Technically, Barra hadn’t. She’d only witnessed Allie stuff something that could be a protection bracelet into the waistband of her pants. Not once had she considered the possibility that Allie was lying. At least not until this moment. Still, Barra chose to trust her. “Yes, I have seen it,” she lied, but only because it was for the greater good. Valerie, announcing she had the protection bracelet and refusing to show anyone, had already sent a ripple of suspicion through the group. Barra wasn’t going to add even more kindling to the raging fire.
“Does Sutton know about this?”
Allie shook her head.
Both Elodie and Anna had smiled. “I think that’s a smart move,” Elodie had said, running a hand through her pink hair. “I know you’re paired up with her, Allie, but by the way Sutton’s going, you shouldn’t be surprised if you’re both on the bottom soon.”
Anna had nodded. “I honestly have no idea how she won her season.”
Barra had. Sutton had won it with brute force.
Vivian cleared her throat, getting everyone’s attention, including Barra’s. Her head snapped up just as Vivian stepped beside the platform. She was wearing a burnt-orange slip dress paired with gladiator sandals. “Tonight’s Sending is simple. Each pair will cast one vote by placing a single stone into the cup of the pair they want to send home.”
She paused, letting it settle long enough for Barra’s stomach to fill with nerves.
“The pair with the most stones will be at risk,” Vivian went on before the cicadas started back up again. “From there, they’ll have a choice. Leave the game together or stay together and face The Sending. If you stay, the rest of the group will vote again, but this time, only one of you will go home.” Her lips curved in that way only Vivian’s lips could. “But before we vote, I’d like to hear from all of you.” Then she gestured to Valerie first. “You seem like you’re enjoying yourself, Valerie. How badly did you want to be here?”
“Badly,” Valerie said without missing a beat. “I even deferred a promotion for this. My boss thought I was joking when I said I might need a month off to compete on a reality show.” She gave a satisfied smile. Out of the corner of her eye, Barra could practically hear Sutton’s eye roll. “But it was worth it. I don’t regret it at all.”
Vivian smiled, her eyes sparkling. “Did you find it at all daunting to come into this season with six previous winners?”
Valerie shrugged. “Not really,” she said. “If anything, it’s predictable. Winners rely on what worked before. They fall into patterns, and patterns are easy to break.”
Someone cleared their throat. Barra couldn’t tell who exactly, but it wouldn’t take a degree to figure out it was probably Sutton. Not that Barra wasn’t a little annoyed at the answer. What pattern was she relying on exactly? And even if she had one, Valerie couldn’t break it with a bulldozer.
“Tilly,” Vivian said, moving on. “Do you feel the same way?”
Tilly let out a breathy laugh and rubbed her hands together. “I don’t,” she said. “I mean, these are people who’ve won before. They’ve outlasted eleven other women and spent twenty-eight days out here. I respect each and every one of them.”
Valerie seemed nonplussed. In fact, she looked like she disagreed entirely.
Barra was just about to lean a bit forward to catch Sutton’s eye. Surely the woman had tons to say. But then Vivian said her name. “Barra. You won Season Five, and although that wasn’t so long ago, a lot has changed since. I think some of the contestants here can agree that you seem a little different this season.”
Barra felt her ears go warm. “How so, Vivian?”
“Well, we haven’t had any complaints of you snoring too loudly. Or laughing too loudly. It’s only been a few days, but camp seems to be missing that Barra-esque energy Season Five came to know so well. Is this a new strategy or just a new Barra?”
Barra knew she wasn’t the same Barra who had laughed so loudly it echoed through camp, who’d spun barefoot under the red gums just because the wind picked up, who’d twice led a late afternoon game of charades, once soloedTake A Chance On Me, and shoved a stick between her teeth and acted like Rip Wheeler. “Can it be both?”
Vivian smiled and thankfully left it at that before she turned to Connie. She had her buff tied around her head, the red-orange fabric nearly identical to her hair. “You won the very first season ofOutlast Her. You’ve seen this game from the beginning. How do these newer contestants compare? Do you think they’ve changed at all?”
Connie nodded slowly and first glanced at Margaret on her left and Juniper on her right, both of whom were looking down at their laps. Nerves? Barra didn’t blame them. The longer they sat there with the candles flickering, the more nervousshe became. “They’ve definitely changed,” Connie said. “Back in Season One, people played simpler. You trusted your gut, your partner, and if someone lied, it was obvious.”
“Now?” Vivian asked, raising a single brow.
“Everyone’s thinking three moves ahead,” Connie replied. “And they lie. They lie well. To be honest, the game has become a lot harder to read.”
“Do you want to elaborate on that?”
Connie chuckled and shook her head. “I think that’s a bag of sour candy worms we can unpack at another time, don’t you?”
Vivian seemed to agree because she clapped her hands together once, like she always did, and said, “Well then, with that we vote.”
IT HAD TURNED OUT VALERIEdidn’t have a protection bracelet. It also turned out that Barra had quite a bit of power in the game. With just a few words whispered to Hazel, then Tilly and Toph, Juniper had gone home, and Valerie had stayed.
Barra had secretly enjoyed the outrage on Sutton’s face when Vivian had said, “Valerie, tonight the game gave you a second chance. What you do with it is entirely up to you.”
Though Barra was fairly certain she’d be on the receiving end of Sutton’s wrath first thing in the morning. For now, she had to endure the silent treatment, which had started the second they’d left The Sending and carried all the way to bedtime.