The castaways warmed their hands by the fire, keeping all feelings to themselves. It had been a long day, and was about to get even longer. One of them was going to be going home, and only Blackgaard was guaranteed to last into the next round. Across the fire, Dale Jacobs sat in an old wooden chair. In his hands he held a stack of cards which contained the votes cast against the contestants. His face was pale and worried, and he looked as though he was about to speak.

"It is a tough job, and I'm sorry I have to do this." He said, his voice low and quivering. "But I'm afraid I've already read the results. Connie... you have been voted off the island."

"Connie?" Whit said in disbelief as he looked up at Dale Jacobs. "There must be some mistake Dale! Tell me you've made a mistake?"

"It's no mistake Whit. I guess the fans had your best interest in mind Connie, I'm sorry."

Connie wiped a tear from her cheek and then turned to the castaways. "Oh guys, don't be sad! It'll be OK... honest. Just think, I'll get to sleep in a nice warm bed and even see my mom! Just stay strong for me, and everything'll be ok."

Eugene stood up and approached Connie. "I - I, don't know what to say!" He stammered, trying to find the words. "I suppose there's not much more to say, other than that'll we'll be praying for you, Miss Kendall!"

"Thanks Eugene", she said and gave him a hug. "I'll miss you too."

Whit then stood up and walked over to Connie. He smiled, and then embraced her in his arms. "Oh Whit!" She cried, tears trickling down her cheek.

"It'll be OK Connie, it'll have to be." He said and squeezed her tight, "Just remember to pray."

Connie continued saying her good-byes for several more minutes. Then it finally came time for her to leave. She waved to her friends and wished them well. Then she approached the edge of the clearing, and disappeared into the darkness.


In a surprise move, the fans decided to vote Connie Kendall off the island. Below are some of the comments from the castaways:

"Oh, Connie! I'm very surprised that she was the next to go. Of all people, I figured she would at least make it into the top four. It's going to be tough for the next few days, but I know the Lord will set things right. God willing, we'll all be seeing her within the next couple of weeks."
- John Whittaker, Talnuska

"It's rather awkward now. I'm the last female left one the island, and I'm certainly in a vulnerable position. Connie's departure was unexpected, and I was prepared to have my name being the one called out. I suppose she'll now be able to receive some proper treatment, but it's still disheartening."
- Katrina Shanks, Talnuska

"Obviously everyone around here was very surprised at last night's outcome. Surely the fans were thinking of Miss Kendall's well-being, but she has been known to become sick every once in a while. However, it isn't necessarily Connie's departure that has surprised me the most; it's the way Dr. Blackgaard has reacted... he seems to feel it's his fault she was voted off."
- Eugene Meltsner, Talnuska

"Connie was a very forgiving person, and I respect her for that. When I decided I had to change my ways here on the island, she was one of the few who really accepted the fact that I'm capable of good. When her name was called, I felt a large lump in my throat. That should have been my name... but because of this stupid necklace I wasn't a candidate. It's my fault she was voted off, and if you're listening, I'm sorry Connie."
- Regis Blackgaard, Talnuska

The third Individual Challenge will be held tomorrow! Be sure to come by, and see the next candidates for "Jacob's Ladder" to be held on Day 50!


Late in the evening, the castaways were still waiting to find out about their challenge. At around eight o'clock, Dale Jacobs hiked down to their camp and gave them instructions to follow him to a nearby wooded area. Weak and tired from the past several weeks, they reluctantly gathered up their things and followed him. The moonlight shone down on the castaways, providing their only source of light and in the distance they could several torches brightly blazing in the woods.

Over a half hour later, they arrived at their destination. Dale lead them through some of the trees, which parted into a clearing where the torches they had seen earlier were standing in a circular design around a large table. The castaways couldn't believe their eyes! There on the table sat plates upon plates of food; turkeys, fish, potatoes, lobsters, salad... everything was there. Blackgaard walked over to the edge of the table and picked up a goblet that was filled to the rim with a red liquid. He turned to Dale, and voiced the question everyone had on their mind "Is this all for us?"

Dale nodded and motioned all the castaways to sit down. Once everyone had found a seat, he walked to the center of the table and gave them all a smile. "Good evening and welcome to the 'Feast of Champions'! We invited you here tonight to celebrate the fact that you are the final eight, and have made it incredibly far. Hunger has struck each and everyone of you, and we understand how important it is that you all stay healthy. So, we decided that to celebrate this occasion, you would all be allowed to partake in a grand feast which you see here before you. Please, be my guest and enjoy this evening. There is just over twenty days left, and you're going to need all the energy you can get." He picked up a knife from the table, and began to cut a turkey that lie there in front of him. "Shall we begin?"

Suddenly, everyone dived into the food and began piling their helpings on to their plates. Excited conversation begin all around the table, and everyone was having a grand time. But at the head of the table, Regis Blackgaard looked at his fellow castaways and had a small frown on his face. "Hold it!" he shouted, and everyone hushed at the sound of his deep voice. "What do you think you're all doing?"

"Well, Mr. Blackgaard", Eugene replied, "We are feasting upon this delightful entree before us. What did you think we were doing?"

"That's not what I meant", Blackgaard said, looking over at him. "It's not what you're doing that's important, it's what you're not doing that concerns me."


"Could you be more precise?" Eugene inquired, looking confused. "It's not what we're doing that concerns you?"

"You call yourselves Christians, do you not?" Blackgaard said as the castaways all nodded their heads, "Yet when you are presented with such a feast after going two months without proper food, you do not even stop to say grace? Has the island made you all forget about your God?"

The seven other castaways all lowered their heads, realizing what they had done. "You're right Blackgaard", Whit said shaking his heads, "How could we have been so foolish? Of course we owe everything to the Lord, please everyone, let's pray."



Two hours later, the castaways were still talking amongst themselves at the table. Dinner had been over for about an hour, but no one wanted to leave when they were feeling so full and excited. Dale returned to the castaways a short while later, carrying a small sack in his hand. "Hello again! I'm glad to see you all enjoyed the meal, and I hope it'll help you for the next few weeks... but, I'm afraid it's time for the challenge. However, things will be a little different this time and since it wouldn't be fair to include another endurance challenge just yet, we've decided it would be more even if it was a game of chance. I'm sure you've all noticed this bag I have here. It contains eight cards, each with a different name on it. Everyone here will draw a card, and the last name to be left in the bucket will be granted immunity. Any questions?"

No one said anything. This was a very different challenge from the ones they had had before, and the outcome was up in the air. Dale walked over to Whit, who would draw the first name. Whit reached into the bag and closed his eyes, he then pulled out a card and showed it to the castaways. "Tom Riley" was written on it, meaning Tom would not be taking the Immunity Necklace that evening. Next in line was Jack, who drew "Katrina Shanks" from the sack. She looked down at the ground a little scared, she had a feeling she could be next. Bernard then drew "Jason Whittaker" from the sack, followed by Eugene pulling "Jack Allen".

The atmosphere that had once been full of excitement, had become quiet and uneasy. Only four names were left in the sack, and only one would remain. Blackgaard was next to pick a name, and fumbled around in the sack for a moment. He then pulled his card from the sack and revealed the name "Regis Blackgaard" written across it. He looked at the card, shook his head and pushed it aside. Jason took the sack from Dale and put his hand into it. He then pulled out the card with "John Whittaker's" name on it. The final two names were Bernard and Eugene, only one of them would be given the necklace. The random draw would be up to Tom Riley, who was the last person to pick since Katrina's pick would be irrelevant.

"Alright Tom, before you pull a name out, let me just clear up something. The name you pick will be the person who is given immunity, not the other way around as we have been doing it. So, without further ado, please make a selection."

Tom looked around at the castaways with a desperate look on his face. He then put his hand into the white sack and pulled the first card his hand touched. He looked at the card, and then looked up again at the castaways.

"Well, Tom, who is it going to be?" Dale said, trying to speed things along. Tom turned the card over and showed it to the castaways. Written on his card in a black felt-tip pen was the name, "Eugene Meltsner".