All-Star Survivor: Greece Episode #8 Red, White and Blue

Taygete Tribe: Ryan Aiken, Jessie Camacho, Stephanie Dill, John Raymond
Alkyone Tribe: Gabriel Cade, Debb Eaton, Ramona Gray, Peter Harkey, Tanya Vance

DAY 22



It was raining again.

But that didn't stop Taygete's fishing team from going out, first thing in the morning. Sure enough, the old duo of Stephanie Dill and John Raymond were at it again. The fishing buddies been together since day one in Alkyone, and now here they were over on the opposing side. And they were currently sitting in the blue wooden boat, trying to catch some breakfast, before the rain came down too hard and ruined the expedition.

And, of course, there was business to attend to. Stephanie was trying to justify the fact that she had voted Dirk out last night.

"I don't know what to tell ya," said the lanky firefighter, "That's just the way everyone wanted to go." She cast her line out into the sea, as she leaned over the side of the blue fishing boat to watch where it sunk.

"Look," she finished. "It was gonna be Dirk or Jess, so it don't really matter who went first, right? I mean, both of 'em gotta go."

"But no one told me!" said John. He was still a little upset today, although nowhere near as bad as last night. No, last night he had run through the entire gauntlet of emotions, from angry to sad, as he had seen Dirk's name come up not once, but three times.

Dirk.

Dirk.

Dirk.

It was something that John had been wholly unprepared for. John thought he had known who would be going. He -always- thought he knew who would be going. That was the sign of a good player, in his mind. If you knew what was going to happen at Tribal Council, you would have no reason to fear the place. And John never -had- feared it, not since that third day in Thailand. It was just a place, a place you had to go to take care of some unpleasant business. No more, no less.

But then, he had been blindsided by last night's vote.

And that suddenly made him very, very nervous.

"Look," he explained, as he tossed his third fish of the morning into his bucket, "If you guys wanted to keep Jessie around, that's -fine-. I don't care, she's a great girl. But please -tell- me these things." He looked over to make eye contact with his friend. "I kind of need to know this stuff. I just don't like being caught off guard by a vote, you know? It's not a nice feeling!"

"But why would it have made a difference?" Steph asked, fixing him with a quizzical stare. "You wouldn'ta voted against Dirk even if someone asked ya to. You want to keep Dirk, and off Jess. Tellin' you wouldn't have done a thing."

"Well..." said John, finally smiling somewhat, "No. You're probably right. But at least I would have known what you guys were doing."

"Well that's that then," said Steph, as she readjusted her line. "No harm, no foul. It wasn't that big a deal though, I talked to both of 'em just before we left for Tribal. And they pretty much decided who would be going." She nodded. "Dirk wouldn't vote for Jess, but Jess would vote for Dirk. So it was a slam dunk if we went for Dirk."

"It was her idea?" John asked, incredulous. Jessie had suggested it??

"All her idea," Steph confirmed. She grinned. "Jessie's a little scamp. Made me nervous too, but without Dirk on board, you and I had only two votes for Jessie. 'Cause Ryan wasn't gonna go vote for her neither."

Quickly, Stephanie shut her mouth. She had said too much. But it was too late now.

"Ryan wouldn't vote for Jessie?" John asked, confused.

"Nah."

"What is he trying to pull?" John asked, more to himself than to Steph. "Why get rid of Dirk, our best athlete, and keep someone so..." He didn't want to say it, but he had to. "So worthless around?"

"Well... Ryan pretty much had a hard-on to get rid of Dirk," Steph confirmed, "They had a thing goin' on." She shrugged at the pastor. "It wouldn'ta made a difference what you wanted to do. He was gonna vote for Dirk, plain and simple."

"Well, I wish I would have known that," John sighed. "But, oh well. New day today. Just gotta look ahead." He slumped his shoulders, resigned, and turned back to his fishing. What was done was done. Now they just had to plan for the next vote, and get their heads back into team mode.

"Just do me one thing, okay?" he asked.

"Sure," she said, smiling at him.

"Well, if Ryan wasn't gonna vote Jessie before, he sure as heck won't do it now, will he?"

Steph shrugged. She didn't know. She had no idea what Ryan Aiken's strategy was at the moment.

"So just tell me," John finished, smiling, "If Ryan wants to vote -me- out instead, okay? At least give me that much."

Steph grinned at him, reaching over to pat her fishing buddy on the knee.

"You're his main man, dude. He wouldn't vote against you. He promised you."

She frowned.

"Nah, if he's gonna start tryin' stuff, he'll vote me out first. Not you."





^^





Debb Eaton glanced over at Ramona Gray, trying to read the young woman's thoughts.

"So who do -you- think they'll go for first?" Ramona asked, as she tossed a rock into the sea.

The two of them were walking to go check for tree mail, their first such trip together as members of Alkyone. Together, they crossed the brown, sandy beach, walking side by side as they discussed their plight. And honestly, Debb -didn't- know who the guys would target first. Sure, Tanya said it would be Ramona, but Debb was smart enough not to believe anything that came out of Tanya Vance's mouth.

Debb was far too paranoid to believe -anybody- anymore.

So she simply shrugged. She didn't have a clue.

"So has Gabriel said anything to you?" Ramona asked, as she cast a glance at her introspective teammate.

Debb didn't say a whole lot, unless she had to. And she -never- did with Ramona. But there -was- definitely a reason for the coldness between the two women. Sure enough, she and Ramona -did- have some issues in the past, due to things they had said about one another in post-Survivor interviews. Debb had once called Ramona a whiner, and a lazy one at that. And in response, Ramona had once laughed at Debb's plight with post-Survivor depression.

These were both things that one would tend not to forget. And unluckily for both of them, they hadn't forgotten. At all.

"I never had a whole lot to say to her," Ramona had once admitted. "And I know that was wrong, and a bit petty too. But some things are just kind of out of your hands. And I consider myself a Christian, and believe in God and forgiveness and all that, but... man." She had shaken her head, sadly. "It was just rough. I just didn't know what to say to her." She shrugged. "And I still don't."

But with their sudden banishment to Alkyone, things had suddenly taken a drastic turn.

Now, they were allies. Unlikely allies, sure, but trapped together nonetheless. And despite their rocky start, and two egos that were still a bit bruised, the two women had been forced to bond in the past twenty four hours. They simply -had- to, there was no other choice. They had been forced to commiserate over the commonality of their plight. And sometimes, that was all you really needed.

Sometimes, you just needed a friendly ear to listen.

"Well," Debb admitted, as she responded to Ramona's question, "Gabe hasn't said much to me, but I heard Peter say he would rather kick you off first. I think he'd rather keep me around."

Ramona nodded.

"But I don't know," Debb sighed. "How much can you really trust Peter?"

"I wouldn't," Ramona added. "I'd trust Gabe -ten- times over Peter."

This was pretty much a unanimous opinion among people in the game. It was common knowledge that Peter was a player. Despite his touchy-feely exterior and yoga guru persona, it was clear to most that the guy was a schemer. Peter was sharp, but he wasn't really all that subtle. Most people knew he was far more complex than he tried to appear.

"And what about Tanya?" Debb asked.

"I love that girl," Ramona smiled. "Trust her completely. She's a star."

Debb scoffed, silently, but didn't say anything. It looked like Ramona was another one in the Tanya fan club.

"You know," Debb said, changing the subject. "Funny thing about Peter. He talked to me for like two hours last night," Debb confirmed, "Just, like, trying to figure me out."

Ramona nodded. She knew this. She had watched it. And she had accused Debb of trying to sell her out too. She had already unleashed an angry confessional at Debb's expense, and regretted it somewhat now. Maybe Debb was just trying to be friendly. Maybe Ramona had overreacted.

"He likes to ask questions about little things," Debb continued, "But you just have to look in his eyes and you can see he's trying to read you. He uses small talk as a disguise."

"He was interrogating you," Ramona smiled, recognizing his strategy at once. "Peter is playing the good cop."

"That's -exactly- what he does," Debb exclaimed. "Like I committed a crime! Like I was in the police station and he wanted to know where I hid all the money!"

"What did he say?" Ramona asked, curious.

"Oh," said Debb, "You know. Asked about life in Taygete, and Dirk, and all that. Asked about our fishing situation. You know, that kind of stuff." Debb was being deliberately vague, of course, and it was definitely intentional. Debb -had- sold her out, and she was trying to hide it now. Debb had told Peter everything. She had squealed about their problems with Carl, she had mentioned the oblivious fate of Kel, and she had told of Jessie's tight grip on the men.

And she had maybe said something about Jessie and Ramona being the best of friends.

And so Peter, and thus the Alkyones, were now all too aware of the threat that Ramona Gray posed. She was the best friend of the biggest threat in Taygete. And Debb had been the one to tell them that. And sure, she hated that she had done it now, because now she and Ramona were friends. But she had been scared, and been trying to protect her own safety. It hadn't been malicious at all, it had simply been good strategy.

And now Ramona was her friend.

Sometimes, Debb thought the gods were trying to curse her.

"Hey," said Ramona, pointing to the tree mail box. "We got something. Check it out."

She stepped over a fallen tree, which had been possibly knocked over by the wind, and opened up the ivory box. Inside sat a single item.

It was a dollar bill.

"Cool," said Debb.




^^





"Today's challenge," read Gabriel, "Is called The Great Exchange." He was reading the message on the back of the dollar bill, which was written in small, carefully printed Greek lettering. The rest of Alkyone was gathered around him as he spoke.

"Gather all the items of value to your tribe, and bring them to your shore at lunchtime. One tribe will be rewarded, handsomely."

"Weird," said Peter, as he chewed on a small handful of grapes. "We're tradin'?"

"Sounds fishy to me," said Ramona, as she stood with hands on her hips. She tried to run over all the possibilities in her head. Great Exchange? What would they be exchanging? Was it a trade? a barter? A swap?

A twist?

"Well," said Tanya, looking around, "What do we have that's worth anything?" She checked their immediate area and saw nothing. The shelter was valuable, sure, but it was mainly just wood and vines. Not that they really wanted to give it up. Again. And they -could- bring some of their fruit, but how much was that worth out here, really? After all, Taygete had fruit too.

"What about our luxury items?" said Peter, surprising all of them. "Anybody want to give those up?"

"Or clothes?" Tanya asked. "Anyone got spare clothes?"

"How much do you think a busted stereo is worth?" asked Ramona, smiling. It had been a sore spot among the new Alkyones that the team boombox no longer worked. The small black box had sadly run out of juice just hours before Ramona and Debb got here. And the two ladies had been disappointed. After all, the promise of music had been one of the -few- things they had looked forward to over here.

"Y'all can just toss that Britney Spears CD in with it," said Tanya, causing Gabe to laugh out loud. "I'm sick of that thing."

"Oh come on!" Peter said, nudging her, teasingly. "You guys shoulda seen Tanya shakin' her thing. She did a great Britney impression."

"You guys made me!" protested Tanya, but the ribbing continued. Tanya's Britney impression had been very popular around the campfire each night.

Debb smiled, enjoying the spectacle.

"Okay," said Gabe, taking charge. After all, this was his team now. "Well, let's just start gathering some stuff up. See what we can find. Luxury items are great, but anything with any value, stack it over there." He pointed to a section of the beach. "Anything we can afford to spare, take it."

"Even Jimmy?" asked Peter, a wide grin on his face. He was talking, of course, about Gabe's childhood teddy bear, the one that Gabe took everywhere.

Peter loved to tease him about it.

"I bet Jimmy's worth a fohtune," joked Peter. "We could get a lot for him, I bet."

"Jimmy stays here," said Gabriel, smiling, as he patted his friend on the shoulder. "Sorry, man, nice try."




^^




Jeff greeted both teams at lunchtime, as a boat dropped him off at the two shores. He visited Alkyone first, coming to explain the rules to Peter and Gabriel. Then he boarded the boat again, and was ferried over to Taygete.

"They're looking over here," Ryan said, as he stood on the beach next to Jessie. "Check it out. Mona and Tanya."

He nodded in the direction of Alkyone beach, where Ramona and Tanya were indeed staring at them. The two ladies on Alkyone appeared to be looking for something. Or just taking notes, perhaps.

"Mona wants to know who got booted," Jessie said, under her breath. "She probably thought it would be me."

Sure enough, Ramona lifted a hand to wave to Jessie. She wanted to say hi to her old friend. But Jessie didn't bite. Jessie Camacho didn't lift a hand in return. She was desperately trying to break her old ties to Ramona, as quickly as possible. After all, she had her own survival to look after now. She wanted no part of being seen as an outsider at the moment.

"She's waving to me," Ryan said, grinning, "Check it out." He lifted a fist in the air, yelling happily. "Yeah, what's up, baby! Come and play for the winning team, why dontcha swim on over here?"

Jessie smiled, giggling. Ryan was fun, he was a lot of fun. But he was -awfully- self-centered most of the time.

"Hey guys," said Jeff, as his boat finally arrived at Taygete shore. The four players in blue had been standing here, waiting for him, patiently. John stood in the front, with Stephanie just a step behind him. Jessie and Ryan stood off to the side, slightly apart from the other two, as they shared a private joke. It was the sort of detail that Jeff was very good at noticing.

There's a question for the next Tribal Council, he smiled to himself. Thanks, guys.

"Challenge time?" said John, as he walked over to shake Jeff's hand.

"Yep, it's that time, Taygete." said Jeff, as he laid out the rules. "You guys will be exchanging goods today. I'm sure that you all have already chosen your items of value."

He took a glance at their pile of valuables, noting Stephanie's art kit and Ryan's baseball glove atop it. Well, what was left of Stephanie's art kit, anyway.

"We'll be doing a sort of exchange today." Jeff pointed out to the sea, where a large war galley stood. "Out there. You guys will send one male and one female, and your list of items. And we'll basically do an auction. You'll tell me how much you are willing to give up, and Alkyone will as well." He smiled. "The team willing to give up the most will win something pretty special."

Jessie closed her eyes, saying a short prayer for food. Some sort of food, please. And not something Greek. Not something weird.

"A chicken feast," Jeff explained. "A -big- one too. Two large birds, roasted on a spit in front of your camp. These suckers will be juicy, they'll be tender, and..." He smiled, "Most importantly, they'll be seasoned."

Jessie was salivating already. Chicken was one of the items on her "good" list.

"The winning team will get a large feast," said Jeff, smiling, "Plus a bonus. You'll get your very own coop, with three egg-laying chickens." He clapped his hands together. "And you can eat those suckers whenever you want."

"We are -so- winning this," said Jessie, confidently. She turned to John, and smiled. "We gotta win this."

John turned to smile back at her, as he patted her on the shoulder.

"I'm up for a chicken feast," said Stephanie, grinning from ear to ear.

"Alright," said John, "That settles it. We want chicken." He looked around at his three tribemates. "So who's going out to negotiate?"




^^




Jeff stood at the helm of the galley, smiling at the players before him. John and Stephanie had been chosen to represent Taygete, and Peter and Debb were here for the Alkyones. All four of them stood in front of the host now, as they waited for the challenge to start.

But they weren't alone.

Two chickens sat behind Jeff, roasting on a spit. The smell in the air was unbelievable. The players could practically taste that meat in their mouths... and it was going to make this challenge that much more cutthroat. It was supposed to be fun, sure, but now they actually had some incentive to win.

"This isn't gonna take long," said Jeff, as he nodded at the hungry castaways. "And frankly, I thought you guys needed a break. You've had a lot of hard, physical challenges the past week or so. So I figured we'd take a day off today."

"Much appreciated," said Peter. A fairly strict vegetarian, Peter wasn't exactly as obsessed by the smell of the chicken as the rest of them here. That was why he had been selected for this role, Alkyone figured he would think with his head, not his stomach.

But it still smelled good.

It still smelled damn good. And his stomach was growling like a truck right now, just like the rest of them.

"Taygete," asked Jeff, turning to John. "What's the first item you would like to offer?"

Steph and John conferred for a moment.

"Steph's art kit," John said. "And my Christian flag." The items themselves were not here, they were still stacked back at Taygete beach. John was simply reading them off a list he had prepared.

"Not bad," smiled Jeff. He turned to Peter. "Can you guys match that?"

"We can offer -all- of our luxury items, Jeff." Peter smiled at John after he said it, a silent challenge to match that.

"Even the teddy bear?" asked Jeff, surprised.

"Even Jimmy," Peter said.

"No!" said Debb, laughing. She elbowed Peter in the ribs. "Everything but Jimmy. Gabe'll kill you."

"Awww," joked Peter.

"Okay," said Jeff. "That's four luxury items from Alkyone. John, can you match that?"

"We only have four people," said the pastor, "You need all our items?"

"Unless you can top it," said Jeff.

Steph conferred with him for a moment. She offered giving up the fishing boat, to which John vehemently disagreed. John wasn't going through -that- again. Not the boat. But he -was- prepared to give up all their luxury items. Even Jessie's picture of her mom.

"All our items," said John. "Plus..." he ran down the list, looking for a fifth.

"Plus the roof of our shelter," said Stephanie. It was an item they hadn't even discussed before, she just came up with it on the spot. And John shot her a look, surprised, but she only shrugged. They had leaves, they could build another roof if they wanted to.

Peter whistled, impressed.

"So," asked Jeff, "Can Alkyone top that?"

Peter whispered to Debb, "Should we give up the shelter?"

Debb quickly shook her head. No -way- did she want to build a new shelter. Especially when she expected to be voted out in two days. Debb always expected to be voted out next.

"We'll toss in our knives and our axe," said Peter, "And..." he looked at his list. "Our entire fruit supply?"

There was a pause, and so Debb piped in with an added bonus.

"And a Britney Spears CD."

Jeff laughed out loud. He knew of the drama over the broken Alkyone stereo. Debb caught this and grinned happily. But before Peter could protest the loss of their favorite CD, John had already come up with a counter offer from Taygete.

"We'll give up our fig tree," said John.

"And our fishing net," added Stephanie.

Peter winced at that one. The fishing net was something that Alkyone needed. They had no boat, so the net was all they really had. And the net didn't even work so great, to be quite honest.

"So let me run this down," said Jeff, reading off his own list. "Taygete, you are giving up all your luxury items, plus the roof of your shelter, your fig tree, and your fishing net?"

"And my fleece jacket," said Stephanie, smiling. She winked at John. She knew this one was as good as theirs. Alkyone simply couldn't match this.

Not even with the teddy bear.

"Okay," said Jeff. He turned to Peter. "Taygete's offer is on the table. You heard it. Do you think you can you match it?" He paused. "Yes or no?"

Peter looked at Debb.

She shrugged back at him, and slowly shook her head, once.

Food was nice, but camp Alkyone was depleted enough as it was. They just couldn't give up that much.

"We fold," said Peter, sighing. He reached over to shake Stephanie's hand. "Enjoy your chicken, guys."




^^



The rest of the evening was spent in joyous celebration at camp Taygete.

Jeff came by shortly after, to collect all the items that had been sacrificed. Away went the luxury items, including Jessie's beloved picture, and Steph's favorite art kit. They were now gone for good. The roof of the shelter was dismantled by Ryan and John, and was then dragged over to the shore, where it was set on fire. The bushy fig tree, a source of so much of their food, was chopped down and burned as well. In fact, everything was burned. In an hour, it was all nothing more than ashes, sitting in a large pile on the beach.

It was gone. All of it.

"Hope it was worth it," said Jeff, as he watched Steph's dark fleece jacket finally succumb to the flames.

"It's worth it," smiled Jessie, as she gave John a hug. "It's gonna be worth it. We needed the food."

"Okay," smiled Jeff. "Hard part's over." He motioned over to the boat, where two crewmen exited to carry over the savory chickens. Jeff helped them set up the roasting pit, near the Taygete shelter, and told them to wait an hour.

"Let these guys slow roast," said Jeff, as the smell of garlic and herbs floated through the warm afternoon air, "For an hour or so. And then you can dig in." He nodded to John. "Your chicken coop will be set up tomorrow morning, and I'll deliver the birds personally."

With that, he bid them goodbye, and told them to enjoy their feast. And the team had intended to wait for the recommended sixty minutes. They really had. But with two large chickens, smelling like heaven, it was just too much to ask. Why, there was enough here for half a bird apiece. That was more food than they had eaten in a month! Waiting an hour simply -wasn't- going to happen.

The birds were nothing but bones within fifteen minutes.





DAY 23




Even though she knew it was wrong, Stephanie Dill liked the new Taygete camp pets. She really did. And though they were destined to be dinner in the near future, she didn't care. Life was just too short to stress about stuff like that.

"Look at 'er," she said, with a childlike smile on her face. "She's beautiful."

She was currently laying on her stomach, in the dirt outside camp, staring into the brand new chicken coop. The coop had been delivered just this morning, along with its three occupants, by Jeff Probst himself. He had personally helped them install it, and the tribe was already quite fond of their three newest members.

"This one's got a little red on 'er feet," Stephanie pointed out, to a cameraman, "We don't have names for 'em yet, but I just call 'em by their colors. This one's Red, over there is White," she pointed out the all-white tail feathers of the fattest one, "And this one's Blue." Stephanie pointed out the dark feathers around the third chicken's eyes, which almost appeared to be blue in color.

"Red, White and Blue," she said, turning to smile at the camera. "The newest members of Alkyone." A producer took a moment to remind her that she was on Taygete now, and she shook her head, absently.

"Oh, yeah, whatever."

Steph had been here most of the morning, either talking to the chickens, or appearing to talk to herself. She had found the birds to be an endless source of amusement and entertainment. They were simply some added change around camp, in a game that was well known for its tedium and repetition. So she had plopped down onto her tummy after breakfast, started a conversation with the birds, and they were now old friends.

It was a fun distraction, of course, but it certainly wasn't helping her reputation much.

"She's so weird," said Jessie, as she worked with Ryan to weave two pieces of roofing together. "Is she always like that?"

Jessie was currently helping to recreate the tribe's roof, the one that they had given up in exchange for the feast yesterday. This was task number one today, as John had carefully dictated. Rebuild the roof. So here they were, weaving the roof pieces, although Jessie and Ryan were hardly the most efficient workers in the world.

"Steph's just got issues, that's all," said Ryan, as he looked over at the woman from Arkansas. "I don't know what it is with her, but she's like a little kid sometimes. She'll just stare at stuff and start talkin', and you don't know if she's talkin' to you, or to herself, or what."

"She's been talking to a chicken for two hours," said Jessie, smiling. She then started cracking up, laughing and covering her face with her hand. Her hair in pigtails, blue buff tied around her neck, Jessie Camacho looked like she was ready to do some work today. And she was trying, she really was. But it was just a fact of life that she and Ryan ended up doing more socializing than they did actual work. In the past two hours, they had successfully created six peces of roofing. That would be enough to cover almost one-sixteenth of their shelter. It appeared they still had quite a ways to go.

But sometimes, it was just more fun to talk. And strategize, of course.

"So are you still in?" asked Ryan, as he peeked up at Jessie. "Are we still in this to the end?"

Ryan had come to Jessie very soon upon his arrival in Taygete. In fact, he had more or less made a beeline directly for her, knowing that she was -exactly- the type of alliance partner he wanted. She was a female, obviously, which was the main criteria. But she was also tough, and a little bit naive. He knew this just by looking at her, and his radar had zoned in on this immediately. Jessie Camacho was -perfect- for his plan to take over this game. And the fact that Dirk had close ties to Jessie had just been icing on the cake. Ryan could charm Jessie, get her on his side, and rub Dirk's face in it in the process. What more could you ask for?

With Dirk out of the way, Ryan would be looking great. And now, of course, he was.

"I -told- you I was with you," said Jessie, in her quick, melodic way of speaking, "And I am. I have no ties here. I'm not close to anybody else. Why would I -not- be with you?"

"Just checking," said Ryan, with a smirk. "Call me funny, but I just get antsy sometimes."

"Yeah," said Jessie, chuckling, "I can tell."

"So, who should go first?" asked Ryan, as he took a glance over at the beach. He saw John returning from a fishing trip, paddling alone in the blue boat. The pastor wore his traditional tan hat and was looking over at the two weavers as he approached the shore. He also carried what looked to be a heavy bucket full of fish. Net or no net, John Raymond was still proving to be an excellent fisherman.

"Almost done, dude!" Ryan called, holding up a half-woven piece of roofing. "Only a few more to go!"

"Good!" John called back, as he coasted his boat up onto the shore. "I got lunch, whenever you guys are ready!"

"Sweet!" said Ryan, before he turned back to Jessie. His voice instantly went from shouting down to a half-whisper. "I say go for Steph first. She's insane, get her out of here."

Jessie looked at Steph, who was still deep in conversation at the chicken coop. Then she looked at John, who was dragging his fish bucket up to their campfire. Then she looked back at Ryan.

"I'd rather vote for John."

"Really?" asked Ryan, surprised. He had thought that Jessie and Stephanie didn't get along. Jessie seemed to comment on their strange firefighter teammate quite a bit, and never in a positive way. And because of this, he thought the next vote would be a slam dunk. Three votes for Stephanie.

But he was unaware of one thing.

He was unaware of the promise the two women had made just yesterday. He was unaware that Jessie, pleading, had begged Steph not to vote her out, and vote out Dirk instead. And in exchange, Jessie had promised to be loyal to Steph and not vote her out in return. Ryan didn't know this promise had been made. Ryan had no idea the two women were loyal to one another.

"Yeah," said Jessie, trying her best to lie through her teeth, "Once we get the roof rebuilt, we don't need John anymore. We have enough food to last for a while, right?"

Ryan cast a glance at her. This whole line of conversation had caught him off guard. Because as much as he would like John to be out of the way, the pastor -had- saved his butt just a few days ago. John Raymond was the only reason he was still here, and Ryan did not forget that. And while Ryan Aiken had some immature qualities in him, he -did- possess a sense of loyalty. Ryan did not forget a favor. Despite all his bloodthirsty ways, Ryan still possessed a conscience.

And voting out John Raymond was going to be a tough pill to swallow. Even for him.

"I dunno," he finally admitted. "I guess we'll just wait to see what happens then."

"Yeah," nodded Jessie. "Just wait."





^^





As Stephanie was talking to her chickens, a similar event was taking place across the sea. The Alkyones were welcoming their turtle friend to their camp. After all, this was a pretty big deal. Twenty-three days into the game, and this was the -first- time she had made it all the way up here from the beach.

"Yertle's here!" announced Gabe, as he stoked the fire. He was currently squatting down, trying to keep the embers from dying out, when their camp mascot slowly wandered across the dirt floor of their campsite. Gabe was surprised, as they all were. Yertle usually hung out down by the beach, sunbathing, or rested among the trees. She never came out into the open like this.

He hoped nothing was wrong with her.

"Sweet!" yelled Tanya, as she sat up. She had been taking a nap, relaxing in the shade, trying to stay out of the hot morning sun. Standing up, she brushed the sand off her blue two-piece swimsuit and walked over.

"Hey Yertle," she said, crouching down next to the large green reptile. The turtle looked up at her, with baleful eyes, gave her a quick once over, and then laid its head back down onto the dirt.

"I think she's hungry," said Tanya, as she scanned around the campsite for some food.

"Here," said Gabe, as he tossed her a fig. It had come from their fruit pile, the one that Tanya and Peter, and now Ramona, had worked so hard to amass over the past three weeks.

Tanya caught the fig, crouched down, and offered it to the turtle. Yertle sniffed it, looked at it suspiciously, and then snatched it out of Tanya's hand. Tanya yelped as the sharp turtle beak grazed slightly against her hand.

"Oh yeah," added Gabe, smiling, "Watch out for the beak."

"Hey," called Debb, as she carried a load of firewood back to camp. "I didn't know turtles could eat figs. Are you sure that won't kill her?"

"Uh, no," said Tanya, looking at the turtle sympathetically. "Will it?"

She looked at Gabe. He simply shrugged.

"If she can't eat it," he said, "She'll probably just spit it out."

"I hope so," said Debb, deadpanning. "Or else we get turtle for dinner tonight too." Gabe and Tanya looked at her, seeing if she was joking, and then she cracked a smile. It was one of those rare Debb-smiles that they didn't see that often.

"Hey," said Tanya, looking around the campsite. "Let's see what else she'll eat."




^^




As lunchtime approached, Ramona and Debb walked out to check treemail. Again. The two women had something they needed to discuss. The time for action was slowly drawing near. You couldn't wait until the last minute for this kind of stuff.

"So," asked Debb, "Have you worked on Tanya?"

Ramona Gray's mission in the past twenty-four hours had been to recruit Tanya Vance, and get her on board. Tanya was the elusive third vote that they would need to get through this. And she had been selected simply by default. Gabriel wasn't going to vote against his friends, that was obvious. And Peter, despite his friendship with Debb, wasn't going to help them out much either. So with those two removed from the equation, that left just one person:

The likeable young social worker that everybody called "T".

"Tanya said she doesn't want to vote for Gabe," Ramona said, "She said they're friends and that's all there is to it."

Debb sighed.

"But," Ramona added, with a slight smile. "She said she wouldn't mind getting rid of Peter."

"Would she -do- that?" Debb asked. But she quickly answered her own question. "She wouldn't do that. Not now. She's lying."

"She -would-..." added Ramona, trying her best to remember Tanya's exact phrasing, "If it was safe. She's not here to make any big sudden movements, she doesn't want that kind of game."

"Well, just tell her she's -never- gonna break Gabe and Peter apart," Debb said. "She's no more than a third wheel to them."

"She knows that," Ramona nodded.

"So why bother sticking with them? What's the point?"

"She doesn't know," admitted Ramona. She sighed. "I don't think Tanya has any idea how to play this. But if I had to take a guess, I'd say she will play it safe. She doesn't like making enemies, and I don't think she's gonna cross over."

Debb scowled. She didn't like this much at all. Why wouldn't Tanya just get some balls and start playing to win? This was ridiculous.

"So if we lose," she finally asked, "Who do they want to vote out?"

Ramona looked at Debb, knowing that the redheaded woman was looking for some sort of reassurement, some sort of inside scoop that said, simply, 'Debb, you're completely safe.' But Ramona had nothing like that to say. At the moment, she had only bad news to share. Tanya had broken the news to her, whether it was completely true or not, and now Ramona was just repeating it.

"They want to vote you out."






^^




The immunity challenge for the day was going to take place on Alkyone beach. Both sides received their treemail, both sides had mentally prepared, and they were now both standing here, just a few feet away from the ocean.

"Welcome guys," said Jeff, as he stood behind a large wooden table. "To the first annual Festival of Dionysus." He smiled at them, looking at the two tired looking teams standing before him. But they were all here now. This was the jury. These nine would all be here until the end.

Jeff reached down under the table and picked up a large pitcher. It was more of a cup, really, a tall clay cup with two large handles, high on its sides. It was a -kantharos-, painted black and red. And it was also the traditional way to serve wine in the Ancient Greek world.

Because today, they would be having a drink-off. For immunity.

"The wine in this pitcher," said Jeff, pointing down to the kantharos, "Is among the most pure and potent in the world. It has grown on traditional Greek vines, has been crushed, separated, fermented, and aged, all according to the laws of the ancients." He dipped a small ladle into the cup, revealing the reddish-purple liquid inside. "This is the stuff that Socrates or Plato would have enjoyed. And it is also..." He paused, turning to smile at Peter. "About two to three times more potent than the wine we drink today. Make no mistake, guys, this stuff is strong."

Peter whistled, appreciatively. He was a wine enthusiast in real life. He knew what strong wine tasted like. And he glanced at Gabe, as the two men exchanged a look. Gabe simply shrugged.

"Two of you will come up at a time," said Jeff. "One from either team. You will face off, be given a small goblet, and on the count of three, will drink it. The first person to finish their cup, and keep it down," he smiled, "Wins a point for their team. And the first team to get four points..." He paused, milking it, as usual, for maximum dramatic potential. "Wins immunity."

With that, he clapped his hands.

"You guys ready for some wine?"

The two teams lined up, ready for their individual turns. John Raymond stood at the head of the line for Taygete, and Peter Harkey for Alkyone. Behind them, they were cheered on by their respective teams.

"John and Peter," announced Jeff, "Come on up, guys."

The two men walked up to the table, smiling. John nodded to his old friend from Alkyone. But he knew that this was going to be a tough task for him to pull off. John Raymomd was simply not a drinker. But he was going to give it his best shot for the team. This was no time to let religious beliefs get in the way of his role as leader. He needed to win this for them, and he needed to do it now, right off the bat.

Jeff placed a goblet in front of each of them, and poured wine up to the brim for both of them. It wasn't that much, as the cup was rather small, but the wine was rather intimidating looking. It was thick and extremely dark. It also smelled very, very strong. It didn't smell grapey at all. In fact, the air positively -reeked- of alcohol. And in John's mind, the color and the texture of the liquid looked eerily like something else. That didn't look like wine at all. It looked more like blood.

And for a pastor, that was a chilling prospect indeed.

"Survivors ready," announced Jeff, waiting as the two men wished each other luck. "Go!"

Both men grabbed their goblets and raised them up to their lips. John took one sip and was immediately repulsed by the strong alcoholic taste rushing into his mouth. He almost gagged, but said a quick prayer in his head for the strength to pull this off, and managed to -almost- get it down. He came close, too, although the contest hadn't been close in the slightest.

Peter had already slammed his goblet down on the table, well before John. The man from Millis let out a loud "Wooooo," his teeth and lips stained purple from the wine.

"One point for Alkyone!" announced Jeff. "The big man, making short work of the hard stuff!"

Peter walked back to his team, receiving high fives from Debb and Gabriel along the way. And then he smiled, woozily, as he touched his temple. Wow, that stuff was -strong!- And Peter was definitely a red wine fan. He knew the taste of the good stuff when he drank it. And this Greek stuff was killer.

"Gabriel and Ryan!" announced Jeff, as the two youngest men in the game walked up to the table. It was time for the kids to take their turn. Ryan removed his sunglasses, grinning, as he shook hands with his old rival. This was going to be fun. And soon, both Gabe and Ryan were poised, ready, hands gripping their goblets, as they awaited Jeff's command.

"Go!" announced the host.

The two young men grabbed their goblets and tipped them back, letting the wine rush down their throats. They were both young, they had done this before, so it was quick and exciting. And it only took a few seconds, as the goblets were soon slammed down to the table, almost instantaneously. But one of them had come down just before the other.

"Yes!!" screamed Ryan, as he punched his fist into the air. His intensity had probably made all the difference, as he had beaten Gabriel by just a split second. And Taygete cheered their champion, and he walked back to his team, receiving handshakes and high-fives. Ryan now had a grin from ear to ear as he stood at the back of his team. That had been awesome. Any victory over Gabriel was particularly sweet, in his mind.

"One point Alkyone," announced Jeff, "And one point Taygete!" He smiled. "Next up, the ladies."

Stephanie and Tanya approached the table, nodding to each other in a cool manner. They sure weren't subtle about their dislike towards one another, although few of the players could really figure out the cause for it. But both ladies grabbed the handle of their small silver goblet, ready for the showdown, and waited for the go-ahead.

"Let's go, Tanya!" shouted Ramona, causing John to shout a similar encouragemnt to Stephanie. The teams were getting into this now. After all, this was for immunity. This wasn't just fun and games today. Both teams badly wanted to win.

"Go!" yelled Jeff, watching as the two women tried to drink the wine.

Tanya tried to gulp it in one quick motion, but the sudden influx of pure alcohol into her system proved to be too much to handle. She gagged, coughing, and had to turn to the side, where it all came back up. Meanwhile, Stephanie hadn't had a problem at all. She calmly drank her goblet and set it down. No hurry. Just businesslike, as usual. After all, that was the Stephanie way.

"Taygete!" yelled Jeff, as Steph's team cheered behind her. "Two points for the blue team!"

The fourth matchup was an interesting one, because the two of them were old friends. Jessie Camacho stepped up for the Taygetes, and Ramona Gray approached for Alkyone. This was going to be a biggie, and the two ladies greeted each other warmly.

But they both -badly- wanted to beat the other one at the moment.

Jessie eyed the wine, suspiciously. She didn't think this was going to be her best event. And Ramona, white buff around her neck, was trying her best to look calm, although she was terrified inside. She knew this may be a make or break moment in the game. She knew she simply had to win this, or it may be all over.

"Survivors ready..." said Jeff, smiling. "Go!"

Jessie grabbed her goblet, tipped it back, and closed her eyes. She had done a fair bit of drinking in her day, but it had been -nothing- like this. Her eyes immediately filled with tears at the strength of the wine. She winced, as her teammates cheered her on from behind.

But at the same time, Ramona was having troubles of her own. Despite having a pretty strong stomach for alcohol, she had simply gulped some down the wrong tube at the start. It hadn't been her fault, she had just been overeager, and she turned to the the side, coughing. She very nearly gagged.

"Keep it down," Jeff reminded her.

But Ramona recovered, and now it was a race. Jessie was sipping very carefully and slowly, as it was the only way she could get it down. But she was still winning. And Ramona saw this, saw that she had only one chance. It would take one big burst, one Peter-sized gulp, and she could still win. So she closed her eyes, tipped the goblet back, and chugged it all. Her nose sizzled. Her eyes flooded with water. Her stomach and throat burned.

But it stayed down.

She had done it.

"Alkyone!" yelled Jeff, as Ramona thrust her fist in the air, happily. "Two points Alkyone, two points Taygete!"

With only four members, Taygete had to send John back for his second try. His mouth and nose still flared from the first attempt, and he looked tentative as he stepped up. He didn't think it would be any easier the second try, now that he knew what to expect. And his opponent would be Debb Eaton, who didn't look any happier to be here. Neither one of them would probably be the strongest drinkers in the game. This was hardly going to be a clash of the titans.

"John and Debb," said Jeff, watching as they stepped up. He poured wine into the two silver goblets and then raised his hand. "Survivors ready... go!"

Debb took a hearty sip, grimaced, and then stopped to take a breath. Wow, strong stuff. She then tilted her head back and tried to let the acidic drink slide down her throat, trying not to taste it. And she did a great job too, much better than she had expected. But the problem was that it had been just a little too late.

John was already done.

"Taygete!" announced Jeff, "With point number three!"

The host looked at John, incredulous, as Taygete cheered loudly from behind.

"You couldn't do it last time," asked Jeff, stunned. "What happened?"

"A little help from above," smiled John, as he looked up to the sky to say a quick thank you. He then went back to join his teammates, who mobbed him. John had come through when it counted. And that's just what leaders were expected to do.

"Okay," said Jeff. "Here's where we stand. Taygete has three points. One more and they win." He looked at Ryan Aiken, the intense young man who was lined up to be next. "Alkyone, you need to win the next two to win this thing." Jeff noted that the next two were Peter and Gabriel. The big boys.

This was going to be a hell of a finish.

"Okay," said Jeff, smiling. "Ryan and Peter. Come on up, guys."

The two men walked to the table and shook hands. But the cocky grin was gone from Ryan's face now. This time he was serious. Dead serious. He glared at the goblet before him, and then watched as Peter closed his eyes, taking slow, deep breaths. If ever a moment called for some yoga breathing, this was it.

After all, this was a high pressure moment. Peter was doing everything he could to calm his nerves.

"Survivors ready!" said Jeff, pausing a little longer than usual. "Go!!!!"

Ryan and Peter grabbed their goblets and gulped. Both of them had already taken a full stomachload of the stuff before, so it was a bit tougher this time around. Peter's head spun already, and Ryan felt like he was floating. But they were still fierce competitors, and still quite intent on winning. So it didn't last long at all. Within seconds, it was over.

Ryan slammed his goblet down to the table first, as he shrieked in furious delight.

"Yeah, BABY!!!!" he screamed, as Jeff tried his best to keep order. But it was going to be hard, over the delirium of Ryan's ecstatic teammates.

"Taygete! Wins immunity!"

The four members of the blue team hugged in a great mob, with Ryan at the center. Then the young model grabbed his goblet, excitedly, and hurled it into the sea. But he had won. They had placed their trust on his back, and he had come through, when it counted. For the first time ever in his Survivor experience, Ryan Aiken had carried his team to victory.

And he couldn't have been happier.

Peter watched in disbelief, hands on his hips, as Tanya came over to console him. Peter hadn't screwed up at all. He hadn't choked, he hadn't gagged, he hadn't done anything wrong. That was the worst part of it. He had just been beat. And there was nothing he could have done to prevent it.

"You know what this means, guys," said Jeff, as he came over to deliver the bad news. "Tribal Council, tomorrow."

Debb held her head down, in shame. Ramona looked defeated as well. The two newest members of Alkyone knew that tomorrow was going to be judgement day. Both of them expected to be voted out. Both of them knew they were sitting ducks, and there was very little they could do to prevent it. And both of them knew one -other- thing as well.

The next twenty-four hours were going to go very, very slowly.





DAY 24




Peter Harkey woke up with a raging hangover.

"Oh man," he said, as he sat up. He put a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes against the bright morning sky. The Greek sun seemed extra bright today, as it poured in through the walls of their homemade shelter.

"You hung over too?" asked Debb, sitting next to him. She smiled at him, sympathetically.

"I guess that's what happens," said Peter, slowly rubbing his temples, "When you drink 200 proof kerosene on an empty stomach." He opened his eyes and smiled over at her. "Your head still hurt?"

"Yeah," she said, wincing as she stood up. "I barely slept at all last night. I had to get up and walk around, my head was floating."

While it was true that the players had consumed very minimal amounts of wine during the actual challenge, both teams had -more- than made up for it afterwards. Jeff had given them each a bottle of wine to take back to camp, which had been very much appreciated, of course.

At the time, anyway.

The Alkyones had a bonfire upon their return, as they sat around the camp and reminisced about their time here. It had been a sad night, possibly the saddest they had known thus far. Debb had gone on and on about how she knew she was leaving tomorrow, and had almost seemed catatonic in her depression. The wine had helped ease her up somewhat, but she had remained by herself most of the night. Her time was up, and she knew it.

"You feelin' okay, though?" asked Peter, reaching over to pat her on the foot. He liked Debb. He really did. She was quiet, and introverted, and almost obsessive about her privacy, but he could respect that. He didn't care what others might say about her, Peter thought she was a valuable teammember, and would tell her so. He tried to treat everyone with respect on his team. He always did. Even if they were hard to talk to sometimes.

"Yeah," she looked over at him. "Still bummed though. Nothing's really changed, you know?" She squinted again, as she caught some more sunlight in her eyes. "It just sucks knowing you're gonna be voted out."

"Hey," he said, "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. No one knows what's gonna happen tonight. It could be anybody. Could even be me." He shrugged. "You're never out of it until you -take- yourself out of it."

"Come on," she said, half-smiling. "You're all gonna vote me off, and you know it." She looked at him, trying to judge the man's motives. Was he just messing with her? "Why try to build me up? That doesn't help anything."

But at the moment, Peter didn't have any more to say. He didn't feel like doing any more hand-holding, not first thing in the morning anyway. And -especially- not with a raging hangover. No, Peter had tried his best to make her feel welcome, and make her feel like she was appreciated. But sometimes you just got to a point where you couldn't do anything more. If a person wanted to be depressed, they were just gonna be depressed. And he wasn't going to lose any sleep over it.

Peter Harkey was -far- too laid back to stress over things like that.

"Well, let's get some food in us," he said, changing the subject. "Maybe a little fruit in our bellies will clear out the cobwebs a little." He stood up, bracing himself against the wall of the shelter, and nearly fell over. The world was still spinning a little. The wine -still- had not worn off.

"On second thought," he said, sitting back down, "Maybe I'll just lay down a little bit longer."




^^




Chicken was on the menu at Taygete today. And Stephanie was in charge of preparing it.

She stood over the firepit, rotating the spit at careful intervals. Wearing one of her thickest shirts, she was carefully bundled up, trying to fight off the morning cold. But it was her job to prepare breakfast today, even if it would consist of one of her three feathered friends. Luckily, she hadn't had to kill the bird itself. That part had been up to John and Ryan. The guys had taken care of the dirty work, thankfully, and now she was in charge of cooking it up.

And it was almost ready. This was going to be a good meal.

"This is Blue," she commented, as she turned the stick over the fire. The juices of the chicken skin dripped off into the flames, creating a small sizzle. "He gave his life, so that we could eat." She reached in to pat the roasting chicken, giving one of her sideways smirks. "Thanks, buddy."

With their immunity win last night, Taygete found themselves a much happier tribe this morning. The growing tension in the group had been put aside for a while. Things were back to normal, and all discussion of strategy and voting plans had been put on hold. Ryan's attempt to take the tribe over would simply have to wait.

For a few days, anyway.

"Right now we're doin' a chill-out day," Steph said, as she finally took the roasted chicken off its stick. "I call it a Ryan day." She laughed, to herself. "That means we sit around and do nothin'. Except maybe we might talk about wrestling or somethin'. I don't know." She shrugged. "Whatever."

It had been a running joke among first the Alkyones, and now the Taygetes, that Ryan Aiken knew very little about the actual game of Survivor. And they loved to make jokes about it. You see, Ryan had gone to the Amazon as a complete novice. He had never seen the show, had not really prepared, and just been flat out decimated at the first vote. And worse, he seemed to have learned very little during his short time there.

Ryan had come to Greece in almost the exact same state. He landed on Alkyone beach on day one with the same chip on his shoulder, the same lackluster attitude, and the same fiery demeanor that seemed to rub people the wrong way. He just didn't seem to learn. Yet despite this, the guy was cocky. Very cocky. The fact that he had made the jury had caused him to become almost intolerable. Yet through it all, through all his big talk, and his perceived successes, Ryan had really kind of missed the big picture. He didn't realize one absolute truth about his situation. Or maybe he just didn't care. And the truth was that all of his successes in the game had been due either to luck, or to the good graces of others.

Because no matter what he said or what he thought, Stephanie knew the guy had been lucky. Ryan Aiken had been a -terrible- player up to this point.

"All you have to know about Ryan," she explained, "Is that he never learns. He never changes. The guy never even watched the show before. He aint never seen it, because Smackdown was always on Thursday night, and Ryan had to watch that instead." She grinned, watching as the cameraman tried to hold back his chuckle. "I love the guy, personally, but he don't get much deeper than that. I mean... that's Ryan. That's all you need to know."

But luck or no luck, Ryan -did- have big plans. It didn't matter to him how he had gotten here. Sure, he had been dealt a pretty crummy hand when he started this game. He would be the first to tell you that. But it was really no big deal to him. Why look back, when there was so much to look forward to? There was, after all, still a lot of game to be played.

"The next vote," Ryan explained, as he sat on sentry duty, "Is going to make or break the game for me. I pretty much got all my cards on the table now, and it's gonna come down to a showdown." He grinned, "Someone's gonna try to step up and stop me, be it John, or maybe Steph." He nodded. "But we'll find out soon enough who's gonna be calling the shots. And if it all works out, you're looking right at him."

Ryan was currently stationed on top of the new Taygete roof. It was his first time on scout duty, and this was already a job that he greatly resented. He had barely even -looked- at the other island thus far. Why bother? He just didn't see the point. Besides, he had other things to stare at right now.

And her name was Jessie.

"Look at her ass, dude," said Ryan, as he glanced from time to time over at the beach. Jessie Camacho was currently sunbathing on the sand, face down, taking a break from the stress of the game. And Ryan was certainly not above enjoying the view a little. After all, there were -many- perks to keeping Jessie around, and this was certainly one of them.
In his mind, anyway.

"That girl right there," he said, nodding his head at her, "Is the key to the next vote. The two of us team up against John, or Steph, and they're gonna have to split up. Aint no way anybody wants a tie."

It was a risky plan he had in mind, but it was not without some forethought. He knew that John and Stephanie were both huge threats to win at this point. Both of them were strong, respected, and didn't have a whole lot of enemies. Well, sure, Steph had issues with Tanya, but that was about it. Despite her awkward persona, people liked Stephanie.

And they all loved John, of course. The pastor had strong ties to just about every player in the game. And for that reason, he would have to go. Eventually. And if it wasn't John, it had to be Steph. She was John's most trusted ally. And the pastor's power would be greatly negated if she were removed from the picture.

Especially if Ryan was the one to do it.

"I don't want to vote for him if we don't have to," Ryan admitted. "But you gotta do what you gotta do." He shrugged, as he took another quick peek at Jessie. "I'd rather take out Steph, but I'm not sure Jessie wants to do it yet." He made a quick dismissal motion with his hand. "Whatever, dude. We'll get it worked out. Soon, it'll all be gravy."

But with that, he perked up. It looked like Jessie was turning over.

"Sweet dude," he pointed out, smiling, "Check it out. Check out those headlights."




^^




With the day passing slowly at Alkyone, the two ex-Taygetes were busily saying their goodbyes. Both Ramona Gray and Debb Eaton were quite certain it would be their time to go tonight.

Ramona had already stopped by to talk to Tanya, and the two women discussed things. The vote, of course, was a big topic, but this wasn't simply a talk about strategy. Ramona just wanted to relax, and chill out. She was a big fan of not having stress in her life. And she simply didn't want the weight of a Tribal Council vote on her shoulders all day.

"We honestly don't know who's gonna go," explained Tanya. And she was being honest. Tanya Vance was trying her best to be on the level here. And sure, she was a strategic player. Almost -too- strategic sometimes. But deep down, she was a nice person. She didn't want Ramona to have to sweat this out if it wasn't neccessary.

"Honestly," finished the social worker, "It hasn't been decided yet."

"Well," smiled Ramona. "You guys are thinking about it. At least that's good to know."

"Personally," smiled Tanya. "If you asked me, I would rather keep you over Debb. You're good in the challenges. Debb's not that strong in anything."

"Who's the one that wants me out then?" asked Ramona, in a hushed whisper.

Tanya simply smiled, mischeviously.

She raised a finger to her lips. Shhh, can't tell.

"Who is it? Peter?" Ramona tried to read the face of her young teammate. But Tanya wasn't giving anything away.
"Gabriel?"

Tanya smiled again, shrugging.

"Come on," said Ramona. "Both?"

"Let's just say," said the social worker, coyly, "That Peter likes redheads. And that's all I'm gonna say."

And this was the truth, for the most part. Peter was the main one who wanted Ramona gone. Gabriel didn't seem to care, one way or the other. And although Tanya had debated trying to set Gabriel up as well, she had decided not to in the end. Not like it would make a difference, anyway.

"Well, why don't we just vote the guys out?" asked Ramona. "Me, you and Debb. We've got the numbers. We're the chicks, let's stick together here!"

Tanya shook her head again, without hesitation. Ramona had asked about this before. Debb had asked about this before. But it wasn't going to happen. It simply wasn't going to happen.

Not now, anyway. There was just too much to lose by jumping ship at the moment.

"Look," finished Tanya, "I'll ask around, and see what the guys want to do. But there aint a whole lot I can do to change their minds. They're just gonna do what they want to do." After a pause, she added. "Peter especially."

"Well," said Ramona, standing up, "I appreciate it. Thanks for that, anyway."

But she was still frustrated. She was in a no-win situation and she didn't like it.

She didn't like it at all.




^^



"I'd rather vote out Debb," Gabriel explained.

He was currently standing in the sea, waist deep, as he and Peter washed out some of their clothes. The two men were the decision makers in Alkyone, had always been the decision makers, and today was no different.

And of course, Tanya was here too. She liked to tag along most of the time.

"Debb's a great lady," said Gabe, "And I love her. She's good to have around. But she's more of a drag on morale than Mona. Mona's always smiling, and always laughing. And if we had to choose between the two, just from a -team- perspective, I'd pick Debb. We can afford to lose her."

Peter nodded, thoughtfully.

"Ramona's smarter," said Tanya, shrugging. "If we had to do puzzles or stuff, she's real good at those."

"But what about aftah?" added Peter, "We're not gonna stay a team all the way to the end. We'll be individual soon, and Mona's a much bigger threat than Debb." He looked over at Taygete beach. "Plus she's more populah. She's got ties over there."

Gabe nodded, not saying a thing.

"Debb isn't that well liked," Peter added. "I don't think any of 'em like her."

No one said a word, as the three of them thought it over. Peter immediately took this as a sign of dissention.

"I'm not tryin' to tell you guys what to do," he added. "I'm just throwin' out my opinion."

"No," said Gabe, his head down in thought, "It's a good point."

"I'll do whatever you guys want to do," Tanya deferred. It was a tactic she had mastered. "One way or another, it doesn't matter to me that much."




^^




The boat to Tribal Council picked them up around dinner time. It was Debb's suggestion that they didn't eat beforehand, to save food for one less mouth. So they were hungry on the long boat trip to Merope.

Ramona and Debb sat in the front seat, as they looked sadly out to sea. Behind them, their fates were being decided, and they didn't really even care. It was too painful to think about at the moment, so they mainly talked to each other. They were both dead meat anyway, so why bother?

"What's the first thing you'll do when you get back?" asked Ramona.

"I don't know," said Debb. She paused. "But I'm sure it will involve chocolate in some manner."

Ramona laughed out loud.

"I could use some myself," said Ramona.

The two ladies exchanged small talk for a while, discussing their similarities in life. Both of them were tough, very private, and quite proud of their achievements in life. And although Debb came off as aloof, and Ramona as a bit snobby, deep down they were remarkably similar in many ways. Especially in the fact that they both held back a lot of their true selves, which was difficult for others to deal with sometimes.

But despite all their similarities, eventually their chatter reached an impasse. An awkward silence. It was the same silence that usually ended their conversations. For no matter how much they had in common, or all their newfound camraderie, or the respect they now shared, there was still one thing that never changed.

They just didn't know what to say to one another.

"So who are you voting for?" asked Debb, finally.

Ramona looked over. Debb was staring sadly out to sea. She was obviously quite resigned to going home tonight.

"I was gonna vote for you," Ramona admitted.

"Same here," sighed Debb. "Figured I'd vote for you. Couldn't hurt."

"So," asked Ramona, "You probably tried to get them to vote for me, didn't you?" She smiled. She knew the answer. She knew Debb well enough to know how she would have played it.

"Yeah," Debb admitted. She shrugged. "I talked with Peter, told him you were lazy. Told Gabe too, said you were sneaky."

Ramona was shocked.

"Me? Lazy?"

Debb looked over and shrugged again. "Sorry. It was all I could think of."

Ramona nodded.

"Oh," said Debb, "And I told them about you and Jessie."

Ramona's heart sank. -That- info certainly wasn't going to help tonight. But, despite a little anger at Debb's tactics, Ramona was surprisingly fine with it all. Eh, it wasn't that big of a deal. Debb was just doing what she had to do. And it wasn't like Ramona hadn't done the -same- thing, anyway. Debb's reputation had been smeared among the Alkyones as well.

All's fair in love and war, right?

"Ahhh," said Ramona, waving her hand. "No big deal. Whoever goes tonight is gonna go. No use crying over it, right?"

Debb looked up, surprised. She thought Ramona would be more upset. But it wasn't like that at all. So Debb simply smiled, and patted her friend on her knee.

"Yeah," said the prison guard. "Vote both of us out. See if we care." Then she grinned, and summed up her thoughts nicely in one succinct phrase.

"Screw 'em."




^^




Debb Eaton sat in the back row, watching as Jeff went through his flurry of Tribal Council questions. She also watched her teammates, watched how they answered, watched for body language, as she tried to predict how they would all be voting tonight.

"No," said Tanya, answering Jeff's latest query, "It was never hard to have new teammates. We couldn't have asked for a better pair."

She looked over at Debb, and smiled. But it was a smile that did not fool the prison guard. It wasn't kindness. It was sympathy. -Crap,- thought Debb, -It's me-.

"Of course we're the Love Tribe," smiled Gabriel, happily. "We've always worked together, that's been our goal since day one. To do it all as a team."

But Gabe didn't look at her. He just set his jaw and stared at the fire. He gave away no clues whatsoever, and Debb couldn't read him at all. Few people ever could.

"My vote tonight," admitted Peter, "Is going for the person who I feel can help us the least, and who could have repercussions if we keep them down the road."

-Interesting-, thought Debb. Peter was a friend, could he have lobbied to save her tonight? It sure sounded like he was talking about Ramona, and her friendship with Jessie.

"Would it be safe to say," asked Jeff, "That a female was going tonight, Peter?"

Peter smiled.

"Yes, sir. It would be safe."

Debb chuckled under her breath.

"Debb," asked Jeff, looking right at her, "So how are you sitting back there? Do you feel safe tonight?"

"Not at all, Jeff," she said. "I know I'm gone."

"Why you over Ramona?" asked Jeff, curious.

"Because she's more social than I am," Debb answered, truthfully. "I know they'll keep her over me because she's closer to Gabe and Tanya. She's best friends with them already, and I'm not. I've barely spoken with Gabe since I got here."

She shrugged. It was the honest answer. Debb had simply not been accepted as readily as her younger teammate. It was no surprise. She was used to things like that.

"What about that, Ramona?" asked Jeff, "Do you feel like you have fit in better than Debb?"

Ramona paused. She wanted to give the diplomatic answer. She really did. She wanted to just say, "Of course not. Debb has been just as valuable as anyone here." But she couldn't make herself do it. Ramona Gray just had her own butt to protect. They all did. So she went for the strategic answer instead.

"Yes," she said. "I've fit in a lot better than her. Definitely. She's kind of stuck out like a sore thumb, I think."

"So," Jeff followed up, "Do you think Debb is going home tonight, over you?"

Ramona shrugged.

"I have no clue," she said, not looking at anyone else. "But I would vote her out, if I were them."

"Okay," said Jeff, "Here's how it's gonna work. The person voted out tonight will be our first member of the jury." He pointed over to the jury bench, which had been unused up to this point. It was made of marble and looked very, very empty.
For now.

"Our jurors," continued Jeff, "Will be here until the end of the game, and will be the ones to ultimately decide the Ultimate Survivor." He smiled, then patted his knees and stood up. "Okay, it's time to vote. Tanya, you're first."

Tanya Vance stood up and walked across the dirt path to the voting box. She cast her ballot, said her piece, and walked back. She was followed, in order, by the rest of them.

Peter Harkey.

Ramona Gray.

Gabriel Cade.

And finally, Debb Eaton.

They all cast their vote, gave their speech, came back, and sat down. And now, after a few moments, Jeff was back with the ballot box. He held it in his hands, as the darkness of the Tribal Council set loomed behind him. The shadows of the fire pit licked across his face, ominously.

"The person voted out tonight," he said, "Must leave the Tribal Council area immediately."

He paused, and then pulled out the first ballot.

He opened it.

And turned it around.

"Ramona," it read. The chemist frowned slightly in the first row, hoping that was Debb's vote. She crossed her fingers that it was. Otherwise she was gone.

"Second vote," said Jeff, pulling it out.

"Debb," it read. And Debb had the exact same thought flash through her head. That better be Ramona's.

It was now one to one.

"Third vote," said Jeff, as he picked it up out of the box. Both Ramona and Debb knew this was the biggie. This one would decide who was going tonight. They both held their breath.

Jeff turned it around.

"Debb," it read. It was written in Tanya's distinctive small handwriting. The only girlish writing in the group. It was unmistakable.

Debb lowered her head, and listened for Jeff to finish her off. She knew it was coming. If one of them voted for her, they all would. That was just common sense.

"And the eighth person voted out of the gane," he said, "And first member of our jury..." He revealed the vote.


"Debb."


With that, Debb reached back to pick up her torch. Peter gave her a cursory "Good luck," and Gabriel patted her on the knee. But she had known all along. It had become a self-fulfilling prophecy. They simply hadn't wanted her here.

Some things never changed.

"Debb," said Jeff, as she stood before him. "The tribe has spoken." With that, he lowered his snuffer, and darkened her torch. The prison guard was now out of the game. She gave a small wave, adjusted her red baseball cap, turned and walked through the metal gate. She walked down the path, into the darkness, and towards the exit boat. At the boat, she paused, taking her first glance at the mysterious boatman.

He simply stared out to sea, not looking at her. His face was shrouded in the large black hood, and she couldn't see a thing. But within moments, she was gone, having been ferried away.

And now, the tribe was down to four.

"You guys can pack up," Jeff said, nodding. "And I'll see you tomorrow."

With that, the tribe in white grabbed their bags, stood up, and walked away from the set. Tanya took a moment to congratulate Ramona, and the chemist smiled happily, relieved. But now the game was going to get tight. For all of them. Because one thought was running through all of their heads at the moment.

We're down to an even number now, eight players left in the game.

Are we about to merge?

And if not tomorrow... when?

- Read Debb's Final Words!

- All-Star Survivor: Greece episode notes.

- Email Mario with comments.

- Back to the All-Star Greece episode archive.