An unexpected offer

As the adrenaline fades from her system, the exhaustion sets in. Jade feels weak, hungry, and thirsty... there's no visible food around, nothing but the smooth trunks of palm trees which might hold coconuts at their tops, but Jade has no energy to even try to climb one of them. The shadows are growing longer... soon, the sun will set. Maybe I can go back to the beach at low tide, she thinks. I might be able to catch a crab, find some clams, maybe catch a fish or something... of course, I'll have to eat it raw, but I really don't care at this point.

Her recent brush with death is pushed into the back of her mind; she's not ready to think about that yet. All she can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other. She's not even trying to stay hidden... at this point, if someone catches her, she doesn't feel like she could resist. The defiant woman who threw herself off a cliff seems like a stranger, not someone who she was only minutes ago. Or maybe an hour ago, she can't tell.

A strange sound assaults her ears... a helicopter? Yes, definitely! It sweeps around to her left, where the ocean is, and then swings in front of her - she can't see it, but it's there. Are they extracting her from the island? Did someone else call for help? Curiosity stirs her, and she moves forward just a little more quickly.

The trees begin to thin out as the whupping sound of the helicopter grows louder, and the wind from its propeller blows through the foliage. Jade reaches the clearing in time to see it flying away, having left behind what looks like a small, portable shelter.

This isn't a coincidence, she thinks. They put that there for me. Is it a trap? Probably not... if they really wanted to trap me, they could do it much more easily. Besides, I don't have much choice, I can't keep going much longer.

Jade steps out of the trees and through the tall sand grass to the dome-shaped shelter, cautiously opening the door. Inside is a hammock, a jug of water fastened to the wall, several food bars, and a backpack like the one she had earlier. Jade slips inside and closes the door behind her, locking it securely.

First, she has some water, pouring it over her face to rinse away the salt of the seawater, and sipping small amounts to quench her thirst; she knows what's in that water, and doesn't want to drink too much. Then, the food... she only means to eat a single bar, but hunger overcomes her, and soon she's eaten three, followed by another gulp of water. The bottle holds over a gallon, but it's bolted to the wall; she won't be able to take any more with her than will fit in her canteen

The backpack contains everything her previous pack held - a canteen, a first-aid kit, three more food bars, and an emergency pager. Not quite everything, Jade realizes. There's no map here. Oh well.

A blue light glows behind her; Jade turns to see a small screen, set in the curved wall of the shelter. A man's face appears on it, the same well-dressed man who met them at the starting hut and gave them their instructions. "Hello, Jade," he says, his voice coming from a small speaker next to the screen.

"Um... hello," Jade replies.

"Just relax and make yourself comfortable, I guarantee you're safe for the moment," he says. "Any man who gets within two hundred yards of your shelter will be warned away, for now. Jade, my love... YOU are quite the little firecracker."

"Thanks, I guess," Jade says.

"Oh, you're welcome. I meant it as a compliment. We don't usually get footage like this until halfway through day two. I admit, when the game first started, I wasn't sure what to make of you - watching you spend two hours in a mud puddle wasn't exactly gripping television. But damn, if you didn't make up for it in spades! That little scene between you and Tiffany alone was pure gold, let me tell you!"

Jade flushed. Of course, they were watching that, and recording it, she realized. Well, I hope the bastards rubbed their dicks raw. "Did Tiffany get away from those guys?" she asks.

"Let's talk about you, Jade. You've become quite the favorite among our editors; they're actually arguing over who gets to track your movements. Even so, there are certain places where we just can't let the program go. We've had a few serious injuries in past seasons, but never a fatality. Then you go and pull that stunt at the cliff... well, we just can't have that, you understand. If you're at the point of feeling suicidal, we need to extract you. We would have done it already, except... well, like I said, you're giving us one hell of a show."

"What do you want from me?" Jade asks, arms folded across her chest.

"Simple and direct. I like that. Let me be the same way with you. If you're feeling suicidal, and you think you might go running off another cliff, I'm willing to give you a ticket out right now, with a consolation prize of ten thousand dollars. We'll just edit the footage to show that you hurt yourself on the dive off the cliff and had to be taken off the island."

"Or?" Jade prompted.

"Or, you continue the game," the man said, smiling. "We've generously restocked your supplies, and you can stay in this shelter for a while. You can rest, recuperate, pull yourself together... of course, the longer you stay, the more the other girls get a lead on you. So when you're done resting, you get back out there. Just... don't do anything stupid." The smile on his face exists only below the eyes now.

"If I'm ready to kill myself, there's not much you can do to stop me," Jade says, recklessly. I'm not suicidal... I don't know what came over me before. But I don't want him to think he can threaten me.

"Perhaps not," the man says, easily. "But we do know why you're here. Do you want him to know?"

Jade feels the blood drain from her face. "Don't you do that," she whispers.

"We have an understanding, then," the man says. "The helicopter will return for the shelter at daybreak; if you want out, just stay put for the night, and in the morning away you go. Or, you can head back out there and show us some more of that spirit you showed today... and if you keep up that winning performance, we might just tweak the game a bit to put you on the path to victory. Have a pleasant evening, Firecracker."

The screen goes dark.