Heyyyy this one turned out long.


Abrexa James, Jr (D2)

I was in the doghouse this time. We lost again, and I screwed up my bout. Of all the things that did me in, it was going to be locusts. Not even getting eaten by locusts. Eating locusts.

"At least we got some food," Cain said.

"Don't remind me," Bailey said after she finished gargling with another coconut.

"That was pretty cool the way you ate that spider," Hannah said. "Mad respect, girl."

"I did what I could," Bailey said. "I just wish it had been enough."

"It wasn't that great a prize anyway," Sherman said. It wasn't nearly as bad as missing out on all that food.

I should have offered to gather food or something so I seemed productive and necessary, but I didn't want to leave camp. Everyone else was still gathered around, and I didn't want to give them any opportunity to talk about me behind my back. Soon enough we'd all split into our alliances anyway, so it was useless, but I got a superstitious comfort from it.

"If we vote out two people who are equally strong, they can fight it out and we can say we really weren't the ones who decided," Sparkil said.

"I think I'll still feel bad," Hannah said.

"Of course you're gonna feel bad. We all do," Sparkil said. "I don't feel exactly gleeful about beating Aliara, either."

"You didn't ask to get voted out," Cain said.

"And I'll do my best to make sure it never happens again," Sparkil said.

I felt like I was stuck in neutral. I was getting along better than I expected, but it wasn't because of the skills I valued in myself. I could be the best fighter in the world and still lose if the challenge was tying sticks together and grabbing a key. Nothing I was trained for was helpful here. I was a Career, but I was alive because of luck.

Then again, there was one thing I had that was actually valuable. I wasn't trained in it, but it was the one thing I actually liked in life. This wasn't a game of strength anymore. It was a game of psychology. That was the reason I'd stuck around so long. I was good at psychology. I enjoyed psychology. Wouldn't it just be deliciously ironic if that was what brought me home? The one thing everyone dissuaded me from and looked down on was my only chance home.


Cain Pander, D5

Rahina had been strangely quiet at tribal council lately. She must have been nervous.

"So, twice in a row. Seems your luck has turned. Any thoughts?" Titian asked.

"Must have been that leprechaun I mugged," Bailey said sarcastically. She and Titian exchanged dirty looks.

"We'll do better next time," Hannah said.

"Thank you, Pollyanna," Gael said.

"It's better than giving up," Hannah said.

"It doesn't matter how we think things will turn out. It only matters how we make things turn out," Gael said.

"Do you think anyone in particular is to blame for your recent losing streak?" Titian goaded.

"No, we all get along perfectly. We're such good friends. We don't have anything negative to say about anyone," Rahina said. Titian looked about ready to pull out his hair.

"All right, let's just have a vote," he pouted. He looked maliciously gleeful as he anticipated at least one of his unhelpful charges dying a horrible death.

I always hated writing down my vote. Every time I put my slip in the urn, I hoped I wasn't voting for the loser.

"If anyone wants to play an immunity idol, now is the time," Titian said when the votes were gathered. We'd all been looking in our spare time. I, for one, hadn't found anything. We were all shocked when Sparkil pulled a medallion from her pocket.

"I'd like to use this," she said as everyone stared. Titian brightened at the drama.

"Any votes for Sparkil do not count. Let's begin," he said. "Our first vote is for Gael." Gael didn't look particularly bothered. "Gael." Gael looked around the fire at the rest of us. "Sparkil." Sparkil sighed in relief. "Rahina." Rahina looked up with a who, me? expression. "Cain." "Sparkil." "Our first dueler is Gael." "Sparkil. Good move, Sparkil." "Rahina*." "Hannah*." "Our competitors today are Rahina and Gael. Last vote is for Bailey*."


Gael Orford, D10

Seems I didn't move fast enough. Without allies, I slipped through the cracks and got the brunt of the alliances' combined might. I didn't need to panic, though. I could get out of this. Rahina was impulsive and brash. If I kept my head, I'd be fine.

"Today we'll be holding the duel on the beach. Everyone, please join me," Titian said. We carried our torches through the dark jungle and stopped on the sand. Two illuminated platforms stood twenty feet out into the water, connected to the beach by raised pathways. Titian handed me a small whiteboard and a marker.

"Today's challenge will test your memory and your knowledge of local folklore," he said. "When the challenge begins, you will take your place on a platform. I will tell an ancient story from this part of the world. Listen carefully, because when I am finished, I will ask a series of questions about what I've just said. You will both write your answers on the whiteboard for display. The first Tribute to answer three questions incorrectly will be eliminated." Rahina and I picked our platforms, and Titian began.

"Long ago, a rat was traveling by palm canoe. A storm rose, and his canoe began to break. The rat looked for something to cling to and saw a blue octopus in the water. He asked the octopus if he would take him to land. The rat promised payment for his rescue in the form of a lure."

"The octopus allowed the rat to ride on his head and took him to shore. Near land, the rat jumped off the octopus and ran away, tricking the octopus out of his pay. Out of revenge, the maka feke lure is shaped like a rat. It is made of a shell, a rope, and palm leaves for the body, tail, and legs of the rat. It is also said that the lure is shaped like evil, and children sing a song about it. The song goes: Oh octopus, where are your tentacles? Hear the rat chitchatting about you. Wipe your head full of filthy ink. No way on earth you can grab hold of me."

I got this, I thought. I'd been repeating each line as Titian said the next.

"The first question is: what kind of wood was the rat's boat made of?"

No problem. Rahina and I flipped our boards. We'd both written palm. It seemed she was no slouch either.


Rahina Herrington, D11

Oh, dear, a memory contest. It wasn't as though I lived in poverty much of my life and couldn't afford paper to write things down.

"Very good. Second question: how did the octopus carry the rat?" I wrote my answer down without hesitation.

On his head, we both revealed. It didn't matter how many Gael answered. I could go on forever.

"Correct again. Third question: what is the name of the lure?" Again, I wrote my answer immediately. I looked over and saw Gael erasing something.

Maka feke, I revealed on Titian's signal. Gael read my answer and muttered something inaudible.

"Rahina has written 'maka feke'. Gael has written 'make fele'. The correct answer is 'maka feke'. Gael has one incorrect answer. Rahina has none. Fourth question: what three parts are there to a maka feke lure?"

Shell, rope and palm leaves, I wrote quickly. Gael took longer, but came up with the same answer.

"Very good. Fifth question: what do the three parts represent?" I took a minute to straighten my thoughts.

Shell: rat body. Rope: rat tail. Leaves: rat legs, I revealed. I looked at Gael's answer and smirked.

"Rahina has answered the body, tail and legs. Gael has answered the body, tail, and head. The correct answer is body, tail and legs. That's two incorrect answers for Gael, none for Rahina," Titian said. Gael's arm twitched as we waited for the next question.


Gael Orford, D10

How can she be so fast? Rahina barely hesitated on any of the questions. It was like she had a photographic memory and this was all child's play for her. I couldn't beat something like that.

Just keep going. One question at a time. Outlast her, I thought. Maybe she only memorized a few things and it was just a string of unlucky questions. Maybe she didn't know any others.

"Sixth question: what color was the octopus?" Titian asked. I almost giggled in relief. I knew that one.

Blue, I wrote. Rahina revealed her board to show the same answer. I mentally cursed her as she smiled serenely at me.

"Very good. Seventh question: what does the song say is inside the octopus' head?" Titian asked. My mind went blank for a second, but I pulled myself together and found the information.

Ink, I wrote. It was a silly question, and I was glad it wasn't the one that killed me. Of course, Rahina wrote the same thing.

"Very good. Gael is at two incorrect answers. Rahina has none," Titian said. You don't have to keep saying it, I thought. "Eighth question: what is the second line of the song?"

My heart stopped. I didn't know. I had some idea, but I didn't know. All I could do was bet my life on a guess. If Rahina knew, I was dead. Even if neither of us knew, I was dead. My arm shook as I wrote down a sentence. I went over it and changed a word I thought was wrong. I thought something was missing, but I had no way to know what it was now. I was almost certainly writing my own death warrant. I was shaking as I turned the board around.

"Gael has written 'the rat is chitchatting about you'. Rahina has written 'hear the rat chitchatting about you'. One of you has the correct answer," Titian said. I looked at Rahina and she flashed me a two-fingered victory sign. "The correct answer is..." Titian paused, and I saw the Tributes on the beach turning away in anticipation. "'hear the rat chitchatting about you'."

I expected the platform to fall out from under me and something heavy to clamp around my feet, dragging me under to drown. Instead, the water roiled behind me and I turned as a giant blue tentacle shot from the water and grabbed me around the waist. It coiled all around my body and contracted as it dragged me underwater, snapping my bones in a dozen places, including my neck. I'd wanted so much more, and all I got was beaten by Rahina.


Surprise, Sparkil had the idol. Now that she used it (correctly, too- she would have been in a lot of danger since this would be her second duel), I shall re-hide it and provide the first clue next chapter when I figure out where. I would have written about her looking and finding it, but that would have revealed who had it.

19th place: Gael Orford, D10- Smooshed up by an octopus

Gael had three votes and the others only had one, so I had to pick him, especially since the others were tied and I had to give Rahina a bogus vote to make a pair. Survivor often does myth challenges, and Rahina had ten memory points while Gael had three, so I picked her. Gael was never the sweetest Tribute. He knew he wanted more and he wasn't afraid of exploiting a system so rigged against him. He was shrewd and cunning, and it was mostly the fractured votes that did him in. Thanks ItsaCatsWorld for sticking around this long. Gael wasn't like the tributes you normally send, and I was grateful for something close to a villain for the tribe.

PS that really was a Tongan legend. It was hard to find one that wasn't about Maui. He's cool and all, but then it would just look like a Moana reference.