Page 31 of Last Resort

The guys smirked and sat next to Poppy as they got breakfast.

She got a ping in her earpiece and smiled. “The boat’s ready. Ambermarle and Belle are on board. The catamarans are in position. That challenge is for inter-team choices.”

Poppy smiled. “What kind of choices?”

“First for dinner. Who has to wear a different swimsuit, who has to do the baking challenge. That sort of stuff.” She smiled. “It gives you an opt-in or opt-out token.”

“Nice.”

Breen asked, “Can we use that to ask her to dress a certain way for the final ceremony?”

“You can always ask, but clothing is being provided for you. For the final ceremony.”

Estrya finished her coffee, thanked Serine and Deno, and grabbed her basket. Deno provided the other three with a basket, and they headed back through the village and over to the docks.

* * * *

Poppy sat on the firstship with Thera and Orca on it. The equipment was on the second vessel where Kayak and Skaay were. Breen and Myro were watching the ocean as they lunged out, racing into the dawn.

Estrya murmured, “Belle and her mate are on the other vessel, and I believe that Mickey is over there as well. You won’t be outnumbered today.”

“What does Mickey do?”

“She’s a diver, and she also did all of the vocals for the incidental music for the show. Andreaux is running final edits, and Violet is giving things the stamp of approval before the dailies are sent to the involved companies and the investors.” She blinked, and understanding came over her features.

“What are you just figuring out?”

“Oh, I had some visitors at the B and B last night. They must be investors for the show. Ah, darn. There they are.”

Poppy turned and saw the yachts that were following them. One was huge, but the other was only slightly smaller.

“The larger vessel is Aeryn’s mates’ vessel. Sokar and Loken are good sorts. Funny alters.”

“Who is on the other vessel?”

“Snakes. Lots of snakes.”

Poppy stared at her. “What?”

“Three snakes. Big ones.”

“Why are they following us?”

Estrya looked at her in amusement. “Hmm, why would that be? Indeed.”

“Oh. Oh!”

Poppy looked over at the boat that was keeping a reasonable distance.

They got out to open water near a reef and stood around, getting instructions. They got the briefing about the Darings and how much space they took up underwater.

Poppy wasn’t sure how she felt about whales around her, but Skaay would be diving as a supervisor. They were given their challenges for the snorkelling, and when he signalled, they were to return to the vessel without delay, whether their challenge was done or not.

Poppy was going to try, but she was sure that she was going to get her butt kicked on this challenge. They were walked through breathing with the snorkel, and she remembered how to do it. With the camera, Ambermarle dropped into the water from Skaay and Kayak’s boat and headed for the site.

Orc did the same from their boat.

Estrya was speaking to Thera’s camera. “And now for our first ocean-bound experience. Poppy, Breen, and Myro have been given their collection assignments from carefully planted items from the local reef and need to retrieve them and bring them back to the boat using flippers, snorkels, and their own lungs. I don’t hold out much hope for Poppy, but she’s going to give it her best.”

---