Survivor: Okinawa
Episode 5- Prisoners of War
by Mario Lanza



Sato Tribe (green): Christopher Collins, Murtz Jaffer, Lance McHale, Hogan Mueller, Joni Newman, Amy Twieg
Kamiya Tribe (yellow): Matt Carter, Michelle Kin-Fraley, Ryan Rebez, Mike Ruff, Isabella Smith, Beth Sowles



DAY 13



Matt Carter and Beth Sowles were in trouble, and they knew it.

All it had taken was one vote, one Kamiyan Tribal Council, and the two friends knew that their time in the game was up. It was simply over. All illusions of team unity and friendship with the Kamiyas had been shattered with one simple reading of the ballots. Because when David McDaniel had received his walking papers last night, it was all the two of them needed to see. Now they saw the truth. Kamiya did not want them here.

And the true nature of Kamiya had finally come to light.

"Welcome to Kamiya," Matt had deadpanned, in a rain-soaked confessional late last night. "You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

And while Matt had been more than happy to speak his mind to the cameras, Beth had little to say to anyone last night. After the vote she had walked back to camp in complete silence, her head down and raindrops pouring onto her uncovered head. Because she had been angry. She had been -furious-. Never in her imagination did she expect that David would be leaving. Never! There had -never- been any indication that Mike would be voting against the Satos. Mike had pledged his loyalty to the Satos beforehand, repeatedly! So Beth had been blindsided... she had been used... and now she felt awful. Now she wanted to be sick.

Beth had come back to camp and crawled in the shelter to go to sleep. she hadn't muttered a word to anybody, not even Matt. She had simply crawled in, soaking wet from the rain, and had gone to sleep. And she looked depressed. It made Matt worry.

But for his own part, Matt had tried to make the best of a bad situation. He had tried to joke around with the Kamiyas during the walk, as best as he could anyway. But it appeared that none of them wanted to talk much. Despite his best efforts, Matt was getting the cold shoulder. Mike would do little more than grunt his responses... and Michelle wouldn't even talk at him.

And Matt knew they were in trouble. He and Beth were in -deep- trouble.

So Matt had crawled into the shelter and curled up next to Beth, his sleeping buddy. And the two of them dozed off alone-- two solitary figures all on their own in this game. Amy was gone, David was gone, and pretty soon the two of them would be gone too. All their friends were rapidly being taken away from them, one at a time.

And they had never felt so helpless before in their lives.



^^



This morning, Beth and Matt were still asleep. The rest of the Kamiyas had arisen to start their chores, but the two Satos had decided "to hell with it." They wanted to sleep in. So screw the rest of them, Matt and Beth would be waking up when they damn well felt like it.

And this, of course, was a fact not lost on Michelle. Because sure, she felt bad for the two of them. Sure, she knew what they were feeling. Sure, she knew what they were probably going through right now. So she could empathize... kind of.

"Look," she had confessed this morning, "-Each- of us is going to have our names written down at one time or another in this game. But we signed up for Survivor and we should really take it like adults." She shrugged. "David handled it very well last night, and I'll give him credit. But Beth and Matt-- on the other hand-- are upset. And they -should- be. They have been lied to, and they don't understand why. But just because you got played like a used violin, it doesn't mean it was ever personal. It's either you or someone else. So just because they ended up on the losing side doesn't mean they need to act like it's the end of the world. It's just a game!"

So yes, Michelle was trying her best to be empathetic. She really was. But the fact remained that it was 10:00 and she had already had enough of Beth and Matt today. She was tired of their attitudes. Just because they lost didn't mean they should get a free ride around here. They were going to get up soon and they were going to start doing some work. And she would see to it personally if she had to.

"If they don't get up soon," she had whispered to Mike, "Then they don't eat. Simple as that. No work, no food. They can kiss my ass if they think we'll be feeding their lazy butts."

And while the day was already off to a bit of a rocky start, one member of Kamiya wasn't upset in the slightest. One member was thrilled beyond belief with the way things had gone down last night. And sure enough, Ryan Rebez was ready to gloat about it.

"Well, well, well, David" he smiled, as he sat down near the Kamiya mangrove, "I guess our friend Marcus Brutus couldn’t contain himself. Good thing the ides of March are at the other end of the calendar!"

Ryan laughed, happily. Because he wasn't here to taunt. Not really. This was more or less a tribute to a fallen comrade. For despite all the animosity between the two men over the past six days, Ryan -had- been a bit sorry to see David go. From a competition standpoint anyway... David had been one of the good ones. And now it was time for Ryan to bid him farewell. It was time for Ryan to say his goodbyes.

"I have to say," Ryan confessed, "That I would have been satisfied to die at your hand, David, were it so fated to be. You played a masterful game on most accounts... though you let power go to your head a little bit toward the end." He smiled. "But your reaction to our chat the first day we met was priceless, and more than I could -ever- have hoped for. And I had more fun fencing with you than I’ve had with anyone else so far. So here's to you, fellow warrior."

He bowed his head slightly, a sign of tribute.

"You made a valiant effort and I commend you for it. You couldn't have known what you were entering into, and there's no fault in that. And if I may... I have one more Shakespearean thought for you, if you'll accept it." He paused, and then spoke dramatically, as if on stage. "Heaven forgive him, and forgive us all; some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall." Ryan smiled. "It’s from 'Measure for Measure,' which I find to be an apt title as well. So well fought David, you were an excellent swordsman. And if you'll excuse me, I believe your protege Matt is eager to pick up your sword and proclaim himself Inigo Montoya. And you and I both know you'll be seeing him again real soon."

And as with most days, Kamiya went right back into action. Mike went out to set his deer snares, Ryan went out to go fishing, and Michelle went out to gather firewood. And though they were all busy, one Kamiyan was currently unaccounted for. Because as usual, Isabella Smith was being very good at blending into the background. Which was going to be helpful... because today was going to be important.

"Right now," whispered Isabella, from behind the firepit, "I'm very happy with how things are going." She popped her head up to make sure Michelle was gone... and she was. Isabella was now alone by herself at camp. Alone with the Satos. Exactly where she wanted to be.

"The vote went exactly as I had hoped last night," she admitted. "And though I would have -loved- to vote Ryan out, it just was better for me to have David gone. Because while I might dislike Ryan more and more with each passing day, I'm not stupid." She grinned. "Ryan might be evil, but David was no innocent flower. I consider them both enemies, and it's better to keep the enemy you know rather than the enemy you don't know....for now at least."

She laughed, silently.

"Besides, now the Satos are directionless. They no longer have a leader, and that's certainly good for me."

She smiled, mischievously.

"As you can see, the Kamiyas have a definite way they like to play things, and that is stupidly. They like to play this game as directly and stupidly as possible, and it just makes me laugh. Because they have -no- idea they are burning their bridges with everybody. And the three of them have more or less now turned this place into a prisoner of war camp."

She peeked her head around the shelter to make sure Ryan wasn't sneaking around. She had seen him doing it before, and wanted to make sure he wasn't listening to this. Because this was important.

"Mike, Michelle and Ryan are doing some very bad things right now," she added, "And the three of them could pretty much be poster children for the abuse of power. They've turned their paranoia and fear, or pure sadism, into weapons to use against the Satos, and they're going to keep doing it as long as they can. Because in the Kamiya prison camp, it's apparently not enough to eventually kill your enemy. Apparently you need to kick them while they're down just to keep a feeling of control."

Isabella looked disgusted by all this. She really -really- disliked her tribemates right about now. Even more than usual, if that was even possible.

"Survivor is war," she nodded, "And killing is necessary. That's the only way to win. But there's no need for torture and never has been. So right now you're seeing the true character of three very weak-minded people." She paused. "I have always believed that a key part of Survivor is how people act under two extreme conditions: when the cards are stacked against them, and when they are in power. Only a true Survivor can handle both well... which pretty much tells you what I think of my three tribemates. Quite frankly, they make me sick."

She smiled now, trying to strike a somewhat lighter tone. After all, she didn't want to come off too harsh on TV. Not yet anyway.

"But the great Kamiyan flaw," she laughed, "Is that none of them make any backup plans should something unexpected happen. Which is fun for me, because I think we'll be seeing another twist before we get to another vote. So sure, I'll play along with your little mindgames, Ryan. Sure, I'll kick the Satos while they're down, Michelle. But don't expect me to get -too- involved with Kamiya pride, okay?" She grinned now, as mirthfully as possible. "Because quite frankly, I'd like to keep my options open."

She reached down into her backpack, where she had stashed a few items.

"The next target here will be Matt. The Kamiyas have made that quite certain, and that's exactly what they'll try to do. They will send Mike in to be the good cop, they'll sucker Matt in, and then they'll stage a fight. Just like before."

She smiled now as she fished out the items she was looking for. In her hands she now held four oranges. Two for Beth and two for Matt. They were extras she had come across on her gathering mission last night, and she had saved them. Saved them for a very special purpose.

"The problem for Kamiya," she smiled, "Is that I don't want Matt to be voted out. Not yet, anyway. I would rather it be Beth..." Her eyes twinkled. "Or even better, Ryan. So it looks like I have a little work cut out for me today. It's time for Kamiya to start realizing that Ryan doesn't run this game. He thinks he does, but I do. And I've almost run out of uses for him. I just don't need him for my purposes for very much longer."

And with that, she was off.

The petite blonde woman walked into the shelter, where Beth and Matt still slept. And being careful so as not to disturb them, she carefully placed two oranges in each of their backpacks. There, now they would have a little gift when they woke up. Michelle could withhold their food all she wanted... but Isabella would make sure the Kamiyan prisoners were going to be treated well. Just in case some sort of twist was coming up.

After all, it was just good karma. Be good to someone and they will later be good to you. Wasn't that how the saying went?



^^



Kamiya split itself into two factions for most of the day. Sure enough, the four original Kamiyans spent most of the day hanging out in a group, while Matt and Beth mostly hung around the campsite. The two sides interacted very infrequently this morning and, even then, it was a bit strained. Because Michelle didn't really want to talk to the Satos. And Beth didn't want to talk to the Kamiyas. And Mike was doing his best to stay far away from Beth and Matt.

And for now, the two sides pretty much just kept to themselves.

"I'm scared of what Jeff said last night," admitted Mike, as he helped Isabella and Ryan pull in some fishing line. "He said he would be here this morning, and I think it's gonna be a second twist."

"That's kind of what I was thinking too," said Ryan. "I think he's got something stored up for us today and I don't think we're gonna like it."

"We should put the gnome out in front of the camp," joked Michelle. "Kind of like a scarecrow. Maybe put a 'Keep out, Jeff' sign next to it."

Mike laughed out loud, as he always did when you made jokes about his gnome. He seemed to be oddly attached to that little lump of plastic sometimes. And it always made people wonder a little about his sanity.

"So what's the plan, big guy?" asked Ryan, as he turned to Mike. "When do you start the good cop routine again? Today?"

"Yeah," nodded Mike. "I'll probably go explain it to them after lunch. I just have to come up with the right story first. Gotta make sure it's solid before I go approach them, 'cause they're gonna be pissed."

"Screw them if they're pissed," scorned Michelle, "They just got played. No reason to be crybabies about it. Grow up."

"What I was thinking..." said Mike, finally, "Was to blame it all on David. Just say he was trying to get Matt out or something and I didn't like it. Say I felt David was getting a big head and was getting out of control and I didn't trust him. Make it sound like I was doing them a favor."

"Yeah," nodded Isabella. "That would work. And make them feel welcome."

"You want me to go antagonize them?" smiled Ryan, "I will if you want."

"Nah," said Mike, "They won't need it. These two are easy to manipulate. Beth in particular will believe anything you tell her. Matt's a bit harder sell but I think he defers to her."

"Alright," nodded Ryan. "It's your show. You're the expert here."

"And tell them to fucking do some work!" Michelle reminded him. "This isn't a soup kitchen. Get off your lazy asses and go find some fish."

"Yeah," sighed Mike. "Okay, after lunch. I guess the show must go on."



^^



And as Kamiya plotted, Beth and Matt were stuck more or less just staring at the fire. They didn't have a whole lot else to do, nor did they really want to. The two of them were just overwhelmed. Beth moreso than Matt, but both of them had seen better days. And now that they were finally up, now they could at least start to bitch about it. At the very least, at least they still had someone to commiserate with.

"All we can really do," said Matt, "Is hope for the best, regardless. I mean I don't like it any more than you do, but we can at least stick together."

"Yeah," nodded Beth, as she stared at the flame. She seemed very non-committal.

"And I can say right now," said Matt, "That if they so much as touch a hair on your head, I will murder them. If they vote you out, I'll spend the rest of my days hunting them down like dogs."

Beth looked over at him and smiled. And even though he was 18 and she was 43, the two of them had always had a bond. And God bless the kid's sense of chivalry. He still thought something could be done about their predicament.

"Well you know I'd do the same for you," she said. "If they vote you out, I'll be sure to make their lives a living hell. They've only seen sweet Beffy so far. They haven't seen me pissed off yet."

"Aww," smiled Matt, "You couldn't be mean if you tried."

"No," she looked sheepish, "Probably not."

"But at least we can make this vow," Matt said. "For real. If they vote one of us off... the other becomes an avenger. If either of us go, they have to deal with the consequences. And we need to make them -know- this too. If they mess with Beffy or Big Red, they won't like what happens in the end."

"You got it," smiled Beth. And then she shook his hand. "Deal."

"Just me and you now," sighed Matt. And he stared at the fire, speaking absently. "Me and you."

"...and you and me," sang Beth, softly. "No matter how they toss the dice, it had to be..."

"The only one for me is you," grinned Matt, "And you for me."

"So happy togetherrrrrr," finished Beth.

And at this point they had dissolved into giggles. Okay, the mood was at least broken. Once you started singing Oldies, it was hard to be depressed.

"I'm sorry for my mood today," Beth said, as she reached to clean off her glasses, "I guess I just need some cheering up."

And while Matt thought she was mad at Mike, the focus of her anger turned out to be different than Matt had expected. Because Beth seemed to have bought Mike's cover story. She had bought it hook, line and sinker.

"What was David -doing- last night?" asked Beth, anguished. "I mean, we had Mike in the palm of our hands, and then he went and ruined it! What was David -thinking-?"

"Well it kinda seemed," said Matt, "Like he went a bit suicidal on us. But then again, Mike could have been setting us up in the first place. We'll never know."

"David just got damn cocky," said Beth. "And I don't think I'll ever forgive him. The only reason I'm a little bit upset with Mike is he didn't tell us he was going to vote against David." She shrugged. "But I think he had ample reason to. He was just acting in his own best interests. David just pissed him off."

"Did he ever."

"Did you talk with Mike at all after the vote last night?" asked Beth.

"Just a bit," admitted Matt. "All he said was that it was an either/or situation and that David had really been pissing him off. He said he would explain it more today."

"Dangit," murmured Beth. "Why did David have to do that? Why? What the -hell- was he thinking?"

"Well," shrugged Matt, "He more or less put our asses in a sling. Just because he got cocky."

"And how much do you think Mike had to do with it?"

"I think," said Matt, "That Mike didn't like the idea that someone else called the shots. So he probably got a bit jealous and that probably led to it."

"Stupid Mike."

"Yeah," grinned Matt, "I hear you."

And the two sat in silence for nearly two minutes, just staring at the fire. There really was very little to talk about. Mike had screwed up and David had screwed up. And now the two of them were screwed. And what really could they do about it?

"Well, I've got an idea," grinned Beth, suddenly. "If we go to Tribal Council, let's all vote out the gnome. I can't stand that thing."

"I can -assure- you," promised Matt, "That the gnome will not be leaving Okinawa in one piece. If I have anything to say about it, he will meet a tragic end."

"Oh, I can't wait to see! Please Matt, I'd be your best friend. Do it for me! Please??"



^^



And Beth and Matt had intended to stay angry with Mike. They really had. They had intended to hold a grudge against the guy for the rest of the game, just out of spite. Because he had flipped on them. He had gone against his word... he had voted out David... and he hadn't warned them first. In short, they never wanted to talk to the guy again.

"But I was surprised," Mike would later admit, "At how fast they let me back in. I went right over to them and started talking... and you'd be surprised at how much they were willing to forgive me for." He laughed. "Apparently I'm a better actor than I thought!"

So yes, Mike had been stunned at how fast Beth and Matt bought his story. He had come to them just after lunch, per the plan, and tried to explain his side. Well, the side he was trying to push anyway. And it had gone as smoothly as clockwork.

"You guys are probably really pissed at me," he explained, to which Beth nodded, "And I deserve it, too. You guys have every right to be angry with me."

"Why didn't you at least warn us?" asked Beth. She was still near tears about it.

"I wanted to," Mike implored, "I really wanted to. But a lot happened right before the vote, a lot you guys didn't even know about. And I kind of had to make a split second decision. David more or less forced my hand."

"How?"

"Well, both you and I know David threw that challenge. He admitted it to me at the time, and I knew he was up to something. He was plotting something behind everyone's back."

Matt just stared, silently. He still didn't like Mike. Nor did he trust him. Not a bit.

"Anyway," Mike continued, "Right before the vote David told me he -didn't- throw the challenge. And he blamed that story on you, Matt. He said you started that rumor and that you were trying to turn Kamiya against him. And he was pissed at you."

Beth shook her head. No way. David wouldn't have done that.

"But I tried to call him on the lie," Mike lied, "And then he got mad at me. Everytime I pushed him to be honest with me, he got madder and madder. And I didn't like that. I don't like it when my teammates lie. I wouldn't do it to people and I would expect them to show me the same courtesy."

Mike saw Beth nodding, so he continued on this topic. He could see it was working.

"I wasn't mad that David threw the challenge," he continued. "Hell I didn't care that we lost. But I -did- care that he made the decision without us. He never asked us if we should throw it or not, and I took offense to that. It was very presumptuous of him."

"But Ryan threw it too," added Beth. "He blew out my flame twice. And then he just stood there, laughing."

"That's been my worry," nodded Mike. "I suspect that David and Ryan were a team. And they were trying to hide it. Think about it. All their little fights and spats... always in public. What if all those were staged to get us to think they were enemies?"

Neither Beth nor Matt replied, so Mike continued. He knew he had them now.

"I admit that I played emotionally," he said. "I admit that I voted with my gut instead of my brain, because David scared me. He scared me more than Ryan ever could have. Because at least with Ryan, you know what you're dealing with. And though I had every intention of voting for Ryan, the David vote was just something I did and I'm sorry." He put on his best sad face. "I wish I had played it smarter."

"You still should have told us," glared Matt.

"All I can say," pleaded Mike, "Is that I'm sorry. Please accept my apology. I still want you on my side, but I know you'll probably never trust me again."

"Damn right," said Matt.

"But please just remember," said Mike, "That if they keep up their shit, I'm still perfectly willing to force a tie. I don't like Ryan any more than I did before, and I know Emma could be swayed to help us." He shrugged. "So if you were still interested in taking them down a notch, I'm still interested. With David gone it should be easier."

No one spoke for a few moments, and then Matt was the first one to break the ice.

"Well," said the young redhead, "I'd -love- to accept your apology, Mike, but being the semi-paranoid freak that I am... I just can't. Because we -did- trust you and we put a lot of trust in things that you said."

"I know. And I can assure you I have used nothing against you. I never sold either of you out."

"And David would have stuck with us," Matt said. "No matter what you say, he would have stuck with the three of us."

"I admit that I probably screwed up," Mike hung his head. "And that's all I can say. What else do you want from me?"

"Well..." said Matt, after a long sigh, "Regardless of what your intentions were, I'll admit it takes a big man to apologize. So thanks for at least coming and explaining to us. We appreciate it."

Beth nodded, gratefully.

"I just wish I could have come through for you guys," Mike finished. He sighed. "But just -know- that I owe you both from this point on. I won't let you down again."



^^



Mike had the Satos completely fooled yet again. And as he left, he was quite pleased with himself. The cycle was starting up once more, and things were going right on schedule. Mike was well on his way to a million dollars.

"And the beauty part of it," he grinned, "Is that Michelle is going to go back up my story. She and Ryan have decided they want to get in on the fun and they'll be playing around with Matt and Beth this time as well. This time it won't all be on my shoulders. This time, -everybody- wants to be in on the fun."

And then Mike sat down to give a quick confessional. He made sure nobody was around as he sat down. Then he spoke. And his words quickly gave away the cunning intelligence he was trying so hard to hide from his tribesmates.

"All I wanted to happen last night," he explained, "Was for David to be gone. The guy was going to be a major thorn in my side... so I'm glad he got the old gnome booting. Good riddance. Though the guy had flaws as a player, his intensity made him dangerous. And for that reason, he simply had to go."

Mike reached down to pick up a rock. He weighed it in his hand, testing to see if it would help weight down his fish trap he had created last night.

"And for the record, I -do- care about what Beth thinks and how badly I've used her. She's a good person and this sucks to have to do it to her. Matt I could take or leave, but Beth doesn't deserve this. But as for David..." he smiled. "I'm sorry to tell you, buddy, but when you see this episode it will be an eye opener. I know you're a "student of the game" but I hope you learned something from -this- teacher."

He laughed.

"And as much as I hate to deceive the Satos, it's actually pretty fun when you get used to it. It's like playing "the Mole." I've spent the past week gathering information, sabotaging peoples' games, and still nobody suspects that I'm the Mole. And this goes for the Kamiyas as -well- as the Satos. I have no loyalties here. I play for myself. I get in your head... listen to your theories... and then set you up for execution. And then just repeat as needed."

He smiled now, wickedly.

"But the problem is that you guys cast me for the wrong show. 'Cause I would have made a -great- Mole."



^^



As Kamiya geared up for their second round of "Fool the Satos," things were much different across the island. For on the wide sandy beach of Sato... team unity was at an all time high.

"We're going on a pineapple hunt today," smiled Joni. "Because we're starving and everyone's miserable. So we're all going out as a team this morning to go find some food. Wish us luck!"

The Satos were indeed on a quest today-- and that was to find some food. Because if there was one word you could use to describe the team in green since day one... it would be "hungry." Since the first moments of this game, Sato had been dangerously straddling the line of starvation-- and things were ready to change. Things would -have- to change.

Especially with Christopher around.

"Look, you guys," he had said, as he pulled his tribemates aside this morning, "I know you don't really want to hear this-- but we need to start getting things done around camp. Because I don't know if it's been this way since the start, but nothing ever gets done around here. Have you guys always lived like this?"

Lance nodded, sadly. So did Amy. Hogan just stared at the sand.

"And I know it sucks to take this role," Christopher added, "But I'm frustrated and I think someone needs to start taking care of tasks around here. So if you guys don't mind, I'd love to help us get some things done. And maybe help us get some food in the process."

Joni smiled, happily. Because her tiny frame was already taking the worst pounding from the lack of substenance over here. She didn't have much more weight to lose!

"Right now," Christopher said, "I'm the one doing all the fishing. And I don't mean to point fingers, but it's true. And sure, Amy and Joni will come out and help sometimes but it's still pretty much all on my shoulders. And that's not really fair."

Lance nodded. Chris was right.

"So what we should do today," Chris smiled, "Is all go out... -as a tribe-... and go find some food. If we all work together, I'm sure we can find something around here. This isn't Africa, you guys. There's gotta be some pineapple or sugarcane around here."

And though he had worried about Sato's response, Christopher was thrilled when they all liked the idea. Though he knew he was taking a risk, he was glad they saw this was something that needed to be done.

"Chris," said Lance, as he came over to shake the actor's hand, "If you can get us all eating and strong, we'll do anything you want. No one's happy to be hungry."

"It sucks," agreed Hogan.

And so thirty minutes later, the six members of Sato were walking through the tall grasses that surrounded their camp, looking for something edible. They walked hand-in-hand, in a long line, as they searched for something... anything... that would be considered food.

And with the increased spirit of unity, the mood among the tribe was light and cheerful today. The tribe joked around as they searched, with some of the old frivolity and light-heartedness showing through. Today it was good to be a Sato again. For a change.

"I think I'm still wired from all the coffee yesterday," Murtz joked. "You guys shouldn't have given me any. I'm still bouncing off the walls. Err... the sand."

"Oh great," Christopher laughed. "We should have planned that better."

"Note to self," smiled Amy, "No coffee for Dave. He gets juice next time."

"Seriously, bro," added Murtz. "I've been all jazzed up today. Like time is moving too fast or something. I'm still buzzing."

"Dave," teased Chris, "You don't even have blood in your veins. You pretty much have caffeine as it is. Coffee probably just waters you down."

The rest of the tribe laughed, even Hogan on the end.

"Well, just store it up for now," advised Lance. "Take all that energy and release it during the challenge. Make it work to your advantage."

"Yeah," nodded Murtz. "We should all drink coffee before the challenges. It'd be like Popeye eating spinach."

"No way," said Amy, shaking her head. "I can't drink coffee. I'm Mormon. Coffee bad!"

"Me too," piped up Joni. "Don't spray any in my mouth."

"Oh yeah," laughed Murtz. "I forgot. Seriously, you two have never had coffee? Everyone I know is like a java addict."

"I can -make- it," shrugged Joni, "But I don't drink it. Never have."

"That's weird," chuckled Murtz. "No offense. It's just strange to me."

"There's so many other things to drink out there!" smiled Amy. "You should try it, Dave. It would chill you out."

And as the tribe finished their coffee debate, they were suddenly interrupted by Lance on the far left of the line.

"Hey guys," he said, his normally placid voice noticeably excited. "Check out that green patch to our left. Is that what I think it is?"

And it was.

"Pineapple!" pointed Joni, at which point she and Amy exchanged an excited hug. But the rest of the tribe was already racing over towards the small patch of the distinct golden fruits. Hogan was sprinting over like a madman, hungrily salivating at the thought of fresh pineapple tonight. And he was the first to reach the patch, eagerly gathering all he could find.

Then the rest of them were here.

Christopher.

Murtz.

Lance.

Amy.

And Joni.

And all six shared delighted shrieks of joy as they scooped up as much underripe pineapple as they could grab. They were going to eat tonight. -They were going to eat!-

And it had all been because of Christopher.

"Chris," said Lance, as he patted the tall actor on the back. "Well done, my man. Nice job."



^^



The walk back to camp was held at a more leisurely pace, as the Satos did their best to transport nearly twenty pounds of pineapple back to their campsite. And they walked back individually-- instead of as a group-- with several pairs of players lagging behind to chat.

"Hey Chris," said Amy, as she had dropped behind to talk to her fellow leader. "How you doing?"

"Doing great," he nodded, "And you, Miss Amy?"

"I'll be doing wonderful once we start eating this," she smiled, lifting up her buff full of pineapple. "Thank you -so- much for getting things organized around here. We really needed it."

"No problem," he shrugged. "Just something that needed to be done. Hopefully we can get started on the shelter problems now. I think these guys just needed somebody to kick their butts in gear for a while."

Amy nodded.

"Then maybe you can help us find some shampoo and soap," she teased. "I think we're all dying to clean up a little."

"Oh my God -yes-," said Chris, rolling his eyes. "I'm not used to living in filth like this."

"What I wouldn't give to wash my hair," pined Amy.

"Mmmmm," smiled Chris, closing his eyes. "To just lay there and relax. While somebody washes your hair. I love it."

"We should get a reward of a haircut sometime," joked Amy.

"No kidding."

"Well I'll tell you what," promised Amy. "If we ever get shampoo for a reward, I'll wash your hair. We'll go down to the beach and I'll wash it for you."

"Deal," he smiled. "And I'll do the same for you."

Soon Amy excused herself. Because she had someone else she needed to talk to. And the teenage girl happened be walking just up ahead.

"Chris," she said, "I need to go talk to Joni for a bit. Will you excuse me?"

"What?" he smiled, "Mormon stuff? You guys forming an alliance?"

Amy just laughed, but Chris wished her well as she set off. He wasn't too worried though. Because while Amy and Joni -had- been growing closer lately, he wasn't too threatened by it. Joni's allegiance was to the Angels and always would be. He knew it. Joni would never try to go behind his back.

Nor was Amy trying to get her to switch. Not yet, anyway.

"I love Joni and I love Chris," Amy had smiled this morning, "The two of them are -awfully- tight, but I adore them both. And I have to say that Chris is probably the best friend I've got in Okinawa right now. Joni's sweet and all, but Chris is the best friend I've had here since David went to Kamiya. And I fully intend to keep it that way."

But now Amy was here, and she saw that Hogan and Joni had sidled up together. The two teens were whispering something to one another... which wasn't much of a surprise. Hogan and Joni had been trying to hide their bond but it was plainly evident to most of the rest of the Satos. Hogan and Joni were buddies, and Hogan evidently appeared to be sweet on her. Anyone could see that.

"Although I don't think she's really his type," Amy would joke.

But Amy sat back and walked... waiting for Hogan to leave. She could wait. It was a long walk. She would let them finish.

And Hogan wasn't going to be here for long. He had pretty much just stopped by to carry Joni's pineapple. The Eagle Scout in him saw the young girl struggling with the weight and he had been more than happy to help out. After all, that's what Scouts did.

"Hey Joni," he had smiled, as he came up alongside her. She had smiled up at the tall boy and greeted him warmly.

"I just wanted to know," he asked, "If I could carry that for you. 'Cause it's a long walk back and I can handle the weight if you want."

"Oh that's sweet of you," Joni said, "But I'm doing okay for now." She readjusted the straps on her backpack, where she was carrying three pineapples. "I'll let you know if I need any help."

"'Kay."

"How are you doing, Hogan?" she asked, sensing that he was a little melancholy today. "You seem quiet."

"Oh I'm okay," he said. "The game's just been a little stressful lately... with Chris wanting Lance out and Amy wanting Dave out. I don't want them to fight over it."

"Oh they won't," said Joni, confidently. "Chris is too nice to fight and Amy is too sensible. Plus I think Chris wants Dave out too. Really I couldn't care less. So long as it isn't you or me, I don't care."

"Yeah."

"Dave has always annoyed me," Joni said, as she shot one of her glares in the guy's direction. "He talks to me like I'm four years old." She opened her eyes wide, excitedly. "And that maybe if I'm good and do what he says, he'll give me a sparkly pony sticker! Oooh, I love ponies!"

Hogan laughed.

"Yeah, he's kind of an ass," he agreed.

"And Lance just isn't interested in being friends with anyone," Joni added. "Have you noticed he's always very business-like in all his conversations? He's too formal."

Hogan nodded.

"I just picture him," Joni smiled, "Having a business suit and a desk somewhere out here. So he can change back into his work clothes after the challenges and get back to his job."

"Lance is alright," said Hogan. "He's just stiff."

"I don't care who goes next," Joni grinned, with a twinkle in her eye, "But I'd -love- to vote Dave out. Just so I could write a big number sixteen on my ballot. Just so he knew he got beaten by a sixteen year old."

Hogan laughed.

"That's awesome," he smiled. "Dave would crap his pants."

"But I worry..." said Joni, "That then Chris and I would be in the minority. That's always been the issue. Then we'd be down three to two."

"No you wouldn't," said Hogan. "Cause I already promised you I'd be on your side. You look after my back and I look after yours, that was the deal."

"I know," nodded Joni, "And I intend to keep it. And you promise you'd be on our side... even if it was against Amy?"

"I promise," nodded Hogan. "And I never lie. Me, you and Chris will be a majority, no matter what. I don't care what Amy thinks," he grinned, "My allegiance is to you, Joni."

"Well I'm not going to backstab Chris," she noted. "I just want to make that clear. Chris is my best friend."

"Then we'll all be the final three," finished Hogan. "Right?"

"Definitely."

And as the two teenagers finished up their conversation, Joni finally relented and let Hogan carry her pineapple. She shrugged off her backpack and helped him put it on his back. Then she smiled gratefully and thanked him.

"You're a good friend, Hogan."

"Thanks, you too."

And as Hogan walked away, he was feeling much better. Joni was his best friend. Joni was a lot of fun. And Joni was dependable. He knew she would come through when it counted.

"Joni and I," he predicted, "Are going to be inseparable. She doesn't have a deceitful bone in her body, and she's just awesome. The two of us are going to be the final two. Count on it."

But what Hogan -didn't- know was that Joni was having nearly the same conversation with Amy right now.

"How about I'll watch your back," Amy asked, "And you watch mine? After all, we're the only girls here. We need to stick together!"

"Of course," nodded Joni. "I'd never go against an LDS! But I'm not going to go against Chris either. He's my best friend here. Please don't ask me to turn against him."

"I would never go against Chris," Amy promised. "No way! We need him."

"Well then we have a deal," smiled Joni, smiling up at her older teammate. "Me, you and Chris, we'll stick together."

And as the Satos finished their trek back to camp, Amy was happy. The team was really coming together now. Sato was starting to really come to life.

The Core alliance was solid.

The team was eating.

Christopher was calling the shots.

Lance was happy.

Dave was going to be next.

And she had a strong bond with Joni to look after each other's backs. Things were going well now. Amy was on top of the world.

"And I -mean- it," Amy later confessed, "When I say I've got Joni's back. I won't separate from her unless I absolutely have to."

She smiled.

"Even though I don't entirely trust her. If you ask me, the girl's a sweetheart with a dagger."



^^



Sato went about their daily rituals back at camp, with a newfound spring in their step thanks to the sudden influx of food. The shelter was starting to be fixed up, Lance was going out to catch some fish, and Joni had combined the pineapple with some shikwasa into a delicious fruit cocktail surprise. And then the tribe got another dose of good news when they were told they had treemail.

"Sweet!" said Murtz. "We'll go get it. Chris and me."

So the two men wandered out to go check treemail. And Murtz hadn't gotten more than fifty feet from camp when he started laying into the newfound "love tribe" of Sato. As usual, he had a lot to get off his chest about his Sato teammates.

"This is ridiculous," he complained. "Love tribe my ass. What horseshit."

"No kidding," nodded Chris.

"And Amy is so full of shit," Murtz continued, "With her fake smile and her 'Let's all be nice' attitude. Does she honestly expect we don't think she's a player? She's going to make a move against us soon and the rest of the tribe is going to play along. I know it."

Chris shrugged. Two minutes into the walk, and he was already tired of Murtz's complaining. Some things never seemed to change.

"Amy would be -very stupid- if she voted Lance out next," Murtz added. "And you know it. She's not gonna vote out another Sato. She's going to vote for me or you."

"She trusts us, Dave," Chris sighed. "She trusts Jones and me and she doesn't trust Lance at all. She'll play along, dude. Just be patient."

But Murtz was still seething.

"I hate players like her," he said, "I just cannot stand them. She's so transparent. And -all- the Satos are like that. I hate them all."

"Yeah."

"If you want to make friends with me," Murtz said, "You have to come right up to me and say 'Dave, give me your boot order.' You say that, and we'll get along just fine."

Chris laughed. "No kidding," he grinned. "You get a hard-on if someone says that."

"I do! But I just like hearing what other people are thinking. I like other perspectives."

"Yeah, whatever you say," smiled Chris. "You're just paranoid. You need to know what people are going to do. You play scared."

"Whatever," Murtz shrugged. "But I told you before that I think they cast -all- the players on Kamiya. All the good players started on one team! And now we're stuck with the retards here at shit-o."

"Well one person you better be careful with is Jones. She's a player. And she doesn't trust you at all, Dave."

"I talked to her today!" Murtz nearly yelled. "Don't tell me to go make friends with her 'cause I do! I talk to her every fucking day."

"What did you say?"

"I told her not to flip on us. I said she'd be stupid if she ever voted either of us out. I made sure she realized it was a bad move."

"Ah, okay."

But deep down, Christopher was laughing on the inside. Murtz had told Joni what to do? Murtz had actually walked up to Joni and threatened her? Oh, Christopher wished he had been here to see that. He imagined that Joni had just -loved- that conversation.

And then the two men reached the treemail. Murtz reached in and pulled out the small piece of paper... along with four small metal stars.

"Ninja stars!" he laughed. "Sweet, dude!"

Murtz pocketed the four lethal little weapons and then read the parchment out loud.

-"It's time to square off
With some stars and your skill--
That really is all it will take.
Just a twist of the wrist,
For a valued reward
... It could well be immunity at stake."-

"Twist!" he commented, excitedly. "Twist! Read it, it says twist!"

Chris looked over at the parchment and read it too. There it was. "A -twist- of the wrist."

"This is awesome!" Murtz smiled. "Fuck Sato! I want to go back home!"

"Congratulations," said Chris, as the two men exchanged a high-five. And then he decided to needle Murtz a bit. This kind of thing was just too much fun to pass up. "Hey, do you think Amy will bring any more donuts to the challenge? Do we have any left over?"

"Dude," glowered Murtz. "Don't start with that shit again. I don't want to hear it."



^^



And when the rest of Sato read the treemail, they were excited.

"We're throwing ninja stars?" asked Lance, as he looked at one of the small pointed stars.

"Yeah," nodded Murtz.

"What's the reward?" asked Joni, but nobody knew. The note hadn't said.

"Probably some sort of food," shrugged Murtz.

"Well I just hope if they win, they share it with us," smiled Amy, "Like with the donuts."

The tribe laughed but this comment, of course, set Murtz off once again. God, how he hated Amy. He hated that smile. He hated the way she played. He hated her self-righteous attitude. He hated the way people flocked to her. He simply hated -everything- about her. So he excused himself to go cut a confessional.

Just before the next challenge... and any possible twist... he definitely had something he wanted to say.

"In hindsight," he admitted, "I probably -should- have gone along with your donut plan, Amy. Sympathetic Dave Roth would have, anyway." He grinned. "But bastard Murtz just couldn't agree to it. So I looked you in the eye and said I wasn't down with it. And much to my surprise... you stood up to me. Apparently, you aren't as meek as I once thought."

He laughed.

"So yes, you got Lance, Hogan and Joni to go along with your plan... but don't feel like that was anything special. All you have to do is smile at them and they'll agree to marry your dog. So that didn't really impress me." He paused. "What -did- impress me was that you had the guts to do it even though you knew I wasn't down with the idea. So good job."

He raised both hands and mock-clapped for a moment.

"Amy, you made a good political move with the donuts and now everybody loves you. Except for the guy that matters. Because you have -officially- become my number one target in this game. And it doesn't matter that you're a good player. It doesn't matter that I respect you. It just means you have to go."

He pointed off into the distance, towrds the direction of challenge beach,

"And I know what's going to happen now. The Kamiyans are going to win some food today and then they'll share it with us as payback. But I don't want it. I want to eat what I -earn-, not some handout. I have more self-respect than that. And it is now my goal, Amy, to give you as much of a chance in this game as this donut."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out one last chocolate donut. He had been saving it since yesterday. Just for this.

"See that Amy? It looks like a big zero. And that's what your chances in this game are right about now. Murtz hurts, and your time in this game is done. So yes, I'd like a dozen donuts please. Twelve donuts for twelve people."

He smiled.

"And -I'm- going to be eating the last one."



^^



It was just after dinner when the two teams arrived for the reward challenge. They had been given five hours to practice with the throwing stars if they wished... and now it was time to test out how well they had done so.

Or if they had done so at all.

And, Jeff smiled, it was also time for a little surprise. Because there was a twist planned for today... but it was nothing like the players would be expecting.

"Come on in guys," he smiled, as he stood in front of two blocks of wood.

The Satos lined up on the left, as Murtz had once again brought along the camp mascot. Jabba the turtle sat in a small basket, her little green eyes peering out from between the slats. Murtz grinned from ear to ear as he placed her basket down on the sand.

But the rest of the Satos weren't paying attention. The rest of them were more interested in who was going to be missing from the Kamiyas. Who was the unfortunate soul to have been voted out last night?

They waited patiently as the Kamiyas filed in from the east. And the Satos stared at the tribe in yellow, silently naming them off one by one.

Ryan.

Isabella.

Beth.

Mike.

Matt.

And Michelle.

The six Kamiyans now stood confidently on their yellow mat, arms linked around one another. They looked very solid and ready to go, as Mike had already managed to draw Beth and Matt back in with the team. Somehow he had done it.

And Amy stared in silent horror as she noticed only one face missing from Kamiya.

David McDaniel was gone. Those bastards had voted out David.

"Your challenge today," said Jeff, "Is something a little different. And we've -never- tried something like this before on Survivor, so you guys get to be the virgins."

He smiled.

"It's going to be a two-part challenge. And basically... -today's- reward challenge will have an impact on your performance in -tomorrow's- immunity challenge. How well you do today will make a difference in how well you do tomorrow." He grinned. "So I hope you guys came ready to play."

Both teams nodded, although several players felt a little uneasy by this latest proclamation. Changes in the game tended to make people nervous.

"And I know some of you came here expecting a twist," smiled Jeff. "And I don't know -why- you thought that. All I can say is, -don't- start assuming things in Survivor. Don't think you can outsmart the game... because it will get you into trouble. When I said your teams were permanent, I meant it. These are your teams. Make no mistake about it."

Jeff smiled at the sour look that crossed Murtz's face. And the shocked stare that Michelle was giving him. Those two had obviously been expecting something to happen today.

"We're throwing stars today," said Jeff, as he held up a small three-pointed metal blade. "And these are traditional Okinawan weapons... and have been for more than a century. Because though the word "karate" translates to "empty hand", that wasn't always the case. -TRADITIONAL- karate also included the use of many weapons." He nodded. "The sai, the kendo, the bo... -all- of these were weapons used to teach combat and self defense."

He smiled.

"But -these- babies..."

Without warning he snapped his wrist in the direction of the targets. And in an instant... the metal star embedded itself in the block of wood on the left.

"These babies were probably the most deadly. So what we're gonna do today is have you throw one at a time. Sato on the left, Kamiya on the right. You'll each be aiming for your own target and you'll be trying to hit the bullseye."

The players looked at the targets painted on the two blocks of wood. There were three rings painted on each block, in a target pattern. A large red one on the outside, a smaller blue one inside, and a fist-sized yellow one in the middle. Yellow meant bullseye.

"The player with the best shot wins the round for their team. And if you -both- hit in the same color, you'll both shoot again. We go until one person wins the round, and thus wins the point. And we'll be playing best of seven... so the first team with four points wins reward."

He nodded.

"And -both- teams were given stars to practice with back at camp. So I hope you took advantage of that, because these things can be tricky to throw correctly the first few times."

The Kamiyas chuckled to themselves. Sure enough, they had -ALL- taken the time to practice this afternoon. Some of them were already crackshots with a throwing star. Isabella and Ryan had been out there practically all afternoon, perfecting their aim. Michelle was practically a ninja by now!

And one look at the Satos told them that Sato hadn't been as wise. One look at Hogan's panicked face... or the way Amy placed her hands on her hips... and you could tell they hadn't practiced at all.

"Crap!" muttered Amy, as she kicked the dirt. Why hadn't she thought of that? Why??

"Look at them," whispered Mike, as he elbowed Ryan. "They didn't do it! They're going to get creamed!

But Jeff wasn't interested in who had practiced and who hadn't. For it was time to start the challenge.

"Let's go," he said, clapping his hands. "Time to throw some stars. And you guys have already chosen your order so we'll just go right down the list. Amy and Beth... you two are up first."


^^

Amy and Beth took their places, the two friends silently smiling at one another. And Amy wanted to ask about the David vote but she couldn't. Too many people were watching. So she gave Beth a sympathetic shrug and that was that. It was time for the two friends to square off.

"Hey Jeff," asked Mike, "What's the reward? You didn't say."

"No, I didn't."

"Do we get a hint?"

"Nope."

And the players glared at him, but Jeff just smiled.

"All I can say," he explained, "Is that your performance today will affect the challenge tomorrow. That's all I'm gonna tell you. It's up to you to figure it out."

And he wasn't going to say anything more, so he simply raised his right hand in the air.

"Amy and Beth," he said, "Former teammates. Let's go ladies, line up for your first throw."

Amy and Beth stepped forward to the shooting line, to the applause of their respective teams. Both women wore their brown hair in a ponytail... one tied with yellow and one tied with green. And both looked focused and ready to go.

"Round one!" announced Jeff. "Amy and Beth. Survivors ready... THROW!"

Beth got to go first, so she toed her foot on a line painted in the sand. She then held out her right arm in front of her, a sharp throwing star protruding from between two fingers. She focused her vision, took a deep breath, and tried to remember her practice techniques from this afternoon. Then she brought her arm back...

... And threw.

-CRACK!-

Beth's star jutted out from the middle of the blue ring. The middle one. It had been a good shot, just a few inches from the bullseye, and Beth was relieved. She really hadn't wanted to screw this one up for her team.

Amy stepped forward now, as the Satos cheered her on from behind. But she knew she could do this. She could beat Beth. All it would take was a little concentration. So she narrowed her eyes, focused on the target, paused for a second... and then threw.

-CRACK!-

Amy's shot had landed on the line between blue and yellow... less than an inch from the bullseye. It was right on the line and it was -very- close. So she sucked in her breath and waited as Jeff went out to check. Was it in the blue or was it in the yellow? Had she won?

"Sorry," said Jeff, shaking his head. "Blue ring, Amy. You guys tied, time to shoot again."

Amy glared at the sand, hands on hips, as she walked back to her green mat. But Beth was now up again, and the older woman stopped to peer out at the target. Her keen eyes focused through her glasses and she raised her right arm.

Then she fired.

-CRACK!-

The Kamiyas cheered as Beth's star embedded itself into the yellow bullseye. And not only was it a bullseye, but it was in the -center- of the bullseye. It had been a direct hit, and Beth screamed out in excitement.

"Nice," said Jeff, admiringly.

Amy could only watch as Beth was mobbed by her excited teammates. And now it would be Amy's turn to match. She was going to have to match Beth's bullseye. And now she was terrified.

"Let's go Amy!" cheered Lance as the young mom walked up to the painted line. She took a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She thought of her boys at home. She focused her vision. She aimed.

And then she threw.

-CRACK!-

Amy's shot landed in tbe red circle this time-- the outer ring of the target. It hadn't even been close.

"Kamiya!" announced Jeff. "Wins the first point!"

Beth received high-fives and pats on the back from her Kamiya tribemates, and she smiled from ear to ear. Quite simply, this was the best moment in the game for her so far. She had done it! And now Kamiya was pumped. They cheered happily as Isabella stepped up to the line. And the young woman from New York had practiced -religiously- with the star today. She looked incredibly confident. She -knew- that she would be winning this round.

But Isabella was a little surprised to see that her opponent looked -just- as confident.

Murtz Jaffer smiled back at her, his green buff tied around his forehead. And while most of the Satos had forgotten to practice today, Murtz had made no such mistake. He had sneaked off on his own... as had Joni... to get a leg up on the rest of the competition. And so Murtz was ready. He didn't care who was facing him, Isabella or God Himself. Murtz was ready to go. He had hit bullseye after bullseye this afternoon.

And -this- one was going to be a showdown.

"Emma and Dave," announced Jeff, "Round two. Emma, you're up first."

Isabella picked up her throwing star and stood at the painted line. The petite woman calmed her nerves with some deep breathing-- her trusted yoga technique-- and then closed her eyes for a moment. She thought peaceful thoughts... relaxing thoughts. Then she opened her eyes.

And in one swift motion, she whipped her skinny right arm towards the target.

-CRACK!-

Bullseye.

"Yeah!" cheered Michelle, as the Kamiyas erupted in cheers. Isabella simply smiled and stepped back, pleased with her shot. For like Murtz, she had -also- hit bullseye after bullseye this morning. She knew she would be winning this thing.

Murtz stepped forward now, confident but still somewhat nervous. And he couldn't help being nervous, that was just his nature. Maybe it was the coffee. But he knew he could match Isabella... and he did. With one quick snap of the wrist.

-CRACK!-

Bullseye.

"We have a tie," smiled Jeff, as the Satos cheered on their champion. "Emma, step up and shoot again."

Isabella stepped forward a second time, still confident but now feeling a little more pressure. Because the accuracy of Murtz's shot had bothered her. But she closed her eyes again, trying to concentrate. She then opened them, stared at the target, and brought her hand up. She remembered her practice techniques as best she could and then flung the star towards the target.

-CRACK!-

A second bullseye.

"Yeah, baby!" yelled Michelle, as she thrust her fist into the air. The rest of the Kamiyas erupted into cheers. Mike went so far to walk over and clap Isabella on the back, to which she shrugged, happily. She really hadn't thought that one would be a bullseye. She thought she had missed this time.

"Let's go, Roth," said Jeff, as the young man in glasses stepped forward. Murtz peered out at the target now, trying to focus his vision. He brought his arm up... paused for just a second... and then threw. Just like before.

-CRACK!-

A second bullseye.

"Wow!" said Jeff, admiring the shot. And the Satos were matching Kamiya with their cheers. The challenge was now taking on the air of a gladiator fight. "We've got ourselves a -showdown!- Emma, you're back up."

Isabella stepped forward now, appearing to be visibly rattled. The Satos were now jeering her, trying to shake up her concentration.

"I can't do three," she said, almost apologetically, She turned towards her Kamiya teammates. "I can't."

And the air was thick with tension and cheering as Isabella lined up her shot. She closed her eyes again, saying a quick prayer under her breath and doing some deep breathing. She then opened her eyes and saw that she was going to do it. She could just see it in her mind. A third bullseye was coming. So, relaxed, she brought her arm back...

And flung.

-CRACK!-

The star jutted out from the middle ring... just centimeters from the bullseye. Or so it appeared from back here. But it was close... and everyone waited with anticipation as Jeff ran out to check.

They waited.

And then Jeff turned around.

He smiled... and nodded.

"It's touching the yellow. Emma, you just got three."

Iaabella raised her hands to her mouth in shock as the Kamiyas went nuts behind her. There were loud hoots and cheers from all her teammates, and Murtz had to wait for a moment for them to die down. He now stepped forward, staring out at the target. Now it was his turn to shoot.

"Dave," said Jeff, "You need to hit a bullseye to match her. Anything less and Kamiya wins the point."

"Misssss it," taunted Ryan, from the Kamiya side. He was laughing. "Misssss it."

And the rest of the Kamiyas joined in the jeering as Murtz stepped up to the line. He cleared his mind now, as best as he could, and stared out at the target. Like Isabella, he closed his eyes, trying to visualize himself hitting another bullseye. He remembered the techniques he had used in practice. And then he opened his eyes... staring at the bullseye.

He brought his right arm up... and threw.

-CRACK!-

The star jutted out from the middle of the blue ring. The center ring. It had been a good shot, but it wasn't a bullseye. It simply wasn't good enough.

"Kamiya!" said Jeff, "Wins the second point!"

Isabella went back to her teammates, a large smile on her face. And they mobbed her. They were cheering so loud it was almost ear-shattering. Meanwhile Murtz went back to consolation hugs and handshakes from the Satos. And he couldn't -believe- he had lost. How had that been possible? To challenge non-entity Isabella? But she was worthless in challenges! And after he had spent -so- much time practicing?

"Third round," smiled Jeff, as he called up the next pair, "Matt and Hogan. The teenagers. Let's go, guys."

Matt Carter stepped forward for the Kamiyas as his team cheered behind him. Though the tall redhead was not wearing his hockey mask for once. You could actually see his face for a change... and the look of absolute determination on it. For like the rest of his team, Matt had spent all afternoon practicing. And while he knew this wouldn't be his -best- event, he also knew he would come through when it counted.

"Let's go, Big Red," said Michelle, as Matt lined up his shot. The young man held his breath for a moment, trying to remember his tactics from this morning. He then raised his right hand... and fired.

-CRACK!-

Matt was surprised to see the star jutting out from the blue ring, the middle one. It hadn't been a great shot, but it had still hit blue. He pumped his fist once as the Kamiyas cheered behind him.

"Let's go, Hogan!" cheered Joni, as the young student from Kansas stepped up to the line. And Hogan was nervous, there was no doubt about it. This was the first time he had ever held a throwing star in his life. Plus the added pressure of being down two to nothing was already weighing down on his shoulders. Hogan needed this shot. He needed to match Matt. He needed to pick his team up when they were down.

So he raised his arm and said a short prayer. Then he put all his will into the throw, flinging it straight and accurately as hard as he could...

... where it went over the target and into the sand.

He had missed the target altogether.

"Kamiya is up," said Jeff, "Three to nothing! One more and they win reward!"

Matt went back to high-fives and cheers from the Kamiyas. And now they had it. Kamiya could sense blood... and now they were about to move in for the kill. The hapless Satos could only look on silently as Michelle stepped forward to finish them off.

The same Michelle who had finished them off in the kendo challenge.

And Michelle greeted Christopher, who had stepped forward from the Sato side. The two Angels, head to head. The two friends smiled happily at one another.

"Sorry, twinsie," she winked, "But your ass is mine today."

And Michelle looked confident. Oh did she ever look confident. Because she knew she was going to hit the bullseye. She knew it like she knew the grass was green. Because she had practiced all afternoon, she was a fierce competitor, she was skilled with weapons, and this was -her- moment. So she was not surprised when her first shot plunged into the yellow bullseye.

-CRACK!-

Direct hit.

Christopher winced as he saw Michelle go back and high five her Kamiya teammates. He knew this was going to be futile. There was no way he could keep up with Mich, not without having practiced this afternoon. But he stepped up now, as the Satos cheered him on from behind. At least he was going to try.

Christopher raised his right arm. He focused for a moment, staring at the bullseye. And then in one jerky motion... he flung his star at the target.

-CRACK!-

He had hit the target... but it was in the red ring. Far away from the bullseye. Sato had lost.

"Kamiya!" announced Jeff, "Wins reward!"

The tribe in yellow erupted into a group hug as Michelle shot both her fists into the air. And the Satos could only watch, helplessly, as Jeff reached into a bag to give the Kamiyas their reward. Once their cheering had died down, he presented them with what they had won.

"Kamiya," he said, "You won... and the final score was four to nothing." He smiled. "And the reward for this challenge was based on the winning score. Since you won by four, you get four of these."

He pulled a large black item out of his bag.

It was a statue. A heavy black Shinto statue, shaped like a temple.

He handed the statue to Michelle, who winced a bit at its weight. The little sucker was heavy, and she had to hold it up with both hands. Jeff then produced three more statues, and handed them to Mike, Ryan and Beth. The Kamiyas now had four statues, although they were a bit puzzled as to the significance.

"Bring those statues to the immunity challenge," said Jeff, cryptically, "And there you will find out their significance. Because as you know, one of the great tenets of Shintoism is patience."

He smiled.

"So just have patience. You'll find out soon enough."

And with that, the challenge was over. The victorious Kamiyas took their statues back to camp... while the defeated Satos went back empty-handed. And while this day had started off good for Sato, suddenly they realized that something bad was about to happen. To a man, they each had a small feeling of dread in the pit of their stomach on the way back.

Because they knew the statues were supposed to be a good thing. The statues were -DEFINITELY- supposed to be a good thing. And now the Kamiyas had four of them. While Sato had none.

That couldn't be good at -all-.





DAY 14



The day started out uneventful enough-- with Matt Carter sitting on a log, happily carving his torch. But by the time night fell Matt would be anything -but- happy. This was going to be the longest day of Matt's young life... and the ironic thing was, it started out -great-.

Matt's first mission today had been to do something about his torch. The thick oaken staff was something that just sat around all day, leaning against the shelter, and Matt thought it looked boring.

"Besides," he would shrug, "My game is probably over soon, so why not use this time to reflect? Might as well do something useful with my time."

So Matt had taken his staff over by the campfire and sat down. And machete in hand, he had decided to carve it.

"Right now," he admitted, as he worked to shave a stubborn knot out of the wood, "I'm carving my father's name in the wood." He spoke distractedly as he worked, not looking up. For this was going to take some precision, with a big long machete and all. "My dad is my closest friend in the world and I figured I'd honor him on my torch, so he'd know he was always here with me. Here in the hell that is Kamiya."

And Matt worked for a good hour on the torch, stopping only to half-heartedly stir some crab that Ryan had started to boil.

"Right now," he admitted, as he got back to work, "Things are kind of settled down around here and it seems strange. Things aren't -supposed- to be calm in Kamiya and it always makes me think something is up."

The only drama Matt had seen this morning was a Ryan-Mike fight... just one in a series of many... where Mike accused Ryan of wanting him out and Ryan had responded by calling Mike an overbearing egomaniac. Then Mike had stormed off in a huff and Ryan had laughed at him. It had all been staged, of course. The Kamiyas tried to stage at least two Mike-Ryan fights each day, for the sole purpose of keeping Matt and Beth off balance. And despite the repetition of the daily fights, it seemed to be working.

"Right now," Matt sighed, "Everybody is being nice to me. And I know that can't be real, because Mike says that Ryan and Michelle hate my guts. But this morning both Ryan -and- Michelle came up to me and told me not to give up. They were both quite nice about it and seemed sincere, but I know they aren't. I don't trust -any- of these assholes. Never will."

What Matt was encountering was Kamiya's new plan... the one that was currently in effect. For the Kamiyas had been a bit jealous when Mike was able to snow over David so badly. That had looked like fun. So this time around, they -all- wanted to play good cop with poor Matt. Well, everybody but Isabella anyway. She still thought this game was childish. But Mike, Ryan and Michelle were -all- making friends with the hapless Satos this time.

And this time around, the game would be three times as fun.

"I think you'll be okay," Ryan had muttered to him this morning, "But the one you have to watch out for is Michelle. You don't want to bring out her uber-bitch side if you don't have to."

"You mean she -has- another side?" Matt had deadpanned.

"Of course," Ryan smiled, "Mich is great, she really is. But wow... just don't piss her off. Play smart and you'll be okay with her."

"Sorry," said Matt, "But dealing with PMS isn't my style."

"Look," Ryan had insisted, "I know you're kind of bitter about the vote, and I know you voted for me. But all that can be in the past. I understand why you did what you did, and it's okay. But we don't need to be adversaries anymore. This was all between me and David and you didn't have to be involved." He smiled. "So hopefully we can be friends from now on. And if you want to vote out Mike, I'd be all for it."

That had been this morning, and Matt hadn't really bought it for a second. No way. Not from Ryan.

"I'd still be just as happy if Ryan were beaten to death by a pineapple," Matt admitted. "Although some sort of slow bleeding would really be preferable first."

But after Ryan had come Michelle. And sure enough, now she wanted to be friends too. And if anything... she had been -more- charming than Ryan. She had really been putting on the nice face today.

"I just wanted to make sure," she had explained, "That you guys feel welcome here. This isn't a hostile place, Matt. You know that David brought the vote on himself and all the problems we had were between me and him. You were never an issue."

"Mmmm," Matt had nodded, not really looking up.

"And I know Beth is scared," Michelle continued, "Just like you are. But we are a team here. We need to work together on this."

"Look," Matt had added, finally looking up, "I don't blame you, Michelle. You don't have to apologize. But I'll be perfectly honest and say all I'm really hoping for is a switch right now. I'd rather be on Sato and I'd rather be safe. And if I'm kind of moody that would be why."

"Well," smiled Michelle, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. And I'm not making it up when I say you are in no danger. Everyone likes you. Mike will probably be the next one to go and everyone knows it. No one can stand the guy. Him or his stupid gnome."

So that had been Michelle's spiel, and Matt just didn't want to talk to anybody right now. He was tired of all this. He was tired of Michelle, he was tired of Ryan, he was tired of Mike and he was tired of the queen of the ditzes, Emma. She seemed nice enough... but talking strategy with that girl was like hitting yourself in the face with a large stick. And truth be told, Matt was even a bit tired of Beth today, though he would never for the life of him admit it. Her doom and gloom attitude was starting to bring him down, and he didn't want to deal with it right now.

"So I'm spending this morning with my dad," Matt said, as he finished off the carving. Ahh, much better. He held up his torch, admiring it. Not bad.

And then Matt realized he was not alone.

"Hey Matt," said Mike, as the big man was carrying back a handful of logs to camp. And he looked exhausted. Like most every day, Mike had been working himself to the bone all morning. "Can you go do me a favor?"

"Mmm-hmmm."

"I set a pair of snares last night," said Mike, struggling with the weight of the wood, "Over by the mangroves. You want to go check them for me, see if we caught anything? I'm not gonna get a chance until after lunch."

"Yeah, no worries."

"What are you carving?"

"Oh," said Matt, as he shyly held the torch in his hands, "Just carving my torch. I was carving my dad's name. I was feeling kind of lonely today."

"You're close to your dad?"

"Yeah," nodded Matt. "He pretty much raised me all by myself. He's my best friend in the world."

"Wow," said Mike, as he put the logs down. "And what does he think of you playing Survivor?"

"He'll kill me," grinned Matt. "He thinks I'm at college right now. This will kinda be a surprise for him when he finds out."

Mike laughed-- a big hearty, genuine laugh. If nothing else, Matt amused him sometimes. He actually kind of liked the kid.

"Well go check the snares," he smiled, "See if we caught anything."

"Meh," shrugged Matt. "I doubt it. But I'll check."



^^



As Matt was away on his mission, Mike made sure to check that Beth was asleep... and she was. Beth had more or less been asleep since they got back from the challenge last night. She still seemed a bit depressed. So Mike went to gather the rest of the Kamiyas for an impromptu meeting. It was time for a strategy talk, to decide how they wanted things to proceed. And soon all four of them had gathered by the ocean.

"What I'm worried about," Michelle confessed, "Is that I think we've underestimated Beth and Matt. We were so focused on Dave, I think we took our eyes off of them."

"I don't think they'll be much of a challenge," Ryan said. "They've really all but given up. Mike, you deserve an Oscar for what you've done to them."

Mike shrugged, and Isabella patted him on the back.

"I'm just saying," implored Michelle, "That we all need to be -really- careful. My gut tells me they're both smarter then they're letting on. Besides, Matt told me they aren't going down without a fight. They're going to stick together. And if I was in their situation, I would do the same thing."

Michelle nodded and then continued. She tended to take over the strategy meetings lately. She seemed to be growing more and more confident in this role. And as always, she was very wordy.

"I would -love- to like Beth and Matt," she explained, "But you three are the only ones I trust. And each of us is too smart to think that we're in the clear right now. One wrong move, one wrong word and-- bam-- we could be knocked over. So watch what you say to them. Be careful." She smiled, grimly. "Because how many alliances have we seen ruined in Survivor because communication broke down when one alliance was on top?"

Mike nodded, solemnly. Isabella just waited, listening.

"Our communication," finished Michelle, "Is going to be a vital key to our survival. And it's even -more- vital now that David is gone. Because when he was here, we had a reason to react to things and situations in a certain way. We had a -reason- to say certain things to Beth and Matt. It was all justified. But now that David is gone... we have to be very careful what we say and how we say it. We don't want a Dani situation, guys. Be very careful with what goes on."

Mike nodded again. Ryan was simply smiling. He was already plotting the next round of mischief.

"So what do we want to do?" asked Michelle. "Who do we want to keep? Beth or Matt?"

"Beth believes anything you say," said Ryan. "I'd love to keep her around. This game is over her head."

"I'd keep Matt," said Mike. "He's a good kid and he's been pretty mature about all this. I'm actually starting to respect him."

"No way!" joked Michelle. "Isn't he the one you picked just to vote off?"

"I know!" smiled Mike. "As Matt would probably say... I must be eating too many mushrooms."

"Well I still think Matt's weird," Michelle said. "And I don't like him. Kick his ass out of here for all I care." She turned to Isabella. "Emma, what about you?"

"Gosh," said Isabella, as stupidly as was humanly possible, "You all make such good points. I don't really know. Beth seems close to Amy but Matt is too." She giggled. "I really don't know. I guess if you asked me, I'd say Beth, cause I think she's kinda given up."

But Isabella already knew what the plan was going to be. Michelle wasn't the kind who asked for a democratic vote. Michelle was gunning for Matt. The target was going to be Matt.

-Although we'll just see about that,- Isabella smiled to herself.

"Well just remember to stay strong," said Michelle. "It's all about communication, guys. Don't do things in the dark. Make sure we all know about it."

"What I think we should do," said Ryan, "Is for Mike to keep pushing the idea that the three of them are still together. Mike, Beth and Matt."

And then he couldn't resist just stirring it up a little. After all, that's what Ryan did. He wasn't really interested in any sort of team harmony.

"Mike, the two of them make fun of you behind your back. I just wanted you to know that. Beth in particular hates your guts."

He knew that this line was going to hit Mike right where it hurt. Because Mike truly did like Beth.

"They asked me to vote for you, Mike, and I said I would." Ryan grinned. "Those morons think I'm on their side." He laughed. "But as for the rest of us... Michelle and I are going to have to humor them, and play along with them for now. They both think we'll vote for Mike."

Michelle nodded, so Ryan continued.

"I’ll keep you guys posted with everything that goes on from my end. And Emma, I guess you’re going to have to play naive again. They don’t know how to read you at all, so the better you can shroud yourself in mystery, the more convincing it’ll become."

"Oh," laughed Isabella, "I guess I'll try my best."

"But as far as I know..."

And Ryan was going to continue but then he heard a commotion in the distance. Suddenly they heard a noise coming their way.

"Split up!" hissed Michelle, and the four Kamiyas scattered to opposite ends of the campsite. And it was Isabella who first saw Matt running towards them.

"Oh hey, Matt..." she started.

"Deer!" he yelled. And the kid's face was bright red from the exhaustion of running back to camp. "We caught a deer!"

Matt scurried back past her and towards the shelter. Isabella just looked on in confusion. She caught Michelle's eye and shrugged.

"We caught a -deer-?" asked Mike, excitedly.

"Yeah!" panted Matt. "He's in the snare."

"Well what the hell are you doing here? Is it dead?"

"No!" said Matt. And he was digging through his pack for something.

"What are you doing?" asked Michelle. And by now the rest of them had gathered around, trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

"I need to kill it," said Matt. "But I didn't have my mask."

"Oh my god," said Michelle, as she raised a hand to her mouth. She then whispered to Ryan, "He's insane. He really -is- insane."

But now Matt had found his hockey mask. He grinned happily as he raised the creepy white object up in both hands. He strapped it on, covering his face... and now he was ready. Now he looked like an axe murderer. Perfect.

"It's time to go kill Bambi," he grinned. And then he picked up a machete.

"Uh... Matt...," started Michelle. "Are you safe with that thing?"

"Nope, never have been either."

But the Kamiyas could only look on in numb shock as Matt strolled out of the camp and into the jungle. Their hockey-mask wearing, slightly insane tribesmate was about to go butcher a deer. And then they were going to have fresh meat tonight.

"Well I don't know about you," shrugged Ryan, "But this I gotta see. I want to see Matt go madass on a deer."

And as Ryan raced off after the tall redhead he was soon followed by the rest of his tribesmates. This was truly going to be a sight to behold.



^^



Sure enough, Kamiya had fresh venison for lunch-- even if they had been a bit sickened by the process of obtaining it.

"Okay, new rule," Michelle had said on the way back, "Matt doesn't touch a machete again. Ever."

The Kamiyas were now sitting around their campfire, eating a hearty lunch of deer meat. Well, most of them were here anyway. Matt was still out in the woods, happily skinning the hapless animal. He had been out there for two hours and was more or less already drenched in blood. And the odd thing was that the kid didn't even seem to notice. He hadn't noticed that his tribemates had all gone back to start on lunch.

"Does Matt realize we're all sick now?" asked Beth.

"I don't think he realizes his name is Matt right now," joked Ryan. "I think he's too busy orgasming."

But the Kamiyas sat around and ate lunch happily, trying not to think where this delicious meal came from. Because it was good. It was very good, and Mike's deer snare had turned out to be genius. They were getting a massive influx of protein right now, and just before a big challenge too. Today was turning out to be great!

"By the way..." asked Mike suddenly, "Do any of you have any idea what the statues are for?"

He was referring, of course, to the four statues that Kamiya had won in yesterday's reward challenge. The four heavy black things were sitting near their water pot, like four large pieces of coal. And nobody really knew what they would be used for.

"Maybe we'll get to smash them open," shrugged Isabella. "Maybe something's inside."

But nobody really knew what they were for... and nobody really wanted to guess. The Kamiyas had learned not to start making assumptions about this game. You tended to get burned if you did that.

And as lunch finished up, the Kamiyas scattered out across their camp to get to work on their daily chores. Which was more or less code for confessional time. It was time for people to start giving their thoughts on what they thought would be going down in the next two days.

The first to speak was Matt, who was walking back to camp with a few pounds worth of deerskin. All the meat had been brought back earlier by Mike and Ryan... while Matt had stayed behind to get the skin. For he had a special mission planned for the deerskin.

"This has been," he smiled, as he walked back along a path, "Probably my best day on the island so far. I mean, things are practically perfect in every way possible. That is... of course... ignoring the fact that I am hideously outnumbered by the other tribe. But that is beside the point."

He laughed. And while he had removed his hockey mask by now, his clothes were -still- more or less saturated with deer blood. So he cut a strange looking figure as he walked through the peaceful jungle.

"Mike's snare worked beyond all expectations... and when I was walking by to check things out I saw this deer just jumping and thrashing about. Well, the -first- thing that struck me was that it was scared. And the -second- thing that struck me was its hoove in my stomach... so that kinda made the next decision easy." He grinned like a little kid. "I kinda have my doubts that the bloodstains will ever wash out of these clothes. Anyhow, I didn't want to hurt it but I did what I had to do." He shrugged. "Just gotta think of it as providing food for the tribe. That's all I did."

He then stopped to show off one of the long strips of deerskin.

"My plan," he added, "Is to have all of the Kamiyans wearing deerskin belts for tonight's challenge. And if -that- falls through I'm going to have the deer's skull attached to the head of my torch. Because the deer was a fighter and... with luck... keeping part of it close might keep me safe for a while."

He smiled as he resumed his walking. For he had a lot of work to do. He hoped the salt from Kamiya's spice rack would be enough to dry these babies out.

"Plus I just want to see Sato's reaction when they see us coming to the next challenge... knowing that we've had venison."

He chuckled.

"There's only one word to describe that: Priceless."

And as Matt walked, his nemesis Ryan Rebez had wandered down to the beach to collect shellfish. And as usual, Ryan commented casually on his tribemates as he worked. This was starting to become second nature to him.

"Right now," he smiled, as he picked up a small mussel from a rock, "The Kamiyans think that everything is going well. They think that I'm part of their foursome and they think that we're going to torture the hapless Satos until they break. But what they -don't- realize is that I've been working against them as well... and they just don't see it."

He laughed.

"First off, the Satos are not going to be a problem. Beth is completely malleable and will stand by what we tell her so long as we prove ourselves as trustworthy. And Matt has a good head on his shoulders, but he's -far- too trusting, especially when the person he's trusting is me. And to his credit, Matt -is- wary, but he still wants to believe me, and so he will. But to see how despicably they've been treated... particularly by me over the last four days... and then to see how fast they come running back to my good graces." He shook his head. "Well, let's just say it won't be pretty. That's all I can say."

He skipped a rock across the ocean as he moved on to his fellow alliance members.

"But deceiving my alliance, -that- will be the more thrilling challenge. Because they are puppets just like the rest." A smile touched his face. "And Michelle, in particular, will be easy to sway. She's a competitive, intelligent woman who's loyal and feels very secure right now. She's exactly as she appears and is unlikely to -ever- deviate from a long-term plan unless she feels threatened by the others around her." He smiled. "In other words, she does what you tell her."

He moved on to Isabella, who he -still- wasn't sure was exactly as she appeared. But he was growing less and less worried about her as time went on. He still kept an eye on her... but he wasn't worried. If she made a move, he would be able to take care of her. She wasn't going to be a problem.

"Emma is a mystery," he noted. "Still... the nice girl act -has- to be a cover for something. Like last season's Isabella, or All-Star Amber Brkich, she's drifting along within the stronger group. And any strategy she might have has yet to come to light." He shrugged. "And she's -always- made me more apprehensive than people who wear their game on their sleeve, like the Davids. But what can you do? We'll deal with her when we get there."

Then he moved on to his real target. For Ryan had shifted his focus away from Isabella and more towards someone else recently. Someone bigger. In Ryan's mind, there was bigger competition right now than the blonde girl from Georgia... and his name was Mike.

"I think," he continued, "That Mike is the best player in the game right now. Which is good because -he- thinks he is the best too. But Mike plays a strong game, and he's certainly one of the harder ones to read at the moment. And as the play within the play deepens... I start to worry that he might be a little -too- close to the Satos at times. He's an awfully solid actor, and it can be worrisome. Because seeing a good actor in motion is unsettling... even when they're acting from -your- script."

He smiled.

"That's why I'm setting the stage to take out Mike, should I need to. Should he become too close to the Satos, he will be dealt with."

He paused, and then started in on an analogy. If nothing else, Ryan loved his anaologies.

"There’s a trust exercise that I once learned in drama class. It was meant to bring the actors together and get them to trust one another. Anyway... it involved one person standing in front of another, then closing their eyes and leaning backwards until they fell." Ryan gestured with his hands as he spoke, demonstrating. "And the person behind them would be -just- far enough away to make the falling person panic a little. But inevitably they would be caught before they hit the ground."

Ryan smiled.

"And -most- of the time, we would just say a silent prayer of hope and fall backwards, hoping to be caught. Very much like the last vote. You see... I fell without hesitation during the David vote. I put my faith in my alliance and I fell backwards. And Mike caught me." Ryan chuckled. "So now I know without a doubt that he can be trusted. It’s a very comforting feeling. And I should be very happy to be able to take solace in that."

Ryan then lowered his face to his hands, as he mock-cried in anguish.

"But Mike, should you somehow come up as a target... I don’t know if you'll want to count on me catching you this time around. Because don't forget... I get -too- much of a thrill from watching people fall."



^^



And as Ryan and Matt planned for their futures, two more events were occurring at the moment that would have an important effect on later events at Camp Kamiya. Two things were happening simultaneously that would later have an unexpected effect on the mood around camp.

The first happened with Beth Sowles.

The lonely Sato woman had gone out to gather wood by herself, all alone. Because truth be told she hadn't wanted to talk to anyone today. This game just sucked. She didn't want to play it anymore. The Kamiyas had somehow managed to make it not fun for -anybody.-

"All I can say," she would admit, "Is that this game is hard. It's hard and it sucks."

But as Beth moped, she was unaware that she was being watched. Isabella Smith stood just behind some bamboo, watching her. Watching... and waiting.

And grinning.

Because this was the moment. This was the moment that Isabella would be taking over the Kamiya tribe. She had been waiting for something just like this. And Beth was about to see a -whole- new side of the shy girl they all knew as Emma. For the first time in the game... the -real- Isabella was about to show herself.

"Beth is an interesting player," Isabella had admitted this morning, "And probably a lot deeper than the rest of the Kamiyas see. But she's in a terrible position right now and she knows it. She reminds me of a cute little puppy dog with terrible owners; she tries to be as happy as she can despite the constant fear and abuse she receives at all times." And then she had smiled. "But just like everyone else, Beth is a human being who just wants to be loved and wants to feel important."

Isabella had suddenly cupped a hand to her ear... as if listening to something intently.

"What's that I hear?" she mimed, "Oh! That's opportunity... knocking at my door. Besides, if a puppy gets the -right- owner, sometimes they can turn out to be useful. To me, anyway."

She had grinned.

"And so that's my goal today. I'm going to make Beth feel loved. And we'll just see where to go from there."

And now the time was here. Isabella was ready to start working her magic.

"Hi Beth!" she called out cheerily, as she stepped out into the clearing.

"Oh," said a startled Beth. "Hey girl. How are you?"

"Oh I'm doing real good," smiled Isabella. And she looked concerned. "But I came to see if you were okay, Beth. You looked depressed this morning and I was worried about you. How are you doing?"

"Oh don't worry about it," sighed Beth. "I'm okay. I'm just kinda worn down today. Some days the game just wears on you."

"Yeah, I know. Some days I just wish I was home, curled up in my bed."

"Oh definitely," smiled Beth. And at the moment she wasn't suspicious in the slightest. Beth had never feared Emma. She wasn't surprised at all that the young Georgian had been concerned, that was just Emma's nature. "Hey, by the way, are you the one who left those oranges in my bag today?"

"Yep," smiled Isabella. And then she raised a finger to her lips. "But don't tell. Nobody knew I was going to do that."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I didn't tell the rest of them 'cause they'd probably get mad. But I knew you and Matt were kind of sad this morning and could use a little cheering up. So I picked you some extra oranges."

"That was so sweet," smiled Beth. "Thank you, Emma."

Then she walked over and the two women shared a hug. A real hug.

"But seriously," asked Isabella. "You're okay with everything? If you want to talk I'd be happy to listen. Anytime, and I mean it. Just let me know."

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm just tired. Could probably use another nap."

"Naps are good," smiled Isabella.

"Heck yeah," exclaimed Beth. "Especially when you're as old as I am."

"Oh come on."

"Seriously," pouted Beth. "I'm older than dirt compared to the rest of you guys. It's no wonder I can't keep up with you."

"That's baloney," reassured Isabella. "You probably have one of the most youthful spirits here. I'm serious. The rest of the tribe should be -half- as positive as you are. I've always thought that."

And Beth was legitimately touched.

"Well thanks Emma," she smiled down through her glasses. "I like that!"

"It's true!"

Beth just smiled, clearly touched by the words from her young teammate.

"So what are you up to today?" asked Isabella. "Do you have any plans?"

"Nah. I figured I'd go back and talk to Matt if he was still around. Other than that I'll just pretty much stare at the fire."

"Well do you want to know a secret?" whispered Isabella. And she smiled as she moved in close. "I was out searching today and I found a big tomb out in the jungle. It's really neat, too. Wanna go explore it with me?"

"Seriously? A tomb?"

"Yeah! You should go check it out. I was planning on going out there to look around. You wanna come with me?"

"Sure!" said a happy Beth.

"And if you want to talk on the way, we can," nodded Isabella. "I mean it. If you're feeling blue you can come to me anytime. Please remember that. I don't like to see anybody feeling sad."

And though Isabella was being entirely strategic, she truly meant this last line. She -didn't- like to see people sad out here. She never had. And she had -hated- the way the Satos had been treated since day six. It hadn't been civil, it hadn't been nice and... most of all... it hadn't been fair. And though her plan was to pull in Matt and Beth as allies, for strategic reasons, she couldn't help but smile at the thought of the underdogs suddenly having a chance against the big bad Kamiyas.

That part was just going to be a bonus.

"Well then let's go!" smiled Beth, as she reached to poke Isabella in the ribs. Isabella smiled and reached to tickle Beth on her side. Beth laughed.

And Isabella now had ally number one.



^^



But the final event at Kamiya today was going to have more drastic consequences... and Michelle Kin-Fraley didn't even realize it at the time.

The auburn-haired young athlete was walking to check treemail... treemail for tonight's challenge... as she spoke about the current status of the game. She spoke as she walked, briskly, as she detailed the doubts she sometimes had about her own alliance.

"Right now," she said, "I don't fully trust my own alliance, nor do I think I should. Ryan and Mike are essentially strangers to me and I try to never forget that. I always try to keep that fact in mind."

She stepped over a fallen tree as she passed by the entrance to camp.

"Outside of myself, there is only one person in this game that I totally trust and want to see succeed. And that person is Chris." She smiled. "Chris and I were tight on day one and we're still tight now, as far as I know. And I have to be honest that I -really- miss him. It seems like forever since we've talked." She got a sad expression on her face. "I really enjoyed the times we'd go for water and just goof off. We'd laugh and just have a great time. So I miss his laugh, I miss his smile, and I miss his encouragement. When he was here, I didn't have to be strong alone. I knew I could lean on him for support."

She stopped now as she saw something. Something standing in front of the entrance to camp.

"You know, when I see Chris at the challenges, I smile and he winks back. And just seeing him, even if we are competing against each other, is refreshing. It's encouraging. It keeps me going. Because I -know- we'll get the Angels back together. I know he and Joni will be back at the merge, just like we planned."

Then she got an angry gleam in her eye.

"And if any of the Satos take him out, I am going to be -pissed.- If they decide to vote him out, God help me I will make it my life's mission to destroy them all. I will take them out hard... and that vote will be -extremely- personal. I don't care who it is. If they take Chris out, they had better sleep with one eye open. Because I'll be going after them."

And just the thought of Chris leaving had started to make her mad. And though she would be at a loss to explain why it happened later, something in her mind just snapped. Something happened at this moment which would change the game completely.

Because the thing she was staring at was Mike's gnome.

"You know what..." she said to herself.

Michelle reached into her pocket and pulled out two items. They were two items that she had planned to go hunting with later. Left over from the challenge, they were two throwing stars. And suddenly she had an idea.

"This will be hilarious," she grinned, as she walked over to get within range. And really this wasn't going to be much of a challenge. Michelle was already a crackshot with the stars.

And the poor gnome never really stood much of a chance.

-CRACK!-

The first star dug itself just under the gnome's beard. It embedded itself in the plastic nicely and she smiled. Then she fired again.

-CRACK!-

The second star obliterated the gnome's right eye, digging a huge chunk out of the plastic. And now the poor gnome was disfigured. Michelle had embedded two throwing stars into Mario the gnome.

"I've always hated that stupid thing," she smiled, mischievously. "And Mike's gonna be pissed but oh well. At least it should be fun to watch." She then raised a finger to her lips and shushed the cameras.

"Please don't tell him who did it. I want to see who he blames. I bet I can guess!"


^^

As Kamiya prepared for the big immunity challenge, Sato was winding down after a relatively uneventful day. Not much had happened around camp... other than Murtz annoying Christopher some more with his incessant complaining. That seemed to never end. It was almost 24/7 with the guy sometimes.

"Christ!" the exasperated actor had confessed this afternoon. "Dave has been unloading on me all day! And really, I'm just to the point now where I can't bear it much more. I simply can -not- be this guy's island therapist. He's got more issues than all my exes put together. And that's a -fuck- of a lot of issues and a -fuck- of a lot of exes!"

So Chris had been staying away from Murtz today, which of course had only made the problem worse. If you ignored him, it tended to make him worry that something was up.

"And you can't even walk away from the guy!" Chris would complain. "He's like a magnet. He never leaves your side! Jeee-sus."

And when Chris was in a bad mood... as he most definitely was today because of Murtz... there was really only one way he could cope. There was only one thing that would calm his nerves when Murtz started to stress him out. So when news came that treemail was here, Chris decided to go hang out with his best friend on Sato-- his anchor. The two Angels were going to go for a walk.

"Hey Thespy," he said, as he poked his head into the Sato shelter, "Wanna go get tree mail?"

Joni sat up, smiling. The young girl had been trying to take a nap, trying to just relax before the big challenge, until the smiling visage of her friend came into view. And as usual, Chris called her by her nickname. For because Christopher and Joni were both actors back in the real world-- or thespians-- he had started to call her "thespy."

"Sure," she grinned. "Let's go."

So the two of them set off for the long hike to the treemail box-- the tall lanky actor and the tiny little dancer. The most unlikely of pairs, yet perhaps the closest in the game. And for whatever reason, the two of them had always seemed to click. Chris looked after Joni and Joni helped keep Chris grounded. It was almost a perfect combination.

Which was good, because Chris -definitely- needed a friendly ear to talk to right about now.

"Dave is driving me nuts today," Chris complained, as he walked next to her. "And I mean seriously. I think he knows that something is up. He seems to realize that he's gonna be next on the chopping block, and his paranoia is going into overdrive today."

"Oh man," frowned Joni. "That's not good."

"And I think I screwed up," Chris confessed. "I did something I shouldn't have."

"Uh oh."

"We were talking just after lunch," he fessed up. "And you know, he started to go into his "woe is me" routine, pretty much the same as usual. About how he hates Amy, he doesn't trust you, he thinks Lance is a moron, you know... that kind of thing."

Joni snickered.

"And just this once," Chris said, "I just couldn't take it. For the first time ever, I kind of snapped at him."

Joni winced. Uh oh.

"I called him a whiner," Chris added. "And I told him to just shut his mouth once in a while and -deal with it.- I told him I was sick of hearing it and that the only reason he was so miserable here was because he brought it all on himself."

Joni laughed out loud.

"Good for you!" she smiled.

"But I screwed up," Chris frowned. "Because he got this really hurt look on this face and then I just turned my back on him. I just said "screw it" and I walked away. That was it! No apologies, no explanations, nothing. I just left."

"Oh, man..." grimaced Joni. "He's probably going crazy right now."

"I don't know what to do, Thespy. You can't just walk away from Dave in mid-sentence. He hates shit like that..." Chris suddenly corrected himself, grinning. "Err... -stuff- like that. I think he knows he's in danger now. And I'm afraid what he's going to do. He could go running to -anyone- right now and start stirring things up."

"Dave's gonna be trouble," nodded Joni, as she ducked her way under a branch. "With a capital T."

"No kidding."

"And even worse," Joni added, "Kamiya still has four of those statues. Do you have any idea what they could mean?"

"I don't know," sighed Chris. "I'm just glad that Michelle and Em have two of them. Maybe it just keeps them safe from the vote or something."

"I think we're gonna lose," said Joni. "I think we'll be going to Tribal Council tomorrow. Those statues worry me." She looked up at Chris. "So do we take out Dave if we lose?"

"I think we have to. Amy isn't gonna vote for Lance and-- quite frankly-- I can't take much of Dave anymore. I'm not exaggerating when I say he is driving me insane. I've become his personal babysitter. Every day!"

Joni giggled again.

"This game just sucks sometimes," he sighed. And Joni could suddenly see that this was more serious than she had thought. Chris was more affected by this than he was letting on.

"Chris, are you okay?"

"Yeah," he stopped walking, as he took a deep breath. "I'd just kind of like a break from this game for a while."

"Well, we -all- could use one."

"Yeah but you don't have to be Dave's babysitter. You don't see how bad he can get. He just sits there by the campfire... waiting for me to walk by. And if he sees me he'll pull me off into the trees to complain about something." Joni was laughing but Chris was deadly serious about this. "I'm so exhausted right now, Jones, I'd just like to check out of the game for a while."

"Chris," she started, as she put a hand on his shoulder, "I don't mean to sound rude here but you -have- to stay in this game. Don't start checking out. I need you."

"I know," he sighed. "And I'm not quitting."

"You better not! And you can be depressed all you want. Heck, we'll -both- be depressed. Pity parties can be fun." She smiled. "But if you leave this game, I'm toast. Don't quit on me!"

"I'm not gonna quit. I wouldn't do that to you. Or the Angels."

"Look," she said, getting worked up, "You know I hate Dave as much as you do. Do you think it's -fun- to hear how he talks behind my back? Do you think I -like- knowing that he acts all nice to my face and then calls me a moron to the rest of the tribe?"

"Of course not."

"I've gotten used to taking crap from people out here," Joni fumed. "I can take it. But one thing I'll -never- get over is people calling me stupid."

And then she started to cry. She was trying to fight it but out it came. Finally the stress of the game was starting to get to her.

"Joni," said Chris, "You're not stupid. You're probably one of the smartest ones here."

And at that he gave her a hug. A big hug. And he could tell from her tears that she had never really gotten over this. She had never gotten over the way she had been written off since day one.

"Why are all the guys so weird around you, anyway?" asked Chris. "I mean Mike wouldn't talk to you, Dave and Ryan thought you were an idiot, and does Lance even say hi or anything?"

"No!"

"Well I hope you beat them all," Chris reassured her. "Just shove it in their faces. Starting with Dave."

"You know what I want to do?" she said, as she stood back and wiped her eyes. "If we lose I want to go up to Dave and just start messing with him. Cause you know he'll start making me pledge my loyalty to Kamiya, or some crap like that. He'll make me swear to stay with him on the vote."

"Ha," smiled Chris. "Of course he will. He'll probably want us to mark our votes again."

"I'll just look him right in the eye," she grinned, "And I'll say "You know, Dave... I'll do -anything- I have to to stay in this game. So no, I can't promise you anything. I guess we'll just wait and see how the vote turns out. See how he likes an answer like that."

"That's why I love you, Jones," he grinned.

"And then maybe I'll write a big number 16 on the ballot," she promised. "And maybe draw a middle finger too."

"Wow," he laughed, astonished, "You're a -mean- little Mormon!"

"Okay," she smiled, coyly. "Maybe no finger. But I would if I could."

"I'll draw one for you."

He patted her on the shoulder and, with that, things were starting to get better. Christopher felt better, Joni felt better, and the day was looking a whole lot brighter. Tree mail was here, it was time for the challenge, and things were going to be okay. On days like this, it was -good- to be an Angel.



^^



And as Chris and Joni came back with the treemail, the Satos gathered around to read its message. Amy took a moment to read the parchment out loud.

-It's time to make some waves... As you sail across the sea
There's treasure below, Let's go for a dive,
And fish for immunity.-

"Oh great," said Joni, "A swimming challenge. Can I sit out?"

She looked hopeful but it wasn't going to be possible. The tribes were tied 6-6. Nobody was going to be sitting out today. But Joni looked worried. She was all but useless in the water and this challenge was going to suck.

"We'll be okay I think," said Amy, "Chris you play water polo, right?"

Chris nodded. He knew he would do well today.

"I've been certified in swimming," said Hogan, "I can cover for you, Joni."

He smiled at Joni and she smiled back, happily. She mouthed the words "thank you."

"And I'm okay in the water," shrugged Amy. "I think we'll be fine." She then looked around. "Does anyone know if Lance can swim? Where is he anyway?"

"Lance is from San Diego," joked Chris. "He better be able to swim. I think it's the law there."

"Lance went off to go meditate," said Hogan. "He's been doing it before the last few challenges. Do you want me to go get him?"

"Ah..." said Amy. "No, that's fine. I forgot. I'm sure he'll be here when it's time to go."

And with that she started to plan out the game plan for today. And though some of her teammates seemed pessimistic, Amy was sure that Sato was going to win. She knew the odds were going to be against them... because of the four statues, whatever -that- meant... but she was looking forward to it. She knew they were going to win. It was just Sato's time right now. Life was good, things were going great, and today was going to be their day. It was simply fated to be.

And as usual, Lance McHale had indeed decided to relax and mentally prepare himself before the challenge-- all alone. This was his new daily ritual. Ever since he had decided to focus -all- his energy towards winning the challenges, this was just something he had to do.

Like he did before every challenge, Lance hiked down the beach to his favorite mangrove, the one with the large roots. And mangroves were wonderful places. Native to Okinawa, these large trees sat with roots above the ground, suspended over a large pool of water. And in the water teemed all sorts of sealife, if you were lucky enough to catch it. Shrimp, shellfish, crabs... these creatures all made their homes in the mangrove water.

So this was a place of life.

And this was the spot Lance would come almost every day.

"Right now," admitted the young teacher, as he sat next to the large tree roots, "I look back at this game and I wonder how I'm still here. Then, I remember two clutch immunity performances when I needed them most. Because that's what I have had to do since Elisabeth left the game, and that's what I will continue to do as long as I have to. As long as I'm in danger... Sato will not be heading to Tribal Council. Losing is simply not an option for me."

He smiled as he closed his eyes now, relaxing back against the soft sand.

"This is a crazy game," he laughed. "I mean, just look at it. My closest ally in the game for the first three days was Elisabeth. Now she's gone. Then I started to hook up with Henry, and we became close. Then he left." Lance laughed again. "And after Henry, my best ally left was David. Well guess who Kamiya voted off last time!"

Lance smiled at the irony of it all.

"I'm literally tip-toeing over hot coals right now, and I have been for some time. And as much as I like my team, I know we're in trouble. Hogan and Amy made a fatal flaw at the last vote when they took out Henry. A Sato." He shook his head. "I can't believe we willingly voted out one of our own. I'm afraid it will come back to bite us someday. Because when the merge starts getting near, we could have used that extra vote."

He opened his eyes now as he stared at the sky. He was starting to feel the old challenge juices flowing. It was almost time to start gearing himself up for battle.

"Right now there are two people that I trust, and those two are Amy and Hogan. And oh, I don't expect them to save me should we go to a vote. They've already told me I'm on the outs and I fully expect to get their votes. That's inevitable. And while Chris is a very solid guy and extremely ethical, I just don't believe he would ever vote out one of the Kamiyas. He would vote for me in a heartbeat."

Lance shrugged, closing his eyes once again.

"I've survived the last two council votes on the brink of elimination, so what's one more? All I can do is try my best in the challenge and bring home that immunity idol for my tribe. And it's going to be tough. They have those four statues, and I don't know what that means, but it's bad. So for us to pull off a victory today would be a miracle. And I'm not talking about some little unlucky break for them. I'm talking about 1980... U.S.A. defeating Russia in the Miracle On Ice. This one is going to be big." He smiled. "If we can pull this off, it's gonna have to take a team effort. Every single one of the Satos will have to leave -everything- we have out on the battlefield."

He sighed now, sadly.

"Because if we lose, that means I'll be going home. And that will mean my entire time in this game has been a failure."



^^



Sato and Kamiya met for their fifth immunity challenge just before dusk.

"Come on in, guys," said Jeff.

It was just before 6:00 PM, and the golden sun reflected off the rolling surface of the sea. In photography this was known as the golden hour, the last hour before the sun sets and night falls. And it made for a beautiful setting as the castaways squared off for immunity.

"Immunity back up for grabs," said the host, as he retrieved the immunity idol from a very pumped-up looking Lance. Jeff placed it down on the ground and took a look at the two teams.

The Satos looked excited today and ready to go. Christopher and Hogan stood at the forefront of their tribe, having been selected as the two best swimmers. They would be leading the team into battle today. But all of the Satos looked ready. Even tiny Joni, on the end, looked psyched and ready to go. They were all here to win.

Kamiya, on the other side, looked just as confident and eager. As with the last challenge, they had their arms linked around one another and were all looking happy. And unified. It helped that they all wore matching belts-- deerskin belts-- that had been created by Matt just this afternoon. And the man of the hour, the deer-killer himself, stood off to one side, still wearing his blood-stained overalls. His face was hidden behind the hockey mask but you just -knew- the kid was smiling.

"Busy day, Matt?" joked Jeff.

And sitting in front of the Kamiyas were the four black Shinto statues from yesterday's reward challenge. They glistened in the sun like ebony jewels. And finally... their mysterious significance was about to be revealed.

"Your job today," said Jeff, "Is to retrieve statues from the bottom of the sea."

He pointed out to the sea, where several orange flags dotted the surface.

"Those flags each mark the location of one of the statues. And your job-- as a team-- is to row to a flag and pull up the statue underneath. And be warned that the statues -ARE- heavy, so it will take some work to get them up to the boat. You're gonna need a -lot- of strength to get those suckers up."

He smiled.

"So the challenge is simple. The first team to pull up ten statues wins immunity."

Jeff then nodded towards the yellow Kamiya team.

"Kamiya won four statues in yesterday's reward challenge, so they will start with four in their boat. That means you guys only have to pull up -SIX- to win. Sato, you will need -TEN-, so you obviously have your work cut out for you. Kamiya is beginning this contest with a headstart."

A few Satos groaned, but the bad news wasn't done yet. For Jeff was about to drop the proverbial hammer... in more ways than one.

"And with today's challenge," he smiled, "We have added something a little special. Because the losing tribe isn't only going to Tribal Council. Oh no. On top of that, the losing tribe will also receive a punishment... depending on the final score."

"Oh shit," muttered one of the Satos.

"If you lose this challenge," added Jeff, "Your tribe is gonna be hurting."

He smiled, as he picked up an item from the sand. And it looked to be about the same size and shape as a handaxe. The only difference was that this item had a large blunt tip at the end.

It was a sledgehammer.

"The winning team will get to take out the other tribe's shelter. The morning after tribal council, the winning tribe will select one member to go to the other camp, and take free hits at their shelter... with this hammer."

He grinned.

"And the severity of the damage will all depend on how well you do today. If your tribe loses by -ONE- statue, well they only get one hit on your shelter. But if you lose by -EIGHT- statues... well, let's just say you're gonna be sleeping in the cold and rain again really soon. So I'm just warning you, if anyone puts in less than a full effort today, be ready to face the consequences. You -don't- want to lose this challenge, because your tribe may very well never recover."

And with that ominous warning, Jeff announced it was time to race.



^^



Kamiya loaded up their boat first, as they carried their black statues over and placed them inside. It made the boat a bit heavier, but it also meant they would get a huge headstart in the game. They now only had six statues to pick up from the bottom of the sea.

"Who's rowing?" asked Jeff, and Beth and Matt raised their hands. These two had been selected by their tribe on the spot.

The two rowers sat at the front and back of the small fishing craft, each with a pair of oars. They would not be allowed to pull up any of the statues from the sea. Their job was to row and to row -only-. If Beth or Matt so much as -touched- a statue, Kamiya would be disqualified. And then the rest of the team filled in the space between them... Mike, Michelle, Ryan and Isabella. These four would be in charge of pulling up the statues, although it was clear that the majority of the lifting would be done by Mike. He was the big man here, and the fate of the tribe was going to rest heavily on his powerful shoulders.

And once Kamiya was seated, the Satos filed into their green boat. Hogan sat in the front and Christopher in the back. The two rowers each gripped a pair of oars and were soon seated and ready to go. Then the four lifters-- Amy, Murtz, Lance and Joni-- filed into the middle, which caused Jeff to raise his eyebrows.

"Hogan's not lifting?" he asked, as he stared at the powerful young Eagle scout in the back. Hogan was by -far- the strongest member of the Satos. And the fact that he wasn't lifting was a shock.

"We need Hogan to row," said Christopher, and at that Jeff simply shrugged. But he looked at the weak foursome that would be hefting statues out of the water and was a little worried. They didn't have anyone here to match Mike, and he was suddenly pessimistic about their chances. Sato was going to have their work cut out for them.

"This is for immunity!" announced Jeff, as he raised his hand in the air.

The teams poised, both sets of rowers staring out at the orange flags on the surface. As they looked, they mentally made notes as to which ones they wanted to head for, because the flags were spread out in no particular pattern. They had simply been randomly scattered across the sea.

"The first team to bring back ten statues wins!" said Jeff.

He paused.

"Survivors ready... -GO!-"

The two boats moved away from shore as the rowers put all their effort into paddling. And while Matt and Beth showed competence for the Kamiyas, it was evident right off the bat that Christoper and Hogan were going to be the kings of the water today. The Sato boat moved quickly out to sea as the four lifters inside cheered them on loudly. And within moments... Sato had reached their first flag.

"Grab the rope!" said Murtz, as he pointed to the thick nylon cord underneath the flag.

Joni and Lance reached down to grab the rope, and struggled as they yanked it up towards them.

"It's heavy!" said Lance, grimacing. He twirled the rope around his wrist and watched as Amy and Murtz came over to help. Together, the Sato foursome struggled to bring the statue to the surface. And finally, the large black item became visible, with a little grunting and cursing from the lifters. Murtz popped it into the boat and Sato now had their first statue.

"Sato has their first!" announced Jeff, "Kamiya still on four!"

Matt and Beth were still working on getting the Kamiya boat out to sea, but now they thought they had their rowing rhythm down. Beth steered in front, while Matt used his powerful strokes to propel the boat from the back. And they were reaching their first flag just as Jeff made another announcement.

"Sato has their second statue!"

Beth looked over at the green boat and saw the Satos cheering. Hogan and Christopher had somehow steered them to a second flag already... and all of a sudden this contest didn't look like a sure thing anymore.

"I got it!" yelled Mike, "I got it!"

The big man reached down and single-handedly started bringing up the fifth Kamiya statue. He closed his eyes and grunted, red-faced, but soon the statue was visible. Michelle helped him lift it into the boat and Kamiya was back on the board.

"Kamiya has their fifth! Sato still has two!"

The two teams continued their statue search for about twenty minutes, as Hogan and Christopher refused to let up their relentless pace in the Sato boat. In fact, they seemed to be getting -faster-. The two men were working as a flawless team, getting from flag to flag in record time. And after twenty minutes, they stood only one statue behind the Kamiyas. As Lance pulled the sixth statue into Sato's boat, they soon pulled to within one. It was now Kamiya seven, Sato six.

The gap had almost been eliminated.

But... the only problem was that the Sato lifters were starting to get tired. They had the momentum, but they didn't quite have the horses. And as Jeff had feared, the weaker Sato team was starting to run out of steam.

"I can't lift it!" yelled Amy, as she struggled with the seventh Sato statue. The young woman's hand was wrapped around the rope, but the lack of circulation was turning her wrist bright purple. Joni came over to help and struggled as well, as Christopher let out an angry cry from the back.

"Let's go!" he yelled. He was getting frustrated. He didn't want to lose this lead! He then looked over at the Kamiya boat and saw them hoisting another statue into their boat. That was Kamiya's eighth. Now the Kamiyas were just two away from victory.

"Lift it up!" yelled Hogan, frustrated as well. He could see that the Sato lifters were struggling, but he couldn't do anything about it. He could only sit there and watch as the weak foursome worked together... putting all their effort into lifting a statue out of the water. It was almost painful for Hogan to watch... with him being unable to help.

And finally, with a groan, the Satos pulled statue number seven into the boat.

"Kamiya has eight!" yelled Jeff, "Sato seven! It's still anybody's game!"

Christopher pointed to an orange flag off in the distance and Hogan nodded. That was their next target. The two males started paddling furiously through the sea... the boat slicing through the waves like a knife. And they reached the flag again in record time.

This one was for the tie.

"Get it!" yelled Christopher, in full trainer mode now. "Pull it up!"

The Satos started pulling just as Kamiya had reached their ninth flag. Matt was more or less paddling the boat on his own now, with Beth having been relegated to steering. But Matt came through, they were here, and the Kamiyas were now ready to lift.

Mike reached down to grab the rope. He wrapped the cord around his thick wrist and started pulling, his broad shoulders flexing with the effort. And whereas this was once a one-man show, by now Mike was starting to tire as well. Michelle and Ryan reached down to help him pull the rope, each of them providing more than enough strength to help out. The statue came up quickly, as Isabella moved behind them to clear a space for it in the boat. Her dainty arms had proven to be nearly useless in the lifting department, so she was helping out in other ways if she could.

And then it was up. Statue number nine.

"Yeah, Kamiya!" cheered Beth, as Ryan plopped the wet statue into the space Isabella had cleared. And now they were down to the wire. Kamiya was one statue away from immunity.

"Kamiya has nine! Sato still struggling with their eighth!"

Beth pointed to an orange flag off in the distance, and Matt nodded. The blood-stained young man dipped his oars in the water and started paddling. And the team cheered him on as Matt rowed closer and closer to destiny. He could feel it, this was going to be his moment. The lifters were poised and ready as Beth took one last look over at the Satos.

And although she badly wanted to win, Beth couldn't help but feel a little sorry for what she was seeing. Because the Satos were stuck. They looked helpless.

"It's too heavy!" yelled Joni, as she put all her energy into pulling. But the statue wasn't going to come up. The lifters were simply too weak and too tired by now. Lance and Murtz were yanking on the rope with a furious effort, but they weren't making much headway. And Amy was nearly in tears now, already fearing for their poor shelter. Ten to seven. It was going to be ten to seven. That meant -three- hits with the sledgehammer.

"Get that statue up!" she screamed. "We need it! We need this one!"

Amy, Joni, Murtz and Lance redoubled their efforts as they now knew they were going to lose. Winning or losing was no longer a matter of importance. Now it was a matter of saving their shelter. They had to get that eighth statue up.

And across the sea... the Kamiyas had now reached their tenth flag.

"This is it, guys," said Michelle, as she reached down to help Mike with the rope. Isabella and Ryan cheered them on as Isabella kneaded Mike's shoulders, encouragingly.

"Kamiya, working on their last statue!"

And while the Satos had run out of steam, the Kamiyas had no such problem. The team of Mike and Michelle brought the statue up easily, and Ryan helped them place it in the boat. Isabella and Beth cheered them on as Matt rested happily against the oars. Kamiya had ten... and now they just had to get back to shore.

Matt and Beth steered the boat towards the beach and in a matter of minutes, it was over.

"Kamiya!" yelled Jeff, "Wins immunity!"

Matt thrust his oars in the air and yelled as the yellow tribe celebrated in triumph. Michelle and Isabella came over to hug Mike and the big man smiled, happily. He had done it. He had come through when his team needed him, almost single-handedly, and now they would be safe from Tribal Council.

"Nice job, guys," said Jeff, as he handed the immunity idol to a beaming Beth. "Well done."

And as Kamiya celebrated, Sato was now slowly paddling into shore. Well, not paddling. Limping was more like it. The Satos never did manage to get up that eighth statue And to make matters worse, Joni had tumbled into the water at the end and was now shivering from the cold.

And now the Satos sat, dejected, as Christopher and Hogan paddled them slowly back to the beach. Seven statues sat in their boat. That was three less than ten... and they all knew it. Their shelter was going to take some damage and it wasn't going to be pretty. The poor rickety thing was already half-dead to start with. No one expected it to be able to take even -one- hit.

But all that was far off in the future. Right now, Sato had a more -immediate- concern to worry about.

"Sorry guys," said Jeff, once they were within earshot. "You know the drill. Tomorrow night, one of you is going home."



DAY 15



It was supposed to be an off-day for Kamiya.

Nothing was supposed to happen at camp today. After all, that was the point of winning the immunity challenge. Today they had earned the right to slack off. Today they had earned the right to just chill out. But of course, that wasn't going to be the case.

Not after Mike saw the damage to his beloved gnome.

"Okay, which one of you assholes attacked my gnome?!" the big man had bellowed upon seeing the carnage last night. Because upon returning from the challenge, that had been the first thing he had seen. The entrance to the camp, so lovingly guarded by Mario for the past 14 days, was now unattended. The gnome was gone.

"No, it's not gone," Ryan had observed. "Look, somebody knocked it over."

And then Mike had seen the damage. Two throwing stars had obliterated the gnome's face, one lodged in the eye and one in the beard. And though it had all been a practical joke by Michelle-- who was trying her best to look surprised at the discovery-- Mike had turned to Matt almost immediately. And that is when the fireworks had begun.

"You stay the fuck away from my gnome!" Mike had screamed, catching the surprised teenager off guard. Because Matt hadn't had a clue what was going on. All he knew was that Kamiya had won immunity and now they were safe. Matt was carrying the immunity idol back to camp and now all of a sudden Mike was screaming at him.

"What's wrong, Mike?" Isabella had asked, completely unaware of the gnome attack. She looked to Michelle for an answer but Michelle had only shrugged.

"Matt destroyed my gnome!" Mike had accused. "Look at it. He threw two ninja stars at it and ruined it!"

"Hey now," Matt had started, "I didn't do anything..."

"You said you wanted revenge and now you did it!" Mike's face was beet red. "But this time you went too far. You get out of my camp!"

Mike had moved over to the frightened teenager and stood in front of him, looking completely out of control.

"Look..." Matt explained.

"-Get the fuck out of my camp!-" Mike had screamed, right in the poor kid's face. And by now even Michelle was a little worried. Uh oh. Mike had snapped. She looked at Ryan and the two Kamiyans exchanged a worried look. This couldn't be good.

"I didn't do anything!" Matt protested, but Mike moved a step closer, as if threatening him.

Mike just glared as Matt started to back away. Suddenly Matt was scared for his life. This wasn't about the game anymore. This was about getting away from this psychopath, as quickly as possible.

"Give me your hockey mask," Mike finally said.

"No."

"Give it to me!" Mike was dead serious. "It's going in the fire."

And by now Beth had moved to help defend Matt. Because she could see that the kid was terrified.

"Mike," she started, "Matt didn't do anything. I was with him all day, he's never even been over here."

Mike glared at Beth... but he wasn't about to back down. He simply held his hand out, waiting for Matt's mask. He was going to make this an eye for an eye. If the gnome went, so would the mask.

"Screw you," Matt said, as he turned around. On the spur of the moment he had decided he wasn't going to be sleeping here tonight. Forget the shelter. He was going to sleep out in the jungle. "I didn't touch your stupid gnome. But I would have if I could, and you know it!"

"Stay out of my camp!" Mike screamed at the retreating figure of the tall redhead. But Matt was soon gone. Matt had retreated off to the jungle-- by himself-- and that is where he had slept. Alone, on the cold dirt floor of the Okinawan jungle. And-- frightened for his life-- he hadn't come back to camp at all last night.



^^



And as the morning of day 15 broke across camp Kamiya, the victorious tribe in yellow felt a strange mood hovering over their camp today. And it was strange. It was as if they had lost the challenge last night. It certainly didn't -feel- like they had won anything. Because the mood right now was one of dread. Something bad was going on.

And Mike's temper had seriously started to frighten people.

"I don't really know what's going on with Mike right now," confessed Michelle, as she woke up to cook the tribe's breakfast. She was the first one up and she was bundled up in her favorite blue windbreaker, to protect against the early morning cold. "Because last night's flipout was a little scary. And I know Mike will claim it was an act, to keep the Satos on their toes, but if you ask me-- he's got a serious screw loose. Something's wrong with the guy and I'm worried he's gonna screw things up for us. He's too out of control and I don't like it."

Michelle poured out one of the water jugs into a boiling pot. Then she hefted the water over to the fire to be boiled.

"What he did to Matt last night was dumb," she said. "And I know it was partly my fault for playing that stupid joke... but Mike took it way too far. Matt didn't even sleep here last night!" She looked incredulous. "Matt could have gone off and drowned for all we know, because Mike won't let him come back to camp! He could be anywhere out there and I don't know if we'll even see him today." She shrugged. "I wouldn't show up here if I were him."

And as Michelle started cooking some shrimp for breakfast, eventually two figures emerged from the Kamiya shelter. Eventually Mike and Ryan stumbled out to sit on a log, sleepily eying the boiling pot as they tried to wake up.

"Mike," Michelle muttered, "You really went too far with Matt last night. Do you know he hasn't come back yet?"

Mike grinned sleepily through half-shut eyes.

"It's all just an act," he smiled. "Don't worry about it. I know what I'm doing. I just want to keep him scared right now, that's it."

"And do you know Matt did it for sure?" asked Michelle.

"He must have," Mike shrugged. "He's the only one who's threatened to do it before. Unless it was one of you, of course." He looked over at Ryan. "Was it?"

"No way," Michelle lied. "Mike you know I wouldn't do that. That's a direct attack on someone's luxury item. I don't play like that."

"Don't look at me," Ryan protested. "If I had done it I would have melted it or something."

"Yeah," shrugged Mike. "Eh, it's no big deal. Like I said, it's just a little game to play with him. I don't really even care if he did it or not. It's just a way to keep him in line."

Michelle nodded, as she stirred the shrimp to keep it from sticking.

"If you want to be honest," Mike admitted, "It's all kinda my not-so-subtle way of getting revenge. For all the times Matt threatened to wreck Mario before." He grinned. "And it worked, because little serial-killer wannabe is gonna be shaking in his boots around here for a while."

"I would be if I were him," said Ryan.

"And if you look at it this way," Mike added, "Beth will probably go out of her way to be nice to me for a while. She'll probably kiss my ass for a few days just to try and keep me happy."

"But you're not mad for real?" asked a concerned Michelle. "Look I know you like messing with them but I don't know where the real Mike begins and ends sometimes. You sure you're okay?"

"I promise."

But just from the look in his eyes, Michelle and Ryan could tell that the guy -wasn't- okay with this. The gnome attack had hit Mike very hard... and they knew that some of this anger was definitely real. Mike was still legitimately angry with Matt, even today. Even though Matt hadn't done it!

And to a guy like Ryan Rebez, this news was -perfect-.

"When I saw how angry Mike got over that gnome," he would later admit, "I knew it was going to help me out. Because if I wanted to, I could easily swing this vote around towards Mike later on down the road. I now had a legitimate beef between he and Matt that I could exploit. So yeah, I loved the attack. Whoever attacked the gnome, you have my thanks. Thank you for making my job that much easier."

So Ryan sat back and smiled, loving the hole Mike was about to dig for himself. But that would come in time. Right now he just had to milk it a little.

"What you should do," Ryan suggested, "Is take some of Emma's play-doh and patch it up. Maybe make Mario a little bandage or something."

Michelle laughed.

"I'm serious," Ryan said. "It would be a good sign to show Matt that you -aren't- intimidated by him. That you won't take his shit anymore and he better start playing nice if he wants to stick around. Use the gnome to make an example out of him."

"That's a good idea," agreed Michelle.

"But cheer up big guy," said Ryan, as he reached to rub Mike's shoulders. "We won. We're immune today. No reason to mope around." He then smiled. "What could we do to cheer you up?"

"Make up a poem," teased Michelle. "A poem about Mike."

"Oh come on," Mike sighed.

"No," challenged Michelle. "A haiku! Make up a Mike haiku!"

Mike closed his eyes and shook his head, embarrassed. This wasn't going to be fun. He wished he had gone back to sleep.

"No problem," said Ryan. He thought about it for about thirty seconds.

Then he spoke.

"Builder of the hut. From Kamiya- sexy man. Gnome will rise again!"

"Oh God," sighed Mike, but Michelle was cheering out loud. She and Ryan were sharing a big laugh and Mike politely excused himself. He had other things to do.



^^



As he went for a walk, Mike decided to take a moment and explain the strategy of his latest outburst. Because in his mind, this was all strategic. Everything that had happened between Matt and him had been nothing more than strategy. And he tried to convey this in a confessional... although it was clear from his words that this situation was a -bit- more personal than he would like to let on.

"At this moment," he explained. "The only emotion I have is jealousy. I'm not angry, I'm not amused, I'm not resentful... I am just -so- jealous of those Satos! They get to vote someone out tonight!"

He grinned, coldly.

"I would be -so- happy to get rid of Matt or Beth tonight. Matt expecially, but I've grown rather tired of Beth too. I've found out from Ryan that she has issues with me and, really, I'd just rather not have her around. She's a bit of a drag on morale and we could do without her."

Mike stood up now, intending to go check one of his deer snares. Maybe they had caught another one today. And Matt sure as hell wasn't going to go check, so Mike would have to do it himself.

"What's going to happen today," he said as he walked, "Is that Matt will probably try to avoid me. And really, it just makes me laugh. Because yes, I have a strong personality and yes, you don't want to piss me off. But I'm just a giant, cuddly teddy-bear! Anyone who knows me could tell you that!" He smiled. "But I'm also a vindictive, crafty teddy bear. And any attack on my gnome is a direct attack on me. I don't care how you joke about it... deep down it is a veiled threat by somebody that they want me gone. So really... whoever shot my gnome is going to feel my wrath. If not now, then later. Because I don't forget. They picked the wrong person to mess with and it's going to bite them in the ass."

Mike then laughed, as he realized the irony of this whole situation.

"Part of my strategy here was to use the gnome to take the focus off of me. I wanted people to blame -him- for the things that would go on around camp, and not me. I wanted little Mario to cause all the mischief. But what Matt has done is change my entire strategy for the better."

Mike paused, grinning.

"Right now Matt is just playing into the little guy's hands. He's turned Mario into the victim, not the culprit. And that's even better. So from this point on... the gnome strategy will take on a whole new dimension Mario has suddenly become our martyr."



^^



And while Mike seemed to enjoy this latest twist in the game, one person who was -not- enjoying it sat out in the jungle, all alone. Because Matt Carter was still scared to death to go back to camp. Not with Mike there. Not yet.

And at the moment Matt sat under a large orange tree, the same spot where he had slept last night. And he vented. After the biggest up-and-down day of his life yesterday, Matt was ready to let loose on the current situation back at Camp Kamiya.

"Mike, simply put, is a son of a bitch. He's absolutely nuts and I don't want to play this game with him one more day. I've somehow gone and pissed off a psycho and now it's just not fun anymore."

Matt was shivering a bit from the morning air as he huddled up under the tree.

"This whole gnome thing isn't about strategy, or about anything I've done. This is all about some crazy psychopath taking his damned gnome -way- too seriously and then stirring up the tribe with his wacky stick." He scowled as he talked. "And I didn't even do it! I'm walking back from the challenge he starts yelling at me! And I don't know if this is a ploy to get Beth to turn on me, but I don't like it. Mike is a fucking moron, plain and simple, and I don't even want to be around him."

Matt picked at a small cluster of berries, his morning breakfast. And he continued to vent.

"So yeah I came out here and I hid. Screw him, I don't want him to bludgeon me to death at night. You know he would. Because even though I don't give a flying fuck what his argument is... when Mike is angry he's just plain old fashioned -scary.-"

Matt shuddered.

"And then wanting to burn my mask... that's just uncalled for. This mask happens to be very special to me and I'm sorry Mike, but I -didn't touch your stupid gnome!- And if you so much as -touch- my mask, there will be hell to pay. I can promise this right now. If you want to make this personal, we'll continue this outside the game. Count on it."

And Matt intended to continue, but he soon realized he had a visitor. He heard footsteps. Standing up, he looked around and saw the unmistakable form of Beth coming near him. And he smiled. She was coming out to see if her friend was okay.

"Hey Beffy," he signaled her. "I'm over here."

Beth grinned at the sight of a dirty and disshevelled Matt, and ran over to give him a hug.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "I was worried sick about you. You never came back!"

"Would -you- have? Mike was ready to dismember me!"

"Ha," she snorted. "Mike can take his gnome and shove it. He'd probably enjoy it too. I know you didn't do it."

And then Beth reached into her pack. She had brought something for him.

"Here," she said, as she pressed a pair of sweet potatoes into his hand. "These are from Emma. She told me to smuggle these out to you and make sure you were okay. She was concerned."

"Oh," said Matt, sweetly touched. "That was nice of her."

"She's being really sweet lately," Beth confided. "I think she's getting tired of Ryan and Mike. She's been hinting at it more and more lately. I think she's actually considering voting them out."

"Sweet," said Matt, as he hungrily devoured the raw potatoes.

"Are you okay?" asked Beth. "You slept okay out here?"

"Yeah," said Matt, "But I wish I -had- attacked the stupid gnome before I left. I wish I had kicked it or something. Or at least castrated it."

Beth giggled.

"I could make you a noose," she suggested.

"Hey," asked Matt, suddenly. "I just realized why Mike's so insane. He must be related to Henry! Do you think they are father and son? And the tea ceremony was some sort of Return of the Jedi Lord of the Sith family reunion?"

"That must be it!" laughed Beth.

And once Beth saw that Matt was joking around, she knew he was going to be okay. She asked him to come back to camp but he wasn't feeling up for it yet.

"I'll just hang out here," he shrugged, and smiled. "The company is better out here anyway. But be sure to tell Emma thanks for the food. Tell her I appreciated it."

"I will."

^^


And though things were tense in camp, the day passed by relatively normally for the Kamiya tribe. Because even though Matt and Mike stayed far away from one another, there were still things that had to be discussed. There were still items that had to be taken care of.

Namely, which one of the Kamiyas would be going over to destroy Sato's shelter tomorrow.

And though the discussions had been long and drawn-out, eventually it had been decided that Michelle would be the one traveling to Sato tomorrow. She would be the one going to over to take three whacks at the Sato shelter.

And as the day wound down, Michelle took a moment to comment on the day's events. As dinner approached, she went down by the ocean to summarize the past day's events around camp.

"The fishing challenge was tough," she admitted, "And honestly I don't know -what- Sato was thinking. They had no lifters! And it's kind of starting to look like their communication skills are crappy over there." She shrugged. "It was sad to watch, especially for poor Joni. She was trying so hard but it wasn't working."

She felt a moment of sadness for the youngest Angel, still trapped over on the opposing team. Michelle sincerely hoped Chris was taking good care of her.

"And our mission this afternoon," she continued, "Was to decide who goes and destroys the shelter tomorrow. Who's going to get the honor of visiting the Satos?" She grinned, pausing. "And of course Beth suggested that Matt do it. She said that he built the thing, so he should be the one to rip it down."

Michelle laughed.

"Fat chance! You think I'm letting him go over there to start passing messages to Amy? Do we look that stupid?" She continued laughing. "I don't -think- so, honey. So anyway, Matt was shot down. That's not gonna happen. He's keeping his ass here, he's not going anywhere."

She looked off in the distance at the sight of Mike checking his fish trap. And there was another guy she didn't trust to do this.

"I don't trust Mike to go because he's too close to Dave. I don't want him to spill anything that we need to keep secret. And the same goes for Ryan. Those two need to stay away from Dave, because I don't trust them at all. Those three all need to stay away from each other."

So as it stood, there had been only two people who Michelle trusted to go over-- and both of them happened to be Angels.

"I more or less volunteered to go tomorrow because I'd love to go see Chris and Joni. So I stepped up and I offered to go and the guys said yes." She smiled. "Fools. But if I hadn't gone I would have been happy to send Emma. She wouldn't tell Sato anything and she'd be able to get information from Chris and Joni just as well as I could."

Michelle then caught herself.

"... Assuming Chris and Joni are still there, of course. But Chris -better- be there, or I'll hunt down and destroy them all. I'm telling you right now, if they vote him off, I might just use the sledgehammer on them instead of the shelter!"

Michelle laughed again. But it was clear she was serious. If the Satos so much as touched her friend Chris... they were dead. All of them.

"Today was just crazy," she sighed, "With Mike and his stupid gnome. And had I known he would have taken it so personally I never would have done it. Honestly, I was just trying to have some fun, that's it! And now Matt is off hiding in the jungle, Beth is as meek as a little lamb and Mike looks like the world's biggest asshole. Oh and then today Ryan whispered to me that Matt confessed to whacking the gnome, so obviously Ryan is up to something too." She smiled. "All hell is breaking loose around Kamiya! It's hilarious!"

She sighed now, perfectly content with her place in the game.

"But the next day or so should be nice. No challenges... lots of rest. It will be nice to relax a little bit. I'll probably go for a nice, long swim. And then tomorrow I get to go see Chris and Joni and catch up for a while."

She grinned, mischievously.

"And nobody knows this yet but I'm not going to hit their shelter. I'm not gonna touch it. I'll just go over, bring them a little deer meat as a peace offering, and try to pass Chris and Joni some word that the Angels are still together. Emma suggested I make a "Charlie's Angels" reference and see if they get it." She laughed. "That will be so funny! Plus it's a lot better than Matt's stupid idea. He wanted me to go over and sing "Mrs. Robinson." He said it was an inside joke that Sato would get." She looked confused. "That's retarded. I mean, what the fuck? Sing your own stupid song."

But as the day wound down for Michelle, she was happy. Things were going great and she was going to see her Angels tomorrow.

And for Sato's sake... she just hoped Chris and Joni were still there when she arrived.



^^



But the last event to happen on Kamiya today was something nobody expected. Because truth be told, in all the confusion and chaos, people had sort of forgotten about Isabella. She was always the quietest, she was always the most meek, and she was always the one who tended to be pushed aside.

But she was definitely planning big things at the moment.

The blonde woman had excused herself from camp just before dinner, claiming she was going to go find some shrimp. She said she wanted to go catch some breakfast for tomorrow. But finding food wasn't what she had in mind at all. Nope, she was on a humanitarian mission tonight.

Because Matt seemed like he could really use a friend right about now. And like with Beth yesterday... Isabella fully intended to -be- that friend. It was time to go recruit the second soldier in her new army.

"Last night," she said as she walked, "Someone decided to throw ninja stars at the gnome's head. And nobody knows who did it... so we're kind of immersed in a case of 'Who shot J.R.?', except I suppose we'll have to call this, 'Who Ninja-Starred M.G.?'" She smiled now, although she really didn't find this all that funny. "It's entertaining enough, I suppose, but the purpose it's serving on Matt is petty and really unnecessarily cruel. I feel like we're all back in kindergarten, and the popular kid spilled some milk just to blame it on the shy little kid in the back. Because neither Matt nor Beth did it, that much is obvious. And for Mike to go off on the two of them is the most childish thing I think I've ever seen."

She walked along the narrow dirt strip that led to the jungle. Because she knew Matt was still camped out over here. She had seen him foraging for food earlier this afternoon.

"The person who attacked the gnome is, in my mind, something below a snake, a rat, a weasel... or even a roach. And I'm not sure what that would be, but I'd rather not know. Because it's the work of someone who enjoys causing distress in others unnecessarily, or someone who is insecure enough to attempt something this petty. And I don't like it.

She kept walking as she talked.

"The act being put on for Matt and Beth has officially gone way too far. I actually feel sympathy for the two of them by now. Obviously Matt nor Beth did that to the gnome. And Mike is either too stupid to see that... or else he's been in on the whole thing. And either way, the way they are being treated is despicable. It is toying with people when I don't see any good strategic reason for it. It's disgusting."

She stopped now, to clarify something. She wanted to make this last point perfectly clear.

"And I'm not the type of person who plays emotionally. I don't do things like save friends just because I like them. What I'm planning... if it happens at all... is solely strategic and solely because I want Ryan gone. I mean, I like Beth and Matt as people, but I don't think they really deserve to stick around or anything."

She shrugged.

"And no one's saying Ryan is gonna go just yet. We'll just say... I like to keep my options open. Just in case."

She then smiled, as the tall form of Matt came into view. And with that it was time to put on her game face. In a moment... Isabella was gone and Emma had arrived. And Emma was about to have Matt wrapped around her little Georgian finger. Just like she had done with Beth yesterday, all the kid needed was a little encouragement... a sympathetic ear... a few smuggled pieces of fish... and maybe a hug or two. He just needed to feel like he was loved.

And by the end of the day... Isabella now had -two- loyal soldiers in her army.



^^



Across the island, Sato was gearing up for their third Tribal Council of the game. And to nobody's surprise, the two names that kept coming up were the two biggest outcasts of the tribe. In the eyes of the tribe, it was going to come down to the the moody stress-case Murtz or the humorless cliche-speaking Lance. And really, no matter who you asked, neither one of them was really going to be missed. No matter who went home... this vote wasn't going to be hard at all.

"I want Lance gone," Chris explained, as he sat on a downed log. "I've wanted him gone since I first arrived and nothing he's ever done has made me like the guy any more. And mainly it's because I think the guy is full of shit. He's the most self-righteous blowhard I've ever met." Chris grinned. "He'll constantly go on about how he won't lie, he will -never- lie, and how this game is designed to turn people evil. And I'm like, whatever dude. If you hate this game so much go fucking play Candy Land. Why even show up if you hate it so much?"

Chris sighed.

"But as much as I want Lance gone, the problem is that he's got allies-- and they aren't going to budge. Amy has figured out that being down 3-2 is a bad thing, and she's trying to hide it by saying Lance is loyal and will never turn on us. Well, he'll never turn on -her-, that part is true, but I don't know if he gives two shits about me."

He shrugged.

"But the bigger problem," Chris added, "Is that Dave simply needs to go. And I'd -love- to try and force a tie tonight... but I just don't want to deal with the guy anymore. I just can't. For my own mental health, he has to go."

Chris frowned, as he thought of the histrionics Murtz had been going into this morning. Gosh the guy had been even -worse- today, if that was possible. It seemed like he must have known something was up.

"Dave Roth is kind of a sad person," Chris confessed. "He reminds me of this one boyfriend I used to have. All I had to do was stop speaking to him for a day and he'd turn into a crying blathering mess. He'd be on his knees, begging forgiveness, and it was just pathetic to watch." Chris was almost sad thinking about it, because he knew Murtz wasn't going to like what went down tonight. "And yesterday when I turned my back on Dave, the same type of thing happened. I just interrupted him mid-sentence and walked away... which is the biggest "Fuck you" you could give to the guy. And he must have figured it out. Because he's been all weird to me today... like -too- nice."

Chris sighed.

"He's now crawling back to me, just like I knew he would. And he must know that something is up. He -has- to. But for the life of me I can't warn him. I just don't want to deal with it. Because I like the guy and all, he's got a good heart, but I just want him out of my hair. I just want to be done with him."

So Chris knew that Murtz was going to get his vote tonight. He knew it was something that had to be done. But that didn't mean he was entirely comfortable with it. He was still a little wary of how Amy had more or less forced his hand.

"And I’d be lying," he added, "If I said I completely trusted Amy in all this. Because yes I know she always has that smile on her face-- but honestly I think she's an unforgiving player. She's the most ruthless one here! Just look at it. She's had a huge hand in each and -every- vote that’s happened in Sato." Chris was surprised that few other people had seen it. "And though she and I get along well, she's hinted before that I'm her biggest threat on Sato, and it makes me nervous. Because she knows I'm a player and I know -she's- a player. And those types of relationships seldom work out."

And with that he made a prediction that he was sure would come true. He was as sure of this as anything else in the game.

"I can tell you right now... that -one- of us will take out the other at some point in the game. It's only a matter of time, and a matter of who will get who first. Because after Dave goes tonight... and Lance goes next... the showdown will be just around the corner."

He smiled.

"But for now, we just have to wait. Because the winner of -that- showdown will probably be the winner of this game."



^^



The vote tonight should have been a sure thing. Lord knows Murtz had made enough enemies by now... and it should have been unanimous no matter what. But something had been troubling Amy all day, and she hadn't quite been able to put her finger on it. There was something amiss here, and it hadn't really hit her until just after lunchtime.

"We were just finishing up Joni's famous pineapple souffle when I realized what it was," she would later admit. "And at that point it hit me like a ton of bricks. It was like... how could I have missed this before?"

Because as Christopher had feared, Amy was starting to think endgame. And her newfound closeness with Chris and Joni was already starting to nag at her a little. Something didn't feel right. In the terms of police jargon... things were feeling a bit "hinky" with this whole arrangement.

"What I realized," she explained, "Was that my final four alliance with the Core consisted of two Satos and two Kamiyas. And that if we entered the merge that way, I was placing a -lot- of faith in the fact that those two would stick by us. And meanwhile here we have Lance... poor Lance... with not a single ally in the world! And anybody could use him as a swing vote if they wanted to. So what on earth am I doing letting him dangle like this? Why haven't I tried to make a side deal with him, just in case?"

And Amy had been kicking herself all morning. Because Lance could turn out to be a big swing vote in this game. She knew it as well as anyone. If you had Lance's trust, he would stick by you to the end. That was just the way the guy was. And when push came to shove... she would -love- to have an extra ally down the road. So why not start pitching him a deal?

"Besides," she smiled, "I don't want to face a Kamiya in the final two. If I get to the end, and we have all sorts of Kamiyas on the jury... I want a Sato sitting next from me. And I want it to be Lance or Hogan."

And so Amy had finally gone to Lance. And finally pitched him a deal. And knew -exactly- the way she had to do it.

"Lance," she promised, "I know we've been on opposite sides of the vote thus far, but you know as well as I do that Sato needs to stick together. We all need to work together on this."

"That's what I've been saying all along," he smiled. "I'm glad you finally saw it."

"Well I'm sorry it's taken me so long," she said, "But I think we need to make this formal. Right now. Me, you and Hogan. The three of us need to make a final three pact right now, before Chris changes his mind about voting for Dave. We need to cover our butts in case he somehow forces a tie."

"I'd do it in a second," nodded Lance. "And that's all I've wanted all along, Amy. You know that. I just want a Sato to win this thing."

"So do I."

And with that, it was done. Amy and Lance shook hands on it and she knew he could trust him. He knew he could trust her. And with Hogan hopefully on board, they knew they could trust him as well. This threesome was going to be solid.

"I'm not going to write your name down, Lance," she promised. "You have my word on it. I'll never vote for you."

"I know it," he affirmed. "And you have my word as well. And you know I always keep my word."

"I know," she smiled.

And with that, Amy was now successfully playing both sides of the fence. She knew it was risky... but she now had an alliance with every member left in Sato. Once Murtz left tonight, she should be set. And she was even -more- confident once Hogan agreed to the deal as well. Hogan said yes, and now the plan was firmly in place.

"And my only concern," she admitted later, "Is that I could be getting a bit greedy. Because while it's strategic... I have a lot of side deals going, and I don't want them to come back and bite me." And then she counted off her alliances on her fingers. "Right now, I've got a final four with the Core-- with Hogan, Chris and Joni. Then I've got a final three deal with Hogan and Lance. And then on top of it I've got my original pact with Matt and Beth over at Kamiya!"

She smiled now, slowly shaking her head in amusement.

"And right now I seem to be set. Tonight's vote should be simple, but I -DO- see the problem that Hogan and I face starting tomorrow. Because the two of us have to make sure we win all the immunity challenges up to the merge now. I don't want to have to choose which alliance to betray." She grinned. "I'd rather keep them all in place, thank you very much. So yeah, we need to start winning and we need to -keep- winning."

She shrugged.

"And I know all this is sticky, but I'm convinced you can't win the game if you don't take risks. So if this agreement with Lance pays off... it'll pay off big. But if it explodes..."

She grimaced.

"If it explodes, it will explode in the same fashion. It will be -big.-"



^^



As the evening drew closer to the vote, Murtz seemed to know that something was up. People were acting weird around him... and he didn't like it.

"Right now," he explained, "Everyone is telling me that it will be Lance tonight. To a person, every single one of them has said Lance. And I should believe it, because I know Hogan can't lie to save his own life... but something genuinely feels strange. And I just don't know what it is."

And though Murtz was trying to keep an eye on the rest of the tribe, he was unaware that four of them had congregated in the forest. He had missed the signal that Joni had given to the rest of the Core... as it was time for some last minute planning.

"This is going to be awesome," smiled Joni, as she grinned at the rest of her alliance. "He isn't going to see it coming at all." She giggled now, like a little girl.

"You're going to like this the best," smirked Amy, "Aren't you?"

"Heck yeah!" laughed Joni. "I've been waiting for this since day one. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to vote him out, Amy. This is going to be bigger than the Henry vote for me."

"Wow," whistled Hogan. "Bigger than Henry?"

"-Way- bigger." Joni was grinning from ear to ear. "I just can't wait to see his face. Ooohhh." She was practically giddy now. "This shouldn't be quite so much as it feels, should it?"

"Calm down there, kiddo," Chris patted her on the head. "We're not there yet. Anything can happen still."

"Well I can assure you," Amy said, keeping her voice down, "That I'm voting for Dave. That shouldn't come as a surprise to any of you."

"I'm voting Dave too," said Hogan. "I already gave you my word."

And under her breath, Joni started to sing. She was already planning the celebration in her head.

"He had it coming..." she sang, "He had it coming... He had it coming all along..."

"Ha," laughed Hogan, as he smiled at her. But then he got serious. "But really you guys, do you feel bad about it? I mean with his mom dying and all?"

"Yeah," nodded Amy. "That part I don't like to think about."

"I just hope he knows this isn't personal," said Hogan. "I don't bear him any ill will. I hope he knows this is just strategic for me."

"Well it's personal for me!" joked Joni. "At least let -me- enjoy it!"

"Well," added Chris, "I know you feel bad, but if you guys are thinking about warning him, don't. And I know it sounds cold to say that... but you know what he's like when he's worried."

"Yeah," nodded Hogan.

"So I wouldn't say a thing," said Chris. "Because I know he's trying to read people's responses today. He told me that himself. He's watching to see how people react. And I don't -know- what he'd do if he knew he were going." He shrugged. "I don't like lying to him any more than you guys do, but this is something that has to be done. For our own good."

"No problem," said Amy. "I can fib if I have to. With Dave, anyway."

"I already lied to him," smiled an impish Hogan. "First time in this game."

So with that, it was settled. Nobody was going to warn Murtz and nobody would say a thing. He was going to be told it was Lance up until the vote was revealed. That was something that simply had to be done.

"But can I tease him a little first?" asked Joni. "Can I at least make him look stupid?"

"Uhh... please don't," smiled Amy.

"Well then I'll just blast him in my vote," grinned an all-too-eager Joni. "Maybe I'll write it in French. I'll say 'David, tu es tres stupid l'homard.'" She laughed. "I don't know if that's gramatically correct though."

"What does it mean?"

"It means "David, you are a stupid lobster.'"

The rest of the group laughed as Amy went over to give the young girl a hug.

"Joni," she said, "You crack me up."


^^



And as the rest of the tribe went about their business before the vote, Amy was later cornered by a concerned looking Murtz. And she winced. Uh oh. This was a conversation she definitely didn't want to be having.

"I just wanted to confirm that the vote is for Lance," Murtz said.

"Absolutely," she smiled.

"Well I'm giving you my word," he added, "That I will be voting for Lance too. I just wanted you to know for sure."

"Thanks, Dave."

"And I'm voting for Lance," Murtz said, "Because he admitted that he threw that kendo challenge on day nine. That's always bothered me, that he would do something like that after he told us to all try our hardest. I just thought he was full of it."

"He is," Amy nodded, "Sometimes."

"I think he was also more involved in the Henry saga than he let on."

"I agree."

"But I just wanted to make sure that the vote was still for Lance," Murtz smiled, trying to look reassuring. "Because you know me. I get worried."

"Of course it's Lance," Amy lied. "Dave, you know I'd warn you if it was you."

"Thanks," he said. "So far everyone has said it's still Lance. So I feel pretty secure, at least. But there's one thing that's bugging me..."

"Oh?"

"Why isn't Lance trying to save himself?"

And at this comment Amy's stomach lurched. Lance wasn't acting scared! He was acting too comfortable! Damn! Murtz surely must know he was the target now!

"If I was on the chopping block," Murtz added, "I would be pitching deals left and right. So why hasn't he made a move yet?"

"That's a good question," Amy smiled, trying to look innocent. "He plays by his own rules I guess. Maybe he just doesn't want to stoop to begging."

"I gotta tell you," Murtz said, carefully watching her reaction, "I am -shocked-. I keep waiting for him to make a pitch and he doesn't. It's kind of eerie."

"Who knows?" smiled Amy. "Lance is weird."

"Well," sighed Murtz, "I gotta go feed Jabba before the vote. You want to come with me? She's looking kind of sad lately. I think she might be sick."

And as if the sick mom thing wasn't bad enough, suddenly Amy felt a second pang of guilt running through her. Because despite the fact that Dave could be annoying, he really did love that turtle. It was a bizarre side of the guy that she hadn't expected from him at all. Dave Roth... animal lover. Who would have thought it?

"I have to go say goodbye to Lance," she lied. "But tell Jabba hi for me. Tell her I hope she feels better."

"I will," smiled Murtz. And he had a gleam in his eye. "I most -definitely- will."



^^



It was 7:00 PM now... and it was just about time to leave. The Satos packed up their gear in preparation for the long hike, although two of the tribe members were still unaccounted for.

"Where's Lance?" asked Chris, as he strapped on his big blue backpack.

"He went for a walk," said Hogan, as he helped Joni untie a knot in her shoelace. "Said he'll be right back."

"What about Dave?"

"He went to go feed Jabba," Amy said, "Down by the ocean. He's been there for a while though. Maybe somebody should go check on him."

"Nah," shrugged Chris. "Let him say his goodbyes. We'll wait for him."

And as the tribe waited... Lance had indeed gone for a walk. He had come down by his favorite mangrove to give a confessional. And he sat here now... under the darkening skies... as he held his green buff in his hand for perhaps the last time in the game. Because this was going to be the big one. This was going to be the big vote.

Tonight he would find out if he could indeed trust his Satos or not. Tonight's vote was going to determine if Amy Twieg and Hogan Mueller were good and honest person as they claimed... or if they were filthy liars. Were they going to remain true to their word? Because Lance was placing his full trust in the two of them tonight. He was putting all his faith in their new final three alliance. And he was well aware that his fate tonight rested -entirely- in their hands right now.

"Tribal Council looms tonight," he said, as the first drops of rain began to fall on his unprotected head. "And I know my name has been tossed around as the person to leave. So it's no secret that I will be getting at least -one- vote tonight, and it could possibly be more."

He held his buff tightly in his hand as he spoke.

"I think I've done everything in my power to keep me here for three more days. I've worked my tail off around camp, I've given 110% in all the challenges and I have left -everything- I have out on the battlefield. So if I go home tonight, I can at least say I did everything I could to stop it."

He looked up to the sky, enjoying the sensation of the raindrops lightly bursting across his face.

"All I want right now is for a Sato to win this game. I know Amy can see that and I hope Hogan can see that as well. I want it more than anything else, I just want a Sato to win. So all I can do is hope that the two of them remain true to this alliance. I can just put my faith in the fact that the two of them are good, decent people who mean what they say. And if they backstab me tonight instead... well then maybe I don't believe in this team. Maybe I was wrong about Sato."

But he was ready. It was time to go face the vote. And see if Sato was the team he always thought it should be.

"We'll find out in about an hour," he shrugged. "Let's see what kind of teammates I've been playing with. The Mormon mother and the Eagle Scout. Let's see if they are -truly- people of their word."



^^



The rain was coming down hard as the Satos now sat at Tribal Council. One by one, the six soaking wet members of the green tribe filed into the Shinto temple, took their seats, and sat facing the host. And they were relieved to be indoors, for there were some loud thunderclaps just above their heads at the moment. It was going to be scary outside tonight. For a while... it was just nice to be indoors.

"So Amy," Jeff smiled, "Is there a person right now who you think is the most valuable member of this tribe? Is there anyone here who you guys just can't lose tonight?"

"I don't think anyone is -the- most valuable Sato, Jeff," she replied, diplomatically as usual, "Because that would imply that there is one person who does more than anyone else, or does something more important than the rest of us." She smiled. "Every task we do is important and -every- tribe member pitches in. So I think we -all- play the part of the MVP on a daily basis."

And as the question came around to him, the mischievous Christopher couldn't resist. He knew he couldn't pass this one up. He knew exactly what answer would get a reaction.

"Jabba is our most valuable Sato," he said, to a laugh from a few tribesmates. "Seriously, Jeff. Because if we run out of food we can always eat her. So if you look at it that way... she has the ability to help the tribe in a way nobody else can."

And Christopher turned to smile at Murtz. He expected some sort of reaction... some sort of wounded look... but Murtz was just smiling. The guy just had a particularly giddy looking smile on his face, and it surprised Chris. "Why is Dave smiling?" he thought. Dave -never- smiles! What's going on? And suddenly Chris was worried. Suddenly a chill ran down his spine.

Uh oh.

Dave knows.

But Chris was powerless to do much about it. He had to sit and wait, sit and watch, as the questions continued. But the smile never left Murtz's face. Never. If anything it seemed to be getting bigger.

"So the way I saw the immunity challenge," Jeff prodded, "Is that you guys lost because you didn't have any strength in the boat. You had a big strong guy like Hogan... and you had him rowing instead of lifting. Lance, any regrets over the way you picked your lifters?"

"It was a group decision, Jeff," said Lance. "You can't really place the blame on any one person because we discussed it as a tribe beforehand." He reached over to pat Hogan on the knee. "Hogan and Chris got us a huge lead with their rowing-- and we wouldn't have had that lead without him. So no, I don't think it cost us at all."

"What about you, Hogan?"

"Yeah," nodded the Eagle Scout, surprising his tribesmates, "It was a mistake. I should have been lifting."

"Well I would be remiss," teased Jeff, "If I didn't mention your -second- screwup this week, with the throwing stars challenge."

Amy groaned. She had known it was coming.

"Amy, do you regret not practicing beforehand?"

"Of course!" she looked annoyed. "It was stupid of us to forget that. And we all know it."

Jeff smiled and paused. Then he looked up.

"Okay guys," he said, "I know the rain is really starting to come down now, so we won't drag this out any more than we have to. So we'll just wrap this up with one final question." He grinned. "Is there anyone here who is a drag on camp life? Anyone here who gets on your nerves?"

And though he expected the typical diplomatic answers... Jeff was surprised at the response that greeted him. Because every one of the Satos were nodding their head! Well, all of them except Murtz. Murtz still had that weird demonic grin across his face. He hadn't said a word this whole time.

"Joni?" asked Jeff, "Someone here is annoying you?"

"Yep," she smiled.

"Same here," agreed Hogan, "And hopefully he goes home tonight."

"What about you Chris?"

"Wellllll..." Chris started, "Sato -does- get along as a whole. But individually, I definitely had a few days of irritation with one person in particular." He shrugged. "I had to ask for some space, and it was granted. So that helped me a lot, and we were able to clear the air some."

And Christopher knew Murtz was gonna hate that answer. Oh man... Murtz was gonna hit the roof. But Murtz just continued to smile. And by now Chris definitely knew something was up. What the hell was going on here? He suddenly wanted to scream in Murtz's grinning face. -WHY ARE YOU SMILING LIKE THAT??-

"Jeff," added Amy, "Tonight's vote will be a humanitarian effort. Because there's one person here who has annoyed us all."

"Well..." smiled Jeff. And then he paused. Because he, too, was creeped out a little by Murtz's joyless smile. But he didn't want to ask. No, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to ask. Because Jeff knew. Jeff knew -exactly- what Murtz had done back at Camp Sato. And he really didn't want to bring it up. The rest of them would be finding out soon enough.

"On that note," he smiled, "It is time to vote. Hogan, you're up."



^^



Hogan Mueller was the first member of the tribe to vote. And the Eagle Scout quickly scrawled down Dave's name, as planned.

"Dave," he said, holding up his ballot. And as usual, his voting comments were succinct and to the point. "He is a post merge threat."

After Hogan came Murtz. The thin man with the glasses walked up and cast his ballot for Lance. He didn't think it would do much good, but this was a vote he had always wanted to cast. At least make Lance sweat it out a little. And then for good measure, he drew a little football next to the name.

Murtz smiled as he held up the ballot.

"Jaffer back to pass..." he said, trying to imitate a sports announcer, "He sees Lance down field! He pump-fakes and throws a Hail Mary! Lance is open, he's wide open! And... oh no... Lance is hit -HARD- by Henry the defensive end. He fumbles the ball! Kamiya wins! Kamiya wins! Kamiya wins!"

Murtz grinned as he stuffed the ballot in the box.

"It will be either you or me tonight, Lance. If it's me, I wish you luck. Because at the end of every game there can be only one winner. So tonight, I hope I get the final touchdown."

Amy followed Murtz, as did Lance. The two of them cast ballots for Murtz, as expected. And then came Christopher.

As usual, the tall actor took a few moments to make his ballot as ornate as possible. And then he added his own personal touch. He drew a small frowny face in the upper right corner. Because as much as he wanted Murtz gone, he did kind of feel bad for the guy.

"Dave," he sighed, holding up the ballot, "I'm sorry but this vote has been in the making since day one. And you don't even know it yet... but had Dani not completely blown it, you would’ve been the first Kamiyan voted out of Okinawa. But fate intervened, and here you are. And then again, I offered you up at the Henry vote-- but Henry's mistakes made him a bigger liability than you."

Chris paused for a moment. This was actually a good deal more difficult than he had imagined. And he was surprised. Why was he feeling bad for the guy? This wasn't like him!

"In the end, Dave, I’ve -always- known that you needed to be eradicated before the merge. Not so much because you’re a threat, but simply because I cannot deal with you for 39 days. David... I hate to say this, but you are truly a trying human being, in -EVERY- way possible. I often feel like I’m babysitting a manic depressive child, but I'm not getting paid. You are offensive, needy, crude, irritable, whiny and just downright mean. You are one of the highest maintenance people I’ve -ever- met. And your paranoia is legendary..."

Christopher thought he was done. But apparently he still had a lot more to say.

"I’m certain you'll be very angry with me about this vote, and I want you to know that I understand. I deceived you into thinking Lance was going... just like I misled you and the boys during Danigate. And once you see the show, I'm sure you'll see how much damage I did to your credibility... starting on day one. And, well, I don’t think you’ll be very pleased with me. Because I made sure you never really had a chance."

And Chris couldn't believe it now, but was he almost crying? Over Dave??

"Anyway, here's the kicker. In spite of all of the trouble and exhaustion you’ve caused me... in spite of all the shit I've talked about you, I like you anyway. You're the first person in this game that I’ve had difficulty voting out. I know that I’m closer to you than -anybody- else out here, and it hurts me to betray you like this. Because if I could, I would’ve warned you that this was coming, and I would’ve given you a very big hug."

His voice was starting to crack a little as he placed the ballot in the box.

"In the end, David, that’s what I want to do most. I want to give you a hug and tell you that I will miss you."

Christopher turned and walked back to his seat, feeling miserable. But despite the shame he felt right now, he was brightened by one thing. Only one thing could have cheered him up... and there she was. There was Joni, his bright little ray of sunshine, walking up to the podium. She had a huge smile on her face, and Chris smiled as well. Because he knew how much this meant to her. This was going to be the highlight of her game.

Joni reached the podium and happily uncapped her pen, humming a little tune under her breath.

She took the ballot and spelled out four letters.

And then-- just as she had always intended-- she drew two large numbers in the right hand corner. A one and a six. She had drawn the number sixteen.

She smiled as she held up the ballot.

"Your day is done, David," she grinned. "You've ridden on the back of luck for these past weeks and now it's time for you to go. Because I am -tired- of your paranoia. I am -tired- of being talked down to. I am -tired- of being underestimated by you. I am -fed up- with all your endless schemes and your horrible lies. It's time for the -real- game to begin, and you can have no part of it." She leaned in close to the camera. "So go home David. And -never- underestimate me again."

She placed her ballot in the box, smiling. And then she couldn't resist one last little dig.

"And if we do meet again... remember that little girls love pony stickers. So save a nice little pony sticker with sparkles on it for me...alright?"

Joni walked back to her seat and sat down. And she flashed Christopher a triumphant smile. She had done it.

"I'll go tally the votes," said Jeff.

The players waited in giddy anticipation as Jeff went to gather the votes. Well all of them except for Murtz, who was still wearing that maniacal grin. Murtz looked like he was waiting for something.

"When I read the votes," said Jeff, once he returned, "The decision is final. The player voted out must leave the Tribal Council area immediately."

Jeff nodded, and opened the urn. He reached in and pulled out the first vote.

"First vote..."

He looked at it for a second, then revealed.

"Dave."

Murtz remained silent in the front row, still grinning. And a few of the Satos exchanged glances now. What the hell was he smiling about??

"Second vote," said Jeff.

He opened it, turned it around and revealed.

"Lance."

The pre-school teacher sat silently next to Murtz, and now bowed his head slightly. He closed his eyes... just waiting. He was still trusting that his Satos would be true to their word.

"Third vote," said Jeff.

He looked at it, paused for a moment... then revealed.

"Dave."

Murtz nodded, still smiling. Because he knew. He had known he was going home all day. It had been Lance's lack of urgency that had done it. Lance had tipped him off... and now Murtz was going to ruin their moment. He was going to ruin their blindsiding... and -that- was why he was smiling. This was going to be hilarious.

"Fourth vote," said Jeff, pulling it out.

He paused... then revealed.

"Dave."

A small down-turned smiley face sat in the corner of the ballot, looking sad. That was Christopher's vote... and Murtz just laughed.

But the Satos looked on in awe as Jeff reached into the ballot box.

He pulled out the fifth vote.

And paused for a long moment.

"The fifth person voted out of the game..."

Then he revealed.


"Dave."


Murtz saw his fake name, and saw something else written in the corner of the ballot. It was a number 16... and he had no idea what it meant. But that was it, his time was done. Murtz Jaffer had just been voted out of the game.

"Dave," said Jeff, with a small smirk on his face, "Please bring me your torch."

And Murtz just shrugged, not appearing to care. He stood up and then turned to Christopher, whispering something into the actor's ear.

"If I can't win this," he said, "You sure as hell better win it. Make sure evil wins this game. Take it all the way for us."

And with that Murtz's big moment was here.

He turned and reached into his pocket. And the Satos looked on in fascination as Murtz pulled out the small picture of his mother... the picture he had been carrying with him since day one. He smiled, and kissed the picture.

And then to the gasps of his teammates, Murtz tossed the picture into the fire.

"See ya, bitch," he joked. He then laughed and went up before Jeff. And the host did -not- look amused.

"Dave," said Jeff, slowly snuffing his torch, "The tribe has spoken."

And with that, Murtz Jaffer was gone. He waved happily and then slowly exited the set. He walked down the lonely path to the shore, all alone. And within moments, he was gone.

And now... the Satos were down to five.

"Well," said Jeff, as the Satos looked around in confusion. They weren't entirely sure what was going on. "I guess what we've seen tonight is that maybe everything is not always as it appears. Sometimes the game can surprise even me."

He nodded, smirking.

"Good luck, I'll see you guys tomorrow. You have a visitor coming to destroy your shelter, and I'll see you guys then."



^^



And normally, the day would have been over. Normally Tribal Council signaled the end of the day...

But not today.

The five remaining Satos trudged back to camp in the rain, their mood a strange mixture of delight and confusion. They still hadn't figured out the entire story behind "Dave Roth" and his mother... all they knew was that something wasn't quite right. The scene with the picture had just been weird.

But when Lance spotted the cooking pot, that's when they knew something was seriously wrong here.

"There's something in the pot, guys," he spotted through the rain. "Check it out."

And sure enough... there -was- something in the pot. Something big.

Amy ran over to check it out, and had to turn away at the sight of it.

"Oh!" she gasped, as she turned her face in horror.

But the rest of the tribe had soon arrived and they saw what it was.

"Dave," muttered Chris, shaking his head, "You sad little man. What did you do?"

Because inside the cooking pot was Jabba. Or what was left of Jabba. Murtz had eaten all he could, and left the rest here in the pot for Sato to see. The turtle's shell rested off to one side, by itself. The poor turtle had been de-shelled.

"That's disgusting," said Joni. She couldn't look. But then as she looked into the shelter, she saw something strange.

"Guys," she said, "Hang on, he left us a note."

She ran over and picked up a piece of paper that had been weighted down by a rock. Sure enough, it was a page from her scriptures. Murtz had torn out a page to leave this final note. And the Satos gathered around to read it.

"Congratulations," Amy read out loud, "You guys got me. And you lied when you told me it was Lance... but that's okay, because I lied too. You guys think you voted off David Roth... except that he died even before Jabba did. She was delicious, by the way. I thought about saving some of her for you... but then I forgot about it since you voted me off."

Amy paused before she read the next part.

"You see, Murtz Jaffer has just left this game. And I have nothing but respect for everyone who wrote my name down because I thought I could play the paranoid teacher with a sick mother all the way to the end. Guess it didn't work that way. I'm not even from Chicago! And I guess you guys don't know Brian Heidik's movies that well because that's how I got the name Dave Roth."

"I knew it!" said Chris. "I knew that was a fake name!"

"Chris and Joni," continued the letter, "I know lots of stuff happened, so no hard feelings. Hope you guys take it all the way. Bottom line is that -you're- still there while I am eating a steak from Loser Lodge. But everything I said in the game was a lie. Remember that."

Amy then turned the letter over, where Murtz had written a small postscript.

"You guys put the hurt on Murtz," she read, "But it's all good. I wish you nothing but good luck the rest of the way. Bro, it's all over. But for all of you the game continues."

And with that, she was speechless. Amy had nothing to say. She looked around at the stunned Satos.

"Are we supposed to know him or something?" Joni joked. "Who's Murtz?"

And that pretty much broke the tension. Amy laughed, though she still couldn't look at poor Jabba. But for the rest of the tribe, their feelings were best summed up by Hogan, who expressed his opinion in his usual blunt manner.

The young Eagle Scout took the letter, ripped it up, and tossed it into the air.

He then smiled.

"I don't care -who- he is. Murtz is a ho."







Visit the Okinawa Official Homepage for Murtz's final words and all the cast bios. Also check out the Survivor: Okinawa Message Board for behind-the-scenes trivia, fan postings, complete Tribal Council transcripts... and to submit questions for Murtz's Early Show appearance. His post-game interview is already up on the message board!

Episode six, "While The Cat's Away...", is coming in about 10 days.