117 THE FINAL FIVE

"I choose to protect…. Kristie."

All eyes went to Kristie's direction.

"Oh! Are you guys just talking about me?"

Kristie asked in disbelief.

"Yes, it's you."

"Shocks, does that mean I have a chance at being the Survivor Queen? I've never been a Queen before. Not even a princess. I wonder what it feels like."

Kristie gazed at the sky with a dreamy look in her face.

"Don't expect a chicken house until your eggs have hatched first." 

Nella whispered to her.

"Oh, don't make a fuss, Nella. I'm planning to give all the cash prize money to your family if ever I won."

She whispered back in an animated manner.

Nella grabbed Kristie's shoulders and directed them towards her.

"It's not a nice joke."

"I'm not joking. I don't need the money. I just want to be hailed before I die."

"That's a meaner one. Stop it."

"All right. All right. But I'm not kidding about the first one. Wish me luck!"

Kristie winked at her as she scurried to Erin.

She bowed at Savannah and Zoe as she passed them by.

"Thank you. You don't know how happy I am right now."

"You're not even the queen yet," Savannah rolled her eyes.

"I guess getting free from an evil character does not happen overnight."

Zoe winked at Kristie.

"It's okay. At least I got to be chosen by both the evil Queen and the good Queen."

Zoe chuckled as she saw Savannah's horns shooting out from her head again.

"Run now, before Maleficent strikes you."

Kristie giggled as she scuttled towards Erin, who placed the Immunity necklace on her neck.

"I feel like a queen already." She swayed side by side.

"All right, let's continue on with our game. We only have five people left. May the best one wins!"

"Clay and Enzo, please ready your weapons."

"Wooo!"

The girls cheered the two men in enthusiasm.

"Now we will know who is the real campus heartthrob."

Enzo was the top varsity in the class. And Clay was the son of a conglomerate who always drove to school in a different car every time.

They have their own fans club, who always fought with one another with who is the king of the campus.

They don't have an interest in common then so there is no real way to know who is the best among them.

"Go Clay!"

"Go Enzo!"

As much as they deny it, the castaway girls have their own bet on the two since high school. 

The two glared at each other as they ready their spears.

"1, 2, 3… Shoot!"

Enzo shot in the middle. But it was Clay who broke it in two.

"And the winner is, Clay Tiu!"

Clay balled up his fist and shook it in the air. 

Everybody clapped their hands for Clay.

But the Tasmans murmured against him.

"Enzo is a varsity player. He must be physically stronger than Clay. Why did he lose over him?"

"Perhaps it is true that he was the one on the blind items. He must be a murderer. Look at the pineapple."

True enough, the pineapple was not just broken in half but in pieces as well.

"Shut it. Don't base a person's morality on a pineapple."

Nella interfered before Clay heard what they were saying about him.

She also had her doubts about him, but she chose to give him the benefit of the doubt.

"Clay! Since everybody was revived twice already, you can only choose to slay. Who would you cast out from the challenge?"

"I slay Mr. Qigang!"

Mr. Qigang abruptly stood up from where he was sitting.

"You actually slay me, young man? I thought we're good friends."

Everyone was surprised too because they always see Clay's parents and Mr. Qigang together.

"No, we're not. You're good friends with my parents. But not with me."

"Why not?" Mr. Qigang's eyes twitched at the boldness of Clay.

"I didn't agree with your biased leadership ever since."

Everyone was horrified at Clay's reckless remarks.

"You never give a fair chance to those who are brilliant but can't afford to grant your lavish requests. And you let those who learned nothing but violence and stupidity graduate. No wonder our city's twisted."

"D-do you hear what you're just saying? Your parents would surely love to hear about this speech!" 

Mr. Qigang bellowed through gritted teeth.

"I don't care. We won't see each other anymore anyway. It's been a long time since I wanted to say this. Now I feel relieved. Thank you, Erin!"

He waved at Erin who bowed to him. "My pleasure!"

The crowd's faces grinned from ear to ear. No one has the audacity to face Mr. Qigang then because they all wanted to graduate.

But they think the same way too. Except for those who benefited from Mr. Qigang's ways.

Nella crossed her arms and smiled.

'He upholds justice. Maybe it really wasn't him.'

"Clay, ready your weapon now against….Mr. Gao!"

Zoe glimpsed at Raigon. His face was still expressionless. 

No matter what was happening at the game, his countenance remained unchanged. 

'What is wrong with him?'

Clay lost against his natural warrior skills. And Clay took it positively.

"Thanks, man. It's a good game. I hope I can be on your side next time."

He approached Raigon and clasped his fist.

One corner of Raigon's lips curved up but that was it.

"Thank you everyone for participating in this challenge. Thank you also Tribal Council for giving us a far and wise ruling. I know you all did your best. And now we're on the final three of our last game. Are you ready to find out who will be the Survivor King or Queen?"

"We're ready! Woohoo!"

Everybody clapped their hands for the three remaining contenders. 

"Kristie, Zoe, and Mr. Gao please step forward."

Erin proceeded on with the mechanics of the game.

"Since Kristie still has five minutes left before the Immunity Necklace is taken away from her, we will have Zoe and Mr. Gao compete with one another!"

The crowd murmured in excitement.

"Wow, our newborn couple! Will one of them give way for the other?"

Everyone seated themselves properly so they could have a good view of the game.

He wasn't even looking at him now but his eyes were darting everywhere. 

"Zoe and Mr. Gao, please choose your weapons."

Raigon picked up a bow and arrow. Zoe grumbled as she picked the same kind too.

"I will not be easy on you just because you're my…"

She stopped in mid sentence as she was about to say 'my fiance'.

She wanted to put the arrow on her temples.

'Zoe Cheng, you're getting used to it!'

She picked up her bow and targeted the pineapple. 

"At the count of three… 1, 2…"

To everyone's horror, Raigon pointed the arrow at Zoe.