Previously on Survivor...
18 Americans started the adventure of a lifetime as they were split into two tribes, Pedang in grey and Lembing in brown.
At the Pedang tribe, while the group as a whole were efficient at both creating a stable campsite and winning the first reward of flint, certain individuals stood out for not being social with the group.
Katrina (Artist, Pedang Tribe): I think the two people who haven't really done much talking are Otis and Tim.
At the Lembing tribe, Quincy, going by the nickname of Bones, was making memorable first impressions,
Nathan (Model, Lembing Tribe): I had no idea cartoon characters were real, but we've got one in our camp, and his name Bones.
Lucas and Nathan argued over work around camp,
Nathan made a face. "Assign someone to fruit duty? Really?"
"What's wrong with that?" Lucas asked, his brows furrowing.
and after the Reward Challenge, Lucas found himself the first person of the season to go to Exile Island, where he was given the choice of either trying to find an idol or lounging with food and shelter. Feeling he was safe within his tribe, he chose the latter.
Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing Tribe): The most important factor in my decision is this: Do I think I'm the lowest on the tribe totem pole? And the answer to that question seems simple to me.
At the immunity challenge, Tim and Otis's inability to overcome the balance beam cost their tribe immunity.
"LEMBING WINS IMMUNITY! SAFE FROM TRIBAL COUNCIL!"
Before Tribal Council, Tim tried to make an alliance with Katrina, Sofia, Ahmed, and Terri, but after trying to make Katrina do all of the work, she instead campaigned to get rid of Tim. Terri discussed the vote with Harper and Marcus, and the three agreed to vote as a block.
At Tribal, Julio pinpointed Otis, Tim, and Terri as who he suspected to be the weakest link, and he, Harper, Marcus, and Tim voted Otis's way, but Katrina, Sofia, Ahmed, Otis, and Terri, who went back on her word to vote with Harper and Marcus, voted for Tim, making him the first castaway eliminated from the game.
"Tim, the tribe has spoken."
17 are left, who will be voted out next?
Pedang tribe -Night 3-
The tribe trudged back into camp in the dark of the night, their torches lay in a pile on the ground at the base of the large tree. Katrina was all smiles, hugging most of her tribemates.
"Thank you everybody, my headache has now disappeared." She said over dramatically.
Most of the tribe went towards the shelter to catch some shut eye, and that was Terri's initial plan as well, until she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Is it alright if we talk?" Harper asked. Terri shrugged her shoulders. She expected that Harper and Marcus would talk to her eventually on how the votes went down. The two made their way down to the beach, a ways away from Katrina who was laying down, stargazing in her usual spot.
"So, Tiny got the boot." Harper said, keeping her voice neutral. She looked out into the ocean.
"Yes." Terri replied nonchalantly.
"Are ya happy 'bout that?" Harper asked, glancing at Terri as she waited for a response.
Terri fought the urge to roll her eyes as she sighed. "I doubt anyone is happy that we had to get rid of someone."
Harper decided to quit beating around the bush. "You voted for Tim."
"Yes."
"You said you were gonna vote with us." Harper continued.
"Yes." Terri said, a bit indignant at the fact that she was getting interrogated by a woman half her age.
"Why didn't ya say you wanted him out? We woulda went with ya!" Harper exclaimed.
"I hadn't decided on voting for him until I got to tribal council. At that point, there wasn't really a way I could've told you without it looking obvious that we were working together." Terri answered.
Harper rubbed her forehead. "Fine, but could you at least promise that next time you make up your mind, you'll at least tell us? Cuz I really ain't a fan of folks who go back on their word."
"Sure." Terri replied.
The two went back to camp, neither one too pleased with how the conversation went down.
Terri (Grocery store manager, Pedang): My move was not properly planned out, and I knew there'd be some repercussions. Thankfully, Harper seems to have taken it well enough, and I got rid of who I wanted out. All in all, not a bad day.
Harper (Rancher, Pedang): Terri asks me if she can vote with me, I say yes. She goes and votes the opposite o' what I say. Welp, good-bye to any trust I had in her. Honestly, if you can't even keep your word fer longer n' a few hours, how am I supposed to work with you for 30-some days?
Lembing -Morning 4-
As the sun peaked over the horizon to greet Lembing beach, two of the tribe were already out in the trees, chatting and strolling towards the water well.
"So he asks me what I didn't like." Delilah said, in the middle of a story. "He honestly had no idea what there was to not like about the date."
Donny chuckled. "Wow, he had no clue?"
"Nope. So I basically just listed everything that happened that night." Delilah started counting on her fingers. "The fact that he was late, the fact that he was obnoxious the entire car ride and all throughout supper, the fact that he stiffed me with the bill, AND on top of that, the fact that he said he had a girlfriend."
Donny laughed, and then tried to imitate the voice Delilah had used for her date earlier. "But we're basically already broken up."
Delilah snickered at the voice. "Don't go sounding too much like him, I might just smack you out of impulse."
"Oh, is that how the story ends," Donny asked in between bouts of laughing.
"No, though in hindsight, I wish it was. He just scoffed, told me in his most mature voice 'Ugh, fine' and stormed off back to his beat up little hummer. I was never more happy to have a date be done and over with." Delilah said.
The two got to the well, and started retrieving water, putting it in canteens and the cooking pot.
Donny (Firefighter, Lembing): The one person on the tribe I like the most is Delilah. She's funny, she's athletic, and she's incredibly smart. I think she's definitely invaluable to the tribe, and she's certainly made my time out here easier by being such an easy person to talk to.
As Delilah pulled up another bucket of water, she looked around.
"So, now that we're alone," Delilah said, "what are your thoughts on the tribe, so far?"
"Eh, not bad." Donny said. "Definitely a... unique group of people."
Delilah (Pharmacist, Lembing): Last night, while everyone was celebrating the victory and whatnot, I had been thinking of how someone was being voted out. I wasn't sad about it or anything, but it did make me realize that I should probably start putting thought into what should happen on our tribe if we ever lose.
"Who would you say are some of our better competitors?" Delilah asked.
"You, definitely." Donny said without hesitation. "Nathan is pretty tough, Victoria is pretty strong, from what I've seen of her, and Jean is really good at making fire with the flint, so when we get that we won't have to worry if the fire we've got going ever dies out."
Delilah nodded at all of the choices. "I couldn't agree more," she paused before continuing, "who do you think is the weakest person on the tribe?"
Donny looked into the well as he contemplated the question.
"I'd probably say Bones. I hate to say it, because the old man did get us fire, which kicks ass, but at the same time he's not the greatest help in challenges. Or at least, he hasn't been so far."
Delilah filed up the last of the canteens. "I see what you're saying there. When we lose, I definitely think he's a good contender for who we vote off."
"If we lose, which I don't foresee happening anytime soon." Donny said confidently.
"Unless it's a swimming challenge and we have to carry Lucas on our backs." Delilah smirked. She knew that Donny was on good terms with Lucas, and while she didn't hate the guy, she knew a liability when she saw one.
"Well, hopefully one of these days I could try taking Lucas out and show him how to swim."
"That oughta be fun to see, I might come over just for the show." Delilah joked.
As the two made their way back to camp, others were in the process of waking up. Lucas groggily got up to check on the fire, which was getting concernedly low. He used the last of the dry wood in the pile and added it to the flame, and walked over to the shelter.
"Hey, I need some people to go get some more firewood. I'm going to start cooking pretty quick here."
Amber, who had just gotten out of the shelter, rolled her eyes. "Sure thing, boss."
Bones, who had been laying down, shot up energetically. "I'll assist. Don't want you doing all the work by your lonesome."
Amber smiled as she waited for the older man to wriggle out of the shelter. She grabbed the machete, and the two set off for the trees, scanning the ground for usable wood.
"So Amber, when did you enter the mechanic profession?" Bones asked, picking up some smaller twigs.
"Well, I've been officially working at my dad's auto shop for four years." Amber answered. "Though I always hung around there and helped out when I was younger."
"I suppose your father's occupation supplied your interest in the career?" Bones added a few more sticks to his load.
"Yeah, I guess. How about you, what made you want to be a teacher?" Amber questioned, stopping to examine a dead tree on the ground.
"Well, I have a general disdain for most fields, but I was told at a young age I had the gift of gab and I usually excelled at my studies. When those are your only strong suits, a teaching job is just about the best thing you can do." Bones said, leaning on a tree as Amber began to whack at some large branches.
"Do you enjoy it?" Amber asked, getting a bit winded after chopping a few branches off.
"Oh it's divine. My coworkers and I have a nice camaraderie, my bosses allow me great freedom in my teaching methods, and my students are my pride and joy." Bones replied with glee.
"I think that's the first time I've ever heard a teacher call his students that." Amber laughed. "Heck, I think it's the first time I've ever heard a teacher say anything nice about his students."
"Well, I might as well be positive about them, I'm stuck with them whether I like it or not." Bones chortled.
"By that logic, I can't wait to be your pride and joy, too." Amber quipped, content with the branches she chopped off.
"Wonderful, that means I can start grading you like all of the others. You get a B+ in wood chopping, an A- in conversation topics, and a significantly low D- in choice of company." Bones said as the two started making their way back to camp.
"Wow, way to have a high opinion of yourself." Amber smirked.
Amber (Mechanic, Lembing Tribe): I personally think Bones is a good guy. He talks weird and he's got a... different way of looking at things, but there's no doubt he's definitely a positive guy. I know that our tribe could definitely use the positivity.
Pedang -Day 4-
Marcus strolled through the brush, taking in the exotic sights. He saw small birds flit through the branches, geckos and skinks hugging to the tree trunks, and occasionally a small shrew would scamper by his feet from one bush to the other. While he admired the sights, he never really took his attention off of his target.
Otis was out collecting firewood, mainly gathering any dry twigs or sticks he could find scattered around on the ground. Marcus casually made his way up to the old man.
Marcus (Construction Worker, Pedang): I haven't talked to Otis at all, really, and for the last three days I figured I wouldn't need to because he would be our probable first boot. However, he's still here, and even though I'd bet money on him being the next one gone, it's better to have someone who's casting a vote to like you than to be impartial of you.
"Hey Otis." Marcus greeted.
Otis looked up from the ground, and gave a polite nod. "Hello Marcus."
"Do you want any help." Marcus inquired.
"No, I think I'm alright." Otis said.
"You sure?" Marcus asked again. Otis was about to respond, but paused to think about it.
Otis (Postal Worker, Pedang): I nearly went home last night because of two things. I haven't performed well in challenges, and I've been so focused on trying to do work that I've completely neglected to socialize more with my tribe. While I'm not sure how much I could improve on the first problem, I can certainly make efforts to fix the latter.
"I suppose, if you'd like, I could use an extra set of hands breaking off some of the drier branches from these trees. Sofia is out somewhere getting firewood as well, and she's got the machete."
Marcus smiled. "Sounds good." The two got to work pulling at and picking up branches from dead trees and chatted as they did so.
Back at camp, Sofia had just returned from going out to get firewood, taking a small break and resting on the shelter floor. She had a plan laid out for the day, and it included talking to Katrina.
Sofia (Park Ranger, Pedang): I'd like to try and get something started on this tribe. That last vote was way closer than it needed to be, and I don't think there was much of any communication or coordination from anyone, aside from Katrina, Ahmed, and me. So, once I get the opportunity, I might try to talk Katrina into an alliance... and probably try to phrase it better than the way Tim did.
She glanced around the camp, seeing everyone getting work done. Katrina and Harper were out gathering fruit, Ahmed and Terri were just coming back with water, and Julio was looking over the shelter, trying to find any spots that might need redoing. Sofia decided to talk to Julio while she waited for Katrina to return to camp.
"Hey Julio, do you know where Marcus and Otis went off to?" Sofia asked. Last she had seen, the two had been sound asleep in the shelter.
"I thought they went out to go help you get firewood." Julio said, his interest staying on a loose piece of bamboo.
"Nope, haven't seen them since this morning." Sofia said, scanning along the beach to see if she could spot the pair anywhere.
"Well, they're not the kind of guys to shirk work, I'm sure they're getting something done." Julio said as he wiggled the bamboo around. "Do you think we should fix this today? Stop it from getting even more loose?"
Sofia grinned and rolled her eyes. "Julio, take a break, buddy. You're going to work yourself to death."
Julio's lips curved upwards slightly, which was the biggest positive reaction Sofia had ever seen him give. "Well, I guess I could try taking it a bit easier. At the very least I can chop a few coconuts." He said. "Then I'll rest my feet for a bit. That sound better?"
Sofia patted her friend on the back. "Baby steps, Julio, baby steps."
Julio (Newspaper Editor, Pedang): I came out here knowing I wouldn't be the toughest or the smartest, and I'm not the most talkative member of the tribe, but there's a title just as valuable as that, and that's the hardest worker. My plan is to make sure it's known that I'm doing the most work around camp, and then once we're far enough in, I slow it down and start focusing more on my social game. To my knowledge, people like a workhorse more than a chatter box.
As Julio went to the batch of coconuts, Harper and Katrina were back on their way from the foliage. Their conversation had been a slightly different topic.
"I'm not sure I feel comfortable making any sort of deal with you on votes." Katrina said cautiously. Harper had been trying to make a pitch for an alliance to her while the pair was scouring the jungle for fruit. While she had felt more comfortable with Harper than she had with Tim, and she was thankful for being able to get a few more words in edgewise in this strategic chat, she still was hesitant to commit to anything.
Harper shook her head. "I sure don't wanna pressure ya into somethin' yur uncomfortable with. I don't wanna make any brash decisions neither. I just thought it might be... mutually beneficial for us to communicate if and when the time for votin' comes up."
Katrina contemplated the younger woman's argument. "Can I have your word that if and when I do tell you, you won't go around telling other people what I told you?"
Harper smiled. "Cross my heart and hope to die, darlin'."
Katrina (Artist, Pedang Tribe): What is it about me exactly that makes everyone want to try and make an alliance? Seriously, I just want to go out and get some fruit, I don't need to talk about votes or alliances while doing it. Why can't we just talk about the weather or something!
-Lembing Morning 5-
Victoria yawned as she stretched, being one of the last ones to get out of bed yet again. She got up and lazily sauntered over to the fire, where Delilah and Jean were cooking the morning's rice.
"Good morning sunshine." Jean said, stirring the rice around.
"Morning mom." Victoria muttered, still half asleep. She paused as she realized what she had just said.
"Oh, so I'm 'mom' now?" Jean asked, smiling.
"I just said good morning. I sorta mumbled your name, that's all." Victoria quickly lied.
"Mhm, sure, honey." Jean replied, trying her best to not chuckle at the student's reaction. At this, Victoria blushed. Delilah tried her best to stifle her laughter at the scene.
"So, should I wait for Lucas to come and give me orders, or has he already written them down in the sand somewhere?" Victoria asked.
"He went off to look for some food. Either that or he went to go have another argument with Nathan, wherever he is." Jean answered.
"Alright. I think I might go check tree mail, see if we got anything today." Victoria said.
"Alright." Jean said, shooing her off. As Victoria left, Delilah started laughing.
"That was the most adorable thing." Delilah wheezed out. She calmed down as she stated scooping out the first cup of rice. Jean scooped out one for herself, and the two clapped their cups together in cheers.
"So Jean," Delilah started, "I was wondering. Is there anyone you feel close with on this tribe? Trust-wise?"
Jean took a bite of rice, and waited until she was done chewing before she answered.
Jean (Nurse, Lembing Tribe): I could lie to her. I could easily lie to her. But that wouldn't be smart. This early in the game, lying isn't necessary, and it's far from beneficial.
"I guess I'd have to say Victoria. We've both talked quite a bit. I trust you, as well." Jean responded.
Delilah nodded. "Likewise. I have a proposition, if you'd like to hear it."
Jean took another bite of rice, and gestured for Delilah to continue.
"Me, you, Victoria, and Donny. The four of us work together, and if we pull in one more, we've got a majority. What do you think?" Delilah said.
Jean processed the deal. After munching thoughtfully, she cleared her throat.
"Sounds good." Jean bluntly replied. Delilah smiled, relieved and eager to hear that response. She reached out her hand, and Jean took and shook it.
Delilah (Pharmacist, Lembing Tribe): I want to get a strong group together. Jean is someone I consider to be mentally strong, Victoria and Donny seem physically strong, and on top of it, I think I've got a good, strong bond with at least one, if not two of them. I just need to keep up good relations with my people and try and scope out who a good fifth person would be.
The two finished their cups of rice before going to find the others. As the two went out around camp, Victoria was just arriving at the tree where the statue had been. This time, the item was a flag with a note. As she plucked off the note to read it, she failed to notice someone walking up behind her.
"Hey, what've you got there?"
Victoria clutched at her chest as she spun around. She found the cause of her surprise to be Amber, who was giggling at her tribemate's reaction.
"Sorry, didn't mean to spook ya so bad." Amber apologized.
"It's alright. I was just reading tree mail." Victoria said, showing the note to Amber. "I think we're doing dodge-ball with coconuts?"
Amber cocked an eyebrow as she read the note.
"No need to be crafty, no need to be bold, just hope that you have enough brute strength to hold. Running around, find yourself in a rut, reward goes to those who can throw coconuts."
"What do you think of that?" Victoria asked.
Amber smirked. "I think whoever is writing these tree mails is getting paid too much. I'm also thinking I'm feeling hungry, wanna go grab a bite to eat?"
"I think Jean and Delilah just got done with the rice." Victoria said.
"Nah, if we're going into a challenge like this, we're gonna need the breakfast of champions." Amber waved the note around.
"I didn't realize Wheaties grew on tropical islands." Victoria joked.
"You know what I mean. Let's make some charred coconuts." Amber said, already feeling her mouth watering at the thought.
Victoria found her friend's eagerness amusing. "Alright chef, lead the way."
Amber batted her eyelashes at Victoria. "Aww, you sure you don't wanna learn how to make them? It'd be a nice skill to have."
Victoria gave the mechanic a playful shove. "Nice try, but that little trick doesn't work on me as well as it does everyone else." Amber put her hand to her chest, her face conveying a tone of mock hurt.
"I don't just bat my eyes for everyone, Vicky. You make me sound like some kinda harlot."
Victoria laughed at her antics. "You've been hanging around Bones too much, that's the first I've ever heard anyone use the word 'harlot' in conversation."
"Alright, alright." Amber said, reaching up slightly to put her arm around Victoria. "How about this. Let's make a wager on who has snack duty."
The two continued to talk as they made their way into camp.
-Pedang Morning-
Ahmed and Terri, meanwhile, were also discussing their plans for the upcoming three days.
"All I'm saying is that once Otis leaves, it'll be me or you on the chopping block." Terri stated.
"I hear what you're saying, but winning the challenges should be more important than trying to make sure you don't look the weakest. Besides, I've never heard anyone on this tribe call you weak." Ahmed argued, trying his hardest to keep his naturally loud voice toned down a bit.
"I guess you tuned out during tribal council last night, then." Terri muttered.
Ahmed sighed. "I know what you're talking about, and I'm not sure if you can really put too much stock in what Julio said. I'm pretty sure he was mainly focusing on Otis."
"He promoted getting rid of the players he thought were weak, and he confirmed that he thought I was one of the weak people on the tribe. There's honestly not much more to it." Terri said.
"Have you tried talking to him about it?" Ahmed asked.
"Have you had a conversation with him that wasn't camp related?" Terri asked snidely. It was a bit of a running joke that all Julio said and thought about was work needing to be done around camp.
"A brief one here or there, but not anything too big." Ahmed contemplated whether or not to continue arguing. "Maybe this next challenge might help shed some light on which way to go?"
Terri shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe."
Ahmed tried to end the conversation on a positive tone. "And hey, maybe we win the next immunity challenge and won't have to worry about who the next boot should be."
Terri smiled at Ahmed, nodding. As the older man walked away, however, Terri's smile vanished.
Terri (Grocery store manager, Pedang): I'm not the best person when it comes to trying to politely convince people to take my side on something. With me, either you agree or disagree, I tell you why you're wrong if you disagree, and we continue talking until you realize you're wrong or I realize you're hopeless. I don't know how I'm going to be able to get Julio out, but I'll be- wait, what's going on now?
Terri left her confessional as she and the other members of Pedang heard a shout come from camp.
"Medical! Can we get someone over here please!" Sofia's voice rang out.
Reward Challenge -Day 5-
Lembing arrived to their challenge mat, everyone anxious to see who was voted off of Pedang. Matthew, wearing a large hat to keep the sun out of his eyes, saw the other tribe walking in. As the remaining Pedang members got onto the mat, the host decided to let the other tribe officially know who got the boot.
"Lembing, getting your first look at the new Pedang tribe. Tim voted out at the last tribal council."
The reactions of the Lembing tribe were mixed, some groaning, some giving curious looks to the Pedang members, and Amber cheering while Victoria playfully punched her arm.
"Amber, you seem particularly happy. Why the big reaction to seeing Tim go?" Matthew asked.
"Vicky and I made a best on who they'd boot." Amber said, sheepishly looking around to see everyone's attention on her, especially the other tribe. Victoria found herself blushing horribly and just staring at the ground.
Most of the Pedang tribe looked either annoyed or dumbfounded. However Katrina merely smiled and leaned over to look at Victoria. "What did you guys even bet?"
"Coconuts." Amber lamely replied. Katrina giggled. Otis also found himself chuckling and called over to Victoria. "Sorry for making you lose."
The host decided to address the elephant in the room. "Anybody make any bets on that?" Matthew gestured towards Julio. Amber and the rest of Lembing looked over to see what the host was talking about, and then noticed the large cast Julio now had on his left arm.
"What happened?" Lucas asked.
"Machete cut through my hand," came Julio's monotone reply. He raised his left arm, looking slightly embarrassed. Then, turning to look at Amber and Victoria, Julio donned a small, sad smile. "Coconuts."
Matthew chose to get back to business. "Are you all ready for your next reward challenge?"
The tribes' focus shifted from the awkward banter to the challenge at hand.
"For your challenge today, you will have two people be weight bearers. They will hold onto a rope while standing behind a line. That rope is holding up a giant net that ten feet away from the line. On my go, the six other contestants will run up and try to throw coconuts into the opposing tribe's nets. Once the nets get too heavy, the weight bearer won't be able to hold it up anymore. If the weight bearer drops lets go of the rope and drops the net, or if they cross the line, they're out. Whichever tribe has a net up the longest wins. Do you want to know what you're playing for?"
Matthew walked over to a table with two blankets over it.
"Winning tribe will get a choice between two rewards. You can either have," Matthew pulled one of the covers off, "a snorkel, flippers, twine, a hook, and a Hawaiian sling for fishing." Both tribes looked excited, Ahmed especially so.
"Or," Matthew removed the other blanket, "you can have a hammock, a blanket, a tarp, and two pillows."
A few members on each tribe looked incredibly enthused, while others more so viewed the items with indifference.
"Alright, before we get to player selections, Lembing, you've got one extra person, sitting someone out. Remember, you can't sit someone out in back to back challenges. Which guy will be sitting this one out?"
The tribe discussed briefly before coming to a decision. "We're going to sit Donny out."
"Alright. Tribes, decide how you'll divvy yourselves up, and then we'll get started.
"For Pedang, Marcus and Harper will be holding onto the rope. Nathan and Victoria will be holding the rope for Lembing. Survivors ready? GO!"
The two teams of six raced towards the large pile of coconuts on the far end of the course. Each contestant grabbed two and ran back, sans Julio who could only grab one. Sofia made it back first for Pedang, and threw both of her coconuts, aiming for Nathan's net. Both made it. This was followed by Katrina, who also aimed for Nathan. Meanwhile, Delilah scored two coconuts in Harper's net, and Lucas was able to get one into Marcus's. More contestants got up to the line to throw, and it became clear on what each tribe's goal was.
"Pedang seems to be mainly focusing on filling Nathan's net up first, no coconuts so far in Victoria's net. Lembing seems to be spreading it pretty evenly between Harper and Marcus."
-5 minutes in-
Nathan's net looked to be about a fifth full as Marcus and Harper each had about a tenth of their nets filled. None of the weight bearers looked uncomfortable yet. Nathan looked bored, if anything, and Harper tried to stifle a yawn. As the two teams of six raced back and forth between the line and the coconut pile, there was very little talking going on. That is, until Nathan decided to break the silence.
"Bones, you gotta throw it higher!" Nathan yelled, looking over to where the frail old man was lobbing coconuts. Bones had yet to make a shot, most of his going too low. Bones hurled another one with extra force, and it went just short of making it in.
"C'mon Bones! Here, watch the Park Ranger do it." Sofia ran up, going to sink in another shot to Nathan's net. Nathan waited until the moment before Sofia threw. "Riiiiiight THERE!"
Sofia was startled by Nathan's shout, and it caused her to miss.
As Nathan waited for the next person to come over, Victoria turned to him. "You're not gonna do that for everyone, are you?"
"Depends how bored I get." Nathan responded.
-10 minutes in-
"Nathan, with his net getting pretty full, about two thirds of the way. Harper's is about half full, Marcus has slightly less than half, and Victoria still has an empty net. Pedang seems to be focusing all of their shots on Nathan, while Lembing splits it up, the girls going for Harper and the boys going for Marcus. Those nets are only going to get heavier to hold onto." Matthew observed.
"In the immortal words of Dr. Watson, no shit, Sherlock." Nathan muttered at the host, though Matthew ignored him.
Victoria was keeping her net up with one hand, occasionally looking over to Nathan, who was starting to have a bit of difficulty keeping the net up. On the Pedang side, Marcus and Harper kept their attention on their nets, though neither one was struggling too much.
Katrina ran to put another in Nathan's, but at the last minute switched and threw it into Victoria's.
"Hey, what gives!" Victoria yelled out, caught off guard by having to actually participate in the challenge.
"Wanted to help you feel included." Katrina said as she aimed her other coconut at Nathan's net. As she said that, Otis came up and tossed a coconut at Victoria's net.
"Whoa, come on now, I've already got one, I feel plenty included." Victoria said jokingly.
"By all means, please give her some." Nathan said, grunting as he repositioned his hands on the rope. "Victoria, tell our guys to hurry up, I went from bored to in pain."
Nathan's net was over three fourths full at this point, and the strain was beginning to get to him. For Pedang, Harper's net was about three fourths full, and her arms were also starting to hurt. She grimaced as she tried pulling the rope up a bit.
"Everyone showing impressive displays of strength for the weight bearers." Matthew praised.
Some of the runners were starting to slow down. Terri, Jean, and Bones were jogging at a much slower rate, and Isabella and Otis were walking. Katrina, Martin, and Sofia were all still making good time for Pedang, and Delilah and Amber weren't slowing down in the slightest. Amber made it to the line and threw both of her coconuts, both landing in Harper's net.
"Good job Amber!" Victoria yelled out.
-15 minutes in-
"Where we stand, Nathan is holding onto a full net of coconuts, Pedang has switched their attention to Veronica. Harper nearly has a full net, Marcus's is about three fourths full, and Victoria is about a third full." Matthew looked over the weight bearers. "Nathan and Harper, both looking like they'll drop any second."
"Dunno what you're talking about, I feel great." Nathan said, sweat pouring from his hair, drenching his face. Harper wasn't fairing much better, her arms wobbling terribly as she tried to keep a good hold on her rope. Marcus shifted his weight as he kept his rope tightly clutched between his hands. Victoria still held onto the rope with ease. After a few more seconds, one of the nets finally dropped.
"Nathan, lets go of his rope and is out of the competition." Matthew announced.
Nathan fell to the ground, his arms spread out and limp. He rolled out of the track, getting to the sit out bench with Donny. Just as he got to the bench, another net dropped.
"Harper, quickly follows Nathan out of the challenge."
Harper got up, grumbling as she walked to the Pedang bench.
"It's between Marcus and Victoria now. The construction worker and the student. Who can last longer?"
Lembing was now able to give their complete attention to Marcus, who started receiving coconuts twice as fast. Meanwhile, Victoria was catching up to him in terms of coconut weight. Marcus's was about four fifths full while Victoria's was getting close to three fourths. Both contestants had a taxing challenge in front of them.
Otis looked completely spent, hobbling along, while Julio was also slowing down, and the two combined were getting only half the shots that each of their other tribemates were getting. For Lembing, Isabella was leaning on the coconut pile to catch her breath, and Bones was only barely shuffling along. Marcus tried shifting his hands around, the sweat making them start to slip, while Victoria kept her original hold on the rope, even though both of her arms were cramping.
It wasn't until another five minutes that the third net was dropped.
"Marcus, drops the rope. Lembing, wins reward!" Matthew announced. The tribe all ran towards Victoria, who had fallen on the ground in relief and exhaustion. They picked her up and carried her back to the mat in celebration. Marcus quietly rubbed his temple as he made his way back to his tribe, who gave him pats on the back.
"Lembing, congratulations on you reward win. The first decision you'll make is whether you want to take the fishing gear or the comfort items. I'll give you some time to talk it over." Matthew said once both tribes got back to their mats.
The tribe huddled together.
"Alright, my vote is for fishing gear." Lucas said. "It'll be more beneficial down the road. More meals hopefully."
"I agree. Fishing gear." Delilah said.
"Ok, is everyone good for fishing gear?" Lucas asked. Delilah and Jean both said yes, and before anyone else responded, Lucas turned to address the host. "Matthew, we'd like to take the fishing gear." While Lucas smiled at the host, he seemed unaware of a set of eyes glaring at him.
Nathan (Model, Lembing tribe): I don't wanna sound full of myself, but I am like, three fourths of the reason we won this shit. And when we go to choose what reward we want, who gets the biggest say? Oh right, the guy who only made like half of his shots. I prolly sound real bitchy right now, but I don't care, that was obnoxious.
"Alright, go ahead and take it once you leave. Before you do, please pick one member of Pedang to go to Exile Island."
Before any of them could discuss, Nathan piped up. "Sofia."
"Alright, Sofia come with me, a boat will arrive to take you to Exile."
Sofia sighed in resignation as she hugged a few of her tribemates before going towards the host. Meanwhile, a few members of Lembing looked more confused and angry than any of the Pedang members. Lucas in particular looked to be fighting the urge to snarl at Nathan.
"Pedang, I've got nothing else for you. Lembing, come and get your rewards. I'll see all of you tomorrow." Matthew said before leaving with Sofia. The two tribes went back to their respective camps.
-Exile Island Day 5-
Sofia found herself standing next to the large wooden chest on the large patch of sand. She, much like Lucas, found the conditions on exile to be rather insane. "No food, no trees, no clean water... lovely." She quickly skimmed through the note, which had been the same as Lucas's, except there was a slight difference.
"If you choose to look for the idol, you will receive one apple and one glass of clean water. If you don't look for the idol, your provisions will be much more plentiful. Choose wisely. You'll have thirty minutes."
Sofia casually tossed the note back on the chest.
"Looks like I have thirty minutes to wait until I get some food. How to pass the time?"
Sofia (Park ranger, Pedang): I don't need an idol. Heck, it might not even be there, Lucas might have it. Besides, I'm hungry, I'll take some food.
As Sofia sat on the sand bank, staring out across the ocean, she thought about the day's events.
Sofia (Park Ranger, Pedang): I still can't believe Julio cut his hand. I feel guilty about it. I was talking with him while he was chopping coconuts, I might have been distracting him. I mean, I know it's probably silly to beat yourself up about stuff like that, but I can't help it, I feel terrible. I just hope he's able to heal quickly. That cast definitely didn't help matters during the challenge today, and I don't know how much of a hindrance it'll be on future challenges. We'll just have to see how it goes.
As Sofia saw the boat coming in over the horizon, she stretched and laid down on the ground. As she laid down, she felt something jabbing into her back. She moved over and dug up a very unique looking seashell.
"Cool. Might take this home for Sam." Sofia said to herself as she got back to a relaxing position.
-Lembing Day 5-
Lucas only felt himself getting more and more angry as he walked back into the Lembing campsite with a few canteens' worth of water. He tried calming down, constantly reminding himself that they had won reward, and really he shouldn't be so worked up, but it just wasn't working.
Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing tribe): What the hell was that? Seriously, not even a single second of discussion, Nathan just decides it's Sofia. Screw consulting with the rest of the tribe whether that's a good idea or not. Now I get to be paranoid about whether or not someone on the other tribe has a hidden immunity idol. F(censored)ing kid.
As the tribe settled down at camp, Nathan went off to go to the jungle, but not before Lucas got to him.
"Hey, can we talk real quick?" Lucas asked, though as most things sounded with Lucas, it came out more like a demand than a request. Nathan merely shrugged. "Sure."
The two stayed where they were at, away from camp but still clearly visible and speaking loud enough for anyone paying attention to hear.
"So, can I ask what happened at the end of the challenge today?" Lucas asked, trying to keep a civil tone.
"Victoria held onto a rope longer than Marcus." Nathan answered blankly.
"You know what I'm talking about." Lucas all but growled. Nathan yawned.
"I seem to recall afterwards we were given a choice between two rewards-"
"Quit playing dumb." Lucas interrupted, but Nathan continued, ignoring him.
"-and you got all of two other peoples' opinions before going for the fishing gear. Oh, and the guy who actually won you the reward in the first place got no say in what the reward we got was." Nathan finished his sentence matching the same facial expression that Lucas was currently donning, a scowl.
"You've got to be kidding me!" Lucas ran his hands through his hair. "We all discussed the rewards, just like we should've discussed who to send to Exile Island!"
"We didn't discuss jack s(censored)t, you said something and two people agreed. That's not a tribe discussion, so I figured the next decision didn't need to be discussed either." Nathan said, his arms crossing across his chest.
Lucas stood dumbfounded before regaining his composure. "That's the most immature and petty thing I've ever heard."
Nathan's mouth twisted in a sneer. "I'm going to get some fruit."
Nathan turned and walked away, towards the jungle. Lucas stood there for a bit, as if debating on whether there was a point to continuing the fight. He eventually decided there was none and turned to walk back to the shelter. Meanwhile, the other seven Lembing members tried to ignore the commotion that just occurred.
Isabella (Student teacher, Lembing): We couldn't even be happy about a win for like, five minutes. Lucas and Nathan immediately had to go at each others' throats. Yeah, Nathan did something stupid again, and yeah, Lucas could've probably waited for some more opinions on the reward. Well, guess what, whining and yelling at each other isn't going to change anything.
Amber walked over to Isabella. "You think he'll be ok?"
Isabella rolled her eyes. "He'll probably be fine, he's just gonna take a few minutes to pout. Hey, do you want to take that fishing gear out for a test drive?"
Amber nodded. "Sure. Do you want to try out the sling or the twine."
"Sling, definitely. Knowing Nathan, he might try to break it one of these days just to spite Lucas, so let's get some use out of it before that happens."
Amber (Mechanic, Lembing): You know, Nathan is a bit of a moron. He does nothing around camp except run around in the jungle, and half the time he gets fruit. On the flip side, Lucas is an ass, and he does nothing around camp except for boss other people to do things. So when the two get in an argument, you don't pick a side. You just wait for them to tire themselves out.
As the two women went out to test out the fishing equipment, Nathan found some company out in the jungle.
"Hello Nathan." Bones greeted, sipping from a chopped coconut.
"Hey old timer." Nathan responded, still feeling a bit riled up. The history professor looked at the young man with a bored expression.
"Now, now, if you're going to go to all of that trouble and start a scene, you better follow it up with something more energetic than a simple 'Hey.'"
Nathan sighed. "That was really dumb of me, huh?"
"The yelling, the taking almost complete credit for the challenge win, or the selecting of Sofia for Exile without waiting for anyone to talk about it?" Bones asked in a deadpan manner.
"All three, I guess." Nathan said, looking down at the ground, his face showing a mix of anger and embarrassment.
"I'd be tempted to agree, it was far from smart." Bones nodded. He walked over and found a log to sit on. He patted the space next to him, and Nathan reluctantly joined him on the log.
"I just got so pissed off after the challenge. It's like, Lucas just doesn't even think about what other people want. He just says things and expects people to go along with them." Nathan vented.
"What makes you think that?" Bones asked.
"I don't know. It seems like he's never really doing anything around camp and is usually telling other people what to do. Not to mention he's on my case 24/7."
"I see." Bones said, looking at a pair of birds that had flown to a nearby branch. "Nathan, when you pulled that little stunt today, what were you hoping to achieve?"
Nathan frowned at the sudden topic change. "I just wanted to show Lucas how much of an ass he was being."
"Do you think Lucas is actually considering changing because of it?" Bones asked.
"Uh... probably not?" Nathan said uncertainly, wondering where this conversation was going.
"Precisely. Repeating the follies of another is no way to try and help them. There's an old saying, fight fire with fire." Bones said, talking as if he were giving a lecture.
"Yeah I've heard that saying." Nathan piped up.
"Well forget it, it's a stupid saying. Fighting fire with fire is ineffective, it just leads to more fire. Use water, that's what firefighters use, for crying out loud."
Nathan gave the old man a confused look.
"So... what am I supposed to do?"
Bones got up off of the log, and offered a hand to Nathan. "Calm down, resist the urge of stupidity, and don't sink to Lucas's level."
Nathan sighed before accepting Bones hand and getting up off of the log. "Alright."
The two walked back to camp as the sun began to set.
Nathan (Model, Lembing): I still don't like Lucas, I still think he's an ass, but Bones is right. I just gotta deal with it. I can't go yelling at him all the time, it won't help anything. I'm glad he came to talk to me.
Bones (History teacher, Lembing): That's far from the best advice I've given, but hopefully he takes to it well. I made sure not to tell him that he shouldn't dislike Lucas or try to make amends with him, just stay calm and continue hating him. After all, if those two patch things up, I'm certain to find myself back at the bottom of the proverbial totem pole. I enjoy the boy, but I won't risk a million dollars to teach him to make friends.
-Pedang Tribe Morning 6-
Terri watched as Otis got done carrying a load of firewood back to camp. He lumbered over to the shelter and plopped himself down. She had been waiting for an opportunity to talk to him, as she had recently come up with a plan and wanted to set it into motion.
Terri (Grocery store manager, Pedang): The way I see it, this is the best time to get rid of Julio. Everyone respects him, nobody has a problem with him, and once that hand of his heals up there'll be no good reason to get rid of him. I still want him out though, because I know he'll be coming after me once Otis is gone. So I'm going to strike first.
Terri walked up to the shelter. "Hey Otis, mind if we talk about something?"
Otis slowly got up into a sitting position. "Sure, what do you need, Terri?"
"I just wanted to talk about what might happen if we go to tribal council again." Terri said, standing opposite him with her arms crossed.
Otis nodded. "Alright. By the way, I don't think I ever thanked you for not voting me out."
Terri smiled. "It was my pleasure. I didn't think it was your time to go then, and I still don't think it is now."
Otis scratched the back of his head. "Well, it's got to be somebody's time, and if not mine, whose would you say it is?"
"Julio." Terri said, deciding not to beat around the bush.
"Oh... any reason why?" Otis asked. Terri stared at him blankly for a beat before picking up two rocks.
"Because if I threw these at him, he wouldn't be able to catch both of them."
"You mean throw them to him, right?" Otis asked. Terri dropped the rocks on the sand, feeling a bit exasperated.
"Yes. So, would you be good for voting Julio?"
Otis shrugged his shoulders. "If it's the difference between me going or not, sure, I'll vote for him."
"Alright." Terri ended the conversation, and went off to go get some fruit from the jungle. Otis watched her go before laying back down.
Otis (Postal worker, Pedang): I might have a bit of a shot if we go back to tribal. It sounds like Terri is pushing for a Julio vote out. I'm not sure if it'll work, but it's probably my best chance. I also don't know why she asked if I wanted to talk, I barely got much of a word in, but oh well. Hopefully none of this has to happen and we can just go in and win an immunity.
Terri's next target for putting her plan into motion was Katrina, who was walking to go get tree mail.
"Hey Katrina, do you have a minute?"
Katrina shrugged, slowing down so Terri could catch up. "Sure, do you need help with something?"
"I was just wondering if I could talk to you about next tribal council." Terri said.
"Not much to say about it, we'll win immunity and avoid it." Katrina said, already not fond of where the conversation was headed.
"I'm just thinking, maybe we should start thinking now about who we could afford to cut off." Terri said, adamant about getting to talk about votes.
"Alright, fine. I think Otis might be the right decision." Katrina said. Truth be told, she had put in some thought about it, and to her it seemed like the logical decision.
"Why Otis?" Terri asked, doing little to hide the annoyance in her voice.
"He's weak in challenges. Not much else to it, nothing personal." Katrina said casually.
"I see. Well, I think we should vote Julio."
"Because of the arm?" Katrina asked.
"Yes. I think he'll be a bigger hindrance in challenges than Otis." Terri said, consciously leaving out her real reason for wanting Julio gone.
"He seemed to be throwing at a faster rate than Otis yesterday." Katrina said.
"How many challenges are we just going to be running around on. We're going to need people who can use both hands." Terri replied curtly.
"Julio's hand will get better, Otis's health won't." Katrina said, a bit miffed that Terri seemed to ignore Katrina's thoughts on the matter.
"How soon, though? I still think Julio is the better choice. I'll let you think it over a bit, but I'm telling you, you need to vote Julio. He's got to go." Terri said before trudging off, leaving Katrina standing on the pathway.
Katrina (Artist, Pedang tribe): Oh lovely, annoying strategies are back. We just... can't go a few days without someone bombarding me with strategy talk, can we? (Katrina rubbed her temples.) Can I just... go to the other tribe? They seem so much more relaxed.
Katrina walked over to tree mail, trying to forget about the random talk she and Terri had, and found a note sitting next to a fairly large rock.
"You've got to be quick, you can't afford to be slow, fail to make it up, you may be the next to go. Climb mountains and hills, go through the gates, over knolls, win the challenge, rock and roll."
-Immunity challenge Day 6-
"Survivors come on in!"
The two tribes walked single file to their respective mats. They were set at the bottom of a steep incline, and they could see the host standing in the middle of giant rocks.
"Now bring in Sofia from Exile."
Sofia walked in to her tribe, who greeted her with a group hug.
"Sofia, how was Exile?" Matthew asked. Sofia shrugged her shoulders in a relaxed manner.
"It was what it was, pretty fun actually."
From Lembing, Lucas was listening very intently to what Sofia had to say.
"Fun, huh? Find anything over there?" Matthew inquired.
"I found a cute little souvenir, yeah." Sofia said. Lucas's eyes bulged.
"Well, let's get to today's challenge. First thing's first, I'll take it back from Lembing." Matthew walked over and took the immunity statue back from Victoria. "Here's how the challenge will go."
"On my go, six people from each tribe will push a boulder uphill. While going up the hill, you will run into three gates, each held up by two ropes. This is where the other two castaways will come in. Each gate will have a puzzle on each side. Solving the puzzle will unlock a knife which each puzzle solver will use to cut the rope. Once the ropes are cut, the gate will fall to the side, and the people pushing the boulder can continue. Puzzle solvers can't start to work on the next puzzle until the boulder is completely through the last one. First tribe to get their boulder past the finish line at the top of the hill wins. Everyone understand?"
Matthew was met with various sounds of affirmation.
"Before we pick players, Lembing, you'll have to sit someone out, know that you can't sit out Donny again."
"I'll sit out." Isabella said immediately, walking over to the sit out bench.
"Alright, pick out who will do what and let's get this thing started."
"For Pedang, Terri and Otis working on puzzles. For Lembing, Jean and Bones. Survivors ready? Go!"
The two teams of six raced to the boulders, slowly pushing them forward with great effort at the start of the incline. The two pairs of puzzle solvers raced ahead to the first gate station. The four got to work, diligently working on the first puzzle, which was a slide puzzle. All of them quickly slid pieces around, Otis looking slightly confused and Terri fairing only marginally better. As they worked on the puzzles, the two teams of six were fairly even going up to the gate, Lembing pulling a bit ahead. The brown tribe was only ten feet away as Jean managed to slide the piece containing her knife out. She gingerly plucked the knife out and chopped through the rope on her side. Half of the gate fell down.
As Lembing's boulder reached the gate, Bones managed to retrieve his knife as well. He sawed through the rope, and soon the other half of the gate collapsed. Jean and Bones waited patiently as Lembing began to roll their rock through the gate. As Lembing was halfway through, Terri was able to get her knife and chop her rope. Pedang got to the gate, but had to wait for Otis to get his knife. Otis frantically shoved pieces around until he finally got his knife. He chopped the rope, opening the rest of the gate. As Pedang began to move their boulder again, Lembing was fully through and Jean and Bones were already at the next gate.
The next puzzle was a key attached to the end of long rope tied into various knots. The knife was locked in a chest off to the side. Jean ripped through the knots, wasting no time in sliding the key along. Bones was going at bit slower rate, struggling to pull apart some of the coils but still making good time. Pedang got their boulder through the gate and Terri and Otis were on their way to the second gate while Lembing already had their boulder halfway there.
"Lembing has a slight lead, but these puzzles can make all the difference." Matthew said.
Jean managed to get her knots undone as Terri got to the puzzle station. She quickly got the key to the chest and unlocked it, retrieving her knife and cutting the rope.
"Jean, flying through these puzzles. Really putting in work for her tribe."
The Lembing tribe still had a nice lead on Pedang, but stopped in front of their gate, still waiting on Bones, who was in the middle of trying to pull at a particularly tight knot. They had a good grip on the boulder, and though some were sweating profusely and looked quite tired, it didn't look at risk of falling back down. The same could not be said for Pedang's, which looked at risk of leaning over any second. The main struggle was coming from Julio on the side, who was trying desperately to make use of both arms, but the pressure was causing his injured arm even more pain.
Bones managed to get through the last knot while Terri was three fourths of the way through and Otis was a third of the way done. He quickly unlocked his chest and sliced through the rope. The second half of the gate fell, and Lembing was able to push forward. Terri furiously ripped at the knots, trying like mad to catch up. She finally got through the last one, and unlocked the chest. While this was happening, Otis was about two thirds the way done, and Lembing was fully through the second gate, meaning Jean and Bones were able to rush to the final gate. The third gate's puzzle was a number solving puzzle with a combination lock to the chest.
As Jean quickly read over the problem and did the math in her head, Bones looked at it and laughed to himself. "I'd say I wish I was a mathematician, but I'd never wish that on myself."
Pedang waited at the second gate impatiently while Otis struggled with the last few knots. As they waited, Julio took his arm away from the boulder to try and rest it, but as he did so, the boulder leaned his way and he couldn't hold it back in time to catch it. The boulder rolled away from the group and ended up going back downhill. The six raced down to the bottom of the hill, and struggled to make it back to the second gate, where Otis had finally gotten done with the rope and had the chest unlocked.
"Big setback for Pedang, Otis and Terri will have to wait until they get back up." Matthew narrated.
As the Pedang boulder slowly made its way up, Jean had managed to crack the number code and unlock her chest. She slashed through the rope with ease. Bones, meanwhile, was having a slightly more difficult time. Pedang got through the first gate as Bones finally gave it a go on the combination lock, and to his surprise, he managed to get it. He grabbed the knife from the chest and hacked at it until it cut through.
"The final gate is open for Lembing. They just have to not lose control of the boulder, and they are on their way to victory."
As the Pedang tribe made it through the second gate, Lembing made their way through the third gate and past the finish line.
"LEMBING WINS IMMUNITY!" Matthew yelled. Pedang let their boulder roll back down the hill as the Lembing tribe celebrated at the top.
As the two tribes congregated back at the bottom, Matthew returned the statue to the brown tribe.
"Lembing, good job reclaiming immunity. The night is yours to do with as you please. Have fun." The Lembing tribe jollily made their way back to camp.
"Pedang, once again I'll see you tonight at tribal council. Head on out." The Pedang tribe dejectedly made their way back to camp.
-Lembing Day 6-
Lucas had a single mission when he got back to camp. While the rest of the tribe celebrated the immunity win by taking it easy, he quickly made his way over to the shelter, where he found Jean and Victoria casually chatting.
"Jean, mind if we talk? Privately?" He asked.
"I suppose." Jean said wearily, slowly getting up out of the shelter while Victoria gave a curious look at him. The two walked a ways out towards the beach. As soon as Lucas was by himself, he decided to unload a secret he had been keeping.
Lucas (Lawyer, Lembing tribe): I had been keeping the idol thing a secret because I didn't want anyone else to know it was there. I figure the less people who know about it, the better. But... I think it's gone. Now I have to plan around someone else having it, and I think that'd go smoother if more people knew about it. So I'm going to try to tell some certain people individually in order to try to cement a sort of trust. First person I'm telling is Jean, because she is by and far the best competitor on this tribe. I'd love to have her as an ally.
"So on Exile island, there's a hidden immunity idol." Lucas said, going right to the point. "It has the power to cancel votes before they're read at tribal council. It's basically a get out of jail free card."
"Oh wow." Jean said, visibly shocked. "Did you find it?"
"No." Lucas replied. "I didn't get very far, there were a bunch of riddles to solve to try and find it, and I could barely get through the first one." He didn't want to tell her that he had forgone looking for it to get some food and shelter, figuring that would look poor on his character.
"So it's still out there, then?" Jean asked.
"Maybe... maybe not. I think Sofia might have found it."
"She... did say she found a souven- oh she has it." Jean said, sounding almost as sure as Lucas was. Lucas smiled and nodded.
"That's what I thought. So, I think, come merge, our first priority has to be getting rid of that idol."
"Definitely." Jean said.
"Alright. Until then, I just wanted to say that you're the only person I've told about it, and I want you to trust me to have your back til merge." Lucas said, anxious to make a deal. Jean was a bit taken aback by the sudden direction change of the conversation, but did well to hide her surprise.
"Sure thing." She affirmed, extending her hand. Lucas shook it, and after a little more talking the two went their separate ways. Jean found the situation funny.
Jean (Nurse, Lembing tribe): In the last two days, I've been offered two different alliances. One that would include me, Victoria, Donny, and Delilah, and then another that's between me and Lucas. Between the two, I certainly like the former more, and that has everything to do with quality and quantity of people. However, I'm not going to dissuade Lucas from giving me more information any time soon.
As Jean got back to the shelter, she saw Victoria waiting for her.
"What was that all about?" Victoria asked.
"Wait til you get a load of this." Jean said with a smirk.
-Pedang Evening 6-
Sofia made her way out to the trees. She went out to find some papayas for a pre-vote meal.
Sofia (Park ranger, Pedang tribe): I'm getting really sick of losing. That's three challenges in a row we've lost. I'm not overly competitive, but this has started to take a toll on me. If all goes well, we can have a unanimous tribe decision and boot Otis.
As Sofia found a tree carrying quite a few papayas on it, she heard someone from behind her.
"We need to talk." Katrina told her friend. Katrina had been wanting to talk to Sofia ever since her chat with Terri that morning.
"What do you want to talk about, Kat?" Sofia said, reaching up to pick some of the low hanging fruit.
"Who do you think we should get rid of tonight?" Katrina asked.
"Otis, definitely. He's really dragging us down in challenges." Sofia said.
"See, that's what I thought, but Terri said the vote is going to Julio."
Sofia looked at Katrina, a bit shocked. "When did that change?"
Katrina sneered. "When Terri decided it this morning before the challenge."
Before Sofia could ask more, they heard another person walk towards them.
"Hey girls, how's it going?" Ahmed asked casually as he got to the pair.
"Not bad, we're just discussing who to vote. Any suggestions?" Sofia inquired.
"I hate to say it, but Otis hasn't been doing too well in challenges, and if we want to avoid going to tribal council again, I think we boot him now." Ahmed said, trying not to say anything too disrespectful of Otis. He got along well with everyone in the tribe, and he was one of the few people Otis talked to the most.
"Have you talked to Terri?" Katrina asked. Ahmed gave a confused look.
"No, why?" He asked.
"Apparently Terri is gunning for Julio." Sofia said.
Ahmed's expression changed from one of confusion to annoyance. "She's still on that?"
"Yeah, and she's getting kind of pushy about it. She came up to me today and strong armed me into helping her." Katrina said, clearly pissed about the conversation from earlier. "Honestly, she's gotten to be kind of a bitch, recently."
Ahmed, dropping his annoyed demeanor, tried to defend Terri. "She's just gotten paranoid about Julio wanting to get rid of her after what he said at the last tribal."
This did little to quell Katrina's attitude. "How the heck is she even getting that Julio would vote for her? He voted for Otis last time, he's bound to do it again."
Ahmed shrugged his shoulders. Sofia, meanwhile, handed each of them a papaya. "I'll go talk to her, see if I can get her to change her mind. I really do think Otis is the weaker between the two of them."
"I'll join, if that's alright." Ahmed said.
Katrina shook her head as the two went off.
Katrina (Artist, Pedang tribe): At this point, I'm getting pissed. Why should I have to listen to Terri? Yeah she voted with me last time, but we've barely talked. I'm not going to let anyone try to play my game for me, whether it be a scrawny little cartoonist or an overly aggressive manager.
As Katrina ate her papaya, she saw Harper walk up to her.
"Heya Kat, I don't mean to bug ya, but I was wonderin' if'n you could tell me who you're votin' for?" Harper asked, trying not to sound too forward.
"Right now... I think I've got a person in mind." Katrina said through a mouthful of fruit.
As the two talked, Terri was chatting with Marcus.
"I'd really like for you and Harper to vote with Otis, Katrina, and myself and boot Julio out." Terri said, trying to e a little bit more gentle with the construction worker. Though he and Harper hadn't taken the last vote too personally, she didn't want to push her luck by flat out telling them who to vote for.
"You're sure they're both voting with you?" Marcus asked.
"Yes, we went over the plan earlier today." Terri said.
"Well, I'd have to talk to Harper about it." Marcus said, still trying to keep up the charade that he was strategically dependent on the ranch hand.
"Sure, yeah. By the way, have you talked with Julio any recently?" Terri asked.
"Not really. The only thing we talked about today was his hand was aching pretty bad after the challenge. If you're wondering who he's voting for, best bet is he'll go Otis again."
Terri nodded. She was about to bring up something else, but then she noticed Ahmed and Sofia walking her way.
"Hey Terri," Sofia said, "I think we should discuss tonight's vote."
"I couldn't agree more." Terri said, not noticing as Marcus snuck out of the conversation.
"I've heard you're wanting to vote for Julio?" Sofia asked.
"Yes. I think he's the weakest member of the tribe." Terri said bluntly.
"Any other reason?" Sofia asked. Ahmed went to say something to Terri, but Terri responded first.
"No other reason, I just want to keep the tribe strong." Terri replied, still wanting to keep her true motive out of it.
"Ok. Is there any way I could talk you out of voting for Julio?"
Terri nodded assertively. "I'm not going to budge on this."
Sofia sighed. "Alright."
Before Sofia left, she mentioned what Ahmed had told her. "This isn't about Julio's comments at the last tribal?"
Terri was a bit surprised by the remark, but figured there was no reason to lie now. "I'm also concerned about that, yeah. I don't know about you, but I'm not a fan of someone who has me so publicly low on their totem pole."
"I understand." Sofia said, and left.
Ahmed (Bank teller, Pedang tribe): I really wanted to tell Terri that she should just tell the truth, and that sticking with this Julio vote wouldn't do her any favors. At the same time, though, I don't feel like getting into another pointless argument right before tribal. I'll just vote for Otis, and whether he or Julio go, oh well. I'm not really closer with anyone over anyone else at this point.
As the trio split off, it was almost time to pack up and head for tribal council. Right before everyone departed, Marcus and Harper met.
"So, what news have you got?" Harper asked.
"Apparently Katrina, Otis, and Terri are voting for Julio, and Terri wants us to do the same." Marcus answered. "How about from you?"
Harper scrunched her eyebrows. "Wait, you said Katrina?"
Marcus nodded. "You hear something different?"
Harper told Marcus what Katrina had told her, and Marcus rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Well, that certainly paints a different picture. So we have three options on the table now."
"Yup," Harper agreed, "and the cherry on top is, I think that whoever we vote out is gonna be the one goin'."
Marcus thought of the various ways the vote could go. "It would seem so. Certainly is nice having someone have your back, isn't it?"
Harper put her arm around Marcus's shoulder. "You bet. So, Otis, Julio, or Terri? Who to choose?"
Harper (Rancher, Pedang tribe): I think this vote really is in me n' Marcus's hands. We've got a vote split between three people, and from the sounds of it, we got two people voting one way, and at least two other people voting two separate ways. Then there's us two in the middle. Sweet deal, if you ask me.
Marcus (Construction worker, Pedang tribe): I know Terri is voting for Julio, and I'm pretty sure Julio and Otis are voting for each other. Harper says Katrina is voting for Terri, and it didn't sound like Sofia was too keen on voting for Julio just now. I don't know if I'm as confident as Harper in thinking we control the vote, but I definitely think that we're going to be a major contribution as to who stays and who goes. There are certainly perks to just being the nice guy everyone talks to.
-Tribal Council Night 6-
The eight members of Pedang made their way to Tribal Council, illuminated on the dark shore of the beach by the near full moon and the light of their torches. As they made their way up the steps and into the council area, they saw only eight small tree stumps waiting there for them, instead of the nine from last time.
Matthew sat in his usual spot, on the opposite side of the fire from them. The eight castaways put their torches in their places and sat down.
"Nice to see you again, Pedang, though you probably won't say the same to me." Matthew joked, and a few gave small chuckles. He got straight to business. "Julio, how's the arm doing?"
Julio smiled slightly. "It is what it is. It's been acting up a bit lately, what with the machete going through it yesterday and all, and now it's been aching a bit, but besides that it's fine."
A few tribe members laughed at how nonchalant Julio acted. Matthew looked over to Sofia. "Do you buy that?" To his surprise, Sofia nodded.
"Julio isn't the kind of guy to let stuff like this get to him." Sofia said.
"Stuff like getting a machete through the hand?" Matthew asked, incredulous.
"Matt," Ahmed interrupted, "you could hit him in the head with a coconut and he'd walk it off as if you just smacked him lightly." He pulled Julio in to a small side-hug.
"Marcus," Matt turned his attention to the construction worker, "last council there was a bit of talk about tribe strength. Do you think it'll play a factor tonight?"
"I think quite a few votes might be based on that credential, but I wouldn't say that's the only reason to vote tonight." Marcus said.
"Harper, what other reasons could there be?"
"I think tryin' to get everyone in the tribe on the same page. There might be someone causin' some problems, and they might need to go before it gets any worse." Harper said.
"Matthew, I disagree." Ahmed interrupted yet again. "I believe we need to focus on tribe strength now more than ever. If we don't focus on it now, we'll end up returning here again and again."
Matthew decided to switch it up and address the tribe as a whole. "Does anyone here think they might be in trouble tonight?"
Both Julio and Otis raised their hands.
"Julio, what's your defense for why you should stay?"
"I don't think I'm the weakest person on the tribe. If you were to ask me, I'd say it's Otis. I'm with Ahmed, let's vote based on who we consider the weakest link."
Before Matthew could comment, Otis piped up.
"I agree with the sentiment, but I believe I'm stronger than Julio right now. I'm not getting any younger, but I think an injury of that scale is going to be more of a setback than my age."
Matthew looked to Julio. "What have you got to say to that?"
"I can respect it," said Julio.
Matthew decided to ask one last question. "Sofia, what are your thoughts?"
"I think that, whatever happens tonight, we all better be ready to deal with it tomorrow, because this vote is going to have an impact on us for the rest of the game." Sofia said.
"With that, it's time to vote. Harper, you're first."
Harper went up to vote, and scribbled Terri's name, putting an XOXO at the end.
Terry XOXO
"Three days ago you n' me were on the same page. Then you screwed up. Remember that as you're walkin' out o' here."
Julio voted.
Marcus voted.
Terri went up and wrote in all capital letters.
JULIO
"As soon as I found out I was on your hit list, you went to the top of mine. Sorry about your hand, not sorry about this vote."
Otis voted.
Ahmed cast his vote.
Otis
"It's nothing personal, this just needs to happen for the good of the tribe. I apologize."
Katrina gingerly picked up the pen and put the same hearts by Terri's name that she had used for Tim.
Terri 3
"I really oughta start calling tribal council the Tylenol station, because so far this is where I go to get rid of headaches."
Sofia cast the final vote.
?
"Oh the things that go on while I'm away. Nothing personal, this is for the good of the tribe."
As soon as Sofia got back, Matthew went to collect the urn. He brought it back.
"Once the votes are read, the decision is final, person voted out will have to leave the tribal council area immediately. I'll read the votes."
He pulled out Ahmed's parchment first.
"First vote, Otis."
Otis didn't really react, he expected a vote or two.
"Second vote, Otis."
He merely nodded. Nobody in the tribe looked too surprised.
"Third vote, Julio."
Julio shrugged apathetically.
"Fourth vote... Terri."
Otis, Julio, Ahmed, and especially Terri were caught off guard by the vote. Each reacted differently, but they were all surprised.
"Fifth vote, Terri. That's two votes Terri, two votes Otis, one vote Julio."
Terri's mouth was agape as she looked around, trying to spot out who the rogue votes for her were. Her eyes stopped on Harper, who was looking directly at her. Harper smiled sweetly as she flashed Terri the peace sign. Terri glowered at her and Marcus, who was ignoring everyone and looking into the fire.
"Next vote, Julio."
Julio cocked an eyebrow. He was getting very surprised by the direction this tribal council was going.
"The way things are now, we have two votes for Julio, two votes for Otis, two votes for Terri, two votes left."
All three anxiously awaited the next vote.
"... Terri."
Terri's face scrunched up in anger, not even bothering to look around as she recognized the heart on it.
"That's three votes Terri, two votes Otis, two votes Julio, one vote left. If this vote is for either Otis or Julio, we'll go to a revote." Matthew said, grabbing the last parchment.
Nearly everyone was on the edge of their seat, nobody really knowing where the vote was going to go. Nobody, except for Sofia.
"Eighth vote and second person voted out from Survivor: Maldives, Terri. Grab your torch."
"Oh my God." Terri muttered in disbelief as she went back to grab her torch. A few people tried to give her a fare well hug or handshake, but she ignored all of them. She walked up to the host indignantly.
"Terri, the tribe has spoken."
Matthew extinguished Terri's torch, and she walked out without a word. The tribe watched her leave with a mix of confusion and, in some cases, relief.
"You're down to seven people now, and if you want to avoid losing more, you better hope this was the right decision. Pack your stuff, head back to camp."
The tribe departed.
Next time on Survivor...
"It's not looking too good."
At Pedang, Julio's wound is only getting worse, for both him and the tribe.
Ahmed: He hasn't been able to do anything today, it's concerning.
At Lembing, a secret slips and Lucas finds himself in hot water.
Lucas: If anyone even suspects me of having an idol, I might as well pack my bags.
Votes:
For Terri- Sofia, Katrina, Marcus, Harper
For Otis- Ahmed, Julio
For Julio- Terri, Otis