Persi Caraway- District Eleven female (15)

I did not like the look of the challenge. We were at the beach again and I could see what looked like a bunch of cages out in the water made out of some sort of light wood. I'd done a little research in training and I had a sinking (ha ha) feeling.

"Good morning, Tributes," Isabella greeted us, rising from her lounge chair on the beach. "Have you chosen your new tribe name?"

"We picked 'Havfrue'," Dorian said, pointing to his buff- we'd all painted our name on them.

"It means 'mermaid'!" Lana broke in with a big smile.

"Excellent choice, and very prescient for this next challenge," Isabella said. "But first, it's time for a change. Turn in the immunity idol, because from now on, tribal immunity is no more."

Enzo walked over and handed Isabella the idol, giving it a last farewell pat. Isabella took off her intricate necklace and held it up.

"From now on, you're competing for this," she said. The necklace seemed to be bronze and had several strands wrought to look like ropes. A pendant shaped like a stylized tree hung it. "This is the individual immunity necklace. Like the tree that hangs from it, it symbolizes life… for now."

"Now, I'm sure you're curious about the challenge." Isabella turned to the sea behind her. "In the water, there are twelve balsa wood cages. Each contestant will get into one of the cages and float on their back. As the time comes in, the water will rise, narrowing the gap between the water and the top of the cage. Contestants must remain in their cages as long as possible. When you feel like you cannot participate any longer, you may drop out of the challenge at any time. For your safety, if the safety divers perceive significant distress, or if your nose and mouth are fully submerged for fifteen seconds, they will remove you from the cage and you will be disqualified. Last one remaining in their cage wins immunity and reward."

Isabella looked down at the nothing at her feet. "Today's prize was too large to package. The summer of today's challenge will pick two contestants to accompany them on a whale-watching trip around the island. You may see belugas, minke whales, beaked whales, seals, or whatever else the sea might hold."

I never even thought I'd see the ocean. It hurt my heart, all the things I was getting to do. I wished I could have brought my family with me. To see a whale? Someone like me could just as realistically hope to see an angel. Not that I was likely to win a challenge like this, but I'd never even thought it could be a hope.

Kallik- District Two female (18)

We were all relieved to see the life jackets come out before we went in the water. They were more buoyant on the front side, making it almost impossible to flip over face-down in the water. On the off-chance someone fainted, they'd stay faceup until the divers got to them.

For the first few minutes, it was no problem staying in the game. The slats of the cage were far enough apart I could press my face in a little, even after the water started to rise. I hadn't expected it would rise quite so quickly, though it might have just been my imagination. I wasn't sure how I'd compare to the others in a challenge like this. I wasn't unfamiliar with the ocean in general, but the water back home was ice-cold half the year. It wasn't somewhere you wanted to swim.

Val Vella- District Two male (18)

It wasn't even the water that got to me. It was the cage. I hadn't known until I got in how much I hated being confined. The balsa wood sides were fragile enough to break if I panicked, which helped the rational side of my brain, but the irrational side worried on.

Just focus on breathing, I told myself. It's a fragile cage. You can leave as soon as you want to. Oh no. You don't think there are sharks around here? No way. They wouldn't have water challenges then. But it's not like sharks follow rules. They might just barge into a no-shark beach. There are whales here. If there are whales, there are probably sharks. If I can break this cage, a shark definitely can.

I peeked under the water on one side and then the other. I could see the sand beneath me, and as far as I could tell, there were no sharks. I wasn't sure, though. Sharks were sneaky bastards.

Lana Mason- District Six female (17)

"Tributes, you have now been in the water for fifteen minutes. No one has forfeited yet."

The water was definitely higher. It touched the sides of my face even when I pushed my nose way up between the slats. I was holding myself up closer to the cage by gripping the slats. I shifted my grip to reposition. The motion splashed some water up into my face. When I breathed at the same moment, water went up my nose. I coughed and went to rub my nose at the burning. When I let go of the slat to do so, I sank a little bit farther into the water. Not underneath, but enough a little more water splashed me. Immediately I felt like I was drowning. I didn't even think about it before I stuck my hand up out of the cage to signal I was done. The slat above me popped out, leaving me room to stick my head up out of the water, where I coughed and cleared my throat.

"Lana is the first Tribute to bow out!" Isabella called.

Nuts, I thought as I started paddling back to shore. Better luck next time.

Cactus Cleo- District Seven male (18)

I was not having a good time. The sun was beating down on my face- I could barely open my eyes. I'd been sunburned before and it was not something I wanted to go through again. Also, I could feel my skin pruning and puckering. It set my teeth on edge thinking of how wrinkly and sodden I was. Then there was the constant nagging discomfort of taking shallow breaths with my face against wood and water lapping at my cheeks. I didn't care for this challenge at all.

"Lana is the first Tribute to bow out!"

I'd been waiting to hear it. If I wasn't the first, I could live with it. I gave it another few minutes so it wasn't obvious and then raised my hand. I had allies anyway. No use marinating myself.

Leo Fabrizio- District Six male (18)

Yarrow was the next to go, at around the thirty-minute mark. From the sound of it, she got a little water in her mouth and wasn't able to recover from the coughing. Val was next a few minutes later. I hadn't heard a peep from him. I had a guess that he probably didn't want to push himself too far for a slim chance of winning. Even with a life jacket, it was probably really not fun to have a seizure. Best to cut out early rather than just a bit too late.

Dorian was in the cage next to me. I could just see him out of the corner of my eye. I daresay it didn't seem entirely fair to have this sort of challenge. Then again, if we had an, I don't know, car-fixing challenge, I guess Lana and I would have an advantage. Not really, though. I wasn't even a car person.

Octavia Jacobs- District Two female (18)

I wasn't going to win this one. It was getting harder and harder to shove down the claustrophobia and tightened in my chest. Between Dorian and Alara and whichever Tributes happened to not be as bothered by this, a win wasn't in the cards for me. I quickly switched to focusing on the best time to bow out. Too soon and I looked weak, too long and I was a threat, or I panicked and looked weak anyway. When Persi cracked a bit after the forty-five minute mark, I waited a respectable few minutes and then called it quits.

Alara Banks- District Four female (17)

Mostly I was just bored. We'd been in the water for nearly an hour. It wasn't hard at all for me yet, though the water was high enough it was over my chin even with my face pressed up in between the slats. Fifty minutes was just a long time to float and do nothing.

I guess there's a few clouds, at least. That one looks like a lion. There's one that looks like a tree.

Shep Howard- District Ten male (17)

I was surprised Leo only gave in after a little more than an hour. It must have been difficult with his injuries and tight skin. No one was surprised that Dorian and Alara were left. Then there was just Kallik and me.

"Contestants, you have now been in the water for seventy-five minutes," Isabella narrated.

That long? The time seemed interminable but also meaningless. Dorian thrashed once in the cage next to me. I tried to look over but I was too squished up between the slats. He didn't quit, though, and settled back into a limp float after a few seconds. I settled in to wait, the water lapping endlessly at my face like water torture.

The wood slats pressed divots into my cheek as I pushed ever harder to offset the rising water. My arms burned from holding myself up. It was just three more people, though. I had to give it a good try.

Dorian Sargasso- District Four male (18)

Kallik threw in the towel after another ten minutes. I wondered if she couldn't breathe or if she'd just gotten exhausted holding herself up against the slats. An hour and a half could burn out anyone's arms. Tell the truth, I wasn't doing so hot myself. I'd never know I had such a flat face. It seemed like any way I turned, if the air could reach my nose, so could the water. I kept taking in little bits of water with my breaths, the salt burning my nose even past the normal discomfort of snorting water. I tried to crane me neck and see the others, but only Shep was close enough. Alara was marooned in her own world. Shep was doing annoyingly well, it seemed. It wasn't my fault his nose was way longer than mine. Natural snorkel, right there.

Aww, it's gonna be embarrassing if a Ten lasts longer than me, I thought five minutes later. It's going to be really painful if you don't let up soon, my nose argued back. Yeah, listen to him, my lungs coughed. Dammit, it's all you, Alara, I thought ten minutes later, raising my hand.

Alara Banks- District Four female (17)

"Dorian throws in the towel! We are down to Alara and Shep, at nearly two hours!"

I hadn't even known we were dow to two. In all my concentration, I'd lost count of how many had gone. The struggle was definitely real. With my face pressed up so hard it ached, I was getting sips of air at a time through pursed lips. It was a delicate balance between holding myself up and expending energy that took more air. As the water continues to rise, it got harder and harder to think of anything but how uncomfortable, and kind of scary, it all was. I was starting to think the tide would cover me and Shep entirely and they'd have to go to a tiebreaker.

"Shep bows out! Alara wins immunity and reward!"

I'm not entirely sure how to handle the individual challenges yet, since I didn't get skill categories set out in the forms and it's a little late now, but I'll be refining that as I go on. It WILL be affected by Tributes' skills though, so since I chose a water challenge first, it seemed reasonable to pick Alara or Dorian. Also they both have gotten similar votes so it didn't seem like a big upset and it seemed like picking one wouldn't get the other eliminated. This first week after the merge will be chaotic as the votes shift. I'll be using the votes from this council to gauge popularity and social game and take notes so I know which winners would be a big upset for dramatic purposes. Everyone get your votes in, because everyone with an active Tribute votes from now on! The fewer votes I get, the more power each vote has!