Casino Plot Ch. 22

The four women were all able to stand now. They were gasping and panting, and in no shape to walk. So, they stood there listening to Janice.

"Folks, that concludes our final regular event. As I said this morning, our contestants will not be able to entertain anyone tonight. Given the amazing race they put on for us, I hope you can all understand that."

The crowd broke into loud applause. Ruth heard the cheers and felt a slight disappointment that she wouldn't be able to do any more for her fans. But she also knew Janice was right. She was exhausted. And if she had any chance of winning tomorrow, she needed rest.

Janice was still talking. "So folks, please make your way to the docks and back to your hotel. Enjoy dinner tonight and get ready for an exciting finale tomorrow. And that finale will not start until 1:00 in the afternoon. We want to give our women as much time as we can to recover. Goodnight everyone, I will see you tomorrow afternoon."

Janice put the mike down and headed off. She joined her friends and the four of them headed back. The crowd made their way out and back to the boats. That left just Ruth and her little group.

Their cars were parked right next to the stands, so they had very little distance to walk. Lee wasn't in bad shape, so she had no trouble getting to her car.

The others were a bit shaky. But their drivers helped them into the vehicles. In a very few minutes, they were all on their way back to camp.

When they got back, all five women went into the dining tent. They didn't even try to stay together. The twins sat at one table, Lee by herself at another, and Sue Lynn and Ruth were at a third. No one wanted food, but alcohol was on everyone's wish list.

For quite a while no one said anything, they all just sipped their drinks and tried to process what had happened. Their muscles hurt, and the insides of both openings stung. It took some time and two very strong drinks for them to pull themselves somewhat together.

The twins never did say much. They just sat there together. The chef sent out dinner and they ate in silence. It wasn't that they were mad at each other, they simply had nothing to say.

Lee likewise ate her dinner in silence. She was alone at her table and that was perfectly fine with her. She hadn't had to race, and she really didn't want to sit with any of the women who had. The only thing she really wanted to do was go home.

Sue Lynn and Ruth talked a little.

"Well Ruth, it's you and me in the lead. I guess it will come down to us tomorrow."

"I don't know Sue Lynn, and I don't know if I care."

"What, what do you mean?"

"I'm too old for this, Sue. I hurt everywhere. Even with a head start, I don't think I can outrun any of you. Besides, what's the worst that can happen. I'll have to entertain some more people at that party. You know what really scares me, Sue. It's that part of me wants to entertain them. What is happening to me, Sue?"

"I don't know, Ruth. I really don't. I do know we are both completely wiped out. So let's go hit the showers and get some sleep. We can talk again at breakfast. Maybe you'll feel a little better after you sleep."

"Maybe, Sue Lynn, maybe."

The five women finished their dinners and headed out to the showers. The water helped take away some of the misery. After that, they all walked back to their tents and climbed into bed. The sun was well up on the day of the final event before any of them were stirring at all.

Notes to my readers:

First, this should be obvious but I will say it anyway. There is no science that I am aware of to support my description of the reaction to electricity described in this chapter. So, don't do anything incredibly stupid like try to see if this would work at home.

Please leave comments. I enjoy reading what people think, and I do get some ideas from them. Of course, if you just want to troll, you don't need to waste your time. In all honesty, I find I turn chapters around quicker when I receive a lot of feedback from the previous ones.

There are only about three or four chapters left to this story, and then it will be time to say goodbye to Janice, Tony, and the rest. In some ways I will miss them, but I also truly feel that it's time for this story to come to an end.

As I've mentioned before on a purely selfish note, if you're a woman and my warped little brain appeals to you please contact me. As I've also said several times, I do mean woman, not girl. If you're underage, I'm not interested, and you don't belong here.

Once again, thank you all for your patience and I hope you've enjoyed this story.

mcfbridge