Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2023 09:28:50 -0600 From: Julien Gregg Subject: Grey Baker Chapter 4 A Year In the Life of Grey Baker The Saguaro University Chronicles by Julien Gregg Please donate to Nifty to keep this service free. https://donate.nifty.org/ I'm looking for my original editor, Mike. If you are out there and you read this contact me at greggjulien6@gmail.com I'd like to talk with you. For all others the email address above will get to me just put the name of the story in your subject so I don't delete it as spam. I love to hear from readers so drop me a line to let me know what you think of the story. It has been brought to my attention that this story is not realistic. Well that's because it is a story. A friend of mine and I sat and discussed our college stories. We decided that college would be better with Fraternities like this one who practiced a lets say, softer pledge class. That's where this story comes from. It won't get much more realistic than that. Chapter 4 They got their "Who am I?" t-shirts and wore them happily. Grey was especially happy to trap a brother and point to his shirt. He'd had to tell the pledge master twice that a pledge could not identify him. It was none of those that had been in his own pledge class and were trying again. Those guys considered Grey and Nico to be the "it" couple. That confused both of them but there you have it. Sierra started to date Larry Hanover, a junior that was one of Grey's frat brothers. He was six feet tall with dark hair and crystal clear blue eyes. He was on the basketball team and Sierra was now seen at each and every home game. She came to Grey's baseball games, too, but so far there hadn't been one. They were simply practices. Baseball season didn't officially start until March. Pete started to date a junior that wasn't part of Greek Life at all. His name was Paul Benson, and he was a match for Pete's six feet, but he had light brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He played tennis and had the legs and upper body to go with it. Nico and Grey double dated with them from time to time and really enjoyed Paul's company. Then the trials were over again and they got five new brothers. Eric Fisher, Phil Brenner, Evan Porter, Mark Moore, and Matt Shoop were the five new brothers. They all wanted to move into the frat. There were beds in rooms for three of them but Matt Shoop and Mark Moore had to resort to the bunks along the back hall of the second floor. Red, White, and Serve went off without a hitch with pledges helping in a mandatory fashion. Grey was happy that this particular philanthropic event went off so well. He had a soft spot for the men and women who had fought for the country. Now all he had to worry about was Lions in Disguise. He didn't know much about this particular event as Adam hadn't told him anything. Obiz was the official sponsor of the event so he supposed he could ask Sierra. Spring Break rolled around and Sierra, Larry, Nico, Pete, and Paul all drove back to Harris with Grey to spend the seven days in his house. Grey had three bedrooms with full-sized beds in each so they had plenty of room. Plus it let them out of the house for the last end of the trials. It would also give Nico and Grey a glimpse of what life would be like over the summer as Nico was spending the summer with Grey in his house. This would let them see what that would be like. Grey thought that with the others in the house it would feel much like the frat, but Sierra would be there, and his mother would show up now and then so maybe it wouldn't feel like being in the frat. They pulled into the drive way and parked their vehicles in front of the garage bay doors. Grey led them into the house and he saw that Lena had stocked the kitchen with food for the entire seven days. He was happy about that. Grey was happy to find his mother in the kitchen frying fried green tomatoes for everyone. This was one of Grey's favorite foods. Nico had never had them and neither had Larry. That sat and munched on those while their mother got to know their significant others. She hugged Pete and shook Paul's hand, but Nico and Larry got hugs. "It's good to see the men that are making two of my children happy," she said as she let go of Nico. "My other son is probably going to end up in prison, so it's vital that my other two find happiness and it looks like they have." "I know I have," Grey said, grinning at Nico. "I'm happy, Mom," Sierra said as she held Larry tight. "Well, good," she said. "Grey there's enough food for an army in this kitchen. Lena did good. Have you seen her?" "Not yet," he said. "But I'll thank her when she comes in on Tuesday." "Good boy," she said. "Well, Tommy's at my house and I won't leave him unattended for too long. I'll see you all later. Enjoy the tomatoes." "It was good to see you, Mom," Grey said as she hugged him. "It's good to see you, too, baby," she said. "Oh, I took the liberty of moving all of your stuff from my house to this house. I figure it won't get broken that way. Lean and her daughter helped." "I'll thank them for that, too," he said. "Thank you, Mom." "I'll see you later," she said and then she was gone. The week they spent in Grey's house was great. They played games, watched movies, and ate good food. When they got back to the university and their fraternity and sorority the campus was hectic as people were coming back from wherever they had gone. Of course most of the fraternity had stayed behind to help with the trials. Grey was happy to see everyone. They finally found out what would happen during Lions in Disguise as well. They drew names to find out who would do what. Grey got shopping for three people. He'd have lists of groceries to buy and things to get. He'd do that on April sixth. The odd jobs section would start on March thirtieth, and they'd all wash cars on April thirteenth. This was the largest event that frat and sorority were involved in, and it happened every year so people looked forward to it. The football and baseball teams got involved in the odd jobs portion of the event. Roofs were repaired, porch swings were installed, and lawns were mowed. It was great. Grey, though on the baseball team did not get involved in the first day. He got three lists of shopping items to buy for three different people on April first. He did the shopping on the sixth and took the bags to the houses on his list that evening. That was the extent of his involvement. He wasn't even washing cars on the thirteenth. Life in the frat was good for Grey and he really enjoyed having brothers to rely on. He'd never been able to rely on his own brother. Grey really hated that fact. Instead he got a house full of brothers he knew would have his back in the need if ever it arised. It came to pass on that weekend that Grey got to school his brothers on an internet show called Project Survivor. The advertisements for the show were all on television as they were gearing up for Season Four. The first season was rarely ever talked about because more than half of the survivors died before the middle of the season. That was what Grey hated about the show. There was no safety net in place to help the participants or victims, as they truly were in Grey's mind should the need arise. Well it did arise in season one. Snake bites, poisonous fruit, falls, and various other jungle woes were at work in season one. They didn't have even one kid on the island that knew the first thing about survival. They couldn't even make fire. He knew how it worked, too. Family members would sign a pair of siblings up for the show and there was nothing to be done about it. They'd drug the pair and abduct them from their daily lives, put them on the island and not return for them until August. Several people had tried to sue, but the contract was specific. They'd try to get waivers signed by the contestants, but that rarely happened. "Hey, Grey, this show would be right up your ally," said Cam as he noticed that Grey was in the living room and watching the special. "Not really," Grey said honestly. "There's no safety net. Kids die on the island every season. I'm surprised that they're letting them advertise on television, the show is only available online." "Yeah, why are they advertising on the television if its an online show?" Adam asked. "Because they're only showing the positive things that happened in seasons two and three. I dare say if they covered the deaths of any of those kids it wouldn't be on daytime television unless a talk show host decided to take it on." "But you'd thrive," Cam said. "No, I wouldn't," Grey said. "The show is about sibling rivalry. They have to work together to survive. The first thing I'd do when I woke up on that island would be to kill Tommy before he killed me. We'd lose." "Damn, Grey," said Pete as he came in. "What is so surprising about my last statement?" Grey asked the room. "Tommy has tried to off me so many times throughout my life. Logic would dictate that without anyone to stop him he'd seriously try to kill me. I'd be well in my rights to kill him before he killed me. He hates me." "He's right," said Pete. "I've seen the way Tommy looks at Grey. That's hatred." "But they're saying that the winners of the show get ten million to split," Cam said. "I don't need any more money," Grey said. "I inherited much more than ten million." "Wow," said Cam. "I guess you don't need the show after all." "Didn't you build a shelter behind your house that was featured in a magazine?" Adam asked. "Yes, but that shelter took all summer to build," Grey said. "On the island I couldn't build such a shelter in the time allowed. I'd have to work with Tommy to make fire, find fresh water, hunt, scavenge, and build a shelter. Tommy would never help me do anything like that." "Especially if he's dead," said Cam with a grin. The conversation was starting to sit wrong with Grey. He didn't actively want to kill his older brother, but he'd do it if it came down to him or Grey. Why couldn't they understand that? Besides, there was no way in hell anyone would be stupid enough to sign them up for Project Survivor anyway. Classes would end in about four days and then it would be time for finals again. They'd all be leaving for summer soon after that. They had it set up that you could leave after your last final. Grey decided to focus on that. All of the philanthropic events were over for the school year. Now it was just studying for finals and going to classes. Nico and Grey spent a lot of their time in their room studying for finals. Pete complained that he never saw his little brother anymore. So they included him and Paul in their study sessions when Paul would agree to set foot inside the fraternity house. Paul had an aversion to all things Greek in college. He'd said that Greek Houses celebrated the worst that college life had to offer with hazing during pledge classes and all of the drinking and partying. He said that he'd never pledge a frat. Grey could see what he was saying about other fraternities, but Aboo did not haze. Sure there were parties and a lot of the brothers did some drinking, but that was life in a frat. They didn't get so out of control that anyone got hurt. Paul was wrong to lump them in with all of the other fraternities on campus. Still he came to the house three different times to study with Pete, Grey, and Nico. He looked around the room that Grey and Nico shared with interest. He did say that Aboo seemed to be one of the better fraternities on campus. Grey just shook his head and went back to studying. His last class was Wednesday, April twenty-forth. He was free to study his head off until the twenty-ninth when finals began. He spent those days with Nico in their room. Pete joined them from time to time but spent most of his time with Paul. In the evenings they'd go to the Taco Shack or have dinner in the kitchen or dining room of the fraternity. When finals began they found that they were much more prepared for them with all of the studying than they would have been without it. Grey sailed though his finals and on the fourth of May he took his last. Nico had two more to take, but Grey was packed and ready to go. They'd set it up so that Grey would leave when his final was done and Nico would leave after his last final. He'd get to Grey's house about two hours after Grey. That would allow Grey to make sure that there was food and the house was ready for them. When he got home he saw that the kitchen was stocked with food. There was a knock on his front door and he assumed it was Nico. He went to the door and opened it to find two men. They were both tall, very muscular with dark hair and dark eyes. One grabbed Grey as the other injected a syringe with some kind of liquid in it directly into Grey's neck. Things went dark after that. When he woke up he was strapped to what felt like a concrete slab. There was a needle in his arm that pumped some kind of paralytic into his system because he couldn't move. It wasn't the straps that held him in place, he really couldn't move a muscle. He looked around and saw that Tommy was strapped to another one of these gurneys. He sighed as he realized what had happened. Someone had kidnapped both of them. When the truck arrived at wherever it was taking them they were taken out the back of the truck and taken to an airplane. On the side were the words Project Survivor. Grey thought, Son of a bitch they did it! Someone had signed them up for that stupid show. He wondered who had done it. Surely it wasn't his mother. That wouldn't make sense. Was it a professor? Could they sign them up? They weren't family and in the past it had always been family that had signed up contestants. They were put back to sleep when they were boarded on the plane. The last thing that Grey thought about was killing the person who had signed him up for this stupidity. * * * Nico arrived at Grey's house, saw the Jeep in the driveway and smiled. He couldn't wait to spend the summer with Grey. This was going to be so amazing. He found the front door open, so he went inside. He expected to find Grey at the back of the house in the kitchen. He looked for him in the master bedroom, the living room, and the dining room. Grey was not in the house. Suddenly there were people coming in the front door and Nico thought Grey would be among them. Instead it was Mary and Sierra, but they were carrying laptops. They went into the dining room and sat them down on the table. "Grey told me that the password for the internet is on the side of the desk in the study. Could you get it for me, Nico?" Mary asked. "Sure," he said, keeping his question about where Grey was to himself. He got the piece of paper and took it back to the dining room. "Pete and Paul are on their way," Sierra said. "He about flipped when he heard what happened." "You know, right?" Mary asked Nico. "Know what?" he asked. "I know that Grey isn't here. I was supposed to spend the summer with him." "Grey and Tommy are on Survivor Island," Sierra said. "Oh my God," Nico said, covering his mouth with a hand. "Grey said the first thing he'd do if he woke up on that island was kill Tommy." "Well, he won't kill Tommy," Mary said. "He'll be plenty pissed off considering what he thinks of this damned show." "He hates this show," said Nico. "They were advertising it on television and a couple of frat brothers were watching. Grey made his opinion of the show very well known pretty quickly." "What's the address for the cameras on our boys?" Mary asked Sierra. Sierra read an internet address out of folder marked "Project Survivor: Family Information." Nico typed the address into his search bar and the screen came alive with a picture of Grey and Tommy asleep on a beach. "They've got to wake up," Sierra said as Pete and Paul came through the front door and into the dining room with laptops of their own. "Address?" Pete asked. Sierra read it off to him. "There they are." * * * Grey opened his eyes to see the brightest sunlight he'd ever seen. He was hot, too. He turned his head and saw Tommy lying on the sand about two feet away. He called out his name, but Tommy was still asleep. He started to move his hands and feet. The drugs were wearing off, but not quickly. Then he heard it. "Grey?" Tommy said weakly. "I'm here," Grey said. "The drugs are wearing off. Start moving your hands and feet. The rest will move soon enough. We have to get up before something comes along and eats us." "Are we on Project Survivor?" "Yes," Grey said, though his anger about it had to stay tamped down for a bit. Survival was what was important. "Something will come and eat us?" Tommy asked. He sounded terrified. "You have to help me, Grey. You know about this survival shit. I don't know the first damned thing about it." "I'll teach you if you can listen to me and follow my directions," Grey said, thinking that Tommy would balk at this. "I'll listen and follow directions," Tommy said. "Just don't let me die on this damned island." "We have to get along long enough to survive, Tommy." "We can do that." "Are you sure?" "I'm sure I want to live to get off this god forsaken island," Tommy said. "I can sit up now." They sat up. Grey looked around for the backpacks and trunk. Each pair of survivors got backpacks and a trunk filled with things they'd need for survival provided they knew how to use them. He found the trunk pretty quickly and the backpacks were on top. He got to his feet and shakily made his way to the trunk. He put one of the backpacks on his back and opened the trunk. Tommy came up to the trunk a few minutes later. There was a spool of paracord, mesh netting, two huge machetes, a series of pots, a flint, arrows and a spear in the trunk. There were also two tarps. In the backpack was a map of the island with hunting or survival knives. There were matches in the end of the knife and a compass on the lid to the handle. "Can you use this stuff?" Tommy asked. "Sure I can," Grey said. "We have to make fire now, Tommy. It'll get cold once that sun goes down." "Where do you want to make fire?" Tommy asked. "Close to a fresh water source," Grey replied. "We can't drink the ocean water." "You know about this stuff," Tommy said. "I don't. So I'll do whatever you tell me." Grey looked at the map. There was a symbol for fresh water not far from where they were standing. It was just a bit into the jungle. He headed in that direction. Once he found the stream he sighed with relief. There were palm trees, papaya trees, mango trees, and banana trees all around, but what he was looking for was also there. Lots of bamboo. He found kindling and cut branches from the trees with his machete. Then he used the flint to ignite the kindling, placing small branches over the fire in a pyramid. When he had the fire going he relaxed a bit. "We have fire," Grey said. "You did that so fast," Tommy said. "I had a good teacher," Grey replied. He got one of the pots and filled it with water from the stream. Then he used some of the branches to make a spit and hung the pot over the fire to boil the water. Then he looked at the bamboo. He knew what needed to be done but he was still tired from the drugs they'd given them. He sighed again. "What's wrong?" Tommy asked. "We need to start cutting down the big bamboo branches to start on the shelter, but I'm still tired from the drugs." "Me too," Tommy said. "But we have to do it." "Yes, we have to do it," Grey said. "We want the yellow or browned ones not the green ones. That's just too much work." "Okay," Tommy said. They got up and headed to the stand of bamboo. They started to hack away at the dried bamboo and got a lot of it fairly quickly. Grey started to stack it as Tommy continued to hack it down. There was more than enough already to start the floor of the shelter, so he got down to it. He cut two foot sections of bamboo. This he did with the green bamboo. He drove those sections into the dirt and sand. Then he started to cut the brown pieces until they were all the same length. He was sweating like crazy, but that would change when the sun was out of the sky. He wanted a basic shelter up before that happened. He used paracord to tie the planks together and then placed them over the two foot sections sticking up from the ground. He pounded the cut pieces into the slots to hold the floor in place. Then he went back to Tommy and helped him cut more bamboo. He needed three walls and a roof. There was no more that he could do than that. He'd use the mesh to cover the opening and save them from bugs as much as he could. He'd cut a hole in the floor big enough to have a fire without burning the shelter to the ground around them, and he'd use one of the tarps over the roof to keep out rain. They worked all day long on the walls and roof. Grey finally got them in place just as the sun was starting to go down. The temperature was dropping with the setting of the sun. He cut the hole in the floor pretty quickly. Then he used the existing fire to start another inside the shelter. He had Tommy help him push the roof over the top of the walls and he tied it down with cord. Then they hoisted the tarp up over the top of the shelter and tied it to the floor with more cord. They sat in the shelter around the fire for a moment. "I'm hungry," Tommy said. "Yeah," Grey replied. "We can pick fruit from the trees for tonight. I'll teach you to hunt tomorrow." * * * "Man, Grey really knows his stuff," Pete said to Mary as they watched the boys go out to pick fruit. "He sure does," she said. "Chris taught him all of that." "I can't believe how fast they got that shelter put together," Sierra said. "I can't believe Tommy followed directions and helped Grey," said Nico. "He'll help him if he wants to make it off that island," Mary said. "I could kill Thomas for signing them up for this shit." "Their uncle did this?" Pete asked. "I'm sorry, but I assumed it was you, Mary." "I would never put them on that island," she said. "Grey was right when he told you that kids die on that island every season. I would never put my sons in that kind of danger. Even if it does quash the sibling rivalry between them. It wouldn't be worth losing one of them to the elements." "Well, they have fresh water, food, and a shelter," Sierra said. "They're doing all right, Mom." "Grey knows what to eat and what not to eat, too," Mary said. "I suppose that they have more of a chance of getting off that island than the other sets of siblings." "Do you know where the island is?" Nico asked. "No one knows which island they're on," Mary said. "I know they're somewhere off the coast of Costa Rica. No one can fly over the island without permission either. The show is based in Costa Rica and piped over the internet to the world. The actual episodes are Wednesday nights, but we have unfettered access to Grey and Tommy because we're their family." "They're picking fruit," Pete said. "So far they're getting along." "So far," Mary said. Sierra sighed. "Well, you know what I mean." "I do, Mom," Sierra said. "That sigh wasn't for what you said as much as what they're going through." "I know, baby," Mary said, hugging Sierra. "Where's Larry?" "He had to spend time with his family," Sierra said. "He'll be here in a few weeks." "Well, the more the merrier," Mary said. "We'll be here until the boys get back and this house isn't big enough for a lot of people. Pete, you said most of your fraternity will be in town?" "Yes, ma'am," he said. "They all know where Grey is and they want to be here for the family, but they'll stay in hotels." "Well in that case," Mary said. * * * "Wait," Grey said as Tommy was about to start eating. "I have to know why you hate me so much, Tommy." "I don't hate you, Grey," Tommy said. "Most of the time I can't stand to be around you, but I don't hate you." "It sure seems that way," Grey said. "Okay, look," Tommy said. "Most of the time I'm so blown away by you that its maddening. I mean I was so proud of that shelter you built, and then you were on the cover of that magazine. I was like `Damn, my brother's the shit.' But then someone would say, `Look what your little brother's doing. What are you doing?' Then I'd be all pissed off again and I'd lash out at you. I'm sorry, Grey." "So its jealousy?" "Yes," Tommy said. "I mean, my dad died, too. But you were everyone's little boy after that accident. No one bothered to come to my birthday party that year, but you had a blow out. People sent gifts from all over Arizona! All I got for my birthday was a bike. You got three of them." "I'd have shared with you, Tommy," Grey said. "You just seemed happier to break my stuff and call me a baby or hurt me." "Then there was the way Chris was with you," Tommy said. "You had a brother and sister, and they were David Baker's children, too. He didn't have to shut us out." "He didn't shut you out, Tommy," Grey argued. "He tried to include you. You didn't like the survival stuff, and you didn't want to spend time in Chris's house with me. Sierra didn't like going on the survival weekends either. She had her friends to hang out with. That's why he stopped trying to do things with you two. He focused on me because I liked all of that stuff." "Well it sure paid off for you here," Tommy said, looking at the shelter. "That shelter is sound, and I know it'll keep us dry and warm with the fire in there. Grey, you did that. I mean I helped you, but I only did what you told me to do. Believe me if I'd known that we'd end up here I'd have paid much closer attention to what Chris was trying to teach me." "I'll make you a deal," Grey said. "I know how much it pissed you off that Chris left me everything, so if we win, and we will win if you do what I tell you to do and help me, I'll give you my half of the prize money. The winners get ten million to split. You can have it." "Thanks, Grey," Tommy said. "Please believe that I don't hate you." "Actions speak louder than words, Tommy," Grey said. Grey went to get more firewood. He found a thicket of dried wood and cut it down to what he needed and then piled it up and hoisted it over his shoulder. He walked back to the shelter and placed the firewood in the right back corner to keep it dry. He added a few pieces to the fire to keep it going and then went back outside. "I coulda helped with the firewood," Tommy said. "No worries, its done," Grey replied. "What we need are palm fronds to sleep on. That bamboo floor is harder than you think." They went to collect palm fronds and place them on the left side of the fire. Grey covered them with mesh netting and then placed the tarp over that. He told Tommy that they'd sleep under the tarp for warmth. Then he stoked the fire. "When do we get meat?" Tommy asked. "I'll teach you to set snares and traps tomorrow, and we'll do a bit of spear fishing. Just while we're doing that you should watch out for sharks," Grey said. "Sharks?" Tommy asked, looking scared. "They don't really come into the shallow water much but they will if they sense prey," Grey said. "Are we prey?" "We can be," Grey said. "We'll be all right though. Don't worry so much." "If you say so," Tommy replied. When the sun was fully down they laid in the make-shift bed and talked until they fell asleep. The next morning dawned bright for Grey. Tommy was still asleep. Grey got up and collected fruit for breakfast and lined it up on the floor of the shelter. He got a fresh pot of water to boil as well. He was just setting it aside to cool when Tommy sat up. "How long have you been up?" he asked. "Not long," Grey replied. "I got fruit for breakfast, and I boiled us another pot of water. There's still some water left in the other pot that's cooler than this boiled stuff. Help yourself." "Thanks Grey," Tommy said as he drank a little water and then selected a mango and a banana for breakfast. He looked at what Grey was doing. "Why are you putting a number on the wall?" "To track what day it is," Grey said. "We got here on the fifth so today is the sixth. I put a five and a six on the wall in ash to keep me abreast of the days as they go by." "Oh," Tommy said. "Why did you dig a hole so far from the shelter?" "That's our latrine," Grey said. "When it gets about half full I'll bury it and dig a new one. We don't want to shit close to where we eat. Trust me." "How do you know all of this? I mean did Chris teach you everything you know?" "He did," Grey said. "Most of what I know came from those survival weekends that he took me on. I learned to live off the land and to take care of myself in the wild. That's all it was about. He just taught me how to survive. He got me self defense classes, taught me survival tactics, and really spent a lot of time getting to know me. We also went to amusement parks and water parks a lot, too. It wasn't always a survival weekend. We fished and hunted from time to time, too." "You can hunt?" "Yes," said Grey. "I can use a twenty-two or a bow and arrow. I can even use a cross bow if I need to. He taught me all of that." "Can you dress your kill?" "Sure can, but it would take both of us to do a deer if we ever see one here," Grey explained. "We don't have a way to store the meat either, so a deer is kind of out of the question but there are other things out there that we can eat like fish, birds, squirrels, rabbits, snakes, turtles, a lot of things." After breakfast, Grey took Tommy into the wooded area to set snares and traps. He was pleased that Tommy caught on really fast. They had a good amount of snares and traps finished before lunch time. Grey got the spear and he and Tommy got into the water. Grey speared four fish that were about medium size. Plenty good enough for the two of them to chow on. He used his survival knife to get all of the scales off the fish and then used a stick like a spit and roasted them over the fire. They had fish with fruit and water for lunch. Tommy was happy. This was the first time that Grey had ever seen his older brother just relaxed and happy. They'd been getting along pretty well, too. Inside the backpack Grey found fishing line and hooks. He liked that, too. He had seen snails in the woods and would use those for bate when and if he decided to fish that way. It was easier to fish that way than to spear a fish, so he'd give it some thought. He couldn't decide if the island was tropical or not. Sure there was sand and palm trees, and a lot of fruit trees that grew in tropical climates, but the woods was just like it was back home. There were plenty of rabbits and squirrels in there but they didn't live so much in the tropical places. He'd seen no monkeys and that was odd, too. He had no idea where they were and no way to find out just yet. They checked snares and Grey was surprised to find rabbits in two of them. They collected them and Grey dressed them and put them on the spit to roast. They had rabbits and fruit for dinner. It was a few days later on the tenth, if Grey was correct in his calculations of what day it was when the young girl came into their little camp, dragging her chest behind her. She carried two backpacks with her and collapsed as soon as she saw them. Grey and Tommy ran to her and used cool water to wipe her face. She came to a minute later and sat up. They stayed near her to make sure that whatever was wrong with her wasn't going to flare up again. "I've been walking all day," she said. "My brother died the day we got here. He was bitten by something in the woods. I buried him as best I could and started walking. I knew whoever I found would need this stuff. I just don't know what to do with it. From the looks of that shelter, you do." "I'm Grey and this is my brother, Tommy," Grey said. "What's your name?" "Lacy," she said. "My brother's name was Dillon." Then she started to cry. Tommy moved in and hugged her and she held on to him. But Grey noticed that she didn't cry many tears. That and the looks of her eyes told him she was dehydrated. He got her some water to drink and some fruit to eat. They'd eaten all of the rabbit but he'd get more from the snares as soon as he could. Grey looked inside her trunk and found all of the things that had been in his. He had a decision to make. He could either build her a shelter of her own or she could share the one that he'd already built. It could easily sleep another person. If so, then he could use parts of what was inside that trunk to build hammocks. In the end she decided to sleep with them. She didn't want to be alone at night. Grey could understand that. He made hammocks with the mesh netting. It was strong enough to hold a person safely, so he used paracord to tie the ends to the walls of the shelter. He could only make two, but Tommy said that Lacy could share his if she didn't object. She didn't. Grey made her a bunch of fruit and sat her with Tommy while he put the rabbit furs out to dry in the sun. He was going to sew them together and make a blanket when he had enough. Lord knew he'd seen enough rabbits out in those woods to make five or six blankets. He checked the snares and found nothing so he headed back to camp. He was there a few minutes before the sun began to set on day seven of their time on the island. They ate some more fruit and went to bed when the sun went fully down. Grey loved his hammock and fell asleep rather quickly, listening to the talk in the hammock across the shelter from his own. The next day he decided to use the hooks and fishing lines to set out in the small lake he'd found when he was checking the snares. He thought about the rabbits and squirrels on the island. If this was really a tropical island where did they come from? They can't cross water, so there shouldn't have been so many of them. Someone had to have brought them here, so he thought the people who came up with this stupid show had left them on the island so the survivals could catch them and eat them. That pissed him off a bit. He just didn't know why. He grabbed some snails and set his fishing lines into the lake. Then he went to check the snares and just like he thought he found four squirrels and two rabbits. He'd cook them all and put some of the food in the plastic bag that had been around the mesh netting and put them in the water. He carried them all back to his camp and started to dress them. He added the rabbit furs to the two that were out in the sun on a rock to dry out. Then he put them on a spit and cooked them. Lacy watched every move he made. She cried off and on through the whole time. When the meat was done, he pulled it off the bones and put most of it in the bag. Then he used the metal plates from the trunk to divide the rest for the three of them. Then he thought about the other siblings on the island. Lacy had a brother, and he knew that she had to have a brother or sister on the island. He knew that there were always four sets of siblings on the island. He thought about going to find them all and bring them back. He didn't want to let them die or suffer if they didn't know what to do to survive. He was thinking about it when a pair of brothers showed up on the fifteenth. They were sweaty and stinky so they decided to go in the ocean to wash off. They'd dragged the trunk and had their backpacks on their back. Grey was glad to see that they'd brought them with them. They were covered in bites from insects so Grey knew that didn't use the nets to keep them out. It was time to make another shelter, but Grey was just going to tell them how to build it themselves. He wasn't building another for anything. They were naked as the day they were born as they got into the ocean. Lacy washed their clothes in the ocean but averted her eyes from them. She laid out their clothes in the sun to let them dry. Grey thought they'd better put them on anyway because he didn't want to stare at a pair of twins naked. * * * "Those boys are naked," laughed Sierra as her mother put a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of her. "Yeah, can't escape nudity on this show it seems," Mary said. "They'll probably edit that out for the actual show though." "Maybe not," Nico said. "I've seen the show and it had plenty of nudity. They just blur the front but not the back." "When does the show end?" Sierra asked. "July second," Pete said. "It'll come back for a reunion a week later. That's when they crown the winner." They'd been having watch parties with a few of the frat brothers at a time. Mary had enjoyed meeting all of the boys that were in Grey's fraternity. She'd have to change the colors of the plaque that he had on the wall. They were Kappa colors and now she needed Aboo colors which were red, black, and white. So July second was the day that she'd see her boys in the flesh again. She couldn't wait, and she'd already found out that it was her brother in law who had signed her sons up for the death trap that was Project Survivor. She'd never speak to him again. Larry had shown up and Mary had been nice to him, but she didn't like him. It wasn't long before Sierra didn't like him either. She'd sent him packing shortly after he'd gotten to the house. He'd made some unsavory comments about both Grey and Tommy's stay on the island and said they'd probably die anyway. That's when Sierra had had enough of him. Several of the brothers were angry wit him, too. They knew that with Grey's knowledge, he and Tommy would come home. Now that there were five of them in Grey's camp the chances for both of them were increased. The announcers on the show were going nuts over the fact that three other contestants had shown up in the Baker camp. As she watched Grey explain how to build another shelter and watched as the twins built their shelter right off of Grey's she knew that Grey and Tommy would win this thing. Grey would have another five million dollars to add to his millions. Tommy would finally have money that he thought he was owed. She was especially happy to see that her sons were getting along for the first time since Grey was six. She just wished it wasn't this damned show that had gotten them to this point. She couldn't wait until they were safe in their own beds again. She wanted to brain Thomas Baker for doing what he'd done. It was unforgivable. She couldn't believe that he'd been allowed to sign up his nephews for the show, but it had been spelled out for her by an attorney from the producers of the show that he could and there was nothing she could do about it. So she watched her boys on the computer and slept very little. She'd passed out in front of the computer just last night and had to be told to go get some rest. Sierra had promised to wake her if anything happened to the boys. But they were surviving. Grey's fishing lines had paid off, he was snaring and trapping squirrels and rabbits, and there were plenty of fruit trees to keep them fed. Her boy was carrying the others on his shoulders. She was proud of him for what he was doing, but she could see the strain on him as he did these things. He'd proven that he could keep five people alive and that was something. When they went in search of the last pair of siblings they found one boy who had just buried his sister. She'd eaten a poison berry or a bunch of them and died in the night. He cried on Grey's shoulder for a bit, but they dragged his trunk and backpack back with them. The pair had used the tarp and a stick to sleep under. He was eaten alive by insects and Grey and Tommy turned their heads a bit at his smell. They walked him back to camp and fed and watered him. Then he was in the ocean with all of his clothes on to rinse off the smell and let the salt water work on those bites. Now there were six people in that camp and Grey had another mouth to feed. She didn't know how he did it, but she watched as he sewed together rabbit furs to make himself a blanket and none of them said a word about it. They knew he was taking care of them. Tommy was too at Grey's direction. Tommy was learning a lot of what Chris had taught Grey, and it was paying off. He fished and trapped and snared just like his brother, and Tommy was responsible for some of the meals they had. Mary was amazed that they were all filling back out and not losing weight. Her boys kept them fed rather well on what they had. Grey had had to dig another latrine for the six of them twice. With more people it filled up faster. He was hard pressed to keep up with them. She was happy to see that one of the twins took to helping him. They dug three one for a pair of people to use. It went easier that way. There was so much that Grey was doing for the others. She watched as he started to sew another blanket, and the calendar moved close and closer to June. On Memorial day Grey had three shelters built and hammocks in all three. The twins had their own shelter and the single boy, Kevin had wanted his own. He seemed like a bit of a loaner. * * * They had set more snares and traps, and Grey now had eight lines in the lake. They rarely used the lake for anything but fresh water that they boiled over three fires now. He sighed as he looked at the line of shelters each attached to the one beside it. He couldn't believe that they'd come this far. Now it was just waiting for the plane to come and get them. There was no more starving, he still had to worry about them as they check and reset traps and snares as they could be bitten by any number of poisonous snakes or insects. But that didn't happen and they always came back with food and unscathed. The others watched how Grey had cut the rabbit furs and put them over a rock to dry in the sun and began to copy him. He had a bunch of furs now and started on the second blanket. When it was finished he handed it to Tommy. Tommy thanked him and looked at him like he'd given him a bar of gold. Grey decided to ignore that and started on a third blanket. He was a few furs short of a blanket, but the coming days would help that. Even at that moment the twins came back with arms full of rabbits and squirrels. Grey smiled at this. Tommy was now teaching the others to spear fish, to set snares and traps, and how to survive. He'd paid so much attention to Grey that he now knew what to do in most situations. He'd taken to checking the fishing lines and usually came back with a line of fish that Grey would prepare. Sometimes Tommy prepared the food, and Grey was proud of what he'd taught his brother. They were still getting along and laughing together about the past. Grey was happy with his relationship with Tommy, but he missed Nico and his mother and sister. He couldn't wait for July to get off this damned island and never return.