Apologies for the long, long wait for an update. All I can say is, "Life. Crazy, eh?" Everyone's patience is awesome.

Sole Survivor

Day Thirty-Six

Kiki and I are sunning ourselves in a strategic place on the beach, where we can see most of camp. She's been quiet for most of the morning, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't believe our story. Several times I've heard her draw in breath as if she's going to say something, but she doesn't. I need to wait and see what she has to say, so I can fix any problems.

Finally she turns over in the sand and mutters, "Hit. In the head. With a coconut."

I sigh. There's no way I can tell her the truth. I can't describe how Malfoy and I erased some of Pete's memory, as well as performing a couple of small memory spells on Larry because he wouldn't leave the three of us alone and insisted on escorting us all back to camp. I can't tell her what really happened, how Pete attacked me. The official story between the players and production team follows Pete's story, because there was no evidence to the contrary.

I look up and see Malfoy, sitting near the fire pit at camp, clearly keeping himself between me and Pete. Further down the beach, Pete is having one of his solo strolls. The one problem with resetting his memories to before the attack – he's now back to his surly, angry, about-to-explode old self. Sure, we could have done something about that with a spell, but we didn't want things to sound or look any stranger than they had to.

"Look," I say. "I fell down and hit my face on something. Knocked out cold. So I really don't know if that's the truth or not – it's just what Pete said happened." I point to the bruise on my cheek as if showing evidence in a trial.

She grunts in disbelief. "I don't believe it, but I'm sure you can tell that."

"Well, it's not going to matter for long, since we're voting him out tonight."

Kiki rolls on her side, propping her head up with her hand to look at me. "About that."

I stare at her. "What about that? Don't you dare tell me you've changed your mind."

"Well . . ." She purses her lips before continuing. "Ellen isn't exactly on our side anymore. She's fully aware that once Pete goes, she's next. She was talking last night about how if I teamed up with her, we could get rid of you and Draco, then dump Pete and take the final two spots together."

"Does she not realize how this game works?" I shake my head. "That last immunity is almost always something physically straining. She thinks she can do better than Pete?"

"She's willing to take that chance, if it means a better chance at making it to the end of the game."

I sit up in the sand, and Kiki follows suit. "Well," I ask, "are you considering it?"

She looks down at the sand. "I did for a while. You and Draco, of course, will not be split up easily. I have to think about my chances going with the two of you, as opposed to the two of them." I take a breath to speak, but she holds up her hand. "I also have to think about who I can beat in the final two. I'm fairly sure I could beat Pete, but do I want to take the chance that I don't beat him, and he wins? And if either of them wins that final immunity, what are the chances that they'd take me to the final with them? What do I think they think as far as who they could beat? Am I unbeatable to them?"

She draws three circles in the sand. "You know I care about you, but I have to think about what's best for Kiki right now. I stick with you, we're the final three. I win that final immunity, I get to choose who comes with me. Otherwise, you and Draco are taking each other."

I want to tell her no, it's not like that, we have an alliance. But . . . Malfoy. She looks up at me and laughs, so I must have a weird expression on my face.

"On the other side," she continues, "there's a final three with Pete and Ellen. I win that last immunity, I have my choice, but I'm in for the final two. If Pete wins, will he take me, or will he take Ellen? I'd like to think I'm more liked than she is, which makes me a poor choice if Pete wants someone he can best. As for Ellen, can I trust her to take me along with her? Or will she pick Pete, who she has a much better chance of beating? I can truly see it falling as a one-in-three chance either way."

She pauses and draws stick figures in the sand with her fingers. I want to say something, but I don't know what will pull her closer and what will push her away.

After a couple of minutes, she continues. "Right now, I think I'm leaning toward your side. Either way, I'm pretty sure I'll make the final three. But when it comes down to it, I think I'd hate myself if Pete won this game. But if you win, or Draco wins, I could live with it."

I decide to try and reassure her. "Whatever happens, I swear to you that you'll make the final three with us. After that, it's up to chance." I hesitate, then continue. "And there's no guarantee of who will pick who for the final two."

She snorts and looks me in the eye. "I'm guessing your choice is already made, ducky." She smiles at me. "Come on, we should do a few chores before dinner."

She stands up, brushes the sand off her legs, and holds out a hand to help me up. I'll take that as a good sign.

o – o – o – o – o

Dinner is awkward, to say the least. Everyone sits silently around the fire, eating the meager meal of bananas and coconuts. There are a lot of nervous glances, but not much talking. Ellen won't meet my gaze, and neither will Pete, although he seems to be glaring holes through everyone's feet. Kiki is sitting next to me, so I can't check in with her very well to make sure she's voting with me and Malfoy. I'm certain of how four out of five votes are going to be cast. I'm less certain about Kiki, my friend since the second day of this competition.

Everyone packs up their belongings after dinner. I grab the immunity necklace from the branch where we usually hang it, and put it around my neck. Torches in hand, our quiet group gathers up and starts on the trek to Tribal Council.

o – o – o – o – o

The pre-vote barrage of questions from Marcus is surprisingly free of any commentary about the Pete incident. I suppose since there's no footage of the attack, they don't want to say too much about it. Plus, I doubt the producers want the viewing public to know that three of us spent a couple of hours last night in the production field camp. Marcus instead centers on how tight the game is becoming, and how close we are to the end. He gives me a leading statement to explain my bruise, "I hear you fell down and got that bruise on your face." There isn't any question involved, just a softball statement I can hit out of the park. I give a quick reply, laughing about my own clumsiness.

While Marcus asks Ellen a question, I glance at the jury. Three of them are from Malfoy's old tribe, Fetia Rai. Chet is the only former Miti Matai member. I finger the immunity necklace around my neck and think a silent prayer that Pete joins them tonight.

Marcus announces that it's time to vote, and we take our turns one by one. I write down Pete's name and quickly return to my seat. Malfoy takes an equally short time casting his vote. Kiki takes a little longer than I'm comfortable with. Right now the game is entirely in her hands, and I hope our friendship and alliance can beat out any deal that Ellen and Pete have offered.

Kiki comes back and sits down, staring straight at the fire in front of her, chewing lightly on her bottom lip. I look at her, trying to make eye contact, but she's intent on not looking at anybody. Ellen, sitting on her other side, looks at her too. I shift my glance to meet Ellen's eyes over the top of Kiki's head, and Ellen looks away quickly.

Marcus retrieves the votes and gives his standard announcement about how the votes are final, and the loser will be asked to leave the game immediately. He pulls out the first vote, reads it to himself, then turns it around so we can all see Ellen's neat handwriting. "Draco."

He pulls the next vote. My handwriting. "Pete. One vote Draco, one vote Pete."

The next vote comes out, written in Pete's usual big angry letters. "Draco. Two votes Draco, one vote Pete."

Marcus unfolds the fourth vote. Malfoy's casual scrawl. "Pete. The vote is tied, two for Draco, two for Pete."

He reaches in for the last slip of paper. He unfolds it and reads it to himself for what feels like an unnaturally long time. Long enough for Malfoy to reach over and grab my hand, squeezing it tight.

"The twelfth person voted out, and the fifth member of our jury." Marcus pauses, then slowly turns the paper around. The word "Pete" is written in Kiki's sprawling handwriting.

"Pete, please bring me your torch." Everyone sits quietly. Marcus looks at Pete, who doesn't move. Just as Marcus opens his mouth to repeat himself, Pete slowly gets up from his seat. He pulls his torch out of its holder and carries it over to Marcus, who snuffs it while giving Pete the standard you-got-the-boot speech.

Pete turns and looks at us. While some of the other players have wished us luck when leaving, Pete says nothing. Even the moody firelight flickering on his face couldn't make him look angrier. He glares at Malfoy, then moves his gaze to me. I don't think I've ever been looked at with as much pure vitriol in my entire life. Finally he turns and storms off down the path.

"Three days left, guys." Marcus puts the vote container on the ground and leans on his small podium. "A very busy three days. Three tribal councils, two immunity challenges, and at the end, one sole survivor." He looks us over. "Good luck to you all. Head on back to camp."

We gather up our torches and belongings and make our way back to camp. It feels different without Pete's negative energy, and it certainly is much quieter without him crashing through the underbrush. Back at camp, we sit around the fire for a while to mellow out before going to sleep. Nobody says much, we're all thinking about the busy days we have ahead. But Kiki gives me a wink and a grin, and I'm glad not only that she made the decision that she did, but that she seems to believe that it was the right decision to make.