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.At one point, he felt eyes on him, but when he glanced around, there was no one in sight.Ignoring the sensation, he continued.There was a lot to do and not much time to complete it.Above him, the storm unleashed its fury.He knew how it felt.Chapter EeevenReaching its full strength and ferocity, Ivan raged over the island, carving a wide swath of destruction in its path.It swallowed the last vestiges of daylight and the area around the base camp grew pitch black.The last, persistent flames of the campfire flickered under the assault from the rain, and then were extinguished.The smoldering wood hissed and sputtered under the constant barrage of water.The glowing coals faded.Within a few minutes, the temperature had dropped considerably.A fierce gust of wind tossed the campfire's wet ashes into the air and sent them smacking into the contestants like chalky mud.A few drier ashes, that had somehow miraculously escaped the drenching downpour, swirled about like a miniature tornado.The gale also littered debris around the camp: broken tree limbs, leaves, bird feathers and carcasses, sand, a dead turtle, and trash left behind by the absent crew members.The storm uprooted a particularly large tree, its trunk several feet thick, and sent it crashing into the latrine.The structure crumbled beneath the weight.Water coursed through the camp in small, twistingstreams, carrying away some of the lighter flotsam and jetsam.Troy's partially finished rock wall helped divert the floods from the shelter, but the water carved shallow trenches throughout the rest of the camp, eroding the ground.Stuart and the contestants huddled together inside the shelter, clinging desperately to one another and shivering.Some sat in silence.A few of them prayed.A few more wept.The gale ripped off part of the shelter's roof, and it fluttered away on the wind.The walls were leaning and swaying perilously.Despite the damage, the construction held and the shelter remained standing, although precariously.Stuart considered congratulating the frightened contestants on their engineering abilities, but talking was useless.The howling wind drowned out all other sound.Rain streamed through the holes in the roof, exposing the cowering players to a steady soaking.Even though he was wet and miserable, Stuart thought that was better than being exposed to the savage downpour outside.When the storm first hit, he'd suggested that they all take shelter inside the small weatherproof storage shed, but that plan had been stymied when a tree fell on top of it, smashing the roof and one wall.They'd opted for the camp shelter instead.He looked around the shelter's interior.Becka was huddled between Jerry and Troy, gripping both their hands tightly.Neither man seemed to mind.Indeed, they barely seemed to notice; their attention was preoccupied with the terrifying storm.Troy's teeth were chattering, and he looked even more miserable and pissed off than usual.Water streamed offthe mechanic's beloved hat.Becka mouthed the Lord's Prayer silently, and although he couldn't hear her, Stuart read her lips.Pauline clung to Jeff, and unlike Jerry and Troy, Jeff definitely seemed to notice.He kept risking glances at Pauline's cleavage and "accidentally" groping quick feels around her bikini line.Then, with each blast of thunder or lightning strike, the startled man would jump, jerking away from her.This was the first time Stuart had seen him displaying anything other than confidence and strength.Stefan sat on the other side of Pauline, kneading his temples with his fingertips.His eyes were closed.Raul crouched in the corner, trying to avoid the rain streaming through the holes in the roof.Palm fronds from the roof tore loose in the wind and fell on top of Stuart.He uttered a small, surprised cry, and then disengaged himself from them, throwing the wet leaves to the muddy floor.The others glanced at him—all except Stefan, whose eyes were still closed—but they said nothing.They, too, saw the futility in trying to speak.Stuart fumbled for his satellite phone and brought it out.He was surprised to see that he still had a signal, despite the ferocity of the storm.He considered calling the freighter, but decided against it.They might be able to hear him, but he wouldn't be able to hear their replies.Not only that, but what could he report? That they were wet and cold and this sucked? Nobody was injured.Everyone was safe.At least he hoped so.He was concerned that Sal and Richard weren't back yet, and extremely worried about Mark and Jesse.The two should havewrapped up their interview with Matthew and been back hours ago.Sal and Richard and the others might be wandering around out in the storm, but the two crew members had worked on Castaways for a long time, and both Mark and Jesse were smart enough to head back to camp as soon as the weather had shown signs of worsening.They'd been on the China shoot when a monsoon hit and in the Philippines during the tornado.Both knew what could happen in a situation like this, and neither man was foolhardy.But here he was, sitting at base camp, and there was no sign of them.So where were they?Stuart stared out at the trail and willed them to appear.Lightning crashed overhead, illuminating the surrounding jungle in a flash of stark, white light.Stuart flinched.He thought he saw movement in the shadows.Then the darkness returned.He cupped one hand around his mouth."I think I saw something!"Jerry, who was closest to him, mouthed, "What?"Stuart leaned closer, shouting and enunciating each word."I.think.I.saw.something."Jerry frowned, and Stuart pointed out at the jungle.When the lightning flashed again, they both peered into the foliage, but there was nothing to see.Nothing moved, save for the trees and plants, bending and snapping under the shrieking wind."There's nothing out there," Jerry yelled.He had to repeat it twice before Stuart understood him.Another section of the roof was sheared away.Rain poured into the shelter.Pauline screamed, loudenough to be heard over the storm.All of them moved toward Raul's corner, cowering together in the mud.The shelter's floor was turning into soup with each passing minute.Troy pulled his sodden hat from his head and wrung the water out of it.Then he put it back on and shrugged miserably.Rain dripped steadily from the tip of his crooked nose.Stuart got settled, crouching on his haunches next to Jeff and Pauline.He slipped in the mud and almost fell over on them, but steadied himself at the last moment.He stared back out at the jungle, his thoughts returning to his missing coworkers.He felt helpless and frightened, and his panic increased with each blast of thunder.They could be hurt—or worse.Struck by lightning.Trapped under a fallen tree.Getting lost in the dark and the rain and slipping off a cliff.Swept out to sea by a storm-swollen wave.The possibilities were limitless, and his mind seemed to relish conjuring one potential catastrophe after another.Stuart didn't have many friends.He didn't have time for them.He didn't even own a pet.His work was his social life, and as soon as one season wrapped, it was time to start another.He was always on the go, always rushing to the next location, and his small, cramped cabin aboard the network freighter felt more like home than his apartment in Binghamton or his expansive condominium in Los Angeles.Mark and Jesse were his friends—or at least the closest thing he had to friends.Associates, certainly.He cared about them and their well-being.Right now, they were out there somewhere, lost in thestorm, along with the six missing contestants— Roberta, Matthew, Sal, Richard, Ryan, and Shonette.The contestants might be lost or hurt, as well, and that was unfortunate.But Mark and Jesse were his friends [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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