Desperate Measures by Jeff Probst

way to Chicago.
    â€œI’ll go up first,” Vanessa said.
    There was no discussion. Carter and Buzz each took a leg and boosted Vanessa as high as they could. Vanessa kept her body stiff. Even now, after weeks of struggling to survive, her years of gymnastics showed. In a moment, she had her hands on the edge of the pit. But as she grabbed on, the sandy edge crumbled away, faster than she could climb out.
    Sand fell into Buzz’s eyes and mouth. He spit and shook his head, trying to see without letting go. They still had to get Vanessa out.
    â€œCan you get me any higher?” she asked.
    â€œOne, two, three—
push
!” Carter said.
    Buzz heaved as hard as he could. He had her by the bottom of the foot now. Carter, too. She rose another several inches, wavered, and nearly tipped over. But in the next second, Vanessa was pushing offfrom their hands and kicking her way up the last few feet to keep from sliding back in.
    â€œIs anyone around?” Buzz asked.
    â€œHang on,” Vanessa said. And then, “This fire’s huge, you guys! Everyone’s over there—”
    â€œFind something to get us out!” Carter said. “Hurry!”
    â€œIt’s right here,” Vanessa answered. One end of the vine rope tumbled into the pit. “Jane, you come first! You’re the lightest. Then we can get the guys out.”
    Jane was up and out a few seconds later. Then Carter, then Buzz.
    As Buzz came onto flat ground again, the scene in front of him was like something from a movie. The trees at the opposite end of the encampment were all one huge curtain of fire now. People were running in and out of the light, bringing water from the beach. Others were throwing sand, or chopping away what they could. There were shouts everywhere. It was chaos.
    Which was maybe the whole idea.
    â€œThis is our chance!” Jane said. “We need to get to Ani’s canoe, and someone needs to open that screen.”
    â€œWhere?” Carter asked, looking around.
    It took a second for Buzz to remember Carter had not been this way before.
    â€œThere!” Buzz said, pointing toward the trail, and they all sprinted straight for it.

    The screen they were headed toward was huge, Vanessa knew. It was going to take a miracle to open it. But she kept her thoughts to herself. They’d do what they could when they got there.
    Meanwhile, she watched her footing as they moved along the dark path. The fire behind them was enough to penetrate the woods with a small amount of light, but not much.
    â€œI’ll get the boat ready when we get there,” Jane said. “Carter, give me the knife. I can cut it loose while you three work on the screen. Then I’ll meet you downstream.”
    â€œWe can’t split up!” Vanessa said. “Are you crazy?”
    â€œIs there anything about this that
isn’t
crazy?” Jane asked.
    â€œShe’s right, Nessa,” Buzz said. “We don’t have time to mess around.”
    They’d just arrived at the canoes. A dozen or more of them bobbed and shifted together, where they were tethered in the fast-moving water. The screen was another fifty yards or more off to their right, where the channel flowed into the ocean.
    â€œThat boat?” Jane asked. She pointed to Ani’s outrigger, on the downstream side of all the others.
    â€œThat’s it,” Buzz said.
    It had been the last one in, which meant it would be easy to get it away. Maybe Ani had even planned it like that.
    Still, there had been no time to talk about what it would mean to get back onto the open ocean. Ani had promised coconuts and water. Hopefully, those were already on board. Whatever else Jane could pull together right now would have to be enough.
    â€œDo what you can,” Vanessa told her. “Cut some fronds. We can use them for shade. And grab anything else you can find. But don’t cut the boat loose until we’re