Days 28-30 (1st)

## Day 28

### Merge Camp

When Day 28 came, the camp was quieter than usual. This was mostly due to Timothy suggesting that Marcus stay cool after the vote to keep from scaring Blaike and Zillik away. He did his best, which wasn't perfect, but it did allow the players to have a more peaceful breakfast than usual. Once he got bored, Marcus left camp to go gather supplies and practice his fighting stances. Even when they were away from camp, he still liked to find time to train, even if he had to do it with sticks. Plus, sometimes he just needed to get away from the other players. Blaike and Jade were always mad at him for something he said, usually about women. Zillik never talked and usually glared when Marcus got loud, which was annoying. Timothy, his closest ally, annoyed him more than anyone else in the game. He was such a kid of Athena that it sometimes made Marcus feel physically ill to be around him, but he did owe Timothy his life in the game. He'd ride to the end with him, and hopefully clean house with a Jury that hated Timothy for putting together all of their eliminations. Plus, he had Lenobia on the Jury, and she was persuasive as hell, from Marcus' point of view. Maybe she would swing some other Jurors in his favor.

Knowing his sister would be feeling isolated, Timothy spent time that morning think about what to say to Jade. She was avoiding him now, completely put off by how aggressively he was playing. That didn't make him feel good, on a personal level. He wanted to win, of course, but Timothy was still human and still valued his relationships. On Jade's end, she expected Timothy to play hard, of course, but that didn't make it sting any less. If things continued at their current rate, Jade was next on the chopping block and she knew that, and it would be her brother's doing. That was hard to sit with, so the two didn't speak much throughout the morning. Each was debating how to approach the other and what they would say. Timothy wouldn't compromise his game this close to the end, and Jade didn't expect him to, but they still wanted to have some sort of amiable conversation.

Blaike woke up feeling irritable. Kim was annoying, sure, and she had planned to vote for Blaike, but something really wasn't sitting well her regarding with Marcus still being at camp. Blaike absolutely hated him by now, even on a day when he was being less obnoxious than usual. She knew what Timothy was going to do. He was going to take Marcus to the end because the Jury probably wouldn't vote for him to win, which would make it easier for Timothy to win in turn. The thought of Marcus getting a free ride to the end just for being annoying to live with made her sick to her stomach, even if she was facilitating it. On the other hand, Blaike also hated Jade's holier-than-thou attitude and the constant attacks on Blaike's character, as if she was some immoral monster for voting certain players out. Timothy's show at the vote hadn't done anything to make Blaike feel indebted to him either. She saw it for what it was, which was a spectacle to the Jury and a way of saying that she was his to protect, no the other way around. If anything, it made her want to flip even more, just to prove that she wasn't the lackey that Timothy was clearly going to paint her as. Flipping, however, would mean working with Jade, someone who didn't trust Blaike and who Blaike didn't really like. She opted to sit and think on her game moving forward, rather than approach anyone. The challenge result would determine which way she decided to go.

Zillik felt in pure bliss at the general quietness of the camp. It was the first morning in a long while where there was very little arguing, fighting, shouting, or scheming. A quiet breakfast was exactly what he needed to get his head clear. With his head clear, Zillik started to come to the same conclusion that Blaike had. Timothy was very clearly trying to take people he thought he could beat to the end. If Jade were to leave next, where did that leave him at the Final 4? Maybe he would seem like a bigger sacrificial goat than Blaike, but he'd never be more appealing than Marcus. Plus, the Jury already had Daniel, Lenobia, Jennifer, and Kim on it, four of Zillik's original teammates, and Dragon, who seemed rather ticked at Timothy based on what Kim and Jennifer had said. Blaike, on the other hand, hadn't gotten along well with a lot of the Jury, and had really upset Kim and Jade, especially. She might be a more appealing option than Zillik to take to the end. Jade was probably the biggest social threat left in the game, as she could likely get votes from Dragon, Jennifer, and Kim if she got to the end. Having Jade at the Final 4 meant Zillik was more likely to get to the Final 3, as it prevented Timothy from being able to sit beside both Blaike and Marcus. In the stillness of the day, Zillik had come to his conclusion. If there was a time to start playing more proactively, it was now, and that would begin with taking out Marcus and getting rid of Timothy's best goat.

## Day 29

### Challenge

At the challenge on Day 29, Zillik surprised everyone when he proved that he actually was playing the game. At least, to some extent. He managed to win the Individual Immunity Challenge after it became a race between he and Marcus. Timothy and Jade started fighting verbally during the challenge, and that nearly escalated to physical fighting. Eventually, they sat down to the side, both giving up their chance in the challenge to sit and sort through their problems. Jade, of course, expressed how she'd been struggling with Timothy's constant flipping, lying, and strategizing, especially when it meant she was on the outside after agreeing to not vote him out. He apologized, but explained that it was truly just a game to him, nothing at all personal, and Jade relented a bit, understanding that. Timothy went on to apologize for pressuring her to agree to not vote for him and to give him her Jury vote, and offered to let her out of it. Jade told him she'd think her Jury vote over, but still probably wouldn't vote him out. She could tell how much this meant to Timothy and felt he deserved it more than, at the very least, the other three players competing at the moment. Jade also took the chance to confirm her fears, and she was right. Timothy was targeting her next, and he explained that he couldn't just let her get to the end. She'd easily get votes from Dragon, Jennifer, and Kim to win, and that only would leave her needing one more. Respecting his decision, Jade wished him luck, and he did for her as well. The two then quietly sat to the side, knowing they were fully out of the challenge by that point.

Blaike was so far behind, as well, that she probably could have just sat it out with them. The challenge came down to a race strictly between Marcus and Zillik. Zillik hadn't really wanted to win anything and make himself stand out, but it was late in the game, and he needed Marcus gone. If Timothy and Jade were just going to chat and Blaike was going to be utterly useless, Zillik supposed it was on him to win, and so he did. Frustrated at not winning a challenge despite being one of the older, physically stronger players, Marcus had a small outburst after the challenge ended, which everyone else mostly ignored.

### Merge Camp

When the players got back to camp, Blaike pulled Timothy aside to ask what all the chatting with Blaike was. Sensing her nervousness, he assured Blaike that all was still well. Jade was next to go. The two of them just needed to have a brother-sister moment outside of the game. Blaike still felt uneasy. As much as she wanted to believe Timothy, she also knew he wouldn't be afraid to lie to her face. Still, Blaike nodded, confirmed she'd be voting for Jade, and the two rejoined everyone else.

Not long after, however, Blaike left to go gather firewood in the forest. Zillik offered to come help, which surprised everyone, as he normally made a point to not interact with them unless they approached him first. Once they were away from the group, Zillik quietly expressed his thoughts about the Marcus issue. Blaike listened along, intently, but wasn't entirely sure what he was getting at. She asked Zillik directly if he wanted to vote Marcus out, to which Zillik replied that they had to. If Marcus went to the Final 4 with Timothy, one of the two of them wouldn't get to the Final 3. The best they could do is force a tie, but that would be risky. If Jade were there, however, Timothy would still be gunning for her, and they would both get to the Final 3. Blaike did see the logic in that, she had to admit. Besides, Marcus was easily the most insufferable player left at their camp. . .well, Jade could be worse, when she was preaching to someone about morality and ethics. Still, Blaike saw the value in what Zillik proposed, but question how they would convince Jade when she didn't trust Blaike at all. Zillik asked what other choices Jade had. He was immune, she wasn't voting for Timothy, and she couldn't vote for herself. She would either be voting for Blaike or Marcus, and since Marcus wouldn't flip, her only chance to survive would be voting for Marcus with the two of them. Despite not being keen on working with Jade, Blaike couldn't not agree. It was the best plan to make sure Timothy didn't betray one of them at the Final 4, which he would certainly have to do. She agreed to talk to Jade the next morning, after she had some time to plan out the approach.

As for Jade, she had very little to do that evening. Zillik and Blaike were doing camp chores, Marcus was off sparring with a tree and taking out his anger, and Timothy had already told her that he was voting for her. So, she decided to hang out with him around camp, and the two of them spent most of the afternoon relaxing and chatting about their dad and other topics not related to the game until Blaike, Zillik, and Marcus came back for food. Timothy couldn't help finding it suspicious that Blaike and Zillik had been gone for so long, and that Zillik had tried so hard to win the challenge, and also that it had been Zillik who suggested going out with Blaike in the first place. It was all very unusual for Zillik, which had Timothy slightly on edge. He did still have his idol, but he didn't want to burn it at the Final 5 if it could be saved until the Final 4. Still, he needed to make sure everything was set to go the way he wanted, or else he might play it at the Final 4 only to lose at the Final 3.

## Day 30

### Merge Camp

Before the vote on Day 30, Blaike made a point to pull Jade out of camp for a private chat. Jade was reluctant to go talk with Blaike, but knowing she had few options, agreed. When they were out of earshot, Blaike explained Zillik's proposal to vote Marcus out, except she reframed it for Jade. Instead of making it sound like they just wanted Jade at the Final 4 to be a bigger target than they would be, Blaike explained that Marcus was the most obnoxious, rude jerk who wasn't really playing and didn't deserve to have a chance to win like the rest of them. She thought appealing to Jade's annoying sense of morality would be more effective than telling her that they wanted an easy next vote. Jade, of course, did agree that she wanted Marcus gone for that exact reason, but asked why she should trust Blaike after being lied to multiple times. Shrugging that off, Blaike told Jade that she didn't have any other real options. Timothy wasn't budging, and Marcus would do whatever he was told. Realizing she was right, Jade reluctantly agreed to go along with their plan. She had actually already been planning to vote for Marcus, so this made little difference to her. All it meant was that Blaike was betraying Timothy right before Final 4, which was a good thing. Maybe Jade could use that against her, or just win the last challenge.

It did not escape Timothy's notice that Blaike and Jade were gone for a little while that morning. Zillik tried to act as a distraction, but given how much he disliked talking to people, that didn't work so well. The small attempts he did make actually only made Timothy more suspicious, as again, it was very unlike Zillik. On edge, Timothy didn't have much time to consider his options and try chatting with Blaike. He pulled her aside briefly when she got back to camp to confirm the vote was still Jade, and she lied and said that it was. She and Jade had just been making amends before Blaike would be voting her off, that was all. Timothy didn't buy that in the slightest.

### Vote

When the vote rolled around, Timothy had made up his mind. He could sense the way the wind was blowing from everyone's behavior around camp, and he needed Marcus around as a goat to beat the Final 3. Timothy gave Marcus his second idol, nullifying the three votes that were cast against him. He side-eyed Blaike and Zillik. Blaike was pissed off at their perfect plan failing and because it exposed her, while Zillik seemed relatively indifferent. The last two votes fell on Jade, of course, making her the sixth member of the Jury. Feeling disappointed, but not surprised, Jade left the game and wished the remaining players luck. She thanked Blaike for finally being honest with her, if nothing else, which only annoyed Blaike all over again. With her gone, the Final 4 returned to camp for the night.