DAY 28
November 17th, 2019. 3:00 PM
FOUR CORNERS MONUMENT
Challenge #26 - The Waiting Game
At the center of the four state borders is a glass light. All four players are standing on pressure plates. Miciah is in Arizona. Ike is in New Mexico. Simon is in Colorado, and Trucy is in Utah. All four states borders are also separated by walls. Miciah's is red. Ike's is blue. Simon's is yellow, and Trucy's is green.
"Welcome to your next challenge "The Waiting Game." It's worth $60,000. All of you are currently standing on a pressure plate that's connected to a light in front of you. As long as one of you is standing on your pressure plate, the light will remain lit. For each minute that the light is lit, the group will earn $1,000 for the pot. This challenge will either go on for sixty minutes, or until the light turns off. Now, here's the tempting part. You all have a chance to win the game's final exemption. Behind each of you is a monitor with a code. If you want, you can look at the code. However, the monitor will only turn on if you step off your pressure plate. Once you're positive you know what the decoded message is, you will push the light off the table thus breaking it. The challenge will stop, and I will ask you what the decoded message is. If you're correct, you will win the final exemption. Do you all understand?"
"YES!"
"Good. The Waiting Game starts….NOW!"
"I just want to let you guys know that I'm not going for the exemption." Ike admitted
"How do we know?" Simon asked
"I've never gone for a single exemption in this entire game! Why start now?"
The challenge started off as usual with Simon and I fighting. I bet he's using that as a distraction. - Ike
"The point is we all want to get to the finale. So, I bet one of you is going to break the light." Ike accused
"Who are you thinking, Ike?" Trucy asked
"We should all be worried about Simon."
"Why me?"
"YOU TOOK THREE EXEMPTIONS ALREADY!"
"I DIDN'T KNOW WHO THE MOLE WAS!"
"SO NOW, YOU DO KNOW?"
"I'VE KNOWN FOR AWHILE!"
"Whatever you say." Ike mumbled
"I'M SORRY! I COULDN'T QUITE CATCH THAT!"
"GOOD!"
"THAT WAS SARCASM DUMBASS!"
"CAN BOTH OF YOU CHILL OUT!" Miciah yelled "Apollo was right about you two acting like a bunch of kindergarteners."
"HE STARTED IT!" they both said simultaneously
While the argument was happening, Trucy stepped off of her pressure plate. She turned around, and started to memorize the code.
S ISAA LBEYRO VXJ ECAJ RCCB
"Oh my God." Trucy mouthed to herself
The code was so hard. It didn't make any sense to me at all. - Trucy
"Trucy, who do you think is right?"
"What do you need Simon?"
"Who's right?"
"About what?"
"Haven't you been paying attention these last few minutes."
"No. Why?"
"Ike and I are telling Miciah our arguments about we didn't start the fight that happened on day one."
"Look. I don't want to get involved with your boy drama."
"Same here." Miciah spoke up "You guys need to work this out yourselves."
"I've tried that with him." Ike admitted "And all he does is bitch about everything I do wrong."
"I NEVER BITCHED ABOUT YOU!"
"OK. THAT IS A LIE, AND YOU KNOW IT!"
While they were arguing about who was bitching with who, I figured I'd step off for a minute. I just wanted to look at the puzzle, and see if I could solve it. The puzzle made no sense to me, so I just decided I wasn't going to go for it. - Miciah
"YOU AND ATHENA WOULD GO INTO YOUR ROOM EVERY NIGHT. YOU TWO WOULD BITCH ABOUT HOW I DID THIS, OR I DID THAT!"
"YOU SON A BITCH! THOSE WERE PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS BETWEEN US!"
"MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN WITH HER TWENTY FOUR SEVEN!"
While Ike and I were fighting, I figured that would be a good time to look at the code. I believe it's a cryptoquote, so I need to figure out a few possible letter combinations. - Simon
I start looking at the puzzle, and I see a three letter word. The three letter word is followed by a word with four, so I'm thinking that those words are: The Mole. Now that I have those, I can work from there. - Trucy
"I think I have the code!" Trucy exclaimed
'Don't do it yet." Ike yelled
"Why not?"
"It hasn't even been fifteen minutes yet."
"Really?"
"Yes. We've only been here for a little bit."
If Trucy really did solve the code, I needed to think of a way to distract her. - Ike
We all know what states we're in, so let's get some more information." What color is your walls? Mine are blue."
"I have yellow." Simon told everyone
"My walls are green." Trucy called out
"Red with a gray Z painted above the light." Miciah answered
"Wait. You have a gray Z too?" Trucy asked
"Yeah. Why?"
"So do I."
"Me too." both boys called out
"What do you guys think it means?" Miciah asked
"I don't know, and I don't care. I'm going for it!"
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH THAT LIGHT! WE NEED THIS MONEY TO GO INTO THE-"
Ike got interrupted by the sound of glass breaking.
"NO!" Ike yelled
"WHY WOULD YOU BREAK IT?" Miciah asked
"BECAUSE I WANT THIS EXEMPTION!"
"The challenge is over. Trucy, what does the decoded message say?"
"I will unmask the Mole soon."
"Trucy, you are…..CORRECT!"
"YES!"
"Congratulations! You are in the finale!"
I took a huge risk, but I got a huge reward. I'M THE FINALE BABY! - Trucy
"The light was on for fourteen minutes and thirty seven seconds. That's $14,000 for the pot. The new total is $550,000. Get ready for the Quiz tonight."
I AM SO PISSED OFF! TRUCY SHOULDN'T HAVE HIT THAT DAMN BUTTON! - Ike
Jesus Ike! Calm the *BEEP* down! At least we got some money! - Simon
In an ideal society, we all would have stood there for the full sixty minutes. But, of course, Trucy had to break the light. - Miciah