Page 63 of The Big Race
"Teams," Julie announced, "I have some important information to share."
We all turned toward her, sensing something significant in her tone.
"During today's challenges, Desiree sustained a serious injury. She broke her leg during the snowshoe portion and has been transported to a hospital in Nice for treatment."
A collective gasp went up from the assembled teams. I felt my stomach drop, remembering how treacherous those snowshoes had been, how easy it would have been for any of us to take a bad fall.
"Is she okay?" Gemini asked.
"She's stable and receiving excellent care," Julie assured us. "But she and Cherisse have been forced to withdraw from the race due to the severity of the injury."
Ray squeezed my shoulder. In all the seasons we'd watched, medical eliminations were rare but devastating when they happened. To come this far only to be taken out by an accident was heart-breaking.
The weight of that announcement settled over us. Someone else's race was about to end through no fault of their own, simply because they'd arrived last on a day when two teams had to go home.
Twenty minutes later, we spotted Anika and Raj making their way up the final slope. Even from a distance, we could see their exhaustion. Raj was supporting Anika, who appeared to be favoring one ankle.
As they reached the mat, both of them looked around and immediately understood.
"We're last, aren't we?" Anika said quietly.
Julie stepped forward with her characteristic blend of warmth and professionalism. "Anika and Raj, you are indeed the last team to arrive. As we announced at the start of this leg, this is a Double Drop. Cherisse and Desiree had to withdraw for medical reasons, so they are the first of the two eliminations. I'm sorry to tell you that you have also been eliminated from The Big Race."
Raj closed his eyes and nodded slowly. "We gave it everything we had."
George stepped forward and embraced both doctors. "You guys were class acts the whole way. Nothing but respect."
The rest of us followed suit, offering hugs and encouragement. Despite the competitive nature of the race, genuine friendships had formed, and saying goodbye was harder than I'd expected.
As Anika and Raj headed back to the chalet, Ray leaned close to me. "Makes you realize how lucky we've been," he murmured. "Any of us could have gotten hurt out there."
I nodded, thinking about all the physical challenges we'd faced, all the moments where a split-second decision or a lucky break had kept us safe. The race demanded so much from our bodies and minds, but sometimes it came down to simple chance.
"Take care of yourselves," Anika called out as she and Raj headed toward the production vehicles. "And take care of each other."
"You too," I called back, meaning it completely.
As the doctors disappeared into the gathering dusk, the remaining six teams stood quietly for a moment, the reality of our situation sinking in. We were in the final six now, but today had reminded us all how quickly everything could change.
The next morning, our direction card told us to drive to the leg’s first challenge, still in the foothills of the Alpes-Maritimes. “It’s a revival challenge. Navigate through the cave system and find a golden figurine," Ray read.
We were already on the 16thseason to run the race, and occasionally the producers went back to a previous episode to redo a challenge. “I remember this challenge from Season 4,” he said, referencing the episode where contestants had to use a compass to find specific coordinates of three flags in a rocky landscape. “The winning team moved quickly, trusting their instincts. We should do the same.”
Ray drove with Cody next to him in the front seat. I navigated from the rear, and it wasn’t far to the cave system.
We parked and ran up to the race official. Though it was a bright, sunny day, the entrance to the cave system loomed dark and menacing ahead of us.
While I studied the basic map the official gave me, we were fitted with headlamps attached to cameras. As Ray and I walked up to the cave entrance, I said, "There are three main chambers we need to explore. The figurine could be in any of them."
A month ago, I would have spent precious minutes analyzing every possible route, while Ray would have charged ahead without a plan. But our experience working together had reinforced what we'd been learning throughout the race—our different approaches were complementary, not contradictory.
"Let's approach this methodically," Ray suggested. "If we work together and check each chamber systematically, we should find the figurine without wasting time."
The cave system stretched before us like the throat of some enormous beast, our headlamps cutting weak beams through the darkness. The air was cool and damp, carrying the mineral scent of limestone.
"Which way?" Ray asked, looking over my shoulder at the map. His voice echoed strangely in the enclosed space.
"Left first," I decided. "Chamber of Columns is smallest, so let’s start there. Then the pools, then Echo Hall if we haven't found it."
