Forbidden Passage by Jeff Probst

Author:Jeff Probst
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-08-20T16:00:00+00:00

Jane pushed hard to keep up with the group. As the smallest participant, she also had the shortest legs. The last thing she wanted was to be the reason they fell behind this early in the competition.

Up ahead, most of the other runners had spread out and begun gathering supplies. The first ones they passed were digging some kind of roots out of the ground, brushing off the dirt, and biting right into them. Others were gathered around a small stream, taking drinks.

Jane tried to watch everyone at once, even as she scanned the woods for something they could take as their own.

“Are those bananas?” Buzz asked suddenly. When Jane looked where he was pointing, she saw a heavy bunch of green bananas suspended in a curved leafy tree, straight ahead.

“Carter and Jane, go!” Vanessa said. Already she’d knelt in the dirt next to some plants like the ones the others had been digging up. “Buzz, help me with this.”

There was no time to talk. One look from Carter, and Jane raced with him straight over to the banana tree.

The amount of natural food and fresh water here was a million times beyond anything they’d found on Nowhere Island. It wasn’t a feast, but a bunch of bananas could make the difference between having enough energy for the journey, or not.

“Get on my back!” Carter said. He bent over with his arms on the trunk. Jane scrambled up until she was standing with her hands higher on the tree, just within reach of the bananas. The trick was going to be getting them down.

“Should I take them all?” Jane said.

“Yes!” he said.

“I’m not sure if I can—”

“Just do it!” he answered. Several of the others had spotted them now and were heading over. They had to get this done quickly.

Jane wrapped her arms around the entire bunch and pulled hard, but the thick stalk didn’t budge. At the same time, two other kids appeared at the base of the tree. With a fast leap, they’d each scaled the trunk, holding on with both feet and one hand as they reached for the same bananas.

One of them was Mima, Jane saw, as the girl made a fast grab for the food. Mima easily tore away several bananas and dropped to the ground. The other boy ripped half of what was left from Jane’s arms before he, too, jumped off. He landed several feet away and continued on without missing a stride.

There were no rules here—Ani had already told them that. Now that Raku Nau had officially begun, Jane could see for herself that this was going to be even harder than she’d thought.

The good news was that the tussle over the bananas had left the remaining seven dangling from the tree. Jane ripped the broken stalk and dropped down next to Carter with what she had.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “That’s all I could get.”

“Don’t worry, you did good,” Carter said.

Just then, a nearby shout caught Jane’s attention. It was Mima again. The girl stood empty-handed now.

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