The smell of hot grease and cooking protein hit the camp like a physical blow.
Anabelle sat cross-legged next to the fire pit. She had found a rusted, discarded tin can near the highway, scrubbed it clean with sand, and was now using it as a makeshift frying pan over the open flames.
She cracked two fresh eggs against a rock. The yolks hit the hot metal with a loud, aggressive sizzle.
The rich scent of frying eggs drifted directly into the wind, sweeping over the five cots.
Stomachs growled in unison. The other contestants looked like walking corpses.
Kody swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. He quickly ran a hand through his hair, pasting on a wide, friendly grin. He walked over to the fire pit, squatting down right next to Anabelle.
"Wow, Annie," Kody said, his voice dripping with fake charm. "You really saved our lives. That smells amazing. We make a great team, right?"
Anabelle didn't look up. She kept her eyes fixed on the bubbling egg whites, using a thin green twig to carefully separate the edges from the tin. She let him talk.
Kody's smile faltered when she didn't respond. His eyes darted to the cooked edge of the egg. His stomach let out a loud rumble. He reached his hand out, his fingers inching toward the hot tin.
Smack.
Anabelle whipped the twig through the air, bringing it down hard across the back of Kody's hand.
The sharp crack echoed through the quiet camp.
Kody yanked his hand back, his face twisting in pain. He cradled his stinging knuckles against his chest.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kody screamed, his friendly mask shattering. "Are you trying to hoard it all for yourself?"
Anabelle slowly lifted her head. Her eyes were completely devoid of emotion. She looked at him the way a person looks at a stain on the sidewalk.
"Pay me," she said. Two words. Ice cold.
Kody let out a harsh, barking laugh. He pointed at the drone hovering above them. "We are a team! We're supposed to help each other! You're being selfish!"
Camila sat up on her cot, wrapping her arms around herself. "He's right, Anabelle. We're all starving. It's really mean to eat in front of us."
Anabelle stood up. She wiped her hands on her jeans.
"Let's do the math," Anabelle said, her voice projecting clearly over the crackle of the fire. "Market value of two organic eggs: one dollar. Labor cost for a ten-mile round trip on foot: twenty dollars. Technical surcharge for wilderness fire-starting and sanitation: twenty-nine dollars."
She looked dead into Kody's eyes.
"The price is fifty dollars for one egg. I don't do credit."
The camp fell dead silent.
"You're out of your damn mind!" Kody roared, kicking a cloud of dirt into the fire. "You're extorting us!"
"It's basic supply and demand," Anabelle replied smoothly, her thumb rubbing her index knuckle. "I hold the monopoly on food. You hold the demand. Pay the premium, or starve."
In the live chat, viewers were losing their minds. The brutal, unapologetic capitalism coming from a girl in a frayed flannel shirt was intoxicating. They mocked Kody relentlessly.
Kody's face turned a deep, ugly purple. The humiliation burned in his chest. He spun around, kicking a large rock near the fire pit.
"You're going to lose!" Kody spat at her. "Nobody is going to help you when you fail!" He stormed off toward the edge of the woods.
Camila quickly pulled her hand back, realizing the beggar routine wouldn't work. She lay back down, turning her face away from the smell.
Diego sat on his cot, his dark sunglasses hiding his eyes. He tilted his head, watching Anabelle with a new, sharp intensity.
Anabelle sat back down. She ate the eggs slowly, methodically, making sure not to drop a single crumb.
When she was finished, she carefully wrapped the remaining two eggs in a piece of plastic she had saved, burying them deep in her backpack. She pulled out the free tube of high-end toothpaste and walked toward the small creek to wash up.
Behind a thick oak tree, Kody watched her walk away. His chest heaved with angry breaths. He motioned for Camila to come over.
"She didn't buy that stuff," Kody whispered, his eyes narrowed into slits. "She stole it from the production crew's tent. If we get close to her, we'll get disqualified too."
Down by the creek, Anabelle saw Kody's reflection in the water. She saw him whispering. She saw Camila nodding.
Anabelle spit the white foam into the dirt. A cold, sharp smile touched her lips. Let them isolate her. A wolf hunts best alone.
