Episode 4

"Yeah! Let's go do some real caving now!" Anthony boasted as he started to rig onto one of the ropes the TV crew had rigged. "Not so fast," the show host's voice boomed over a loudspeaker, the sound echoing around the walls of the pit. "First of all, you're going down there," he continued, pointing to an unremarkable crevice fed by a trickling stream at the bottom of the pit. No one had noticed the small opening before. "Also, we're changing things around a bit. You're to re-form into two groups of five. At our next meeting we will have a contest, and the winner will gain their choice of immunity from elimination or a cold beer." "Woo hoo!" Yelled Anthony as he dived head-first into the crevice and slithered away on his belly. Siu and Tobias joined Julie, Cassie and Roger. While they assessed their supplies and assigned survey duties, George, Sally, Jennifer and Maria set out to find Anthony. Maria, entirely unafraid of small spaces, went next, Sally and Jennifer followed, and George took up the rear of group one. Progress was slow in the low, wet passage; but their nylon suits slid rather easily over the smooth, wet bedrock. There were several small side leads, but the obvious way on was to follow the water into the cave. Maria mumbled criticisms of Anthony as she pulled the tape along; the twins read instruments, and George sketched. After an hour the passage dropped into a slightly larger one that allowed crawling, but the floor and walls now consisted of sharp, jagged rocks. Cave suits soon started to tear, arms and shins started to bruise, each incident announced with a 4-letter word. After another hour they again dropped into a larger trunk that allowed them to stand in the water that was now knee-deep. "Ahh, that's better!" shouted George, with sighs of agreement from the twins. However, the water soon disappeared under a large flowstone formation, and the only option appeared to be a retreat. However, Maria spotted 8-inch high, muddy hole near the ceiling. Under the hole letters were scratched into the mud with a smiley-face. "What's it say?" Jennifer asked. George gave Maria a boost up to the hole, and she reported "it says 'BEER THIS WAY'. Why, that S.O.B…" she spurted as she pushed herself into the hole. The group pushed through the muddy tube for 30 feet, then slid back down into the stream. The passage continued for 100 feet, took a gentle turn, and there they found Anthony floating on a large pool of water with his hands behind his head, a smile on his face. Group 2 soon caught up, and everyone gathered in the refreshing pool of water. They were then greeted with a series of "pops" as a number of carbide lights were lit and placed at intervals along a rim circling the pool room. The host said "I hope you're feeling refreshed. It's time for your first contest. Everyone turn off your headlamps." He waited as the contestants complied. "Tonight you will assemble carbide lamps in the dark and light them. The parts are in these zip-lock bags," he said. The stage hands tossed the bags to the group as they stood in the now muddy water. As the last bag was caught, the lamps around the rim were extinguished, and there was total darkness when the host said, "Begin." "Hey, what's a carbide lamp?" asked Siu, who apparently had received a book in her training called "Carbide Bombs for Dummies" instead of "Carbide Lights for Dummies." "Don't worry, I'll talk you through it" offered Tobias. Anthony's hands worked quickly and deftly. However, spurred on by a lifetime of rivalry, the twins worked even faster, and they both expertly popped their lamps to life at the same moment. Anthony's soon followed, showing his despair at having lost his chance at winning a beer. The rest of the contestants fumbled with their lamps, some getting them lit, some failing as they lost parts in the muddy water. "All parts must be accounted for; we don't want to leave any trash in the cave," the host reminded them. After the group scoured the bottom of the pool for parts and climbed up to the dry rim, the voting began. The twins, tied for first place, had opted for immunity rather than fight over the one beer. Julie, Cassie, and Roger each received one vote, since others had started viewed them as a threat. However, Anthony was eliminated by a wide margin due to a blatant disregard for his team members. This episode thus closed as Anthony perked up and asked "OK; where can I get a brew around here?"