Free Body Games (A Games Novel) by Jill Myles, Jessica Clare Page A

team. “It’s time for the Judgment challenge. Did either of you find Pandora’s Box?”
    Ooo, now that was interesting. So Pandora’s Box was something to do for after the votes? I mentally filed that tidbit away.
    Both Alys and Chris shook their heads.
    “All right, then. On with the challenge. This will be a fire-making challenge. The first one to build a fire and snap a rope, stays!”
    I looked over at Jendan as we got up from our benches to make room for the fire-making challenge. As I did, he looked over at me and smiled, the relief evident on his face. He knew like I did that I’d saved his butt just then.
    And for some reason, I was absurdly pleased by that smile.

Chapter Seven
    “I feel like Annabelle’s a kindred spirit here in the game. Neither one of us is particularly cut-throat. It’s rather refreshing.” — Jendan Abercrombie, Day 5, Endurance Island: Power Players
    “We’re out of water again,” I complained to Kip. “And you’re lying on my bed.”
    “Didn’t realize everything on this beach belonged to you,” he told me, but he didn’t get up.
    It was day five of the game and I’d just about hit my limit with Kip. He did nothing around camp, and if I protested, he’d tell me that he was ‘saving his strength for the next challenge.’ Which drove me crazy. We wouldn’t win if I was exhausted and he was fresh, right? There had to be a little give and take.
    Except one partner in this duo was doing a lot more ‘taking.’ Kip didn’t lift a finger to help. The only shelter we had was mine - I’d managed to erect a vague lean-to against a pair of trees growing close together, and used the box (that I’d now disassembled) as flooring. Along with some woven palm fronds, it…well, it sucked. It didn’t keep me warm, didn’t keep out the rain, but I didn’t wake up with sand in my hoo-ha, so that was a plus.
    Of course, now that I’d made a shelter, Kip was determined to hog it at every turn. Right now he was lounging, eating a coconut that I’d put at camp for myself.
    “I made the bed,” I told him. “Therefore, it’s mine.”
    “Look, Annabelle,” he said in that dismissive tone of his that set my teeth on edge. “We both know that we’re due for a reward challenge of some kind. You need me in fighting shape for the challenge, because we both know that you won’t be able to handle anything athletic.”
    “Is that so?”
    “Yep,” he said, obviously missing my sarcasm. “So let me rest. And fill up my canteen while you’re getting water, will you?”
    I seethed, and then I plucked his canteen from his hand and stomped into the jungle. I hated Kip - hated him fiercely - but I took the canteen anyhow. It wasn’t that I wanted to keep him hydrated so he could be strong in challenges - I didn’t care if he was or not. If we lost, I was counting on beating him in the loser challenge so I could boot his ass and be a team of one, like Alys had done to Chris.
    But if I didn’t fill his canteen, he’d follow me into the jungle, and I wanted to be alone in the jungle, because I needed to find that forked tree.
    The moment I had whatever was in Pandora’s Box, I’d feel safer. Chip had mentioned it when the team had been voted off, which told me that it had something to do with whoever lost Judgment. If it was some sort of ‘get out of jail free,’ I wanted to have it before I started throwing challenges to get rid of Kip.
    Because I definitely intended on getting rid of Kip.
    Heading to the well, I filled the canteens, and then put the lid back on again and sat down on top of it. The carved lid was bumpy and hard, but there weren’t any sand crabs on it, so I didn’t mind. Sitting here gave me a chance to think, and I tried to consider anywhere that the forked tree might have been that I’d missed.
    Plus, there was no Kip at the well. Bonus.
    As I relaxed, I had a thought. Maybe I hadn’t gone out far enough? I’d assumed the clue meant that the tree was near