped out of the way and over the bar. Because if there was one thing you did not want to insult in Rob Marino, it was his construction skills. That was what the guy did for a living, it was what he took pride in, and there was no way he was going to stand here and take this from Frank.

"You asked for volunteers!" Rob said, "You said, 'Does anybody want to help me rebuild the roof today?'"

"That's right," nodded Frank. "I did. At first."

"And I said that I would," Rob said, heatedly. "Nobody else raised their hand. So I stepped up. I said, yes we need a new roof, and yes, I'd be glad to help you. I said that I'd give you a hand!"

"And I said I didn't care to work with you," Frank said, gruffly. "So why don't you just go away before you get hurt."

Off to the side, Colleen audibly gasped.

Because despite his normal calm, cool, collectedness, she could see that Rob Mariano was now about two minutes away from throwing a punch.

"Look, do you have a problem with me?" Rob replied, angrily. "Is that it? You didn't like the way things went with Lex and now you're gonna sit here and cry?"

"Go away, Rob," Frank said, dismissively.

Sitting off to his left, Tina could only watch in awe as Frank Garrison pulled off possibly the stupidest move she had ever seen in the game of Survivor. Because he was visibly baiting Rob Mariano. The guy who controlled his fate. Frank was casually baiting Boston Rob, he was doing it quite blatantly, and there was no really good reason.

And Tina found herself trying to think: Was Frank doing this on purpose? Did he just wake up this morning intending to pick a fight with Rob? Was this some sort of a strategy? Or deep down, was Frank just being an ass?

Right now, Tina couldn't figure it out.

All she did know was that this was either the stupidest move in Survivor history, or it was one of the most brilliant. But even Tina, the one person who knew Frank pretty well, couldn't figure it out.

Boston Rob, who just stood there, dumbfounded, clearly had no idea how he was supposed to react to this. Because he had never really feuded with someone like Frank. Most people Rob had fought with in his life would react if you pushed the right buttons. All you had to do was find that one sensitive spot, hit it hard, and watch them squirm and react. That was how they did it in Boston. You got up in each other's faces, and the first one to back down would inevitably be branded for life.

But for some reason, Frank just wasn't wired like that.

He never showed emotion. He never snapped. He'd never react.

You could say whatever you wanted to his face, and Frank would just shrug and leave. And Rob was already incredibly frustrated dealing with someone who would never fight back.

"You're such an incredible pussy!" Rob now laughed at hin, more out of wounded pride than anything. "Jesus, you creepy lunatic. The whole tribe thinks you're a freak. Don't you even realize that? You ask for help, but no one wants to help because they all hate you. So you decide to take it out on me? What the fuck? Why don't you go cry in the shelter a little more, you brain-dead neanderthal."

It wasn't the best comeback in the world but, hell, Rob had to say something. After all, his tribe had been watching this whole exchange. The whole tribe that he now controlled. Colleen had seen this whole exchange. And so had John. And there was no way that Rob was about to let Frank just talk down to him in front of his peers.

But alas, that was Frank's intention. To dismiss Rob and embarrass him in front of the tribe. And that's exactly what he was planning to do.

"Go away, Rob," he repeated, turning his back.

And just like that, the argument was over.

Because if Frank turned his back, that meant he was dismissing you, whether you liked it or not.





^^





Thirty minutes after the big Frank-Rob blowout, Vecepia finally caught up with John. Her final two partner. Because they suddenly had a very big problem, and Vee knew that John needed to know.

"Rob wants to throw the immunity challenge," she said, gasping for breath, as if she had run all the way here. "He wants to throw the immunity challenge and get rid of Frank."

"What? After that?" John was stunned. "I knew Rob was a big baby, but please."

"No, not because of that," Vee explained. "He already wanted to get rid of Frank. But now he's insistent. He wants Frank to go. He knows that Frank will be nothing but trouble if he gets to the merge."

John just smiled when he heard this last sentence.

Because that was one of the sweetest phrases he had ever heard in the English language: Trouble for Rob.

"Well tell Rob that trouble for him isn't necessarily trouble for me," John snickered. "So tell him he can go fuck himself if he wants to throw immunity, because I aint gonna do' it."

Vecepia just shook her head and groaned.

Of all the times for John to renew his personal grudge with Rob, this wasn't the best.

"Look, I know you don't like the guy," she explained, "I don't like him much either. But, remember, we're all entertwined at the moment, and we both need his vote."

John just nodded, reluctantly.

Of course they all needed one another.

He knew that, and accepted that, as much as it made him sick to his stomach.

"I know that Rob is a little bit power mad," Vee continued, "But that's sort of what he does. You just have to know him. Gve the guy any little scrap of power, and he turns into the king."

John just snickered.

"The problem for me isn't with throwing the challenge," Vecepia explained. "Shoot, I don't care if we lose immunity. It's not going to be you or me who goes home, so what do I care?"

John agreed with those sentiments one hundred percent.

"The problem is that Rob wants to get rid of Frank," Vee continued. "He wants to get rid of Frank when TINA IS THE MUCH MORE DANGEROUS PLAYER!" She stared at John with baleful eyes. "Rob is going to make a huge mistake if he puts his own personal vendetta above of the good of the tribe. He's about this close to screwing it up for everyone on Ahi, and I don't think he cares."

"Rob doesn't care that Colby is just sitting there waiting for Tina at the merge?" John asked, incredulously. "Is he just too stupid to see that??"

"Rob thinks that Frank will deliberately try to sabotage him, and that's why he wants Frank to be gone."

John took in a deep breath, and then let out a sigh.

"Well, shit..." John said quietly, as the importance of the upcoming immunity challenge suddenly loomed like a mountain in front of him. All of a sudden, his fate in this game, and Vee's, and even poor little Colleen's, rested in the hands of a dickhead like Rob.

One Rob snap, one wrong impulsive decision, and Tina would likely bury them all in a gleeful path of Colby-helped vengeance right after the merge.

"So what do you suggest?" he finally asked Vecepia.

"I don't know," she said, for the second time in as many days. Because it was true. Just like she'd mentioned to Rob in a similar conversation yesterday, right now Vecepia simply had no easy answers as to how they could get out of this trap.

"Well fuck Rob," John finally concluded. "Fuck him and his stupid plans and fuck his ridiculous pride. I'm not throwing a challenge just for his sake. And I'm sure as hell not giving up our numbers just so he can sleep a little better at night."

"Well, what if he throws it himself?" Vecepia cautiously mused.

"If he throws it himself, that's on him," John said. "That's his decision and there's no way we can stop it. But I'm not going to help." He shot an angry look at Vecepia. "Rob dug this hole for himself and now he can fix it. I refuse to help the guy out just because he's an ass."

^^

Tree mail announcing the reward challenge came just after lunch at Camp Ahi. And, just like both tribes had expected, it looked like the last reward before the merge was going to be big.

"We're running in a maze?" asked Colleen, once Vecepia had finished reading the parchment to the rest of the tribe.

"Yeah, and it says this is one we don't want to miss," said Vee. She turned around and re-read the last paragraph just to be sure.

"If there's a reward in the game that you don't want to lose, then this one will surely be it."

Vecepia put down the parchment and eyeballed her Ahi tribesmates.

This was a biggie.

The reward to end all rewards.

This was the All-Star reward.

If they lost this one, they'd never forget.

"Well I say we head out there," smiled Boston Rob, "And we run that maze. And we take that reward. And we shove Keko's face so far in the sand that they'll never recover."

"I second that!" grinned an unexpectedly enthusiastic Tina Wesson.

And just like that, it was on.

Ahi's final chance to steal a reward away from Keko was finally here. And this was the big one. If Rob and the Ahis had anything to say about it, that feast would be theirs.





^^

As Keko and Ahi trekked towards a whopper of an afternoon they would never forget, Tina Wesson took a few minutes along the way to figure out exactly where she stood in the crosshairs from Rob. Because at the moment, that's really all that she wanted to know. Was Tina going to be Rob's target if Ahi were to go to Tribal Council tomorrow? Or was Rob going to turn his considerable anger towards his new mortal enemy, Frank?

Tina thought she knew the answer, but she just wasn't sure.

So she spent a few minutes catching up with the women of Ahi, just to find out the scoop.

"How you doin', girly girl?" Tina chirped happily, as she pulled up alongside the youngest member of the tribe, Colleen.

Uh oh, thought Colleen.

This was a conversation that she had been desperately trying to avoid.

"How's your ankle feeling?" Tina asked, concerned. "Is it still sore?"

Tina was referring to a nasty spill that Colleen had taken on some wet rocks this morning. She had been out hunting for shellfish and she had slipped. And it hadn't been pretty. So Tina... always the nurse... came over to check on how her younger tribesmate was doing.

"Well, it's feeling a little better," answered Colleen. "But I don't think I'll be the MVP today or anything." She looked over at Tina and scrunched up her nose. "I wish we were doing something other than running. My poor ankles are gonna be mad at me later tonight."

"Oh, don't worry," assured Tina, smiling. "You'll do fine. You always do. I can't imagine my daughter would be out here doing this sort of thing."

Colleen looked over at Tina and smiled, politely.

But the voice in her head kept saying, "Please just leave me alone!"

You see, ever since the successful takeover by Rob and his mafia, Colleen Haskell had found herself in the unenviable position as "the weak link in the bunch." After all, she was obviously the least hardcore player among her alliance of four. And she also happened to be the sweetest and nicest. So if there was any player here who Tina would be trying to sweet-talk right out of the alliance, it was going to be her.

Colleen Haskell was the perfect ally for a Tina Wesson coup d'etat, and she knew it. Everyone knew it.

And now, it looked like Tina's offer was finally here.

"Look, Tina," Colleen said softly, and very much against her better nature, "I don't want to talk about the vote. So please don't ask me if you or Frank is going home next, okay? I don't want to talk about it."

Tina, who was expecting to have to be a whole lot more subtle about this, was a little confused about how to respond.

"Well..." she stammered, a little bit off her game, "Well, if you don't want to talk, Colleen, that's fine. I was a just a little bit curious about..."

"I can't," said Colleen, turning away awkwardly.

It was apparent that Rob had already briefed her on what to expect.

"Well that's okay," nodded Tina, sadly.

Darnit.

She really hated the control that Rob had over Colleen sometimes. She really did. Because Colleen had no idea of the snake's nest that she was walking into in the upcoming days. She really had no idea.

Colleen was far better off breaking away. And Tina wished she would see that. And that wasn't just the strategist in Tina talking, that was also the mom! Right now, she was tremendously concerned about her young friend's ability to handle this game. Colleen was opening a Pandora's Box she'd never really experienced before, and Tina was quite concerned of where it would lead her as the game became dark.

So where did that leave Tina now? Well she certainly had no opening with Colleen. Boston Rob, and whatever brainwashing tactic he had used, had already seen to that.

Frustrated, Tina now sidled up to her other friend on the tribe, Vecepia. After all, at the very least, at least Vecepia would give her some info. And why not? The two of them had been working together, and sharing info and gossip all game!

"We shouldn't be talking about the vote right now," Vecepia said quickly, as Tina settled in next to her on the walk.

What?

"But I didn't want to..." Tina protested.

Vecepia cut off her one more time.

"Not now. Rob's watching. Stay apart."

Tina just stood there, dumbfounded, as Vecepia continued to walk along the beach, casually, as if nothing had happened. Vee just walked along in her normal brisk manner, her eyes hidden behind a dark pair of sunglasses, and Tina suddenly realized that Vecepia might be a little more attached to Rob than she liked to let on.

And she felt like a fool for not having realized it up until now.

"Am I next?" Tina suddenly asked, "I'm next, Vee. Aren't I?"

Vecepia said nothing.

She just turned, shook her head slightly, and mouthed the word "no."

^^

Ahi and Keko met up for the final tribal reward challenge around four o'clock in the afternoon, as the sun was starting to hang low over the western Hawaiian sky.

The two tribes stood side by side in front an enormous wooden maze, as Jeff smiled at them and explained the rules of the game.

"Both tribes are going into that maze," he explained, as he pointed to the large wooden behemoth behind him. "You're both entering through the same door, and you're both trying to exit through the same door." He smiled. "And anything that happens inside the maze, well, that's pretty much up in the air."

"You mean we can, like, mess with the other tribe?" asked the always-bloodthirsty Mike Skupin, with a grin.

"No," laughed Jeff. "I don't mean it like that. I just mean, you guys are both trying to get to the same place. And you're both going to taking the same tunnels and passageways. So my advice to you is not to mess with the other tribe." He turned and gave Mike some smiling advice. "Because... Mister Skupin... as we all know, in this game, sometimes payback's a bitch."

Oh well. Mike just shrugged, disappointed.

Over on Ahi, someone called him a freak.

"So those are the rules of the game," Jeff concluded. "Five of you run in the "IN" door. Five of you run out the "OUT" door. First tribe to escape the maze wins a special reward."

Jeff let this last sentence hang in the air for a moment.

And surprisingly, he didn't follow it up with anything else.

"Aren't you going to ask us if we want to know what we're playing for?" asked an amused Alicia Calaway.

"Do you want to know?" Jeff cocked his head at her.

"Of course."

"Well let's just say..." Jeff smiled, choosing his words very carefully, "That you're playing for a very special reward."

A few players groaned.

Great. They were effectively now bidding on a mystery plate.

"Do we at least get a hint?" asked Tina.

"No hints," smiled Jeff, "No clues. This is a total mystery reward."

"Great," muttered Gretchen.

"But I will tell you this," Jeff said, as he smiled one last time. "Out of all the rewards in the game, this is the best. This is not the challenge you want to lose."

And with that cryptic clue in mind, they lined up in place.

^^

With the all-important reward challenge ready to start, the five members of Ahi lined up in a single-file line right next to the Kekos. Boston Rob, of course, headed the charge for the Ahis. Boston Rob always headed the charge. And he took a moment to glance over at his rival, Colby Donaldson, who was leading the Kekos.

Colby glanced over at his rival alpha, he noticed that Rob was staring at him, and he nodded his head.

Yep, this was just another important Survivor showdown for the big boys in front.

"We're gonna smoke him today," Rob now whispered, as he leaned back to talk to Colleen. "Watch. Today's the day we make Colby our bitch."

Colleen just smiled, and shrugged.

At no point in this game had Rob managed to defeat Colby in a head-to-head matchup. And by now, Rob had turned it into a bit of a crusade. Day after day, he seemed to be obsessed by the idea of finally beating Colby in a challenge. All he wanted to do was defeat the guy once. And Colleen could already tell that today Rob was especially pumped.

"Survivors, ready!"

The five Kekos tensed. They were ready. They still had no idea why the hell Lex was missing from over on Ahi. But for now, that question would have be put aside, as they played for reward.

"Set!"

The five Ahis, minus John (chosen to sit out) were focused and ready to go.

And with that, Jeff dropped his right head, effectively starting the challenge.

Boston Rob's crusade to finally defeat Colby had officially begun.

^^

You know, in the history of Survivor, there have been many moments in time when a tribe won a challenge simply because they wanted it more. It had happened in Borneo. It had happened in Australia. It had happened in Africa. And it had happened in Marquesas.

And, of course, today it was about to happen in All-Star Survivor.

Oh it wasn't that Keko didn't want to win this challenge. Hell, they never wanted to lose a challenge. Especially to someone like Rob. The Kekos were far too competitive a tribe to ever simply give up a win..

But the Kekos also knew that this wasn't a must-win challenge today.

The challenge they really needed to win was the one for immunity.

If the Kekos lost this challenge today, and they lost reward, well, really, it wasn't something they'd lose any sleep over. After all, it was only for reward. But if they went balls-out today, used up too much energy, and screwed up their chances of winning tomorrow...? Well that would a strategic tragedy they'd never forget.

So the Kekos ran, but they didn't exhaust themselves.

While Rob and the Ahis raced around the maze like they were in a race for their life.

It wasn't just that Rob wanted to finally beat Colby. Of course that was a large part of it, but deep down the primary reason was that the Ahis just wanted to eat. You see, they hadn't had a fisherman like Richard Hatch for the first twelve days of the game. And they didn't possess a hunter like Mike Skupin on their tribe, who would kill anything that moved and then fry it up.

Oh sure, Frank Garrison would go out and catch something once in a while, if the conditions were right. But he just wasn't as bloodthirsty as Mike. Frank very much believed in the tenets of hunting "just what you need" and "not raping the land just for sport."

Meanwhile, over on Keko, by this point Mike had killed pretty much everything but a cameraman.

So the Ahis were focused, they were driven, and most importantly, they were essentially starving.

And it was that thought, a wonderful feast, that pretty much won them reward.

"We're out!" screamed Rob, as his sweaty face emerged from the maze after about twelve minutes inside. "We're out! We're out, Jeff! We're out!"

Rob came tearing out of the maze with an enormous grin on his face. Right behind him came an equally excited Colleen. And then Tina. And then Vecepia. And then their intrepid hunter, Frank.

The Ahi five were out.

They had won reward.

Boston Rob had finally bitchslapped Colby for the first time all game.

"Ahi!" screamed Jeff, "Wins the mystery reward!"

The five members of Ahi fell into a big, sweaty heap on the ground, where they cheered and celebrated as if their lives were about to change from what they had won. They screamed and shouted and carried on as if this reward would be a moment they'd remember for the rest of their lives.

Of course, they were right.

But Boston Rob had no idea that fate could sometimes be a little bit cruel.

Jeff waited for the dejected Kekos to emerge from the maze, and then he led both tribes over to a treasure chest that sat by the shore. This was the chest that held Ahi's newly won booty. This was the chest that held the "best reward in All-Star Survivor." The one that the Ahis were certain was food.

And as Boston Rob reached over and ripped off the lock, Jeff Probst hoped the cameras were about to catch what would easily be the comedy highlight this season.

The lock was off.

The chest opened.

And inside, Rob pulled out...

A very familiar Hawaiian tiki idol.

"Ahi!" announced Jeff, "Wins immunity!"

If it was possible to capture the sound of shocked silence, this would have been it. Because for a good four seconds, there was nothing. No noise. No reactions. No celebration. No nothing.

There were just eleven people looking on in shocked silence, trying to process this news.

"Our reward was immunity?" Colleen asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Yes!" Jeff smiled.

Just like that, a lot of peoples' strategies had been thrown a huge curve.

"Ahi, you are now safe from the vote," Jeff went into his now-familiar spiel. "But Keko, you'll be joining me tomorrow night at Tribal Council, where one of you will become the sixth player voted out of the game."

He turned and looked at the once-confident Kekos. The ones who were so sure that they would tie up this game. The ones who had been so confident that they would take home the prize. The ones who, up until about thirty seconds ago, had been absolutely positive that they were going to win an immunity challenge that would now never come.

Alicia was absolutely speechless right now.

Gretchen looked flabbergasted.

Colby just glared at the sand.

And even beneath the ubiquitous warpaint, the anguish in Mike Skupin's eyes was impossible to miss.

"I'm sorry, Keko," Jeff explained. "But I told you this was big. This was definitely the one reward you wanted to win."

None of them said anything in response.

Just like that, the entire course of this game had been altered, in one minor twist. Keko hadn't been ready for this. Ahi definitely hadn't been ready for this. In fact, if you had asked some of them, perhaps this was an immunity they really hadn't wanted to win.

Boston Rob, for one, didn't know whether he was supposed to cheer or to cry right about now. He couldn't believe it.

Because Frank had just avoided the Sword of Mariano, and he hadn't even known it.

Frank Garrison, for his part, gave no visible reaction to winning immunity. He simply smiled and nodded along with the somewhat forced jubilation around him. But he was happy. After all, why wouldn't he be happy? What this twist meant is that now he was going to make the merge. Frank was going to make the merge. And so was Tina.

And so was Rob.

And that meant that the fun was about to begin.

Temporarily out-of-character thanks to his happiness, Frank now reached over and clapped Rob playfully on the back, just like they were buddies. He knew this was a little bit over the top and obnoxious but, hell, why not? Rob was standing there and he couldn't resist. Why not offer congratulations to the guy?

After all, Rob's single-minded zeal to beat Colby-- his obsession-- well, it might have just cost The Robfather the game.

DAY 18

Colby.

Alicia.

Mike.

Gretchen.

Or Kathy.

The five remaining Kekos had been living together, and working together, for the past two and a half weeks here in Hawaii. They had done everything together, they had done it with pride, and at all times, they had worked for the good of the team.

But now, after one of the cruelest twists of fate they ever could have possibly imagined, one of them would be leaving the game.

And the worst thing was, that execution was going to happen tonight.

"This sucks," said Alicia, as she stared dejectedly into the morning campfire. She was currently sitting here next to Colby, their much beloved cowboy, as the two former Australians reminisced about the fabled comeback that was apparently not destined to be.

"We had them," Colby spat bitterly into the fire. "We had them, Alicia. There was no way Ahi was winning immunity today. No way."

Alicia just shook her head, sadly. Because Colby was right. Every sign had been pointing to a Keko comeback in this game. The stars. The fates. The air. Everything. The Kekos were going to win immunity today. It was practically a given. And the fact that, now, they would never get that chance was pretty much enough to just drive them insane.

"I blame myself," Colby now admitted, candidly, as he turned and looked at his alliance mate. "You know?"

"You can't blame yourself, sweetie," Alicia said, still staring at the fire. "You couldn't have known that reward was immunity."

"But I should have pushed harder," Colby admitted. "I should have gone pedal to the metal. I should have... I should have..."

It was clear that Colby was still quite upset with himself.

He just wasn't the type of person who liked to let down his tribe.

"God!" Colby spat one last time, as he kicked sand towards the fire in angry disgust. He couldn't believe it. Keko was now going into the merge undermanned, and it was all because Colby had been saving his strength. Colby hadn't gone all out, he had let down his tribe, and he knew this would hang over his head for as long as he lived.






^^





As Colby and the dejected Kekos came to terms with the comeback that was never to be, their rivals across the island were currently sitting around the fire, enjoying their victory. Because with breakfast this morning came freedom. And relief. And an acknowledgement that the Ahis were now set to dominate the rest of the game.

"Did you see their faces?" laughed Rob, as he munched on a morning papaya. "Did you see that idiot Alicia? When we pulled out that idol I swear to God, I thought she was gonna shit in her pants."

Even though Rob should have been a little bit worried about the latest turn of events-- what with the fact that he would now never have a chance to dump Frank before the merge-- in truth he was actually in pretty good spirits today. After all, Ahi now had a day off. A complete day off. There would be no stress around camp today. There would be no strategy. And as any Survivor could tell you, a day off without "the game" was as good as it got. In other words, even if they didn't get a feast, Jeff may have actually been telling the truth when he told the Ahis that this was the best reward they could possibly get.

Was Rob a little bit nervous about Frank being around for a few more days?

Of course.

But today was not the day to dwell on that. Today was a celebration day. A day of victory. So screw Frank. Today, Rob was just here to relax.

"What I think would be funny," joked Rob, "Is if they decided to off Mike tonight. Can you imagine?" He turned and exchanged a look with Vecepia. "What if they dump his sorry ass the same day as before?"

"Oh my gosh," said Tina, quietly, as she put a concerned hand to her mouth.

She'd been here all this time, for eighteen days, and not once had she realized that Mike was probably sweating this out.

"Oh man, that would be awesome," laughed Rob, as he tossed the rest of his papaya into the fire. "Mike goes home on day eighteen. That would be classic. It would be like, see ya, buddy. This time, we'll do the job instead of the fire."

There were a few nervous giggles from the rest of the tribe, but no one really guffawed like Rob had expected they would. Apparently it was just too awkward to laugh at Mike around someone like Tina.

And immediately, from the silence, Rob knew he had apparently crossed the line of good taste.

"Awww, come on guys, I'm just jokin'," he said. "Lighten up." He turned and exchanged a look with Colleen. "What is this, Black Sunday? Come on. We won! Let's have a party!"

Colleen mustered up a small smile in response, but in truth she really didn't feel like celebrating today. She mostly felt like crying. Because Rob could sit here and carry on all he wanted to and say it was great, but all Colleen knew was that now she would be living a lie until the end of the game.

"Well I certainly don't have a problem with winning," smiled Tina. "I mean, I'm not going to sit here and gloat about it," she exchanged a look with Rob, "Sorry, Rob. But you guys, one of us now has a very good chance of winning this game. So I don't see any reason why we shouldn't sit here and celebrate."

"Amen," cheered Vecepia.

Rob, sitting off to the side, glowered a little bit at Tina's silent chastising. But what could he do? She just happened to be an expert at cutting you down in that southern motherly way. She could do it with skill.

But she would pay a price for her impudence.

Oh yes she would.

You see, Rob already had... special... plans for Miss Tina.

And they were going to be harsh.

"So who do you think they'll vote out tonight?" asked Vecepia, trying to head off some sort of Rob/Tina cold war. "Do they go the obvious route, and spare Mike?"

"They won't vote out Mike," Tina confirmed, as she sipped from a cup of hot water.

"No chance?" asked John.

"None," she said, shaking her head. "Look, I know Colby, and I know Alicia. I know them both of them well. And the two of them would rather die than vote for him tonight. Believe me, Mike's perfectly safe."

Rob, who had remained silent for most of this exchange, simply smirked to himself over Tina's remark.

Pussies, he thought. Sure, vote with your heart. And then watch when Mike becomes the very first person gone when we hit the merge. Hasta la vista.

So the Ahis sat here, and they went around in a circle, debating who they thought would be the third person gone from the Kekos.

And eventually, the common belief was that it was probably going to be Kathy.

"It won't be Mike," John theorized, "Because they wouldn't want to do that again."

Sitting next to him, Tina shook her head in response, vehemently. No way would it be Mike tonight. No way. No Australian would do that.

"And it won't be Gretchen," John continued, "Because she's the leader." He paused and looked around. "We all can agree on that?"

They all did.

Gretchen was the leader.

There was no way around it.

"It won't be Colby and Alicia, because they're both too strong in the challenges," John added, "So there's no way that Keko would want to get rid of either one of them. My guess is that Gretchen probably thinks Keko will need to win some individual immunities if they want to change up this game."

"And also because..." Frank started.

But Tina silently cut him off.

What Frank was about to say was, "Because they probably think that Colby can swing Tina over to Keko after the merge." But Tina wanted that little secret to stay down for a while. So she silently touched Frank on the arm and gave a quick, nearly imperceptible, shake of her head. There was no way she wanted to screw both her and her good friend Colby by bringing this up.

"So if we took a vote right now," John summarized, "We all think it's Kathy?"

Rob nodded. So did Frank. So did Tina. And so did Vecepia. Who, of course, would be thrilled if Kathy went home tonight, because of their combatative past.

You see, Vecepia Towery was worried about Kathy as a potential adversary. Very worried. Because she knew that a vindictive Kathy could be extremely bad for business after the merge. If Kathy ever got a chance to fit in, it wouldn't be good. If Kathy ever got a chance to take revenge for what happened in Marquesas, Vee's game could be done. So Vecepia just smiled and said a quiet prayer to herself that the Ahis were right. If God wanted Kathy to be out of this game, that would just be a sign.

If Kathy was missing come merge time tomorrow, Vee would be winning this game.

"So that's it," said John, as he stood up and wiped off his hands. "Kathy goes home tonight, and then we pick the rest of them off in a row."

The rest of the tribe nodded their heads.

"But no funny stuff, okay?" John said, a thin smile on his face. He shot a quick glance at Rob. Then at Vecepia. And then over at Tina. "We all stick together to the final six. And then... well... whatever happens at the final six, with deal with then. Can we all agree to that? We all stay tight until we get to six?"

The Ahis nodded.

Of course they were going to nod.

Because in a tribe made up of two-person alliances, you learned to say yes.

^^

As the Ahis dispersed, to go do whatever it was they were going to do today, Boston Rob shot a glance at Colleen, one that said he had something he wanted to share. And this was a familiar look. The two of them were becoming awfully good at sharing non-verbal signs.

So Colleen dawdled by the fire for a few minutes.

Just waiting.

Until, finally, Vecepia headed off to the beach to do laundry, and that meant that Rob and Colleen were now officially the only ones here.

"Kathy isn't going home tonight," Colleen said confidently to Rob, once she was sure that nobody else was listening in.

"She isn't?"

"Nope, it's Colby," Colleen smiled. "The only person it could be is Colby."

Rob just stared at his young tribesmate and cocked his Red Sox cap back on his head. How on earth would she know something like that? Was someone passing along info and Rob didn't know? Did Colleen get some sort of secret message from Gretchen back at the feast?

"Gretchen will never vote out one of the women," Colleen said, explaining her insider knowledge. "I know that because I've played with her. She's sort of a Survivor feminist. So I don't think that Mike or Colby stand much of a chance."

Impressed with Colleen's sly intelligence, Rob caught himself in a half-smile, not really knowing how to react.

Colby?

Colby Donaldson?

Tina would never see her beloved Colby again?

"That's huge," Rob whispered. "But are you sure? You're sure it'll be Colby?"

"Well, if what Tina says it true," Colleen shrugged, "If Alicia will never vote Mike out, then yeah, it has to be Colby." She paused for a second, as if mulling the options over. "I bet Gretchen and the three women team up to vote Colby." She nodded. "It has to be him."

"Ha. Tina is fucked!" Rob said, a little too loudly.

Colleen just shrugged, innocently. She was just telling Rob what she knew. Now what he did with this information, or what he planned to do with it, well that was between Rob and little Miss Tina herself.

"Okay," Rob smiled, gleefully, the wheels of machination already churning inside his head. "Here's what I need you to do..."

"Oh come on," Colleen protested, miserably. Not another mission. Couldn't Rob just sit here and celebrate like the rest of the tribe?

Must he always stay two steps ahead of everyone else??

"You need to go talk to Tina and cut her a deal," Rob explained. "Just tell her you're sick of the scheming, and you're sick of me, whatever, whatever." He waved his hand, dismissively. "Tell her you're tired of me, you want the good guys to win, blah blah blah, and it's why you want to go with her to the final two."

"No!"

Colleen was horrified.

"Look," Rob explained patiently, "If we don't do this today, if we don't do it before she sees Colby missing at the merge, then there's no telling what she's gonna do when her back's to the wall."

"But she'll never believe me! Rob, she's not stupid."

"She'll believe you because you're you," Rob put a hand on her shoulder. "She'll believe you because you're Colleen. She'll believe you because you're the only person in the entire world who she'd never see coming."

Hearing this, Colleen just groaned and lowered her head.

Knowing she was now spinning faster and faster towards her own personal circle of hell.

"Fine," she said, begrudgingly. "I'll do it. I'll do it, but I'm not gonna like it."

Was Colleen really going to do this? Was she really going to walk right up and lie to the sweetest woman she'd ever known in her life?

Well... for now... all Rob needed to hear was the simple word "yes."

"Atta girl," smiled Rob, a devious grin on his face. After all, if he had Tina in the bag-- if he really had her tied to Colleen as an expendable fifth-- well then the sky was pretty much the limit for his success in this game. Like Vecepia, Rob was completely convinced that there was just one obstacle standing between himself and a check at the end.

"Don't let Tina stray," Rob reminded her, one final time. "Don't ever let her think of running to Keko. Don't give her any chance to think that there might be better than here."

"I won't."

And just like that, Rob's hold over this tribe became a little bit stronger. And a little more solid against leaks. Because Colleen was going to get the job done. Colleen pretty much always got the job done. She was his number one ally here in All-Stars, because she was good at her job.

You see, Colleen Haskell had no idea how important she was to the Robfather's plans in this game.

She had no idea.

After all, he may have had the day off, but her much more important job of social networking was about to begin.

^^

They had only been up for a couple of hours today, but already the two men of Keko were feeling a bit nervous.

Because they had seen Alicia hanging out with the women, and she was talking a lot.

"You think she's going to sell us out, bro?" asked Colby, as he sipped from a cup. He turned and looked over at Mike, who was standing nearby. "You think that Hatch was right? Are Alicia and the other chicks cutting us loose?"

Mike stared off into the distance and saw Alicia laughing with Kathy.

It appeared that Alicia and Kathy had suddenly become very buddy-buddy today. All of a sudden, and seemingly completely out of nowhere, it looked like Alicia was best friends forever with the other two girls. And that wasn't a good sign. A little alarmed by this latest development, Mike started thinking backwards in time as fast as he could. He stood here and tried to think back a few weeks in the game, trying to figure out if the warning signs might have been there all along, and they'd simply been missed.

"She looks awfully happy today," Mike mused out loud. "She looks awfully carefree."

"I know," Colby murmured. "And that's what's I don't like."

As Mike and Colby stood and eyeballed Alicia's interaction with Kathy, they watched with dismay as she spent a good twenty minutes just laughing and joking along with her friend. And that really worried them. Because Alicia normally didn't laugh about things. She was normally far too serious to just stand there and giggle like a school girl. And already, Colby could feel the gnawing dread that today could be the Colbster's last morning in All-Star Survivor.

"Come on, you know her better than me, bro," Colby murmured under his breath. "So what's the deal? Do you trust her?"

"Well, in Kucha I always trusted her to a point," Mike muttered back. "Because she is trustworthy. She always has been. She'll do what she says, because she sticks by her word." Mike paused. "But at the same time, Alicia's not stupid..."

"... And competing with Kathy and Gretchen would be a lot easier than competing with us..." Colby finished his sentence.

Mike turned and nodded.

Aye.

That was the catch..

Deep down, Alicia Calaway was an exceedingly trustworthy person, and everyone knew it. After all, who else would you go to but Alicia if you wanted an honest opinion? So for the most part, both Mike and Colby trusted her. They both had a lot of faith that their fellow Australian would make the right choice and do the right thing.

But at the same time... it was a lot easier competing with women instead of guys like Colby and Mike, and Alicia would be aware of this.

And Colby was incredibly concerned that "the right thing" for Alicia might not be "the right thing" for him.

^^





As day turned into afternoon, Gretchen finally had a chance to catch up with Kathy. She had been trying to arrange a strategic meeting all morning, just trying to touch base, but unfortunately there had always been someone around, and it hadn't been safe. But now, after several hours of waiting, Gretchen finally tracked Kathy down alone by the waterfront. And they finally had a chance to discuss what to do with the vote.

"Well you know my situation," Gretchen explained. "I'd love to keep both Mike and Colby. I love them both. I think they're great."

Kathy winced a little bit at this latest pronouncement.

Uh oh. Was Gretchen's heart about to get in the way of her head?

Again?

"But I also know," Gretchen added with a smile, "That the situation sort of dictates we get rid of one. So no, I don't mind voting one of them out." She nodded. "It's just what we have to do. It has to be done."

Kathy exhaled slowly, in relief.

By the end of this game, she was positive that Gretchen was going to give her an ulcer.

"So who do you prefer?" Kathy asked, curiously. "Colby or Mike? Which one can we lose?"

Gretchen, who was wading into the shallow water, turned around and looked back towards camp. Ah, now that was the question, now wasn't it? Which one of our Keko men do you think is expendable? Do you dump the young cowboy who respectfully refers to you as "ma'am"? Or do you dump the workhorse nutcase who you've already promised a spot at the merge?

These were the choices you often had to make in the game of Survivor.

So Gretchen thought about it. And she thought about it. And after much deliberation, she finally came up with the name she'd write down on her card.

"Colby," Gretchen sighed. "It has to be Colby."

She loved Colby. And she loved his personality. But even though he was impressive and wonderful, he still had to be next. After all, she had made a solemn promise to Mike, and she was going to keep it. Gretchen Cordy wasn't the type of person who went back on her word.

"Good choice," smiled Kathy, "Because there's no way Alicia ever would have voted for Mike. You just got lucky."

"Kathy!" Gretchen gasped, good naturedly. "You could have at least told me that." She turned and kicked water at her laughing teammate. "Sure, make the preschool teacher play out Sophie's Choice in her head. Thanks a lot."

"Haw haw haw," laughed Kathy, in her inimitable chortle of glee.

"Fine," said Gretchen. "So it's Colby tonight?"

"Yep," Kathy nodded, much more soberly.

"Well, unless, of course, Alicia prefers to get rid of someone like me."

The minute these words came out of Gretchen's mouth, Kathy just about had a heart attack. Did Gretchen know that Alicia had been chomping at the bit to take her out, whenever they first had the chance? Did Gretchen have any idea just how close she had come to dismissal just three days before?

Gretchen couldn't be aware of that fact. How could she?

Kathy was the only player on this tribe who had seen how close they'd come to a Keko disaster!

"Alicia won't vote for you," Kathy reassured. "Don't worry. She needs us. And I have it on good authority that there's no way a woman is leaving tonight. It can only be Colby."

Gretchen nodded.

And Kathy, for all she was worth, hoped that Alicia was going to be a good girl and would stick with the plan.

^^





As the tribe packed up to get ready for the long hike to Tribal Council, one of the producers pulled Alicia aside to have a quick chat. After all, Alicia was the big swing vote tonight. And that's wasn't a secret. And the producers had been a little annoyed that she had been trying so hard to stay away from the sound byte she owed.

"Come on, Alicia," the producer whined, as Alicia put up an obligatory protest against sitting down for an interview. After all, Alicia didn't like giving away her secrets. She never liked giving away her secrets.

Especially when Alicia had no idea which name she was going to write down tonight.

"You honestly have no idea?" asked the producer, as Alicia leaned defiantly up against a tree.

"No idea," she replied.

"Come on, Alicia, that's bullshit."

The producer, who knew Alicia quite well, knew when she was just avoiding the question. Because she had had a nasty habit of doing this, going back to Australia. If Alicia didn't want to discuss a topic, she'd just lie and tell the producers what they wanted to hear. If Alicia didn't want to do an interview, she would just blow them off and say she had something to do. Because Alicia didn't like doing interviews. And she didn't like bring a production pawn. And these were two tenets of the wonderful package that simply made her Alicia.

"We sort of need your opinion on this," the producer asked, nicely. "It's important."

"Fine," Alicia smiled, wryly. "You really want me to talk about this? You really want to know the truth?"

"Let me guess. I can't handle the truth?" the producer joked, in response.

"Whatever," Alicia shrugged, dismissively, as she turned to walk away.

"Alicia, please," begged the producer, one last time. "No more joking around. I promise. I'll just sit here and you can tell me what you think of the vote."

Alicia stood there and let out a big sigh.

Fine.

But only because he had asked nicely.

Besides, maybe the choice would be a little bit easier once she discussed it out loud.

"To answer your question, yes I am a little bit torn," she finally admitted. "I'm torn because I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to make this choice. And I definitely didn't want to have to deal with Gretchen's god damn pig-headedness, which just messes things up."

"So, is Gretchen one of your options tonight?" came the inevitable follow-up.

"Of course," Alicia admitted. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want her out of my tribe. But at the same time, my hand has been forced. I've been put in a shitty position, I didn't want it to happen, and it's pissing me off."

"So who gets betrayed tonight?" asked the producer.

"Well... I think that's a little harsh..." Alicia protested.

"What? The word 'betrayed'?"

"Yeah," nodded Alicia. "I'm not breaking anyone's heart. I'm just playing the game."

"Yeah, but you have deals with both sides," smiled the producer. "Don't try to get out of that. We all watch the footage. So whether you want to call it betrayed, or outplayed, or whatever, the fact remains that tonight, someone's gonna be mad."

Alicia just glowered at him.

Well thank you, Captain Obvious, for simply relating the facts.

"All I know is that I can't vote for Mike," Alicia said after a pause, finally delving into a soul that was very much human. Alicia liked to pretend that she was made of iron, but of course she wasn't. She was just a girl from New York. Voting for Mike tonight would be the coldest, most assholish move in Survivor history, and no Kucha could do it.

"So no Mike?"

"No Mike," she sighed. "Crazy-ass psycho boy lives to see the first merge of his life."

"So does that make Colby a bigger target?"

"Of course," Alicia shrugged. "I mean, he's the obvious choice. Would you want to go up against that guy for individual immunity? You'd have to be nuts."

The producer just smiled. Now she was bringing the good stuff. It looked like Alicia the Warrior had finally arrived.

"The issue with Colby," Alicia finally admitted, "Has always been if he could sway Tina over after the merge. A few people back at camp think that he can. Including Colby."

"Well what about you?" asked the curious producer. "Do you think Tina will come over for Colby?"

"Well, that appears to be the million dollar question..." Alicia frowned.

She let out another exasperated sigh.

"I will tell you this," Alicia continued. "The only thing Tina will do is whatever the heck is best for Tina. She's not going to come here for Colby. And she's not going to come here for Mike. If she comes over here, it's because that is the best option for Tina." She paused. "And Colby is deluding himself if he thinks she will switch sides just to be with her friend."

"You don't like Tina?" asked the surprised producer.

"Oh no," Alicia chuckled. "I actually love Tina. I think she's great. But Colby's crazy if he thinks he has any pull over her. She plays for Tina."

The producer nodded.

"Tina isn't indebted to Colby," Alicia continued. "In fact she never would have even taken him to the end in Australia. If she had ever had the chance, Colby would have been gone!" Alicia now let out a short, humorless laugh. "Tina would have cut his throat so fast, his head would have fallen off! But Colby, for some reason, doesn't ever seem to realize this. He seems to think they have this special bond. And that they'll always be loyal. But if you ask me, I just think he's delusional. Tina always had some sort of hold over him, and that's why she won."

She threw up her hands in disgust.

Colby or Gretchen? The choice was going to drive her insane.

"All I know," she concluded, "Is that if I vote for Colby, it's because I don't think we can get Tina. And if I vote for Gretchen, it's because I don't want to put up with her shit."

"Well, which choice are you leaning towards?" asked the producer.

"Hell," Alicia spat, "I don't know. If I really was that smart and wise, I could tell you why Ahi voted for Lex!"





^^

It was Tribal Council, and the sad little family of five could do little but sit here in somber and dejected disgust.

Keko wasn't supposed to be here tonight.

Hell no they weren't supposed to be here.

This was supposed to be their big comeback night-- their evening of victory.

But instead they were here, drowning in misery, the losers of All-Stars.

"So what was your reaction when you first found out you'd lost immunity," Jeff asked, from his usual spot across the firepit. He turned and directed his question at the Keko leader. "Gretchen? What was the mood like around camp when you found out you'd lost?"

"Well I'll be honest with you," Gretchen replied, "We were not happy. In fact, if you come right down to it, I think most of us were a little bit pissed."

Sitting next to her, Colby was nodding.

"Jeff," explained the cowboy, "There's nothing worse than when you lose a game you didn't even know you were playin'. I mean, that's just about the worst feeling in the world. You feel like an idiot. Because you sit there and you wonder, could we have won this challenge if we had known what it was?"

"So are you saying that you lost the challenge because you didn't give it your all?"

"No, I'm not saying that at all," Colby elaborated. "I'm just saying that... it's one thing to lose immunity. Challenge losses happen all the time. You just gotta learn to deal with it. But it's another thing altogether to find out that your efforts were futile. To find out, you're never gonna get the chance that you've been buildin' up for weeks in your head."

"A chance to tie the game?"

"Yeah," Colby nodded. "We thought we would get one more chance, and we didn't."

"And it sucked," added a somber Alicia.

Jeff paused and took a moment to look over at the five remaining members of Keko. And he'd be the first one to admit that all five of them looked especially down. None of the players on Keko looked happy to be here. Because none of them had ever really expected to be here. They had thought they were going to come back, they'd played their hands entirely wrong, and now their hands had been forced.

Plain and simple, the five Kekos sitting before him looked like they were done.

It was apparent that the past twenty-four hours had done pretty much everything but ripped out their hearts.

"So do you guys still have a chance at a comeback?" Jeff asked, curiously.

He let the question hang out in the air, expecting someone to take it. But none of them did. Not even the usually outspoken Alicia had something to say on that subject. The five Kekos continued to just stare at the ground, and twist in their misery. They just sat here in pathetic self-pity, as if Jeff weren't even here.

"Do you guys know what I see?" Jeff asked. "Right now, I see a tribe that isn't just physically done, I see one that's mentally done. Right now, I'm sitting here, and I'm looking at a tribe that is about to give up."

"That's bullshit," Alicia said under her breath.

"You're not giving up?" Jeff asked, sarcastically. "Well then tell me, Alicia, how Keko can get back in this game. I want you to sit there and tell me. I want you to sit there, and do something more productive than just stare at the ground."

Angrily, Alicia looked up and finally made eye contact.

"We can get back in the game the same way we've always done it," she said, coldly. "We go out there, we bust our asses, and we take home the prize."

"Well then fine," Jeff smiled. "Then my next question to you is... who goes home tonight? What's the criteria that starts to run through your head, this late in the game?"

Alicia said nothing. She just let the question hang out there. Because she really had no intention at this moment of sitting here and naming a name. And, having had enough of Alicia for a while, Jeff decided to move away from Miss Bad Attitude and go to somebody else.

"Kathy," he asked, turning to someone who generally cooperated. "How do you decide who to get rid of tonight? Because it's apparent to me that you guys are a pretty tight group."

"We are," Kathy nodded.

"So it must be eating you up to lose a player this close to the second half of the game."

"Oh it does. It's horrible," agreed a very haggard-looking Kathy. "We've gone through the wringer today. Because you really don't have any idea what sort of criteria you're supposed to use for this vote."

"Meaning what?" asked Jeff.

"Meaning, do you dump someone strong, because you don't want to compete with them later? Or do you dump someone weak, because you need your team strength? What's the best tactic to use? Where do you go from here? How do you lose someone when you really have no one to lose?"

Kathy finished her little speech and she shrugged.

And with that, Jeff knew it was time for the Kekos to finally decide.

^^

Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien was the first player to walk up and cast her vote. And even though she hated to do it, the only vote she could possibly cast tonight was one for the cowboy.

Of course, on a personal level, Kathy thought the world of the guy. From a standpoint of "who was a good guy to have around camp?", she thought he was great.

But, alas, tonight the CEOs of Keko would be forced to make layoffs.

And unfortunately for Colby Donaldson, his card was about to be punched.

"Not much else we could do," she shrugged apologetically, as she held up his name. Then she placed the folded ballot in the box and went back to her seat.

After Kathy came the Keko leader, Gretchen Cordy. And of course Colleen had hit the nail right on the head in how Gretchen would vote.

"Colby," Gretchen whispered, as the original Survivor feminist held up her ballot.

"I think you're a great guy," she explained, "But I'm not prepared to vote Alicia or Kathy out at this point in the game."

Gretchen paused for a moment, and then stuffed the ballot into the box. And then, almost as an afterthought, she added, "I always said that the women should have a chance to win a few challenges. And, I'm sorry Colby, but none of us will be able to do that if you're still around."

After Gretchen came Alicia.

Who, for obvious reasons, was still debating her decision as she uncapped the pen.

Following Alicia's pivotal vote, Colby Donaldson sauntered up to the podium to take his turn. And Colby, of course, knew he would be a possible target tonight. Hell on this tribe, with these women? There was every chance in the world he might be going home sooner rather than later, especially if Alicia flipped sides.

But still, he held up his vote for Gretchen.

Written in great big capital letters, in the Donaldson way.

"Gretchen," he explained, with an apologetic look in his eyes. "I don't really want to lose you. In fact, I think we'd be idiots to lose you. But... you know... when the tide starts turnin' towards someone, you'd be a fool not to grab on."

Colby hoped beyond hope that Alicia had also voted for Gretchen, per the Australians' plan.

But there would be no way to know that for sure until Jeff read all the votes.

The last member of the Kekos to vote was Mike Skupin. Who simply held up a silent vote for Gretchen, while shaking his head.

"I'm voting for Gretchen tonight," he explained quietly, "But sadly, I don't think it's going to matter. I've got a very bad feeling that Alicia never had any intention at all of sticking around with the guys. Hope I'm wrong."

Mike dropped the ballot into the box with pessimism.

It was going to be Colby or him tonight, and he was already preparing for it.

And Mike didn't feel it was asking too much of the Lord that it wouldn't be him.

^^

Once the ballots had been cast and retrieved, the five members of Keko sat there in somber silence as they awaited their fate. Because one of the five of them was about to going home. The time was here. It was happening now. And this was going to suck.

No matter if it was Gretchen or Colby, they'd be losing a friend.

"The person voted out must leave the Tribal Council area immediately," explained Jeff, as he held the fateful ballot box in front of him.

And with that last piece of finality, he opened the urn.

"First vote..." he said.

He held up a vote for their leader.

"Gretchen."

Sitting in the front row, Gretchen Cordy simply let out an audible exhale and stared at the ground.

"Second vote..."

Jeff reached into the urn and retrieved it.

The second vote was just like the first.

"Gretchen."

With Mike and Colby's votes now out in the open, Gretchen simply looked over and patted Mike's knee. Because she'd known she was going to be their target tonight. So she didn't take it personally when she saw her name twice. Mike and Colby were going to vote for her, as they'd warned her before.

But like Colby, Gretchen still had hope on her side.

She still hoped with every fiber in her being that there wasn't a third.

Next came the first Colby vote.

"Colby."

Jeff help up Gretchen's ballot, which had been adorned with a sad little frowny face just under the name.

And then, of course, came the same name from Kathy.

"Colby."

Colby just sat there and solemnly nodded. It was two to two. Just like expected.

And now the moment of truth was finally here.

"That's two votes for Gretchen," Jeff explained, "Two votes for Colby. One vote left."

He stood there for a second, lapsing into a big, long dramatic pause.

Then he reached into the urn.

And held up the clincher.

"The fifth vote, and the sixth person voted out of All-Star Survivor, is..."

He slowly turned it around and revealed.


"Colby."


Colby Donaldson, sitting dead center in the middle of the tribe, had no dramatic reaction to having been voted out of the tribe. He simply scowled for a second, sniffed once in angry frustration, and said nothing. Then he slowly rose from his seat to reach back for his torch.

"I'm sorry," Alicia said as she stood up and hugged him.

But that hadn't been necessary. Colby wasn't the type to hold grudges. He had always been the type of competitor who took his lumps like a man.

"One of you guys needs to win this thing, okay?" he said, calmly, as he hugged her back. Then he picked up his bag between hugs from his friends. "Don't let Rob or whoever he's got on his side push Keko around. Go win it for me. We gotta make this game count."

"We will," nodded a teary-eyed Gretchen.

"You bet, cowboy," said a somber Alicia.

And with that, Colby's experience in Hawaii finally came to an end.

He walked up to Jeff, watched as his torch was snuffed, and gave one final goodbye as he walked down the path. And just like that, the Kekos were toast. Their cowboy was gone, their strength had been removed, and now they were a powerless little family of four.

"Well guys," said Jeff, once the moment had finally passed, "I know this was a sad night for most of you..."

Kathy nodded.

So did Gretchen.

"... But the good news is that the four of you are about to start a new chapter in this game."

Jeff smiled.

"Starting tomorrow, the four of you are going to merge with the Ahis. Where you will now live as one individual tribe for the rest of the game."

And now... finally... Jeff saw a few smiles. Especially from Mike. Who'd been waiting to hear that sentence for more than a year.

"So get back to camp," Jeff added, "And get a good night's rest. Because we have a lot to do tomorrow, when you meet your new tribe."

Jeff then stood and dismissed them.

And watched as they walked in a single-file line out into the dark.

^^

The evening should have been over for the Kekos. After all, they had just ripped open their hearts and dumped their once-favorite son. By all rights the excitement should have been done for the night.

But there was still one bit of business to attend to.

Mike hated it-- he hated the timing-- but it had to be done.

"I just wanted to thank you guys for not voting me out tonight," he explained, as the Kekos sat somberly around their firepit around midnight. "I know you didn't have to vote Colby. I know you had every right to write my name down, and I wouldn't have been mad. But I just wanted to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for letting me stay You guys did something very special for me tonight, and I'll never forget."

There. Done.

Mike hated to be all sappy about this, he really did.

But this was a big deal for him-- his first Survivor merge-- and he had to give thanks.

"You were never in danger," Alicia confirmed, as she leaned over and affectionately rubbed his bald head. "You were perfectly safe."

Mike smiled.

"Maybe God just gave you a second chance," Alicia added, "And now you need to kick butt."

Mike laughed.

With Alicia's words hanging in the air, the intrepid little band of four turned in for the night, and headed to bed. Tomorrow they would be meeting the Ahis. Tomorrow they'd be little more than the hostages of a guy named Boston Rob. But luckily for them they didn't quite know this. And even if they did, what much could they do?

For now, all they knew was that they had to win this game, because that was the plan. They had to do it for Colby. They had to make this night count.

But how do you win Survivor-- down four to six-- against the best of the best?

- Read Colby Donaldson's final words

- Read Mario's Episode 6 commentary notes

- Back to the All-Star Hawaii episode archive

- Email the author