THE LUNA CHOOSING GAME - Season 5 Episode 95

Early the next morning, at first light, Jessica, Bridget, Veronica, and I were assigned four different boats. For a time, we could keep track of each other, four boats rushing toward the sunrise.

Then I saw the island. It was larger than I thought, circular, with a beach along the outside and dense jungle packed in the center.

The four boats veered off in widening directions, presumably to stop and drop off their candidates at different points on the beach. Soon, we lost sight of each other.

The boat carrying me pulled up toward the beach, and the servant indicated that I should hop out here. So I did, my

feet splashing in the shallow ocean water. As I sloshed my way toward the shore, the boat behind me drifted back and then disappeared the way it had come.

I felt exposed standing there in only a swimsuit. Fortunately, Nicholas with some measure of foresight had included a more conservative one- piece in my wardrobe. It was a navy in color with a modest neckline, and therefore covered most of my torso.

My bare feet, legs, and arms were bound to have some trouble in the thick brush, however.

I crossed my arms and frowned at the path ahead. Nathan had mentioned last night that the camera crews would be discreetly following us, yet no one had

exited the boat with me. Perhaps they thought me so unimportant that I wasn’t worth following.

I could only hope Veronica was considered the same or the next part of our plan would make everything obvious.

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I imagined, as ever, the cameras were likely following Bridget.

My suspicions were proved true when, as per our plan, I waited in spot while Veronica trudged around the beach until she found me. She had no cameramen following her.

She was wearing a black one-piece bikini with a white sham tied around her waist. Curiously, she was carrying a pair of shoes. I noticed then she had some on her feet as well.

I

When she reached me, she held out the spare pair of shoes for me.

“Is this allowed?” I asked as I accepted them.

“11 take my chances,” Veronica said, “Rather than step on some poisonous thing, or who knows what else.” That seemed like sound logic to me, so I accepted the shoes and kicked them on. I didn’t care about the sand in them. It was already a comfort knowing I wouldn’t step on anything sharp, sticky, or dangerous without at least some measure of protection.

The shoes were simply tennis shoes, but it was a hell of a lot better than nothing.

Veronica retrieved her written instructions from inside of her bodice.

I glanced away as she did so, offering her some measure of privacy, though she didn’t seem bothered either way: The instructions were a series of landmarks, natural or otherwise. The first on the list said that we needed to enter the jungle at a mark where three rocks stacked together looked like a stone snowman.

We didn’t have to look far.

Surprisingly, the stone snowman was only a few yards left of where I was initially dropped. We walked to it, and yes, just as the instructions described, it was three progressively smaller stones stacked on top of each other.

“What’s next?” I asked.

“Forty paces due west,” Veronica said.

We both glanced back at the sun rising § behind us.

“Straight into the jungle then,” I said, braver than I felt. Even this close, the dense coverage had most of the jungle floor in dark shadow. I felt unnerved.

Anything could be waiting in there.

Veronica peered into the jungle as well.

She didn’t seem as frightened as I felt, but she still looked at me and asked, “What do you think?” There really wasn’t anything to do but move forward. If we stayed here any longer, we’d likely run into Bridget herself soon. We had to keep moving.

“I’ll go first,” Veronica said, and I was grateful to her, even as I admonished

my own cowardice.

She started walking, counting her paces. I followed along behind, counting my own.

We had to step over tree roots, fallen vines, and the overgrown brush of big- leafed plants, but eventually we made it to thirty-five paces.