Darwin's Quest: The Search for the Ultimate Survivor Read Online Free Page A

to see them, but all I could think of was game on .

 
    Chapter 3
     
    “So how was it? I mean, did it hurt? It sure looked pretty bad,” Joda asked.
    I had been welcomed back, introductions made which barely registered, and we were now sitting around the fire-ring. Joda was the youngest cast member, a 19-year-old from Canada back on Earth. She was extremely cute in a pixieish way, but reminded me of a puppy, eager for play and affection. I still felt a little queasy over the whole dying experience, but since part of our cast screening was to ensure that no one had previously died and been brought back, I guess the question was natural. The other castmates may not have wanted to ask, but I noticed everyone was now paying closer attention to what I had to say.
    “ Well , you saw that thing. When it kicked me, and when it was standing on my chest, yea, that hurt. I could feel my ribs crack.” Several people grimaced at that remark. “But after that, nothing. I didn’t feel anything. The next thing I knew was waking up back at Production City. And now,” I swung my arms in circles as if to demonstrate, “I feel great!”
    “It was pretty gross, though, when it bit you. Then it just stood up and walked off. I only hope I don’t get eaten by anything.” She shuddered, her short blonde hair shaking back and forth.
    “I have to say, better you than me. And I appreciate what you did. I’m not sure I could’ve made it without you.” Julie Rhee was the older woman I had dragged to Haven. She had told us that her real name was actually Siobhán, like the old Irish singer, but she went by Julie.
    I simply nodded at her. I had been back for about an hour, and I didn’t even have all my castmates straight in my mind yet, but it was already evident to me that there were pretty much two clear camps here with some undecideds in the middle. Sitting on and below a long rock bench to my right was the big muscular guy, Hamlin Cone. I could easily see he was big, so the skin-tight shirt seemed overkill to me. None of us were supposed to be augmented in anyway, and that would have been caught at our physical, but his body hardly seemed natural.
    He was holding court with the young Canadian Joda, Yash Singh, a tall black girl named October something or other who was evidently a singer of some note, a small girl named Ratt, Paul Amirault, and Bernie Sahadi. Paul and Bernie were merely names to me so far. I couldn’t get a feel of either one. Paul was a tall, serious looking man, and Bernie was the older, slightly portly guy who had been ready to cross the bridge when Hamlin went instead, but that all seemed forgiven as Hamlin had by then seemingly sucked him into his vortex.
    Yash was a Sikh, the first one I had ever seen in person (we didn’t get too many on Monsanto.) He had been one of the first people to cross the bridge before I got killed.
    Ratt’s real name was long and hard to pronounce. She was very short, coming maybe up to my chest, and she couldn’t have weighed more than 35 or 36 kilos.
    To my left was a loosely bunched group with JoshuaMaycock, Gabriel Martinez (the skinny kid who had frozen on the bridge), Julie Rhee, and a Valkryie. The Valkryie was a tall, imposing Teutonic blonde with the equally Teutonic name of Alfhid Gandolson. She was a big woman, but curving in all the right places. I think Adrienne might have had some competition from her as far as attracting the male vote; that is, if the viewers hadn’t voted me back instead.
    Joshua leaned back and stretched. He was the guy I had half-recognized from before. He had been a running back for the San Diego Chargers of the American Football League. He seemed to be the focal point of this group.
    Then there were the others, sitting between the two groups. Including me, there were three Outerworlder cast members. The other two were in this group of undecideds. (I guess I was, too, at least for now.) Borlinga was from Shakti, and like their Indonesian founders,