The Contestant. Stephanie Doyle

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СКАЧАТЬ up some shark netting across the gap so it will be safe to fish. You’ll camp on that beach,” Evan explained as he directed everyone back to the boats.

      “Then why in the hell did you drop us off here?” Gus questioned, clearly irritated with the host.

      “The inlet is too enclosed,” Joe explained. “There wasn’t enough good light for filming and out here the water is clearer so we could get shots of some of the fish.”

      “TV reality as opposed to real reality,” Talia muttered. She wasn’t going to let it bother her. This was a game for entertainment that she was playing for money. Like Wheel of Fortune. If they wanted to film in good light, that was fine by her. “Are we going to have to swim again from the inlet to the beach?”

      “Oh, I couldn’t possibly,” Nancy objected as she got to her feet. “Not after what happened.”

      “No,” Evan told her. “We’ll take you by boat. Then one boat will go back to the yacht, and the other that has our equipment, the radio and some emergency kits will stay on the island in another part. But it will be hidden and only I will know the location of the boat so don’t think of trying to look for it or trying to get any information from Joe or Dino.”

      Talia rolled her eyes at Evan’s attempt to sound menacing. The man was about as threatening as a schoolgirl.

      They all loaded back into the boats, each team sticking together, and cruised around the island to where the beach jutted out and then into the inlet that Evan had described. The vessel slid over the netting and Talia could see everyone watching it, wondering if it would be enough to hold back a shark intent on getting inside. It was impossible to know. All they could do was have faith. A lot of it.

      The gap between the two stretches of land was only about thirty feet wide. The shape reminded Talia of a horseshoe that was pinched at the top. And she now understood what they meant about the light. The foliage on either side served to shade the inlet, darkening it to the point that only beams of sunlight broke through. The water seemed a darker, deeper blue. More menacing than the previous site in many ways because you couldn’t see beneath the surface.

      At the base of the inlet was a stretch of white beach bordering the water. To the left it looked as if the water moved even farther inland creating what Talia imagined would be a lagoon, although she couldn’t see it from her position. The pure white sand was guarded by the trees, bushes and brush. She noted the palm trees, banyan trees, bamboo shoots and massive ferns, all indigenous to the South Pacific. No need for any fake scenery here. It looked just the way it was supposed to look—a remote tropical island.

      For the first time she considered that this place, this island would be her home for a while. She wasn’t displeased. It was spectacularly beautiful. Turning away from the view, she studied the people in the boat, trying to assess their reactions, wondering if they saw what she did—a secluded beach protected from the harsh sun by shade and a lagoon that would make for easy fishing.

      For her, it was a place where she could live for as long as she needed.

      Iris was smiling softly. Nancy still looked a little out of it, no doubt envisioning how she would relay the story of her close encounter with the shark to her ex-husband. Reuben, predictably, was giving nothing away. But when he realized she was watching him, his mouth turned up in what she was coming to know was a half smirk, half smile.

      “Looks a little bit like paradise, doesn’t it?”

      “It does,” she replied casually.

      “Then I guess that would make you Eve.”

      “And I guess that would make you the snake,” she returned, refusing to fall for his crude charm.

      Undeterred by her sharp tongue, he tilted his head back and laughed full out. Quickly, she looked to the view so he wouldn’t see her own smile. If this was going to be home, then these people were going to be family. Learning to live with them would be as much of a challenge as surviving the elements. But dealing with Reuben, Talia sensed, was going to make those other two obstacles seem easy in comparison.

      What in the heck was she going to do if it ended up just the two of them in the end?

      Deciding that she was borrowing trouble she didn’t need, Talia instead focused on the immediate situation. The boats landed and everyone unloaded themselves and their belongings to the beach. Backpacks were tossed on the sand in a rough circle as a marker for the most likely camp. All except Tommy’s, that is, which was firmly on his shoulders.

      One of the boats took off for the yacht. “How far away are we from the yacht?” Sam asked Evan. “I mean, in case there is a real emergency.”

      “It’s anchored about two miles off shore,” Evan explained. “And I contact them daily by radio. Also if something serious were to happen, we’re not that far from the coast of Australia.”

      “And what about you guys?” Tommy asked, pointing to the two cameramen. “Where do you guys stay?”

      “That we can’t tell you,” Evan said. “It will be easier for you this way, so you’re not tempted to find our camp. Joe and Dino will take shifts filming throughout the day. At night, for the most part, you’ll be on your own. We’ll leave you with a walkie-talkie that should be used only in an emergency. That’s it. Any other questions?”

      “Yes, where do I go to get my nails done?” Marlie laughed at her own joke, and so did Tommy. They were the only two.

      “Okay, Joe and I will head back. Dino, you can film until your pack runs low and let us know when to pick you up.” Evan turned over the walkie-talkie to the cameraman. “For the rest of the day I suggest you guys concentrate on building a camp. I don’t have to tell you that fire is your first priority. And I’m allowed to tell you that not too far inland is a freshwater stream. The water should be boiled before drinking it, but there is more than enough for everyone. We’ve left a metal bucket at the stream for you to use. Tomorrow will be your first ‘necessity event.’ Oh, and you will all need these.”

      Evan reached into the boat and pulled out a waterproof sack. He unzipped it and Talia could see what was inside. Eight portable microphones. Reluctantly she took one. It had a clip that she could hook onto her shorts. She’d insisted on the jeans as strongly as her father had insisted on the bikini.

      “After all, girlie, showing a little skin might get you some new endorsement deals.”

      Her last commercial after the Olympic games had been for Ace bandages. She’d taken half the money and paid a semester of college. She’d given the other half to her father, who turned around and used it to finance a search for a legendary pirate’s sunken treasure in the Caribbean. He didn’t find it. But he’d had fun.

      “And isn’t that what life is about, girlie?”

      Maybe it wasn’t too late, she thought sinisterly. Maybe she could still turn him over to Rocco and ask the loan shark not to be too rough. It was a definite possibility.

      The rest of the group imitated her action with the microphone, then stood back as Evan and Joe got back into the boat and headed out of the inlet. Dino hefted the camera on his bulky shoulder and got to work.

      “Okay,” Gus began. “This is the part where we start telling each other what to do because we each think we know best. So before that happens and we all get pissed off, does anyone have any serious camping experience?”

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