Chapter 15: Day 11 — Pirates and Marauders

The crews rolled up on the red beach, and everyone was unmoved by the noise. After unpacking, the crews surrounded the shelter. Sam was asleep deep inside. Becky was asleep near the entrance. Michael was passed out in the sand next to the fire pit.

The fire was almost out.

The crews stared at each other knowing the hell storm they were about to witness when they woke up.


Meanwhile, with Samundra…

The sun was well above the horizon when Samundra awakened for good.

"So, this is the last of the dried bananas," Casey said mournfully.

"Good riddance," Nick said with contempt.

"Did we really eat all of them?" Jamal said. "We had like 200 pounds."

"Between the eight of us and all the snacking, it wasn't going to last more than a week," Jessica said, mashing them into the plantains.

"Guess Vegeta was right on them not lasting very long," he said.

"How's the plantains though?" Bob asked.

"Doing well so far," Jessica said. "But if you want to find other food, the inside of the banana stem and the flowers are edible as well. But those will run out quickly between all of us."

Bob looked down at the fire. "We've gotten comfortable and been eating too much…" he sighed. "Skipping lunch would be the quickest solution. Two meals a day with no snacking."

"The outside of the stem can be used as a makeshift cooking pot as well," Jessica continued, "but most of the stems I saw were sold to a factory in another town. I don't know what they made though..."

Daisuke tilted his head back to look at the crews. "We're not allowed to talk about our special items, right?" he asked.

"No, you're not," the team lead producer said.

Daisuke sat back up. "So… What are we doing for the next few hours?" He smiled at Jessica, "Besides finishing the pottery."

"Let's just rest," Bob smiled. "So we all have the energy to go against each other for the first time."

"Pottery it is," Daisuke chuckled.

"All right!" Jerry raised his fist in the air. "Arts and crafts with organic playdough."

"Just don't eat it," Casey laughed.


Meanwhile, back on Berapi…

Sam was desperately trying to rekindle the fire, but it was useless. He looks up, "This isn't happening… It's completely cold."

"Don't give up!" Becky shouted. "Keep trying!"

Sam looked at her, then plunged his hand into the ash and coals well past his wrist. He kept his hand in there for a long time before he pulled it out. He tossed one of the lining rocks at Becky's feet proving he had put his hand in all the way to the bottom.

Becky's face twisted, ready to go into a rage when Michael grabbed her shoulder from behind.

"Remember what we talked about last night," he said loudly.

Becky turned and sneered at him. Then she stomped off.

Michael sighed. "If there's nothing to do. Then there's nothing to do." Michael shifted weight from one foot to another, "I'll go get coconuts this morning. You passed out yesterday and we don't need a fire for coconuts."

"What did you talk with Becky about yesterday?" Sam demanded.

"For her to stop being a psycho bitch and get off her lazy ass," Michael said. "You can go back to sleep if you want. We have all day to figure out the fire."

Sam nodded and crawled back into the shelter. He laid on his back and turned his face away.

Michael watched him for several minutes until he was satisfied Sam was asleep. Then he turned and walked away.

Sam waited a long time until he dared to turn his head and look. He crawled out and could not see either of them. "You guys want a quick confessional?" he said standing up.

"What do you want to say?" his cameraman asked after adjusting for the shot.

Sam sighed. "They are only going easy on me because they don't want me leaving. I think my passing out spooked them." He lifted his shirt and showed his ribs. "Sugar Petal came in here already anorexic, but I've lost what little baby fat I had an advantage on." He lowered his shirt, "If Vegeta hadn't found me. I don't know what would have happened." He looked back up at the camera, "It's the second time he fed me, and he made it clear it will be the last." He looked at the trees, "It's like he's a wolf stalking us in the woods. A witch luring people away into the forest for a black sabbath." He looked down and gripped his shirt, "I know man cannot live on bread alone. But this is getting ridiculous. Everyone here is morally bankrupt. Where do you turn when everyone is a devil trying to get you to jump off the roof?"

"What about each player do you find morally bankrupt?" his field producer asked.

Sam went to speak when he spotted Becky come out of the trees.

"Toilet," Sam said as he walked away.


Meanwhile, with Vegeta's camp…

Compared to the past few days of chaos, this day was rather calm. Even the chickens.

"I don't get it," Hassim said, confused. "They killed one chicken last night but now when I put in another three, they cuddle."

Sugar Petal looked up from braiding a rope basket from the blue net. "If they came from the same traps, they might be the same flock. The one killed may have been a boy too. Only boys crow, and we have a crower."

"Have you been on a farm before, Sugar?" he asked. "You know way too much to be a city girl."

"Yes," Sugar said, "The chickens would chase and peck me."

"I'm sorry. I won't ask you to help with the chickens again."

"No, it's ok. If I didn't get attacked the first time, I don't think they will."

"You don't have to play homemaker if you don't want to," Vegeta said, sitting lazily in the hammock. He has a piece of hide in his hand and the bottom of a clear glass bottle. He is heating it with his ki, not enough to completely melt, but soft enough to poke at it with a metal nail.

"No, it's ok," Sugar Petal said as she took the bamboo needle and sewed the new length of rope to the coil, "I haven't made anything since Grandma died. This is fun. How is your thing, Mr. Vegeta?"

"Good. This is turning into a nice prototype."

"I still can't believe you got permission to do that." Hassim said.

"I cannot use my abilities to give a material advantage to my team or myself during challenges and daily survival. So useless dribble is allowed."

"So… are we going to actually talk about winning this game?" Hassim said, sitting down. "The team swap is coming up."

"Swap?" "Team Swap?" the two looked at him surprised.

"I understand Sugar Petal, but did you never research this show?"

"Nope. Don't care. I always planned on getting voted out as soon as possible."

"Sometime between Day 15 and 20, there is always a team swap. There's a few different types, from team leaders hand picking them to everyone throwing their buffs in a bag and randomly one out without looking."

"I'm not leaving Mr. Vegeta!" Sugar Petal started to cry.

"I'm not going to let that happen. Just calm down." Vegeta sat up from the hammock. He pointed out of camp, "Hassim. Now." Vegeta walked in that direction.

Hassim and a crew followed.

Vegeta stopped walking a short distance from camp, but out of human earshot. He crossed his arms and turned around. "Now, tell me everything you know about these swaps."

"Most versions are completely random, like picking a buff from a bag. But recently they've started reintroducing other versions that were abandoned decades ago. Last year teams were dissolved and team leaders picked their players from scratch and the last pick was eliminated since there was no Maroon Bay that year. But two years ago, there was a mutiny when players chose to switch teams themselves."

"Like when you two came to my camp?"

"Kinda."

"So, Ichiro is on Maroon Bay now with that idol they mentioned at orientation, right?"

"Yes."

Vegeta tapped his finger on his upper arm and was silent. He looked at the crew. "This is my private camp, so no matter what team I end up on, I can lead them here, right?"

"We'll need to call it in," Jackie said. "I don't know what they are planning."

Vegeta is silent again tapping his finger. "… Everyone knows about Sugar Petal almost dying. If it is a team pick, she is the greatest liability. Otherwise, they are at a complete disadvantage. Everyone knows they are assholes, and Casey from the blue team has seen my camp and they know I have food. Any members that end up on the red team will choose this camp. I can't speak for the rest of us, but they will lose any leverage and get picked off one by one."

"Well, karma aside, what do we do?"

"That depends, while in teams we have the most control over who gets voted out without worrying about winning immunity. Do you want to vote out the assholes and rely on making friends with the blue team, or do you want to trust in red team loyalty and whittle down the blue team until merger?"

"Michael could suffocate in an avalanche for all I care. He threatened to blame me for everything that happened to Sugar Petal. Me being the first to find her probably saved my ass."

"Why would blaming you be believable beyond a reasonable doubt?" he asked, confused.

"My religion…" he said awkwardly, "has a bad stereotype when it comes to women."

"My religion practices human sacrifice and cannibalism," Vegeta threw his hands in the air, "Who fucking cares! As long as you don't pull shit yourself." He crossed his arms again. "But that's Michael's weakness," Vegeta smiled, "That's where we fuck with him. Get into his head." His smile turned into an evil smirk, "I got under his skin. I don't know what he thinks I am, but he obviously thinks they are beneath him. I wasn't expecting him to swing the machete, but giving me the excuse to break it without getting in trouble was a bonus." He chuckled. "Now they don't even have a way to get coconuts."

"I…" he stumbled for words. "… didn't think of that," Hassim said. "The four of them always had Sugar, Ichiro and I do all the work while they laid around. But with Ichiro on Maroon Bay for the rest of the week, they got to do everything themselves." He smiled, "That's going to be a total dumpster fire."

"I know," Vegeta gave a stereotypical evil laugh, "Too bad we have to wait so long to actually witness the results! It's so much more rewarding watching their souls break in person!" He continued to laugh.

"You're acting a little too much like a psychopath right now," Hassim said disapprovingly, "Maybe turn it down a notch."

"I don't have the charisma to be psychopathic. I'm just a vengeful prick." Vegeta began walking away, "And right now, impaling Michael and his minions is my top priority."

Hassim took a deep breath. Vegeta had struck him as a rude jerk from day one, but the stories Ichiro told before he was ordered to be quiet or get kicked off the show made him nervous. He had let that pass after his care for Sugar Petal, but should he really? He was alien royalty of a species that he just casualty confessed murdered and ate people. Animals are animals, but he killed a whole herd mercilessly in just a few minutes from the gossiping of the staff. And he was way too comfortable covered in blood.

"And just now he dialed the creepiness up to 11," he thought.

Hassim walked back into camp. He saw that Vegeta had actually sat down on the ground to talk with Sugar Petal at eye level. She seemed generally happy in that moment before Vegeta looked over his shoulder. She immediately made herself small and he stood up and went back to the hammock.

Hassim took another deep breath. "Don't have to trust the guy, just need to use him to get through these next three weeks and you'll never have to see him again."

Hassim smiled as he strolled back into camp. "How's that coming, Sugar Petal?"

"It's going good!" She said not looking up.

He looked over at the hammock, but he wasn't there. "Vegeta?"

"He said he thought of something and would be right back," Sugar Petal smiled.

Suddenly they hear a whacking noise.

The two went searching and they found him hitting a banana trunk against a thin tree. Vegeta stopped and then ran his hand over the end before winding up to smack it again.

"What are you doing?" Hassim asked.

Vegeta turned around. He put the stalk in front of him and ran his hand over the frayed top. "In the Philippines they sold clothes made from banana trunks." He turned back and started smacking it against the tree.

"Is that how they make it?" Sugar Petal asked.

"No fucking clue but probably not," Vegeta said. Suddenly the tree snapped in half and the banana trunk tore and disintegrated.

"I know they make silk by soaking the cocoons in water," Sugar Petal said softly, "Maybe we should try that?"

Vegeta looked at the stub in his hand and growled towards the heavens. "GAHHHHH! Fine… We'll try it your way."

"Mr. Vegeta! Are you alright?! Your ears are turning red!"

"I'm fine!" Vegeta stormed off.

Sugar Petal started to cry.

Hassim briefly tried to calm her before running after him.


Hassim and the two crews found Vegeta not far from camp, leaning his forehead against a very wide tree. As they got closer, they saw him gently tapping his head against the tree muttering something not in English.

Leticia poked Hassim's shoulder.

"What?"

Leticia pointed at him twice then at Vegeta twice.

"Oh…" He began walking over. "Vegeta?"

"Wait?!" Vegeta snapped his head around. The blush still across his cheeks.

Hassim took a deep breath, angry that he made Sugar Petal upset over embarrassment. "What is wrong with you?! You freak out about Sugar having a better idea than you and make her cry?! Do you even care that she's crying?! You scared her, you Neanderthal!"

Vegeta had a shocked look on his face, then he clenched his jaw and eyes. Then he reared back and raised his fist, "Bakalé."

Vegeta punched the tree. The tree exploded, sending wood chips everywhere. Vegeta jumped back, shocked. Then the remaining part of the trunk twisted and began to fall.

"No! No! No! No!" Vegeta jumped and tried to catch the trunk from underneath, but it pivoted on his hands and the top of the tree crashed through the canopy sounding like cannon going off next to your ears. Vegeta, defeated, tossed the trunk down. "Fuuuuuck!" he lamented looking at the sky.

Hassim back pedaled then ran back towards camp.


He found Sugar Petal at the stream putting the banana stems in the water and weighing them down with stones.

"Sugar Petal, we need to go," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her up. "We need to go now. Let's head to the blue beach."

"What's wrong?" she asked, worried.

"Vegeta. He just lost his temper and toppled a huge tree with a single punch."

"He's an alien. It was probably an accident."

"Sugar—"

"No!" she pulled her arm out of his hand. "Why are you surprised? What has changed between the first night and now?"

Hassim stammered for words.

"I will show you. It was an accident." Sugar Petal began walking towards camp.

"Sugar," Hassim grabbed her shoulder.

She easily slipped out of it.

Hassim tried stopping her several more times, but failed. Sugar was literally dancing out of his grasp. Finally, he gave up and walked with her.

They found Vegeta sitting on the fallen tree with his back to them.

"Mr. Vegeta?" Sugar Petal asked loudly.

Vegeta's head twitched like he was about to look over his shoulder, but he quickly returned to looking ahead.

"I'm walking up Mr. Vegeta," Sugar Petal said walking forward.

Sugar Petal lifted herself onto the tree and sat next to him. Hassim stood behind her.

"I didn't mean to break the tree…" he said slowly. "I did not know it would break so easily. It looked sturdy enough." He glanced back at Hassim, "I am not your enemy, not just in this game."

"You punched a tree and turned it into splinters! What's stopping you from losing your temper and doing that to someone's head?"

"I blacked out when I tackled Michael," Vegeta said looking forward, "If I didn't hurt him, I think you're safe." He took a deep breath, "I know my strength scares humans, but as I keep saying, your species is capable of the same thing. We are indistinguishable genetically."

"Do you even mean what you're saying?" he accused. "Do you even know how robotic you sound?"

"Because Saiyans do not apologize!" Vegeta shouted suddenly. "The closest thing to 'Sorry' in my language is our word for suicide! And in the imperial army I heard 'Sorry' said millions of times with people begging for their lives in front of—!" He did not finish the sentence. "The word 'Sorry' is worthless and dangerous. But for you it is said so easily. You have so little honor and pride it's practically every other word out of your mouths! I refuse to die. I refuse to BEG." He turned and glared at Hassim, "But you just won't let it drop, will you?! You're not going to be satisfied until I BEG! I said I did not mean to break the tree! I said I know I scared you! I'm not going to grovel anymore!"

Vegeta turned back around.

"Mr. Vegeta?" Sugar Petal leaned closer. "I know you're a scary man. But you're a special scary man. You are not trying to scare me. You want to scare all the scary people."

Vegeta snickered. "I want to scare the scary people," he chuckled. "That's one way to put it." Vegeta continued to laugh as his muscles began to relax.

Hassim sighed frustrated and walked back to camp.

He sat down on the chair and looked at the ground. He alternated between wringing his hands, rubbing his face, and shaking his head with his hands on the sides of his head.

"What are you thinking?" Jackie asked.

"What am I thinking? he chuckled in disbelief. "I'm thinking I'm surrounded by violent psychopaths and Sugar Petal has Stockholm Syndrome so bad she can't be reasoned with." He shook his head, "This isn't a game anymore. This is Lord of the Flies, Hunger Games, pick your metaphor." He looked around the camp. "I guess I just need to suck it up until the merger," he sighed. "At least I'm well enough to have a physical advantage."


Meanwhile, at the challenge…

The blue team pulled up in their boat. They saw a stage with poles, each holding a stick with a glass of water on the end.

"Looks like a balance contest," Jamal said. "Hope no one has carpal tunnel," he chuckled.

"Well, I'm out first thing then…" Nick moaned.

"Oh, Nick. I'm sorry," Jamal said. "I was joking. I'm sure you'll do fine."

"Yeah…" Nick scoffed. "Like a princess at prom."

"Nick, you sat out yesterday," Bob said. "You're not competing today."

"I can hope. Not like they haven't lied to our faces or changed their minds on us before."

The boat pulled up and the team climbed out.

Conner was waiting for them. He raised his arm. "Hello, Samundra! Welcome to today's challenge." He clapped his hands together. "So, before we begin, let's talk about yesterday's challenge." He put his hands on his hips. "So, how do you guys feel about Hassim and Vegeta throwing the game for you?"

"What?!" everyone said at varying volumes.

"Yes, Vegeta was deliberately off-balancing himself so Michael dropped him and Hassim never ran to the flags and kept flipping random pieces after he found the animal first."

"Well… when your enemies are fighting, don't get in their way," Bob said.

"I'm not complaining," Jamal said.

"Three allies on the red team are better than one," Casey said, "for however long they last."

"Anyone else?" Conner asked.

Everyone glanced at each other, but no one else spoke.

"Alright then," Conner nodded. "Nick you're sitting out today, please go sit one the chairs in the shade and enjoy the show."

Nick sighed, then walked off.

Connor motioned towards a short stage. "We have tested your body and mind, now we test your patience. On the stage are six logs with balance boards There is also a stick with a cup of water at the end. Once you grab the stick and find your balance, the blocks under the board will be pulled out and you will have to balance on the log while not dropping the cup! You are only allowed to hold the stick with one hand, but you are allowed to switch arms. Only thing you can't do is fall off the balance board and drop the water glass! Players, pick your logs!"

Everyone walked up onto the stage and stood on a board.

"Grab your sticks!"

Everyone grabbed one.

"At the sound of the horn," Conner said, raising his air horn.

"10! 9! 8! 7!"

Everyone braced.

"6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" Conner blew the horn.

The log chucks and the support poles were yanked away. Casey's water immediately fell off and Bob rolled off the log.

"And Casey and Bob are out first thing!"

"Fuck!" Casey shouted.

A staff member guided the two from the stage over to Nick. They sat down on the folding chairs.

Three minutes later…

"Looks like the five remaining contestants are going strong," Conner said.

"You're surprising me Jerry," Jamal said.

"What? Never used one of those single wheels before?" Jerry chuckled.

"And Jessica just successfully switched hands," Connor said.

"You holding on there, Jessica?" Daisuke asked.

"I'm fine."

Eight minutes later…

"It's been eight minutes now," Conner said. "And Jamal just successfully switched arms. Jessica is switching arms again. Seems she has this balance thing down. And Jerry has tipped the water trying to change hands again!"

"Ah man! I wanted my karaoke machine," Jerry whined.

"Jerry, join the others," Connor motioned towards the steps.

"You had a karaoke machine for your special item," Bob looked disapprovingly.

Jerry snapped his fingers, then pointed at Bob. "With solar generator," he smiled.

Ten minutes later…

"And there goes Daisuke! Losing his balance and onto the padding."

Daisuke stood up.

"Looks like he spilled the water on him," Connor said.

Everyone giggled as it looked like he pissed himself as he went to sit down with the others.

Thirteen minutes later…

"Looks like Jamal's legs are starting to shake. He's reaching his limit. Jessica isn't shaking, but she's constantly changing hands."

"You must really want your item," Jamal said.

"No telling each other what it is," Conner called out.

"I'm not!" Jamal said. He returned to Jessica, "but tell me, will your item make the team get along better or worse?"

Jessica suddenly stepped off the balance board and dumped her water.

"And Jessica has given up! Jamal wins!" Conner shouted.

Jamal's knees instantly gave out. "Oh thank God…" he panted on his knees and elbows.

Bob jumped up clapping. "Yeah!" He formed his fists as he shouted again. Nick jumped up as well and went on stage to congratulate Jamal. Everyone else followed.

With everyone cheering, Jerry noticed Jessica slip off the stage and walk into the staff area with a camera crew chasing after her. Jerry backed away and followed.

He found her crying.

"Jessica? Hey?" Jerry jogged up to her and knelt beside her. "Hey?"

Jessica glanced at him.

Jerry gritted his teeth seeing her red eyes.

"What did Jamal say to you to make you give up?"

"Will your item make the team get along better or worse?" she said softly.

"Let me guess, a yoga thing?"

"My beads…"

"Beads?" Jerry suddenly moved in front of her. "You mean like a rosary? A Hindu rosary?"

Jessica nodded.

"Fuck him!" Jerry stood, but Jessica grabbed his arm. He looked down and saw her shake her head.

"Don't," she said softly.


The two came back out in time to see Bob being taken away by boat.

Connor nodded at the two. "Seems everyone is back." He looked back at Jamal. "Your item will be waiting for you at your camp when you arrive. I will see you all again in a few days for the next challenge."

Their boat returned and everyone loaded in.

Jerry sat next to Daisuke. After they got underway, Jerry whispered something into Daisuke's ear.

Back at camp, the two spent the rest of the day with Jessica as the rest of the team threw around Jamal's football.


Meanwhile, out in the ocean…

The boat pulled up onto this season's Maroon Bay. It was a sandbar with the only shade being the tattled sail of half a wrecked boat. He saw Ichiro in the small patch of shade.

Bob hopped out and immediately sank in the sand up to his ankles. "Ah, crap…"

As he struggled to walk, he realized that the sand around the boat was the same quicksand while the part of the sandbar in the blazing sun was bone dry.

Bob's sanitized cursing made Ichiro sit up and look at him.

"Welcome to Hell," he said. He pointed at two barrels next to the boat. "Hope you're not hungry or thirsty. Water is full of pond scum and larvae and the food is full of maggots."

"And the sand is wet in the only shade…"

Ichiro hit the sand with his palm and water splashed up with an audible smack, "Yep…"

Bob pulled out a key on a chain from around his neck, "So you find the immunity hint box yet?"

"Yeah, it's in the boat." Ichiro stood and took the key from around his neck.

Bob came to the boat and the chest was just sitting in the open with two locks on it.

The men unlocked the box and found two scrolls.

"Your idol is in a box hidden in a snake pit. Don't get nicked by its fangs while digging through their scales. The combination is the full 8 digit date of Indonesia's independence on the old calendar." Bob said, reading his.

"Mine says the same," Ichiro said. "They're probably poisonous to knowing our luck…" He looked at Bob, "Do you know the date?"

"Nope…"

Ichiro sighed. "Looks like they made it completely useless this year."

Bob looked down at the puddle of water his shoes had pushed up. "Have you thought of digging a trench to help with the water?"

"This is just low tide," Ichiro said. He pointed at the sunny side of the sandbar, "At high tide there's only about the size of a bathtub above water for those few hours."

"What happens to the boat?" Bob asked, shocked.

"It floods. The barrels have chains on the bottoms so they don't float away."

"So the food and water are probably contaminated with sea water, great…" He put his hand on the wood, "Can any of this be taken apart to move?"

"Nope, tried it."

"So… this is the type of crap you guys have been dealing with this whole time on the red beach?" Bob asked.

"Do you even question how Vegeta was able to kill those animals so easily?"

"Military survival training. If I was in better shape, I'd be chasing down animals too."

*fuzz* Ichiro *fuzz* came out of nowhere, *fuzz* remember that loophole has been closed. Say anything to Bob over the next week and you're out. *fuzz*

Ichiro growled, surprising bob.

"Did that come from the boat?" he said looking around.

"There's a microphone and speaker in the mast," Ichiro said. "Maybe some camera's too but," he pointed out a boat anchored a good distance away. "They are filming us long lensed from the boats they have sprinkled around." He then pointed out the other boats circling the sandbar.

Then Bob noticed something.

"It says, 'Remember yer colors, ye pirates.' at the bottom of the box."

Ichiro picked it up. "Yeah, it does," he said before looking up at the tattled crossbones at the top of the mast. "What do you think it means?"

"Can we get the flag down?"

"Not unless we stand on each other," Ichiro said.


After many falls, Ichiro finally snatched the flag.

Bob collapsed in the sand. "Ok," he panted, "What we got?"

Ichiro laid out the flag. "Nothing strange on this side." He flipped it. "There's a compass on this side," he held it up, "Look."

"And an arrow across it." Bob said. Suddenly Bob's eyes widened. Then he grinned.

"Hey Ichiro, what do pirates do best?"

"Steal treasure?"

"Steal boats."


At sunset, more boats came and took the film crews away, leaving the four boats behind with their night cameras.

Ichiro immediately noticed something.

"Bob," he pointed, "Look at the silhouette. The cameras are pointing down into the boat, not at us."

"It's also the closest to us. That's our target. Grab the flag," Bob said, stepping into the water.


The two climbed in when there was almost no light left. Suddenly a motion triggered camping lantern lit up the boat.

"Canteens!" Ichiro grabbed it and unscrewed the cap.

"Don't lose that clear plastic square! That's a compass."

Ichiro picked it up off the bottom of the boat and handed it to Bob.

"Do you see a map anywhere?" Bob asked.

They searched the boat.

"Nope…" Bob said. "Must be the flag."

Ichiro spread it out on the wooden plank seat between them.

"Ok line this up… and the arrow is pointing that way," Bob pointed to his right.

"Let's get the motor board running." Ichiro turned around and pulled the cord, springing it to life.

The two raced into the darkness.


"Hey! I see light ahead!" Bob shouted.

"I see it!" Ichiro shouted over the motor.

The two come close to the island. A bright LED sign flashing "Welcome to Maroon Bay" in repeating colors.

"I see a dock." Ichiro said.

They pulled in and climbed out. There was a huge pavilion with an outdoor kitchen and clearly marked bathrooms and showers.

Bob went for the showers.

Ichiro for the kitchen.

"Showers are turned off! …nuts…"

"There are two loaves of bread and peanut butter and grape jelly in the minifridge!"

"Check the sink!"

Ichiro sat up and lifted the handle. "Sink works!"

"Toilets flush," Bob said coming out. He saw Ichiro pulling out drawers.

"Found red cups, looking for the knives and spoons," Ichiro said.

Bob sat in one of the hammocks hanging from the pillars. He put the pillow that was on it behind his head.

"Found them!" Ichiro turned around, "What sandwich do…"

Bob was fast asleep.

Ichiro made himself two sandwiches and sat down on a chair. He watched Bob as he slept.

"He's going to be asking about Sugar-chan," he thought, "But more importantly, how do I warn him about Vegeta?"


Earlier, on Berapi…

The sun was closing in on coloring the sky, and Sam was hyperventilating next to the climbing fire. He looked at his red and bleeding palms. Michael also leaned back after putting a few larger sticks onto the growing flames.

"Thank God," Michael said. He looked at Sam, "Good work with the sticks."

Sam just nodded in pain.

"Once you feel better, I want to take the fishing spear to the stream."

Sam lifted his head, "Won't that risk running into Vegeta?"

"The ocean has been a bust and we need something other than coconuts if our stomachs are going to survive."

"At least we have water to replace what's coming out…" Sam mumbled.

Michael looked at Becky, for once in the shade. "Looks like the baked potato finally got tired of being burnt."

Sam laughed.

Michael chuckled before he put his hand next to his mouth, "Becky! Fire's going! Time to eat!"


The three made their way through the coconuts.

"Becky, Sam and I are going to try our luck fishing in the stream. PLEASE, keep the fire going. So we can actually COOK anything we get."

"Yeah, yeah," she said dismissively.

"Don't 'yeah yeah' me. This is serious," Michael said angrily. "This is serious!"

"I… Will Keep… It Going," she said slowly and patronizingly.

Michael clenched his teeth.

"Let's not fight, please," Sam asked, scraping out his half of a coconut, "She agreed to it. Let's just hurry and go."


Sam leaned on the fishing spear, panting.

"Fish in the stream, my ass…" he said, hanging his head, "Jesus Christ what has it been, a mile?"

"I doubt that, where just fucked over tired," Michael said. "But the water keeps getting deeper, so there has to be bigger fish than the little finger babies."

"All else fails, we can try and use our shirts as nets."

"How would we even cook them?"

Sam shrugged, "Well people eat sardines, right?"

The two caught their breath and continued.

Suddenly there was a silver splash in the water.

"Look. Look. Look," Sam pointed.

"Yeah, I saw it. It went deep, come on," Michael said with a new burst of energy.

"You hear that?" Sam asked. "Almost sounds like a waterfall."

They walked further.

"Well, lookie lookie what we have here," Michael grinned putting his hand on his hips.

"Look at the fish! Oh, my God," Sam got in the water.

The fish scattered.

"Hey, why don't we build a dam ourselves and steal some of Vegeta's fish?" Sam asked as he stabbed into the water.

"I like how you think," Michael said.

Michael suddenly got in the water. "We don't have a lot of sunlight left, let me fish, you head back and get a dam started. I'll join you once I get a couple."

"Yeah… Yeah… All good… Yeah…" Sam panted as he climbed out. Sam paused looking up at the canopy before stumbling back down the ATV track.

The cameramen who remained repositioned to film Michael fish.

"So, what is your reasoning on sending Sam back?" Ichiro's original field producer asked. "He's exhausted."

"We got to be somewhere close to Vegeta's camp," Michael said. "I'm not giving them the chance to poach Sam from us." He jabbed the spear and one of the prongs went through the base of a medium sized fish's tail.

He grabbed it and tossed the flailing fish on the track.

"The sooner out of here the better."


The light was turning red when Michael found Sam sleeping on the track where it and the stream met up. There was a small wall there, but clearly nowhere near being done.

"You son of a," Michael panted. He kicked him. "Get up!"

"Ah!" Sam gripped his side. He looked up, "Michael?"

"Yeah, Michael." He pointed with the spear over the stream. "I expected to see this at least half done. Now we got to work into the night!"

Sam looked around, "Why is everything red?" he asked as his brain instantly computed the answer. "Shit! It's sunset already?" He sat up and rolled onto his knees to stand.

"Yeah, you've been napping for God knows how long. Come on, we got fish to figure out how to cook."

Sam looked as Michael stomped past. "Four fish? Awesome…" he said standing.

Michael glared over his shoulder. "Try and stay up long enough to stop Becky screwing us over because of the size."

The two walked into the trees, not noticing that the partially completed dam had already raised the water slightly.

A small trickle was now dripping over the bank and into the mosquito gully.