Page 37 of Sweet Surrender
“GREEN AND BLUE TEAMS HAVE FINISHED THEIR PUZZLES!” Vivian shouted, her voice cracking across the beach.
But Allie was barely listening. She shoved the piece into place. It was a macaw! She was just about to reach for another when Barra’s fingers closed around her wrist. “It’s over. We’re in the bottom two,” she said.
Chapter Nineteen
Barra had seen it coming. By the end of that challenge, Elodie had looked like something the ocean had wrung out and left to dry. Her pink hair had clung damply to her neck, her eyelids were droopy, and her skin had gone an unsettling grey. Every time she’d tried to pull in a breath, there’d been this tight, uneven wheeze that made Barra think of those dog toys with a half-broken squeaker.
Maureen had checked her out immediately after the challenge. One minute she was crouching at Elodie’s side with her raspberry pink stethoscope pressed to Elodie’s chest, and the next, she was flicking her fingers, saying, “Let’s get her to the med tent. Now.”
Elodie’s game had been over before she’d had a chance to argue.
“I know it was hard to say goodbye to Elodie today,” Vivian said, her voice softening as if this were Elodie’s eulogy. It wasn’t. Thank goodness. To everyone’s relief, the pink-haired winner of Season Six was very much alive. She was currently in a hospital bed somewhere with a course of intravenous antibiotics to treat what Maureen suspected was pneumonia. “But she’s being well taken care of by the medical team.”
There was a pause.
“Unfortunately, it does not mean someone won’t be eliminated tonight,” Vivian said.
Shit.
Barra was left with a metallic taste in her mouth. With Elodie medically removed, Anna stood alone against Barra and Allie.She no longer had a partner or a second vote. No one was left to absorb the damage if the beach turned on her. Since they’d been the last pairs in the previous challenge, the three of them were the only ones at risk. Two winners and one newbie. At this stage of the game, that distinction mattered.
Previous winners in this game were seen as underdogs. Why give someone who’d already won the title and a million dollars another shot at it? But then again, why not?
And then there was the subject of the protection bracelet.
Anna and Elodie knew about it. They could easily have mentioned it to Toph and Tilly or Valerie and Margaret. If Barra were in their shoes, she’d either aim to flush the advantage or have Allie go home with it in her pocket. There was no bigger regret in this game than going home with an unplayed advantage.
“So, Allie,” Vivian said, smiling softly. Her lipstick, a deep burgundy, was the same color as her slip dress. Even Barra, who didn’t care all too much about fashion, could see that the two complemented each other. “You’ve just stepped back into this game with a new partner. How does it feel knowing you are on the brink of going home again? Or ending up without a partner?”
Allie let out a small breath that did very little to mask her nerves. She was chewing her bottom lip raw. Barra was nervous too, probably the most she’d been all game. The stakes were raised. If Barra got sent home, or if Allie did, who knew when they’d see each other again. And what if time and distance only solidified what Barra was terrified of?
Barra shook the thought out of her head like a wet golden retriever. Literally. Vivian frowned at her. She looked like she was about to ask her a question, but then Allie answered. “No one enjoys being at the bottom,” she said, flattening her palms across the front of her thighs. “And even if you’re not on the chopping block tonight, it doesn’t mean you won’t be tomorrow.No one is safe in this game. There’s always another Sending waiting.”
“Do you agree with that, Anna?” Vivian asked.
Anna was staring up at the orange sky blazing through the canopy. She looked completely distracted. Not that Barra could blame her. It was a gorgeous evening. “I do,” she said, nodding. “I’ve never felt safe in this game and I definitely don’t tonight.”
Vivian looked satisfied. She stepped onto the platform and gestured to three cups waiting on the pedestal beside her. “Since we’re down to three people tonight, voting will happen a little differently,” she said.
Barra raised her eyebrows. How differently?
“You won’t be voting in pairs tonight,” Vivian continued. “You’ll be voting as individuals. Each of you—minus the three at the bottom—will take a stone and place it into the cup of the person you want to see leave the game tonight.”
A beat of silence followed.
Barra felt her stomach clench into a tight little ball.
“Tilly, you’re up first,” Vivian said, nodding to the marine biologist.
By the time Margaret had gone up to drop her stone and sat back down, Barra felt like she’d bitten into a week-old tuna mayo sandwich and was now suffering the consequences. The votes came down to only four people. Two of them she could trust—Tilly and Toph—and two she absolutely couldn’t. But then again, what if Tilly and Toph turned on her? What if it ended up in a draw? What if Allie played the protection bracelet wrong? What if she didn’t?
“Alright, let’s count the votes,” Vivian said before Barra could run through every possible scenario in her head. Then she paused, like she always did. Drama was the crutch that kept this game alive. Finally she added, “But before we do, is there anyone who would like to play an advantage?” The last time she’d askedthe question, everyone had looked around at each other. This time it was no different.
Except...
Allie pressed her hands against her knees and stood. She didn’t look at Barra, not even a quick blink in her direction. She just reached into the back pocket of her jean shorts and pulled out a braided band of sun-faded leather threaded with green jade beads. A single hammered gold charm shaped like a palm leaf caught the fading light. It was beautiful. Barra couldn’t take her eyes off it. “I do,” Allie said.
At those two words, Barra snapped her attention back to Allie, who was already walking toward Vivian. They’d spent a ridiculous amount of time at camp agonizing over whether or not to play it tonight. They had gone in circles until Barra finally made Allie promise she would play it for herself. That was the deal. That was fair. It was her advantage after all.
