Sure enough, nobody came, and they were free.

Ashley seemed a little anxious, but Mara distracted her with food. They ate fish and dumped the guts and bones back into the trap, and then they drank hot broth from the drippings. The broth was rich and filling in its own right.

By afternoon there was a whole new perch in the trap, just waiting. It was beginning to seem, however inconceivable, that they would simply find fish there each time they checked. Like opening the door of the refrigerator. If it kept going like this, Mara thought she might make another large basket to submerge at the edge of the water, or maybe dig a seep well—somewhere to store the fish alive if they could not eat them as fast as they came. Then Ashley kissed her, sweet small kisses, and they gave each other compliments in the shade. That day felt like a gift, like a full-belly laze of possibility. It was the last gift they got for a long time.

18

Lenny had never pretended to be above tricks if he thought they’d make good television. So when the crew didn’t show up the next day, Bullfrog decided that this was an intentional strategy on their part. It had to be a plan to see how the survivors acted when they were alone, so the audience could watch them in something closer to a natural environment. Mara picked some more sumac shoots, which were on the verge of tough, but would be edible if she boiled them. Then, feeling strong, she walked around the bog, gathering chanterelles and nettles on the way. The trees creaked around her. Something burst from the ground, a flurry of wings, and she jumped. It was only a grouse.

Back at camp, the survivors munched on boiled sumac while discussing their options. Kyle had a theory he was hopeful about. He suggested that there had been an accident, and the crew was gone forever.

“That’s not actually good,” said Mara. “That’s not something we want.”

“Of course it is,” said Kyle. “That’s why we’re all here, right? To test our survival skills. There’s nobody better prepared than we are. We’ll be legends.”

“It could be a holiday,” said Ashley. “Memorial Day.”

Kyle checked his carved calendar, counted on his fingers. “Nope,” he said. “That was last week.”

“Or they needed to get supplies or something,” said Ashley.

Bullfrog spit a wad of phlegm on the grass.

“Maybe it’s a twist,” said Kyle. “Like, the first part of the show was figuring out if we can survive here, and we did that. We built a nice shelter and we acquired a reliable source of food.” Mara noticed his use of the word we for both shelter and fish, neither of which he’d been instrumental in, but Kyle was so hopeful and harmless that she just caught eyes with Bullfrog and let him carry on.

“We succeeded,” continued Kyle. “We won the first part of the challenge. And the second part is seeing how long it takes us to realize that we have to get out. And then we’ll navigate the terrain, launch an expedition to get ourselves back home—”