Jo P.o.v.
I stared out into the water as the boat neared the shore. My short hair whipped at my cheeks, but my eyes remained solely forward. The ginger next to me was starting to get on my nerves. Constantly muttering something about his pappy.
"Stay out of my way if you value your kiwis," I stated crossing my arms.
"Same to you," he replied, in almost a condescending tone of voice.
Same to you? What, he thinks I'm a guy? The nerve. Obviously, I'm a girl; I mean look at me. Oh, whatever. Putting that trivial problem behind me, I began to scope out the new rivals. There was Ginger over here; then there was a tall, lanky fellow. Mike, I think. Next to him was a perky red-head. They seemed to be too caught up gazing in each other's eyes to take notice to anything else surrounding them. Fortunately, that didn't last long. One of the guys, sprung up between them, knocking the red-haired girl over, to be caught just in time by the cadet. The jock, Lightning, or something along those lines, flexed his arms, and gave one of those cheesy smiles out of a play boy magazine. When introduced, the cadet saluted Chris and accidentally dropped Red in the process. Brick MacArthur, apparent cadet; supposedly completed military training. Hmm…. He will most likely be my most threatening competition, if he can keep up of course. B, however, didn't speak when introduced, but simply smiled and pointed his fingers. Dawn sat cross-legged on the side of the boat and mentioned something about auras. Next to her was the blond bimbo, followed by Tan-in-a-can. Staci was after her and she kept rambling on about her ancestors and all the things they supposedly invented. After getting blasted with hairspray, she collapsed on the deck, presumably unconscious. Then there was the toothpick, who after getting too close to a flock of birds, tipped over the top of the ship and landed next to the gamer. The gamer that simply stopped, laughed, then continued to play unaffected.
The next thing I knew, we were being blasted through the air, the most likely cause being Chris. While most of the other contestants struggled to stay afloat, I hustled through the water, flipping over Sam's head to get in the lead. I saw Cameron sink to the bottom, only to be rescued and falsely accused of being a little girl by Lightning, and Red and Mike rushed over to help Staci, who in turn dragged Mike underneath the undulating waves. Red ended up pulling both of them to safety. Maybe she will become useful after all. By the time I had made it to shore, my clothes clung to my frame and my hair draped over my eyes.
"Yes! First one on the is-" I froze. Sitting calmly on a rock was Dawn, holding a starfish.
"Wha- How did you get here before me? And you're not even wet!"
"Hmm? Oh, I took a shortcut." She replied with a smile. Man, she creeped me out.
"Brick MacArthur reporting for duty, Ma'am." He gave me a half salute before he fell to the ground gasping for breath. You know, I almost felt bad for the guy. Almost being the opportune word.
It wasn't long before the rest of the contestants made it to shore. I was sitting off to the side on a rock, wringing out my hair when he walked over. Brick leaned against one of the larger rocks and pulled off his shirt. He gave me a ghost of a smile before he twisted the fabric between his fingers. A stream of water dripped onto the sand and he shook his head to get any excess water off of him.
I studied him for a moment. Dark hair, crew cut, grey eyes; strong, lean body. Ooh, six pack. Nice. Eh, he might not be the most formidable foe, but he would have to do. Besides, he doesn't seem like the enemy type; more of a rival. Still beneath me, but fairly close to my level.
He slipped his shirt back over his head and sat down on the rock he was leaning against.
"So, Jo right?" He asked giving me a once over.
"Yeah. So, you're a cadet, I take it from the crew cut and dog tags."
"Yep. So, I see you're pretty athletic from the way you flipped over Sam's head. Impressive. Not bad for a girl." He replied, seeming almost genuinely impressed with my skills.
"Well, you had bett-"Chris' voice cut me off.
He explained the rules of our first challenge and sounded a loud buzzer. I clamped my hands over my ears and watched in horror as trees began to collapse.
A race, huh. Now's my chance to show that cadet what I can really do. A sly smile slipped across my face and I began a quick sprint into the trees. Before long, I was in the lead, only tailed by the Lightning guy. As I crossed the finish line, I threw my arms up in victory.
"So, how does it feel to lose to a girl?" I asked the conceited jock.
"Huh, what girl? Lightning didn't lose bro." He replied walking away from me.
Another one of them think I'm a guy. I can't believe this. So far the only one who recognized I was a female, had been Brick. Maybe I underestimated him. So far, he seems to be the most intellectual guy here. That can't be good news for the male species.
I was broken out of my thoughts as Chris and Chef Hatchet began to split us up into teams. Let's see, so far on my team we have, Brick, Red, String Bean, Mike, and Tan-in-a-can. I'm sure Brick and Red will be of some use to me. Not so sure about the others though.
Suddenly, the trees began to tip over again and our hearts pounded with fear at the monster about to reveal itself. And the bush only a few feet away from us began to tremble, leaves scattering on the ground. And a small, pink woodland animal peeked its head out of the bush.
"It's just a stupid squirrel." I called out crossing my arms, as every other person stared at the little creature.
Something was not right about it. It blinked one eye at a time, as it twitched its tail. Dakota shrieked and Dawn gasped.
"What's wrong with it?" She asked her voice trembling at the sight of the poor creature.
Chris explained that while they were away, he had rented the island to a nice family that dumped loads of chemical waste on the island. And that the waste might have affected the animals a bit.
A bit? That's a bit?
According to Chris, that nice little jaunt was in fact, not our first challenge. So as of now, our first real challenge is to find some way to cut down a giant totem pole, ride it down the mountain, and make it to the cabins, all before the bomb attached to it goes off in seven minutes. Because I came in first, we were rewarded with a trampoline, whilst the other team received a hack saw.
My first attempt was to jump straight on the trampoline to see if I could reach the pole, but I miscalculated and ended up landing in the water.
"So, if Jo applies fifty pounds of pressure per square inch, then-"Cameron was cut off.
"I want a crack at this." Anne Maria stated as she leaped into the air.
"No! I calculated for Jo's weight."
She didn't listen and ended up bouncing up and slamming into the bottom of the totem pole, only to be sent back down to have the cycle repeated. Finally, I had enough and kicked the trampoline out of her path, causing her to actually stay on the ground this time. Next thing I knew, Brick was up in the air heading straight for the axe on the bottom of the pole. He latched onto it, only to find that he was now stranded those many feet in the air. He cried out for help. Sigh, some cadet.
Then, a weird little mutant squirrel, I'm guessing the same one as before, scampered along to the edge of a branch of a nearby tree. Brick started to fidget as the animal came closer. Mike, er Chester, or whatever he's called began to complain about kids and proceeded to throw a rock at the squirrel. Big mistake. Beams of lightning shot from its eyes, and Brick screamed something along the lines of, "Not the crew cut."
I guess one of the beams singed the rope because the next moment the totem and Brick plummeted to the ground. He saluted us and then the pole tipped over on him. Not as funny as you would think. I almost felt…bad…for him. And I rarely show pity. The other team, unfortunately, had also cut down their pole. After pushing it into the river, we climbed aboard and let the current take us. The other team somehow managed to begin to catch up to us.
I felt a tapping on my shoulder and I looked back just in time to Brick's face full of fear. "It's my duty to inform you, Ma'am, that we have a problem."
I turned back around to see our totem heading straight for the cliff. As we went over, I felt myself fall forward off the totem pole. I squeezed my eyes shut, only to feel two warm hands grasp my shoulders, keeping me from falling. He wrapped his arms around my stomach as we continued to fall to ensure I would be safe. As soon as we hit the ground beneath the waterfall, he released me from his hold and acted as if he never touched me. Truthfully, I didn't mind his arms around me. In fact, I almost felt….safe.
I heard a scream and whipped my head behind us to see Zoey hanging on for her life. Mike snapped out of whatever trance he was in and pulled her back on the totem. She wove her arms around him tightly and he gave a nervous smile, obviously not used to being so close to a female. Both had a light blush dusting their cheeks.
My moment of happiness only lasted for a split second, when I realized that the other team had begun to pass us. They reached the cabins first and chose the larger one. However, we were not able to stop and were thrown off of the pole. The totem blasted straight threw the Rats' cabin and pronouncedly exploded. Not to worry, they received a new cabin. Just as crappy as ours. And considering we were the only team left with a cabin standing we won the challenge. We were ecstatic, but also in a shit load of pain.
After Staci's rant about how her ancestors invented roofs, or whatever, she was given the marshmallow of loserdom and hurled out to sea by the Catapult of Shame. Good riddance.
However, that fall off of the pole did more damage than we had originally thought. Red ended up with a sprained ankle, though there is not much we can do for that. I'm fairly sure I have a concussion and Cameron thinks he fractured his spine, though I highly doubt that one.
The girls on my team wouldn't stop complaining about the challenge, so I faked the excuse of needing some air. I stepped onto the rotting porch of the cabin and leaned against the old railing. Who would have thought this show would be as hard as it has been. I released the breath I was holding, when suddenly, I froze. I heard a creaking noise. I slowly turned to see Brick had also ventured out of the cabin. He gave me a small smile and walked over to where I was standing. He had his arm wrapped awkwardly around his middle and he seemed to wince with every breath.
"Uh, are you alright?" I asked, eyeing the way he immediately straightened his posture and removed his arm from his stomach.
"Of course. Never better, Ma'am. Why do you ask?" He looked fairly nervous.
"No reason. Just wondering. Oh, and thanks for saving my ass when we were freefalling from the waterfall."
"No, problem. Just doing my duty." He replied.
"Yeah. Uh, why do you keep calling me, "Ma'am"? It makes me feel old."
"Oh, sorry. I was raised to be a gentleman. It's sort of a habit. I can stop if you want."
"No, no. It's fine." I drummed a steady beat on the railing of the porch as I waited for his next reply.
Instead, he stood next to me and leaned against the rail, just looking at me.
"What?" I asked with a frustrated tone. I hated it when guys would look me over and then laugh saying I was more of a guy that a girl. If he did that, I swear he would wish he was the one that fell when we were going down the waterfall.
"Hmm? Oh, nothing. You just look really... pretty... in the moonlight." He stated looking down at his hands, a light blush on his cheeks. My face was burning and I followed his eyes until my gaze rested on his hands.
As I looked closely, I realized that they were tinted red. My eyes widened a little and I looked at his shirt. The spot his hand was over had a dark stain that one would presume to be water at first glance.
"Brick, you are injured." His face paled and he back away as I came closer.
"N-no. I'm fine. Really."
I grabbed his hands and held them up. They were covered in dried blood. Usually, I wouldn't care if someone got hurt, but with him. I just feel a sort of connection. And the thought of him in pain actually made my heart ache. I caught the hem of him shirt and I pulled it up. An angry, red gash cut across his stomach. It looked fairly deep and it was still leaking blood. I motioned him to keep his shirt up and with that I hurried back inside the cabin. Without responding to any of their questions, I snatched a role of gauze, which Cameron was nice enough to share with us, off of the table.
When I got back outside, I unraveled the tape and began to wind it around the gash. When I finished, the part that covered the injury had already turned pink.
He pulled his shirt back down and tilted my head up to meet his gaze.
"Thank you." And with that he pressed his lips against mine. Somehow, I was expecting this and truthfully almost craving it. I snaked my arms around his neck and pulled him closer, while he rested one hand on my hip and the other on my back, the heat from his hands burning my skin. I tilted my head back and unintentionally allowed him to deepen the kiss. Out tongues intertwined in the passion of the moment and a low growl rumbled from his chest. We broke apart gasping, as our lungs gulped in the cool air. Our eyes met and we stood there, almost in a trance, until he grasped my hand and pulled me down to the ground with him. We leaned against the cabins, our legs stretched out in front of us. I rested my head on his chest, my cheek pressing against the cool metal of his dog tags. I closed my eyes and listened to the steady beating of his heart. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and leaned his head against mine. I took a deep breath and let my mind wander. However, all I could think about was Brick. Heat, mint, and copper.
For those of you wondering what the last line meant. The heat referred to the passion they shared, mint referred to how Brick smelled, and copper referred to the scent of blood that still lingered in the air. Anyway, please review and tell me what you thought of the story. Until next time, this is TurquoiseRose16 signing out.