"Come on in, guys!" Jeff Probst called out to the six contestants who were waiting.
The nighteen year olf Eddy lead the group into the challenge. He was the shortest out of the other two men who were older then him. He was very thin. Eddy barely ate having the toughest times any contestant could ever have.
"You guys ready to get to today's challenge?" Probst asked.
There was a simultaneous 'yes' that came from the small group.
"Today is test for strength. You are going to hold yourselves against these poles for however long you can. The last person standing wins immunity and has a one in six shot of winning this game. You guys know what you're playing for?" He asked them.
Once again they agreed.
"You guys are playing for reward. You'll ber taken out on a boat to enjoy a delicious steak tip meal, some cookies and wine. And to add to it you'll have some company from your loved ones."
Eddy almost collapsed to the ground when Jeff said those words. Company from back home was really what he needed right now.
"Elizabeth, here's your Mom, Jenn!"
Eddy watched Elizabeth hop into her mother's arms. She'd been talking about her the last few days. They were close. Eddy wondered if it was his mom who came to see him. He remembered having a long talk about whatether he should go on Survivor or not. He wasn't ready for college, but now he was.
Kayla and Murphy both saw their Dads. Tears crawled into Eddy's eyes. This was the longest he'd ever been away from home. Eddy found himself thinking a lot about his brother out here. He came to terms that it was best to move on. It's just when you were all alone of a desert island one tends to think about so many things.
It was Jonh's brother, Carter, that got to Eddy. John had everything. Eddy wanted to have a perfect relationship with his brother. That's why he was living in denial all those years.
Finally, it was Eddy's turn.
"So, Eddy," Jeff Probst began. "For the first time in Survivor history we didn't get one..."
Eddy collapsed to his knew before Jeff could finish his sentence. Nobody was able to come out to see him.
"Hold on, Eddy, you didn't let me finish."
Eddy took his head out of his hands. Jeff was smiling.
"For the first time in Survivor history we didn't get just one family member, but two."
Eddy felt his breath catch in his throat as he stood up in anticipation.
"Ed and Edd come on out!"
Eddy began wailing when he saw his friends emerge from the forest. He bulldozed into them hugging both of his friends so tightly.
"Eddy, look at you, you look so thin." Edd said to him.
"You've made it, Eddy. We knew you could do it." Ed said to him.
Everyone watched the scene in tears, especially John. Eddy never stopped talking about them during his time out here.
"Eddy, give is some background on you guys, you seem pretty close considering you all have the same name."
"These guys aren't just my best friends," Eddy sobbed. "They're like brothers to me, more then mine ever was. They taught me right and wrong, how to have fun, and it's because of them that I am still here."
Everyone was in tears after that.
Eddy gave hisfriends one last hug as Jeff was ready to announce the challenge.
"You guys ready to get started?" That wasn't even a question anymore.
Jeff reexplained the challenge to the loved ones and then everyone got into their places.
The challenge went under way and the contestants held themselves against the poles with their feel clinging to little foot holders.
"It's one hundred and ten degrees out today, adding to the difficulty. You need to stay focused. Maggie making an adjustment already..."
Eddy turned Jeff's commentary out. He found it annoying how he had to comment on every little thing. He closed his eyes and hjeld himself against the pole.
Fifteen minutes in, Kayla dropped out from the challenge. She couldn't stand the pain anymore.
"You gotta dig deep and ignore the pain. You have a great reward in front of you." Jeff told them all.
Eddy could feel the wind in his face. That felt so good.
"It's so hot up here." Murphy complained.
Murphy's father told his son to dig deep. Murphy slid down his pole having his strength leave him.
Time crawled by. Beads of sweat dripped off Eddy. He almost felt dizzy, but kept his eyes closed.
Somebody else dropped to the ground, but he didn't know who it was.
"Forty five minutes into this challenge and we are down to three. Elizabeth, John and Eddy."
Eddy was still up against John, the person he was always up against. He had to beat him. They had no rivalry towards one another, he just wanted to beat John.
"Eddy's, whole body beginning to shake." Jeff pointed out.
Eddy wasn't even aware of that.
He only went down one foot knotch.
"Come on, Eddy! You can do it." Eddy chanted.
Eddy opened one of his eyes to see his friends smiling at him. His vision quickly became blurry so he shut his eyes to ignore the dizziness.
There was a thump.
Elizabeth stepped off the pole. "Sorry, Mom, I slipped."
"We are now down to two people. John, who has dominated every challenge, up against Eddy who has had the toughest time out here. It is now a showdown of strength, both mentally and physically. This looks like it's going to be a good showdown."
"I could hang here for ages." John saud.
Eddy didn't say a thing. If he was distracted in anyway he'd fall.
He just kept his eyes closed.
The time passed and Eddy was slowly falling down the pole.
"Stay focused, Eddy." Edd said to him.
Eddy gasped realizing that he was slipping. He began panting. Eddy opened his eyes which he shouldn't have done. He couldn't see clearly.
"Eddy, are you alright?" Jeff asked coming around to his pole.
"Your face is pale, Eddy." Edd also pointed out.
"I'm... not giving...up."
He wished John would give in. Eddy lost feeling in his hands which were knawing into the woods. He had a major headache.
Eddy took his head off the pole and looked up.
The next thing Eddy knew, he was on the ground.
"John, wins reward!" Jeff probst celebrated.
Eddy curled up and started crying.
His friends hurried over and vent down at his side.
"You were up there for two hours, Eddy. I woulsn't be able to do that." Ed beamed.
"I got dizzy and I fell." Eddy cried.
"You did your best, Eddy. We are so proud of you." Edd said putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Jeff Probst came over to them. "Eddy, you stuck it out for so long. You need to be proud of yourself. Losing this challenge doesn't mean that you're a loser. You have grown so much out here."
Eddy was able to sit up. "I'm proud, it's just that I wanted to spend time with my friends. I don't care about the reward. It's them I wanted to win this challenge for." Eddy sniffled.
Ed and Edd give their friend a hug. "Getting to see you was what we wanted."
"You brought us together again, Eddy."
Jeff Probst got everyone together. "Tremendous effort from all of you. John how does this win feel?"
John looked to the ground and cleared his throat. "Family is always the best thing ever. Everyone's is different. My bro, here, we were always inseperable. But, I have won so much in this game. I really think this reward belongs to Eddy."
Eddy's head shot up.
"So, Jonh, you're saying that you'll give up your spot for reward and give it to Eddy?"
John looked at Eddy, giving him the most brotherly look. "Eddy's been through a lot out here. I've watched hjim grow since day one. Eddy, you deserve this more then I do."
Eddy never felt so happy in his life as he and his friends went off on the reward.