Page 41 of Sweet Surrender
As if they needed telling. Allie had already felt the first cold splash of seawater against her toes. Perfect, she thought. Because apparently balancing on dry wood wasn’t hard enough.
“You know, every season so far there’s been an advantage in the game,” Toph said, her voice a little hoarser than before. “I thought maybe there wouldn’t be one this year because of the protection bracelet, but then it got me thinking that seven seasons was a few too many seasons for something that important to just disappear.”
Allie’s ears went hot, but somehow her body was ice cold. The double-elimination advantage. Barra would become the first contestant inOutlast Herhistory to find something powerful and never get the chance to play it.
“Which leads me to believe that one of you has it and you’ve missed the opportunity to play it,” Toph went on.
There was silence. Allie didn’t risk a glance around. She didn’t want to seem suspicious, though not looking was probably worse. She tried to glimpse Barra out of the corner of her eye and, more importantly, tried to read her mind. Was she going to admit it? Or was she set on keeping the advantage a secret until the very end, until they had to convince the Final Council they were worthy of the titleUltimate Outlast Her?
But Allie didn’t have to wonder long.
“I found it floating in a box in the ocean almost a week ago,” Barra said loudly. “I asked Allie to create a diversion so I could get it without anyone seeing. And you’re right, Toph. I’ve missed my opportunity to play it.”
Allie would have to be deaf not to hear the disappointment in her voice. She, too, was disappointed. They’d discussed using it at the next Sending, and Allie was terribly sad she wouldn’t be able to witness the shock on everyone’s faces. What a blindside that would’ve been.
“Was that the same time Allie came sprinting down the beach screaming about a bluebottle sting?” Tilly asked.
“Ha! I knew it,” Margaret said, chuckling. “It was too dramatic the way she dropped to the sand, clutching her leg as if she’d just survived a shark attack. But now I get why.”
“Still, I don’t know if it was worth letting Elodie pee on your leg,” Valerie added.
“Elodie did what?” Barra gasped.
Allie wanted the ocean to rise up immediately and swallow her down to the bottom.
It had been the only thing she could think of. Somewhere in the dusty attic of her brain, she’d remembered Diego mentioning bluebottles appearing on beaches when winds brought them ashore, and in that moment it had sounded like the best diversion. What she had not expected, not in a million years, was for Elodie to rush over to her, yank off her shorts, and squat over Allie. There had been no warning. Just a stream of highly concentrated pee washing over her leg. It was probably the most mortifying experience of her life. Which was why she hadn’t told Barra that she had basically had a golden shower. Her brain was still processing the trauma.
“Apparently urine is supposed to help counteract the sting,” Allie said sheepishly. “It probably would’ve worked if I had actually been stung.”
Barra laughed so loudly that her buckets trembled. Water sloshed dangerously over the sides.
“BARRA HAS GOT TO BE CAREFUL IF SHE WANTS TO STAY IN THE GAME!” Vivian called. And she was right. Barra had to quickly steady herself to fight the wobble, which she did pretty effortlessly. Allie wouldn’t have been so lucky.
“I wish I had seen it,” Barra said once she’d stopped chuckling.
“You probably will,” Tilly said. “Production filmed the entire thing. I’m sure they’ll replay it at least ten times and use it for the promos.”
“Fantastic,” Allie muttered. “Exactly how I want to be remembered.” She hung her head low, but even so, she couldn’t help the smile on her face. No one would accuse her of not fully committing to the game. She had quite literally sacrificed her dignity for strategy. For Barra.
“So, if you had the chance to play the double elimination, who were you thinking about taking out?” Toph said after a minute.
“Does it matter?” Barra replied.
“It does,” Valerie said immediately. “For yourOutlast Herresume.” Although they had to win this challenge for that to even matter, and frankly, Allie was beginning to wonder just how much she wanted to win this game. Her body was on the verge of giving in completely. “We need to know who you were thinking of betraying.”
“Is it really a betrayal?” Barra said. She paused and took her time to answer. “We would’ve voted Toph and Tilly out,” she said, surprising Allie. Not because of who she mentioned, because they’d had a conversation about it already, but because of the plural she’d used.We.Because they came as a pair. Together to the end. “Sorry, Val, but I think Toph and Tilly would’ve been harder competition.”
Valerie looked offended. “Seriously?”
Tilly’s whole body folded. “CRAMP! MY HAMSTRING IS CRAMPING!” she screamed. Her voice cracked as her grip gave out completely. One of the buckets tipped hard, and the other sloshed water violently onto the side of Tilly’s body as she collapsed off the beam. Both buckets hit the ground just as Tilly landed in a heap, clutching the back of her leg. Her face was pure agony. Allie, on the other hand, had to bite her lip hard to stop herself from smiling.
“TILLY AND TOPH ARE OUT!” Vivian called, lifting a hand in the air.
Toph stepped off her beam and dropped the buckets to the ground. Her expression was tighter than a ballerina’s bun. Allie worried she was going to burst into an angry fit because they hadn’t just lost the challenge; they’d lost the entire game. But then she stuck out her hand for Tilly to take. “Top three. Not bad,” she said with a half-smile.
Tilly mouthed an apology, and Toph waved it away. At least she was in a good spot.
“Come have a seat, ladies!” Vivian said, gesturing toward a bench just off to the side. Beside the bench was a table. A PA came sprinting across the sand, clutching two Wendy’s paper bags and two giant soft drinks with red straws sticking out of the lids.
