Small Game by Blair Braverman

Author:Blair Braverman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2022-08-10T00:00:00+00:00

18

Lenny had never pretended to be above tricks if he thought they’d make good television. So when the crew didn’t show up the next day, Bullfrog decided that this was an intentional strategy on their part. It had to be a plan to see how the survivors acted when they were alone, so the audience could watch them in something closer to a natural environment. Mara picked some more sumac shoots, which were on the verge of tough, but would be edible if she boiled them. Then, feeling strong, she walked around the bog, gathering chanterelles and nettles on the way. The trees creaked around her. Something burst from the ground, a flurry of wings, and she jumped. It was only a grouse.

Back at camp, the survivors munched on boiled sumac while discussing their options. Kyle had a theory he was hopeful about. He suggested that there had been an accident, and the crew was gone forever.

“That’s not actually good,” said Mara. “That’s not something we want.”

“Of course it is,” said Kyle. “That’s why we’re all here, right? To test our survival skills. There’s nobody better prepared than we are. We’ll be legends.”

“It could be a holiday,” said Ashley. “Memorial Day.”

Kyle checked his carved calendar, counted on his fingers. “Nope,” he said. “That was last week.”

“Or they needed to get supplies or something,” said Ashley.

Bullfrog spit a wad of phlegm on the grass.

“Maybe it’s a twist,” said Kyle. “Like, the first part of the show was figuring out if we can survive here, and we did that. We built a nice shelter and we acquired a reliable source of food.” Mara noticed his use of the word we for both shelter and fish, neither of which he’d been instrumental in, but Kyle was so hopeful and harmless that she just caught eyes with Bullfrog and let him carry on.

“We succeeded,” continued Kyle. “We won the first part of the challenge. And the second part is seeing how long it takes us to realize that we have to get out. And then we’ll navigate the terrain, launch an expedition to get ourselves back home—”

“What about our prizes?” said Mara. “I’m not going anywhere without money.”

“Didn’t the contract say we’d get paid when we complete the challenge? Maybe that really means getting out. They just phrased it so we’d assume it meant, like, staying in the same place for a month and a half.” Now Kyle was on a roll. “Plus, think of the name even. Civilization. What if we’re not the civilization in question? What if it’s about finding our way back to civilization? It’s genius. I can’t believe no one’s done this before. So we just have to, I don’t know, smoke a lot of fish, so we have food for the journey. And then pick a direction and walk our way out.”

“There isn’t,” said Ashley.

It was the first time she’d spoken, and they all turned to her. She sat stiffly; there was something odd in the way she held her shoulders.

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