The rain had not stopped since everyone stepped off the rocky crest of Razorwing Gap.
Down at the Phase three staging area, thick gray mud churned ankle-deep beneath the heavy sagging canvas tents. Water dripped steadily from the seams onto long wooden staging tables, pooling in cold, murky puddles around rows of standard-issue, olive-drab 45-liter canvas backpacks.
There was no warmth to be found in the damp air—only the pervasive smell of wet earth, soaked wool, and diesel exhaust from the camp generators humming rhythmically in the background.
Around the perimeter of the staging ground, broadcast camera drones hovered low beneath the canopy of trees, their waterproof lenses tracking the remaining contestants' every move as they huddled beneath the canvas shelter.
