Sole Survivor
Day Thirty-Eight
Malfoy's out fishing early this morning, so we can have some protein before this final immunity challenge. Kiki and I are doing chores around the camp, but there really isn't that much to do. We only need supplies for two more days. There's an ample stack of firewood and plenty of coconuts. The only thing we really need is water, so Kiki and I grab the water jugs and head for the pool.
She's quiet today, not like her usual cheery self. We all have a lot to think about. If she wins immunity, she has to decide who to take to the final two – which one of us she thinks she can beat. The same goes for me and Malfoy – after all, my first alliance was with Kiki. And despite all of his words and actions professing love, and the revelations about his spy status during the war, can I completely trust him?
Hell, it'll be much easier if Malfoy wins immunity today. That way, I don't have to make any decisions. And I'll know for sure whether he's true to his word, if he takes me along to the final two or not.
We get water in a fairly comfortable silence, both lost in our own thoughts. But before we get back to the game, I feel like I need to say something.
"Kiki." She turns to me. "No matter what happens tonight, it's been an honor being in this game with you."
She puts her water jug down and smiles at me, holding out one hand. "I feel the same way. Good luck, Hermione."
I take her hand, and we shake. The absurdity of the handshake strikes us both at the same time, and we burst out laughing. She tugs on my hand, and we manage to pull each other into a hug.
After a few moments, we pull apart. She picks her jug back up, and I follow suit. She punches me lightly on the shoulder with her free hand. "I know it's not the hot monkey loving you're getting elsewhere, but you've become one of my best friends."
"As soon as we're out of here, Kiki, I'm buying you a drink."
"And a steak," she adds.
"With all the trimmings." We're still giggling when we return to camp. Malfoy is back from his fishing trip, and has already cleaned and started cooking three sizeable fish.
He grins when he sees us. "I wondered what was taking you ladies so long; I was about to eat all of these fish myself."
We have a pleasant breakfast, eating enough fish and coconut that our shrunken stomachs are definitely full. After cleaning up, we only sit around for a few minutes before we hear a buzzing sound out over the water. The sound grows louder and a small shape on the horizon grows steadily larger. It's a canopied motorboat, and it quickly gets close enough for us to see Marcus standing at the front. Soon the boat pulls up on the beach, and Marcus steps out clutching a small box.
"Well, today's the day for the final immunity challenge." He holds out the box, and Malfoy steps forward to take it. "In honor of the islands, and your fallen comrades, you have a task for today. Use the contents of this box to decorate yourselves in the spirit of the islands. When you're finished, take your boat and follow the map that's inside the box. It'll take you to a spot where you can remember the players who have been eliminated. When you're done, the map shows you where to find your final immunity challenge; I'll be waiting for you there."
He steps back onto his boat, and the driver quickly turns around and heads back out around the island. We watch until the boat is once more a small buzzing speck, then turn to the box. Malfoy pries the lid off and first pulls out the map, with a dotted line guiding us around the island to two locations. Underneath are a few pieces of cloth, feathers and body paints.
We set to work decorating ourselves, just like on the day when the two tribes merged. I sling a piece of tropical-patterned fabric around my hips, creating a makeshift skirt. Kiki winds her fabric expertly around her body like a sarong, creating a full dress. I braid feathers into my hair, and take out the green paint. I dab my finger in, then draw a squiggly green line up one arm. Malfoy notices my makeshift snake and quirks one eyebrow, but says nothing.
Adorned and painted, we climb into our small boat and follow the map around the island. We see where we're meant to go – a collection of torches are stuck in the sand on the beach. One by one, we walk down the line of torches, checking the names carved into the sides and saying something about the other contestants. It's weird to think that I haven't seen some of these people, like poor Anna, in over a month.
Finally, we reach the last couple of torches. Seeing Pete's name spelled out in large capital letters on his torch reminds me of the huge, accusing scrawl he used to use on his ballots. We all look at his torch silently for a moment, then look at each other. None of us has anything positive to say about him, and we come to a silent agreement to just move on to Ellen's torch and finish up.
After we finish talking about Ellen, we all stand on the beach for a moment.
Kiki sighs. "I guess we should head off to the challenge."
Malfoy nods. We all start slowly walking toward the boat. As Kiki walks ahead, Malfoy reaches over and takes my hand, giving it a little squeeze. We make eye contact, and he whispers, "Fair and square?"
I look back at him for a moment, considering. Magic certainly helps with a lot of challenges, but his use of the word "fair" gives the Gryffindor in me food for thought. We're all already guaranteed a fairly good payday just for making the final three, but should Kiki be blocked from winning this challenge just for being a Muggle? She's certainly played well enough to earn the million. Plus, the idea of beating Malfoy in a competition without any magic does have its appeal.
"Fair and square," I whisper back.
He gives both me and Kiki a helping hand into the boat.
Back out on the water, we continue around the island, following the map. It's a short trip, only taking us a few minutes to see Marcus standing on the beach next to a wooden post sticking up out of the sand. We pull our boat up to the beach and gather in front of him.
"Now, it's time for the final immunity challenge. It's a very simple test of endurance. There is a tall pole behind me, with three short stumps around it. You'll each stand on a stump and place one hand on the taller pole. If you remove your hand from the center pole, or if a foot touches the sand, you're out of the challenge. Understand?"
We nod our assent, and are given a moment to prepare, then told to step up onto our little stumps. We all stand so that the central post is to our left. I move my feet around, trying to find an initial comfortable spot – the stump isn't quite large enough for both feet. Either my toes or my heels need to stick out a little bit. I opt for heels, and balance a little more on the balls of my feet.
"Survivors, ready?" Marcus asks. We nod again. He motions toward the center pole, and we all reach out a hand to rest on the post. "The challenge begins now."
o - o - o - o - o - o
We don't have much to say for the first hour, and I'm mostly alone with my thoughts. After a while, Kiki starts humming to herself, but it's not terribly distracting. We're spread out evenly, about five feet apart from each other and about two feet away from the center post. I can look back over my shoulder at Kiki, and I can see Malfoy's back in front of me. Every now and then he looks over his own shoulder at me, but his expression is unreadable.
Marcus calls out the elapsed time every fifteen minutes. At the two hour mark, he asks, "How is everyone feeling? Starting to get tired?"
Malfoy shifts his feet slightly on his stump. "Still feeling fine, Marcus. No problem." He certainly sounds fine, the careless, breezy tone of his voice indicating that he could stand on a stump forever.
Kiki and I both tell Marcus how good we're feeling; nobody wants to let any weakness show.
Marcus keeps telling us the time and asking questions for the next couple of hours. I'm not feeling particularly great, but I'm not feeling terrible yet either. I reach across with my right hand to lightly massage my left shoulder, which feels a bit sore from holding my arm out for so long. I'm turned a bit to the left, and can see Kiki's hand meeting the post behind me.
Suddenly, Kiki sneezes. Her hand jitters and almost leaves the post. I hear her gasp as she gathers another breath, and she pulls both hands to her face to mask two more huge sneezes.
Marcus steps forward. "Kiki, you're out."
I'm still turned a little bit to look at Kiki. She has a puzzled expression on her face for a moment, then looks down at her hands. Her face flushes bright pink.
"Oh, shit." She steps down off her stump onto the sand. She walks over to a bench next to Marcus, muttering the word "stupid" over and over to herself.
Now it's down to me and Malfoy. I look down at the sand for a while.
Marcus calls out the five-hour mark, and asks again how we're feeling. Malfoy, instead of answering to Marcus, directs his comments at me.
"Hermione, want to make a deal?" I look up at him. "Step down so we can get this over with. You know I'm taking you to the final two."
I think about it for a moment. Of course, Marcus has to repeat the offer in order to increase the tension for the cameras. I keep looking at Malfoy.
"Tell you what, Draco. You step down, and I'll definitely take you to the final two." I smile sweetly at him.
He smiles back. "Ah, but can I trust you? You've been with Kiki since day one. And I could stand up here for at least a few more hours."
"Exactly," I reply. "Who can you trust? Can you trust me? Can I trust you?"
We hold eye contact for what feels like a very long time. I want so much to trust him; we've been through so much together, from the hatred of our school days to the whole saving-the-magical-world stuff, to the past month on this island. The professions of love, the great sex, the easy camaraderie between us – it was all wonderful, but it wasn't enough without trust.
I whisper again, "Can I trust you?" The questions feels so loaded, and he seems to understand that. I'm not just asking about the game.
Malfoy opens his mouth to speak, then closes it again. He shuts his eyes for a long moment, then opens them back up again.
"You can," he says, as he pulls his hand away from the post and steps down to the sand.
o - o - o - o - o - o
We're allowed an hour back at camp to eat before we have to go to Tribal Council. It's a quiet hour, and Malfoy spends some of it off on his own down the beach. Kiki doesn't have much to say, since my deal with Malfoy pretty much spells out her fate.
We trudge through the jungle and arrive at the Tribal Council site a little after dark. We take our seats, and Marcus welcomes us. There's something strained in his voice, and he glances around almost nervously as he calls in the jury.
Everyone files in, but it takes me a moment to realize that not everyone is there. Only five people sit across from us, instead of the expected six.
Marcus clears his throat. "Due to unexpected illness, Pete is unable to join us on the jury. So we're bringing in Franklin, the seventh contestant voted out, to join the rest of the jury. He'll be permanently joining Toby, Carla, Chet, Sheryl and Ellen."
Malfoy, Kiki and I all look at each other. This is very, very weird.
Marcus asks a few innocuous questions, then explains that since both Malfoy and Kiki can only vote for each other, there's no point in them voting. I will cast the only vote tonight, and banish one of the two people next to me over to the jury.
I walk up to the voting platform and quickly write down a name – it turned out to not be such a hard decision after all. As soon as I sit back down, Marcus runs up to fetch the single vote and bring it back down, still acting much more nervous than usual.
He opens the paper and studies it for a long minute. "The fourteenth person eliminated, and the final member of our jury." He turns the paper around for us to see. "Kiki, please bring me your torch."