A golf cart pulls up next to me. Numbuh Two is already on board.

"Hop in," Chef growls. "And make it snappy."

I heave myself to my feet and stumble over to the golf cart. I fall into the backseat next to Numbuh Two, and Chef stomps on the accelerator. We take off, and I grab on to Numbuh Two with my right arm while I fumble for the seatbelt with my left. Once I find it, I strap myself in and sit up straight.

I looked over at Numbuh Two. He's blushing, although it may just be residual effects of overexertion. I look around. No Nazz, no Marlowe, no Rusty, no Chaz. This is the best chance to run my theory by him.

"I think it's Nazz," I say.

"What?" he mutters distractedly. He shakes his head to clear it. "Nazz? Who uh, voted against Wendy?"

"Yeah," I tell him. "I think Nazz has been playing us."

"Whoa, hold on," he says. "Nazz didn't tell me to vote off Wendy. I mean, I've talked to her and stuff, but she hasn't really ever done anything to try and convince me to vote off anybody. Except after the merge, when she told me that we should get rid of Elise as soon as possible."

"I know," I say. I shake my head. "Well, I don't know, and I didn't know about the Elise thing, but I mean, this whole game."

"What?" he asks.

"She's been setting everybody up," I say. "Like you know, how Snidely was doing an alliance?"

"Sure," Numbuh Two says.

I frown. I'm gonna have to tell him.

"I think I was in an alliance and didn't know it."

Numbuh Two's jaw drops. "You?" he asks, bewildered. "You were–but you–but we–"

"Look, I didn't realize it until just now," I say, trying to soften the blow. "But basically since Megan got voted off–maybe a bit before then, but definitely after that–me, and Marlowe, and Nazz, have basically been voting in lockstep. And I probably should have caught on to it earlier, but nobody ever actually said the word 'alliance,' and I just, I just didn't realize that I was pretty much in an alliance until I thought over everything today and I figured out that I was shocked that Wendy had gotten voted off because like I said, the girls have pretty much been voting together and Wendy getting voted out would require somebody to break that chain." I take a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I'm not doing a very good job of explaining, but Nazz and Marlowe and I have been getting together to coordinate our votes, and I didn't realize it was an alliance until I really thought about it today."

Numbuh Two rubs his cheek as he ponders my confession.

"Okay," he finally says. "Well, I mean, it was pretty obvious to everyone that you all were friends, and I wasn't really expecting Wendy to get voted off either. Even if the guys all got together and decided to vote her off."

Numbuh Two sneezes.

"Bless you," I say.

"Thanks," he says, sniffling. "But tell me about this whole, uh, Nazz controlling everyone?"

"It's not control," I tell him. He sneezes again. "Bless you."

"Geez, my allergies are acting up," he says.

"I'm sorry," I say. "But I mean, like you know when I discovered Snidely's alliance?"

"Yeah, after the pirate challenge."

"Pirates?" I figure out what he's referring to. "Actually, it was after the tunnels, I just didn't get an opportunity to tell you until then. But yeah. Megan found out with me and told Marlowe and Nazz and basically rallied the troops to try and vote off Snidely. The next day, she gets voted off."

"So?"

"So, there were four votes. That should've forced a tie, at worst. Instead, Megan gets sent home, and Nazz tells us that she thinks one of us must be a traitor. But Marlowe mentioned that Nazz told her Elise was the more dangerous person after that challenge, so there's a good chance the votes were split."

"That's not necessarily evidence of foul play," Numbuh Two says, frowning. "I mean, it's bad communication, but–"

"I know," I say, cutting him off. "I'm just providing all the evidence I have. But with Megan gone and us thinking there's a traitor, we spent more time together to try and find the mole until Snidely was gone. And by that time, we'd coalesced into a single voting unit."

"Alright," Numbuh Two says. "So you think that Nazz knew that would happen?"

"She's pretty socially adept," I tell him. "But when Snidely got voted off, he spent his trip to the cannon screaming that Nazz threw the challenge. And I did see Nazz let go of the rope, although I thought it was to reset herself, but now I don't know. But we're talking about Wendy?"

The cart pulls up next to Rusty. He climbs into the front seat.

"What about Wendy?" Rusty asks.

Numbuh Two and I exchange a look. "Should I tell him?" Numbuh Two asks.

"Probably," I say.

"So, Nazz has been manipulating votes," Numbuh Two says.

Rusty strokes his chin. "You mean, she's been replacing the real ballots with false ones?" he suggests.

"No," we say.

"She's been hypnotizing people before they vote?" he asks.

"No," we say.

"She's good at using her charms to manipulate people?" he asks.

"Yeah, that's the one," Numbuh Two says.

"Also she's good at reading people and how they'll react," I tell him. "And she's been riding that ability through the game."

"Hmm," Rusty says. He looks back at us. "Okay, which of you is her new worst enemy? Because this story doesn't add up unless one of you has suddenly become her worst nightmare. Or she's become yours."

Numbuh Two sighs. "Look, we'll explain later, but we can't really talk in front of Marlowe and Nazz, and it'll take more time than we have to explain now. Can you wait that long?"

Rusty taps his chin. After a few seconds, he speaks. "Meet me down by the dock in an hour. And bring your fishing rods."

"I don't have a fishing rod," I say.

"Me neither," Numbuh Two says.

Behind his sunglasses I get the sense that Rusty is rolling his eyes. "Meet me there anyway," he says. Under his breath, he mumbles something about kids and fishing.

The cart pulls to a stop in the center of camp. Nazz and Marlowe are standing there, waiting, and Chaz is sitting in a lawn chair with a tall glass of lemonade. I unbuckle my seatbelt and step out. Numbuh Two and Rusty do the same thing.

"So, Chaz ended up winning when Ingrid finally dropped out," Chris says. "Honestly, this episode was less dramatic than I expected. And, as you have probably all figured out by now, there's no elimination tonight." He pauses. "BUT, we do have a special reward for all you losers: you're going camping!"

Wait, what?

"That's right, you're spending tonight in the woods. Consider it a warm-up for tomorrow's challenge. And no, you can not go take a nap in your beds. Everyone has to stay awake until after dinner, at which point you're all going to head to somewhere marked on this map." He unfurls a map. "Sweet dreams. You're gonna need all the rest you can get for tomorrow."

Chris cackles evilly and walks away. Marlowe and Nazz come over to me.

"So, want to hang out?" Nazz asks.

"Sorry, I'm just too bushed," I lie. "I'm gonna make my way to the mess hall and drink a bunch of fluids."

"We'll come with," Marlowe offers.

"Sorry ladies, she's with me," Numbuh Two says. He grabs my hand and leads me away.

"What are you doing?" I hiss at him through gritted teeth.

"Look, they're not going to intervene if they think we're going out or something," he says quietly.

"But we're not!" I complain softly.

"Yeah, but they tease you about that, don't they?" he asks.

"No!" I tell him quietly. "Who does that?"

Numbuh Two looks guilty. "Uh, Rusty? He thinks we're, uh, dating?"

I cast him a slight glare. "Why?"

"Probably because we hang out sometimes," he says nervously.

I heave a heavy sigh. "Fine."

Soon, we're in the mess hall. I've downed a few tall glasses of water and am working on another.

"So, you were talking about some connection between Wendy and Megan or something?" Numbuh Two asks. "And uh, who was Megan again?"

I take another sip. "Blonde. Black dress. Detroit," I tell him.

"Was she eliminated early?" Numbuh Two asks.

"Yeah," I say. "She was out like, fourth."

"Okay," he says. "I don't think we met."

"Right, well, anyway, she was kind of trying to lead an alliance of girls against Snidely," I say.

"You had told me that part."

"Just recapping. So you know she split the votes, right?"

"Right."

"But Megan was the one leading us in that charge."

"You said so."

"Well, Megan takes on a leadership role, and suddenly she's out. Nazz then proceeds to basically be the leader except she never actually steps forward and says she is. Then Wendy comes into our cabin, makes friends with all of us, and kind of tries to take charge and tell us who to vote out."

"Really?"

"She was the one who really wanted to push Triana out. I did too, kind of, I mean, I didn't argue when Wendy wanted to get rid of Triana because I didn't like her but Nazz and Marlowe both wanted to get rid of Rusty but Wendy effectively pushed them into voting off Triana."

"So, you're saying..."

"Anybody who tried to take on the role of leader, who tried to make the alliance more than informal–"

"Wait," Numbuh Two says. I stop talking. "I still don't get how you didn't realize you were in an alliance."

"I thought we were just good friends!" I say. "I mean, sure, it seems obvious now, but I just didn't think about it until today!"

"Okay, okay," he says, holding his hands up in surrender. "So, Nazz has been pushing out anybody who looks like they might, uh, take her place?"

"Yeah," I tell him. "We look leaderless but I think we've been unconsciously doing what Nazz wants more than anything else."

"The power behind the throne," Numbuh Two muses. He looks into my eyes. "So what are you going to do now?"

"I know who the traitor is."

Nazz and Marlowe snap their heads around to face me. Both look a bit worried.

Huh. Maybe Marlowe also voted Wendy off.

A little voice in my head says that I don't have to do this. I could just lie and say we all voted Wendy off. Even if Marlowe didn't, Nazz did, and I could pretend I did too. But I know I can't do that. The truth should be revealed. And if that means I lose the friends I've made here, well, I've got friends at home.

"Really?" Marlowe asks. Her voice is high-pitched.

"It's Nazz," I say. Marlowe relaxes, but tenses up again as the implications sink in.

"Really?" Nazz asks. Her voice is like a liquid knife. "Me?"

"Yes," I say. I keep myself from showing how scared I am.

"Why do you think it's me?" she asks. And there's kindness behind the words. A sense that she wants me to know it's all a big misunderstanding, that I don't have to do this. But when I look her in the eyes, I can see that she's lying.

"Because you've been doing this stuff all along," I say. I try to keep my voice measured. "Like with Steve. You had him voted off even though he was our friend."

"Look, I messed up," Nazz says. "I didn't know it was merger time. And yes, we should have gotten rid of Elise. But what's your point?"

"My point is that according to Marlowe, you also said that Elise was our biggest threat earlier on and got the votes to split!" I exclaim.

"What?" Nazz sputters. "I told you that I thought Elise was our biggest threat! And you agreed!"

My eyes widen.

"And you said you'd tell Megan! Are you seriously telling me you voted for Snidely after you said you'd vote for Elise?" she says angrily.

My mind whirs. I have a photographic memory, and I know for a fact nothing like this ever happened.

"Wait, what?" Marlowe asks. "You mean Ingrid didn't vote Elise when we all agreed to do that?"

"Obviously," Nazz says, irritated.

"You never told me to vote off Elise," I say nervously.

"Yes, I totally did!" Nazz says. "And lemme guess, you never told Megan and tried to vote off Snidely instead. Good job splitting the vote, Ingrid!"

"Wow," Marlowe says. "Geez, Ingrid, that's–"

Marlowe's eyes widen.

"She didn't tell Megan on purpose!" Marlowe exclaims to Nazz. Nazz looks at her, feigning confusion. "Ingrid's been the traitor all along!"

Crackers.

"What?" Nazz says, pretending to be shocked. She looks at me. "Ingrid, I–I can't believe this. I thought we were friends."

"So did I," Marlowe says. "I guess–I guess I was wrong."

Nazz shuts her eyes. "I'm sorry, Ingrid. I need some time to, some time to sort through things."

"But it's not me!" I try to tell Marlowe. "I'm not making anything up! Nazz did it!"

Marlowe holds her hand up. "Stop," she tells me. "Just turn around now."

"But–"

"No. Just go. Leave."

"Please," Nazz adds softly. And she genuinely sounds betrayed.

I turn around and walk towards the docks, away from the porch of our cabin where we'd all gathered. I know that Nazz was lying about having told me about Elise, and all the evidence suggests that Nazz is actually the traitor. But still, I feel like I messed up by telling the truth. I feel like I've lost a couple of friends.

This bites.

I meet Rusty at the docks. Numbuh Two still hasn't arrived.

"Hello, Ingrid," he says, not taking his eyes off the water.

"Hey," I say, sitting down next to him. "Are the fish biting?"

Rusty shakes his head. "They're biting, but they're also pretty brutal. I had my line snap four times in twenty minutes, so I've quit baiting my hook since we're just using it as a cover to talk."

"Don't bother using a cover," I say. "I confronted Nazz."

"Didn't go well?" he asks.

"It didn't go well," I confirm.

"So what's your story, anyway?"

"Well..."

I pause. How am I going to get this to sound coherent?

I start from the beginning. How I got sorted onto the same team as Marlowe, Nazz, and Megan. How Nazz brought Megan over to Marlowe and I. How we became a group of friends. How I figured out that Numbuh Two was into solving mysteries. Why I followed Snidely into the woods and uncovered his alliance. How Megan told everybody about it and got booted out the very next day. How I now know Nazz got Marlowe to vote for Elise, splitting the votes so Megan could be voted off. How this bound us together to get rid of Snidely. How Wendy became part of our group. How Wendy got us to vote off Triana despite our reservations. How Nazz got rid of Wendy when she saw Wendy as a threat. How I figured it all out today. And why I'm now persona non grata with my roommates, because I confronted them with what I know.

When I finish, Rusty keeps staring out at the water.

"Huh," he says. "It all adds up. And it makes sense that this is what's going on. I mean, I'm not sure how it plays into the overarching plot of the overlords to pull our strings and make us dance for their amusement, but it makes sense that Nazz would do this."

He shook his head. "It's always the ones you don't suspect. And sometimes the ones you suspect the most. Anyway, sure, I'll help you. Except...what's in it for me?"

"You do realize that Nazz has been calling you her biggest threat, right?" I asked him.

"Sure, but now that's you," he said. "So I'm in the clear."

"Only as long as I'm around. And which would you rather do: be safe from a threat for a limited amount of time, or get rid of that threat?"

Rusty's lips turned up in a smile. "Good point. I'll help."

That night after dinner Chris gathers us up and hands us a map. Numbuh Two takes charge as navigator, and we head for the woods in silence. I walk with Rusty, and Marlowe and Nazz walk together. Nobody says anything for fear it might be used against us later on.

When we arrive at the campsite, we see five identical sleeping bags laid out on the ground. There is no tent and no campfire. I look over to Nazz, and she looks back at me.

Marlowe climbs into a sleeping bag and lies down. Nazz takes the bag next to her. I try to take the bag next to them, but they glare at me, so I move over. Rusty shuffles his way into the bag, and I end up between him and Numbuh Two.

All is quiet except for the sounds of sleeping bags rustling as we toss and turn. The sun goes down, and the island is bathed in darkness. One by one, we fall asleep. Eventually, I feel that I'm the last one still awake, and I stare at the stars in the moonless sky and think about tomorrow. Despite my body's weariness, my brain can't stop turning over everything I've figured out, trying to discern a way to make sure Nazz gets her comeuppance.

Perhaps tomorrow will provide the answer. And perhaps I can convince Marlowe to be my friend. And perhaps everything will work out okay.

But until then I need sleep.

I shut my eyes and roll over. Who knows? Tomorrow might be an automatic elimination for Nazz.