Day 1610:17 am 84
Amanda is standing before the camera pointing at two bird's nests she's found in neighboring trees. They both have eggs.
"Despite how small these eggs are, you might say 'omelette.' But I say 'shampoo' when I see them. I can't exactly candle them though."
She takes her bamboo tube with water and tries one egg at a time. Some float and others sinks. She dries off the eggs that float and returns them to the nests. "Perhaps the birds won't reject them," she says. "But the two that seem fresh I'll keep."
The scene changes. She is now back at the dugout shelter.
Amanda is heating water in a different bamboo tube, but this time she doesn't just add hot stones, but also a piece of charcoal. "I know this likely makes no sense to people watching the show, but adding a piece of charcoal to water is good. After heavy rains, the stream becomes muddy and foul," she says and points to constantly running water from their bamboo pipe system. The water is no longer clear, but slightly brown. "Charcoal improves the taste and smell."
Nearby, Methos is fashioning something which at first glance looks rather like a primitive hunting weapon.
"Sorry to disappoint those watching this show," he says while holding up what he is working on. "But this is not a hunting bow, it is a drill."
A Pump Drill has similarities to a Bow Drill, but requires less energy to operate it.
"I'm not going to make any bows or arrows for us either. The jungle is too dense and most of the game is very small. Worse, by the time we spot it at such close quarters the seconds necessary to ready a bow means the prey will have scarpered. Now, if we were hunting something about the size of a goat or sheep or deer in a more open setting, that would be different. Under these conditions a bow is less practical.
"This drill will help me make better holes and can also be used as a backup fire starter if needed," he continued. "But mostly, I'm using it to make holes for new shoes because I lost my best awl."
Day 188:32 pm 75
The Immortals are eating a leisurely meal by their fire. The view is fixed, coming from a camera attached to a tree.
Amanda asks, "What was this rodent named again?"
"I don't recall," Methos answers. "It is more tasty than the lizards."
"The herbs you found add nicely to he flavor," she compliments him. "I actually don't miss salt."
The Red-Rumped Agouti the Immortals are eating lives in large communities in the rainforests. They typically weighs between 6-13 lbs and are on average a little over 20 inches long.
"How many Watchers do you think are hiding in the crew?" Methos asks when their food critiquing conversation wanes.
"I will guess..." she pauses, as though she is deciding, before giving him a knowing look and stating the obvious. "Two."
"One for you and one for me?" he replies, looking amused and adds, "Why not all of them?"
"Don't be silly, they couldn't possibly recruit or substitute the entire crew with Watchers."
"Hey, I'm just saying this show is about documenting life, isn't it? Just like the Watchers. The crew aren't allowed to talk to us. Just like the Watchers. The only difference I see is we accepted an invitation to do this. Also, the cameras aren't hidden."
Still looking skeptical she says, "I'm changing my guess to none of them are Watchers."
"Is that so?"
"Who wants to trek through the jungle when they already know where we are going. If the Watchers somehow can't obtain a copy of all the unedited video, which would greatly surprise me, they can always simply watch the episode when it airs."
"Good point."
Day 198:09 am 65
Methos and Amanda prepare early for their hunt, securing their shelter and waiting impatiently for the camera crew in a time lapse.
Finally, Amanda walks over to the tree mounted camera and says, "As we mentioned last night, we intend to do our last hunt today to allow us to relax until extraction. I hope whatever has delayed the crew isn't serious, but you understand we can't linger any longer. It is already well past dawn. We will record with the diary camera as much as we can until you catch up." She clips their small, portable camera to her netted pack and points in the direction away from the stream to indicate where they are going.
Having missed the Immortal survivalists' departure, the camera crew later set off in the direction indicated. After several hours, they fail to locate the pair in the jungle and the producer calls off the search. The crew waits at the dugout. As more hours pass without any sign of the Immortals, the crew are ordered to return to their own camp and prepare for an impending thunderstorm.
Three days and nights of heavy rain prevents the crew from leaving their camp. When the weather clears, a drone searches the air for a smoke signal rising above the canopy. When none is located, the producers conclude the jungle is too wet for fire. Concerns are voiced about whether the storm's lightning was perhaps a cover for a Quickening. Further searching of the area begins in earnest when the weather clears.At last, both Immortal survivalists are found to have returned to their shelter.
Day 2310:19 am 72
The image changes to the camera's view as it is carried through the dense jungle. Over the chittering of insects and bird calls there is the sound of singing and laughter. The footage skips ahead to the crew's arrival at the dugout.
"Together forever and never to part!" Amanda warbles.
Methos joins in loudly bellowing from where he is sprawled in front of their shelter, "Together forever we two!"
Both of them are covered in gold.
Large sheets hammered thin and curved into bracers and torques are stacked heavily around the Immortals' necks, shoulders and arms. They even wear a few hooked onto their woven belts and their ankles. They are nearly fully clothed by the gold.
"Prithee," Amanda sings the old fashioned word and waves a cup made of gold, not one of the bamboo cups they made. The gold shines in the sun as she swings in one of the netted hammocks.
Methos stops singing and moves with a good deal of clanking from the pieces of gold on his arms to look inside the plastic five gallon bucket in which beer had been brewing for over two weeks. "'Tis gone," he declares.
"Thou liest!" she shouts and she drops unsteadily from her hammock. Several gold combs are dislodged from her hair.
Methos waves a hand in her general direction without looking at her and demands, "Importune me no farther!"
Amanda notices the crew at last. "How now? Who is this?"
"Good morrow!" Methos addresses them before suddenly changing to an unknown language or possibly gibberish. No attempt is made to translate it in the subtitles.
"Mind not the drunkard," Amanda declares, her voice slurring. "Will take a goodly nap to restore his wit."
"My lady is wonderful froward," he replies in a snide tone and then cheerfully provides his own translation of his earlier speech. "I say again, is her raiment not fair? Gaze your fill upon pearl and gold."
In addition to the gold they are wearing there is more laying on the ground around them and pearls spilling from one of the cloth bags given to them at the start of the challenge. As the camera takes it all the treasure, the view pauses briefly on the beer dregs remaining in the bucket before it turns to focus on the handheld diary camera resting on a rock.
As the Immortal survivalists promised, they recorded as much as they could while separated from our camera crew and far from camp.
Despite the narrator, the video shown on screen is brief and time stamps show they traveled and hunted for several hours over the course of the first day they were missing.
Day 191:49 pm 72
"Smell that?" Methos says, looking back at Amanda who holds the camera.
"Storm coming. Bad one," Amanda's voice is heard saying.
"I wish we could see the horizon to judge when it will hit." He looks up grimacing at the dense and tall trees surrounding them. "Keep going or turn back?"
"Keep going," she decided. "Easier to hunt game before the rain comes."
Day 193:42 pm 69
The scene changes to Amanda's face. The screen is slightly fogged and there is the sound of rain.
"We came across a bit of a cliff overhang and decided to wait it out for the night."
She moves the view to show they have a small fire which Methos is shielding with his body. He is roasting chunks of meat on sticks. "I don't anticipate these cooking much before the damp takes the rest of our fuel."
"Medium rare will do nicely," she says encouragingly.
He laughs goodnaturedly and says, "Might be tartare."
Day 2010:22 am 65
"The storm seems to be growing less now," Methos must shout to be heard over the sound of rain. "The wind soaked the entirety of our makeshift shelter. Since we won't get any drier or warmer here and we only have a day's worth of travel bread with us, we will return to camp in the rain."
Day 219:02 am 63
"As you can see, the storm has not ceased. Also, this is extraction day," Methos says to the camera. "And most importantly, we are lost. The lowlands flooded, forcing us to detour. But it wouldn't have mattered since I'm sure the rain washed away our trail markers anyway. It has created lakes, waterfalls and rivers where there were none before rendering our map mostly useless."
Amanda's face appears on the screen next to Methos. "Originally, we were supposed to travel a mere four miles up the river from our camp and pass the Grass Falls rapids to reach extraction," she says glumly. "We traveled much further than that yesterday and have no idea if the many waterfalls and rapids we came across are temporary or the landmark we are looking for."
"So, we are assuming we passed it already and will turn around."
Day 229:02 pm 56
The screen is totally dark. There is no video to play, only the recording of their voices captured by the microphones they wear. Something both of them seem to have forgotten.
"Is it broken?" asks Amanda's voice.
"I think so," answers Methos. "View screen is glitched anyway."
"So, we can't estimate how long the camera's battery will last."
"Afraid not."
"Well, the ambient light is better than nothing," she sounds like she is trying to cheer them both up.
"I can try the record button if you like, maybe we can leave a message if it still works?"
"And say what? We drowned, we were swept away into a cave, we have no idea how long we were dead and now we are effectively buried alive. Anyone who finds the camera would find us."
"And El Dorado."
"This is hardly the lost city of Inca gold, more like a stash," she said with an uncharacteristic lack of enthusiasm.
"Which someone intended to come back for," Methos reminds her. "Therefore there must be a way out."
"Probably the way we were washed in, which is flooded."
"Can't be that way, unless it doesn't normally remain flooded."
"We'll listen for the sound of the water to recede," he says. "And use the camera's glow to find our way out."
"Sounds like a plan," she replies. "Methos, if we get out.."
"When," he says, interrupting her.
"When," she echos with a half-hearted sigh. "When we find the way out, will you help me come back for the gold?"
During their twenty-three days in the rainforest of Guyana the Immortal Survivalists thrived. They worked well together to construct a sturdy shelter, a bridge, plumbing, a hydropower system, oven, tools, weapons, clothing and displayed highly efficient hunting and gathering skills. They had time for leisure, brewing and accidentally discovered a hoard of Inca gold.Amanda leaves having gained 8 lbs and Methos has gained 11 lbs.Despite that they missed extraction, both of them increase their PSR (Primitive Survival Rating) to 10.0, the highest score ever given because they have proved they can survive Naked and Afraid.