I’m painfully aware of the camera, capturing every nuance of my expression. I turn my head and study Yumi’s face. It’s so pretty. It’s always been that way. Her big brown eyes, the S-curveof her lower lash line dipping down at the inner corner and scooping up at the outer edge. Her eyebrows are straight, shaved off at the tail end after seeing some singer in a girl group do it. I can’t help but smile at a face that I could draw (poorly, but that’s a skill issue more than anything) with my eyes closed.
“Yumi reminded me that she’s always been my person,” I say truthfully. We haven’t figured out everything between us and I don’t quite trust that this friendship is going to transcend the bounds of reality TV, but one thing I do know is that I don’t want to be alone and unknown in the dark anymore.
Yumi’s pinky brushes mine, so brief that it could be accidental, but the contact still grounds me. “We knew, coming onThe Adventureverse, that we’d be facing a lot of discomfort,” she says. “We’ve watched so many teams push their limits and win. Noelle just needed to remember that she isn’t doing this alone.”
Aliona nods, clearly hoping for more drama. When it doesn’t come, she pivots. “And what are your thoughts on Clyde and Cora sleeping through their alarms?”
There’s absolutely no way that Clyde and Cora are the fan favorites of the season, but I still don’t risk talking shit about them. There’s a razor-thin line between biting witticisms and being a bully, and the internet won’t hesitate to let people know that that line has been crossed—ironically, by bullying them.
Yumi, designated team diplomat, steps in. “I think Gabriel said it best. Everyone is responsible for their own game. We’re not here to help Clyde and Cora win. We’re here to helpuswin.”
“Let’s go back to the disadvantage in Iceland,” Aliona says, tapping a pen against her lips. “How does it feel, knowing youhave a head start on Bee and Logan? Especially since you haven’t had a win yet.”
I practically see Yumi think,Thanks for that.
“Bee and Logan taking a penalty in Iceland is great news for us, to be honest,” I say. “It was tough to see Logan have to leave the cave last night, and I did feel for him, but as the race gets tighter, I’m happy for any leg up.”
“These remaining teams are competitive,” Yumi says. “But only one team can win and that’s going to be us.” She wraps a hand around my waist and tugs me closer.
I lean into her touch, settling against her with an ease that’s almost alarming. There has to be something besides anxiety that keeps me oscillating between wanting this closeness with Yumi and fearing it. I feel like an acrobat, swinging right past equilibrium. Precariousness to precariousness.
“Who do you think your biggest competition is, at this point?” Aliona asks, angling her pen in our direction.
“KC and Gabriel,” Yumi and I answer in perfect synchronicity.
“They’ve finished top three in, what?” I look to my partner for confirmation. “All three Adventures now?”
Yumi nods. “They’re athletes, they’re likable, and they’re calm under pressure. That’s a lethal combo onThe Adventureverse.”
“That’s what’ll make it all the more satisfying when we beat them in the finale,” I add with a grin.
Aliona’s face remains impassive, but there’s a gleam in her eye that tells me she’s cataloging this statement for future use. Good. Let her build the narrative of us as underdogs. Everyone loves a comeback story.
“Are you excited for Iceland?”
“We’re so excited to be heading to Iceland,” Yumi responds. “We’re excited for another Adventure, we’re excited to compete in more challenges, and we’rereallyexcited to sleep on beds…I hope?” She quirks an eyebrow at the camera.
I don’t like the smile Aliona gives us as she shrugs noncommittally. “We’ll see. All right, that’s all I need from you two. Send Matt and Morgan in, and I’ll see you two in Iceland.”
Chapter 29
Into the Fire
The descent into the volcanois long, the rickety metal lift sinking into the void. Yumi squeezes her eyes shut, but going down doesn’t seem to bother her as much as standing at the top did. I watch the halo of light at the opening of the volcano grow smaller above us, and picture the first man to enter this space, the one our guide tells us founded this company. I wonder how difficult it was for him to keep going into the infinite darkness, the infinite silence. Does the difference between extraordinary bravery and extraordinary recklessness just depend on what you find at the bottom of the volcano?
We get to benefit from his extraordinary whatever, though, because he has successfully gentrified this dormant volcano for human use. There are lights that penetrate the abyss once you get far enough down, illuminating the volcano’s walls and floor. I don’t know what I thought the inside of a volcano would look like—similar to the outside, I guess. Like rock. Maybe blackened, like the crunchy lava fields we drove through to get here.
When I was a kid my parents took me to a carnival every year. This was pre-Yumi, otherwise she would’ve gone, too. In the aromatic haze of fried dough and powdered sugar that surroundedthe zeppoli stand, there was one of those booths where they’d impale a piece of cardboard at the center of a turntable and let you pour paint on it.
I always used too much paint. The speed of the spinner would blend all my colors together into a murky brownish purple. If I was lucky, a few streaks of actual color would claw their way out of the mud.
The inside of Thríhnúkagígur looks like a spinner painting that I got lucky on—fire turned to stone, the heat long gone out of it. The only echoes of warmth are in the pops of blue and red that were left behind.
We don’t have a challenge at the bottom of the volcano—we’re just supposed to pretend we do. Aliona gathered us this morning to explain that the filming permit came through after they’d already designed the challenges, but that the literal inside of a volcano was too iconic to pass on.
“Okay, everyone, gather round,” Aliona calls. The circle around her feels so empty with only six teams left: us, KC and Gabriel, Ball-and-Chain, the High Elves, Matt and Morgan, and the Influencers. “We’re going to do a wide group shot here. I want everyone to pretend you’re listening to Jonathan. We’re going to dub his voice in later giving the challenge clues. You’ll receive your envelopes at the same time at the top of the volcano and have, essentially, an even start—except for Bee and Logan, who will take their penalty down here. Our plan is to make itlooklike you’re racing to the lift and fighting to get on.”
It’s a commonAdventureverseediting tactic—they make itlook like teams are fighting over a spot on an elevator or bus, when in reality, the contestants are all standing around like kindergartners waiting for our turn on the slide.
