Page 76 of Surviving Love
“We have a challenge today,” I said. “I need to focus on that.”
“Uh, right.” I could feel his surprise. “Well, maybe tomorrow we can carve out some time.”
“Maybe.” I swished the pan in the water and then stood. Without another word, I headed back to camp.
Jack didn’t return immediately, but eventually, he came back to camp. He didn’t approach me; instead, he took Harold off for a walk under the pretense of gathering coconuts. I found it interesting he didn’t invite me. I thought we were all supposed to be in an alliance together?
I kept myself busy working around camp and noticed Jack and Harold returned shortly before we needed to leave for the challenge. They didn’t have many coconuts with them, so I had to wonder why they’d been gone so long.
The challenge Shep had planned for us today was one where we held a metal pole between two clamps. If you let up on the tension at all, the pole dropped, and you were out.
“This probably seems easy after yesterday’s challenge,” Shep said, smiling slyly. “But I promise you, it’s tough on the arms.”
I was just relieved we didn’t have to run through mud, so I welcomed the new game. Shep was right; the challenge wasn’t easy. The Karangalan tribe had a lot of members drop out fast, and soon it was down to only Thomas and Larry. In our tribe, the last people standing were Jack, me, and Mary. Mary was at least twenty years older than us, but she was strong.
“I could hold this all day.” Mary grinned, her blue eyes sparkling.
“Not me,” Thomas laughed. “My arms are killing me.”
“Dig deep, Mason,” Jack said.
I scowled. “Why are you singling me out?”
He smirked. “Because Mary is a beast.”
My face warmed. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll still be here when your pole drops, Jack.”
He chuckled. “If you say so.”
I wanted to use my pole to smack that smug look off his face. Instead, I tightened my grip, determined not to let Jack beat me. Anyone but Jack. I’d have preferred the other tribe win over Jack.
Shep paced back and forth. “Remember, this is a group effort. All you need is one member of your tribe to hang in there, and your whole tribe is safe from the Fire Council tonight.”
“Hear that, Mason? You can drop out and let me win it for Matapang,” Jack called out. “Go rest your little arms.”
Clamping my jaw, I said, “I would if I thought you were man enough to win this thing.”
Shep laughed. “I can’t get over how much infighting there is in your tribe. You two do remember that Karangalan is your foe right now, right?”
“You can have more than one foe, Shep,” I said.
Larry laughed but then dropped his pole. “Aww, damn it. You made me laugh, Mason.”
“Sorry, not sorry.” I smiled.
I was relieved that it was only Thomas now for the other tribe. If one of the three of us could just outlast him, we could avoid going to the Fire Council. I didn’t have a plan in place yet to get rid of Jack, so I really wanted to avoid going to the Fire Council until I did. Otherwise, I might be the one voted out tonight.
Another thirty minutes passed. Sweat trickled down my spine, and my arms were beginning to shake a bit. I licked my lips, digging deep. My muscles burned, but I did my best to ignore the pain. We needed to win. Wehadto win.
When Thomas’s pole slipped and it smacked the sand, I let out a groan of relief.
“Matapang tribe wins again!” Shep crowed, grinning ear to ear. “That means, unfortunately, the Karangalan tribe will have to vote another one of its members off tonight at the Fire Council.”
I rubbed my arms, blowing out a breath against the painful cramping of my shoulders. I gave Larry a conciliatory smile, and he shook his head, holding up his crossed fingers.
“Good luck,” I called out.
“Thanks.” He joined his tribe, looking dejected.
