Eyy we're back bitchezzz
Honestly one of my fav chapters, so just sit back and chill out
Just a few hours later, the sun had gone down and the six candidates were sitting on wooden benches, surrounded by numerous torches and the rest of the jungle. By playing some mood setting sound effect, the show usually creates a mysterious atmosphere as the presenter stares them down for a few seconds, before starting his usual speech.
"It's time for the island selection. Everyone gets to vote once for the candidate they wish to send off the island. The candidates who still have extra votes are able to use them, as this will be one of the last island selections you will encounter," he says in his usual cryptic voice. "Rebecca, you may go to the ballot box and cast your vote."
Ally can't stop her feet from tapping anxiously, trying to look determined every time Rachel looks at her. Next to her, Austin coughs weakly, looking paler than usual and vague circles showing under his eyes. Ever since he woke up he's been feeling drained. The energy he's wasting by coughing every other minute was using more energy than he was being provided as food was starting to run out.
"We're almost there," Rachel whispers reassuring before she sees it's her turn to vote. On Ally's other side, Austin gives her a weak smile, being equally if not more nervous than she is. His faith lies completely in Ally's hands and the pressure of that overwhelming power is killing her. Looking at Austin's profile as leans on his knees while biting on his bottom lip, she eventually makes up her mind. She can't let down Austin after everything he'd done for her.
After everyone has cast their votes, Ally does her best to duck Rachel's stares. She knows it's only her imagination, but it seems like Rachel knows everything, including the now inevitability that is the soon end of her adventure on the island. As soon as the presenter starts speaking again, Ally feels Austin's hand on her knee, giving it an encouraging squeeze that relieves a part of the nerves.
"It's time to count the votes. Rachel, since you ended last in today's test, one vote will already be assigned to you. Now, onto the candidate's votes," he explains before opening the box and, one by one, taking out a paper with a name written on it before showing it to the rest. "Austin, the first vote is for you." Rachel shows a small smile. "The second vote goes to Rachel." The next few votes are all alternately until six votes are revealed; three for Rachel and three for Austin.
"Here we go," Rachel giggles, still believing she has control over the situation. Knowing Austin and Drew would most definitely vote for her, plus her black vote, she thinks these three will be all the votes she will be receiving. As she had not been paying attention at the selections before this, she has no clue not only Ally, but also Austin had extra votes, therefore not taking into account the amount of power he also possessed.
"Three votes left," the presenter announces before Rachel's smile fades as she does some quick math. According to her plan, only two more votes should be Ally's extra votes. Knowing something is wrong, she looks at Ally, who can only stare at her hands in her lap. "And they're all for Rachel. That means there are six votes for Rachel against three for Austin."
"Ally?" Rachel's voice shakes as she asks for an explanation, making the guilty feeling tear Ally down even more. Tears appear in her eyes as she knows she can't avoid Rachel's intensive stare.
"I'm sorry," she whispers, truthfully regretting hurting her like this, but also hoping Rachel could see she didn't have a choice. Rachel must've noticed she only showed interest in Ally when she was in danger of getting outvoted, after all.
"Oh, I see what's going on." Rachel's pout disappears as it was never real when she sees Austin's hand still laid still on Ally's knee. Austin, who had been closely watching the whole scene quickly pulls his hand back. "Could've known you would pick some dick over our friendship. Literally," Rachel laughs sarcastically, seemingly having forgotten her utter misery from only a few seconds ago. Standing up, she gives both Austin and Ally a dirty look. "Tell me if the sex was worth it, would you?"
"That's not what this is about, you're all wrong!" Ally gasps, but Rachel looks like she's having none of it.
"Save it, Ally." Dramatically, Rachel turns her back on Ally and steps off the platform. She looks at the two one more time, disgust in her eyes. "You will regret this."
After returning, all candidates went to bed without exchanging any words. Austin was the only one who had lied awake for a few minutes after lying down, even though he needed a good sleep the most. Turning around to face Ally, he had intended to thank her for everything she had given up to save him, but she was fast asleep. After looking at her exhausted form, her trembling eyelashes resting under her eyes and curls sprawled out on the wood that is her temporary bed, he closes his eyes as well.
The candidates didn't expect anything to happen the next day, but, when they had woken up, a letter awaited them next to the entrance of the hut. They all gathered to learn about the content of the letter, only to find out there was a surprise waiting for them. Eventually, after a few hours of stressfully trying to stock up their supply as much as they could, the presenter arrived on the island.
"Dear candidates," he starts before showing a relaxed smile. "Congratulations, you've all made it to the merge." The realization hadn't hit the group as they cheer loudly. The merge was a big deal, it was the line between participating at the game and actually having a chance to win it. "I've noticed you've been low on food recently and I think now is the perfect moment for a celebration dinner. How does that sound?" The thought of a full dinner, consisting of something other than fish and bananas for once was unthinkably amazing.
"Though, instead of that, you can also choose something else. Something you might want more than anything right now." This catches the attention of the group again. "Right after you all left your family and friends, they recorded a little message for you. Their words of endearment might be something that will help you pull through. But if you choose the video, you won't be allowed to sit down at the dinner table. It's one or the other. You need to make your decision right now. Is there anyone who chooses the video message over the feast?" The presenter asks. The group exchanges some looks and everyone seems to quickly decide they're in too much need of tasty and nutritious food to consider seeing their family, even though they all miss them dearly.
"I do," Austin suddenly raises his hand, making everyone's mouths drop open. If there was anyone who could use the option of extra energy, it was Austin, figuring he was still feeling quite sick.
"Are you sure, Austin?" The presenter double checks and Austin nods firmly. "Alright, seeing you're the only one, you may come with me. The rest may make their way to the dinner table, which is filled with things you had to live without, like chicken, bread, candy, wine," he keeps summing up while the smiles on everyone's faces grow bigger with every word. Austin is showing a pained expression, though, and Ally looks at him with sympathy, wondering who was missing him at home so much that he would skip a whole dinner for.
As the other four candidates were stuffing themselves until they couldn't walk anymore, with both food and alcohol, Ally knew that would only make the situation worse. You see, if you eat a lot after having small meals for a long time, your stomach will not notice until you have eaten more than you can handle, resulting in stomach aches. The combination with alcohol will only delay the effect. The other candidates are already too intoxicated to notice Ally standing by the buffet, checking over her shoulder before choosing what to fill her plate with selectively and walking away from the table.
She had luckily paid close attention to where they had brought Austin, so it only took her a minute to find him sitting on the sand, watching the sun approaching the horizon. Walking up to him from behind, she checks to see if nobody, not even the cameras, had seen her sneak away. At least, that's what she thinks. In reality, Drew follows her with his eyes distrusting. Once he figures out her plan to look for Austin, a plan forms in his head as he finishes his umpteenth beer.
"Knock, knock," she awakes Austin from his trance, making him look over his shoulder to check who had bothered to visit him, before smiling at her, gesturing it was okay to join him. Placing the food in front of him, careful not to get any sand on the plate, she looks at him proudly as she flops down next to him. "I know you must be sick of fruit by now, but these are some of the most nutritious things they have," she says while pointing at the fruits, vegetables, rolls and a chocolate bar for the energy boost. "And I didn't forget the best part." From behind her back, she reveals a bottle of red wine.
Austin chuckles, his eyes hungrily scanning the plate. "You didn't have to do this." They settle in the warm sand, completely oblivious to the single camera that did follow Ally after noticing the group being incomplete, now recording behind their backs.
"But I did. They only said you couldn't sit at the table, they never specified you couldn't eat it somewhere else." She shrugs casually, happy she had been able to find a loophole with her experience of debating. "You really need it so you better finish it all." Her eyes fall on the IPad that looks untouched next to him. "You haven't watched the video yet?"
"No, not yet." He doesn't bother to clarify why.
"Oh," Ally awkwardly speaks. "I'll leave you to it then. They'll probably notice I'm gone soon anyway."
"You don't have to go," Austin quietly states, catching her eyes as she's about to get up from the sand. Hiding his vulnerability, he shrugs slightly. "I mean, you can stay if you want."
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea," Ally admits. The fact that he hadn't even looked at the IPad yet, shows that whatever he gets to see later is making him nervous and Ally wasn't sure she's ready to see him in whatever state that brings him. "This is quite personal, I wouldn't-"
"Please." Austin had quickly figured out that acting tough wasn't going to work, so he cut the act. He didn't beg often, but he somehow didn't even care anymore. "I kind of don't want to be alone."
Ally nods quickly, not wanting to leave him alone when he clearly wants her to stay. "Sure, no problem." Austin finally grabs the tablet and unlocks it. Immediately, a video with a small, red curly-haired girl appears. With a shaken hand, Austin presses play.
"Can I talk yet?" She unsurely asks someone behind the camera before looking directly at it. "Hey, daddy! You left to go to the island yesterday, but they told me to pretend you've been gone for weeks. I miss you already, so I don't think it'll be hard," she starts excitedly, quickly drifting off as she rambles.
"That's your daughter," Ally notes, recognizing her from the photos Austin's wife had provided before the trial. After succeeding in remembering her name, she's about to voice it , before realizing he had never told her what it was. Admitting she knew her name would surely raise suspicions.
"She looks more like her mother," he mumbles as he keeps his focus on the video.
"They also told me you won't even see this if you're bad at the game, so yeah. I think I just need to keep talking, that's what the man behind the camera said," the girl giggles, making Ally smile as well. She hears Austin sniff and thinks it's just his sickness until she glances at him and sees tears rolling down his cheeks.
"She has your eyes," Ally quietly tells him, carefully putting a hand on his shoulder to even remotely feel like she's comforting him. Feeling useless, she decides to rest her head on his shoulder.
"I don't think I could stay on an island for so long, I'd get bored. And hungry. And I don't know where I'd have to go to pee. And I don't think I could bring Pickles," she shows the plush rabbit that she's playing with during the talk. "They're making weird hand signals, I think they want me to stop talking. You're going to win the game because you're the strongest and you're very smart. Oh, and I love you! Bye!" The screen goes black after that, the silence almost unbearable.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to stay," Austin eventually says, wiping his cheeks dry with embarrassment, in which Ally sits up straight again.
"It's okay, I understand." She guesses he hadn't wanted to see him cry and the least she could do is forget it even happened. "She really loves you," she tries to better the situation, but fails as this only causes tears to well up in his eyes again. He nods slowly, turning away his head. Her curiosity takes over before she lightly touches his arm. "Austin?"
"I just miss her," he sobs after failing to keep it in by biting his lip. "This is the longest she's ever been without me. I remember how sad she was when I told her I might be away for a month. She didn't understand, begged me not to go at first," he sighs deeply, shaking his head at the painful memory. "I lost custody of her a year ago. I don't get to see her that often anymore."
And that's when he confirms Ally's presumption; he had no clue she was entirely responsible for his greatest misery. And, for the second time in 24 hours, guilt is slowly tearing her apart and the only one she can blame for both his and her own pain is herself. She couldn't even blame the fact that it was her job. Of course, she did things like that every day without shame. But she could've just refused to represent his wife. She could've said she didn't want to get involved with celebrity drama, figuring his wife was known for loving media attention and did approximately everything to see her name in the headlines of the hottest tabloids.
She could've admitted that she hadn't liked the woman from the start, that she hated how the woman seemed to do anything to bring her soon to be ex-husband the biggest misfortune she could possibly produce. But she didn't. She accepted the case without a second thought, causing a drug addict to lose custody over his daughter, a drug addict that later somehow turned out to be someone she grew to care about. A drug addict that was now breaking down in front of her and she couldn't find the words to make him feel better, since the only sentence that was now permanently stuck in her brain were 'I, I only, did everything within my power to help your ex-wife win the case with the help of digging into your personal life, and therefore making you lose the only person you love.'.
"She's really proud of you," is what she hears herself say, just to fill the growing silence. The information he had just shared with her had seemed like a confession to him, but was actually something she had known for a long time.
"Thanks for staying." His breathing finally slows down until it doesn't get interrupted by the occasional sob. He glances shortly at her small hand on his arm before looking her in the eyes. "I guess I needed the support."
She blushes slightly as she removes her hand again and instead pushes his shoulder lightly. "Anytime, prick."
"Don't push it, princess." He sincerely smiles and picks up a roll from the plate.
"So, do you want to go to the group?" After a short silence of sharing the food on the small plate, Ally speaks up again.
"I think I'll stay here for a while." His eyes are still slightly swollen and he might not feel like interacting with anyone besides the girl who he had just shown his vulnerability to. Something about how he speaks tells her she shouldn't leave him alone now, so she decides to stay with him.
"You might want to light a fire, it's getting dark," she noted in which he shrugs while looking at the sun who had already halfway sunken below the horizon.
"I've never been good at that," he admits.
"What about the first test? You managed to burn the string quite fast, I thought."
"Pure luck, I guess. I didn't even know what I was doing," Austin chuckles his confession. It's like a lightbulb lights in Ally's head before the corners of her mouth curls up. She couldn't push away the idea that Austin had helped her more than she had managed to help him, figuring he practically taught her the skill of basic swimming with an extra training to improve her speed. She had had nothing to offer him, besides an attitude check, but that never seemed to bother him. Finally, she had something that she could teach him that would actually come in handy.
"Well, looks like I'm able to repay you for what you did for me," Ally starts in which Austin looks at her confused. "You taught me how to dive and swim decently, now I'll teach you how to make a quick fire."
He makes the mistake of looking at her unsurely. "You're good at making a fire?"
Ally raises an eyebrow as a warning. "Why does that surprise you?"
"It doesn't," he quickly withdraws his question making Ally giggle.
"Nice save," she praises before taking her personal magnesium stick out of her shorts pocket. "If you want to prevent us from sitting in the dark in a few minutes, you better get cracking."
The next fifteen minutes, they find enough straw and dry wood to have a good base for a small fire. With Ally's basic tips she owed all to her fanatic brother, they manage to create a spark right before the darkness takes over.
"See, that was pretty decent," she repeats the way he barely complimented her first adequate dive, accompanied with a wink before taking the wine bottle from his hands. "You can bet your ass this will be one of the elements of the test in the finale. If you even get to attempt to complete it," Ally jokes, making Austin grin at her. They both feel like the full bottle of wine, that was now close to empty, was having an impact on their speech and perhaps even actions. All Ally knew was that the world was slightly blurry and she was surprised they hadn't happened to light themselves on fire.
"Thanks, Ally," he sincerely speaks his gratitude again, Ally not knowing what for, but she doesn't bother to get into it.
"What happened to 'princess'?" Ally asks, paired with a bubbly giggle while Austin stays serious as ever, keeping his eyes on her as she looks at the label of the bottle, picking it off. Only the seconds of silence that lack Austin's answer make her look at him again. The light of the fire creates shadows on Austin's face with the help of his features, emphasizing the way his gaze shifts from one eye to the other, studying her closely. The smile falls from her lips once she sees his stare drop to them. He doesn't even seem to be thinking of a response, the plan to reply long forgotten as other priorities emerged, like Ally's wine stained lips.
"We should get back," Austin mumbles after pulling himself away from whatever force that was pulling him towards the girl next to him. Ally has to remind herself to breathe again as she nods before following him eventually, leaving the fire that could've brought something that was a long time coming as it dies down slowly.
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I'll see you later, cool peeps