Sleep is irresistable

A soft beeping.

Then, a bit louder. Jade rolls over to slap at an alarm clock which isn't there. Her arms strikes a wooden wall, instead.

The island! Jade thinks, suddenly fully awake and aware of her danger. Goddamn it, we fell asleep! How long - how long have we been out??

"Over here, firecracker," says a thin voice - a familiar one. Jade looks around, and sees the source: a tiny screen set in the wall, and the face of the Director smiling at her from it. "Don't wake your friend yet. I want to talk to you alone. Put the earpiece on."

Jade sits down in front of the screen, picks up a small dangling earbud, and puts it in.

"There's a keyboard in front of you, so you can type your responses."

<<OK>>, Jade types.

"Well, I suppose you're wondering why I'm contacting you again," the Director says. "First of all, you should know that you have about ten minutes before your position is broadcast to the men, which is more than enough time for us to talk and then for you and your new friend to get out, so don't worry about that. If I'd wanted that to happen, I could have just let you sleep."

Jade hesitates for a moment, then types, <<THANK YOU.>>

"Think nothing of it," he says with a smile. "I wanted to let you know that you're really giving us some spectacular stuff here, firecracker - or is it 'Fox' now? That's a good one, by the way; I think we'll use that nickname on the show starting at moment one. Anyway, the girl-on-girl action is definitely appreciated. We don't usually get as much of that as we'd like; they're even talking about changing the rules to encourage more of that sort of thing!"

<<WHAT DO YOU WANT?>> Jade types.

"Ah yes, you prefer to be simple and direct. Well, first of all, we want you to keep doing what you're doing. Hooking up with the other girls, that is. We'll even help you find them, and if you bring your new friend along, so much the better!"

<<SHE DOESN'T BELONG HERE>> Jade typed. <<PLEASE, LET HER GO.>>

"That's not your concern. She volunteered, just like all the rest of you. If she's getting cold feet now, well, she could just break a leg and call for extraction."

Jade forces herself not to type something very, very nasty.

"You're running out of time, so I suggest we keep this conversation on track," he says. "The producers here are of two minds on you. Some of them want you to keep seducing the girls - I'm in that camp, by the way. There's just... something about two women together, as I'm sure you'll agree. At any rate, though, some of them are thinking that the best way to keep our viewers coming back next week is to have one of the men catch you at last. We've got a favorite among the men, too; a right cunning bastard, handsome, charming, has a way of getting the girls to do whatever he wants."

<<ENRICO?>> Jade types, her fingers trembling slightly as she sends the name off.

The smile drops off the Director's face for a moment. "Never mind about him," he says. "In fact, we're taking him out of the game; there's a right way and a wrong way to play this, and he's getting too obsessed with you for our comfort. No, I'm talking about someone you haven't even met yet, a guy by the name of Carlos. He's already heading your way, I'm afraid; it wasn't my preference, but I don't get to call all the shots. The producers really like him, so I'd strongly advise you not to club him with that stick of yours when he shows up. It's not a great idea to cross the bosses."

<<I'M NOT GOING TO LET HIM HAVE ME.>>

"Like I said, Fox, I'm all for that. I'm just saying, it's in your best interests not to get too rough with him. They're casting him as the hero of the season, and it doesn't make for good television when he gets beaten up by one of the girls - even if it's you. And I seem to recall you saying that you were in this to win... well, if that's what you really want, then playing ball improves your chances a lot more than resisting. We'll have to pick this conversation up later, though; you're almost out of time, and I'm afraid stopping the automatic alarm is out of my hands. You've got two minutes to get out of there. Until next time..."

The screen goes dark.

Jade leaps out of the chair, throws on her pack, and snatches up Kayo's bag. Then, she takes the sleeping girl by the arm and gives her a shake.

"Ahh! What, what is it - oh no, I fell asleep!" Panic seizes her features as full awareness of where she is comes flooding into her head.

"Come on, we have to move," Jade says. "We've got less than two minutes to get far enough away that the GPS says we're not here anymore. I've got your pack, let's go!"

Jade snatches up her stick, and Kayo runs for the door. "Wait!" she insists, suddenly stopping.

"We can't wait!"

"Just one moment!" She runs over to the periscope and scans around the exterior.

"We don't have time for that, we need to go now or they'll be all around us!"

"One moment... okay, no one is there, let's run!"

Kayo grabs a double-handful of food ration bars on the way out the door, and the two of them sprint across the clearing and back into the woods.