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It took a long time for Yau-Man to cast his vote. Up until the last minute, he had doubts. But it was the good kind of doubts - the doubts that come before doing something big.

Once everybody was done, Jeff started to read the votes. When the first and second votes read 'Katie', she observed a pleased-looking Tom and thought: he doesn't know what's coming. But then a second thought popped into her head: What if she is the one who doesn't know what's coming? What if the trick's on her, and Tom knows something she doesn't?

Before long, however, Tom's name started to appear and didn't stop until there were seven for him, seven for Katie. "We have a tie", Jeff said. And Katie, although in great danger of going home, smiled to herself. Bring it on, was her third thought.

"We now face the tie-breaker rules", Jeff said, and Yau-Man shifted in his seat, a bit nervous. He was kind of proud of their move - but what if Jeff was about to pull a purple rock, and he would find himself out of the game, just like that? Would he proud of their move then?

"At first", Jeff explained, "we'll let the two vote-getters say their piece as to why they should stay over the other. Then, we'll have a re-vote, in which you can only vote for either Tom or Katie. You two-" he looked at Tom and Katie - "are of course not eligible to vote.

"If it's still a tie", he continued, "we'll go for a tie-breaker. I'm not going to tell what this tie-breaker is, but believe me, you're better off solving this amongst yourselves."

Tom was unexpectedly calm. He looked at Eliza and Dreamz, and was sure that those were the two that voted for him, along with the opposite alliance. He wasn't angry at them; why should he? Things were going great for him, up until now; it was only fair that things will go great for others at well, even if it was at his expense. He just didn't realize, up until now, what a good liar Dreamz was. He did, after all, give Tom and Yau-Man his word on the second day of the game, and he sounded very convincing as he did so.

"Katie", Jeff said, "why don't you go first."

For a minute, Katie was lost for words. She thought about the people back at home, that will watch this in a few months' time. They would, of course, root for Tom to pull through yet again, just like in their last showdown. This thought petrified her; but then she remembered her talk with Cirie. She couldn't control what people will think of her in the future, so it was silly to worry about it. She could, however, control what she was about to say.

"We're not exactly on even grounds", she started a bit lamely, "Tom and I. For one, I'm a normal human being, some would say not even that, and he's a life-saving super hero. I won't say I deserve to stay over him, since he already won - because I don't. It's not about that - it's about which one of us benefits you the most by staying. And I think it's me. No matter how you look at it, how you turn it around, having Tom there near the end is dangerous. Believe me, I know. Having me there at the endgame, however, can do wonders. Just ask Tom, he knows."

She now looked straight at Ian, who was sitting to her right. "I'll be fine with going home tonight", she said, "as long as it's in everyone's best interests. But please, don't do what someone else wants you to do. Make the decision for yourselves."

Ian did not look back at her.

It was now Tom's turn. "You guys don't owe me anything", he started in his friendly, powerful voice and immediately, everyone was fixated on his words. "Katie's right - do what you gotta do. But I still stand by what I had said the first day on the beach - we have a chance to make this a true all-stars season. If everyone's who is considered a threat is gone, what are we left with - survival of the quietest? Of the least threatening? Is that what we're aiming at?"

Rafe listened to Tom and suddenly had the urge to be sitting in the final two with someone like him, with a true all-star. He just hoped whoever changed their vote might have the same urge, might change it back.

Eliza was half-listening. She knew of her ability to change her mind quickly, but she didn't want it happening tonight - she wanted to stick with her decision. Yau-Man, though, was listening carefully. He thought this was the opportunity for Tom to offer deals, to beg for his life, to make sure he stays - but none of that came. Things stayed as they were before, and they would probably stay the same after the second vote. And then? Who knows.

"It is, once more", Jeff said, "time to vote. Ami, you're up."

Ami voted, and Cindy, and Dreamz, and Terry, and soon, they were all sitting, waiting for the verdict. Tom suddenly realized he might be going tonight. And, even more suddenly, he realized he was OK with it. Only a winner in this game can know how difficult it is to win it. And only a winner can know how, sometimes, it just comes down to sheer luck.

"Katie", Jeff read the first vote. "Tom", read the second one. Katie and Tom exchanged looks for the first time this evening. They were not going to sit in the final two together this time. They were both accepting of that fact.

At first, it was one vote Katie, one vote Tom. Then, two-two. Jeff made a point of reading the votes in the same pattern - Katie, Tom, Katie, Tom, until each of them had five votes. "Katie", Jeff read the eleventh vote, and then, as expected - "Tom."

It was down to the last two votes, and Yau-Man did not see his own hand-written vote come out of the urn yet. Therefore, he was the only one, besides Jeff, to know about at least one person who will receive seven votes, if not more.

Jeff opened the thirteenth vote so that only he could see it, smiled, and turned it around. Now Yau-Man recognized his own hand-writing, spelling three letters - T, O and M. Tom's fate in this game now depended on only one vote. He still had a chance for a second tie, a good chance. He looked at Terry in front of him - could Terry change his vote to secure his own ass? Was it a mistake, not committing to a final-two alliance with Terry earlier that evening?

But when Jeff showed them the last vote, Tom knew it wasn't Terry's. He knew it, because he recognized the hand-writing all too well - it was the hand-writing of his best friend out there, of Ian. Ian was persistent in looking at the ground, and nowhere else. He couldn't look at the face of the person he had spent thirty-eight days on a deserted island with, the person he had quitted for, the person he adored, the person he now voted for… voted against…

"I need you to bring me your torch", Jeff said to Tom, and Tom, for the first time, brought Jeff his torch. "Tom, the tribe has spoken."

"Well said", he told his tribemates - his allies, his rivals, and the ones he wasn't sure about. But it did not matter now. Tom wasn't going to be bothered by his exit. For the short time that he was there, from the moment he first stepped on that beach, he played strong - and he finished strong. From his perspective, there was no other way of playing this game.

Chapter Four - Five New Songs

Days 10-12

Strangely enough, Eliza found herself in a boxing arena, with Tom Westman as her opponent. This was weird, as she was currently stuck on a deserted island, but she accepted it as fact.

Before she could even deliver her first punch, more Tom Westmans started to appear, all wearing ridiculously large red boxing gloves, all ready to strike. Eliza was ready as well. She took down the first Tom Westman with a single blow, and then the second one, and the third, and soon, eight of them were lying on the ground, unconscious. Out of nowhere, Martha Stewart appeared to crown Eliza as the winner. But when she lifted Eliza's arm in victory, something bizarre happened, even considering it was, after all, a dream: all the Tom Westmans were gone, and instead, Eliza found herself surrounded by eight Wanda Shirks spread on the floor, all singing happily to the same tune:

"Oh my knees,

She took us all out,

Loser she's not,

But she is,

Without any doubt…

Exactly what?"

Even though it was a very cold night and no shelter was there to protect them from the wind, Eliza was covered in sweat when she woke up from her dream. She couldn't remember what it was about, but the bad taste in her mouth was evident.

She looked around, and noticed she wasn't the only one awake. A short distance from her, a dark figure with dreadlocks was sitting with her head in her hands, crying silently into the night. Eliza couldn't help but wonder if Courtney had just woken up from a bad dream as well.

Bird noises woke the tribemates up on day ten of the game. People started getting up on their feet immediately - it wasn't like their sleep was deep anyway. In a few moments, Cirie was the only one to stay lying on the ground. Cirie didn't feel like getting up at all.

It didn't matter if she got up or not, it felt like. It was all random. They establish an alliance, and then the alliance is broken, for no apparent reason, with no one benefiting from it. What's the point of playing a game, if the people playing with you don't act rationally? At least on her season, she knew people were dumb, so she could act accordingly. But this was supposed to be an all-star season, goddamit.

The only explanation Cirie could think of was that people are, after all, people.

Thirteen thirsty people were sitting around the fire, waiting for the water to boil, so they could drink it, hot and dirty as it was. This was the opportunity Eliza and Yau-Man were waiting for. They had decided the previous night that they should talk to the group as a whole, and this was their chance.

"Can… can I have everyone's attention for one minute?" Eliza said hesitantly. Everyone looked at her, some with raised eyebrows.

"I'm sure some of you wondered who the two people that caused the tie last night were. Well, it was me… and Yau-Man." Nobody was surprised when she admitted to voting against Tom, but when Yau-Man's name came up, some actually opened their mouths in surprise. Dreamz was one of them.

"You have to understand", Eliza was looking at Ami as she said this, "that we did what we thought would be best for us, in the time we thought would be the best time for us. You might disagree, but in the context of the game, it was a strategic move, and only that. We had no intention of screwing anyone over, to hurt anyone's feelings. It wasn't like that at all."

Yau-Man looked at Eliza, wishing she would finish her speech before going over the top. Unfortunately, his alliance-mate had a tendency to talk a little more than necessary.

"If you're mad", she continued, "you really shouldn't be. If you ask me, this is the one season where we shouldn't be mad at each other for making strategic decisions. We shouldn't be mad at each other for playing the game the way it's supposed to be played."

Nobody had anything to say, not out-loud anyway.

"It's not a bad feeling to have, now, is it?" Katie said

On the way to the top of the hill where tree-mail was waiting for them, Cindy, Katie and Julie couldn't keep their excitement inside. They took Tom out. They were not in great danger of going home anymore. They had a chance at this game, finally.

"We should still be cautious", Julie said. "Just like we turned the tables last night, the tables can be turned on us. Although - ", she smiled, "-it is a great feeling. We're in this. We really are."

It was nice to know. Both Cindy and Katie had almost gotten picked off at the last two tribal-councils - it was nice to be safe for a change, even if the circumstances could change soon, as they had changed before.

"It's kinda makes you wonder, though", said Cindy. "I know it's in our best interest, but why would three people decide to switch alliances this early in the game? Why would they risk it?"

"In a normal season, you're right", Katie said thoughtfully. "But since everybody's already played before, I don't think anybody will take it personally anymore if someone decides to place themselves in a better position."

"Dreamz looked like he took it personally", said Cindy. She couldn't quite wipe away the image of Dreamz's dangerous expression when he had found out Yau-Man turned on his alliance.

"Well, that's Dreamz's problem", Katie said. "He should've known what he signed up for when he decided to play in all-stars. I mean, people aren't going to wait until they're picked off this time. It's a different game."

"Let's hope so", said Julie. After all, it was easier for them to accept the turn of events, since they were the ones to come out of it on top.

"You did the right thing", Jonathan told Ian confidently. "Look at her", he pointed at Courtney, sitting not far from them, looking thoughtful. "Wouldn't you rather have her on your alliance than Tom the invincible? Well, I guess he's not literally invincible, or he would have still been here…"

Jonathan stopped. It might not be the best idea to remind Ian that he just had a hand in taking out his best friend.

"Look at the bright side", Jonathan tried a different approach, looking at a somber Ian. "you can now be in the same alliance with your true love, Katie."

"She's not my true love", said Ian quickly, "we're just friends. But it is good to know that we don't have to worry about taking each other out anymore."

"Not until later on, anyway", corrected Jonathan.

"Yeah", said Ian.

"And then what?" asked Jonathan, as innocently as he could. "You're just gonna go your separate ways?"

"What?" Ian was not ready for this question, a question so direct only people like Jonathan could ask it. "Well, yeah, I guess, I haven't really thought about it…"

But has Katie thought about it? Ian found himself wondering. Or does she have other plans already made?

His fears weren't nullified when Katie returned, accompanied by Cindy and Julie, holding a piece of parchment, looking delighted.

"Shower!" she announced to her tribemates. "Or at least, that's what it sounds like." And she read the writing on the parchment.

'Faster, faster you must run

Legs in water, heads in sun,

If you succeed and catch your prey

Then you can wash the dirt away.'

"Running challenge?" said Terry, genuinely surprised. He could not believe it - an actual physical challenge. Up until now, it was always picking rocks, reading a compass, breathing through a snorkel. But now he finally had a chance of showing what he was worth, and hopefully getting a good shower out of it.

Katie, Ian and Jonathan were all taken back in time when they saw a huge circle marked in the sea where their next reward challenge was about to take place. Jeff was waiting for them, as usual, with a covered-up reward at his side.

"How are you guys feeling?" he asked the thirteen survivors now trying to catch a glimpse at their reward.

"Shelterless", said Cirie. Six of them had just been reminded last night what it felt like, sleeping on the ground, after getting used to a normal sleeping area.

"Well", said Jeff, "this might change, as today you have the opportunity, once again, to earn your tribe a machete. If you give up on your reward, that is.

"Today's challenge is similar to a challenge we've first done in Palau. In it, you're going to be racing around a huge circle, knee-high in the see. You'll be running clockwise, with the intention of catching the person running before you. After you're caught, you're out of the game, and that means that the person you were supposed to catch now becomes the new target for the person that caught you. The challenge ends when only two people remain, and one of them succeeds in catching the other."

Ian looked at the sun, now in the middle of the sky, and remembered just how grueling this challenge had been when he had first taken part in it, with the goal of catching only one person. His thought process was quickly interrupted by Jeff.

"Want to know what you're playing for?"

Their assumptions turned out to be true, as Jeff removed the cover from the object at his side to reveal a huge portable shower, with a towel, soap, and shampoo.

"Who's the smelliest out of you lot?" Jeff asked, smiling.

Ian raised his hand, to which no objections were made.

"Still haven't showered since Palau ended, have you?" Jeff asked, bemused. Ian laughed, thinking: 'In a few minutes, I'll show you how well I can shower.'

They all went to take their marked places around the large rope circle

"Survivors ready?" asked Jeff from afar, with dry and warm legs. "GO!"

At once, they all realized how difficult it was to run with your legs in the water - it was like being a part of a slow-motion scene. Terry looked at his first target - Cirie - and knew he had no problem of winning this challenge. Then again, he had also known this about previous challenges, and so far, he won none of them. He missed his winning-streak in Exile Island, and decided to start a new one. His legs suddenly moved much, much faster in the sea.

Cirie noticed this. She looked behind her shoulder and saw a determined Terry running towards her like a bull ready to strike, and soon, it was over for her, no matter how fast she had tried to escape. Defeated, she left the circle and went to watch the race from land.

Terry's next goal was to catch Yau-Man, and this proved to be an easy one. Yau-Man was very good in challenges involving some form of a mental task, but as this was a simple running challenge, he had no chance against fitter, faster guys. Terry caught on to him in less than a minute. Terry decided that if he keeps up with a nice steady pace, it'll pay off in the long run, as a straight-forward sprint would wear him off too quickly.

Meanwhile, Ian wasn't doing so badly himself. Catching Jonathan was his first achievement, and catching Eliza - his second. But now, he was facing Terry's back. Terry seemed to be focused on his prey, which was Katie at the time - so focused, in fact, that he haven't looked backwards even once the entire time. This gave Ian an advantage - if he could give it all he has, and run faster than he had ever run before, maybe Terry wouldn't notice him coming from behind and… and…

It worked. Terry felt someone touch his back, and looked round. Ian was there with his hand outstretched, smiling his big smile. Terry took himself out of the running, literally, and Ian proceeded to easily catch Katie, and then Courtney in front of her.

Ian looked behind him, in order to assess the situation. He quickly realized that Dreamz was his greatest competition. He had already taken Julie out, and was now approaching Rafe with huge steps. Rafe, who was supposed to catch Ian, looked like he already knew he didn't stand a chance.

Ian decided that if he wants to win this, he has to focus on what's ahead, and that was Cindy. He ran faster than before, which was tough, as he was already running as fast as his legs allowed him to. Cindy also seemed determined as she was running towards Ami, slowly closing the gap between them.

It was funny to watch from the sidelines, as Ian touched Cindy's back at the exact moment Cindy touched Ami's. Both Cindy and Ami were out, which left the ground clear for Ian to catch Dreamz.

Rafe was running for his life. Dreamz was right behind him, about to take him out of the game at any moment, but Rafe wasn't about to give up. He thought about what it would feel like to win two challenges in a row, and that thought kept him running.

But it wasn't enough - Dreamz was faster than Rafe could ever be. With that, two people remained at opposite ends of the circle - Dreamz and Ian.

Even though he thought it might be impossible, Ian increased his speed, his legs stumbling in the water, the sweat from the sun entering his eyes. He badly wanted to win this, he wanted to have something clear in his mind, after the previous night's tribal council, which left him completely puzzled - and a challenge win, and a shower, would do the trick. So he ran as fast as he could, faster than he could, and it seemed to work - the gap between him and Dreamz was getting smaller - it was now only a third of the circle -

But now Ian realized just how tired he was. He was running at full speed for more than ten minutes, and it was starting to get to him. His head was a bit dizzy, ad he found it harder to control his feet - they were becoming extremely clumsy, and every small rock he set foot on seemed to throw him off guard.

Dreamz, on the other hand, felt none of these things. He wasn't running as fast as he could - he was running at an unchanging pace, and he felt like he could do this for as long as it took. For a moment, he was nervous, as Ian seemed to be closing in on him, but that moment passed, and now Ian seemed to be struggling, and was losing his advantage. Dreamz just kept on going at the same speed, taking calculated breaths.

"It's been twenty minutes", Jeff said from the shore, looking at his watch. The other survivors were watching the scene, making bets as to who would win - worthless bets, as the next time they would be able to hold some cash in their hands was twenty nine days away.

Ian was finding it hard to keep going. The sun and the lack of water in his system were getting to him. In order to catch his breath he tried walking instead of running for a bit - but when he tried to resume his running, his legs barely moved. He was absolutely exhausted.

Dreamz did not miss this turn of events. He seized the opportunity and started running at full speed towards Ian, who had no choice but to run, no matter how hard it was. It was a desperate attempt to gain distance from Dreamz, who was now a few feet from him - but it was too little, too late. Dreamz gathered up all the strength he still had in him, and jumped forward, outstretching his hands. He fell headfirst into the ocean, but the mission was accomplished - the tip of his finger touched Ian's back as he did so. He won.

Back on land, Jeff was waiting for Dreamz by the portable shower. When he arrived, Jeff said: "Congratulations, Dreamz. You can use the shower, if you want. But before that, you still have-"

"I'm choosing the machete", Dreamz cut into Jeff's words. "Back in the beginning of the game", he turned to look at the others, "we all decided we would pass on the rewards if we had a chance to take some'ing for our tribe. Well," for some reason, he now looked at Yau-Man, "I'm gonna stay true to my word. Unlike some folks."

When Ami opened her eyes the next morning, it was to see wood instead of ground beneath her. It took some getting used to. One of her goals was to make sure she would also it at her sides and above her when she waked up every day. Another goal of hers was to make sure that she was safe at the next tribal council, and the only way to do that, as she was one of the five targets, was to find the immunity necklace. As she was the first one up that morning, she decided to take a stroll to the sign and read it carefully, in case it held some hidden clues.

But when she got to it, she couldn't believe her eyes. Sure, she was looking at a sign, but a completely different sign than the one that was there the previous day. New words were written on it:

'The one with the necklace may live,

The person without it may leave.

In order to find - you must ask things that grow,

For dead things will tell you the answer is "no".'

Ami looked at the sign for a few moments, mostly thinking that the person who wrote it must be insane. Things that are dead probably wouldn't tell her anything, seeing that they are, after all, dead.

After thinking it over a bit, she decided it was probably a very clumsy way of saying the necklace is hidden inside a plant.

She reckoned the clue was most likely talking about the big tree in the middle of their camp. Problem was, their half-shelter was to be built around it, and everyone was sleeping under it at the moment. She decided she would go and look closely once they all waked up. Meanwhile, she just hoped no one would notice the sign had changed.

"Today is gonna be the day we finish building the shelter", Terry announced once all of his tribemates were up. The previous day, he had tried finding the necklace - he looked inside bushes, under rocks, he had even tried to see if he could find sand that seemed dug-up - but with no results. Therefore, he decided he should put that precious time into making sure they have a place to sleep in.

With the shelter floor as comfortable as a shelter floor can be, the survivors continued to build the rest of the structure. Terry and Jonathan took the lead that day, with Ami half-helping them, half-looking for an opportunity to get rid of the others and look for the immunity necklace by herself.

"Ian, that log is too long," Terry said decidedly. "Go over to Dreamz and have it resized so it can fit here." He pointed to a gap between two other logs.

Ian merely looked at Terry, then walked away. He thought about working with Tom - how different it was from working with someone like Terry, who likes being right, and in control. Maybe Tom liked being those things as well, but when you worked with him, you felt like an equal, like a partner, like you had someone to talk to. Now he had no-one to really talk to, freely and honestly. Katie probably had other plans that didn't involve him - they've played a separate game for the first ten days, and now who knows what she was really thinking. He had a new alliance, but it was like going to a new school - the other kids already know each-other well, they probably have things planned out, and where does he fit in all of this? While dragging the heavy log through the jungle, looking for Dreamz and the machete, Ian wondered if he made the right decision. Time will tell, he decided. And it didn't matter anyway. It was not about making the right decision. It was about making the decision he would feel better about. And even with Terry ordering him around, and even with an alliance he wasn't sure about, he felt he had made a decision he could live with.

Terry was a dictator, but at least he was up-front about it; Tom, in this game, was a puppet-master disguised as a genuine friend. He had tried to control Ian's every move, to make Ian follow him blindly, and deciding to vote out Katie, even though it wasn't in their best interest, just to test Ian's loyalty was a perfect example of that behavior. Tom had that special hold over him, and Ian couldn't truly play this game with Tom in it. It was best this way.

Outside of the game, he had no problem with Tom - he wished for them to remain good buddies. But this wasn't the real world - this was Survivorville. And Tom was holding him back in Survivorville. He would understand. If anyone could understand, it would be Tom.

Ian finally found Dreamz chopping a big tree not far from camp, watched by an interested-looking Katie.

"Now, you gotta come at it at full force, and always at the exact same spot, or all you's energy just goes to waste. Keep an eye on that spot right there and never look away until that tree's down on the ground." Dreamz handed Katie the machete, somewhat unwillingly, and watched her at her first try.

It wasn't by any means a pretty sight.

The machete Katie was holding didn't stay in her hands for long. When she aimed it at the tree, it missed, fell from her grasp, and on the way down, brushed against her leg, digging a small wound in her knee, with blood slowly dripping out of it.

"Not as easy as it looks…" said Katie, trying to muster up a smile.

"Are you all right?" asked Ian, dropping the log he was holding.

"Fine, fine", said Katie. "That's what you get for trying to do something you suck at. I'm going to find the emergency kit, I think I'd better wrap this up, and leave the machete with people who actually know how to use it."

Katie quickly walked away, not making eye contact with Ian and Dreamz. She was so embarrassed. What's wrong with me? Why can't I be a normal human being, with average skills? Why do I need to be a complete failure? Why can't I be just a mediocre failure?

Through the trees she could see their camp from afar. It seemed like the shelter-builders were having a break - they were all sitting by the fire, with the pot full of boiling water, laughing together. She could hear their voices carrying to the woods.

"I guess some people never learn", Ami was saying. "Working hard's like the first page of 'Sorvivor for Dummies'! And yet, when it's time to build the shelter, everyone sort of disappears. It's not that we need more help, we have plenty - it's just that it's stupid on their part - why would you want to appear lazy?"

"They're not lazy, per se", said Jonathan loudly, "they just don't like to do things. They would totally work harder if it wasn't so much hard work."

Terry laughed. "Katie amazes me the most. Did she not have enough with the jury hammering her during her season? Does she really want to go through it again?"

"From the way things seem to unfold", Ami said, "it's very likely. Almost inevitable, when you think about it."

Katie stood there, hearing the blood dripping from her knee, drop after drop. She wasn't going to return back to camp. Instead, she turned around and slowly went towards the sea.

She entered the ocean with her clothes still on. Salt water was entering her wound, but the pain Katie was feeling did not come from her knee.

No matter how she looked at it, her fate was sealed. She was the person who is lazy, who is mean, who is worthless, pathetic, and she could not escape those titles. This is who she is, this is who she will be for the rest of her life, in this game, out of this game. She can't even hold a machete for two seconds. People are working on the shelter at the moment, people are helping each other, and she's not a part of it. She can't be.

"Nothing is important to me as long as it's not food, right?" she yelled at the cameraman taping her breakdown. "The shelter means nothing to me because it's inedible! Don't you get it?!"

She sunk her head in the sea, her salty +%@$* blending with the salt water. She felt ridiculed and hated, like she wasn't even in the same league as the other contestants. Like no matter what she did, or how much she tried, she would always be the same fat, worthless bitch.

'But you haven't really tried', said a small voice inside her.

She quickly took her head out of the water. She remembered her talk with Cirie three days ago. How she envied Cirie, with her popularity, with her humor working for her and not against her. Why can't she be loved like Cirie?

'You can't control that', the voice said. 'Remember what she said to you: you cannot control what other people think of you. You can only control what you think of yourself.'

She hated herself at the moment. It says something about a person if nobody likes them.

But that wasn't the case. Outside this game, people did appreciate her, and her sense of humor. She had people close to her in real life.

And even on this island, she had people she got along with. She had, above all, Ian. She had Cindy and Julie, who she was friendly with. She had Jonathan and their midnight walks. And she had Cirie, who knew exactly where she was coming from.

'So some people don't like you', now she wasn't sure if it was the small voice talking, or if it was her talking to herself. 'It certainly won't change if you just sit in the water and sulk over your situation.'

Katie was suddenly angry at herself. When did she start taking things so seriously? She was more than capable of making fun of others - why couldn't she just treat herself the same way? It was hardly news that people thought she was lazy - or that she wasn't an expert when it came to dealing with a machete.

It was the stress of being on all-stars, of trying to prove herself "worthy" when surrounded by people who were much more of an "all-star" material, that made her feel so useless. But it needed to end - it wasn't doing her any good to pity herself. Because if she believed them to be right about her, how could she prove them wrong?

She got out of the water, trying to understand why she was smiling all of a sudden, why she was so excited. At a quick and steady pace, she walked confidently to the place she knew she should be at the moment.

"So, Dreamz", she said, still smiling, "let's have another try with the machete, shall we?"

"Look at them", Cirie said to Rafe, pointing at Julie and Yau-Man, barely visible behind a bush. "How did this happen? How are they suddenly in control?"

"The same way we were suddenly in control", Rafe answered. "The same way we suddenly lost control. It's just the way the story goes."

"Well", Cirie said, slightly irritated, "whoever wrote this story is not a very good writer. Everyone knows betraying your alliance this early in the game is suicide."

"We all knew it", said Rafe, "and it would hold up in a normal season, but we're in a completely different situation, Cirie; this time we're surrounded by people who are actually good at this game, who actually appreciate a bold move instead of punishing whoever made it. I bet if Yau-Man, for example, gets in the final 2, he'll be rewarded for his flip-flopping, even if it did not make any sense."

"It's good to know we live in a logical world", Cirie sighed. She was frustrated as hell, but she wasn't going to let it bring her down. The game just got complicated? Great. That means she'll need to start playing it, at last.

Terry and Ami came to join them, after they had decided to take a break from working on the shelter. Ami, who still didn't get a chance to search the tree for the necklace, was hesitant to miss on that opportunity at first, but she quickly realized she had no choice. It would've been too suspicious had she said to Terry: 'You go and have that important meeting that might decide our fate in the game while I continue to stand by that tree.'

"You came just in time", Rafe smiled at Ami. "We're working on our final words. I don't know what I'm going to say, but I have a feeling it would involve the word 'prematurely' a lot."

"You have nothing to worry about", said Terry, "it's me they'll be gunning for - it's not like they need me for the challenges. The opposite is more likely - they need me not to be there for the challenges."

"Well…" Rafe said, trying to hide the loathing in his voice and sound as innocent as possible, "I did win more challenges than you so far…"

"It doesn't matter who they'll vote out first", said Ami, sensing animosity between Rafe and Terry. "A strike against one of us is a strike against us all. We need to think of a way for all of us to stay in it."

"That'll be easy", said Terry. "Why don't we just ask them politely not to vote us off? I'm sure it'll work."

Ami wanted to shoot a comeback at Terry, but she honestly didn't have any. She had no idea how to get out of the corner they had found themselves in.

"They're probably deciding right now which one of us should be going home", Cirie said, looking again at Yau-Man and Julie.

"Let's hope they're talking about the weather", said Rafe, wishing he was talking about the weather as well.

Dreamz came out of the woods, alone and machete-less. He noticed his alliance members - the ones that didn't jump ship - all huddled together in a corner. He wasn't surprised he wasn't a part of that meeting, and he didn't really feel like being a part of it, either.

The others didn't feel the same way. "Dreamz, come over here!" Terry half-shouted, half-whispered. Dreamz did as he was told, but he didn't look exceptionally patient.

"We were wondering what our next move might be", Rafe explained to Dreamz, looking somewhat fearful, "you know, as a…shrunken alliance."

Dreamz looked at him for a few seconds. Didn't these people get it? He had tried being loyal in this game, he really had, but what good did it bring him? What was the use of alliances if they're easily broken at one's convenience? What was the use of promises if people break them without looking back? He had really tried to give it a shot, but he was done with it. He was officially back to his old ways of giving information away, giving misleading information away, telling different stories to different people and above all, not caring what others think of him and of his strategy.

"Didn't ya'll noticed?" Dreamz said finally. "There ain't no 'shrunking alliance', or whatever. There ain't nothing anymore- the rules broke. How many people's running round the island? 40 or so? Five people voting together just won't cut it!"

"We know five people won't do", said Cirie patiently, "and that's why we need a new plan-"

Good luck with that", said Dreamz, and simply walked away. He knew it wasn't the best move on his part, to brush off people who wanted to be aligned with him, but he also knew he had had enough of people saying they needed him, they relied on him, and then turning their back on him. That wasn't about to happen again, no way, not if he could help it.

Rafe smiled out of embarrassment. Terry, however, wasn't even close to smiling. It wasn't the fact that he was in a doomed situation - he had already experienced this kind of situation before. It was the people he shared this situation with: He looked around from the black woman, to the lesbian woman, to the gay man. Last time, he was in an alliance with three straight, white men. It wasn't a coincidence. This was the kind of people he knew back at home, with whom he had the most in common, with whom he shared an 'understanding'. But now he found himself in a spot in which he had no idea what to do, how to behave. He felt like he was surrounded by and aligned with aliens; or, more accurately, he felt like he was the alien.

Cirie, who up until now had her head in her hands, straightened up and said: "Correct me if I'm wrong, but right now we have two options left: Either we pull over at least two people to our side until tomorrow night -"

"Three", Ami corrected her.

"Right, three", said Cirie, "or, we convince Dreamz to at least vote with us this tribal council, and then try to split the other eight into two voting blocks, so we'll be the ones with the majority."

"Sounds like a piece of cake", said Rafe, "a really big, impossible piece of cake."

"Yeah," Cirie agreed, "sounds that way to me too. We'll have to go with the first option.

"That leaves only two questions", said Ami. "The first one is, who do we target? Who would make sense?"

"Jonathan tends to get on people's nerves", pointed out Cirie, "so he would be a logical choice."

"But everybody knows he's untrustworthy", said Rafe, "so he isn't really a threat to any of them. We need to target someone they'd want to get rid of, someone they could see is an immediate danger for their game."

"Look at the one over there, charming Yau's ass off", Terry pointed at Julie, and they all watched as she was looking Yau-Man straight in the eyes, telling him something they couldn't hear, and the outcome was clear - Yau-Man has fallen for Julie's spell. Even from the distance, it was obvious Julie had some influence over him.

"It doesn't take a genius to realize how much power Julie has over her alliance-mates", Rafe concluded. "If some of them see it, it would be easy to convince them Julie has to go, for them to make it further."

"But that brings us to the second question", said Ami. "Who do we want to pull in? Who would be suicidal enough to jump ship five minutes after they've established a ruling alliance?"

As she quickly realized, the answer was right in front of them.

"Dear god", Courtney began. She was situated on a rock overlooking the sea, a short distance from their camp, and a cameraman was two feet from her, intruding on her private moment - but she did not care. This was between her and god, and no one else could understand anyway.

"I'm trying really hard, I really am. I voted out Shane, like we agreed I would, and now I'm in the majority somehow, and this is going to be the first time that I'm not in any real danger of going home. But still…"

She found it hard to continue praying. Even though she knew it was a silly thought, she couldn't help but wonder: if she tried to explain, would god understand?

"But I still feel so lost. I know it should be the opposite, now that I've found you, But I can't lie, not to you, you know everything. Why can't I find peace within myself? Why can't I be enjoying all this, having a great time, why am I so miserable?

"I look at the people around me, and through their eyes, I see contempt and disrespect towards me, like they don't think I should even be here…

"Is it just your way of testing me? Or is there really something wrong with my personality? Shane told me I was only brought back for the bickering between us, and I didn't listen to him at first, but now… It's just really hard. I feel like a walking joke, and I know that you work in mysterious ways, but I really need some kind of proof. It's a lot to ask, obviously - but I really need some kind of sign, I need you to tell me somehow that I'm O.K. and that you're there for me and that you…approve…"

She hated herself for saying those things, she hated herself for not trusting herself more, for not trusting god more, but at the place she was in at the time, nothing seemed certain. She desperately needed something that was solid, something that was real.

"Katie, are you all right?"

Cindy was looking for Katie, she hasn't seen her for hours; she just didn't imagine she would find her in the center of piles upon piles of cut wood, working determinedly with the machete.

"Better than ever", said Katie between hits. She was cutting trees for what felt like a century, but she didn't have the slightest urge to stop. Drops were now falling from her brow, not her eyes, not her knee. She barely felt the pain from her bruise - she was too busy chopping wood.

"That's… a lot of building material", said Cindy, looking around. "Shouldn't we have people collecting all of this, for the shelter?"

"We probably should", Katie said, still focused on her task. "I just didn't have the time to call people over. I've asked Dreamz to do so. Didn't he tell you guys?"

"Nope", Cindy said. "Katie, I think we have enough logs, you can stop now. Let's start bringing those to the camp; I'm sure the machete'll be more useful there."

Katie looked around her, finally stopping the monotonous movement of her machete-holding arms. "Yeah, I guess that's… more than enough."

It was starting to get dark as Cindy and Katie made their way back to camp, each dragging two heavy logs behind them, with the machete tucked safely under Katie's arm. It was hard maneuvering those logs through the crowded trees as it was, but the thing that finally blocked their way wasn't the wildlife; it was Dreamz.

"Woah, didn't see you there in the dark", said Cindy, although it wasn't the most politically-correct thing to say.

"We all thought you two gotten lost", said Dreamz, smiling his big smile, "I came lookin'."

"Yeah, well, here we are!", said Katie. "But since you're already here, why won't you help us carry a few logs? They're stashed in that direction, not far off."

Dreamz nodded, headed in the direction Katie was motioning with her head (as both of her arms were more than occupied) and returned three minutes later with five logs leaning against his chest. "Let's get going", he said brightly.

"So what's happening around camp lately?" asked Katie casually.

"Nothing much", Dreamz said, now leading the pack through the forest. "Y'know, the usual buzzing, double-dealing shit."

"As expected", said Katie.

"It's like nothing's set in stone, everything can come to be", continued Dreamz. "Everybody's like they about to loose or win the game at any second. S'like nothing's for sure."

"We are stranded with people who know this game back and front", said Cindy, trying to be as diplomatic as possible. Was Dreamz trying to hint at something? Was he getting somewhere with all this?

"I mean, the eight of you, you really thinking all of you'll stay loyal? Someone's bound to betray you at some point." Cindy nodded to herself in the darkness. Dreamz's intentions became clearer. "In your group, you have Courtney, who's about to find a bunny and cook it at any second. You have Ian, looking like a little kid lost in a mall, and you have Yau-Man and Eliza, who flip-flopped so easily, there's not telling they wouldn't do the same to you."

"What are you getting at?" Katie asked bluntly.

"My point is, you got an alliance, but it's not a real good one- it's just a train-wreck waiting to happen. I say - jump off the train before it crashes and burns. Bring over the people you wanna still have with ya, and we'll start an alliance that's strong enough to last."

"We'll… we'll think about it, Dreamz", said Cindy politely, "thanks for the offer."

"No we won't", Katie whispered to Cindy a few minutes later, when they continued to make their way through the trees with Dreamz in the lead. "We won't think about it - why would we think about such a stupid idea?"

"You gotta keep your options open in this game", said Cindy.

"Not that open, though", said Katie. "What he's offering is a random game of pick 'em. It's a suicide plan, not a strategy!"

"But in that suicide plan, he did have a grain of truth", said Cindy thoughtfully. "Our alliance is made of some explosive material. I truly have no idea what'll happen once we're down to our people only - and there's no guarantee we'll be able to manage even that…"

The moment the three of them arrived back at camp, Cindy found Julie and took her for a little conversation. Katie was still dragging her two logs when Ian came to face her out of nowhere.

"Where've you been? I've been looking for you for hours! Well, minutes, actually, but still…"

"Just out there in the woods", Katie said, feeling the words weren't really hers, "chopping this wood for the shelter. Care to give me a hand?"

"Are you feeling well?" Ian asked, touching her brow.

"Never felt better", said Katie. "Except for that one time when I wasn't abandoned on a deserted island. Now, help me carry those logs to the shelter."

Even though she couldn't see Ian's face in the darkness, she could sense his shocked expression. She didn't know whether she needed to be flattered or insulted by this reaction - she just knew she wanted to be consistent enough in her new-found work ethic so that shock wouldn't be the proper reaction for it any longer.

"I know what your mantra is", Cindy said to Julie quietly; the silent night seemed to carry their voices louder than intended. "I know you think making sub-alliances this early'll send the main alliance crumbling. But I really feel like we could find ourselves in a risky spot eventually - how do we know we're not last on the totem poll? Don't we need to try and secure ourselves?" she looked at her final-two partner desperately, hoping she would come up with a satisfying reaction, and won't just dismiss her concern.

"First of all", said Julie after a moment's pause, "we're not the last on the totem pole. Think about it: Yau-Man, once we're down to eight, is the immediate target. He's a fish out of water in our alliance, if a fish means a popular contestant, and the water is filled with not-so-much popular contestants. Nobody will want to face him later on - he'll go home before any of us, I guarantee you at least that."

Julie stopped talking suddenly, thinking she had heard the sound of footsteps behind her, but when she turned to look, nothing was there. She continued to talk as if nothing had happened.

"But you're right, we don't want to be the kids who are last to be picked. I'll tell you what - If everything goes as planned, and we vote off Terry tomorrow night, we'll start looking for partners for the endgame."

"The thing is, I'm not sure Terry's the right choice", said Cindy, quieter than ever. "I know we've all decided this as a group, because he's an immunity threat, but how many immunities has he won so far? I feel like this one's a much bigger threat -" she pointed at Cirie sitting a few feet from them, talking joyfully to Jonathan. "She's got killer social skills - unlike Terry - I almost wanna be in an alliance with her just so I could be in an alliance with her! And Terry? I'm not sure I'd align myself with him even if it would've saved my game."

Even though it wasn't the polite thing to do, Julie yawned in Cindy's face. "I'm sorry", she said, "but I'm just too tired, my mind's not working properly. Why won't we have another meeting tomorrow, and then we'll decide who our target is?"

"Sounds good", said Cindy. A sleep in the improved-yet-not-finished shelter didn't sound too bad. But was Julie truly too tired to go on, or was she avoiding talking about voting off Cirie? Cindy looked again at a laughing Cirie and wondered whether she was even a better social player than she had realized.

Terry was lying on his back, looking at the starry night through the branches and leaves of the tree. Hopefully, the stars wouldn't be visible 24 hours from now. They didn't finish building the shelter that day, but they were really close, and they had enough material to get it over with first thing in the morning. He was quite impressed with Katie for suddenly proving her worth. People can surprise ya, he thought, and suddenly felt like the doomed situation he was in wasn't really doomed - people don't always act the way you imagine them to act, and thus, anything can happen. He had given up on Rafe, Ami and Cirie without really giving them a chance; he had written them off without actually knowing what they were made of. Maybe he should try and get to know them before doing that. It wasn't the alliance he would have asked for, but this was what he had - and this was what he needed to work with.

Ami was also lying on her back, but she was looking at the tree obscuring the stars, not at the stars obscured by the tree. She craved for the chance to be alone by the tree, so she could look for the necklace, but that chance just wouldn't present itself. There was only one option left - She needed to lie there, awake, until every single one of her tribemates fell asleep, and then look for it as silently as she could. The moment she had decided on that plan, however, her eyes became heavy as hell; she was so used to wanting to fall asleep and not being able to, that now, wanting to stay awake had the opposite effect on her. I have to stay awake for just a little more, she firmly decided, looking at the people around her still talking amongst themselves in the darkness, some going to relieve themselves in the distance, two of them walking away towards the beach…

Before long, the only necklace Ami saw was the one in her dreams.

"Would you say you're full?"

Rafe laughed in the producer's face. That was a silly question to ask someone who had eaten a single potato during the last three days. But he understood why he had been asked this question; he was now supposed to gush about how very hungry he is.

"No, I'm not full. I'm quite empty, to be honest. I didn't have much weight on me to begin with, although I had tried to gain some before the season started, without much success. I'm used to being skinny, but this - this is beyond skinny. I'm really lucky that I have some issues with my… hmmm… faeces, otherwise I'm not sure there would've been anything left of me."

"Tell me about the situation in the tribe", asked the producer, and Rafe could tell he didn't want the conversation to revolve around Rafe's excretions.

"I'm not in an excellent spot right now, as anyone can see", Rafe said somberly. "I'm probably out at one of the next five tribal councils. My luck is that I'm surrounded by much bigger threats. By my calculations, Ami and I will be the last two standing from our alliance, which is good, as she is the one I intend to take with me as far as possible. She's a great partner to have - she comes off as more aggressive than me, but she can get what she wants out of people. I think she's got Eliza wrapped around her finger, so when the right time comes, she can be beneficial to us.

"Besides, being the last one standing out of a dying alliance is a good position to be in - Danny can testify to that. Alliances can't last too long, especially when they contain eight people. In a way, this early in the game, it's almost better being on the losing side than on the winning side, 'cause things are sure to change. That's what I'm counting on, anyway."

Rafe finished the interview as quickly as he could, as it was almost time to leave for tribal council. He fetched his torch from the shelter, and then went over to Ami, signaling her to come with him for a second.

"Who are we voting for tonight?" he asked her as the others were getting ready to go.

"I guess Julie", Ami shrugged, "like we've agreed with Terry and Cirie. Does it really matter, anyway? It's not like we decide who goes. Not anymore."

"Yeah, but it still means something. Maybe we should vote for Eliza just to put her on edge."

"No", Ami said firmly. "No, I don't want her to feel like we're against her. She needs to feel secure enough to come to us when it's time. But I did have another person in mind. Voting for him would sort of make sense."

"Who is it?"

"Terry."

Rafe laughed at first. When Ami didn't even smile back, he was starting to suspect she wasn't joking.

"Have you gone psycho?" he asked her after a long silence, as quietly as he could, because Dreamz was fetching his torch a few feet from them.

"You'll know when I go psycho, it's distinguishable", said Ami. "But I mean it; I think it would do us good to vote for him tonight."

"How exactly?" Rafe asked skeptically.

"It would show our good intentions to the other alliance", Ami explained. "It would show that we're not set in our old ways, that we're open for business."

"And it would show the complete opposite to Terry and Cirie", said Rafe, actually sounding a bit scared. "Not that I love Terry so much that I'm not willing to vote for him, ever, but now? It would be like declaring war!"

Ami didn't look too concerned with that thought. "This game is all about war. Alliances are merely a temporary convenience, short pauses between one battle and another. Personally, I'm ready for war."

Cindy looked at Cirie as they were making their way up the rope ladder, their torches taken from them to be brought safely to the tribal council set. She doesn't look too concerned, Cindy said to herself. She probably thinks Terry or Dreamz are going home tonight. She still doesn't know it's her. Cindy suddenly had the urge to tell Cirie, to apologize to her, even to change the vote at the last minute - but she did none of those things, as they weren't part of the game she was trying to play this time.

Climbing the ladder beneath her was Jonathan. She wished she could be more like Jonathan, who was always about business, and never seemed to waver when something needed to be done. But then Jonathan said: "this frigging ladder - I swear when this is over, I'm gonna find the people who put it together and make them climb this thing once every three days for the rest of their miserable lives", and Cindy wished to be nothing like Jonathan.

Jeff seemed to be in a good mood when they sat in front of him, ready to be questioned.

"Day Twelve", Jeff announced. "By tomorrow, a third of your time here will have passed. Julie, how does it feel to make it this long in the toughest season we've done?"

Julie found herself in a state of shock. Like Jeff said, twelve days have passed, and he had barely thrown her a single word during all this time. And suddenly he was asking her encouraging questions like it was all completely normal? Why was he toying with her like that? And how was she supposed to respond?

"It feels strange", said Julie, and she wasn't necessarily referring to Jeff's question. "I'm sure everybody here had been sure they would be out of the running on day three, but here we all are, and it's remarkable. I'm thankful for every second I get in this competition. This is my last chance on Survivor, and I'm going to experience it to the fullest. Not that it ain't tough", she added. "We haven't had a decent meal ever since we got here. And we haven't really slept -"

"Let's talk about your sleeping conditions", Jeff cut her off, and Julie was even more shocked than before. "After an eternity of sleeping on the ground, just because you had nothing to do about it, we have a reward challenge, Dreamz wins it, he earns himself a shower, which he desperately needs - I think no one can argue with that. He doesn't take it, and instead gives all of you the coveted machete. Ian, this is not the first time a generosity deed is made, nor is it the second. Why do you think that continues to happen? Are you all just very good, giving people?"

"Most likely", said Ian with a twitch of a smile, "but you also have to look at the similarities between all of these cases - Tom did it the first time, and he was a very likely target back then. Cindy did it the second time, and she was about to be sent home the next day. Dreamz did it now, and there's no denying it - he's not the safest person sitting here tonight. We're not naïve, we've all played the game before, and we all know that it's way harder to vote out someone who has just given you something you desperately needed."

"Dreamz", asked Jeff pointedly, "is that why you passed on a chance for a shower?"

Dreamz said nothing at first; he just smiled broadly, like only he can. Then, with everyone's eyes on him, he answered: "Jeff, I do something nice for my peeps, and this is what you think of me? Shame on you, Probst! To be frank, I needed that dang machete just as much as them did. We all needed some'ing solid to sleep on. The opportunity came, and it couldn't have come at a better time - unless you's given us the machete right at the start, that would've been better. Anyways, I was honored to be the one who earned it for me tribe."

"Just as always", Jeff said, shaking his head, "I'm more confused after your answer than I was before."

"I try", said Dreamz.

"Katie", Jeff decided to address someone else, "how much has the tribe gained thanks to the machete Dreamz gave you, and is that a factor if and when you think about voting him out? Did he just make it harder?"

"He made it easier", Katie said, surprised by her own answer. "I'm thankful that he did it, don't get me wrong. It was very generous of him. Maybe even too generous. From now on, people are going to look at the shelter and think of the person who had made it possible, of Dreamz. In a normal season, this would have been a reason to keep Dreamz, as he had just made us all a favor. But this is not a normal season.

We can't afford to be nice and fair this time. We have to constantly think about jury votes, about our actions and how they're perceived, about others' actions and how they're perceived. If up until now I thought about keeping Dreamz here, as there are bigger threats to get rid off, he has now popped into my radar."

Dreamz seemed outraged at this. He did not wait for Jeff to ask him a question before speaking this time. "That's nonsense", he said. "The moment someone does something decent, you boot him off? Is that the way it works? That's bullshit. So people needs to be 'fraid of me 'cause I won them a machete? 'S that right? Then people also need to be afraid of some other folks."

Dreamz had a glint in his eyes, a mad glint Jeff had never seen before. When Dreamz talked, it was with unmatched intensity. "The peeps sitting over here ain't as innocent as they play up to be. I had my ears wide open recently. I got an opportunity to hear some stuff over the last couple o' days, stuff which reveal a lot. After they hear it, I'm not sure they'll remember the machete I given them."

Jeff looked at him inquiringly. "Would you like to… share those things you've heard?" he asked, just because he wouldn't have forgiven himself if he hadn't.

"If you insist, Probst", Dreamz answered. He took a deep breath, and then began. "Yau, my friend, I don't know if you's already know it, but you are a tool. You the first one out once your alliance have to turn on each other, and that's no guess, that's just a fact. It's already decided. Just ask Cindy and Julie over here."

Yau-Man didn't take Dreamz words too seriously. Of course, he had already known he was a very likely target come self-destruction time, and that people had probably started talking about voting him out the first chance they would get. Cindy, on the other hand, couldn't believe her ears. Did Dreamz sneak up on them the other night, listening to their every word, looking for weapons he could use against them?

Dreamz seemed to be on a roll. "But you're not so innocent youself, isn't it so, Yau? Ami and Rafe approached you and 'little 'Liza, and you shook them off, saying you'd consider their offer, but in all reality, you didn't considered it for one second, did'ya? That's what you told your sidekick, anyway."

Eliza, for once, was beyond words, and not just because Dreamz had just called her Yau-Man's sidekick. How did Dreamz know all this? Was he playing a bigger game than people gave him credit for?

"And speaking of Rafe and Ami", Dreamz continued on, "you two aren't playing real nice, are you? Planning to vote against your pal Terry, Now that's dirty of you!"

Rafe looked like a tortured puppy as Terry turned around to face him. It wasn't supposed to unfold like this.

Julie was deep in thoughts. After Dreamz blowout, it would have been wise to target him tonight, as obviously keeping him around would be setting the stage for more incidents like this. But of course it was too late to change their target. After they had discovered that Terry had the immunity necklace, the leftovers had decided collectively to vote out Cirie that night, with Dreamz as her runner up. She had the sudden urge to tell everybody right then and there to change their vote, but this was a suicidal move - at tribal council, you're supposed to keep your cards close to the chest, not put yourself out there, as doing so right before the vote is making yourself vulnerable, exposed. Julie's game was anything but putting herself out there.

And apparently Dreams hadn't even finished.

"And last but not least", Dreamz said enthusiastically, "Terry Deitz my man. You probably wanted to wait 'till right before the vote to reveal the nice piece of jewelry you recently purchased, to surprise everybody. But I can't wait any longer - why wontcha reveal it right now?"

To everyone's surprise, Terry didn't look too concerned with Dreamz's huge revelation. He actually smiled his toothy smile, reached out to his bag and from it, took the immunity necklace, with all its ugliness.

For Jeff, it was like waking up. After Dreamz took control of tribal council, finally Jeff had his job back. "The immunity necklace", he said, "as you all probably already know, had been hidden somewhere in your camp, and you received clues of its whereabouts in a form of a changing sign stuck in the sand on your beach. Terry, where was the necklace hidden, and how hard was it to find it?"

"The immunity was hidden on top of our camp tree", said Terry, still smiling broadly. "As to how hard it was to find it, I have no idea. You would have to ask Cirie that question."

Everybody looked with their mouths dropped open as Terry didn't put the necklace around his own neck, but rather passed it to Cirie on his left, who took it as if this was the natural thing to do.

"Why, thank you, Terry", she said cheerfully. "Thank you for carrying it for me."

Jeff looked at this development, a little bewildered, a little amused. "Cirie, do explain", he said simply.

"I found it last night", Cirie said. "The sign had changed, and from it I understood where the necklace was, and went to grab it while everybody was asleep." Almost everybody, she thought, but unlike Dreamz she wasn't ready to share everyone else's secrets, not yet. "I then asked Terry to hold on to it until tribal council." She didn't continue to explain the reason she had asked Terry to do so, as she felt it wasn't appropriate to admit it was done in order to throw the other alliance's plans off.

Cirie wore the necklace. Nobody said a thing; they were still processing what had just taken place.

Jeff felt that there was nothing else to add. "With that", he said, "it is time to vote. Cirie, apparently, is the only one immune tonight. Everyone else is fair game. Rafe, you're up."

Rafe, feeling dizzy, stood up carefully and made his way to the voting booth. Maybe the other alliance had planned on voting off Cirie. Maybe they had no idea who to vote for, with her immune. Maybe their votes would be split, cast at two or three different people. And in that scenario, what good would it do to vote for Terry, to waist his and Ami's votes? As he came back to sit beside Ami, right at the second she was getting up to vote herself, he worded her without a sound: "Julie."

She nodded as subtly as she could, and then went on to cast her vote. Terry and Cirie followed.

It was Julie's turn, and she felt as though she was making her way towards her own execution. She wasn't stupid - she saw the way Terry and Cirie were looking at her, returning from the voting booth. She saw the exchange between Ami and Rafe and the one word that was passed from one to another - her own name. At least four votes were heading her way, and she wasn't sure she had enough votes to put up a fight against it - hell, she didn't know for whom she was going to vote. Terry, and Dreamz, and even Ami and Rafe, they were all possibilities. She stood there, images of Jeff snuffing her torch circling in her head, and she had absolutely nothing to do about it.

But there was something she could do about it. It contradicted the game she had been playing so far, it was risky, and awkward, and some would say stupid. But she would never forgive herself if she didn't even try."

"Just for general knowledge", she said as casually as she could, facing her tribe, "I'm going to go up there and I'm going to cast my vote against Dreamz. Make of it what you will." And she did as she said she would.

Dreamz's fate was sealed. Courtney went over to vote for him, and then Katie, and then Eliza, and Jonathan, and Yau-Man, and Ian, and they all based their vote on what Julie had said - what else could they do?

The last two were Cindy and Dreamz. Cindy wrote five letters, not six, on the piece of parchment, held it up to the camera, and said confidently. "Two tribal councils ago, I had asked Rafe whether he could vote for me after I had given up on my win for him and the rest of the tribe. I'm not the righteous kind, normally - I did vote for Tom after he had given us all the cooking pot - but somehow, I can't bring myself to vote for Dreamz tonight. I don't know what that is. It doesn't matter anyway - by my calculations he already has enough votes." She put Terry's name inside the urn and returned to her place.

Dreamz was next.

He knew it was the last time he was voting in the game of Survivor. He knew who he wanted to vote for. He wanted to vote for he one he had trusted, the one who had disappointed him. He wanted to vote for Yau-Man. But he, too, found himself writing five letters instead of six. "Julie", he said, "I'm voting for you tonight, because I can't vote for Yau. I came into this game wanting to play it differently, to stick to my word. I promised I would never vote for Yau in this game. Even though he just voted for me himself, I want to keep true to that. I got no idea why."

And Dreamz indeed came out of the game without breaking his word. He wasn't a person with very high morals, and he wasn't even sure that what he did that night had any morality to it, but it was just something he needed to do.

As Jeff was snuffing Dreamz's torch, he was filled with admiration for Julie, and the way she had just saved her own ass. He was so tough on her, but he did it only because she had asked him to. He hoped she knew that.