Episode 4
The Shocking Truth
“Last time on Endurance Forest!” Vince Goldman says over clips of the previous episode. “The contestants were tasked to stay awake as long as possible. They spent that time doing whatever, from reading to playing chess to simply getting to know each other. Lucas and Jillian got really close as sparks started to fly between them while Mina learned that there was no possibility of sparks between her and Clarence. Also a lack of sparks for Ed and Regina, but that seems to be part of Ed’s plan. In the end Yong-Gi managed to outlast everyone else, getting the win for Team Fire and sending Team Water to elimination. Regina’s alliance decided to not rock the boat just yet and target the least sociable member on the team. Something that the rest of Team Water, outside of said target, seemed to independently agree with as in a near-unanimous vote Phineas was sent packing. Thank the lord, I was getting tired of him staring into everyone’s souls. Twelve are left. Who will be going home tonight? Find out on this episode of Endurance Forest!”
~~~
The show opens on a shot of Lissa dressed in a pink sports bra and black yoga pants as she was doing yoga by the side of the lake. As she’s in the downward dog position, Mina walks by and asks, “Yoga?”
“Yup.” Lissa responds.
“Does that actually do anything? Not judging, I’m legitimately curious.”
“Oh it helps with flexibility, balance and strength.” Lissa explained, changing position. “Though I’m glad that I can finally do it since, well, I was worried that Phineas guy would be gawking at me if I did so. I deal with that enough at the gym from guys who actually look good. I don’t need it from a gross dude like that.”
“I getcha. I’ve been hit on by creeps before.”
“Though that being said, I wouldn’t mind if Clarence came to take a few peeks.”
“I don’t think that's gonna happen.” Mina said bluntly.
“Why do you say that? Jealous that he might like me more?” Lissa asked, standing back up.
“Maybe if we were having this conversation a few days ago, but no, I’m just letting you know to not waste your time. He’s already seeing someone outside of the game and even if he wasn’t, apparently we were both barking up the wrong tree.”
“What do you mean by that?” Lissa asked, tilting her head.
“He’s gay.”
“What?”
“Yeah, after the last challenge he mentioned to me that he has a boyfriend to me.”
“But… he’s built like a brickhouse. What do you mean he’s gay?” Lissa asked, sounding both disappointed and like she was trying to find something that would instantly prove what Mina was saying was wrong.
“Sexuality isn’t tied to one's body type.”
“I know, but…” Lissa made a grunt before walking away.
Mina just shrugged and went back on her walk.
~~~
Lissa is shown in the confessional in her normal clothes. “I hope Mina was making that up in an attempt to stop me from pursuing Clarence since… I’m going to be so disappointed if she’s right.”
~~~
Over at Team Fire’s campsite Ben and Yong-Gi are shown drinking coffee and they watch Nicole going on a morning jog. Both taking a good look of her assets bouncing as she ran.
“Any guess at what today’s challenge is going to be?” Yong-Gi asked.
Ben shrugged, “Could be anything. Though I hope the reward is something as good as the previous one. Even if this coffee is overall average, it’s practically a godsend out here. Though it is making me miss the kind my girlfriend makes at her work.”
“Oh yeah, you’ve mentioned her before. I’m guessing she’s a barista.”
“Yeah, but she’s currently going to school to go into criminal investigations.”
“So she’s looking to become a detective?”
“More like going into forensics, but close enough.”
“Is that why you’re here?”
“Yeah. If I win I plan on using part of the money to help her pay for her student loans. With whatever’s left being used however else I may need it for. You know, like an emergency fund of some sort. What about you? What are your plans with the money?”
“Move out of my parent’s place, get a new computer and whatever other stuff I need in order to have a better streaming setup and I guess just try to survive from there. Also buy a new car since my current one is a barely functioning piece of s*** that my uncle sold me for like three-thousand dollars just so he could get it off of his property.”
“Really now?”
“Yeah, I mean it gets the job done, but sometimes I question how.” Yong-Gi said before finishing his coffee.
It was at that point where Vince’s voice came out of the speakers, “Attention contestants. The next challenge will begin in one hour. Please get ready and meet at the same area as last time.”
~~~
Team Fire is shown standing together in front of Vince Goldman who had a box next to him. The host motions to the left for Team Water to walk in, “Team Fire, talk a look at the new Team Water, Phineas getting the pink slip at the last elimination ceremony.”
“I can’t say I’m shocked.” Ben commented. “That guy had some major bad vibes coming off of him.”
“I hope the rooms in the motel where the eliminated contestants go have locks on their doors.” Nicole added with legitimate concern in her voice.
“Anyways…” Vince said in order to not have a fearful possibility linger for too long, “I’m going to need each and every one of you to put on one of these collars.” He said picking up the box and showing them that it was filled with twelve metal collars.
Lissa laughed, “Not the first time I’ve heard that sentence.”
“Seriously.” Mina said, side-eyeing the rich girl.
“Me neither.” Nicole added.
“Mom!” Mina shouted, her face turning red upon hearing that.
“So what are these for?” Simon asked as he grabbed a collar from the box.
“Just put them on and I’ll explain everything.” Vince said.
~~~
The show cuts to later where all the contestants are wearing the collars and standing across from one another arranged in alphabetical order as they were instructed to. Vince smiles and begins to explain, “For today’s challenge you all are going to be learning quite a bit about one another. Around your necks are collars that function as lie detectors. One by one you are going to be able to ask any contestant on the opposite team a question about themselves. If they answer truthfully the light on it will flash green and they stay in, but if they lie or refuse to answer the question the collar will flash red, give them a small shock and they’ll be eliminated from the challenge. The last team with people on it will win immunity and the reward of a pallet of biodegradable toilet paper.”
“Is the electrical shock really necessary?” Ben asked in a worried voice, which got a few nods from a handful of the other contestants.
“Just see it as an extra incentive to tell the truth or to ask more hard hitting questions that you think the other person wouldn’t want to answer.” Vince said with a smirk targeted at Ben.
~~~
Ben is shown in the confessional. “I’m starting to think that Vince might not like me.”
~~~
Ed is then shown in the confessional. “Well that’s just peachy. A challenge about being truthful when my whole strategy is lying about practically everything about myself. If I’m asked what I do for a living, I’m screwed.”
~~~
“Since we asked all of you to stand in alphabetical order, that’s the order each asker will go in. Going back and forth between the teams. Team Fire, since you won the last challenge, you’ll get to go first with Ben asking the first question. Go ahead Ben.”
“Oh umm…” Ben muttered trying to think of who to ask and what, “Clarence… who would you say is the most attractive person on your team?”
“I’m assuming that you mean other than myself. Well… since I’m not into women, I guess by default it’s Ed.” Clarence said with a chuckle. After a few seconds the light flashed green.
“Oh, I don’t swing that way, but thanks dude.” Ed said with a grin on his face.
“Wait, you weren’t lying. He is gay?” Lissa whispered to Mina standing next to her.
Mina just nodded.
“Damnit.” Lissa spat.
~~~
An annoyed Lissa is shown in the confessional, “Figures, the only guy in this show that doesn't have something going against them in the looks department is gay.” She then lets out a sign, “Well… thank god I’m bi so maybe there’s still a chance to make this whole show worthwhile if I don’t win.”
~~~
It was Clarence’s turn as he looked around the members on Team Fire and decided to settle on the least honest looking member. “Simon. Have you ever knowingly ripped someone off.”
“What? Oh please, if Simon English stands for anything it’s honesty.” Simon said with a confident smile on his face. This was followed by the light on his collar turning red and a buzzing sound being heard as the collar zapped him, “Ah! Son of a bitch that hurts!”
“Simon, you’re out.” Vince said as the counters from the previous episode reappear on screen.
Team Fire: 5
Team Water: 6
“A “small shock”, my ass!” Simon shouted as he walked off to the sidelines.
~~~
Simon is shown in the confessional, “Look, I’ve been lying my whole life. I thought I was good enough to trick it. I’ve done so before. I guess they’ve gotten better since the last time I’ve been hooked up to one of those before.” He then let out an annoyed grunt , “So that’s two challenges in a row where I’m the first one out? At this rate my alliance might see me as the weakest link. Which might not be a bad thing if we reach the final four and they see each other as bigger threats… Nah, I’m still going to try next time.”
~~~
It was Jillian’s turn to ask a question, she looked over at Mina and asked, “Mina… Your mother has told me that you’re studying law. Is that really what you want to do with your life?”
Mina immediately answered, “Yes.” with a nod, only for her collar to flash red and her to get zapped. “Ahh, what the hell? I told the truth!” only for the collar to flash red again and shock her again.
“Doesn’t seem like it to me.” Vince said in a sing-song way.
“That’s bulls***! Mine must be broken.”
“No excuses. You’re out.”
Team Fire: 5
Team Water: 5
~~~
The camera cuts to Mina sitting in the confessional booth looking a bit confused and unsure about herself. “I… do want to be a lawyer… don’t I? I mean… with the time and money I put into it… how could I not want it?”
~~~
As Mina walks off the the side, her collar being removed by an intern, Nicole looked towards her, wanting to speak with and comfort her daughter, but since was certain she wouldn’t be allowed to as long as she was in the challenge.
“Already, Ed you’re up.” Vince said.
“Oh right.” Ed said, snapping his focus back in order to make it look like he wasn’t paying attention. He let out a hum as he looked among the members of Team Fire. His unseen eyes settled on one. It was a good thing that said eyes were covered by his bangs. If they weren’t they might have noticed the sinister glint in them. “Hey Lucas, how’d you get your scar?”
“What?” Lucas said.
“Oh and I want details because I bet it’s a super cool story. Like you wiped out while doing a gnarly trick or maybe you fought a wolf or something.” Ed said with the enthusiasm of a little kid hyped up on sugar.
“I… I…” Lucas said, looking around, eventually sighing and saying, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Before closing his eyes anticipating the shock. Despite that he still exclaim, “Ah f***!” once it hit him.
Jillian looked over to Lucas who looked more than a little disappointed in himself. She put a hand on his shoulder and said, “It’s okay.”
Lucas didn’t say anything as he walked away to join Simon.
Team Fire: 4
Team Water: 5
With Lucas out, it was now Nicole’s turn, who looked to Ed and, now with the knowledge that he was the only straight man left on his team of mostly women, decided to take advantage of that. “Ed… How would you rank every woman in this show’s cast, including Daisy, from most to least attractive?”
Ed let out a hum, “Well you’re definitely number one, but after that… I may need to think about it.”
“Well you won’t have time to.” Vince said, “Since if you don’t answer quickly I’m going to count it as you not answering the question.”
“Oh… I guess I’m just going to go with my gut. You, Lissa, Mina, Regina, Daisy, Sue and then Jillian.” Ed listed off as quickly as he could, which was followed by his collar flashing green.
~~~
Regina appears in the booth, “So when I propose the alliance to him he mistakes it as me hitting on him and is disappointed when that’s not the case, but then ranks me in the middle when asked who’s the most attractive woman here? I don’t know if I should be insulted or not. I’m also not sure if that’s inconsistency or if he just finds all of us attractive. I may have to speak with Ed later.”
~~~
Lucas is then shown in the confessional, “Really? He would rank Jillian at the bottom? He clearly has no taste. I mean, those soft eyes of hers, the cute freckles sprinkled all over her cheeks, her warm smile. It’s all just so…” He then stopped and laughed to himself, “Wow, listen to me. I sound like a total simp. I have it bad don’t I… Though maybe that’s not a bad thing.”
~~~
It was Lissa’s turn, she looked over at the other team, pointed at Yong-Gi and said, “You… You look like a loser. Have you ever dated anyone?”
Yong-Gi looked a bit insulted at being called a loser, didn’t comment on that and answered her question, “Sadly no. Didn’t have time for dating while I was in school and haven’t had the chance to meet anybody recently.” Not long after his collar flashes green.
“Ha, virgin.” She mocked.
Yong-Gi glared at her and realized that it was his turn. Remembering her comment about the collars earlier, he decided to use that to shoot back at her, “Alright then, fine. Lissa, how many men have you slept with?”
“That is none of your business!” Lissa instinctively snapped at him, only for the collar to give her a zap due to her not answering the question.
Team Fire: 4
Team Water: 4
Regina was now up, she looked at Nicole and said, “Nicole, Mina has mentioned to me that the two of you went through some hard times when she was growing up. Have you ever had to do anything you’re not proud of in order to support your daughter? If so, what?”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
“What?” Nicole asked.
“You heard me.” Regina said with a smirk on her face.
“Regina.” Mina said from the sidelines only to be hushed by the lawyer.
“I…” Nicole said with some shame in her voice. She was heavy considering not answering the question. Though she then asked herself if her pride is worth one million dollars. She closed her eyes and blurted out, “During a horrible drought we needed money so I agreed to star in some adult videos!” Which took everyone else aback except Mina who held her face in her hands to hide her embarrassment. This was followed by Nicole's collar flashing green.
~~~
Simon appears in the booth with a smile on his face, “So that’s where I recognized her from! I knew she looked familiar and now that I see it. If I remember correctly she did it under the stage name Destiny Colorado. Boy, I wonder if those videos are still up because I remember that was some good s***.”
~~~
It was back to Ben’s turn on Team Fire, who looked over at Regina. He remembers that after the last challenge Nicole told the team what Mina told her about Team Water. This made it so that he knew that Regina was a lawyer. With that knowledge he asked, “Regina, have you ever defended a client who you knew was guilty?”
“Unfortunately yes.” Regina said with no hesitation, which was followed by a green flash.
Sue then didn’t wait long as she then asked Ben, “So why did you vote out that Daisy chick first?”
“Well I’m sure that each of us who did vote for her had their own reasons, but for me personally, she was just super rude to me the whole time she was here and I have no idea why.” Ben explained, followed by his light flashing green.
It was Jillian’s turn who decided to target the man who defeated her in the tug-of-war challenge. “Clarence, since you’ve addressed that you're gay, how’d you figure that out about yourself?”
Clarence rubbed the back of his head, “Well… I guess part of me always knew deep down, but for when I actually came to terms with it… It was after a wrestling show that I was part of. Some college kids invited the boys and I to a party they were throwing and there was this one college girl who kinda threw herself at me and I didn’t want her… She didn’t really take no for an answer, but… once everything was said and done I did some soul searching as to why I didn’t want or enjoy what happened and well… I figured it out.” After telling his story Clarence’s collar flashes green.
“Oh… I am so sorry that happened and I made you talk about it.” Jillian said.
“It’s fine.” Clarence said with a sigh, “That’s the challenge isn’t it? Speaking of which, I believe it’s my turn… Ben… are you working with anyone in this game?”
“I mean yeah, my team. Just like you.” Ben said quickly.
“No, no. I’m talking about an alliance.”
“Well… I mean what do you define as a-” was all Ben got out before the collar took that as not answering the question and shocked him.
Team Fire: 3
Team Water: 4
~~~
Ben is shown in the confessional rubbing his neck that was still a bit numb from the shock, “That was a bit of a loaded question from Clarence. Which is why I opted to not answer. Sure I’m out and the girls might be suspicious of me, but I didn’t confirm anything outright and besides. The guys alliance outnumbers them two-to-one.”
~~~
It was now Nicole’s turn who looked over at Sue, “So Sue, if you were to win this whole thing, what would you do with the money?”
Sue in response just shrugged, “I guess I haven’t really thought about it too much. I guess I want to hope that I could use it so I could quit my job at Dick’s Sporting Goods and support a career in art, but I guess that really depends on how long one can survive on a million dollars nowadays. I think that might be something I’ll have to start thinking about more when I make it to the finale.”
Sue’s collar flashes green and Ed takes that as his sigh to go, “Jillian, are you interested in anyone?”
“Uhh, no. Why?” Jillian responded without thinking, which only caused her collar to flash red and for her to wince in pain as she received a jolt.
Team Fire: 2
Team Water: 4
“Ooh, with that Team Water currently has twice the number of players remaining.” Vince announced, “Nicole and Yong-Gi, I suggest you start going for the throat if you don’t want to be heading to elimination tonight.”
“Very well.” Yong-Gi said, looking at Sue. “If you had to eliminate one person on your team from the game right now, who would it be and why?”
“I… guess whoever I saw as the least useful to the team.” Sue said with a shrug. Only for the collar to flash red and shock her.
Team Fire: 2
Team Water: 3
~~~
Sue is shown in the confessional, “Alright fine. If I were to eliminate someone right now, it’d be Mina. She’s not been the nicest to Lissa which… okay Lissa and I haven’t gotten off on the best of terms at first, but after the past few days, I think I can say that I do enjoy her company. I didn’t say it out loud because from what I’ve noticed that Mina’s friends with Clarence and Regina. If I say I want her gone I’m just painting a target on my back if we go to elimination. At that point I would have to convince Ed to vote with me in order for it to at least be a tie. Even if we don’t know how those are settled on this show.”
~~~
Regina was up who looked at Nicole again and smiled, “So Nicole… who’s Mina’s father?”
Mina looked at Regina from the sidelines and subconsciously glared at her.
“I… don’t know.” Nicole said with shame in her voice her light flashing green.
Nicole then looked up and back at Regina, “I see what you're doing. Maybe you’d like a taste of it. You’d ever have to sleep your way to where you are now?”
Regina smirked at this, “Men have certainly tried to offer me boons in exchange for my body, but I would never betray my husband. So I have always put those pigs in their place and earned my way to where I am.” Regina’s smirk got even cockier once her collar flashed green.
Clarence was up and, feeling bad for his friend’s mother, decided to go with his only other possible target.
“Yong-Gi, what’s your most embarrassing moment?”
Yong-Gi’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks. His head snapped towards the host and he said, “I’m just going to take the shock, Vince.”
“What?” Nicole asked.
“Sorry.” Yong-Gi said, turning back around to face her before a red flash was followed by the sound of electricity. “Awww! F****** a! I agree with Ben, was this part really needed?”
Vince shrugged, “Ehh… I guess the answer to that will depend on how well this episode does in the ratings. So I’ll be able to answer that in a few months.”
Yong-Gi went to join the rest of the eliminated members of Team Fire, leaving Nicole all alone.
Team Fire: 1
Team Water: 3
Nicole felt her heart start to race as she struggled to think of questions that would surely knock each of her opponents out one after another. “Uhhh… uhhh… Ed… do you think that the people on your team look down on you?”
Ed put on a face in order to look like he was trying to understand what that means, but after a few seconds he responded, “I guess so.” which was followed by his collar making a green flash. Once that happened he asked. “It’s my turn, right?”
Seeing an opportunity, Nicole quickly answered “Yes.” causing her collar to flash green.
“Wait a minute? Time out for a second here. Does that count?” Regina asked Vince.
Vince shrugged, “I’ll allow it. I guess all of you have to be careful about what you say. Anyways, Nicole’s turn again.”
“Regina.” Nicole said, “Since my daughter is going into law, or at least for now it seems she is… if she does continue to pursue that, would you hire her?”
“If I felt like she was qualified enough and if I believed she would be an asset to my firm. While the possibility is there, I cannot promise anything.” Regina explained, followed by a green flash. Once that happened a smirk appeared on Regina’s face as it was now her turn. “Alright Nicole, with my last question we established that you don’t know who Mina’s father is.”
Mina’s eyes widened at this as she had a feeling that she knew where this was going and didn’t like it. “Regina, stop. Please.” she begged, but Regina ignored her.
“Care to explain why you don’t?”
Nicole’s heart sank. She, like her daughter, felt like this was the route Regina was going to take. She looked to her daughter who pleaded with her eyes. Making her know that she didn’t have to do this. She then looked at Clarence who was brave enough to tell his story, and while she certainly found that inspiring, Nicole realized she wasn’t brave enough to tell hers. Not on national television. Nicole just turned back to her team and said, “I’m sorry everyone.” before closing her eyes and waiting for the shock. Once her collar flashed red and the jolt came, she opened them again and went. “Huh? That wasn’t that bad. You all made it sound much worse than that.”
“Maybe you just have a high pain tolerance.” Jillian suggested.
“Maybe.” Nicole said with a shrug of her own.
Team Fire: 0
Team Water: 3
“With Nicole out, Team Water wins!” Vince announced. “I hope you guys enjoy no longer having to wipe with leaves. As for Team Fire, I’ll be seeing you all later tonight. Figure out who you’re voting off.”
~~~
A smug Regina is shown in the booth, “I bet some of you weren’t expecting a lawyer to excel in a challenge about being honest. It was simple really. Vince said to go for the throat, and I feel like I was the only one who truly took that to heart.”
~~~
At Team Water’s camp Regina grab’s Ed’s arm and pulls him aside. Once they were away from everyone Ed spoke first and in a confused tone asked, “Can I help you with something?”
“I’m just curious as to your ranking.”
“My ranking?”
“You know, when you were asked to rank the attractiveness of all the women in this game and you ranked me in fourth out of seven.”
“What about it?”
“You were hitting on me earlier in the week.”
“Yes, and?”
“Which is it?”
Ed looked confused at this and this time his confusion wasn’t an act. “Both of these are true… You're still very hot, but I think all the women in this show are. Some are just a little bit hotter than others.” Ed explained. “Though why is this bothering you so much? Are you jealous?”
“Hell no. Even if I wasn’t married you would need to clean yourself up quite a bit and get a good job before I would even think about you in that way for a second.” Regina said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m more just trying to figure you out.”
“Okay one, kinda rude.” Ed muttered, “And two… what’s there to figure out? With me you get what’s on the tin… I think I’m using that phrase correctly right? I think I heard it somewhere once.” He then gave her a smile.
~~~
Regina is shown in the confessional, clearly pondering, “I’m not sure if I believe Ed. I just have a feeling that something’s a bit off with him, and I don’t just mean wondering if he managed to graduate middle school. Though he is an ally, so I’m going to try to keep him on my side as long as he’s useful to me.”
~~~
Once the confessional ends, Mina is shown walking up to the two of them, her arms crossed and a less than pleased look on her face. “Hey Ed, sorry, but I need to talk to Regina. Do you mind giving us some space?”
“Oh, uhh… sure.” Ed said walking off far enough to be out of sight for them, but once he was he turned back around and snuck back. Hidden behind the trees he listened in to the conversation between the lawyer and the law student.
“Regina… what the f*** was that?” Mina asked her.
“What was what?” Regina asked back.
“That challenge. What were you doing?”
“Winning it for our team.” Regina said, starting to sound a bit annoyed.
“Not that part. I mean you exclusively targeted my mom.”
“From the brief times I’ve seen your mother I got the feeling that she’s… let’s just say a bit on the promiscuous side in order to be nice about it. I just figured that she’d be a woman with secrets and thus be an easy target to get out. It turns out she was a lot more honest than I assumed she would be.”
“You had no right to ask her what you did though. About my father. About… what she’s had to do to put food on the table.” Mina said angrily.
“So you knew about the pornography?” Regina asked.
Mina sighed and said, “In high school someone on the football team stumbled upon them and that lead to the whole team and then soon almost most of the school giving me s*** for it. Calling my mom a slut. Asking if I plan on making some videos too. It was the worst period of my life and you went and dragged it out on national TV.”
“Look, Vince said to go for the throat and I did. Don’t blame me for trying to win the challenge. Besides if it pained you so much, and if she knew this, then she shouldn’t have admitted to it. Her team lost the challenge anyways, so it’s not like it would have made a difference. Now I’d say that we’re done here.” With that Regina began to walk away from her alliance member, but not before turning her head back around and adding, “Oh yeah and Mina. One piece of advice. If you want to be a lawyer, you’ll need to learn to keep a level head when you’re angry. Though, going off of what you said in that challenge, I don’t know how useful that advice will be for you.” With that she fully made her exit, leaving Mina standing there with balled up fists that were trembling with rage.
Once Regina was gone, Ed stepped out from behind the tree he was using as cover, “That was really mean of her.”
“Ed?” Mina asked, spinning towards him, “Were you eavesdropping on us?”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Ed said, nervously putting his hands up, “While I was walking away I put my hands in my pockets and I began to panic thinking that I dropped my phone somewhere. So I tried to retrace my steps in order to find it. It was only until I got over here did I remember that they took our phones away before we got here. I’ll admit, a bit of a brainfart there. Though… yeah… I heard that last bit… I’m sorry that she said that about your mom. Your mom seems like a nice lady.”
“Are you just saying that because you think she’s the hottest woman here?” Mina asked in an annoyed tone.
“No. While I will admit to that, I mean I already did and I’d be lying if I said that I wouldn’t be interested in getting to know her on a personal level, but I’m more concerned if you’re okay. Before you got here Regina was cornering me and asking about why I ranked other women above her. That’s not nearly as bad as what she said to you, but… I don’t know. Maybe she’s… a bit much to deal with.”
Mina let out a hum, “Maybe.”
~~~
Ed is shown in the confessional, “I’m getting the feeling that Regina might be starting to figure me out. So I think I may need to cut her loose sooner than I originally thought I would. So I’m just going to plant some seeds of doubt in Mina. Hopefully that doubt grows and spreads to the rest of the team.”
~~~
The camera cuts to Team Fire with the guys alliance huddled up. Simon speaks, “So we’re in agreement then. Even though it sucks to lose the milf, the ranger is probably going to be more useful in challenges.”
“Sounds good to me.” Ben said.
“Yes. At this point of the game it’s too soon to get rid of the stronger members. Besides, if we lose again, well… we won’t have to discuss that elimination.” Yong-Gi added.
“Yeah… right.” Lucas said. “So are we done here?”
“Yeah.” Simon said before the huddle broke and the guys all went out on their separate ways.
Lucas walked off into the woods and took a seat on a log and let out a sigh.
“You okay?” Jillian asked as she happened to walk by, carrying some sticks for firewood.
“Oh… uhh… hey Jill… I… I’m just thinking about the challenge and how I dropped the ball on my end.”
“Oh, it’s fine.” Jillian said, “I mean it’s reasonable that you don’t want to talk about your scar. I don’t think anyone is going to blame you for-”
“I was in a car accident.” Lucas muttered.
“What?”
“That’s how I got it.”
“Oh, that doesn't seem too bad… I guess that’s why you feel bad? Because you couldn’t admit it a few hours ago? If so I don’t blame you. I messed up too.”
“No… If I could have just said that and left it at that I would have been fine. I could have made it past that question. The problem was that Ed asked for details.” Lucas put his face in his hands. Through them, Jillian barely managed to hear his whisper, “It was my fault.”
At that Jillian put down the pile of sticks and sat down next to him. “Hey. You don’t have to beat yourself over it. I mean… okay I don’t know how much this means coming from a woman you’ve known for a week, but I still think you're handsome.”
Lucas let out a small chuckle and removed his hands from his face, showing her that he was on the verge of tears, “I appreciate it, but it’s not the scar that’s the issue. I don’t care that I’m not as good looking as I used to be. The problem is that it’s a reminder of the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life.” He let out a sigh and began, “It was New Years Eve 2019. The new decade was on the horizon and we didn’t know how much of a s***show it was going to be. I had recently finished my work as the ghostwriter for the Uncle Carl series and I decided that since our professional relationship was over to ask the supervisor for that series out on a date. Her name was Minerva, she was the girlfriend of the original writer of the series before he passed away. She was pretty, kind, more patient with me than I probably deserved when it came to the mistakes I made when trying to finish that series and she had a passion for musicals that I had never seen in another person. I fully expected her to turn me down, but to my surprise she said yes. I took her to this nice Italian place back in Pennsylvania owned by a family friend. It was a nice evening with pleasant conversation and great food. The problem was the drive home. I reached an intersection and suggested that if I made a turn instead of going straight we could go back to my place instead of me dropping her off at hers. She wasn’t down for that idea. Which was fine with me, but at that time I suggested it, the car behind me started honking like crazy. So I just pulled forward and…” it was at this point that Lucas fully broke down into tears, “It was dark, his headlights weren’t on for some f****** reason so I didn’t see it coming. We were struck by a semi-truck. My car went rolling and I ended up with this scar… Minerva wasn’t so lucky.”
Jillian looked totally shocked at his story and all she could mutter is, “Jesus Christ.”
“Sure, if I wanted to I could blame plenty of other people. I could blame the guy behind me for honking. I could blame the trucker for not having his headlights on and apparently being a bit over the limit. I could even blame the city for not only not having a stoplight at that intersection and because some of the streetlights on that road had dead bulbs, but if I did I wouldn’t be taking responsibility for the truth. A woman is dead because I was hoping to get laid.” He let out a deep breath, put his head back into his hands and said, “I don’t deserve to be here. I don’t deserve to win the money. I don’t deserve any success for my writing. Not that I’ve even gotten any, but still. I’m sure everyone who cared about her would think that my lack of success on my own is justified. I mean her brother-in-law worked for the publishing company and they dropped me like a bad habit not long after I got out of the hospital and I don’t blame them. I didn’t even go to her funeral because I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t face the music. Now look at me, trauma dumping on a woman I barely know and… f*** there’s probably a camera hidden around here somewhere. So soon the whole world is going to know how badly I f***** up. Hell, a good chunk of them are probably thinking I’m looking for sympathy, but no. That’s another thing I don’t deserve. The only thing I deserve is to be in the ground.”
It was at this point that Jillian unexpectedly reached over and pulled Lucas into a tight hug, “Please stop talking like that. Yes. You made a mistake. A really f****** big one. I won’t deny that, but you deserve to live. Please don’t ever think that you don’t.”
~~~
Jillian is shown in the confessional, “What Lucas said was a lot, but… if he needs a shoulder to cry on… I think I’m willing to be that. I mean the way that he was talking… I… have some issues with people who talk about going down that dark road. Not to go too deep in my personal life, but… my father had some demons and… when I was fifteen he lost his battle with them. So I guess I’m a bit sensitive about the subject.”
~~~
Lucas slowly wrapped his arms around Jillian. Feeling warmth and safety in her strong arms. It was a feeling that he wouldn’t be against experiencing more often, but after a while he let go of her and said, “You can let go now.”
“Oh… sorry.” Jillian said, blushing a bit as she let go of him.
“It’s fine and… thank you Jill.” Lucas said, wiping the tears from his eyes and giving her a small smile.
“No problem.” Jillian said standing up, “If you ever need me for anything don’t hesitate to come to me.”
Lucas chuckled, “I don’t know. I wouldn’t want to make you my personal therapist or anything.” After he said that he paused for a bit as he contemplated something. Before Jillian could make her leave he made a decision and said, “Wait, Jill… there’s one more thing I need to talk to you about.”
~~~
The camera cuts to the night where the members of Team Fire sitting at the elimination ceremony with Vince standing at his podium, “Welcome back Team Fire. I sure hope you’ve had enough time to recover from the challenge. Though regardless if you have or not, I’m sure you haven’t forgotten how this works. So go one at a time and get voting.”
A montage is shown of the members of Team Fire writing unseen names down. Simon is shown to have a cocky smile on his face while Lucas looks a bit more hesitant to write, nervousness on his face as he slides his paper into the slot.
Once the montage ends Vince now has the pot in front of him. “Alright, time to see who is leaving the forest tonight.” He reaches in and pulls out the first slip of paper, “First vote goes to… Nicole. Second vote is for… Ben. That’s one vote Nicole and one vote Ben. Third vote goes to… Ben. That two votes for Ben and one for Nicole. Fourth vote goes to… Ben.”
“What?” Ben asked in surprise.
“What the hell? Who flipped?” Yong-Gi asked.
Simon’s head snapped over to the slightly guilty looking Lucas and exclaimed, “Goddamn it Lucas!”
Lucas didn’t say anything in response, but Jillian put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
Vince smirked at the drama, but continued his job, “That’s three votes for Ben and one for Nicole… the fifth vote goes to… Nicole. That’s three votes Ben, two votes Nicole, one vote remaining.” Vince slowly pulls out the last vote to intentionally build up the suspense, “The sixth and final vote goes to… Nicole. With a three-to-three vote, we have a tie.”
“So what happens now?” Nicole asked.
“Simple my dear, we have a tiebreaker that’s related to today’s challenge. Whoever wins gets to stay in the game.” Vince explained as an intern walks up with two of the shock collars. “Ben and Nicole I’m going to need you two to put these back on.”
~~~
There’s a cut to Ben and Nicole standing across from each other, each with a shock collar around their neck. Vince started to explain, “For this tiebreaker we’re going to test how much you two want to stay in. When the challenge starts the collars are going to start shocking you with the voltage slowly increasing as time passes. The first person to scream in pain or say that they give up is out.”
“This seems a little sadistic. Like isn’t this literally torture?" Ben said.
“Eh, I didn’t come up with it.” Vince said with a shrug, “Anyways… begin.”
A constant buzzing started to come from both collars as right away Ben’s face twisted in pain while Nicole seemed to barely notice. As the time passed the buzzing grew louder and louder and Nicole too started to look like she was feeling it, but after fifteen seconds the challenge ended.
“AHH! Get this f****** thing off of me!” Ben shouted falling to his knees. Not long after shouting that, the collars stopped buzzing. Both contestants let out a sigh of relief.
“With that, Nicole stays in the game for at least three more days. Sorry Ben. You’ve been eliminated.”
“Damnit.” Ben muttered as he looked to the ground, beyond disappointed by everything that just transpired in the last few minutes.
~~~
The camera cuts to a bummed Ben standing by the road as a car comes to pick him up. After getting into it he spoke, “I can’t say that I’m mad since well… I mean look at that awake-a-thon rip-off challenge. Lucas spent pretty much the whole time talking to Jillian. I’m not surprised his loyalty wasn’t to the guys. I wish I stayed in the game longer, at least until the merge, but I guess it is what it is.”
~~~
The show cuts to Lucas in the confession booth, “I’m sorry Ben, it was between you or Simon, but, despite everyone liking you more, Nicole thought that you looked easier to beat in a tiebreaker, whatever it turned out to be. Though now that it’s over, in hindsight, yeah, we probably could have gotten Simon out instead. Not that whatever fallout coming for me from this will be different. I wanna say that I hope we can be friends when this game is over, but I completely understand if you don’t want to be. Regardless, I wish you luck with your Youtube channel.”
~~~
Simon is then shown in the booth, “Lucas… now you f***** up.”
~~~
Vince is shown by himself as he talks to the camera, “With another elimination done and this one being the most dramatic yet, what will be the aftermath of this? Which team will lose the next challenge? Who will be the next person eliminated from the competition? Find out by tuning in next time to Endurance Forest!”
much darker in tone that this story you're currently reading. I'd even say it's the darkest thing I've written in my writing career so far.
