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Knocked off-balance, she began to swing in dizzying circles, the rope coiling tightly around her leg and chest. Maire gasped, trying to keep her hold on the rope. Once she stopped spinning, she looked up and she saw Ned gripping his rope with one hand and reaching into his pocket with the other. Out came a slim black object and then suddenly out popped a blade. Ned had a knife, sharp and curved. For one ludicrous moment, she thought he was coming after her. She thought he might stab her.
“What the hell?” Maire cried as she watched Ned begin to saw through her rope. “Hey! What are you doing?” She was stranded, hopelessly tangled so it was impossible to quickly scale the last stretch before Ned sliced through her rope. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the free fall. When it didn’t come, she opened her eyes and looked up. Her rope was still intact, though barely. Ned hadn’t completely sawed through the jute, but one wrong move and it would snap. Ned bounced past her, the knife still clutched in one hand. Where did the knife come from? And then it hit her. The knife must be a Game Changer. In the distance, there were more gunshots and then a whoop of celebration. Someone hit the target.
Maire had lost. There would be no Super Clue. The earlier adrenaline she felt leached from her body and the pain returned. Her hand and ankle pulsed hotly, and her muscles were cramping.
Should she wait for help? No, Maire told herself, I’m going to finish this. Maire slowly spun herself in the opposite direction, unwinding the rope, realizing that with each movement the rope was fraying more and more. She was almost free. Suddenly, the rope went slack in her hands, and she was falling, the earth coming at her with alarming speed. When she hit the ground, her shoulder detonated with white-hot pain and the air left her lungs like a popped balloon.
When Maire was able to open her eyes again, Samuel was standing above her.
“I think you might have dislocated it,” he said sympathetically.
“What, so you’re a doctor now too?” Maire snapped.
“Not a doctor, just a guy who has dislocated his shoulder once or twice,” Samuel said, rotating his own shoulder. “Want me to try to pop it back into place?”
Tears were streaming down her face and Maire wiped them away with her good hand. She looked at him dubiously. “You know how?”
“Yeah.” Samuel nodded.
She wanted to trust him. She couldn’t ask Fern for medical help, or she’d be sent home. And if she didn’t get her shoulder back into place there was no way she could compete in the next challenge.
“Lie down,” Samuel said, and Maire eyed him suspiciously. “No really,” he urged. “Lie on your back.”
Gingerly, Maire lowered herself back to the ground. “Now relax,” Samuel said and she glared up at him. She let out a shaky breath as Samuel carefully guided her injured arm away from her body and shifted so one foot was pressed against her ribs.
“Don’t worry,” he said, “I just need a little leverage. You are going to feel so much better in a few seconds.” He grabbed her hand and wrist and gave a quick pull. There was a loud pop. Maire cried out in pain and then felt instant relief.
“How’s that?” Samuel asked, kneeling down next to her.
“Better,” Maire breathed. “Thank you.”
“Did you see my puzzle?” Samuel asked quietly, kneeling next to her. “It was the lake.”
“Hang on,” Maire said, removing her microphone from her shirt and tossing it as far as she could with her good arm. Samuel did the same. “Yeah, I saw it.”
“And I saw yours,” Samuel said. “They know. Somehow, they know,” he said. “Your puzzle was the mascot from college. The bear. And mine was a lake.”
“Shh,” Maire hissed, looking around to see if anyone was paying attention to them. “No. No one knows. It’s just a coincidence.”
“Tanglefoot Lake and our college mascot? Just a coincidence?” Samuel asked, holding out a hand to help her up. “I don’t think so.”
“They can’t know it all,” she insisted. “Not the whole story.” Maire ignored Samuel’s hand and got to her feet on her own.
“What are we going to do?” Samuel asked, his eyes filled with worry. They looked over to see Fern, Alfonso, the senator, and Camille in a small cluster, waiting for them.
Maire shook her head. “Nothing. It means nothing. Anyone could have found out where we went to school and the school was near a lake. Big deal. Just keep playing, that’s all we can do,” she finally said. “We just have to keep playing the game.”
Samuel didn’t look convinced.
Fern beckoned them forward. “Are you coming?” she called.
Maire lifted a hand to let Fern know they heard her. “Someone is getting voted out tomorrow. And it can’t be me.” She looked at Samuel. “It’s just a game. You’re reading too much into it. I’m sorry, but I have to focus on winning.”
Maire strode toward the others, her fury toward Ned Bennett building. “You asshole,” she cried. “You could have killed me!”
“I found a Game Changer so I tried to change the game,” Ned said. “You would have done the same.”
“Are you going to be okay?” Fern asked, her face a mask of concern.
