Sole Survivor
Day Twenty-Nine
We're all up early this morning, waiting for our challenge message to arrive. Nobody looks forward to the immunity challenges, because we know we have to go to Tribal Council afterward. But the reward challenges have become highlights of our time on the island.
After we finish our miniscule lunch of rice and coconut, the seven of us leave camp for the challenge site. Marcus is there waiting for us, standing in the middle of a semicircle of cushions and blocks. We're all invited to sit down on the cushions and pick up our blocks, which have the letters "A" through "D" and the words "true" and "false" written on the six sides.
"Today we're going to have a test." Marcus smiles at us and pulls a handful of index cards out of his pocket. "Basic knowledge of island life and survival techniques. The person who answers the most questions right out of ten will win the reward. Do you all want to know what you're playing for?"
It's the same question he asks every time, and we all nod on cue. He stows his index cards away and reaches into another pocket. He reveals a thick stack of envelopes tied together with a cord. "These are letters from home. You've been out here for over four weeks without any contact with your friends or family, so we've asked them to write you a letter."
He starts flipping through the pile. "Ellen, your husband Ted wrote you a letter." At this, I can see tears begin to well up in Ellen's eyes. "Chet, this letter is from your girlfriend, Rose. Hermione," he turns to me, "your letter is from your parents." Hardly surprising, since they're the only ones who know I'm out here.
Sheryl's letter is from her husband. Kiki and Pete both have letters from a sister. Then Marcus turns to Malfoy. "Draco, your letter is from your best friend, Harry."
I realize my mouth is hanging open, and shut it.
Draco, who is sitting on my left, is watching Marcus. I give him a gentle poke in the side, making him look at me. I give him my best inquisitive raised eyebrow, and he returns a wide-eyed innocent look, accompanied by a wink. This is certainly a new twist.
Marcus tells us to grab our cubes and get ready for the quiz. He'll read the question, let us think about it for a few seconds, then he'll ask us to show him our answer.
"First question: If you step on a sea urchin, the best response is to soak the wound in salt water. True or false?" We all think about it for a moment. I should know the answer to this question. I studied up on tropical island living. But ... best friend Harry?
"Time to show me your answers." Marcus looks at us expectantly. Startled, I look down at my cube and twist it in my hands. Sure, salt water sounds as good as anything. I maneuver my cube until the word "true" points toward Marcus.
At least I'm not the only idiot. Ellen also gets this one wrong. "The answer is false, a sea urchin sting should be treated by soaking in an acidic solution, like vinegar. That gives Pete, Kiki, Chet, Sheryl and Draco each one point, while Ellen and Hermione are still at zero."
I hear Malfoy snigger under his breath next to me. Bastard.
I do pretty much as well on the next nine questions, only getting four of them right. I'm in sorry shape, taking last place in this challenge. The other women have done somewhat better, with scores ranging from five to eight. Chet and Draco also have eight, but Pete wins the contest with nine correct answers.
"Pete, come over here and get your letter from your sister." Marcus pulls Pete's letter out of his stack and holds it out. Just as Pete reaches for the letter, Marcus stops him. "As the winner, we're also going to give you a choice."
Pete looks suspiciously at Marcus, who continues. "It's up to you, Pete. You decide, right now, as the winner of this challenge. Either you can just get your letter, or you can choose to let everyone have their letter from home."
Oh, this is going to kill Pete. I just know that he'd hate for the likes of Malfoy or me to get our letters, but that this is also a chance to score major points with the rest of the team. A good deed like this could keep his ass in the game.
Pete thinks about it for what feels like a long time, but is probably less than thirty seconds. He opens his mouth to speak, and no sound comes out. He clears his throat, presumably of the rage that was choking him. "Marcus, I'd like all of my great teammates to get their letters too."
Marcus passes the letters to us. I try to catch a glimpse of the handwriting on the letter to Malfoy, but he shields it from me and gives me a sly grin. We trudge back to the camp with our letters clutched in our hands, then each find our own separate solitudes in which to open them. I head down to the far end of the beach and perch on my favorite rock.
I didn't think I missed my folks that much, but opening that letter and seeing my mother's cheery handwriting makes a tear come to my eye. The letter is full of trivial nonsense – my cat is doing well, but missing me. The weather has been cool recently. A cousin is getting on everyone's nerves trying to over-plan a wedding that's not even going to happen for six more months. Muggle life is continuing on, relatively unaware of my absence. Mom reminds me that they love me, and they can't wait until I'm home.
I read it ravenously, several times, until the pages start to get blurry and a shadow blocks out the sun.
I look up to find Malfoy in front of me, equally blurry. I blink my eyes a few times to clear away the tears gathered there. Malfoy reaches out a hand and tenderly wipes the tears away from my cheeks. I look up at him and suddenly realize how incredibly lucky I am to have him here. Everyone else has been completely separated from their loved ones, their friends, their coworkers, their families. At least I have a familiar face here, some small link to the outside world. I wonder if Malfoy feels the same way about me. Even if he doesn't, I'm still stramgely happy to have him near.
I stand up from my rock, face-to-face with Malfoy, and give him a kiss on the cheek and a hug.
"What's that for?" He whispers in my ear, his arms wrapped around me.
"Even if you're the biggest jerk asshole ferret in the world, I'm glad you're here," I whisper back.
Malfoy snorts with laughter, then squeezes me close. He releases me, and I sit back down on my rock. "Was your letter good?"
"Yeah, my folks miss me, blah blah blah. Nothing that exciting, but it was still nice to read. How was your letter? Best friend, wasn't it? Harvey, or something like that?"
"Just as uneventful, I'm sure. Want to read it?"
Malfoy holds his letter out to me and allows me to take it from his hand. I look at his face, but his expression isn't telling me anything. If he's letting me read it, then obviously the best friend Harry can't be the same Harry that I know.
I look down at the handwriting on the letter. I look up at Malfoy. I do a double-take at the letter.
Malfoy, as Ricky Ricardo was wont to say to Lucy, you've got some 'splaining to do.
He stands there quietly as I read his letter. Things are uneventful. The weather has been unseasonably cool lately. A lady named Hedwig is doing fine. The writer has obviously gone to great trouble to not mention anything wizard-specific, for certainly the producers of the show will have already read these letters before they were given to us.
The last paragraph from Malfoy's best friend, Harry, written in an untidy scrawl relatively unchanged in the last dozen years, makes the tears start rolling from my eyes.
I really should write Min, too. Haven't seen her for a while. I feel like it's been ages. I've barely seen her ... well, since that big "fight." You know what I mean. Anyway, I hear she's doing well. I still think you should go see her. There's so much she doesn't know, but it was never my place to tell her. Hell, she probably thinks I hate your guts. Tell you what, buddy. When you get back from that tropical paradise (wink nudge), let's go out for a beer. I can get her there. Then you can tell her all the things you keep telling me you should say to her, and I won't have to listen to your damn lovestruck mooning all the time.
Hoping you're having fun in
paradise,
Harry
I reread the end of his letter several times before I can bring my eyes up to meet Malfoy's. And I'm astounded to see tears in his eyes, mirroring my own.
Malfoy sighs heavily, then moves beside me. He nudges me gently, and I scoot over on my rock to make enough room for him to sit beside me. We both stare out at the ocean for a while as the sky slowly darkens. A scattering of clouds far out over the water reflect the light of the setting sun, making them glow an eerie but beautiful shade of orange.
Finally, Malfoy lifts his hand to his face and scratches his upper lip. Behind his hand, he quietly whispers a silencing charm. Then he turns his head to me, away from the cameras, but with his eyes downcast. As he watches my hands holding his letter, he finally speaks.
"I have a lot to explain."
"Mmm-hmm," I make a small noise of assent without opening my mouth. I don't think I can trust myself to speak.
"Um." I've never seen Malfoy this much at a loss for words. "I … ah. Um." He glances around for something to focus on, then stiffens. I follow his gaze to find Pete walking toward us. He's making it look like a casual stroll down the beach, but he's obviously aimed right for us, and will be here in a minute or two.
Malfoy quickly turns back to me, but this time looks me in the eyes. "I need to gather my thoughts anyway. But I promise I'll tell you everything. Whatever you want to know. Tomrorow." He stands up from the rock, checks on Pete's progress, then quickly turns back to me.
"You probably figured it out from the letter, but..." His eyes are locked with mine, and there's no hint of malice there. None of the loathing, the scorn, not even the mockery. In fact, if I didn't know any better…
"I love you."
He quickly turns away and walks back toward camp. Pete stops in his tracks, turns, and watches Malfoy walk away. After glancing toward me, Pete decides to follow Malfoy back.
I realize my mouth is hanging open again. I quickly shut it, then make my own slow way back to camp for the night.