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clenched my gut, and then took a breath in surprise. Wait, that was the other team. Why was someone voting for them? We were terrible.
    Chip pulled out the next slate, then turned it around so we could all see it. “Team Four.”
    It didn’t make sense...did it? I watched Shanna’s impassive face, Ginger’s, Jody’s...and they all wore the same inexpressive look.
    “Team Four.”
    Someone’s mouth curled up slightly, and it struck me. Of course. It was blindingly obvious now. They wanted to keep us here because we sucked. We couldn’t work together – which made us no threat. And Team Four, because they were marginally more competent than us, would go home.
    “Team Four,” Chip continued, flipping over another slate, and then another. “Team Four. Team Four. Five out of nine votes...that’s enough.” He nodded at Team Four’s shocked faces and banged a gavel against a coconut. “Endurance Island has passed Judgment. Your time here is over.” He turned and glanced over at myself and Dean. “You are safe for one more round. Head back to camp.”
    Stunned, I glanced over at Dean to see his expression. He seemed just as shocked as I was.
    And here I’d thought we’d get voted out first because we were the worst team out there. The worst team possible. Just the opposite was true – we were going to be kept around as dead weight, as a safe bet.
    Even though I wasn’t supposed to, I smiled a little. I’m pretty sure Dean did too.

CHAPTER 5
     

    You know, if I didn’t want to wring her neck on a constant basis, I’d say Abby is a really cute girl. More of a Mary Ann than a Ginger, but I’ve always had a thing for Mary Ann. – Dean Woodall, Day 3

    ~*~
     
    As soon as we got back to camp, Dean tossed his bag onto the sand. “I’m going to take a walk,” he said, and turned away before I had a chance to answer.
    I sat down my bag and relaxed in the warm sand for a few minutes, wiggling my toes in the grains. I glanced backward at our small camp, and my spirits deflated. We had a fire pit, but no fire. I had a makeshift platform for a bed, but no cover. We didn’t have anything to eat, or drink.
    Some paradise.
    I found a couple of coconuts by trekking through the woods, but discovered that Dean had taken the axe with him. Stomach grumbling, throat dry, I realized I didn’t even know where the well was. With no way to eat the meager food, and not quite ready to delve into my peanut butter stash yet, I decided to work on my shelter.
    All I really needed to make my small shelter complete was some sort of cover to protect from the wind (and rain, if I should be so unlucky). I decided on a small A-frame, since that seemed the easiest to make, and set about to creating it. The wood was easy enough to find, though I didn’t have anything to lash it together with...I ended up using my pink string bikini to hold the frame together. Like I was going to wear that. Shelter was far more important. I dove into my task with single-minded determination.
    By the time I glanced up, the sun was going down, I was covered in sweat and bug bites, and I hadn’t given a single thought to making fire. But my small shelter was done! I felt a sense of pride as I looked at the small thing, and glanced over at the blanket that stuck out of Dean’s pack with a smug sense of pride. One of us would be sleeping well tonight, and even though he had a blanket, I had a shelter.
    I gathered some wood and tinder to make a fire, but the sun was too low into the sky and I couldn’t see what I was doing – I was mostly guessing at this point anyhow. Dean was still nowhere to be seen, and I stared longingly at my coconuts, still covered in the tough green casing. I could try and split one against a fallen tree, but if I busted it, I’d lose all the good milk inside it. Even though I was trembling with hunger, I forced myself to wait, cradling it in my arms and sliding into my shelter with my backpack to wait for Dean’s return.
    I must