Read Darwin's Quest: The Search for the Ultimate Survivor Online
Authors: Jonathan P. Brazee
Darwin's Quest: The Search for the Ultimate Survivor (11 page)
Mike made a face. “Sorry to say
,
Yash was right. This water tastes an awful lot like Corter, to me.” This time, not just Ratt laughed, and I guess it was a little funny, so I joined in.
“So how are we going to do this. This is a lot of work for only two or three swallows.” Yash was breathing hard from the exertion.
“We need to get something to catch the water. Maybe if we plugged the spigot drain, we can rush this there and keep the water,” said Lindadawn. “Alfhid, why don’t you and Ratt go see about using your top to plug that drain. Your top is water-proof, so if you jam it in there hard enough, it should be pretty effective. And it is small enough to just fill the hole.”
As those two hurried off, Hamlin took over from Yash and lowered the rope once again. He let it bounce around a bit, then Josh and I joined him to haul it up. As soon as we had it up, all of us put our hands under the clothing and rushed back into camp and over to the spigot basin. Wringing it over the basin, we got maybe a liter of water in, despite getting water everywhere else as well.
“Well, that was better,” said Hamlin. “A couple more trips should fill it.”
And he was right. Two more trips filled the basin. We all took turns drinking from it, using our hands to scoop up the water. Then two more trips, and we re-filled it.
I took my jeans back, but wet jeans were not very comfortable to put on, so I spread them over a rock to dry. Borlinga just waved away her clothing, telling us we would need them again. The wind had dried her hair, and it fluffed out a few inches. It was amazing how different she looked without her headwrap.
Well, even if we they came and got us tomorrow, we had made our own challenge and conquered it. No other seasons’ cast could say the same thing.
Chapter 12
“And that’s the last of the fish,” said Mike.
“We’ve still got the venison,” Ratt answered back. “But they’re going to come and get us today, don’t you think?”
“That depends on how long it takes them to fix the power. You’d think with as long as they’ve done this, they’d have back-up.” Josh was getting back into his surly mode.
“Maybe they’ll just restart us?” Yash asked hopefully. Except for maybe Josh, Yash seemed the most upset that our season was probably over.
“With what happened to Paul? And it being their fuck-up? Get real.” Josh got up and walked over to the other side of the camp and sat down, away from the rest of us.
In some ways, I thought that Josh had invested the most in this game. Except for October, he was the only cast member who was known, even if only by a portion of the public. And he was adored for playing a masculine sport, one of the few all-male sports played on Earth. But by then, he was an ex-player, out of the limelight. I think he considered
Darwin’s Quest
his last chance to re--
Hard or not, though, he didn’t have to take it out on any of us. If the game was in fact stopped, or if they didn’t let us back for a future one, we all had dreams which had been dashed.
“So Corter, you never did tell us how you got selected. You weren’t at the interviews with us. You nor Borlinga.” Lindadawn seemed to be trying to take the attention of Josh, but that was OK.
“Not much to tell. GBC contacted our central government
,
telling us we were up for a contestant. So in a way, Josh was right on what he said yesterday. We did have a quota, so-to-speak. I entered the lottery and was one of the ten names drawn. They took us to our local GBC studios, and we did a little two-day show-and-tell. You know, showing off our fitness, taking tests, and making an appeal to the viewers.”
“And you were the favorite?” asked Ratt.
“No, not really. That was worth only 30% of our final score. I was pretty good at the physical tests, and I did OK on the mental. But when everything was added up, I was the second alternate.” I didn’t mention that I hadn’t done that well on the viewer popularity, but they could add things up and figure that out if they so desired.
“So if you were second alternate, how did you get on the show?”
“It turns out the winner was augmented. Fingers and eyes, of all things. He was a surgeon, and even though those might not help him here that much, well, rules are rules.”
“You’d think they would have screened that before you did your little local contest,” put in Lindadawn.
“Yea, you’d think so. But they didn’t.”
“And the first alternate?” Ratt asked.
“Her name was Piety, and she failed the Earth GBC interview. It was somewhat of a stink. The Monsanto GBC director threatened to resign. He had made what was supposed to be the final selection, and that was announced in our media. And the cam interview was supposed to be a formality, but the heads back on Earth nixed her. So I was next in line, and that pretty much was that.”
“Wow! Well, I guess you’re lucky the first two went down in flames, but we had about a zillion interviews, screen tests, physical and mental tests, and you name it.” She looked at the other Earthers and Mike who all nodded in agreement.
“And I had to have extra physical tests to show I could stand the gravity. No one wants someone to die of a heart attack when it is much better holo to get eaten by a dinosaur,” Mike said. Then obviously realizing how that might sound considering Paul’s fate, he added, “OK, bad way to put it. Sorry about that.”
“All that is pretty moot now, huh?” asked Ratt. “All your extra physical tests just so you can sit here and wait for them to come and get us. It’s a little funny if you think of it in that light.”
And it was a little ironic, if not actually funny. Mike reached over to tousle her hair.
“You’re right there, Super Ratt. Now we just wait. On the plus side, it won’t be long before we can dig into a big bowl of chocolate ice cream.” He made an exaggerated bite out of his piece of fish.
“Oh, chocolate ice cream! With raspberries!” Lindadawn pursed her lips and sucked in. “That’d almost be worth ending this right here.”
We all laughed and started going into what we would eat first in Production City’s well-stocked canteen. Ratt was all for BBQ ribs while Yash wanted a cheeseburger. That kind of threw us for a moment when he said that. Being from India, I think we all assumed he could not eat beef, but he assured us that Sikhs could eat it. That got me thinking about beef, so I told them I wanted a huge slab of rare prime rib. Alfhid wanted oranges. Not just any oranges, though. Jafffa oranges. Lindadawn and Mike were sticking with ice cream. Borlinga wanted
tumpeng
, which was some sort of rice thingy with a bunch of dishes surrounding it. Lindadawn immediately cried foul, saying she had to pick only one dish. She argued, and we shouted her down, laughing. She relented and picked a kind of potato pancake dish she said her mother made.
“What about you?” Mike asked Hamlin.
Hamlin looked around a bit, then shrugged. “Angel Fingers.”
We all stared at him in surprise before bursting out laughing. Hamlin, our resident bodybuilder-leader extraordinaire, and he chooses Angel Fingers? The little lemon cream snack cakes so dearly loved by 6-year old girls?
“What can I say? I like them.” Even he was laughing, though.
None of us bothered to call out to Josh to ask him the same. He’d rejoin us when he wanted.
Chapter 13
By the next afternoon, we were getting pretty frustrated. We’d had no contact from any of the show staff, and sitting here staring at each other was getting quite old. At least Josh had rejoined us and seemed back to his normal self. Of course his normal self was still pretty aggressive.
“I tell you, we need to go see for ourselves!”
“We’ve been over this,” Hamlin said for the umpteenth time. “They’ll get us when they’re ready. We just need to sit tight.”
“And what if they don’t come? I’m sick of smoked venison and river water.”
“And you want to face those things again? For what?”
Actually, I saw Josh’s point. Something was drastically wrong, and I wouldn’t mind being a little more proactive. I think Alfhid agreed, but neither one of us stood up to Hamlin and Lindadawn.
“Look, we don’t have to go very far. Only to the other side of the clearing to the tunnel. We don’t have to trek all the way across Indian Country.”
“And you know where the door to the tunnel is?” asked Lindadawn.
“Yea, actually, I do. I looked when I came out. Didn’t you, Corter?” he turned to ask me.
I didn’t want to get in the middle of this, and I hadn’t really thought to look too closely as I exited the door. But I did glance at it. “I think I might be able to find it.”
“See? Corter’s with me.”
I wasn’t, really, at least not 100%, but I didn’t challenge him on that. More of me was with him than against him on this.
Hamlin seemed to consider it. Then he shook his head. “Still too dangerous. And what if we can’t get the door open?”
“I tell you what. If we can’t get that door open, we come back and forget about it for now. But let’s give it a shot.”
Alfhid finally spoke up. “I think it might be worth a try,’” she simply said.
Hamlin looked around again. I wondered how much he might still be posturing for the cams and how much was the real Hamlin. Maybe the viewers were still a factor, because he surprised me by agreeing.
“OK. How about this. Five of us go try. The others watch for anything coming to give us some warning. If we can’t get it open, then we give it up.”
Josh beamed. “You’ve got it!”
Lindadawn seemed taken aback by Hamlin’s seeming capitulation, but she didn’t object. We started trying to figure out who should go. Hamlin and Josh were no-brainer choices. I was chosen as I had been in the tunnels before. Mike was chosen, well, because he was Mike, and he had proven his worth before. And Yash wouldn’t hear of being left behind. When we saw that it was an all-male team, we decided to add Alfhid, so six would make the trip. The other three would stay back at Haven.
With no way to hold water, we all drank our fill, almost emptying the basin. By then we all had our own Spears 2.0, so we moved forward to the bridge. Hamlin put his arm around Lindadawn’s shoulders.
“Just keep a close eye. You see anything, and I mean anything, shout out, then get out of the way ‘cause we’ll be rushing back.”
She gave him a squeeze. “You take care, now.”
One by one, we crossed the bridge. It was another beautiful
Darwin’s Quest
day, sunny and pleasantly warm, yet I could feel the nervous sweat build under my shirt. My eyes scanned the distant peak for the pterosaur, but it wasn’t in sight.
With all six of us across, we moved out in a line abreast. As we approached the rock wall, Josh and I moved forward. I was looking for something to let me know just where the door was, but Josh walked unerringly up to it, out his spear down, and leaned forward.
“See? Here it is. This line is the seam.” He pointed to a spot on the wall. I looked at the spot, and yes, I could see a faint line. He tried to get a grasp on it, but his fingers could not get purchase. Hamlin moved in, and both of them tried together, but the door wouldn’t budge. Josh stood back to look at it, then picked up his spear. Using the point of the blade, he forced the tip into the seam, getting it in a few centimeters. Shifting back, he held onto the back of the shaft and started applying sidewise pressure, trying to force the door open. He had barely moved the shaft when the stone head snapped.
“The flint is too brittle for this. It’ll never work.” Mike seemed pretty adamant about that.
We all stood back and looked at the door, as if it might suddenly decide to open on its own. Yash finally cleared his voice.
“Um, would a steel knife work?”
“Yea, probably, but since we don’t have any knives, the question is moot.”
Yash looked skyward, then sighed. He took off his loose shirt to reveal a cloth belt hanging over his shoulder and neck. And on the belt, he took out a small knife. “This is my kirpan. Try it.”
We looked at him in amazement. He had smuggled a knife with him the whole time? “Were did you get that?” demanded Hamlin.
“All Sikh men carry a kirpan. It is one of our five kakars.”
“Your five what? And why didn’t you say anything before?”
“I had to sign a waiver with GBC not to use it nor mention it.”
“But, wha….”
Alfhid cut him off. “We can discuss this later, boys, but right now, maybe we’d better see if we can get this door open? I don’t really like sitting here waiting for something to wander by.”
“She’s right,” Josh said. He held out his hand, and Yash handed him the knife. Josh removed it from the metal sheath. It was a beautiful blade, bright and shiny with a nicely curved handle. The question was whether it was just for show or if it could do the job. Josh easily slid the blade into the crack.
“OK, get ready. When I pry this open, grab the edges.”
We got into position, hands ready. Josh pushed the blade into the seam and leaned back, and the door began to crack open. We could see a few centimeters of the side of the door, and we tried to grab it. But the knife slipped, and the door slammed closed.
“Come on, Josh,” Hamlin said. “We’ve got to get this open, or we have to go back. That was our deal.”
“I know, I know.” He paused. “OK, when I get it open, don’t try for the back edge. I think it’s too far for this knife. Just push as hard as you can back towards the hinges. Just hold it there for a minute, and I’ll get the knife deeper.”
We got back in position. It was hard to get five of us where we could get pressure. Yash was kneeling on the ground, taking the lowest position, so I didn’t know how effective he would be. And we had to make room for Josh, too, of course.
Josh started putting pressure on the small blade. As the door inched open, we all started pushing along the exposed edge, down the width of the door.
“OK, I’m going to move it now. Hold it!”
Josh removed the knife, and the door started to slide back a bit. He quickly shoved the knife back in, resetting it deeper. With the knife in deeper, we could relax for a second.
“Here it goes again!”
This time, when he levered open the door, the back edge of the door became visible. Risking fingers, Hamlin reached in and pulled back, flinging the door open and sending the rest of us sprawling. From down on the ground, I looked up and into the dark opening.
“Guys! I think you’d better hurry! Something is getting closer!” Lindadawn shouted from back on the bridge.
We didn’t need any more encouragement. With a rush, we were in and closing the door. It was not quite cavern-dark in the tunnel. There were faint emergency lights along the track, probably battery-powered. And as our eyes adjusted, we could see the faint outlines of each other.
“Well, lead on!” Hamlin’s voice came out of the darkness. I didn’t know if he was talking to Josh or me, so I just carefully made my way to the rail and started slowly walking. I could hear the rest follow in trace. I used the faint lights as a guide, but straddling the rail kept me on course. It was awkward walking that way, but I thought that was better then wandering into the wall or anything in the path.
“Shit,” someone whispered as I heard them trip.
I am not sure why we were whispering. We wanted to be found, after all. But whispering seemed somehow appropriate. The trip by railcar had taken a few minutes. Stumbling along in the dark, well, the trip kept going on and on. I constantly looked ahead, expecting to see something. A doorway, a light, a window—anything. But we just kept walking in the warm, humid tunnel. I could hear the footsteps and heavy breathing of the others behind me. Twice I was jabbed by Josh’s spear as he stumbled into me, his hurried apology coming right after.
Mike called out for a break, so we sat there on the rails, really not able to see each other, as we caught our breath. Then it was back on our feet for more walking, endless walking. I was about ready to call for another break myself when I thought I could see a faint glow ahead. I wondered if it was my imagination, but as we got closer, I could see that we were finally coming to the end of the line. The rail car was sitting in front of us, lit by the light coming through a window. We stepped off the rail and up to the platform. It felt great to see some light, even if it wasn’t that bright. But the emergency light up on the wall of the corridor put out more light than the small lights along the rail, at least.
I tried the door leading out to the corridor, half expecting it to be locked. But it opened readily. We all crowded out to be greeted by silence. We couldn’t hear anything, any sign of life. Hesitantly, spears at the ready, we moved down the corridor, glad for the emergency lights evenly spaced along the way. Passing a few doors, we opened them and looked in. Each was empty. Finally, we came upon Studio B, the same one where I had made my plea and found out my fate. Hamlin pushed the door open with his spear.
The studio was as deserted as the other rooms. Cameras stood unattended, sharp shadows from the emergency lights creating a surreal scene. Some papers littered the floor, and one chair was upturned.
“Olly olly oxen free,” chanted Mike in a quiet voice.
“Seriously,” Josh added, as we slowly wandered about the studio.
“OK, I’m going to ask it. Where the hell’s everybody?” asked Alfhid rhetorically.
Hamlin righted the overturned chair and slid it in place under a desk. “Let’s keep moving. Someone has to be here who can tell us what’s going on.”
We followed him out the door, past the Green Room and on down to the canteen. A stench hit us as we approached it. Fearing what we might find, we opened the doors. The canteen was better lit with a skylight bringing in the sun, so we could see the trays of half eaten food sitting on the tables, already starting to rot. Here, a number of chairs were overturned, but there didn’t seem to be any damage.
A bag of Lay’s was on one tray. I picked it up, gave it a sniff, and popped a few in my mouth, the familiar salty taste something different from our smoked fish and venison.
“Come on Corter! That’s disgusting,” Yash told me.
‘Chips don’t spoil like that.”
“Yea, but the smell here!”
“So it sucks. But the chips are fine.” I put the bag in my pocket as we moved into the kitchen. The food in the warming trays was pretty ripe, but there was water, Coke, and a case of Dr. Pepper sitting there. Stench or not, we needed liquid, and even Yash managed to down a Coke without gagging over the smell.
We spent the next hour or so exploring Production City. There wasn’t a soul in sight. It looked as if everyone had just dropped what they were doing and walked out. But we couldn’t figure out why. When we got to the landing zone, we pretty much expected what we would find, and we were not mistaken. The two ships which serviced the production were gone.