Natural Selection Read online

  “Stop that. What if someone sees us?” Paige didn’t need the other contestants thinking there was something between them. Because there wasn’t. Not yet, anyway.

  “I can’t wait to unbraid your hair and bury my face in it.” Paige smiled at the thought, then remembered what she’d been thinking about. “I was chased by a bear today.”

  “Bear? There aren’t any bears on this island.” He handed her a two-gallon plastic bladder full of water and took the other one himself.

  “There shouldn’t be,” she agreed as they walked back to the camp. “The Caribbean doesn’t have any indigenous mammals near the size of a bear. And it was definitely a bear.”

  “A bear?” Aleisha asked when they stepped through the brush into the clearing.

  “I’ll check it out,” Wade assured them. “Maybe someone used to fly animals in for hunts or something.”

  “Fly animals in?” Paige asked.

  Wade shrugged. “It’s not that uncommon. Some macho hunters pay a lot of money to have rare or endangered animals flown to a location so they can hunt them.”

  “This looked like a grizzly,” Paige said. “Probably not full grown yet.”

  “That fits.” Wade nodded. “A lot of hunters bring the animals in when they aren’t quite grown and hunt them later.”

  “That’s disgusting!” Aleisha said.

  “It is,” Wade agreed. “I’ll find the bear and contact the bear rescue people. They’ll get him to a good zoo.”

  “Good. I’d hate to think that he’s out here all alone,” Paige said.

  “What about Barry?” Aleisha asked. “He’s still not back yet.”

  “I’ll find him. Probably just got turned around and lost. The island’s not that big. Most likely he’ll find you before dark. But I’ll look for him anyway.” Wade waved and called everyone over. “So, that’s the first competition. Paige is in the lead.” He smiled at her in a way that made her feel hotter than she should, even in the jungle. “For now. Remember, everything can change at anytime.”

  “What happens now?” Ty asked.

  “Now, you set up for the night. Make whatever shelter you can, cook your bounteous dinner and get some rest. Tomorrow’s going to be another big day.”

  “So, hotshot.” Ty swaggered over to Paige. “Now that you’ve caught the most fish, who’s going to cook them?”

  Her jerk alert went on full force. “I caught it, I cleaned it and I’ll cook it.” At five feet ten, she was only an inch shorter than Ty and had no problem looking him in the eye.

  “Just as it should be.” Ty laughed and turned away. “But you won’t be eating any of it,” Paige said to his back.

  Ty turned back to her. “What’s that? A joke?”

  “No joke. I don’t hunt or cook for jerks. You caught a couple of fish. Clean ‘em, cook ‘em, and eat ‘em yourself.”

  Nick’s camera moved from one face to another as he recorded the team members’ reactions to the confrontation.

  Kevin laughed, Alex turned away to hide a smile, and Aleisha backed up a couple of steps. Ty fumed, but he cleaned and cooked two of the fish he’d caught for himself. Kevin made a show of cooking and eating the snake he’d caught. Wade had left a small cooler with food for Nick. Paige assumed they’d be supplying his food since he wasn’t part of the team.

  “Aleisha, you and Alex bury the leftovers. I’ll clean up the dishes,” Paige said.

  “Bury the leftovers?” Aleisha looked puzzled. “Why bury them?”

  “We don’t want to attract any scavengers,” Paige explained as she poured a small amount of water into the pot the greens had been cooked in. By the time she had the pot, a small pan, and a few utensils scrubbed, Alex and Aleisha had returned.

  “Barry still isn’t back,” Aleisha said. “I’m worried.” “He’s probably fine,” Paige said. “There aren’t any large animals on the island.” Well, except for the bear that had chased her up a rock. Unless there were others they didn’t know about. She shook off that thought. “He won’t be cold in this weather. I’m sure he’ll show up tomorrow.”

  “He probably got lost and just holed up somewhere,” Alex tried to assure her.

  “Let’s all bed down,” Paige suggested.

  The contestants had been allowed to bring whatever they felt they could carry. Paige noticed that Ty had a huge backpack that contained a small tent, a sleeping bag and numerous other items, including too many clothes. She was betting that he’d be ditching most of it before the first week on the island was up. Alex had been more conservative although he had packed a small tent, as had Aleisha. Kevin had brought a backpack about the same size as Paige’s. Nick had been furnished with a rather elaborate tent for one person, along with a pillow and sleeping bag.

  Nick was still struggling with his tent when Paige slung a nylon hammock between two trees. She tied a rope several feet above the hammock and threw a nylon tarp over the rope to keep any rain off. The entire arrangement took up about a fifth of the room of the smallest tent and weighed practically nothing.

  Nick finally managed to get his tent upright. Paige banked the fire and crawled into her hammock, draping a mosquito net over the entire arrangement. She wanted to be well rested for whatever the producers had in mind for them tomorrow. But sleep was slow in coming as she remembered what Wade had said about someone flying animals in for private hunts. She shivered in spite of the warm, muggy night. What else was out there?

  CHAPTER

  FOUR

  PAIGE ROSE WITH THE FIRST GLIMMER of dawn and built a small fire before trotting down to the stream. She shucked off her tank top and shorts and dove into the stream in her panties and sport bra, figuring the underwear could use a good rinse as much as she could. With at least the top layer of jungle dirt washed off, she pulled on her clothes again and filled a collapsible plastic container with water. By the time she’d trudged back to camp, the others were up.

  “What do we do about breakfast?” Aleisha asked.

  “You got low blood sugar or something?” Ty asked with a snarl. Aleisha shrugged and moved away. Paige had never liked bullies and thought she might say something later to Aleisha about standing up to Ty.

  “You got a problem, Ty?” Paige asked, pouring water into a collapsible pot, adding some purification tablets and moving it over the fire.

  “Nothing you can fix,” he replied.

  That worked for her since she had no desire to fix anything for him anyway. The water started to boil and Paige tossed in a handful of coffee grounds. She’d pack around a few pounds of coffee over a tent any day. She didn’t bother telling her teammates that it was partially decaffeinated. And tomorrow’s coffee would have even less caffeine. She’d brought enough coffee for probably a week. After a week of the decreasing amount of caffeine, her teammates wouldn’t go through the usual harsh withdrawals of stopping coffee altogether. But she wasn’t exactly doing it for their sakes. They’d perform better if they didn’t have to take several days to deal with the caffeine withdrawal.

  As long as she was doing this she might as well play to win. A hundred thousand dollars would be a nice cushion in her bank account. Especially if the agency ran into a dry spell like it had at other times. The thought of three hundred thousand if her team won was enough to make her dizzy.

  The coffee had brewed enough for the aroma to waft through the camp. Predictably, it had drawn the entire team to the campfire.

  “Is that coffee I smell?” Ty asked, almost nicely.

  “Yep. Want some?”

  Ty’s eyes clouded with suspicion. Paige stifled a laugh. He was worried that she wouldn’t give him the coffee.

  “You got a cup?” she asked.

  Ty returned with a blue speckled, metal cup. She tipped the pot, pouring the brew into his cup, and Paige was surprised his hand wasn’t shaking. She had him pegged for a three double latte a day guy–probably with a shot of flavor. The lack of cream was sure to be a disappointment to him.

  “No cream
, huh?” he asked.

  Was she good or what? Paige bit back a chuckle and shook her head. “Sorry. You could try some coconut milk in it.”

  “Hey, that could work.”

  Aleisha, Alex, Kevin and Nick wandered over, lured by the coffee aroma. Paige tipped the pot again and again, saving the last half-cup for herself. The rest of breakfast consisted of the berries Aleisha had found with chunks of coconut mixed in.

  Wade showed up at eight sharp, dressed in khaki shorts and a tank top, a bright blue bandana tied around his neck. Thanks to the slight infusion of caffeine, the team members were all ready to go.

  “Today we go into the second competition for Team Leader. This competition is a race. Follow me.” Wade waved at them and tromped off through the jungle. They obediently followed for about three hundred yards. Wade stopped and pointed to the north.

  “At the top of that hill is a map pinned to a tree. The map shows the location of several items that will come in very handy for the rest of your time here.” He hiked up his cargo shorts and smiled. “You might say those items could be the difference between going to the finals or coming in dead last.”

  Everyone nodded to indicate they were paying close attention to his words of wisdom.

  “The competition is a race to retrieve the map. As you can see, the map is some distance away and there are several ways to approach it. To the northwest is a river, to the northeast is a cliff. North, you’ll encounter a lot of jungle to get through. It’s up to each person to decide on the best route to the map, depending on individual skills.” He paused and smiled. “Personally, I’d avoid the jungle if I were you. Too many variables. The river route is the shortest, so if you’re a good swimmer …” Wade shrugged. “The map will be sealed in a plastic bag. If you retrieve the map, do not look at it. Whoever becomes Team Leader will be the only one allowed to view the map and not until I say it’s okay. And, trust me, I’ll know if anyone else has looked at it.”

  Wade’s delivery was smooth and stylish. He sounded as much like an actor as he looked. Nick kept the camera on him until he finished his directions, then turned it toward the team members.

  “What about Barry?” Aleisha asked.

  Wade paused for a moment. “Well, seems Barry has changed his mind. He showed up last night and said he wanted to quit.” Wade shrugged again. “Unfortunately, this means your team is a member short. Then again, better to find out now than later when he could bog you down.”

  Paige watched Nick tape the team’s reaction to Wade’s announcement. Aleisha and Alex shared a look of concern. Predictably, Ty didn’t seem to care about Barry’s defection. Kevin just smiled like he was in on some joke. That smile was beginning to irritate Paige. Losing a teammate this early was a disappointment. But she agreed with Wade that it was better to find out now that Barry wasn’t up to the game.

  “The competition begins now,” Wade announced. “Get whatever gear you deem necessary or useful and be on your way.”

  Everyone hurried back to the camp and began digging through packs. Paige had already decided on the cliff. She had the equipment to rappel down the cliff, and it was one of her strengths. She strapped a rope bag around her waist and stuffed in a three-hundred foot length of rappelling cord and a folding grappling hook. She pulled on her climbing harness, and then a self-inflating life vest, and made sure her knife was secure at the small of her back. Going down the cliff would be easy, but she’d probably return by the river, and she had no idea how rough it might be. Wade hadn’t mentioned what they would be doing for dinner later, and Paige suspected they would be providing their own meal again, so she folded a couple of bags into the rope bag. Ty finished gathering his equipment and walked over to her.

  “Not much of a swimmer, huh?” He poked at the self-inflating life vest, just missing a tender area of her chest. She resisted the urge to flatten him, but not by much. His attitude did not bode well for the coming weeks.

  Kevin pulled a machete from his pack and walked into the jungle without a word to anyone. Ty trotted off with Aleisha right behind him. For a moment, Paige envied Aleisha’s close-cropped head. Hers was starting to itch from the sweat and dirt. She had a small container of bio-degradable shampoo that would give her about four shampoos. Two a week for the time they would be on the island. All Aleisha had to do was dunk her head in the river.

  “So, you’re doing the cliff, too?” Alex asked in his lilting voice. He pulled a length of rappelling cord off his shoulder and shoved it into the rope bag around his waist. “Looks like Ty and Aleisha are taking the river.”

  “Looks that way.” She zipped the rope bag closed and took off at a trot, leaving Alex to catch up. The trail was narrow and she ran ahead, listening to Alex’s huffing and puffing. Didn’t sound like he’d done much to get in shape for the show.

  Paige kept the hill she was aiming for in sight every time she went through a clearing, which wasn’t nearly often enough. After a little more than half an hour of jogging, the ground started to climb, and she slowed her pace a bit, catching her breath. By noon, she’d made the top of the cliff. Paige thought Alex must be a good mile or so behind her. The hilltop she was headed toward was much closer. Once she reached the bottom of the cliff, she would only have a short climb up the hill.

  The river that Ty and Aleisha had to cross was a glimmering ribbon from this distance. Paige still thought the cliff was a better deal. The river was closer to the hill but it looked pretty wide in places. There was plenty of jungle foliage along the banks so Ty and Aleisha would have no way of knowing if they were crossing at a narrow part of the river or not. At least from the cliff, Paige could scope out the narrow places where she’d most likely swim back.

  She looked over the cliff and judged the drop to be about two hundred feet. Her cord would be plenty long enough. She secured the grappling hook on a rock and threaded the cord through the carabiners on her harness, pulling on the cord to test the security. She dropped the rope bag over the cliff, watching it land at the bottom.

  “Hey, bet you thought you’d lost me back there.” Alex bounded up behind her.

  He pulled his rope bag off his belt and threaded the line through the carabiners on his harness.

  “Your rope looks a little used.”

  “Nah, it’s fine.” Alex secured his grappling hook, grabbed his rope and jumped over the cliff edge. His rope ran over a rock and sawed back and forth as he lowered himself.

  “Alex!” Paige called over the edge. “Your rope is rubbing over a rock. It’s starting to fray. Try to find a place to rest and give it some slack. I’ll move it for you.”

  “It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.” Alex waved and continued down the cliff. The rope was fraying rapidly. Paige cursed his stupid, reckless ignorance that would now cost her precious time. She quickly straightened her rope, made sure it wouldn’t snag or rub on anything, and lowered herself over the edge. A glance down at Alex showed him to be about fifty feet off the ground, so maybe he’d make it before his rope broke. Just then she heard a snap and jerked her head around. Alex’s rappelling cord flew by her, rippling in the air.

  CHAPTER

  FIVE

  PAIGE HEARD ALEX SCREAM AND LOOKED down, expecting the worst. It must have just been dumb luck that he had balanced his toes for a moment on a ledge when the rope broke. He’d grabbed some scrubby brush and was hanging on. Paige lowered herself as quickly as she could, angling sideways a bit so she wouldn’t rain any loose rock onto him.

  Alex clung to the cliff. His face was pale, and sweat dripped off his chin and nose. His knuckles were white from the death grip he had on the scrubby bushes.

  “Alex, I’m going to rappel over to you. I’ll land with my feet on either side of you. Just don’t let go until I’ve got you,” Paige called from above him.

  “Si’, si’.. Just be careful. Don’t hit me or I’ll fall.” His voice was high and quavered with fear. He glanced down, and then squeezed his eyes shut. “Madre di Dios.”

>   She pushed off with her feet and let out some line as she swung out and then back toward the cliff. She’d guessed the distance correctly and landed with her booted feet planted on either side of Alex’s legs. She quickly braked her line and put an arm around Alex’s middle.

  “Alex, you’re going to have to hang onto my back so I can lower us to the ground.”

  “I can’t. If I let go, I’ll fall.”

  Paige could hear the fear trembling his voice, and she was torn between feeling sorry for him and thinking that this was his own damn fault for not taking better care of his equipment and not planning his rappel better.

  “You won’t fall,” she assured him, hoping it was true. “I’m going to move over to your right. I’ll get real close, so all you have to do is grab on to me.” Paige lifted her left foot, making sure to not touch him, and maneuvered it to the right side of him. She placed her toes on the ledge, wishing it was a little wider. She was as close to him as she could get, their hips almost touching.

  “I’ll fall,” Alex whined.

  “No! Don’t think that way,” Paige commanded. “The only way down is with me.” Well, the only way that wouldn’t result in serious injury or death. “Now, put your right hand across my shoulder.”

  Alex moved his right hand and placed it over her shoulder, grasping at her shirt. His left hand started to move and Paige realized he was going to wrap his arms about her neck. Choking her wasn’t going to do either of them any good.

  “Wait. Put your left hand under my arm, then grasp it with your right hand.” Paige braced herself for the pull of his weight on her back. His right hand slipped a little and she felt him grab at her braid.

  “Alex, if you use my hair as a rope, we’ll both fall.” His hand immediately went back over her shoulder.

  Alex moved again, his left arm snaking under her arm and across her chest, then his feet flew out from under him just as his hands clasped themselves together. Paige hung onto the line with all her strength, his weight pulling at her.