Who Will Escape?

Dividing Into Teams & Starting The Hunt

One by one, the guests draw straws. When it's Mary's turn, she takes a deep breath, hopes for the best, and plucks a straw out of Mortimer's hand.

"Oooh, That looks short." whistles Alec.

He's right. Compared to the straws that everyone else has drawn so far, Mary's straw is pretty much a shrimp.

Mary
I'm a team captain for sure.

She glances around the group, debating her options, wondering who would be best to take with her into the hunt. She already has a wish list.

Sophia draws the second short straw, and she feels happy and nervous at the same time. If her team loses, she's toast. She has to be careful with her selections.

"You're the youngest." Mary says to Sophia, "so you get to pick first."

"So like we're in school?" jokes Shangag.

"This is a lot of pressure."

"Absolutely," Shangag agrees.

There are a lot of smart people and people who actually do things in this group. The thing is, Kiersten is her girl. She's a confident person, telling people off the way it should be, and they just know each other so well. She's a must for Team Sophia.
"I pick Kiersten."
Kiersten smiles at Sophia as she dramatically walks over to her side.

It's Mary's turn "Okay. I pick Bryan.".

I knew you would. Bryan doesn't regret an ounce of emotion as he takes his place by her side, but his heart feels soft, like it's made of cotton candy.

Bryan
We're going to win. I'm getting out of this town, and I'm taking you with me.

"Shangag." says Sophia. Mary rolls her eyes, of course the couple will be together.

Mary's scans the remaining guests.
"I pick Amarie." she decides.

"Great choice," says Amarie in response.

The picking continues, Sophia choosing people she believes will be helpful to her. While Mary does the same, however, she notices that those on Sophia's team are people that tend to mess around somewhat more than those on her team. Then the team picking finally ends. Both teams face one another, looking at who may be up for elimination in the end.

Team Sophia consists of Sophia, Kiersten, Shangag, Octavia, Shaadira, Alec, Alexis, Shay, Tamaya, Rita and Daniel.
While Team Mary has Mary, Bryan, Amarie, Nyadhol, Olivia, Kyler, Bethany, Devon, Kai and Nancy.
The teams are fairly evenly matched, and as far as Daniel's concerned, it's anyone's game...which worries him.

Daniel
If we win, we're safe, but if we lose, one of us is next to die.

He won't let that happen. He'll do whatever it takes to protect himself and his friends.

"Where are we hunting?" Tamaya asks.

"We have to go outside," Shangag informs her, "and the only place safe is the red light."

Bryan uses his hands to emphasize his words, like he usually does, "Literally under red light.".

"And we're looking for gemstones?" Kai questions, just to make sure.