“It’s
great to see Spar gone,” Savin says as the sun rises on Day 28. “At the
same time... our first tribal council after the merge... and we vote out
an Alt elf. You’d have to be blind not to see Strongbow cuddling up to
Coppersky over there. Last night was really the last night any of us could
afford to have their guard down.”
“I don’t know what to make of it,” Tyleet confesses. “I thought we had an alliance. Mother says it’s for our own good. But I don’t think she understands. I don’t think anyone can. When you’re in this game with this elf whose soul is your own... well, Cutter and Swift would understand. If they weren’t in the middle of killing each other right now wherever it is the outcasts go to sit out the run of the show.”
Coppersky: Spar... she was my ally. And I’d have taken good care of her. I would have. But you don’t screw Saen over and walk away. You just don’t.Strongbow and Nightfall go together in search of tree-mail. **You, me, and our cubs in Final Four,** he sends. **We’ll take Coppersky as far as we can. But we must look after our own first.**
**But what does Coppersky think?**
**He wants to vote out Tyleet when the time comes.**
Nightfall considers it. **I betrayed my own lifemate last season. I betrayed my chief through my own inaction. I will not betray my cub. Not even for a million dollars.**
**You won’t have to. I swear it.**
They find tree-mail and bring it back to camp. “It’s something about seeing your loved ones again,” Nightfall translates the poor verse. “Anyway, we have to meet Winnowill in the swamp.”
Littlefire: Loved ones! Loved ones! Familiar elves! Normal elves!
Coppersky: I don’t care what I have to do. I don’t care how much it’ll hurt. I don’t care if I have to move the entire island five feet to the northeast. By hell or high water – I will get my afternoon with Sust!The nine members of the Two Moons tribe arrive in the dismal swamp, and Littlefire is already wrinkling his nose at the smell of decaying plant matter. Winnowill is beaming in her sexy orange bio-hazard suit. “Come on in, Survivors. Today we have a very special reward challenge for you. I bet you’re all feeling pretty lonely after a month away from your loved ones. And we have a surprise for you today. Actually... it’s not much a of surprise, is it? We do this every season. Nevertheless – Come on out, exploited Celebrity Guest Stars!”
**Eryn! My eyes see with joy,** Strongbow locksends as as Moonshade comes around the corner. “Little Patch!” Tyleet cries out as a tall human lad appears from off-screen. “Redstar!” Crescent grins as a handsome ghost levitates into view.
Strongbow: **Redstar?**Strongbow glowers at Crescent. Moonshade leans over to the ghost. “What series are you from?”Crescent: He’s... um... my boyfriend.
Strongbow: **Boyfriend? You didn’t tell me about any boyfriend!**
Crescent: Dad, I’m not a cub anymore.
Strongbow: **How long has this been going on?**
Crescent: About... last seven thousand years or so. L-look – I – I was going to introduce you two at the wrap party –
“Blood of Ten Chiefs,” Redstar explains genially. “Tanner’s day. I... um, I was also credited under the name of Redpelt. Saved from human by Finder. Issue 18, Anthology Book Five.”
“Oh yeah...” Moonshade nods distractedly. “I always liked that story.”
“Redlance!” Nightfall laughs aloud as the treeshaper arrives. Following closely behind is Skywise. Savin hesitates. “Skywise? My Skywise?” She starts giggling nervously. “Skywise! Honey, what are you doing here? You... you didn’t see the other Skywise around, did you?”
Alt-Skywise: (clipped) Yeah. Yeah, we’re gonna have to talk about that, babe.A tawnier-haired and broader-shouldered Alternaverse Sust follows Skywise, and Coppersky murmurs a prayer of thanksgiving to the forces of darkness. Quicksilver appears to wave a hello to Weatherbird and Savin. Alternaverse Skot appears, and Cheipar grins. So does Littlefire. “Papa Skot! Over here!” Littlefire shouts, and Coppersky winces at the nervous pitch to his voice. Then Alternaverse Pike appears, and suddenly the camera-troll is sent flying as Littlefire shoulder-checks him aside and flies into Pike’s arms.
“Hey, not just yet, Littlefire,” Winnowill begins, but Littlefire’s long limbs are wrapped around Pike in a death grip, and it takes two trolls to pull him away from his stepfather. “Now,” Winnowill says once Littlefire is deposited sulking back with his tribemates. “As you can probably guess, the winner of today’s reward challenge gets twenty-four uninterrupted hours alone with their special guest at a special campsite my baby Two-Edge has lovingly crafted in some ancient stone ruins left by the man-eating transvestite pirates.”
Winnowill then outlines the rules of the challenge. It is an eating competition, and all manner of disgusting foods are featured. Raw squid tentacles. Rotten fish guts. Cockroaches. Power Bars®. “But, you won’t have to worry about it,” Winnowill concludes. “Because it’s your loved ones who’ll be taking this challenge.”
Savin: Well... that was... mildly unexpected.“Not to worry,” Winnowill says. “We are an equal opportunity reality show. You’ll have you own set of dishes to ingest – rocks tainted with foul magic from the time of the Firstcomers.”The Ghost of Redstar: Um... question. I’m dead. So...
The Ghost of Redstar: Oh... goodie.The contestants line up at the sideboard. The first dish on the menu is a boiled tarantula. Moonshade makes a face but gamely digs in. So do the rest, some with greater gusto than others. The sushi meets a similar fate. But when the rotten fish guts make their appearance, Little Patch cannot hold his portion down, and after turning from the table to cough up the rotting meat, he is disqualified.
Tyleet: You tried, baby. Momma’s proud of you.Next come live cockroaches. Skywise blanches, but manages to get it down. Redstar ingests his fourth helping of tainted magic and his aura begins to turn green. Winnowill now introduces time trials. Skywise, Quicksilver and Moonshade are unable to finish the juicy green grubs in the required time and are eliminated. Next come Shapechanged eyes. Pike tries to swallow it down, but is overcome with nausea. Skot, Sust, Redstar and Redlance remain. The canon treeshaper is shivering. The ghost is tiring. Skot and Sust are still going strong.
A
cup of pure blood takes Redlance out of the running. Sust is unsteady on
his feet, and the ghost of Redstar is fading in and out of existence. Their
loved ones cheer them on from the sidelines. Finally Winnowill brings out
the final contest. Whoever can eat a raw tarantula – or purge a piece of
rock infected by the Mindcoil – wins. Redstar is too weak to go on. Sust
chews too slowly. Skot wolfs his down with gusto and is proclaimed the
winner. Cheipar runs over to embrace his father.
Cheipar: (whisper in his ear) You’re disgusting.
Skot: (hugging him back) Love you too, kid.“I’m afraid the rest of you are going to have to say goodbye,” Winnowill says. Littlefire begins to pull at his hair nervously. Weatherbird taps him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry,” she whispers. “The token celebrity guest stars always come back for the immunity challenge. But try to look surprised.”
Cheipar and Skot climb into a chaffeured SUV and are taken for a long ride through the jungle. Skot washes his mouth out with repeated gulps of Listerine, then ruffles Cheipar’s hair fondly. Meanwhile, the remaining Two Moons tribe returns to camp. Weatherbird is up-beat: “It was great to see Mother again, even if it was only for a few minutes,” she says. But losing has put Strongbow and Crescent in foul moods, and they can be heard arguing on the path to the water hole.
Coppersky too is in a black mood, and silently gathers his spear to stalk into the jungle. By the time he returns, he has several dead animals and a hint of the old spring in his step. Littlefire broods. Tyleet and Nightfall spend their time away from the others, deep in thought.
Cheipar and Skot arrive at the campsite to find a lavish Go-Back feast prepared for them. “Roast beasts and dreamberry wine!” Skot announces. “It doesn’t get any better.”
Cheipar: (wrinkling his nose) What manner of roast beast?
Skot: Does it matter?
Cheipar: (shrugs)A few bottles of dreamberry wine later, Cheipar’s tongue is suitably loosened. “I don’t want to talk about anything to do with this game,” he slurs. “Nothing! Tell me what’s happening at home. I want to know everything.”
Skot shrugs. “Cricket and Tass are busy pestering the local humans – they’ve got this bet going that they can get the humans to create a whole new mythology just by pelting them with seed pods and stealing thatch from the roof only on new moons. Ah, it’s all buckrot to me. But it’s fun to watch. And of course Venka can’t show her teeth to her daughter. We’re all counting the days until the show airs – we had to sign some kind of waiver so we’ll get sued if we leak what’s happening. Sunstream is taking the Palace over to Oasis to talk to those High Ones almost every day. And I hear on the grapevine there’s a new epic adventure in the works.”
Cheipar: (intrigued) We in it?Back at camp, Savin and Weatherbird are reviewing their options. “Coppersky’s the wild card,” Savin says. “He could side with us, and we’ll take out the Warp elves five to four. But he knows we won’t let him have Final Four. Or he could side with Warp and help them take us out. But he must know Strongbow won’t cut one of his own for Coppersky.”Skot: Don’t know yet. I hear it won’t get started on until the New Year... if then. Something about scheduling conflicts. Ah, I don’t know how these things work.
“So Coppersky won’t make it to Final Four unless he double-crosses someone.”
Savin nods. “I don’t think he has much of a problem with that.”
“He’s going to go after Littlefire,” Weatherbird decides.
“So Littlefire needs to win immunity. Or we need a Warp elf in our pocket.”
At the campsite, Cheipar and Skot are bedding down for the night, under the stars. “Great night,” Cheipar remarks. “Yeah,” Skot nods. “Good thing too, since Winnie didn’t give us a tent.”
They hear a rumble of thunder in the valley far below. “Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned that,” Skot murmurs.
But the rain never comes, and father and son wake up refreshed the next day. Troll campside-service has already left a pot of coffee brewing, and they nurse their hangovers. “You stay on track,” Skot tells Cheipar. “Don’t be a burr in anyone’s boot like your old man, hey? You’re going to win this game. Wait and see. By the Great Ice Wall... a million Djuns... that’s a lot of cash. Wouldn’t that be something if you took it all home?”
Cheipar: What do you want?
Skot: (wheedling) My own nightclub?
Cheipar: We’ll see.
Skot: And a paintball park?
Cheipar: We’ll see.As morning on Day 29 turns to afternoon, Coppersky is deep in plots with Strongbow, Nightfall and Crescent. “Littlefire. He won’t win immunity – he never does. And it’s time he goes.”
“It seems... cruel,” Crescent says. “Poor thing...”
“That ‘poor thing’ is going to win this game if we’re not careful!” Coppersky says. “So far everyone’s put up with him because he’s no threat. How many times an episode does he mess things up? But he’s protected from on high. Cheipar and Weatherbird and Savin won’t touch him. And if he gets ahead far enough, he might just stumble into final two by sheer luck. And who wouldn’t vote him Sole Survivor out of pity? I don’t intend to lose to anyone like that! If I go, it’s because the elf I was up against outwitted, outplayed and outlasted me – not because he stood there giving off a bloody I, Claudius vibe! It’s time he goes, and we have the numbers to do it. We might never have that chance again.”
“He’s right,” Nightfall nods. “And Littlefire’s come further in this game than I’m sure anyone expected. He’s done well. There’s no shame in going home now.”
Crescent broods. “I don’t like it,” she tells the cameras. “I wish I could say why. I know we have to be ruthless now. I know have to think of myself – and I don’t want to be voted out because I didn’t know how to play this game. And I don’t want Littlefire to win by default. But Coppersky and Father... do I want them to win? Father says it will be the two of us at final two. Can I rely on that? I don’t think so. It’s not that I don’t trust him... maybe it is. I don’t know anymore. This place... it messes with your head. I don’t think you can really understand what it’s like until you’re stuck here...”
As the sun sets on Day 29, Cheipar and Skot come by the camp. Littlefire and Skot share a hug, and Skot high fives Savin. “Keep it up,” he tells her. “I’ve got money riding on you.”
Cheipar: On her?
Skot: Oh, look at the time. I’d better go.Sure enough, the jeep has arrived to take him back to the celebrity beach house. Skot bids the elves farewell, then climbs into the jeep and rides away.
The
Two Moons tribe crawls under the shelter to sleep as the winds begin to
blow from the north. Cheipar and Weatherbird snuggle down under the fleece
blanket together as the camera hovers unnecessarily close. Cheipar kicks
the troll cameraman in the shins.
“Thirty days!” Littlefire exclaims upon awakening the next morning.
Littlefire: Thirty days. Thirty factors to five and six which factors to five and two and three. I never thought I’d be here after five times two times times three days. If I had known, I probably wouldn’t have come here. The worst part - the WORST PART - is I’m actually getting used to everyone here. That means when I go home my Nightfall and my Strongbow and the rest are going to smell all wrong.“Tree-mail!” Tyleet announces cheerfully. “We’ve got to be on the beach in two hours.”
They show up on the beach to find Winnowill all alone. “Something’s up,” Savin mutters. “Where the hell are all our loved ones? The loved ones always show up for the immunity challenge.”
“All right, fork over the immunity necklace, Strongbow. There we are. Today, my little misfit castaways, we have a very special immunity challenge for you. In the dry summer months here there are often a lot of lightning fires. And the primitive transvestite cannibal war-shamans who used to live here before we slaughtered them and exploited their cultures for profit often had to organize bucket brigades to put out the fire before it reached their possessions and loved ones.”
Savin: Oh merciful trolls in hell. I think I see where this is going.Winnowill leads them around the corner of the beach, and they emerge into a clearing to find nine pyres staffed by nine bound loved ones. “Hi, Mom!” Quicksilver waves from her pyre in between trying to squirm free of her chains.
“You’re a bucket brigade of one today,” Winnowill continues. “With the materials available here on this beach, you have to make a bucket to carry water up to the pyre and save your loved ones from the danger of this!” she holds up a lighter and flicks it repeatedly.
Littlefire: What’s going on? What’s going on? This is not right! You don’t... kill people on Survivor!“Oh, pshaw. They’ll only be maimed at worse.” Winnowill reaches out and pats Littlefire’s shoulder. “Don’t be so melodram–agh!” She is abruptly silenced as Littlefire punched her square in the jaw. Horrified, Littlefire backs up, in shock. The tribe breaks out in thunderous applause.
Littlefire: You - you - you’re not supposed to touch me!
Winnowill: (getting up, massaging temples) Just for that, I’m lighting Pike’s pyre first. All right, you little bastards, get to the starting line. First one to extinguish their loved one’s pyre wins immunity and three more guaranteed days on Survivor. Last one... well, he might be having some barbeque tonight. Survivors ready?
Savin: No.
Winnowill: Go!Winnowill lights nine identical fuses leading to the nine pyres. The elves scramble to find things to carry water in. Littlefire tries his shirt, but it is full of too many holes, and the sea water leaks through before he can carry it more than a few paces. The fuses have now reached the pyres. “This is not what I signed up for...” Skot moans as he watches the kindling below his fire start to burn. “I have a real phobia about fire, you know. I really do.”
“Be strong, lifemate!” Moonshade shouts. “Don’t worry about me.”
“Worry about me,” Skot calls. “Yep... yep, I’d worry.”
Strongbow has found a coconut husk, and rushes up with a cupful of water. It dampens the fire at Moonshade’s feet, but does not extinguish it. He turns and runs back to the sea. Cheipar is managing well carrying water in his own shirt. He almost puts out the fire, then struggles to stamp out the remnants. Crescent meanwhile, blows on the flames at Redstar’s pyre, and they die out.
“Your disqualified, Crescent!” Winnowill shouts. “You didn’t actually use water.”
Cheipar runs up with another shirtful of water and dumps it on the last embers at Skot’s feet. The fire goes out. “Cheipar, the winner!” Winnowill calls. “Immunity. But don’t stop now, Survivors. This game isn’t over yet.”
“Oh, drukk it,” Coppersky moans. He proceeds to kick at the feet smoldering at Sust’s pyre until it breaks up, then smothers it in sand. Strongbow extinguishes the last of Moonshade’s fire. Savin stamps out the fire at Skywise’s feet, then rushes to help Littlefire, who is struggling to put out Pike’s pyre. Nightfall smothers Redlance’s fire, then snaps his bonds and helps him down from the bonfire pyre. Weatherbird carries a huge puddle of water in her skirt, and dumps it at Quicksilver’s feet. The fire hisses, but does not die out immediately. A few quick kicks of sand finishes it off. Tyleet is still trying to put out Little Patch’s fire, while the tall human wriggles uncomfortably against his bonds. Weatherbird hastens to help her. The last flames go out, and the elves help their loved ones escape their bonds. Pike and Littlefire embrace. Strongbow and Moonshade share a heated locksending. Coppersky attaches himself to Sust with a death grip.
“Enjoy it while it lasts,” Winnowill says. “I’ll see you all at tribal council tonight.”
Weatherbird: Now that Cheipar’s won immunity, I know Coppersky will be going after Littlefire – hey, where is Coppersky?Coppersky reappears a few moments later, hanging on to Sust as a troll stagehand drags the Alternaverse Go-Back out of the bushes. Tyleet frees Little Patch and embraces him fondly before bidding her human son farewell. Quicksilver hugs Savin and Weatherbird goodbye. Skywise ruffles his granddaughter’s hair and dips Savin for a “Gone with the Wind” era kiss. Littlefire and Pike weep as they are parted. Strongbow and Moonshade bid farewell in exquisitely rendered slow motion. Nightfall and Redlance embrace for a full-page spread. Crescent and Redstar mingle spiritual mists, then part ways. Cheipar and Skot share a shoulder-slapping man-hug, then Skot turns to join the other token celebrity loved ones at the jeep that will take them off-set.
With one afternoon left to tribal council, Savin is seen talking to Coppersky. “Now is the time to get rid of Strongbow,” she whispers. “Or Nightfall. They’ve lost immunity and they’re vulnerable. Listen to me, I know you think you’re making a deal with them. But they won’t give you a spot in Final Four. There are four of them right now. And they’ll stick together. We have to whittle them down.”
Coppersky: (melancholy) And if I side with you, Savin? You and Weatherbird and Littlefire and Cheipar? You’re four. You won’t let me in Final Four either, will you?
Savin: You’re the swing vote here, Coppersky. You’re the one who’ll determine which way the game goes. If you turn on your tribe now and side with the Warp elves, you’ll be making a decision you can’t undo later.
Coppersky: (reasonable) It’s not about tribes anymore, Savin. It’s not even about alliances. It’s everyone for themselves.
Savin: I want to help you. I want us to have an alliance.
Coppersky: An alliance of five?
Savin: I can’t turn on my granddaughter and her family. You know that.Coppersky sighs. “The Warp elves will vote with me. Littlefire is going out. You know he has to. I can’t let him win this game, and neither can you. Look, we have five votes. It’s enough. But I want us to stay together. We’ve done well together, Savin. Please... you need to think about the future.”
Savin shakes her head. “I can’t. I won’t turn on Littlefire.”
Coppersky nods. “All right. But I have to.”
Savin nods. “I know.”
The
tribe arrives to council as a cold wind begins to blow with impeccable
ominous timing. Winnowill is closely guarded by two large trolls who force
Littlefire to sit at the far end of the council benches. “Just taking precautions,”
Winnowill explains cheerfully. “So, thirty days. Three-quarters of the
way there. And tonight the elf you vote out will become the first member
of the Jury. Coppersky... you looked pretty miserable when Sust left today.
Any thoughts of just... setting down your torch and leave this game? You
could be back with the Wild Hunt in time for supper.”
Coppersky: I went into this game playing to win, Winnowill. And I’m still playing to win.
Winnowill: Littlefire. You’d been the odd one out for a long time. But you’ve lasted longer than both Bloods of Ten Chief. How do you feel about the future?
Littlefire: (head in hands) I don’t know, why are you asking me? Stop talking to me.“And with that, it is time to vote,” Winnowill announces jauntily.
The elves retire to vote one by one. When it is Savin’s turn, she holds up the paper with Nightfall’s name in front of the camera. “I know I can’t touch you tonight. But I only hope that when the time comes, this vote will come back to haunt you.”
Winnowill gathers the votes together and reads them out. One vote for Littlefire. One for Nightfall. Two for Littlefire. Two for Nightfall. Three each. Four each. Only one vote remains, and the Alternaverse elves already know whose name is written on it.
Winnowill reveals the ninth vote. “Littlefire. The eleventh elf voted out and the first member of our jury. Littlefire, I’ll need you to bring me your torch.”
“Sorry, kid,” Coppersky murmured as Littlefire rises and brings his torch over to be extinguished.
“Littlefire, the tribe has spoken,” Winnowill says. “It’s time for you to go.”
“Home?”
“Well... no. You have to come back in three days to sit on the Jury.”
Littlefire: Oh. Where am I going?
Winnowill: (sighs wearily) To see Kit.“Oh! All right then,” Littlefire says cheerfully, and exits the set without a backward glance. Cheipar and Weatherbird smile fondly. Coppersky is brooding. Already, doubts are plaguing him.
LITTLEFIRE’S LAST WORDS
 Huh? What?
I’m supposed to talk here? Oh, all right. Um... I’m glad to be out of here.
It’s too much. It’s... too sharp.But I'm glad I came. I did it. I lasted
here for five times two times three days. No one thought I would. But I
did. I did, and I can do anything now. And the best part - I'm getting
out of here. I'm going to see Kit. I'm going to sleep in a quiet room!
It’s good now. It's good - it's very good. |